‘You said it, Elle. Anyway, how do you know what they put in prisoners’ cocoa at night? Is that what you do with Albert?’ With a loud cackle, Julie turned and left, leaving a waft of perfume and nicotine in her wake.
‘I’d better go and flush the loo. I wish she wouldn’t drop her cigarettes down the toilet ... and don’t look so worried. You know Julie can’t leave without a parting shot about Tony.’ She looked at the suitcase on the bed. ‘Do you think that will be enough, Elle?’
‘How long did he say he was going for?’
‘He didn’t, and he isn’t even collecting it himself. He’s sending Mark for it. It must be important.’ She closed the case. ‘If he needs anything else, he will buy it.’ They were interrupted by a knock at the door. ‘That must be Mark now. Let him in, will you, Elle? He can carry this suitcase downstairs.’
CHAPTER 5
A GAMBLE IN PARADISE
Tony turning up at the casino caused a lot of curiosity amongst the staff. He rarely went there and if he did it was usually to give someone a scolding. All the staff looked up at him as he walked past them, secretly praying it wasn’t their turn to be on the receiving end of his anger.
Graham had left before them on a separate aeroplane. Tony didn’t want them all travelling together; that would look too suspicious. He knew he needed to tread carefully, but for the life of him he didn’t know why.
Tony’s men had already ordered the manager to vacate his office so that he could have his meeting in private. Walking into the office, Tony and Jake saw that Graham was already in there talking to the manager. ‘You can leave now,’ Tony said abruptly to the manager, who immediately cast him a glare for his rudeness. Holding out his hand to shake Graham’s, Tony looked up at the manager. ‘I thought I told you to leave.’ Fucking frogs; he thinks he owns the place, Tony thought, as he watched the man rise slowly from his chair and leave the room. ‘Thank you for coming, Graham, at such short notice. I know it was a big ask, but I need your help. Jake, pour us all a drink.’ Loosening his tie, Tony sat back in the chair and ran his hands through his hair. ‘Bloody hell, where do I start?’
‘What can I do to help you, Mr Lambrianu? It sounded very important on the telephone and you know I’ll always help if I can.’ After seeing the way the casino manager had been so rudely dismissed Graham was thankful that it wasn’t him Tony was all fired up about.
‘There is something going on at this casino. Suddenly, it seems to be losing money. It’s as though someone is stealing off us, if that is at all possible.’ Glancing up at Jake as he put the drinks on the table, Tony realised he wasn’t sure just how much to tell Graham.
‘When you say stealing, Mr Lambrianu, what exactly do you mean?’ Even Graham knew Tony well enough to know that if anyone was stealing off him, he didn’t need his help to sort it out. Tony’s reputation was renowned.
‘We think that maybe a group of chancers are coming in on a regular basis, possibly knowing how to play the tables. But they are winning and it’s too regular. I thought the house always won, Graham.’ Tony gave a weak smile. He picked up his drink and waited for some kind of response from Graham.
‘You mean you have a group of card counters targeting the casino?’ Graham was surprised that anyone would be stupid enough to come to Lambrianu’s to card count, knowing there would be serious consequences. ‘Card counting isn’t exactly illegal, Mr Lambrianu. It’s frowned upon, but it’s not illegal. Is there any talk from the other casinos in Paris? Normally if a gang is doing the rounds on a regular basis all the casinos share information. Obviously, there would be CCTV footage here of the same people coming and going on a regular basis and those people would also be on other casinos’ CCTV.’
‘It’s too regular. Not a one off. Regular and monthly. Personally, I would have thought if it was some professional gambler he would take his money and run, but not this lot, by all accounts.’
‘You’re allowed to ban anyone entering that you think is doing this but, as I said, it’s not illegal.’ Graham felt he had said more than enough. He could see Tony’s anger rising. His face was flushed and he was staring daggers at him.
‘Bloody hell, Tony. Why didn’t we think of that? This place is crammed full of CCTV cameras,’ said Jake.
A big grin appeared on Tony’s face. This, indeed, was the answer to their prayers. Standing up and walking around to where Graham sat, Tony cupped his face in his hands and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Bloody hell, Graham. I knew I could rely on you to think straight. Christ, Jake, we could have stayed in London and sorted all of this out from there.’
Blushing, Graham felt he should give more input. ‘There’ll be a lot of CCTV footage if, as you say, it’s been going on for a few months. Do you realise how many hours of tape that is?’ The very idea that they were going to plough through hours, days, weeks of recordings seemed absurd. ‘Just how bad is this, Mr Lambrianu? I feel I should know more. It’s obvious that you’re not just talking about a few thousand here and there. I think the very least you can do is tell me the whole truth.’
‘He’s right, Tony, we have known Graham for over twenty years. I think he deserves the whole truth. We can’t expect him to work blindly.’
‘The money they are using is counterfeit. There, now you have it. It is our counterfeit money. It’s not the cash, Graham, it’s how they are getting it. More to the point, how they actually even know about it. Now, this goes no further. I have taken you into my confidence and I hope that you will respect that.’ Tony looked at him menacingly, feeling he needed to make his point.
Graham swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure how to take all this information in. He knew it had to be important, but this … well, in all fairness he had always had some kind of idea about it, but now he knew for sure.
Putting his feet up on the desk and throwing his head back on the chair, Tony felt drained. ‘Look, Graham, you have a free hand here. Do what you need to do to get it all wrapped up quickly.’
The office door opened and Ralph Gold walked in. ‘Afternoon, boys. This is Ellis, my accountant friend. He is going to go through the books and check our losses.’ Seeing the shocked looks on both Tony and Jake’s faces, Ralph smiled. ‘Well, Tony, you didn’t really think I would leave it all up to you, did you?’ Ralph let out a laugh and sat down.
Tony nodded towards Ellis, the new accountant no one had ever heard of or seen before, and offered him a chair. He was a young man, possibly late twenties. But how come they had never met him?
As though reading his mind, Ralph spoke. ‘Ellis is the son of my old accountant and I trust him.’ Everyone now felt at their ease. If Ralph trusted him and he was prepared to let him sit in on this meeting, then who were they to question him?
‘‘I’m not here, Tony. Just filling you in and then I am leaving.’ Ralph’s manner was abrupt and businesslike. Not like him at all. ‘Are you all sitting comfortably?’ He looked around the room. ‘Good; then I will begin. Let’s cut the crap and tell everyone the truth. That way they know what they are looking for.’ Ralph was very matter of fact about everything. ‘Counterfeit money is delivered here once a month. It’s all in euros, so not a lot of people know what they are looking for. In fact, I must say, they are excellent copies. In short, someone is helping themselves to a lot of that money and then playing our tables with it. They get paid out in proper money and we get a cash register full of counterfeit money. When this person, or possibly gang, win a lot of money, someone has advised them to ask for a cheque and not cash. That is even worse. Those cheques have our casino stamp on them and can be easily traced back to us. Counterfeit money is meant to be drip fed here and there, mixed with real money. The people in this casino are too pissed half the time to notice it’s not real, but someone has their finger on the pulse. The market is being flooded with it. Shops are complaining about people with counterfeit notes. The alarm bells are ringing, boys, and the culprits are laying a paper trail that leads right back to us.’
Tony and Jake
watched and listened as Ralph made his speech. He knew a lot more than he had said that morning. He must have been monitoring this for weeks, possibly months.
‘Well, Ralph, you really are the dark horse, aren’t you?’ Tony’s voice dripped with sarcasm. ‘What else do you know that you haven’t told us?’
‘Just one thing. I have informed the authorities that some people have been using counterfeit notes in the casino. Although we have machines to identify counterfeit notes, it can still happen, and that should keep them off our backs for now.’
‘You’ve done what?’ Tony stood up so fast, his chair flew back behind him. Standing there with his hands on his hips, he looked at Ralph incredulously. ‘You fucking stupid old fool. Are you crazy?’
‘Sit down, Tony, I’m sure Ralph has his reasons.’ Jake needed to calm the situation, but he knew well enough that if Ralph was holding his hands up to the authorities he had a bloody good reason. The atmosphere was tense and explosive. Graham and Ellis looked on as the three gangland bosses fought it out.
‘This is their country, Tony, let’s not cause ripples. We need to be seen as on their side. We play it their way. Now fucking sit down, sonny, and take that look off your face when you speak to me. Remember who you’re shouting at.’
Taking a deep breath and looking down at the desk, Tony sat down again. Ralph was right. It was time to remember who Ralph Gold really was. He’d been a gunrunner in Ireland, spent time in and out of prison. A thug and a murderer, Ralph had his finger in a lot of pies. Tony knew that he and Jake were not squeaky clean. People feared them and some even thought he was a ruthless psychopath, but Ralph? Well, he was in a class of his own. He was a ruthless godfather and if he felt his home life was about to crumble and he and Julie both would be facing a life term prison sentence, nobody was safe.
‘Okay, Ralph, what do you suggest?’ Tony felt calmer now. ‘What do you want us to do?’
‘Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We watch and we wait. Ellis, go through the books and see how much money we’re losing. Graham, do as Tony says and make some discreet enquiries, and see if you can spot anything on those cameras. You know what you’re looking for. After all, you’re the expert.’
‘I would like to talk to the manager first, informally, of course, Mr Gold. Maybe he has noticed some new people coming into the casino. Also, I would like to speak to the other casinos and find out if they have had any trouble.’ Graham held his hand up to stop another outburst from Tony. ‘We’re all in competition, Mr Lambrianu, but we also help each other out. I want to know if they have spotted new faces or have anything on their cameras. All casinos share the same information so this kind of thing doesn’t happen. It’s all normal practice.’
The three of them nodded to each other. This was why they had brought him here; Graham knew what he was talking about. He had also worked around the world and would possibly know a lot of the managers in Paris.
‘Right, lads, you all have hotel rooms, but remember, Graham, Ellis…’ Ralph pointed his finger at them in a stern way, almost like the head teacher giving his pupils a good talking to, ‘…this is not a holiday, this is work. We want results, and fast.’ After waiting for everyone to agree with him Ralph stood up, satisfied that everyone knew their job, and left, leaving silence in his wake.
Graham spoke up, interrupting Tony’s thoughts. ‘I would like to speak to the accountants here that take your “special deliveries”, Mr Lambrianu. I presume there’s another set of accounts that aren’t public knowledge?’ He was treading carefully, but felt he needed to speak to the accountants that dealt with the money deliveries. He wanted to know about them, and how they were laundering it.
‘Just do what the fuck you want, Graham? For fuck’s sake, someone wants to see me behind bars. Ralph Gold wants my fucking blood and you’re worried about talking to the accountants. Just get on with it. Come on, Jake, we need to get out of here. Secrecy is the key, here, Graham.’ Exhausted, Tony’s mind was in turmoil. It had taken him years by fair means or foul to build up a foolproof empire and now it felt like it was crumbling. ‘Don’t forget, Graham, I want those bastards who are stealing off me to come back in here without warning. I will hang the bastards out to dry.’ Picking up his jacket, Tony stormed out of the office and into the casino. The staff were preparing the tables before they opened up later that day. ‘Why do you all look so fucking scruffy?’ Tony shouted at them all. ‘Go and sort yourselves out. Or better still, fuck off the lot of you.’ With that, he stormed out into the fresh air.
‘Was that necessary, Tony?’
‘Yes, it was, Jake. They know I would only come here if I had to. And so shouting at them to clean up their act and look respectable has put them on their toes again.’
CHAPTER 6
BETRAYAL
‘I’m not sharing a hotel room with you, Tony, I never get any sleep. All night long you’re on the telephone to Francesca. It gets on my nerves. What have you got to say to each other that takes that fucking long? No, I want my own room.’ Jake and Tony were standing at the hotel reception desk and Jake was adamant he wanted his own room.
‘I speak to my wife, Jake. It’s quiet then. Everyone is in bed and we can be alone to talk. Don’t you want to talk to Sharon?’
Jake’s face dropped. ‘Not really. Not at the moment.’ Jake picked up his room keys and bag and started walking towards the elevator.
Catching him up, Tony frowned at him. ‘Something wrong, Jake? Are you and Sharon having problems?’
Jake sighed and shook his head. ‘Nothing more than usual.’ He shrugged it off and walked into the lift.
‘Jake, you can talk to me, you know. What’s wrong? Menopause or something?’ Tony laughed, hoping this would help lighten the mood, but he could see it wasn’t working.
Turning to Tony, tired and fed up of the interrogation, Jake said angrily, ‘Look, Tony, we can’t all be happy and smiling in our own cosy husband and wife bubble. Some people have problems, okay? Now just leave it!’
It was a rarity for Jake to snap like that. Tony could see he was stressed out about the situation. He dropped the conversation immediately. Jake would tell him in his own good time.
Tony had made a point of letting all the casino staff think they had left Paris, which is why it was paramount that no one saw them and they didn’t leave their rooms. Everything was room service. He agreed with Jake, it was suffocating, but also necessary. No one would think of stealing off him if they thought he was in Paris.
The hotel room had been set up as an office. They trawled through mindless recordings that showed nothing but people gambling, drinking and enjoying themselves. It was boring. Three days in, Jake was pacing the floor. ‘For fuck’s sake, Tony, there is nothing. Absolutely nothing. What are we waiting for? God, it’s like painting the Forth Bridge – it never ends. We’re hanging around for nothing!’
‘We’re hanging around here to clear our names. That’s what we’re doing.’
‘I know. I’m just at my wits’ end. We can’t leave this room because you don’t want anyone to know that we’re here and I’m sick to my back teeth of it! What if Ralph is wrong about all of this? Have you thought of that?’
‘I have, Jake. But, let’s be honest, that old bastard is never wrong and he knows a lot more than he is telling us. I’m going to beat him at his own game. Why don’t you go home? It sounds like you have other things to deal with.’ Tony didn’t want to mention Sharon, but it was apparent she was at the forefront of Jake’s mind.
‘Are you sure you don’t need me? I can’t really leave you here going stir crazy, can I?’
‘You go, mate. I’m pretty sure you have other priorities.’ Mentally, Tony meant Sharon. He knew Jake well enough by now to know that he wanted to go home.
‘You sure?’
‘Yes, you go and make sure everything is okay there. If I need you, well, you’re a couple of hours away. It’s taken me longer to get across London than it has to come here. Go, Jake.’
<
br /> No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Jake was packing. He couldn’t understand how Tony could stand all this waiting and watching for what seemed like an eternity.
Tony sat in his hotel room; he, too, was fed up. He missed Francesca. Even though they spoke daily, it wasn’t the same as seeing her. Graham had befriended every casino manager in the area. He’d brought more recordings for Tony and still there was nothing. Maybe Jake was right. Maybe, just maybe, Ralph was wrong and it was just a gang of chancers card counting. Tony decided to give it a couple more days and, if there was still nothing, then it would be time to go home.
Coming out of the shower, Tony heard knocking at his door. He had ordered some room service and opened the door expecting to see a waiter. Instead, Graham stood there. Seeing that Tony was in his dressing gown and drying his hair with a towel he realised that he had come at a bad time. Maybe I should have telephoned ahead, Graham thought to himself.
‘Mr Lambrianu …’ Graham felt nervous. Although he had worked for Tony for years, he knew what he was about to tell him was not good news and he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Tony’s wrath. God, this man could lose his temper in the blink of an eye. In an instant, this handsome, charming man could turn into the very devil himself.
Opening the door wider, Tony invited him in and offered him a seat. ‘I take it the reason you are here is that you have something for me, Graham? Do you want a drink or something?’
Shaking his head, Graham waited while Tony poured himself a drink and sat down.
The silence hung in the air as Tony waited for Graham to speak. Opening his briefcase, Graham put a video tape on the coffee table before Tony. ‘It’s an inside job, Mr Lambrianu. I have double checked everything before coming here today.’ His heart was pounding and he wished he had taken that drink now, his throat was so dry.
Tony’s eyes narrowed and a frown appeared on his brow. Graham swallowed hard. ‘It’s none of my business, Mr Lambrianu, but there are times when you have “special deliveries” at the casino …’ Graham paused, waiting for some outburst, but none came. He could see that Tony didn’t like this cat and mouse game and was losing his patience. He continued. ‘There is a gang of young men that seem to come in on the very same nights that you have these special deliveries. There are two women involved. That tape shows the two women targeting certain blackjack tables.’ Graham felt he had said more than enough. His job was done and he wanted to go home.
Dirty Dealings Page 6