The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
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deal. At eight tonight he and Captain McCluskey pick up Mike in front of Jack 
Dempsey’s bar on Broadway. They go someplace to talk, and get this. Mike and 
Sollozzo talk in Italian so that the Irish cop don’t know what the hell they are talking 
about. He even tells me, don’t worry, he knows McCluskey doesn’t know one word in 
Italian unless it’s ‘soldi’ and he’s checked you out, Mike, and knows you can understand 
Sicilian dialect.” 
Michael said dryly, “I’m pretty rusty but we won’t talk long.” 
Tom Hagen said, “We don’t let Mike go until we have the negotiator. Is that arranged?” 
Clemenza nodded. “The negotiator is at my house playing pinochle with three of my 
men. They wait for a call from me before they let him go.” 
Sonny sank back in the leather armchair. “Now how the hell do we find out the meeting 
place? Tom, we’ve got informers with the Tattaglia Family, how come they haven’t given 
us the word?” 
Hagen shrugged. “Sollozzo is really damn smart. He’s playing this close to the vest, so 
close that he’s not using any men as a cover. He figures the captain will be enough and 
that security is more important than guns. He’s right too. We’ll have to put a tail on Mike 
and hope for the best.” 
Sonny shook his head. “Nah, anybody can lose a tail when they really want to. That’s 
the first thing they’ll check out.” 
By this time it was five in the afternoon. Sonny, with a worried look on his face, said, 
“Maybe we should just let Mike blast whoever is in the car when it tries to pick him up.” 
Hagen shook his head. “What if Sollozzo is not in the car? We’ve tipped our hand for 
nothing. Damn it, we have to find out where Sollozzo is taking him.” 
Clemenza put in, “Maybe we should start trying to figure why lie’s making it such a big 
secret.” 
Michael said impatiently, “Because it’s the percentage. Why should he let us know 
anything if he can prevent it? Besides, he smells danger. He must be leery as hell even 
with that police captain for his shadow.” 
Hagen snapped his fingers. “That detective, that guy Phillips. Why don’t you give him a 
ring, Sonny? Maybe he can find out where the hell the captain can be reached. It’s 
worth a try. McCluskey won’t give a damn who knows where he’s going.” 

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