by Bronwen John
“It’s good to see you, Miss Crook,” he greeted her.
Ash gave a small smile as she saw the poker face drop for half a moment when Esther embraced him back, and a glimmer of a childlike smile on her face as she relaxed. “Esther, are you going to introduce me?”
“Buck, Ash. Ash, this is Buckley, or rather Buck, a very good friend and an outrageous flirt.”
“I can’t help my natural magnetism.” He winked at Ash, who stepped slightly behind Esther.
“I was just teasing, you don’t need to worry,” Esther said, voice suddenly concerned. “Man is all muscle and no brain.”
Ash merely nodded; she already knew that she was safe with Esther, and that they needed each other right now. As the other two caught up briefly, she looked around the room.
The hotel room overlooked Oslo in all its grandeur and finery. There was a large table in the centre of the room where a young man – from the look of him, not much older than Esther – was sitting typing frantically into a netbook while simultaneously checking a tablet to his left. Another man left the bathroom; an older man who merely kissed the crown of Esther’s head as she passed – a definite change from the young woman who came from a bedroom and squealed loudly when she saw Esther, and the two shared a tight hug.
“Christopher Adams,” said the older man of the three. There was more than a hint of danger in his voice. “Me and Buck are your outsiders.”
Ash couldn’t imagine the two as con men – their appearance screamed ‘police’, from their stance to their shoulder holsters that she had felt during the brief hug Buck had just given her.
“These two have successfully run several stings, all from the outside,” Esther said, sitting down opposite the younger man. “Wyatt here is the computer whizz.” She began laying down cards next to the other young woman. “Eleanor here is a very old friend.”
“Despite being the same age as my colleague,” said the other woman, before tapping the card at the top. “Low or high?”
“Unless you have the power of clairvoyance, you know my answer will be in the negative for your bet,” Esther sighed. “Eleanor is also one of the best ropers in the business.”
“Says the master,” Eleanor said, smirking as she lifted the card. It was a tarot card. “You have got to teach me that little trick.”
“Little tricks are what save people’s lives in the con world; you ought to know that by know,” teased Esther. She glanced at Ash. “And that is a precious gift that all grifters learn.”
“Along with the greatest lie,” said Eleanor with a small smile. “Three valuable little words for peace and quiet: ‘I am fine.’ Works every time.”
“Very true. Now, we can either discuss the weather or we can get back to the con at hand.”
Suddenly, Esther leaned forward and began drawing on a napkin. It wasn’t beyond Ash’s notice that even Christopher Adams had begun to watch with muted interest as the young con artist scribbled.
“This little drawing represents the art of the con.” Esther threw her pen aside dramatically. “And doesn’t it do well?”
Slightly unsurely, Ash took the napkin and brought it forward slightly so that she could see the image clearly. It was a circle with three arms coming off it. Inside the centre of the circle were the words The Con. The three arms had different words on; the first arm being Motivation, the second arm was Opening, and the final one Good Reason. Beneath Good Reason, Esther had scribbled Luke Gaines’s name.
“This little thing represents everything we need to know?” she asked, getting a terse nod in reply. “Doesn’t seem like much.”
“It isn’t. But we work with what we know.”
Esther leaned back in her chair. “The first thing we need is motivation; we need to know our mark’s reputation and what’ll guide him into a con. Mr Adams?”
Chris nodded and pulled out a folder from his inside jacket pocket, put it down on the glass coffee table and removed several photos. “This is Harry Holmes; he’s a gangster. Being chased by the ATF and the rest of the three-letter agencies, but so far has been successful in dodging them. Always looking for higher things to raise his profile and social ranking… that’s why he married a banker’s daughter. Their son was born six months later.”
“More like a shotgun marriage,” muttered Eleanor. “The old boy is a Roman Catholic who’s being watched for inside trading by the City.”
“How’d you know that?” asked Chris, looking at the young woman with surprise.
“My – honest, may I put in – father has an interest; works the corporate banks as a stockbroker. And the business dealings are all at Companies House, for anyone who cares to do any proper digging,” Eleanor said, picking at her nails. “Holmes’s daughter is desperate for some recognition of her own. Seems she wants to be known as something more than a gangster’s moll. She gives regularly to charity and is an all-round lady behind closed doors.”
“Behind closed doors, she’s a megalomaniac,” Esther broke in, as she threw out the cards that she’d just withdrawn.
“Her institutes despise her and she keeps one set of artwork under lock and key, although she’s never revealed to the outside world why that is. Every six months it undergoes a switch between LA and London,” Buck agreed. “Right now, everything is in LA. Seems that there was a raid arranged a month ago and everything had up and left.”
“Strange for an evaluator, let alone if she’s chasing the glories,” Eleanor said, leaning forward. “Seems like she only went with him to wind up Daddy Dearest?”
“Exactly. They only holiday together once a year to the Seychelles, and she hasn’t been seen attending any of his PR events for at least eighteen months… but he still offered to buy a ruby for her.”
“So he probably thinks of that old saying, ‘Lucky at cards, unlucky in love.’ Could be the reason he’s joined this tournament?” Esther said quietly.
Christopher Adams gave a deep chuckle. “It could very well be. By all accounts, he is a fair gambler.” His green eyes flashed at Esther, who was leaning even further back on her chair if that was possible, and looking into the distance. “He has been involved in the murder of several Interpol agents, but he beat the rap.” His deep, gravelly voice was harsh with anguish. “From what the leaked psych reports have said, he is always looking to look like a hero but is disliked even by criminals as a snake.”
Esther nodded. “From what I know, he’s jealous of con artists, but equally admires them as they are the genteel of the con-artist world.”
“Genteel?” Ash said, startled. “Joe Public seems to think we’re the worst criminals of the lot.”
Esther chuckled at Ash’s incredulous tone. “There’s criminality even in criminal circles… people who give us a bad name.”
“I suppose that’s a good thing,” Eleanor said, with an amused smile. “Otherwise everyone would try what we’re doing. Holmes is trying to con the public into believing he’s a good man.”
“He’s a backwater gangster from the wrong side of the tracks and is terrible at trying to look good.” Esther flicked a card onto the table. “Honest con artists tend to get away with being respectable citizens. And there is an art to it.”
Ash leaned forward and nodded. “Just like that man who sold the Eifel Tower, what was it, four times?”
“Ah, yes, our beloved Reverend Victor Lustig, right up there behind the villainous Lou Blonger and the Old West brother Soapy Smith… there you have it. Our names go down in legend; gangsters’ lives are forever tarnished. Now we come to our opportunity, or, rather, our opening,” Esther said, with a small smirk. She pointed at Eleanor. “What did you find out, El?”
“I’m your best friend, Es, and I don’t like it. He’s a celebrity guest on a cruise. The cruise is notorious for its select guest and its games of Texas Hold ’Em poker.”
Esther flashed a smile of triu
mph.
“Don’t smile yet. If he feels he’s losing, he cheats. He has also been known to beat the living daylights out of people he loses to.”
“Ah, perfect. You can’t con an honest man,” Esther said proudly.
“And he wants you? I know you have a history with him due to her mother, but he really wants you. Doesn’t care about anyone else but you, and possibly your old man – your family has a way of winding him up? I would like to meet your old man.”
“Ah, my old man, the maestro of irritation.” Esther smirked. “I promise to introduce you formally when this is all finished with, El.”
“I’ll believe it. It’s the perfect time to reel Holmes in… the cruise at the very least.” Eleanor smiled at her friend. “Get him angry and get him in.”
“Depends on what route,” Wyatt said, speaking for the first time. “You are going to be doing the long con?”
“This game has been in play a long time, Wyatt. No need to stretch it out any longer than it needs to be. I’ve already got people sorting out the big store in London. Just hope he takes the bait quickly for us. Eleanor, I need you in London.”
Eleanor looked up sharply.
“You’ll still need the clothes, so call in and see Bill. They should be done by the time you leave here.”
“Where do you want it?” Eleanor asked, already getting to her feet.
“Speak to Mattie. He owes me a favour; he’ll know the best place. Tell him to have a word with Nancy, too.” She sighed. “But it needs to be ready double quick.” A sudden flight of concern crossed her face, and she looked at Buck, who was grinning as if reading her mind. “Is Ezra Innocent going to be with him?”
“Might be, we don’t know.” Chris chuckled at her discomfort.
“I’ve heard of him, he’s nice,” said Ash. “You know, a good villain, if you get my meaning?”
“Naivety is not an asset I need… Innocent has been after me for years. We have a long, nasty history and I have no time… but all the time in the world,” Esther said, frowning as Eleanor threw her a concerned look. “El, make sure if you run across him, you go the other direction.”
“Wish you’d let me know; heard rumours of people asking about you, Es,” said Eleanor, putting on her coat. “You sure you don’t want me on the cruise with you?”
“Most certainly not. And people can ask. If Wyatt’s done his job correctly I’ll have a new passport and ID shortly.”
The young man smirked. “Don’t know what you’d do without me, Est. New passport, new ID and tickets booked for the cruise tomorrow night.”
Esther smirked and stood up, crossing to the window and looking across the bay.
“So you’re just reeling him in on the boat? Then big store in London and Denver?”
Esther nodded.
Ash gave an enthusiastic smile. “That sounds great, Esther. Full stop.”
“Always makes me nervous, full stop,” Esther said, barely loud enough to be heard. She looked down at the phone she’d so surreptitiously pulled from her pocket and shook her head at whatever was on the screen. “Full stops, I mean. Just like their American counterpart, period. Strange things in both the grammatical and other usage; they make everything sound final and ominous. Full stop.”
Seven
“It’s huge.”
“Makes you wonder how they stay afloat,” agreed Ash, as the two boarded the cruise liner. “Have you not seen them?”
“Usually when they come into bay in Norway I’m in bed,” Esther said, smiling sadly as the officer took their tickets.
He regarded Esther’s passport with a frown, then a steady smile. “What an unusual name. Darnell Voleur?”
“Rather thought ‘Darnell’ was pretty,” Esther muttered, then, looking at the man before he opened his mouth any further, “‘Voleur’ is French for ‘thief’… smart-ass.”
Ash snorted as the man sniffed, though realised that the insult had been a joke on the parts of Chris and Wyatt. She handed her own passport over and waited for her key card to be printed.
“Miss Voleur and Miss Azeri, you’ve been assigned to State Room Number Four.”
“Fresh flowers daily, if that could be arranged?”
Ash nearly dropped through the floor into the water in shock.
“There seems to be heightened security here?” Esther continued quietly.
“Shouldn’t cause you any problem, Miss Voleur,” said the security guard. “There is a famous jewel being exhibited.”
Esther quirked an eyebrow in obvious confusion.
“Only here for the gambling?”
“Oui,” Esther said allowing a bit more of a French accent to slip through.
“The Star of Burma is here, along with a study of other jewels on loan to Cross-De Braun Casinos Ltd.”
“Richard Burton failed to purchase it for Liz Taylor, you know; one of his only failures on the gemstone side of things,” Esther said to Ash, who was still gaping. “Thank you. I must see it – not right now, though. Anyway, have my bags been taken to my room?”
A quick nod.
“Thank you. We don’t need an escort.”
Ash jogged lightly behind her friend as they walked through the cruise ship. A small gesture from Esther’s hands indicated that she should not speak until they were in the room.
This was exactly when Ash flipped. “You seriously booked a state room?!” She was debating whether she admired Esther’s ingenious spirit of commerce, or whether throttling her was a viable option. For all her precautions, it seemed to her that Esther was flaunting the fact that she was on board for all to see.
Esther threw down the file and nodded, taking off her hat. “It draws attention to the fact that a big player’s come into town,” she said, smirking. “Or, in this case, pleasure boat.”
“I still don’t get why it has to be on this thing?” Ash asked.
Esther offered a small smile as she put her suitcase on the bed and began to unpack. “Here begins the lesson: you don’t want to be a mark, so stop thinking like one. Now, tell me: what does the ocean have that no law-abiding country has… and I just gave you a clue?” She sat on the edge of the bed and waited patiently as she pulled out some evening attire as well as the files that Adams had given her.
Ash opened her mouth.
“And don’t say, ‘Fish.’”
“Wasn’t going to… wait – you said, ‘Law’.”
Esther looked up and nodded.
“There are different laws in international waters… this is a gambling ship?!”
“Perfectly legal. All monies go to the charities of the winners’ choice.” Esther smiled as Ash looked at her in surprise. “But Harry has got a false charity in his name.”
“This is why you’ve been building up a reputation?”
Esther nodded again.
“You wanted in?”
“I’ve been invited twice, but as I told you, I needed a rainmaker,” she said, leaning over to pick up a particular file. “So, we rob him of his charity money… I think Samaritans, because when I win the trophy I might just mention Luke’s name.”
“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” Ash said, smiling as she slung her things onto the bed. “Guess it’ll suck to be playing when I’ll be mixing with everyone.”
Esther looked at her with an idle grin. “Like hell. I need a spy in the camp. Plus, you need to practise cold reading. There’s no better place to learn a person’s tells. Apart from church.”
“You know, Gaines would’ve said that he didn’t know if you were kidding or not,” Ash said, pausing in her unpacking. She looked at Esther, who was wearing a small, sad smile. “You’re after Holmes, like me.”
“How come you ended up in foster care?” Esther asked.
“Never knew my dad; Mum died of breast cancer when I wa
s six, so I ended up being kicked from pillar to post,” Ash sighed as she remembered. “Well, I ended up turning away from my foster home and bumping straight into Luke. You?”
“My mother was great. Brought me and my twin brother up practically solo.” She offered a slight grin at Ash as she unfolded a T-shirt. “Yes, there are two of us in this world; no, we don’t feel each other’s pain; and no, he’s not a con artist… well, he is a fixer. My mother was a teen mother like yours, but worked her way up in the respectable world… got too close to Holmes, though. My dad and her caught Holmes, so he thinks, and they get married. Holmes gunned her down.” Esther sighed, and looked at the dresses in the case. “And the day I bring that bastard down will be the happiest of my life.”
“But you never said how you got into the con-artistry line?”
Esther chuckled. “Don’t like mystery, do you?”
The two began unpacking to the best of their abilities, while flirting with this new line called honesty.
“If you must know, my surname has travelled down the line for several generations, possibly back to the time of Queen Anne of England, and I do believe my father’s side of the family is a host of reprobates too.” She considered. “Might even run into my grandmother as well… hence why I need eyes.”
Ash beamed. It was a high honour for any con artist to be asked to be eyes for the main man. Dee had always been the slider for the team back home. It was a good role, but one that you only trusted your closest allies with. “Mean it?”
“You are the left hand of God, consider that,” Esther said, smirking. “And your first act can be to get your ass out there and see if we can find out about Harry.”
“But we know Harry; that’s what the files are about?”
Esther chuckled. “My dear child, I like to play God in my small universe and listen to the inner workings of the organisation. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a tournament to win.”