raised his head, then she'd wipe down his back, Jimmy grunting and moaning while Gloria worked on him with the ice-cold towel, her tits coming out of the swimsuit. The second time she wiped him down Gloria looked this way, at the Zip hunched over in the lawn chair close to Jimmy, and winked at him.
It told the Zip Gloria was on some kind of drug or she wasn't as afraid of Jimmy as she ought to be. She didn't seem to care if Nicky, the punk bodyguard, saw her fooling around either. They were about the same age. Nicky had light-brown frizzy hair and liked to pose, show off his build he worked on with weights. The Zip would catch the punk and Gloria grinning at each other and was positive the punk was fucking her.
Sitting there in the sun, the Zip tried to imagine the girlfriend of any of the old-time bosses giving the eye to some guy that worked for them. Those people back then, Luciano, Costello, Joe Adonis, were respected because they had proved on the way up they were men and you better not fuck with them. Jimmy Cap was a different story: next in line to a boss that got shot in the back of the head. Whether Jimmy had it done or not, he was in the right place at the right time and now ran the show here. Extortion, shylocking, girls, some heroin, restaurant and bar supply companies, the same old stuff while the Latinos and the jigs were making all the money in South Florida. The Zip said to Jimmy one time, "Colored kids selling product on the street corners do better than your guys." He told Jimmy he should be moving crack as well as heroin and Jimmy said it wasn't his line. He said let the Latinos and the jigs kill each other over it. See? Nothing you hadn't heard before ever came out of him. Most of the time excuses, reasons to keep from having to get up off his butt.
Jimmy telling the Zip now, the Zip hunched down close so he could hear the man talking into his shoulder, "We have to get another guy to step in there and run Harry's book. Even so, we're going to lose some of his players, business Harry built up, personal relationships. There's nothing we can do about that."
It was as true as anything he ever said.
"Or find Harry. Either way you want to do it."
The Zip, perspiring, trying to protect the crease in his trousers, asked Jimmy what he knew about Harry Arno outside of he was from here originally and had lived in Chicago at one time. Jimmy didn't know much more than that. The Zip asked if Harry had a girlfriend and Jimmy said, "Yeah, talk to her, Joyce Patton. And go see the ex-wife again, she might know something."
"Once was enough with the wife," the Zip said. "I can see why Harry left her. She was Family up there at one time in Palos Heights. I'll tell you something, it's harder to check on anybody that lives in that place now or used to, that Palos Heights, than anywhere I ever been. No, the main thing," the Zip said, and paused. "First I want to know, you giving me the sports book to run?"
"What I said was I want you to handle this matter. That's all I said."
"And I want to know, I'm in this, I get it straightened out, are you giving me the sports book or not?"
"Okay, handle it and you can run the book."
"You said before to handle it and you send this guy catches fish to do the job. Guy from the Lake."
"Hey, Tommy? Handle it, okay? It's yours."
"And I have the sports book?"
"Jesus Christ -- yeah, it's yours."
"People in that business," the Zip said, "they gonna see what happens they try and skim on me. Harry's gonna be found dead. Found dead in the ocean or in the swamp or he runs away someplace, to Mexico, I don't care where he is, Harry's gonna be found dead. Am I right?"
Jimmy said, "What?" into his shoulder.
"I say he's gonna be found dead."
Jimmy raised his head to squint at the Zip's face. "Your nose is getting burnt." He kept staring and said, "You got a big fucking nose, you know it? I mean looking just at your face." He said, "Gloria? Come over here. Tell me who Tommy looks
It told the Zip Gloria was on some kind of drug or she wasn't as afraid of Jimmy as she ought to be. She didn't seem to care if Nicky, the punk bodyguard, saw her fooling around either. They were about the same age. Nicky had light-brown frizzy hair and liked to pose, show off his build he worked on with weights. The Zip would catch the punk and Gloria grinning at each other and was positive the punk was fucking her.
Sitting there in the sun, the Zip tried to imagine the girlfriend of any of the old-time bosses giving the eye to some guy that worked for them. Those people back then, Luciano, Costello, Joe Adonis, were respected because they had proved on the way up they were men and you better not fuck with them. Jimmy Cap was a different story: next in line to a boss that got shot in the back of the head. Whether Jimmy had it done or not, he was in the right place at the right time and now ran the show here. Extortion, shylocking, girls, some heroin, restaurant and bar supply companies, the same old stuff while the Latinos and the jigs were making all the money in South Florida. The Zip said to Jimmy one time, "Colored kids selling product on the street corners do better than your guys." He told Jimmy he should be moving crack as well as heroin and Jimmy said it wasn't his line. He said let the Latinos and the jigs kill each other over it. See? Nothing you hadn't heard before ever came out of him. Most of the time excuses, reasons to keep from having to get up off his butt.
Jimmy telling the Zip now, the Zip hunched down close so he could hear the man talking into his shoulder, "We have to get another guy to step in there and run Harry's book. Even so, we're going to lose some of his players, business Harry built up, personal relationships. There's nothing we can do about that."
It was as true as anything he ever said.
"Or find Harry. Either way you want to do it."
The Zip, perspiring, trying to protect the crease in his trousers, asked Jimmy what he knew about Harry Arno outside of he was from here originally and had lived in Chicago at one time. Jimmy didn't know much more than that. The Zip asked if Harry had a girlfriend and Jimmy said, "Yeah, talk to her, Joyce Patton. And go see the ex-wife again, she might know something."
"Once was enough with the wife," the Zip said. "I can see why Harry left her. She was Family up there at one time in Palos Heights. I'll tell you something, it's harder to check on anybody that lives in that place now or used to, that Palos Heights, than anywhere I ever been. No, the main thing," the Zip said, and paused. "First I want to know, you giving me the sports book to run?"
"What I said was I want you to handle this matter. That's all I said."
"And I want to know, I'm in this, I get it straightened out, are you giving me the sports book or not?"
"Okay, handle it and you can run the book."
"You said before to handle it and you send this guy catches fish to do the job. Guy from the Lake."
"Hey, Tommy? Handle it, okay? It's yours."
"And I have the sports book?"
"Jesus Christ -- yeah, it's yours."
"People in that business," the Zip said, "they gonna see what happens they try and skim on me. Harry's gonna be found dead. Found dead in the ocean or in the swamp or he runs away someplace, to Mexico, I don't care where he is, Harry's gonna be found dead. Am I right?"
Jimmy said, "What?" into his shoulder.
"I say he's gonna be found dead."
Jimmy raised his head to squint at the Zip's face. "Your nose is getting burnt." He kept staring and said, "You got a big fucking nose, you know it? I mean looking just at your face." He said, "Gloria? Come over here. Tell me who Tommy looks
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