Casino Capers

by Dan Kelly

  Jillian asked, “Red, isn’t the Chameleon’s motive for going after you rooted in his belief that your brother, Nate, let the owner or owners of the building his brother burned to death in get away with murder? Doesn’t he believe that he is suffering unjustly because of your brother’s failure to seek justice for what happened to his brother and, therefore, you should suffer unjustly for the same reason?”

  “Yes to both questions, but I haven’t a clue as to why he chose to go down this road other than he’s more cracked than all the windows in an earthquake off the Richter scale. What’s your point?”

  “My point is that since his belief that justice wasn’t served is the root of all his turmoil, all his attempts to bring you to ruin, how would he react to hearing that the arson authorities are taking another look into the fire that killed his brother because they have some concerns about the thoroughness of the investigation conducted by your brother?”

  “He’d probably be astounded since a lot of time has passed since the fire and he believes that it’s a closed case. After the shock wore off, he’d definitely want to know more about the source of information and what led the authorities to reopen the investigation. He would most likely begin to feel hopeful that justice might finally be served. Are you suggesting that we make something up and put it on the web site to lure him into taking some chances to find out if what he is reading on the web site has any basis in truth?”

  “Exactly. He might be willing to agree to meet with me in person to discuss details and to collaborate on how we might assist the investigation. I would raise the question of web site security and imply that it probably would be safer for him if we were to meet in some place like a library or museum. From what you tell me, the Chameleon’s a very smart guy, so he would most likely feel comfortable in surroundings such as these.”

  “Wow! I like your idea, Jillian.”

  “So do I” chimed in Bill.

  “Popeye, what about you?”

  “I think it will work. I like the idea of them meeting in a library or a museum because they usually are very safe places to be, but with this guy, wherever they meet will be loaded with risk, so we’d better be damned sure we can protect her.”

  Jillian looked over at Popeye and saw the look of deep concern on his face. “Boy, I’m nothing to him. We just met, yet he’s so worried about my safety. What a sweetheart. I guess chivalry is still alive and well, at least where this giant of a man is concerned.”

  “Sylvia, do you have any reservations?

  “Only one, Red. I agree with Popeye. We must make very sure that every ‘i’ is dotted and every ‘t’ is crossed. If this loon gets suspicious, things could get real dicey for Jillian.”

  Red turned to Jillian and said, “Last chance, Jillian. If you want out, we will understand and go back to the drawing board. Are you in or out?”

  “I’m in. As any professional gambler will tell you, you can’t win if you don’t play.”

  “All right then.” said Red with a look of satisfaction spreading across his face, glad that they were once again doing something to try to get this guy. “The rubber has hit the road, we’ve left the gate and we now have a destination.

  “And” Popeye added, “May we not run into any detours or have any accidents along the way.”

  Throwing his hands in the air Bill blurted, “For crying out loud, Popeye, will you knock it off with the negative vibes already? Those kinds of feelings can be real contagious and we need to remain positive to put our very best effort into this Twilight scheme of ours.”

  Everyone laughed and, blushing, Popeye apologized for being such a worry wart and split.

  Jillian appreciated Popeye’s concern, but was beginning to wonder if there was more to why he was worried than was readily apparent.

  Red stood up and said, “Okay, the party’s over. Everybody knows what they have to do, so go do it and stay in touch. When everyone is ready, we’ll meet back here to review what’s been done, to put in place any finishing touches that might be needed and to determine the dates and times for the spot announcements, interview and the launching of the web site.”

  Smiling, he concluded with, “If anyone should need them, there are the usual remedies for the aftereffects of overeating in the cabinet in my restroom. I always make a pig of myself whenever I’m around food like we enjoyed today and I’ve learned to keep a good supply on hand.”

  As the chuckles and chatter fade onto the deck outside his office, Red sits back down and begins to vacillate about the wisdom of the plan he’s put into motion. “This sucker is very clever and very dangerous when he’s ticked off. If he catches on to our ruse, there will be hell to pay. It’s one thing for me to pay the freight and quite another to have Jillian foot the bill. I sure hope we can cover all of the bases and keep Jillian out of harm’s way. Popeye’s right to worry. The risk is there and we’d better be ready to face it.”

  Chapter 21

  After a fabulous dinner and a bottle of fantastic cabernet sauvignon at Cherie’s Jubilee, Jillian and Red are strolling along the main deck discussing the evening’s choices of entertainment. It turns out that they are both jazz lovers, so they head for the Jazz Jamboree to take in the next jam session which starts in about twenty minutes.

  As they approach the entrance, who’s leaving the nightclub but none other than Commissioner Crowley with a attractive woman on his arm who’s got to be at least half his age. The way they are looking at each other and laughing, Red doubts that she’s his daughter or niece. Red knows that the Commissioner lost his wife some years ago in a terrible train wreck that killed 13 people and just recently married a high society wealthy widow who is well known for being a stickler for propriety and keeping a tight rein on her man. “Well, well, well. This could be interesting.”

  “Good evening, Commissioner. I hope you are enjoying your cruise.” He’d heard that shock could kill, but never believed it until this moment. When the Commissioner turned and spotted Red, his smile shattered and was replaced with a look of abject embarrassment. He abruptly sat down as sweat began to bead on his forehead. Apparently, he was so overcome by his embarrassment that he had to sit down on one of the benches on either side of the entrance before he fell down. He stammered through his greeting and explanation for his abrupt need to sit down as well as his introduction of the young lady. The more he talked, the more uncomfortable he appeared to become.

  Crowley’s story was that he must have eaten something that disagreed with him because he wasn’t feeling well. He was on this cruise because he wanted to check out the Floating Fantasies’ gambling operation personally since so much notoriety had arisen around its casino manager. The lady is his secretary, Charlotte Morrison, whom he asked to accompany him to take notes on his observations and provide additional perspective and insight.

  Red wasn’t buying it. Thinking, “Man, what a bunch of garbage.” but saying, “I’m sure you will find everything in order. Isn’t it unusual for the Gaming Commissioner to engage in field work when he has staff to perform those duties?”

  Recovering some of his innate belligerence he says, “Everything associated with the casinos you mange is unusual, Red, and calls for some unusual responses. I’ll be watching you and what goes on in your casino very closely.”

  As he turns to leave in a huff, probably believing he’s going to have the last word, Red says in a raised voice, “Well, I don’t have a problem with a man doing his job as he sees best, as long as he does it on the fair and square. Say hello to your lovely wife. I ran into her the other day at City Hall. She was quite empathetic to the situation I find myself in as the beleaguered casino manager under siege by a chameleon like nut.”

  Turning back, his face beet red, sputtering with rage over, Red assumes, the fact that he was talking with his wife about matters that Crowley believes should be restricted to the confines of the Gaming Commissioner’s office and most likely embarrassment that Red brought his wife up in front of his secretary, he bl
urted out, “What the hell”…..and then he shut up. He turned around and stomped off with his secretary in tow.

  “Yes, yes, yes. We’ve definitely caught the old boy with his hand in the cookie jar.”

  Jillian, who has been standing quietly alongside Red during this encounter, can’t control her curiosity any longer. “What was that all about?”

  Red tells her about his relationship with the Commissioner and why he’s not on Crowley’s “most favored person” list. “He’s vowed to cook my goose and burn to a crisp any chances I might have to stay employed in the casino business.”

  Laughing quietly she responds with, “Boy, you sure do have a problem when it comes to keeping peace in the family don’t you? First the Carduccis then the Crowleys.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. I seem to have been blessed with the knack and, I might add, even when it comes to my own. I split the Borman family into two distinct warring factions because I enlisted in the Air Force when I graduated from college. Half of my relatives wanted me to join the Marines like my Uncle Hank and the other half wanted me to sign up with the Navy like my Uncle Rudy. Hell, my father, an ex-marine, didn’t talk to me all the while I was in the service. He said only wimps joined the Air Force.

  “Things might have been a little different if I hadn’t told the respective parts of my family that I was going to join their branch of the service. At the time, I thought it was a great idea because I wouldn’t have to argue with anyone and everyone would reconcile themselves to the fact that I went and did my own thing. I thought they might even be proud of me for doing what I wanted to do. Yeah, I know. Dumb move, but I had just turned twenty-one and I was still very wet behind the ears.”

  “Well, it appears that age has nothing to do with the condition. The Commissioner is well past twenty-one and his faltering performance just now has convinced me that he’s got puddles behind his. Why on earth wouldn’t he anticipate running into you on the Floating Fantasies? I grant you, it’s a big ship, but not so big that the odds of running into you are so small that he could feel safe in dismissing the possibility.”

  “Jillian, men everywhere are susceptible to doing some very strange things when trying to impress a pretty lady. I’m sure you’ve had some first hand experience with that. The Commissioner is no different. To make matters worse, he’s so full of himself that he feels he can talk his way out of any situation that comes along, but his ineptitude at dodging the bullet only leads him to digging a deeper hole for himself. If his wife finds out about his little jaunt on the Floating Fantasies with Lady Charlotte, there will be no hole deep enough to protect him from that woman’s vituperative skills.”

  “So, his wife has a way with words does she? She sounds like a tough woman and no one to cross.”

  “She’s tough alright, but in good kind of way. She has a very strong sense of what is right and wrong and doesn’t tolerate misbehavior on anyone’s part. She speaks her mind, but has a heart as big as the Floating Fantasies when it comes to helping people in need. She has heaps of money, but it hasn’t gone to her head. She’s real down to earth and has a great sense of humor. She’s very active in the Bettendorf community and a hell of a poker player. I like her though what she sees in Crowley is way beyond my ability to fathom. If you’d like, when this cruise is over I’ll arrange an introduction for you.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Consider it done.”

  Chapter 22

  Two days later Red, Bill, Sylvia, Jillian and Popeye are sitting in Sylvia’s office going over what she and Jillian have come up with to lure the Chameleon out into the open.

  Tim Rollins at Channel 6 has agreed to do the interview on his show this coming Friday which is three days hence. He’s on during Prime Time from 6:00 – 6:30 p.m. which should enhance the chances that the Chameleon will tune in. Tim was able to put Sylvia in touch with the right people to set up the 30 second spot announcements which will appear at the top of the hour every hour from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, and running until Friday at 5:00 p.m. the day of the show.

  Pictures of a smiling Jillian will appear in the “spots” along with the voice of Tim Rollins urging folks to tune in for the interview of the exciting, intriguing and quite beautiful new entertainment director of the Go For It Casino. He will end the spot with the comment, “She has some fascinating new ideas to share with you about how to make your casino experience a lot more fun whether you’re a winner or a loser. Please join us.”

  Sylvia and Jillian have come up with the ideal script to raise the Chameleon’s curiosity level to the point where he’ll be quite eager to check out Jillian’s new web site. The primary motivator will be Jillian’s comments about what she’s been hearing about a vendetta aimed at one of the local casino managers and her concerns about how this might affect her tenure at the Go For It, urging the viewing audience to go to her web site for more details.

  The initial commentary on her web site will flesh out some of the ideas she has to make visits to the Go For It even more memorable. It will include comments on her love of art and some of her “own paintings” will be displayed on the web site. This will be followed by her revelation of the names of the people involved in the vendetta, the nickname that has been given to the perpetrator, the reason for the vendetta and her empathy for the Chameleon. The commentary will end with the hopefully startling announcement that the arson investigation of the fire in which the Chameleon’s brother died has been reopened due to questions of its thoroughness being raised. The visitors to the web site will be urged to check back regularly for any new developments that might occur.

  Sylvia and Jillian have come up with some very powerful and convincing reasons for Jillian identifying with the Chameleon and his frustration and offering to try to help the Chameleon with his dilemma. Jillian will make reference to a fatal car accident which killed her non-existent younger sister and the reckless driver who was traveling 30 miles over the posted speeds limit was only fined $10,000, had his automobile license revoked for two years and given two years of public service. She will state how livid she was with this guy’s punishment and explain how all of her pleas for help, for justice, fell on deaf ears.

  Red’s thinking, “If this doesn’t move this fruitcake to make contact with Jillian, I don’t have a clue what our next move should be.”

  “Ladies, you have done a fantastic job. This should get this guy salivating for more info and wanting to get to know Jillian better. The next step is to pick the place for them to meet and then we’ve got to come up with something for Jillian to suggest at this meeting that will be believable, convincing enough for him to trust her. If Jillian can earn his trust, we should be able to lure him into a trap.

  “Now, where should the meeting take place? What should she suggest? What kind of trap should we set and where?

  “I like the library. It’s open and there are always a lot of people around, so covert surveillance will be easy to put in place. Bill, what did your brother in-law say about using some of his people to keep Jillian safe?”

  “I’m afraid we’re out of luck there, Popeye. Chuck’s ears are still burning from the chewing out he got from his chief for what happened at the Palladian Palace.”

  Disappointment and deep concern spread across Popeye’s face. “Listen people. I can provide protection for Jillian. I know my size makes it difficult, hell impossible, for me to melt into the surroundings, but I’ve been thinking. If the Chameleon can resort to disguises to carry out his plans, why can’t I? I can put myself in a wheel chair, don a false wig and beard and wear tinted glasses. I could position myself close enough so that if things start to get out of hand, Jillian can signal me and I can be by her side in a flash. She could signal me by playing with a ring on her finger or fluffing her hair, something as natural as that.”

  For about five seconds, everyone is quiet until Jillian says, “I think Popeye could pull this off and I definitely would feel safe with him close by.
Since it’s my safety were talking about, I opt for Popeye’s offer, end of discussion.”

  Seeing or hearing no signs of dissent Red says, “Okay, that’s settled. The initial meeting will take place in the Bettendorf Public Library with Popeye nearby. I suggest the meeting take place in the computer section. The environment would be a comfortable one for the Chameleon and Popeye could be seated at one of the stations as unobtrusive as he can possibly be.”