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the past had shown a healthy, handsome, well-built man. This man was scrawny, at best.
    â€˜I know,’ Hughes said to me, ‘I look like shit, but don’t worry, I clean up good.’ I knew he was from Southern Texas, but there was only a slight accent. I’d heard recordings of his voice, seen him in newsreels. There was a time his voice was strong and clear. The voice I was hearing now was a little shaky.
    â€˜I’m sure you do, sir.’
    â€˜Never mind,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t matter how I look – or smell.’
    I hadn’t noticed until he mentioned it but there was an … unpleasant musk in the air.
    â€˜Thank you for coming to see me,’ Hughes said. ‘You’ll be wanting to know why, I’m sure.’
    â€˜I’m curious, yeah,’ I said. ‘Mr Maheu wasn’t very … informative.’
    â€˜That’s because Maheu doesn’t know why I wanted to see you,’ Hughes said. ‘He only knows what I want him to know, and what I want him to tell the public.’
    â€˜I see.’
    â€˜Eddie – can I call you Eddie?’
    â€˜Sure, why not?’
    â€˜Eddie, I need your help.’
    â€˜What makes you think I can help you?’
    â€˜Vegas is your town,’ Hughes said. ‘I need somebody who knows this town in and out. That’s you.’
    â€˜Is that what you’ve been told?’
    â€˜It’s what I know from all the information I’ve gathered,’ Hughes said.
    I turned my head and looked at the television screen. There was a game show on, one I didn’t recognize.
    â€˜What have you found out, exactly?’
    â€˜So you want a brief history?’ he asked. ‘About Brooklyn, your brother … your father?’
    â€˜We can skip all that,’ I said. ‘Why don’t you start with when I got to Vegas.’
    â€˜There’s no need to go that far back, either,’ he said. ‘You’re the man everyone comes to when they need something in Vegas. The mob, Hollywood, gamblers, they all know who Eddie G. is.’
    â€˜I think you’re giving me more credit than I deserve?’ I said.
    â€˜Not when Momo Giancana and Frank Sinatra consider you a vital … friend. Not to mention the Kennedy clan.’
    I almost said, ‘I see,’ again, but instead I kept quiet. Let the billionaire naked man come to the point on his own, I thought.
    â€˜Not that I am friends with either of them,’ he went on, ‘but no matter. Their opinions matter to me – at least in this instance.’
    â€˜And what instance would that be?’
    â€˜I’m thinking of coming into Vegas in a big way.’
    â€˜A big way?’
    â€˜Yes,’ Hughes said, ‘I want to buy some casinos.’
    â€˜Which ones did you have in mind?’ I was hoping he wasn’t going to say the Sands. Entratter would hit the ceiling with that news.
    â€˜That’s where I need your help,’ Hughes said.
    â€˜What can I tell you?’
    â€˜You can tell me which casinos are ripe to be taken over,’ he said.
    I laughed and said, ‘How would I know that?’
    â€˜Don’t be modest, Eddie,’ Hughes said. ‘When I check somebody out and decide that they’re my man, I don’t change my mind. I’ll pay you well for the information, of course.’
    â€˜Let me get this straight,’ I said. ‘All you want me to do is tell you which casinos you should try to buy?’
    â€˜That’s right,’ Hughes said, ‘and I understand how firmly entrenched the mob is in Vegas. I’m not trying to buck them. I’m just trying for a piece of the pie.’
    And knowing what I knew about Howard Hughes, that would have to be a big fucking piece.

EIGHT
    I sat quietly for a moment, mostly because I didn’t know exactly what to say.
    â€˜Look,’ Hughes said, ‘I know you’ve heard a lot of stories