The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
102
enough nobody stopped him until he reached the nurses’ station on the fourth floor. But 
he strode right past her query and on to his father’s room. There was no one outside the 
door. Where the hell were the two detectives who were supposed to be waiting around 
to guard and question the old man? Where the hell were Tessio and Clemenza’s 
people? Could there be someone inside the room? But the door was open. Michael 
went in. There was a figure in the bed and by the December moonlight straining through 
the window Michael could see his father’s face. Even now it was impassive, the chest 
heaved shallowly with his uneven breath. Tubes hung from steel gallows beside the bed 
and ran into his nose. On the floor was a glass jar receiving the poisons emptied from 
his stomach by other tubes. Michael stayed there for a few moments to make sure his 
father was all right, then backed out of the room. 
He told the nurse, “My name is Michael Corleone, I just want to sit with my father. What 
happened to the detectives who were supposed to be guarding him?” 
The nurse was a pretty young thing with a great deal of confidence in the power of her 
office. “Oh, your father just had too many visitors, it interfered with the hospital service,” 
she said. “The police came and made them all leave about ten minutes ago. And then 
just five minutes ago I had to call the detectives to the phone for an emergency alarm 
from their headquarters, and then they left too. But don’t worry, I look in on your father 
often and I can hear any sound from his room. That’s why we leave the doors open.” 
“Thank you,” Michael said. “I’ll sit with him for a little while. OK?” 
She smiled at him. “Just for a little bit and then I’m afraid you’ll have to leave. It’s the 
rules, you know.” 
Michael went back into his father’s room. He took the phone from its cradle and got the 
hospital operator to give him the house in Long Beach, the phone in the corner office 
room. Sonny answered. Michael whispered, “Sonny, I’m down at the hospital, I came 
down late. Sonny, there’s nobody here. None of Tessio’s people. No detectives at the 
door. The old man was completely unprotected.” His voice was trembling. 
There was a long silence and then Sonny’s voice came, low and impressed, “This is 
Sollozzo’s move you were talking about.” 
Michael said, “That’s what I figured too. But how did he get the cops to clear everybody 
out and where did they go? What happened to Tessio’s men? Jesus Christ, has that 
bastard Sollozzo got the New York Police Department in his pocket too?” 
“Take it easy, kid.” Sonny’s voice was soothing. “We got lucky again with you going to 

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