“I once had a client who was in business with him, who murmured a word about him from time to time. He enjoyed telling stories about the old days. The guy died earlier this year, but apparently he had mentioned me to Sturmack. That’s how he knew who to call about you. Now I’ve got a question for you.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“How the hell did you impress Sturmack so much in so short a time? I mean, I know you a lot better than he does, and I’m not all that impressed.”
“Thanks. The whole thing is a mystery to me. The only person Sturmack and I have in common is Vance Calder, and Calder and I have never had any dealings.”
“Maybe not, but Calder probably heard a lot about you on the pillow.”
“He did say that Arrington had told him a lot about me, but still…”
“Well, I think you ought to grab the opportunity, pal, and we’ll back you up over here, but the name of Woodman and Weld is never going to appear on any piece of paper that goes from here to you to Sturmack. Do we understand each other?”
“Yeah, but I haven’t taken him on yet. He seems like the kind of guy who might tend to monopolize my time; right now I have a lot of independence, but if I find myself working full time for him, then I’m no longer self-employed.”
“I get your drift, and you’re smart to think that way.”
“Something else that bothers me: he says he does some, not a lot, of business in New York—some real estate, a couple of restaurants—but he also says his present lawyers billed over a million a year from him. That doesn’t quite add up, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t; if he’s spending a million a year on lawyers, he’s either doing a lot of business in the city, or he’s in a lot of trouble here. I’d raise the question, if I were you.”
“I will. He also says that I’ll have investment opportunities in my dealings with him.”
“I’d be real careful about that, boy; you’re liable to end up in front of a grand jury or a congressional committee. Whatever the investment is, make sure it’s squeaky clean.”
“Well, I don’t know yet if I’m even going to take him on. What kind of name is Sturmack, anyway?”
“He’s a Swedish Jew, if you can believe that.”
“I guess there are Jews everywhere. Why not Swedish?”
“Why not indeed. The way I hear it, Sturmack’s grandfather was a big wholesale fish dealer in Stockholm, and his son, Moe, got into big trouble, maybe even killed somebody, and had to flee the country. He ended up in New York, and through some family connection met Meyer Lansky; it was apparently love at first sight.”
“By the way, there was another guy at dinner who struck me as a little odd, name of Onofrio Ippolito. That ring any bells?”
“He’s a banker, that’s all I know; straight arrow, I’m told.”
“Funny, he looked more like a mob guy.”
“Stone, you were a cop too long. Not everybody with an Italian name is mobbed up.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Now tell me, what are you doing in L.A.?”
“Oh, I’m doing a part in a movie.”
“You’re what?”
“I had a screen test yesterday, and I passed. I’m apparently the town’s hottest new discovery.”
“Okay, you’re obviously not going to tell me what’s going on, so I’ll go now.”
“I kid you not, Bill,” Stone said, but Eggers had already hung up.
Stone had a shower and ordered some breakfast, and when the waiter arrived, Stone noticed a fat envelope on the living room coffee table. He opened it and found a script. Well, he had some work to do, he thought.
He went over his lines for the next hour, then the phone rang.