The Bad and the Beautiful by Jamie Craig

Author:Jamie Craig [Craig, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Published: 2020-02-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Vincent wasn’t surprised when he received the order. As soon as he turned the evidence over to the boss, he knew what the response would be. Two different people had told him that they witnessed Johnny and Sal entering the home of Paul Rossellini on two different occasions. The second occasion had been the very morning of their attempted attack on David. That alone wasn’t enough to rub Rossellini out, but it was enough to encourage Vincent to continue his investigation.

The damning piece of evidence came from an old friend of Vincent’s. Eddie Stuart was known in Vegas for continuing the fine tradition of kidnapping that sprung up thirty years earlier in Chicago and perfected there by Curly Humphries. He was contacted by Paul Rossellini and offered a contract, but instead of carrying it out, he wisely called Vincent. Jimmy’s instincts had been accurate, as they so often were. And the only thing that trumped Eddie’s greed was his sense of survival. If it hadn’t been for that, Eddie would have kidnapped Kate Ennis from her new home right under Jimmy’s nose.

There was simply no other option after the boss learned that. Vincent’s orders were direct, simple, and urgent. Rossellini would learn by the end of the night that he had been double-crossed. The only way to ensure that Eddie wouldn’t die for his betrayal was to make sure Rossellini didn’t live long enough to discover it. Vincent only had a small window to do the job, but if anybody in Vegas could pull it off, it was him. That was why the Outfit had made sure to install him in their all-important Las Vegas experiment. If the Thunderbird thrived, that would open the door to allow much larger and more ambitious casinos.

Rossellini maintained several residences in Las Vegas, including a penthouse at the top of the Flamingo. It wouldn’t be impossible to get up to the penthouse, rub Rossellini out, and sneak back downstairs, but it certainly wasn’t preferable. A discreet call to the front desk confirmed that Rossellini had instructed the night manager that he was lending his penthouse to “a certain Hollywood contact.” Vincent didn’t ask for the contact’s name, but judging from the tone of the revelation, Vincent would definitely be impressed if he knew.

Rossellini’s home on Jessica Avenue wasn’t large enough, or ostentatious enough, to be called a mansion, but it was clear that he was a man with his own type of power. And a man with aspirations for more. He had a history with the Outfit, though Vincent had only met him twice before. He had never been a formal member of the organization, just flitted around the edges. He had been a union buster until he realized that there was a better, more lucrative racket to dabble in. Policy numbers—gambling. He did most of his work at the racetrack, but everybody knew that the skim was better at a casino. Not just better. Beyond anything he would have experienced before. The numbers might not have even made real sense to him.

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