The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
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photo of his father lying in the street, his head in a pool of blood. A man was sitting on 
the curb weeping like a child. It was his brother Freddie. Michael Corleone felt his body 
turning to ice. There was no grief, no fear, just cold rage. He said to Kay, “Go up to the 
room.” But he had to take her by the arm and lead her into the elevator. They rode up 
together in silence. In their room, Michael sat down on the bed and opened the paper. 
The headlines said, VITO CORLEONE SHOT. ALLEGED RACKET CHIEF CRITICALLY 
WOUNDED. OPERATED ON UNDER HEAVY POLICE GUARD. BLOODY MOB WAR 
FEARED. 
Michael felt the weakness in his legs. He said to Kay, “He’s not dead, the bastards didn’t 
kill him.” He read the story again. His father had been shot at five in the afternoon. That 
meant that while he had been making love to Kay, having dinner, enjoying the theater, 
his father was near death. Michael felt sick with guilt. 
Kay said, “Shall we go down to the hospital now?” 
Michael shook his head. “Let me call the house first. The people who did this are crazy 
and now that the old man’s still alive they’ll be desperate. Who the hell knows what 
they’ll pull next.” 
Both phones in the Long Beach house were busy and it was almost twenty minutes 
before Michael could get through. He heard Sonny’s voice saying, “Yeah.” 
“Sonny, it’s me,” Michael said. 
He could hear the relief in Sonny’s voice. “Jesus, kid, you had us worried. Where the 
hell are you? I’ve sent people to that hick town of yours to see what happened.” 
“How’s the old man?” Michael said. “How bad is he hurt?” 
“Pretty bad,” Sonny said. “They shot him five times. But he’s tough.” Sonny’s voice was 
proud. “The doctors said he’ll pull through. Listen, kid, I’m busy, I can’t talk, where are 
you?” 
“In New York,” Michael said. “Didn’t Tom tell you I was coming down?” 
Sonny’s voice dropped a little. “They’ve snatched Tom. That’s why I was worried about 
you. His wife is here. She don’t know and neither do the cops. I don’t want them to 
know. The bastards who pulled this must be crazy. I want you to get out here right away 
and keep your mouth shut. OK?” 
“OK,” Mike said, “do you know who did it?” 

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