Donna, Len, and the Professor all laughed. “Did he come back in?” the Professor asked.
“Nope. He must’ve gone out the side gate, because when I went to leave, his car was gone.”
“Your bet,” Dean said.
JP checked, so did the Professor.
“He got what he deserved,” Donna said, as she matched the big blind. “Basic rules of life: You don’t talk bad about someone’s mama, you don’t hurt little kids, and you don’t ever cheat at cards.”
“I bet you’ve seen a few cheaters in your time,” JP said to her.
“Seen my share. They only cheat once with me at the table.”
Gene raised the bet to eight dollars. “Speaking of cheaters,” Gene said. “I heard Bullet got shot. Did he cheat at your table twice?"
Donna stared at Gene for several seconds. “I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you’re asking, but I probably would’ve if I’d caught him a second time.” She laughed as if it was a joke, but JP wasn’t so sure. He looked around at the others. Dean’s face showed the first sign of emotion, but JP wasn’t sure if it was hatred, concern, or anger. Perhaps it was frustration because the players were talking too much, but JP thought it had more to do with the mention of Bullet. Whatever caused it, the expression only lasted for a passing second, then it was gone.
Len looked long and hard at the cards on the table and back at his hand, then called the raise. Dean matched the bet. JP and the Professor folded. Donna matched the bet, and Dean dealt the fourth card face up.
“I heard some teenager was arrested for it,” Lucky Len said. “It was only a matter of time before someone whacked that guy. He caused trouble wherever he went.”
“You weren’t a fan, huh?” Gene asked.
“Was anyone?” Lucky Len glanced at Donna. “Sorry, Donna. I know you two once shared a bond.”
“We shared a house; we shared a bed; we shared meals. We didn’t share a bond. He was always a crazy jerk, but he used to be fun. He got worse with age. I put up with all his flaws until he cheated at cards. That was it for me.”
“What did you do when you caught him?” JP asked.
Donna put in her bet without raising. “Not as much as people like to say I did.” She chuckled. “I did threaten to superglue his dick to his stomach when he was asleep.”
JP cringed. “But you didn’t, right?”
“No, but Bullet never went to sleep around me again. I guess he wasn’t too sure what I’d do.”
Gene again raised the bet to eight dollars. Lucky Len folded. Dean matched the bet. “Do you think that kid killed him?” Dean asked Donna.
“I don’t have any reason to think otherwise,” Donna said. “But it could’ve been any one of his enemies. That’s not a short list.”
Donna raised the bet, and Gene upped it again. Dean dropped out. Donna called Gene’s raise, and Dean dealt the last card. Both Donna and Gene checked.
Donna showed a queen-high straight. But Gene’s hand was better, with a king-high straight, and he won the first decent pot of the night.
JP won a couple of pots in the next hour, but he played so cautiously the winnings were small when he stayed in. Talk about a big tell. But JP didn’t care. Gene was winning more and bigger pots, and JP was watching and listening. The Professor lost his money and didn’t do a second buy-in. He sat at the table for another ten minutes, then moved to the armchair and fell asleep.
Lucky Len was the next to lose his money, bought in again, and lost it quicker the second time. He moved to the bar and drank. JP was the next to go, but he stayed at the table watching the last three. All were good players, but with different skills. JP couldn’t find anything that gave away when Gene or Dean had a winning hand, but after awhile, JP noticed Donna talked just a little faster when she had an advantage. He soon realized Gene had picked up on it too and so had Dean. But Dean couldn’t draw a good hand and finally went all-in on a hand with two pair, king high. Gene beat him with aces and eights.
Dean left the house, leaving only Gene and Donna still in the game.
“Do you mind if the kid deals for us?” Donna said, nodding toward JP.
“Nope. I don’t mind at all.”
JP didn’t like being called “the kid.” It reminded him of when they were young, and Gene’s friends were around. JP was the tagalong. But he looked around and realized he was the youngest person in the room, and being the kid wasn’t so bad.
Donna had a larger stack of chips than Gene did when they started playing one-on-one. She had won most of Lucky’s money as well as the Professor’s. Gene had taken most of JP’s, and they had mostly split Dean’s. JP shuffled the cards and dealt the first round. Gene won the first and second hands. Donna took the next one, but then Gene won again. The stacks had evened out, and the bets had increased.
JP dealt them each two cards. Donna opened with a twenty-dollar bet. Gene matched.
“You mentioned the list is long for those who wanted to kill Bullet,” Gene commented. “Any chance you could share the list with me?”
Donna laid her cards on the table and tilted her head. “Is that what this is about?”
“What?”
“You playing this game. And please don’t tell me you’re an undercover cop, because I don’t need to be busted for some lightweight poker game.”
“I’m not a cop. I’m just trying to find out who killed Bullet.” Gene put in his forty dollars.
JP dealt three cards face up—the ace of diamonds, the seven of diamonds, and the eight of spades.
Donna picked up her cards, bet forty dollars, and looked Gene in the eye. “Why do you care? Was Bullet a friend of yours?”
“Like everyone else, I hated the guy, even more now that he’s dead. The boy they charged with his murder is my son.”
JP dealt the next card—a jack of clubs. A nine and ten in the hole would make a straight, he thought. He watched their faces to see if he could tell what they had, but neither gave anything away. Donna bet sixty, and Gene raised the ante to one hundred.
Without hesitation, Donna placed another forty dollars’ worth of chips in the pot. “And you don’t think he shot Bullet?” Donna asked.
“I don’t. Do you know any likely suspects?”
“I might know a few worth investigating.” She glanced at JP.
“He’s good,” Gene said.
Donna looked around the room to see if anyone was paying attention to her. Then she lowered her voice almost to a whisper. “You don’t have to look too far to find Bullet’s enemies.” She reached her hand out to JP. “Give me your phone.”
JP hesitated. But Gene nodded at him, so JP handed Donna his cell, unlocking it with his thumbprint as he gave it to her.
“You two must be close,” she said.
“Brothers,” Gene said.
“I never would’ve guessed.” She put her name and number in JP’s contact list and turned back to Gene. “Call me ten minutes after we leave. Now, let’s finish this hand.” She paused. “By the way, I seem to know a lot more when I’m a winner.” She smiled sheepishly.
JP dealt the last card—a nine of diamonds. Now all it took in the hole was a ten for a straight, or two diamonds for a flush. He glanced back and forth between the two players. Donna bet two hundred. Gene reached for his chips and pushed them to the center of the table. “I’m all in.”
Donna did the same, then turned over her cards—a king of hearts, and a ten of clubs. “A jack-high straight.”
Gene laid his cards face down on the table. “It’s yours.”
Donna raked in the pot. “Never play poker when you owe your opponent a debt. My bluff was in my statement, not my cards.”
“I know,” Gene said and shrugged, “but it was my brother’s money.”
“I would’ve given you the information either way, for your kid’s sake.”
“That, I didn’t know.”
JP gathered up the cards, leaving Gene’s hold cards on the bottom, so he could check out wha
t he had. He put the cards together and tapped them on the table so they were in a neat stack, observing the card on the bottom. A ten of diamonds. So, Gene had a straight too. With slight pressure from his thumb, JP moved the bottom card so he could see Gene’s other hold. It was a queen of diamonds—giving him a flush.
Chapter 32
“You won that hand with a flush,” JP said, once he and Gene were driving away. “She got to you when she said she’d talk more if she won, didn’t she?”
“Just paying for information.”
“With my money.”
“Would you rather not get the information?” Gene asked.
“Let’s hope she comes through. She probably didn’t even give us her correct number.” JP drove through the neighborhood toward the freeway.
“Maybe. But like you said, it was your money, so I had nothing to lose.” Gene checked the time. “Give me your phone. Let’s find out if she wrong-numbered me.” Gene put the phone on speaker and placed the call.
“Hello.” Donna’s voice came through clearly.
“Thanks for taking my call,” Gene said.
“Thanks for a good game. You’re a worthy opponent.”
“So are you. What can you tell me about Bullet’s death?”
“I don’t know anything about his death, but I know a little about his life. Bullet wasn’t loyal to anyone. He didn’t care who he hurt or upset.” She paused. “Do you know his buddies, Judd Soper and Andy Rankin?”
“Yes, I do.”
“They were supposedly his best friends, and neither liked him, especially Soper. He’s the quieter of the two, but he hated the way Bullet bossed him around.”
“Why would they stick with him?” JP asked.
“Who knows? I’m sure he had something on both of them, but they’re all losers.”
“Who else can you tell me about?” Gene asked.
“Everyone in that room tonight had a beef with Bullet. The Professor’s grandson was working with Bullet for a while, stealing cars. The kid got busted and took a plea, but he didn’t give up Bullet.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Just a few months, so it’s still raw. Rumor has it, the kid isn’t doing well in custody.”
“Maybe the Professor got even.”
“Maybe. Then there’s Lucky Len, who Bullet humiliated in a bar last month. They got into a fist fight, but Len didn’t stand a chance. Bullet beat him up pretty good, but mostly he threw him around like he was a feather and made him look bad.”
“What about Dean?” JP asked. “He didn’t seem to have any lost love for the guy.”
“Bullet slept with his wife.”
“That would do it.”
“Anyone else we should know about?” Gene asked.
“That’s the problem. Like I said, Bullet didn’t care who he crossed, so there’s dozens of stories like those.”
“That doesn’t narrow it down much.”
“No, but those are the most recent. If it doesn’t help, let me know. I’ll give you more names of people who may have older vendettas.” Before Donna hung up, she gave the names of the bars where her poker-player friends hung out, as well as their last names.
“Now what?” Gene asked, after he hung up.
“The most likely suspects are still Soper or Rankin since they have been to the house and could’ve gotten the gun.”
“Unless Roxy opened her big mouth about it. If Bullet found out about the gun, he could’ve stolen it and sold it.”
“Wouldn’t that be ironic? If Bullet sold the gun to someone who then used it on him?” JP paused. “Too much speculating. We need to see what we can get out of Soper and/or Rankin.”
“Leave it to me. I’ll get them to talk.”
JP frowned. “Let’s try a little more interrogation first.”
“My way is quicker.”
“And against the law, not to mention dangerous,” JP added.
He stopped at a light near the freeway, when suddenly a loud gunshot blasted the night. JP’s back window shattered as a bullet pierced it. Gene ducked down, and JP hit the accelerator, his heart hammering. Another shot rang out, and the sound of metal on metal rung in his ears. JP passed a Toyota, ran the next red light, and zoomed onto the freeway. He raced down the road, dodging in and out of traffic, doing ninety miles per hour.
When he was sure no one was following, he slowed down, but kept checking his rearview mirror.
“Are you okay?” JP asked.
“I’m fine,” Gene said. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know, but I think we might be plowing too close to the cotton.”
JP exited the freeway and soon pulled up to the condos where Gene was staying. When Gene opened the passenger door, the light went on, and JP saw blood all over Gene’s shirt.
“I’m taking you to a hospital.”
Gene pulled his shirt back, exposing his shoulder. “It doesn’t hurt that bad.” His brother used the corner of his shirt to wipe away some of the blood so they could get a better look. “It just barely got me. I’ll be fine.” He stepped out of the truck and walked away.
Chapter 33
Sabre and JP sat outside on the patio, drinking their morning coffee. Morgan was still asleep. Sabre listened without interrupting as JP told her about the poker game and the information they received from Donna. But the shooting afterward unnerved her. “Someone shot at you? Did you report it?”
“I couldn’t without getting Gene arrested. He got hit, but he’s okay. I didn’t even know he was bleeding until I dropped him off. I tried to get him to go to emergency, but he wouldn’t. I followed him inside and helped bandage the wound. I think he’s okay, but I’ll check on him this morning.”
Sabre wasn’t soothed. “I don’t like this one bit.”
“I don’t like it much either, but we’re in too deep now. My only concern is that they might know where I live, and that puts you and Morgan in danger too.”
“Did you go anywhere besides the poker game?”
“No.”
“So, it was likely a player from the game.”
“Unless we stirred someone up asking questions earlier. Nothing much was said at the game, except that Gene was looking for Bullet’s killer. We shared a few other things with Donna, but she seems an unlikely suspect.”
“What happens now?”
“I need to get my truck fixed.”
“Let me know if you need transportation,” Sabre said. “I’m going to be in court all morning, but I’m sure Bob can get me around if you need my car.”
“You’re not afraid it’ll get shot up?”
“A little.”
Sabre thought about telling JP about her coffee date with ImReady, but she decided not to. He was dealing with enough, and he already had plans. Since she didn’t have transportation, Bob would have to take her anyway. She wouldn’t be alone.
~~~
JP’s first stop was to see Gene and check his wound.
“It’s no big deal,” Gene said.
JP reached to remove the bandage. “We need to change the dressing and put more Neosporin on it, so it doesn’t get infected.”
“What, are you a doctor now?”
JP pushed back. “Would you rather I take you to the ER and let you explain what happened?”
“No.” Gene used his good arm to yank the bloody bandage off. The open wound was about three inches long and a half-inch wide. The bullet had torn off the skin, exposing flesh as it burned across Gene’s arm, right through an old tattoo.
“What did the tattoo say?” JP asked.
“Delilah.”
JP tipped his head. “That’s so like Mom. She’s still trying to save your ass.”
“Hmph. She woulda taken a bullet for any of her boys.” Gene cleared his throat. “Unlike Dad.”
“Yeah, Elvis Torn was cut from another cloth.”
JP examined the gash more closely, wanting to get off the subject of their parents. “You sure you
don’t want to see a doctor? Mostly the bullet tore the skin, but there’s a couple of spots that got some flesh and could probably use stitches.”
Gene looked at his arm and shook his head. “Naw, it’ll be all right. Just put some salve on it and cover it up. I’ve had worse injuries and survived.”
JP bandaged the bullet wound again. “I’m taking my truck to get that window replaced. I found someone who can do it this morning. It’ll only take about an hour.”
“I plan to hit those bars tonight that Donna told us about,” Gene said. “And I’ll confront Soper and Rankin.” He looked at JP. “You gonna take me, or do I need to get my own ride?”
“I’m not letting you go alone. You’re liable to get yourself killed.”
Gene chuckled. “You may not want to get that window fixed until this is over.”
“You have a point.” JP’s cell rang, and he looked at the ID “Hey, kid, what’s up?”
“It’s Conner,” Sabre said.
JP heard the concern in her voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Conner is in the emergency room. He was beat up by another inmate. I’m waiting to go in.” Sabre explained what little she knew about the incident. “I’ll call you when I know more.”
JP hung up and told Gene. His brother asked calmly, “Is he okay?”
“No broken bones, but he’s pretty bruised. They won’t keep him in the hospital long, but he’ll be put back in protective custody for a while.”
JP expected Gene to start punching things or threaten to go after the kid who hurt him, but instead he just said, “Poor kid.”
“What’s going on in that warped brain of yours?”
“Nothin’. I cain’t do nothin’ about it,” he said nonchalantly, his Texas accent a little more pronounced than normal. “Just need to get him outta there soon.”
Chapter 34
Since JP had Sabre’s car, Bob drove her to the pre-arranged Starbucks meeting a half hour early. They parked around the corner in front of Staples. They didn’t want their target to see them together and get scared off. Before they got out, Bob asked, “You ready?”
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