partying and get a job. Mike didn't listen, so old Joel Devine stopped giving
him money.'
'So where does Mike Devine get his money now?' I asked.
'He's been borrowing lots of money - from banks, from people he knows,
from everywhere. That's what people are saying. Now he's head over heels in
debt,' Toni replied. 'Now, do you want to hear about Gail Lane next?'
'Yes, please,' I said as the waiter brought our food. Toni had seafood and
rice, and I had lobster.
Toni ate her lunch and told me Gail's story.
'Gail's interesting,' she said. 'You know about her friendship with Mike
Devine, of course. I think that he's been borrowing money from her too. That's
one thing. You'd think that it would be easy for me to find out lots of other
things about a movie star. But it wasn't easy! Nobody knows much about her.
Gail became a star quite recently. Before that, she certainly spent time with
gangsters. I'll tell you more about that in a minute. But some people say that
recently she's also been involved with a US Senator - Senator Theo Z.
Democrates.'
I knew about Senator Democrates. He was from a Greek family. He was
single - he had never married. And he was one of the most powerful men in the
government. He was the chairman of an important government committee. He
was also multimillionaire.
'Mmm, that's interesting,' I said. 'Democrates is an honest man, but he has a
reputation for ruthlessness. And a lot of ruthless people work for him.'
I ate my lobster thoughtfully. Some things were beginning to become clear.
'Vincent Calab was the third name,' Toni said, 'and I expect you know a lot
about him already. He's a ruthless man too! He's a gangster from Chicago who
moved here ten years ago and got involved with the movie industry. People say
that he has been laundering money. They say he invests illegal money - stolen
money - in movies. When the movies make a profit, he gets his money back,
and then the money is legal. Lots of criminals do that kind of thing. Hollywood
could be a good place to do money-laundering. Making movies takes a lot of
money.'
'Yeah, I see what you mean,' I said.
'Calab's an unpleasant man,' Toni went on. 'He's a madman. He's very
L. A. Movie by Philip Prowse
38
violent. He kills anyone who works against him. But the police have never been
able to charge him with any crime. He's really very dangerous, because he isn't
quite sane. Some people call him Mad Vince. I hope you're not getting involved
with him, Lenny.'
'No,' I replied. 'But I think Gail Lane was innocently involved with him some
years ago.'
'Yes,' Toni said. 'I heard about that too. Stay away from Calab, Lenny. He's a
very bad guy.'
I didn't reply. I was thinking about the 'visitors' who had searched my office.
I thought they were the two heavies that Costas had told me about. And I also
thought they might be Calab's men. Perhaps I was involved with him, whether I
liked it or not.
We finished eating. I thanked Toni for her help and asked if I could borrow
her mobile phone. I dialled Mike Devine's number and this time I got a reply.
'Come to the apartment, will you!" Mike said. 'I need your help.'
Toni and I sat and talked for a little while longer. Then, as usual, we argued
over who was going to pay for the meal. As usual, Toni won the argument. She
was still sitting at the table when I left Pastroudi's. She was lovely. Perhaps I
had made a mistake when I chose boxing, I thought. A big mistake!
L. A. Movie by Philip Prowse
39
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