Free Fly Me to the Morgue by Robert J. Randisi Page A

time we use it.’
    He grinned and said, ‘OK.’
    I went to the front desk and found a message there from Danny. I went to a phone and called his office. Penny answered.
    â€˜He’s been waiting for your call, Eddie,’ she said. ‘I’ll put you through.’
    â€˜Eddie?’
    â€˜What’s up, Danny?’
    â€˜How was your meetin’ with the horse guy?’
    â€˜Not good,’ I said. ‘When we got there he was dead.’
    â€˜What? Tell me.’
    I explained, told him we called the cops after a lot of procrastination, and then relayed to him our conversation with them.
    â€˜They let you go?’ he said, when I was done.
    â€˜Yeah, they don’t know our history, yet,’ I said. ‘And they were pretty respectful to Bing.’
    â€˜This isn’t good, Eddie.’
    â€˜Don’t I know it.’
    â€˜Well, you don’t know the half of it.’
    â€˜Whataya mean?’
    â€˜I found your trainer, Red Stanley.’
    â€˜Where?’
    â€˜In a hotel room.’
    â€˜What the hell—’
    â€˜He’s dead, Eddie,’ Danny said. ‘He’s dead, too.’
    Danny came to the Sands so we could talk face-to-face. We decided on drinks in the lounge.
    We sat at the bar and each had a beer.
    â€˜Did you call the cops?’ I asked.
    â€˜Oh, yeah,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a license to protect.’
    â€˜OK,’ I said, ‘tell it to me from the beginning . . .’
    Danny started at the airport.
    He found what flight Red Stanley came in on, what gate the passengers would have disembarked through, then talked to ticket agents, flight attendants, baggage handlers, security people, other than Ted Silver. Outside he talked to cab drivers, and one of them said he saw a man who matched Stanley’s description.
    â€˜He came out the front, carrying his suitcase,’ the driver said. His name was Frankie. ‘I was next in line, but instead of coming to my cab he got into another car.’
    â€˜He got in on his own?’
    â€˜No,’ the driver said. ‘Another man came up alongside him, they talked for a minute, and then the sedan pulled up. And they both got in.’
    â€˜Did you see a gun?’
    â€˜A what?’
    â€˜Could the other man have had a gun?’
    The driver thought then said, ‘I suppose he could have. Yeah, out of sight, like. Maybe jammed into the guy’s side? Was it a kidnapping?’ he asked. ‘Did I see a kidnapping?’
    â€˜Maybe,’ Danny said. ‘Did you see which way the sedan went?’
    â€˜It just pulled away from the curb and kept going.’
    â€˜Toward town?’
    â€˜That’s what it looked like.’
    Danny handed the man a fiver and said, ‘Thanks. Could you pass the word to other drivers? Maybe somebody saw the sedan arrive at its destination, saw the two men get out? Funny lookin’ little guy with big ears? Fiver in it for them, too.’
    â€˜I’ll pass the word,’ the driver said. ‘You ain’t a cop, are ya? You’re private.’
    â€˜That’s right.’
    â€˜I’ll pass the word.’
    â€˜If I get somethin’ today, there’ll be a ten in it for them and for you.’
    â€˜Right, boss.’
    Danny gave the cab driver his number, then drove to his office to tell Penny not to leave.
    â€˜We’ve got cab drivers all over the city lookin’ for this guy,’ he told her. ‘If he went to a hotel – willingly or unwillingly – we’ll find out.’
    â€˜You think he was taken?’
    â€˜Yeah,’ he said. ‘The Sands didn’t send a car for him. And he’s a stranger in town. The only reason he wouldn’t take a cab is if he couldn’t.’
    â€˜What if he’s a regular at one of the other casinos and they sent a car for him? Do you know for certain he’s a stranger to Vegas?’
    Danny