by Dan Kelly
Chapter 17
After Popeye and Bill leave, Red checks in with Sylvia Paganino, the gal he’s put in charge of putting the gaming tournament together for the upcoming cruise, to make sure there aren’t any problems there. “Hi, Syl, Red here. Is everything ready to go?”
“All but the banners and signs. The printer just delivered them. He’s a day late, so we’re going to have to hustle to get them in place before we launch. If no one breaks a leg in the rush, we should be okay. The sign up stations, player status boards, the drawing bowl for those players who finish in the fourth to tenth places along with the prizes which are fabulous and the public address system are all set up and ready for action. The people assigned to these activities have received their instructions and are primed and can’t wait for the fun to start.”
“That’s terrific, Syl. When are you planning on holding the tournament?”
“After we’ve been on the river a couple of days. This will give our guests time to familiarize themselves with the Floating Fantasies and be mesmerized by her charms. By then, they should really be in the proper frame of mind to get involved in the tournament, try to win some big bucks and have a lot of fun while doing so. It’s my job to see that they enjoy every minute of it. The free drinks and hors d’oeuvres alone will make them glad they decided to participate. It should be a smash hit, Red.”
“That’s good to hear, Syl. If you need anything, just give a shout.”
As Red hangs up the phone he’s thinking, “I wonder if the Chameleon will try anything while we’re out on the river, targeting the tournament or something else. We shouldn’t take any chances. We’ve got to expect the worst and try to plan for any contingency. Ha! That’s a lot easier said than done with this guy.”
Just as Red starts to think things couldn’t get much worse they do. The phone rings and it’s Commissioner Crowley calling about complaints he’s received about the slot machines on the Floating Fantasies being fixed. “What is it with you, Red? Wherever you go a stink is sure to follow.”
“Along with a stinker to keep it company it appears. A full report on what happened yesterday concerning the Floating Fantasies is on its way to you by special courier as we speak, Commissioner. If, after reading it, you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call. The report includes the countermeasures we are putting into place. Have a nice day.”
Without giving Commissioner Crowley a chance to respond, Red quickly hangs up. “Man, that old axiom, ’Bad news travels fast.’ is right on. If we don’t come up with something soon that will put the Chameleon out of business, there are some other axioms that might also take center stage; ‘He’s on a one way trip to oblivion.’, ‘ He’s going down for the third time.’, “His number’s up.’ immediately come to mind. Maybe I should buy my own cab and go into business for myself.”
Red’s thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the whistle announcing the beginning of the Floating Fantasies next cruise up the Mississippi and he heads for the casino and restaurants to observe and eavesdrop on the patrons for feedback regarding their thoughts on what they are experiencing. He’s been doing this since his first cruise on the Floating Fantasies three months ago and it has given him valuable input regarding how to give them what they want, keep them coming back for more and going out of their way to tell their friends about the wonderful time they’ve had on the Floating Fantasies.
The sun is shining, the temperature is in the upper 70’s and there is a gentle breeze. It’s a great day to begin a cruise and Red is hoping that nothing will happen to spoil it. “I hope Popeye’s body is wrong and this weather holds up for the next seven days.”
Popeye has told him that the normal speed of the Mississippi’s current is between 1 and 3 miles per hour, depending on where you are on the river, but during a severe storm it moves much faster. Red’s hoping his tendency towards sea sickness won’t be tested any time soon, never would suit him just fine.
Walking towards the casino, he passes by Cherie’s Jubilee, the restaurant where he had his first meal on the Floating Fantasies with Rex Spaulding. He glances through the window to see how busy they are and who does he spot but Joe Amato sitting at a back table engaged in a lively conversation with a very pretty lady. Joe sees him and waves for him to come in.
“Hey, Joe! What brings you on board? Checking out your latest competition?”
“You hit the nail on the head, my friend. This is Jillian Prevot. I’ve just hired her as my entertainment director and am taking her around to all of the casinos so she can get a lay of the land, familiarize herself with what the competition is doing and get a feel for what she’s going to have to do to attract customers. Jillian, this is Jacob Borman, the man responsible for all that happens on the Floating Fantasies.”
“Hello, Mr. Borman.”
“Hi. Nobody calls me Mr. Borman but the IRS and the tellers at my local bank. Everyone else, including my enemies, calls me Red. It must have something to do with my hair. May I call you Jillian?”
Smiling and relaxing back in her chair, she responds with, “Yes you may, Red. This is quite a dinghy you have here.”
Red exploded with laughter and exclaimed, “Dinghy! Jillian, don’t let Rex Spaulding here you call his fifteen million dollar lady a dinghy. He’ll come down on you like a typhoon at sea.”
Joe said, “On a more serious note, Red, have you had any more run-ins with the Chameleon since you left the Palladian Palace?”
“Oh yeah.” Red filled him in on the Chameleon’s latest mayhem and when he finished his exasperation was quite evident. “From now on, whenever I hear the expression ‘strange but true’ I’m going to think of this guy. He definitely deserves his own chapter in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.”
“Well, I want you to know that all of us casino managers are still on your side even if our last attempt to grab this guy failed. The Chameleon is definitely not good for business.”
“Thanks, Joe. If I need your help again, I won’t hesitate to send out an S.O.S.”
Jillian, who seems fascinated by what she has just heard, makes a suggestion that intrigues Red. “Joe was just telling me about your experiences with this man. When I add them to what you have just told us, I get a very strong sense of the type of fellow he must be.
‘He’s different and he knows he’s different. He’s definitely a loner and very shy. His extreme intelligence, his delusion about your brother Nate, his all consuming lust for revenge, his apparent inability to make many friends, the only one I’m aware of is this Sam Ferguson in Chicago, make him standout as something of a freak. I doubt if he’s ever had a girl friend, but he probably yearns to have one. An attractive female showing an interest in him and his quest might just be the perfect bait to punch this guy’s ticket to Rock Pile Heaven.”
“Rock Pile Heaven?”
“What can I tell you, Red? I’m a big fan of detective novels. I must have come across the name in one of the books I’ve read.”
“Are you volunteering?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment and I’d seriously consider it if Joe gives his okay.”
“Well, Joe, the lady might be on to something here. Being a new hire, Jillian sure has a lot of homework to do to get settled in and ready to do her thing. How do you feel about me taking up some of her time and using her to set a trap for the Chameleon?”
“Both of you have my thumb’s up. I hope you can come up with something that will end this blankety blank’s tirade once and for all.”
“Thanks, Joe and thank you, Jillian. I’ve scheduled a meeting with my head of security, Bill Kieffer, and the captain of the Floating Fantasies, Paul, Popeye, Petersen, in my office at ten o’clock tomorrow morning to discuss what our next steps should be. Can you be there?”
“I’ll be there.”
“I didn’t know that Bill had left the Palladian Palace to join you at the Floating Fantasies, Red. When did this happen?”
“Just a few days ago, Joe, and I’m sure gla
d to have him on board. Well, you two, I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll keep you in the loop, Joe, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Jillian.”
The goodbyes having been said, Red heads for the casino with pleasant thoughts of Joe’s new entertainment director drifting through his head. “Wow! What a knockout! Maybe something good will come out of this Chameleon mess after all.”
Chapter 18
At 10:05 a.m. the next morning, the introductions having been made, the only sound in Red’s office is the lapping of the Mississippi River against the hull of the Floating Fantasies coming in through the open windows. Both Popeye and Bill have become completely spellbound by Jillian’s looks and demeanor. Red has to laugh to himself because he went through the same process last evening. The lady is something else.
“How do I get the ball rolling without embarrassing anyone?”
Jillian unwittingly comes to his aid by breaking the silence with a couple of questions. “Has there been any direct communication between the Chameleon and you, Red, or for that matter anyone at the Palladian Palace or the Floating Fantasies? Has he tried any teasing or goading to increase the tension surrounding his actions?”
Red responded with, “Nothing. To date, he’s let his actions speak for him.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. If my assessment of him is correct, his shyness and awareness of how different he is from other people is jus too strong to permit him to expose himself that way. If we could come up with some way to open a direct channel of communication with him, the door would be open for us to present a scenario so tempting to him, so overpowering, that these self imposed restraints would be blown out of the water.”
“You know, Jillian, you don’t talk like an entertainment director. You sound more like a shrink.”
“Well, Red, that’s exactly what I was before I became an entertainment director. It only took me a few years to realize that trying to figure out what made people unhappy, what made them neurotic, wasn’t as rewarding to me as I had first imagined. I thought it would be a lot more fun trying to figure out what makes people happy, so I took a shot at the entertainment industry as a consultant and so far haven’t regretted it.”
“Well, your background and insight could be a big help to us. Guys, let me share with you a suggestion Jillian made yesterday about how we might get our hooks into the Chameleon.”
Red fills Bill and Popeye in on Jillian’s comments about the feeling she has about the Chameleon not having many friends and probably never having a girlfriend, but most likely being normal in this regard, yearning for one.
“If f we can open a channel of communication with this guy, using it to introduce Jillian into the mix, we might be able to maneuver him into taking one risk too many.”
Having listened to Jillian this morning and hearing Red’s comments about what she said to him and Joe yesterday, Bill and Popeye are reassessing their initial impressions of Jillian Prevot. There’s a lot more to this lady than her good looks.
“Okay, Red. I’ve known you a lot longer than these two, so I know you wouldn’t have invited Jillian here or brought this topic up if you didn’t have a plan forming in that noggin of yours. Let’s hear it.”
Popeye, being a man of action and few words, remained silent, but he slid forward in his chair, resting his huge forearms on the conference table, anxious to hear what Red has on his mind.
“Bill, if I’ve looked at the list you prepared on what we know about the Chameleon once I’ve looked at it a hundred times. Three things repeatedly stand out each time I review the list. He’s is highly intelligent, an excellent craftsman and keeps himself in good physical condition.
“I’m no psychologist, but it’s been my experience that people have a strong tendency to identify with, align themselves with and develop relationships with people who have the same abilities and interests as they do.
“The success of my plan hinges on three key factors; the selection of the most appropriate channel of communication, the creation of an image for Jillian that will immediately and irresistibly attract the Chameleon to her, and Jillian’s ability to reinforce whatever rapport she can establish on the web site and earn his trust during one or more face-to-face meetings. There’s no way we’re going to be able to spring a trap on him during their first face-to-face encounter. He’s way too cautious and smart for that.
“This guy is a computer guru, so I believe our best chance of making initial contact with him would be via the internet. We could arrange for an interview to be conducted of the new entertainment director of the Go For It casino with a reporter from a local TV station. On the surface, the interview would be for publicity purposes, getting the word out that the Go For It has a new entertainment director who has some innovative ideas for making the Go For It a ‘must place’ to be checked out.
“During the interview, however, Jillian would drop a bombshell. At the appropriate time, Jillian would say, ‘I’m looking forward to working at the Go For It and am hoping I’ll be there for a very long time. I just hope that the rumors I’ve been hearing about some sort of vendetta being carried out against the manager of another casino are false. If they’re true and the Go For It becomes a target as well, my stay might be a short one.’
“The reporter would obviously want to question her about what she has said, but Jillian’s reply would be, ‘I don’t have time to go into it now, but I’ll have more to say about these rumors on my website, funtimewithjillianprevot.com.’
“Hopefully, the Chameleon would see the interview or at least hear about it and go to the website. There would be a full length picture of Jillian on the website and a detailed account of everything that the Chameleon has pulled to date at the Palladian Palace and the Floating Fantasies and why. I would be identified as the target, Carl Carducci as the perpetrator and the Chameleon as the nickname we’ve given Carducci.
“Jillian would also state that she can identify with the Chameleon’s frustration because she has experienced something similar herself and that she understands his reasoning and wishes that she could help him in some way. She would explain that her feelings go deeper than just sympathy, that her experience as a practicing psychologist gives her a much deeper understanding of what the Chameleon is going through. She would explain how her painting, first with water colors then with oils, helped her deal with her challenges. We could even find some nice paintings to show on the website to reinforce her comments.
“The reaction I’m hoping for is that he will see this beautiful, intelligent, understanding woman as someone who understands him and wants to help him and his testosterone level will leap off the charts and drive him to make contact with her on her website. The revelation that we know who he is and why he’s doing the things he’s doing should also shake him up quite a bit and urge him to seek out a possible ally.
“If contact is made and a dialogue of some sort established, we can then create a set of circumstances that would encourage a face-to-face meeting.”
With an approving nod of agreement Bill asks, “And what might those circumstances be?”
“I haven’t a clue. I haven’t gotten that far in my thinking yet. They would depend on how the dialogue between the Chameleon and Jillian unravels”
Popeye has been listening intently to what Red has been saying and his gut
has begun to fill with a great deal of concern about the kind of risk this plan might have for Jillian. Glancing over at Jillian for any sign that she might also have some concerns and seeing none, voices his own. “Well, when we get to that point
we’re going to have to be very careful. Let’s not forget that this guy has engaged in armed robbery. If we mess up somehow and this nut finds out what we’re up to, things could get real dangerous for all concerned, especially Jillian.”
“Thanks for looking out for me, Popeye, but don’t you worry. I’m not walking into anything without my eyes wide open. What this is really all about is trust. Even if he is attracted by my appearance,
for Red’s plan to work the Chameleon must believe what he reads on the website. If he has any doubts, we’ll lose him.”