I would have ignored him anyway and made the call regardless what he thought.
I flicked through my contacts until I found the number I was after and pressed the call symbol. This next call I made was going to be one of the hardest of my life.
The call was answered on the fourth ring. “Cathy, it’s Arianne. I’m going to need some help…”
Chapter 23
Arianne
The call to Cathy had actually gone easier than I thought. As I’d hoped, she sprang into action and promised she’d have Isaac sorted. She’d asked if I was in trouble and I knew she meant Marcel.
All I inferred was I was helping the police with something. It was enough to satisfy her for the moment and wasn’t an entire lie. She told me not to worry and that she’d make sure Isaac was fine for how ever long I needed her.
I vowed to myself, I’d tell her the truth when I finally got out of here. One thing I didn’t do was lie, regardless if it meant she and Gary saw me in a poor light. I had no idea how Dane or his parents were going to take this. This would more than likely have them all running for the hills and with good reason.
Time ticked on. Eventually, I was allowed to use the bathroom and given a bottle of water.
All that time Mr Metrosexual looked across the table at me with cold, hungry eyes. I had a tight fitting top on that showed a modest cleavage. A jacket would have been welcome right about now; the air conditioning was almost as cool as his look. I was constantly fighting the urge to shiver in the worst sort of way. Babyface looked bored and had pulled out his phone a couple of times only to put it away when he realised it was probably inappropriate.
After what seemed an eternity, the police officer, Ben, returned and sat down once again.
“Well Miss Le Flegg, your information checks out; although this is not the first time you’ve been in a similar situation, is it?” I knew from the look in his eyes that he’d done a thorough check. Once Marcel’s name had come up, flags would have gone off everywhere. Marcel had been arrested before for gaming related offences.
“No.”
“You’re a little smarter it seems than your ex-husband. You’ve managed to avoid detection until now.”
I remained silent. So far, he hadn’t accused me of anything, nor had he asked me what I was I doing.
“I also spoke with Mark Larson. You’ve definitely had a rough few weeks with your ex-husband.”
I nodded my agreement. “I could certainly do without him in my life.”
“Yes, you could, it seems. However, that’s an aside to the problem we have here. We can’t have you in here gaming the system Miss Le Flegg.”
I said nothing, neither acknowledging or denying his comment.
“Here’s what we’re going to do. Your winning streak has come to an end. You will be banned from both this establishment and the sister property in Brisbane for a period of six months. If you violate that ban, you will be arrested for gaming offences. Consider this your first and only warning, Miss Le Flegg.”
A ban!
That, I could live with! No record.
My teaching career wasn’t completely shot.
“But Ben the evidence…” Lance interjected.
“Is not relevant at the moment, I’ve spoken with Ron and this is our position,” Ben countered.
Lance looked even more livid, if that was possible. I had no doubt he was hoping to bust my arse.
As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and another thin man in a suit placed a manila folder on the table in front of Ben. He opened the folder and quickly scanned the documentation, before turning it around in front of me.
“The document in front of you is an Exclusion Notice. It outlines the terms of your prohibition from this and the sister property in Brisbane and your right of appeal. Read it, sign it and then you will be escorted from the property immediately.”
I quickly scanned the document, keen to get out of here as soon as possible. Ben placed a pen on the table at the top of the pages, and I scrawled my name when I was finished reading.
We both knew I wouldn’t be appealing.
Lance rose and left the room shutting the door behind him, clearly annoyed with the outcome.
When Ben stood and motioned to the door, Babyface immediately jumped up. I reached for my handbag and stood.
“A word of advice Miss Le Flegg. Family or not, stay away from Leo Goldstone; he’s bad news and on our radar. The casino is no longer a place for you. Mark said you were a nice lady in a bad spot. I trust his judgement based on what I’ve seen today. Don’t make me wrong about you. I don’t want to see you back in here.”
“Thank you, officer. I won’t be back.”
“Excellent news, Miss Le Flegg. I won’t detain you further.” He opened the door and two different security guards were standing waiting.
“Gentlemen, please escort Miss Le Flegg from the property.”
“Good bye, Miss Le Flegg,” the police officer said, before turning and heading down the corridor.
“This way please, ma’am.” The corridors may be intricate and confusing, but they were certainly wide enough for three people abreast to move easily along.
It seemed ridiculous really. What was I going to do? Head back out onto the gaming floor and go again?
A couple more turns and they opened a door, which came out beside a loading dock. The first security guard walked out with me, while the other held the door. My immediate plan was to head to the café across the road and figure out a ride home from there.
It was ironic really; there was a big part of me that couldn’t be happier. I had a reason never to go back and it was a legitimate, solid one. I just hoped there was some way I could make Dane understand. Why didn’t I listen to him?
We were almost at the side street that fed the carpark to the main road.
“This is the edge of the property.”
“Fine,” I muttered and began to walk off.
“Mr Beauchamps sends his best regards and said to let you know he’ll be in touch.”
I spun around and glared at him. He smiled smugly and I knew, right then, how this all went down.
Marcel.
Would I ever be free of that bastard?
I headed across the road and took a seat at the café Arnie and I had prearranged as a meeting place, if I ever needed to be picked up outside the property.
It was getting late. I’d spent more time in the cruddy room with Babyface and Mr Metrosexual than I had at the tables. That pissed me off.
My back ached, my stomach felt like acid and I was both terrified and insanely angry at the same time. Terrified, I’d just screwed up the best thing that had happened to me in a very long time—Dane.
Angry at my situation and my bloody-minded determination to keep pushing my luck. It was time to stop lying to myself. I’d known I was under surveillance for days. I’d felt it but I stupidly thought I was good enough to keep going.
Maybe I was.
Marcel had no doubt had a hand in it, and I knew exactly why. This was his way of continuing to control me. His rationale would be, cut off the money and I’d eventually come back. Not going to happen, not while my butt pointed to the ground.
A bored looking waitress eventually wandered over and I ordered a chocolate milkshake. I was hoping the milk would cut the acid in my stomach. My phone chirped with a message from Arnie; he’d be about twenty minutes. I shot off a message to Cathy letting her know I’d be another couple of hours and would that be a problem?
Twenty seconds later I had her reply.
All good.
I’d deal with Leo, too.
Arnie picked me up as he said.
“What happened?” he asked, as I closed the door of the car.
“I got busted, but I’m sure you already knew that.”
There was no surprise, so yeah he knew. Now what was he going to do. “I’ll take you back to Leo’s.”
“You do that!” I spat. Leo had some explaining to
do. If he was running teams and didn’t tell me…
Traffic was light and forty minutes later I was standing in Leo’s foyer fuming. I’d had more time to think and work up a proper mad.
He greeted me in a gold brocade smoking jacket and slippers, looking the epitome of the mature European gent retired for the evening. I’m sure the snifter of Cognac and the cigar weren’t far.
“Arianne, my dear.” He looked tired and drawn, but I wasn’t about to be concerned by that. “Please come in and take a seat.”
“This won’t take that long, Leo.”
“I see you’re a little…upset.”
I saw RED! “Upset…nope. Leo, this is me being thoroughly fucking PISSED. I got busted today because you were running teams and I somehow got caught up in it all. Which one of your green arsed plebs fucked up? I’m banned Leo, and damned lucky I wasn’t arrested. I’m done for six months. It might as well be permanently. As soon as I walk back in, they’ll be all over me. Can’t work. Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
He sighed deeply. My temper seemed to be having nil effect on him and that just made me even angrier.
“I didn’t tell you because I knew you wouldn’t be part of it. You think I haven’t realised for a good while now you were done with this life? Look back over the last six months, Arianne. You’ve only played when you absolutely had to and even then it was with great reluctance. I knew the day would come very soon, when you told me it was over.”
“You’re right I was coming to the end. I want to be a schoolteacher, Leo, not a damned card shark. I hate this life and all the bullshit that goes with it. I would have happily bowed out quietly when I achieved what I wanted to. Not this way. I don’t ever have the option to realistically go back. I’m firmly on their radar and every other casino in this country.”
He nodded grimly. “I’m very sorry you’ve had this happen. And you are quite right; it was one of my inexperienced players that screwed up.”
My mind whirred trying to figure the Marcel connection. It would be there.
Had the player been paid off?
What did it matter?
I took the chips from my bag and dumped them on the side table. “Do with them what you want. I’m keeping the remainder of the bankroll as severance pay. I think our business is done.” It didn’t quite make the fifty grand I wanted. It would have to be close enough. I turned to go.
“You know, Marcel had a hand in this. I think he got to one of my players.” I halted and turned back slowly.
I studied Leo for a moment. “Yes,” I gritted out between my teeth.
He nodded thoughtfully and offered no apology for one of his players working for a competitor. “He’s going to need to be dealt with, my dear. Marcel is like a snake. A snake will keep slithering in uninvited, until you remove its head from its body.”
It was probably one of the most chilling things I’d ever heard. Not only the way in which Leo said it, but also the apt description of Marcel. Was there any wonder I wanted a normal life away from all this? This was just a crazy existence.
“The police are doing everything they can,” I replied.
“Of course they are.” He nodded in agreement. We both knew he didn’t agree with my comment at all.
“Goodnight, Leo!”
“Goodnight, my dear. Don’t be a stranger!” There was something almost wistful in his voice as he called after me.
The only comment I made was the clacking of my heels on the ceramic tiles as I departed.
I picked up my car from home and headed to Cathy and Gary’s. The mad I’d worked up for the purpose of my discussion with Leo was long gone. All that was left was regret, disappointment and self-loathing mixed with a healthy dose of anxiety. The whole situation was monumentally screwed and I’d let it get like that.
The front lights were on at Cathy and Gary’s as I pulled up out front. I straightened my top and pushed my fingers through my hair, took a deep breath and got out of the car. Sitting there wasn’t going to make it easier.
I knocked on the front door and Cathy answered it almost immediately, obviously having expected me. Before I could say a word, she pulled me into a big hug and held me tight.
“Oh, you poor girl.” I felt like the biggest charlatan on the planet right then. I couldn’t deceive them any longer.
“Isaac?” I managed to whisper.
“He’s in bed asleep, Ari. He and Gary worked on the engine until he started to droop, then we got him showered and to bed. He might have had a couple of my double choc chip cupcakes as well!”
I was infinitely grateful for the kindness they showed my son. “Cathy, I can’t thank you enough.”
“Oh nonsense, Ari. We were just happy to help out. Now come in and sit down while I get you a cup of tea and you tell us all about what happened.”
Without thought, I stiffened at her words. “Oh, I’m sorry, Ari, I didn’t mean to overstep the mark. If you don’t want to tell us then we understand.”
The tears that had been threatening finally fell. “It’s not that, I’m so ashamed…” I howled as she helped me to the sofa.
“Gary get the poor girl a cup of tea,” she directed and passed me a tissue from the box on the side table.
“There, there, it will all be fine.” Cathy soothed and hugged me.
“No, it won’t. Once you find out what I’ve done…” I blubbered.
“It can’t be that bad, Ari. It never is. It just seems that way. Until you tell it.”
“Dane warned me, but I didn’t listen. I got caught up in my stubborn pride.” She held me in her arms for a couple of minutes and I just cried. Cathy was a wonderful, warm person who only did and saw good. I was the worst sort of person, tainted and scarred by the filth I’d been living with for so many years. Now it was still following me.
Gary returned with my tea and placed it on the table beside me. He’d also thoughtfully brought a glass of water. Dane was his father’s son, no doubt.
Finally, my tears and sobs had stilled enough for me to speak.
“Has Dane told you anything about my upbringing?” I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had nor would it have bothered me. Right now, it might have actually been easier.
They shook their heads no.
“I was born in France and my parents died when I was very young…” I spent the next five minutes detailing my past, how I came to live with Marcel and his family and the linkage with Leo. There were many oh’s and ah’s and I knew Cathy felt sorry for me. I didn’t want anyone’s pity. I’d survived.
Now for the nail in the coffin.
“So you see, I’d been groomed to go into the family business ever since I was very young. Yes, I have a Maths degree and teaching qualifications, but first and foremost, I was always supposed to be a professional gambler. My speciality is casino games. The family business is gambling.” I didn’t miss the sharp intake of breath from both of them.
“I’ve been earning my living as a professional gambler; some would call me a card shark or worse.” I wasn’t going to sugar-coat any of it. They needed to see it for what it was—a dirty, greedy existence full of deceit.
“You’ve done this all your life?” Cathy sounded astonished.
“I have. I spent hours every day at home with replica casino tables, training. Learning every trick in the book and creating a few more. As soon as I was eighteen, I was sent out to play for real with a bankroll and a format.”
They shook their heads in astonishment.
“I didn’t want to do it, but there was never really an option, particularly when they realised how good I am at it. Or rather was…”
I could see the questions in their eyes. “I got busted today.”
There were more sharp intakes of breath.
“What does that mean?” Gary asked quietly. “Are you in trouble with the police?”
“Sort of. I told them the truth, just like I’m telling you. The police ran a thorough background check and confirmed my st
atement, but I’ve been banned from the casinos for six months. If I return, I will be arrested for gaming offences. It might as well be a lifetime ban. I’d never be able to efficiently work in there again, every casino will be watching for me. Most gamblers can’t stay away. I have no desire to ever go back. It was only ever work to me, never about the game.”
“I’m not sure I’m following you Ari, where does the teaching come in? You’ve made such a difference to Maddie.” Cathy looked confused and I wasn’t surprised. My life was a tangled ball of string.
“I am a teacher and as I told you, I can only get relief work because Isaac is not in a fulltime school program. I’ve gambled to pay the bills and keep him in the program that’s he’s enrolled in. It’s the only way I’ve been able to afford to do it.”
“Ah, now it all makes sense,” Gary put in and Cathy nodded at her husband. “This is what you’ve quarrelled about, at least in part.”
I nodded grimly. “Dane doesn’t like me gambling.”
“Of course not. It sounds dangerous and you obviously hate doing it.”
“I do. But it was the only way I could support us, particularly when I left Marcel. We had nothing. Leo loaned me the money to get set up. I had to gamble for him to repay it. I’ve been playing more the last couple of weeks to make up the money that I owe Dane.”
Gary looked pissed off, and with good reason. “Explain that!”
I sucked in a breath, the shit was really about to hit the fan. “Dane wasn’t happy about me gambling and he found out I had some pressing bills including Isaac’s school fees. He offered to pay them to help me out and I turned him down. I found out a couple of days after he’d gone that he’d paid the bills and he left me a credit card to pay Isaac’s school fees. I figured if I had a few good days at the tables I could pay him back and put together enough of a nest egg that it would tide me over until I could get permanent teaching next year.”
The look on Gary’s face said it all. He looked so cranky. “Look, I’m really sorry for all I’ve put you and your family through. I’ll just get Isaac and I’ll go. I’ve got the money for Dane. I’ll pay it all back with interest. You won’t ever have to see me again. I’m just so sorry…” My bottom lip was trembling and my throat burned with the sobs I was trying to hold in.
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