I explained to Nat – we had become ‘Nat’ and ‘Eddie’ – about the problem Judy Garland was having – without going into too much detail – and what we were planning to do to help her. I told him I needed somebody to keep an eye on her, and asked if he had an operative we could trust.
‘I’ve got just the man,’ he said. ‘In fact, he was here working on a case, but he’s from the Vegas office. Where are you staying?’
‘The Beverly Hills Hotel.’ I didn’t know Double-A had a Vegas office, but didn’t care where the man came from as long as he was good.
‘Expense account?’ he asked.
‘Frank Sinatra’s footing the bill.’
He whistled. ‘You have important friends, Eddie.’
‘As I understand it from Danny, Nat,’ I said, ‘so do you.’
‘So where and when do you want my guy?’
‘Outside of Judy’s house,’ I said, ‘as soon as possible.’
‘You got it.’
‘I appreciate this.’
‘You’ll get my bill, Eddie.’
He told me the operative’s name and said I could call him again if I needed any further help. Danny was right. He was a good guy.
Jerry was hungry, which was no great shock, so we walked down the street to a small diner, rather than eat in the hotel where I might run into somebody I knew. I’d been around enough celebrities over the past few years that it wasn’t a stretch to think that one of them would come in to go to the Polo Lounge and recognize me.
‘We coulda gone someplace better,’ Jerry commented. ‘Like maybe the Brown Derby?’
‘Not right now, Jerry,’ I said. ‘The point is just to get something into our stomachs. This place is good enough.’
‘I can go to a diner in Brooklyn,’ he groused, but he sat down across from me in a booth.
A waitress came over, took drink orders and left us to read the menus. I looked out the window at the foot traffic on Sunset.
‘Hey,’ Jerry said, ‘I wonder if we’re anyplace near Seventy-Seven Sunset Strip? That’s one of my favorite shows. I really get a kick out of Kookie.’
‘We can’t be.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because it’s not a real address.’
‘It ain’t?’ He seemed disappointed.
I shook my head. I didn’t tell him I knew where the real address was.
‘Well,’ Jerry said, ‘can we drive up and down the Strip and look for Dino’s Lodge?’ He leaned forward. ‘That’s real, ain’t it?’
‘Yeah, Dino’s Lodge is real.’
‘Mr Martin owns it, right?’
‘No, not quite,’ I said. ‘See, after Dean and Jerry split, Jerry’s first movie was a hit. Dean’s, though, it was a flop. He fell on some hard times and needed money, so he sold his name to the owners of Dino’s Lodge.’
‘Mr Martin was broke?’
‘It happens to everybody at one time or another, Jerry,’ I said. ‘What are you gonna have?’ I hoped he’d forget the idea about driving up and down the Strip, looking for Dino’s.
‘The meat loaf looks good,’ he said.
I cringed. When the waitress came, he ordered the meat loaf and asked for a double portion. She said she’d have to charge extra, and he said he didn’t care. She shrugged, obviously feeling the same way. I ordered an open-faced roast beef sandwich with wet fries.
She frowned and asked, ‘What the heck are wet fries?’
‘It’s a Brooklyn thing,’ Jerry told her.
‘Put the same brown gravy from the roast beef on the French fries, too,’ I said. ‘Wet fries.’
‘Hmph,’ she said, and wrote it down.
As she left, Jerry leaned forward and said, ‘She’s gonna ask if she can have one when she brings ’em.’
‘No, she won’t,’ I said.
He sat back, a bemused smile on his face.
‘So where are we gonna start?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know,’ I said, honestly. ‘You know, every time I get pulled into somethin’ like this by the guys, I tell ’em I’m not a detective.’
‘Mr G.,’ Jerry said, ‘you’re a better detective than most detectives I know. Even your friend the Dick says that’s so.’
‘Yeah, maybe,’ I said.
The waitress returned and set our platters down in front of us. When she didn’t leave, I looked up at her. She had a tired look that aged her, making her appear fifty when she was probably forty. But at the moment there was a look of interest there, as well.
‘You mind if I try one?’ she asked.
I looked at Jerry, who smiled.
‘Go ahead.’
She took an extra fork from among the straws in her apron and actually speared two of my wet fries. She stuck them in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
‘Hey,’ she said, nodding. ‘Not bad. Wet fries, huh?’
‘Wet fries,’ I said.
‘Well,’ she said, ‘both of you, enjoy.’
‘Mr G.… ’ Jerry said, and I knew he was going to ask me again what our first move would be.
‘Just eat, Jerry,’ I said. ‘We’ll talk later.’