The Last Don - Mario Puzo [218]
Dante was delighted that Cross looked concerned. “He told me not to tell you anything, but he’s pissed off. I think he found out something about your old man.”
At this Cross gave Dante a somber look, almost one of displeasure. Then he said, “OK, let’s go.” And he led Dante through the grounds of the Hotel to the Villa compound.
The four guards at the compound gates recognized Cross and waved them through.
Dante opened the door with a flourish and doffed his Renaissance hat. He said, “After you,” and smiled slyly, which gave his face a puckish humor.
Cross walked in.
Jim Losey was filled with cold rage when he turned away from Athena’s guards and walked back to his own Villa. Yet there was a part of his brain that assessed the situation, gave out a warning signal. What were all those guards doing around? But, shit, she was a movie star and that experience with Boz Skannet must have scared the hell out of her.
He used his key to get into the Villa, it seemed to be deserted, everyone was at the party. He had more than an hour to get ready to receive Cross. He went to his suitcase and unlocked it. There was his Glock, gleaming, wiped clean of oil. He opened his other suitcase, which had a secret pocket. In there was the bullet-filled magazine. He put them together, put on a shoulder holster and tucked the gun inside. He was all set. He noted that he was not nervous, he was never nervous in these situations. That was what made him a good cop.
Losey left the bedroom and walked into the kitchen. There were sure a lot of hallways in this Villa. From the refrigerator, he took a bottle of imported beer and a tray of canapés. He crumbled one with his teeth. Caviar. He gave a little sigh of pleasure, he had never tasted anything so delicious. This was the way to live. This was his for the rest of his life, the caviar, the showgirls, maybe some day Athena. He just had to do his job tonight.
Carrying the tray and bottle, he went into the huge living room.
The first thing that startled him was that the floor and the furniture were covered with plastic sheeting, giving the whole room a ghostly white glow. And then, seated in a plastic-covered armchair, was a man smoking a thin cigar and holding a glass of peach brandy. It was Lia Vazzi.
Losey thought, What the fuck is this? He put the tray and bottle on the coffee table and said to Lia, “I’ve been looking for you.”
Lia puffed his cigar, took a sip of brandy. “And now you’ve found me,” he said. He stood up. “Now you can slap me again.”
Losey was too experienced a man not to be alert. He was putting things together. He had wondered why the other apartments in the Villa were vacant, it had struck him as strange. He casually unbuttoned his jacket and grinned at Lia. More than a slap this time, he thought. It would be an hour before Dante arrived with Cross, he could work while waiting. Now that he was armed, he had no fear of being one-on-one with Lia.
Suddenly there was a flood of men in the room. They seeped in from the kitchen, the connecting foyer, from the video/TV room. They were all bigger than Jim Losey. Only two of them had drawn guns.
Losey said to them, “You know I’m a cop?”
“We all know that,” Lia said in a reassuring voice. He stepped closer to Losey. At the same time, the two men pressed their guns against Losey’s back.
Lia flipped his hand inside Losey’s jacket and came out holding the Glock. He handed it to one of the men and then gave Losey a quick pat-down.
“Now,” Lia said, “you always had so many questions to ask. Here I am. Ask.”
Losey still had no real fear. He was just worried that Dante would arrive with Cross. He could not believe that a