The Way You Die Tonight by Robert Randisi Page B

Jack, and Entratter will tell him it’s OK. Then he has to check with the players.’
    â€˜Well, they won’t say no to Edward G. Robinson, right?’ Jerry asked. ‘Rico?’
    â€˜I hope not,’ I said.
    â€˜So what do we got to do until then?’ Jerry asked. ‘Get somethin’ to eat?’
    It had been a few hours since breakfast, so I said, ‘Yeah, sure, let’s go downstairs and get something to eat.’
    He went to the Garden Café. I didn’t want to leave the building until I talked to Billy again. Or maybe I should have called Jack and suggested that he call Billy. No, that might make Billy think I was going over his head.
    He sat in a booth and Jerry started looking over the menu. It hadn’t changed since the last time he’d eaten there, but I let him look.
    â€˜Hey, Eddie G.,’ the waitress said. Her name was Lily, she’d been working there for about three months, which meant she’d never seen Jerry. ‘Who’s your big friend?’
    â€˜Jerry, meet Lily.’
    â€˜Hi,’ Jerry said.
    Lily was attractive, thirty-five or so, with red hair, green eyes and a very flirtatious manner. She turned up the heat on those eyes when she looked at Jerry.
    â€˜And what does Jerry want to drink?’ she asked, smiling at him.
    â€˜Coffee,’ he said. ‘But I’ll have a chocolate shake with my food.’
    â€˜OK,’ she said, ‘chocolate shake for the big guy.’ She looked at me.
    â€˜Iced tea.’
    â€˜Comin’ up.’
    She walked away and Jerry watched her hips sway.
    â€˜You like redheads?’ I asked.
    â€˜A lot.’
    â€˜She’s single and, supposedly, kind of wild.’
    â€˜Naw,’ Jerry said, turning his attention back to the menu. ‘I like red-headed whores.’
    â€˜Jerry … have you ever had a girl? I mean, a regular girlfriend?’
    â€˜Of course,’ he said. ‘A few. But it never ended well. So I stopped. Started using only whores. It works out better that way.’
    â€˜OK,’ I said. Far be it for me to try to change his mind from something that was working for him.
    â€˜How’s the meat loaf?’ he asked.

TWENTY-NINE
    W e finished eating – Jerry went for the meat loaf and liked it, I had a burger and fries. I wasn’t really hungry, and a burger was always my fall back meal. But we finished eating and I grew impatient, so I asked Lily to bring a phone to the table.
    â€˜I’m gonna call Billy now,’ I said to Jerry, dialing.
    â€˜You got your way,’ Billy said when he heard my voice. He wasn’t happy. ‘Entratter said to give you whatever you want.’
    â€˜Not me,’ I said, ‘Edward G. Robinson.’
    â€˜Whoever,’ he said. He gave me the room number and the time that the game would start, and slammed the phone down.
    â€˜He sounded mad from here,’ Jerry said.
    â€˜He’ll get over it,’ I said. ‘He hasn’t been working here that long.’
    â€˜Doesn’t know that you’re the man, huh?’
    â€˜You want dessert?’ I asked.
    â€˜Pie,’ he said.
    I waved Lily over and we both had cherry pie.
    â€˜After this,’ I said to him, ‘we’ll go up and see Mr Robinson.’
    â€˜That’ll be great,’ he said.
    Edward G. Robinson answered the door to his suite himself.
    â€˜Oh, good, Eddie G.,’ he said. ‘I was afraid it was that annoying girl the studio stuck me with.’
    â€˜Eddie, this is my friend, Jerry. Jerry, meet Edward G. Robinson.’
    â€˜Wow,’ Jerry said, ‘this is a real honor, Mr Robinson.’
    â€˜Well,’ Eddie Robinson said, shaking Jerry’s big paw, ‘you’re a big one, aren’t you? I could’ve used you in some of my earlier pictures.’
    â€˜Me? Really?’
    â€˜Come on in, both of you,’ Robinson said. ‘What’s on the agenda