The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
69
It was Clemenza. The fat man’s voice came wheezing over the phone in gruntlike 
gasps. “You hear about your father?” he asked. 
“Yeah.” Sonny said. “But he’s not dead.” There was a long pause over the phone and 
then Clemenza’s voice came packed with emotion, “Thank God, thank God.” Then 
anxiously, “You sure? I got word he was dead in the street.” 
“He’s alive,” Sonny said. He was listening intently to every intonation in Clemenza’s 
voice. The emotion had seemed genuine but it was part of the fat man’s profession to be 
a good actor. 
“You’ll have to carry the ball, Sonny,” Clemenza said “What do you want me to do?” 
“Get over to my father’s house,” Sonny said. “Bring Paulie Gatto.” 
“That’s all?” Clemenza asked. “Don’t you want me to send some people to the hospital 
and your place?” 
“No, I just want you and Paulie Gatto,” Sonny said. There was a long pause. Clemenza 
was getting the message. To make it a little more natural, Sonny asked, “Where the hell 
was Paulie anyway? What the hell was he doing?” 
There was no longer any wheezing on the other end of the line. Clemenza’s voice was 
guarded. “Paulie was sick, he had a cold, so he stayed home. He’s been a little sick all 
winter.” 
Sonny was instantly alert. “How many times did he stay home the last couple of 
months?” 
“Maybe three or four times,” Clemenza said. “I always asked Freddie if he wanted 
another guy but he said no. There’s been no cause, the last ten years things been 
smooth, you know.” 
“Yeah,” Sonny said. “I’ll see you at my father’s house. Be sure you bring Paulie. Pick 
him up on your way over. I don’t care how sick he is. You got that?” He slammed down 
the phone without waiting for an answer. 
His wife was weeping silently. He stared at her for a moment, then said in a harsh voice, 
“Any of our people call, tell them to get me in my father’s house on his special phone. 
Anybody else call, you don’t know nothing. If Tom’s wife calls, tell her that Tom won’t be 
home for a while, he’s on business.” 
He pondered for a moment. “A couple of our people will come to stay here.” He saw her 

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