In the half hour after the shooting of his father, Sonny Corleone received five
Phone calls in rapid succession. The first was from Detective John Phillips, who
Was on the family payroll and had been in the lead car of plainclothesmen at the
scene of the shooting. The first thing he said to Sonny over the phone was, "Do
you recognize my voice?"
2 "Yeah," Sonny said. He was fresh from a nap, called to the phone by his wife.
3 Phillips said quickly without preamble, "Somebody shot your father outside
His place. Fifteen minutes ago. He's alive but hurt bad. They've taken him to
French Hospital. They got your brother Freddie down at the Chelsea precinct. You
Better get him a doctor when they turn him loose. I'm going down to the hospital
now to help question your old man, if he can talk. I'll keep you posted."
Across the table, Sonny's wife Sandra noticed that her husband's face had
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gone red with flushing blood. His eyes were glazed over. She whispered, "What's
the matter?" He waved at her impatiently to shut up, swung his body away so that
his back was toward her and said into the phone, "You sure he's alive?"
5 "Yeah, I'm sure," the detective said. "A lot of blood but I think maybe he's not
as bad as he looks."
6 "Thanks, " Sonny said. "Be home tomorrow morning eight sharp. You got a
grand coming."
Sonny cradled the phone. He forced himself to sit still. He knew that his
Greatest weakness was his anger and this was one time when anger could be
Fatal. The first thing to do was get Tom Hagen. But before he could pick up the
Phone, it rang. The call was from the bookmaker licensed by the Family to
Operate in the district of the Don's office. The bookmaker had called to tell him
That the Don had been killed, shot dead in the street. After a few questions to
Make sure that the bookmaker's informant had not been close to the body, Sonny
Dismissed the information as incorrect. Phillips' dope would be more accurate.
The phone rang almost immediately a third time. It was a reporter from the Daily
News . As soon as he identified himself, Sonny Corleone hung up.
8 He dialed Hagen's house and asked Hagen's wife, "Did Tom come home yet?"
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She said, "No," that he was not due for another twenty minutes but she expected
home for supper. "Have him call me," Sonny said.
He tried to think things out. He tried to imagine how his father would react in a
Like situation. He had known immediately that this was an attack by Sollozzo, but
Sollozzo would never have dared to eliminate so high-ranking a leader as the Don
Unless he was backed by other powerful people. The phone, ringing for the fourth
Time, interrupted his thoughts. The voice on the other end was very soft, very
gentle. "Santino Corleone?" it asked.
10 "Yeah," Sonny said.
11 "We have Tom Hagen," the voice said. "In about three hours he'll be released
With our proposition. Don't do anything rash until you've heard what he has to
Say. You can only cause a lot of trouble. What's done is done. Everybody has to
be sensible now. Don't lose that famous temper of yours." The voice was slightly
Mocking. Sonny couldn't be sure, but it sounded like Sollozzo. He made his voice
sound muted, depressed. "I'll wait," he said. He heard the receiver on the other
End click. He looked at his heavy gold-banded wristwatch and noted the exact
Time of the call and jotted it down on the tablecloth.
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12 He sat at the kitchen table, frowning. His wife asked, "Sonny, what is it?" He
told her calmly, "They shot the old man." When he saw the shock on her face he
said roughly, "Don't worry, he's not dead. And nothing else is going to happen."
He did not tell her about Hagen. And then the phone rang for the fifth time.
It was Clemenza. The fat man's voice came wheezing over the phone in
gruntlike gasps. "You hear about your father?" he asked.
14 "Yeah," Sonny said. "But he's not dead." There was a long pause over the
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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."
15 "He's alive," Sonny said. He was listening intently to every intonation in
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