Casino Capers

by Dan Kelly

  Red answered with, “Joe, you’re already doing a hell of a lot to help out. Letting Jillian work with me, giving me access to the use of your personnel such as your security people and hologram techs, acting as liaison with the other casino managers, all of these things give me a real good chance of bringing this Chameleon vendetta to an end. You’ve stuck your neck way out to help me, risking the wrath of a very unbalanced and dangerous man. I won’t forget it, believe me. I can’t think of anything else you could do right now, but I’ll shout if something comes to mind.”

  “Well, Red, I’m glad to be in a position to help out. Don’t you hesitate to call if you need something else from me.”

  “Thanks, guy. I will.”

  Jillian tapped Red’s hand to get his attention and said, “Casually look over Joe’s left shoulder and glance over to the end of the bar near the entrance to the restaurant. The man sitting there who’s wearing a dark navy blue sports jacket with brass buttons and grey slacks has been paying an unusual amount of attention to the three of us for about a half hour now. What do you make of him? Joe, don’t turn around.”

  After checking the guy out Red says, “He has the right height and build to be the Chameleon, but hey, Jillian, he could just be a guy being a guy and enjoying the looks of a beautiful woman.”

  Caught off guard by the compliment and blushing slightly she came back with, “Take a look around you, Red. There are dozens of women here much more attractive than I am.”

  “Not from where I’m sitting there aren’t.”

  Joe joined in with, “And I’ll ditto that.”

  Despite her efforts to control it, her blush quickly deepened to a bright crimson, but she somewhat recovered with, “Thank you both for the compliment, but he hasn’t been looking anywhere but over here. If he was an aficionado of the fairer sex, his eyes would be roaming all over the place. A few times I caught him staring and when I did he quickly looked away only to resume his staring when I looked away and he didn’t think I’d notice.”

  “Well, I guess I could go over and ask him why he’s so interested in us, but he might get his back up and create a scene which is something I don’t think Joe and the other guests in the restaurant would appreciate, especially if it turned into a physical altercation.”

  With a smile on his face Joe asked, “Physical altercation? Where did that come from?”

  “Okay, okay a brawl. I was trying to be less alarming in the presence of a lady.”

  With a knowing smile Joe asked, “What the devil is happening to you? Physical altercation, less alarming. What is Rex Spaulding doing to you?”

  With an embarrassed smile on her face because she knew where Joe was coming from Jillian said, “No, stay here. It probably would be best if you don’t confront him. I sure would like to know why he’s so curious though.”

  “Maybe I can find out for you.” Pulling his cell phone from his pants pocket Joe hit the speed dial button and a few seconds later someone picked up at the other end. “Hello, Kirk? Joe here. I want you to do something for me.” A few minutes later a tall powerfully built man dressed in street clothes came into the restaurant and approached the stranger at the bar. Joe said he was one of his security people.

  The security guy said something to the man at the bar and then an instant later there was a flash and he collapsed to the floor. By the time Red and Joe reacted and got to where the security man had fallen, the stranger had run out the door and disappeared into the crowd milling in the hallways that lead to various parts of the casino.

  Kneeling down alongside of his security man, Joe saw that the poor guy was unconscious, so he began looking for signs of what had happened to him. There were no indications that he had been shot with a silenced gun or stabbed, but there were scorch marks on his shirt which told Joe that he might have been Tasered. This didn’t make any sense though because there were no signs of wires or electrodes.

  Looking up at Red he said, “These scorch marks on his shirt look like he was hit with some kind of electrical charge. It wasn’t a Taser because there are no wires or electrodes lying around anywhere.”

  Red said, “I recently read somewhere about a stun gun that could shoot electrodes without wires. When they hit their target, they release an electrical charge, incapacitating the victim. The shooter probably grabbed the electrode before he split. I don’t know what these electrodes look like, but I don’t see anything unusual lying around here anywhere.”

  The security man began to come around and was helped to his feet and taken to the casino’s first aid station by two uniformed security guards.

  Running his hand through his hair Red said, “Jillian’s instincts were right. The guy at the bar was probably the Chameleon. Ah, nuts, nuts, nuts! I wonder where this leave us now as far as hatching our plan on the Floating Fantasies is concerned?”

  Jillian, who by now had walked over to the area of the bar where the security guy got zapped, said, “All we can do, Red, is go ahead with trying to establish contact with the Chameleon and wait to see what he will do. He took a heck of chance coming to the Go For It and trying to spy and perhaps eavesdrop on us.”

  Red said, “He must have followed us from the Floating Fantasies. That’s the only way he could have known we were here.”

  “The fact that he did, Red, indicates to me that his frustration has reached a level where he’s become so impatient that he’s starting to lose a grip on his self-control. He’s becoming more brazen and less clandestine, more willing to use tactics that require less cleverness, less finesse to harass you.”

  “But what could he have hoped to accomplish tonight by just sitting at the bar and watching us?”

  “Perhaps he wants to find out if he can unnerve you, intimidate you to the point where you’ll say you’ve had enough and give him what he wants, you walking away from your career in casino management and leaving town. Remember, Red, this guy’s mind is more twisted than a pretzel and what we would think is illogical can make perfect sense to him. Maybe he was hoping that you’d be the one to go over to him at the bar so he could scare the daylights out of you with his stun gun. I just don’t know, but I strongly believe I’m on the right track.”

  “Well, damn. In addition to everything else this flake has no qualms about doing, now I’ve got to deal with his stalking me and maybe getting it in his head to get his revenge by killing me. Ah, nuts, nuts, nuts!!!”

  Joe said, “Red, in light of this guy’s latest stunt let me help protect your back with some of my security staff. The local police don’t have the manpower to provide the protection you might need.”

  “Thanks, Joe. I think it would be a good idea to also arrange for some caretakers to look after Jillian as well. She’s smack dab in the middle of all this and if for some reason the Chameleon decides that she’s his enemy and not his ally she could be in a lot of danger. I’ll have Bill call your head of security to co-ordinate with what he already has in place. I assume that he should call the man you called on your cell phone earlier, Kirk?”

  “He’s the man. I’ll let him know that you’ll be calling.”

  “And Joe, Rex Spaulding will reimburse you for the expense you incur to provide Jillian and me with the extra security. We can’t go to our regular security firm, Sentinel Services, for additional people because we suspect that the Chameleon is employed by them and using his uniform to roam all over the Floating Fantasies without anyone taking a second glance. I don’t want to run the risk of him finding out that he’s gotten to me to the point where I’ve increased my personal security. This guy doesn’t need to be encouraged any more than he already is.”

  “Don’t worry about the expense. We’ll work something out later if the cost gets out of hand. You two just concentrate on letting the air out of this guy’s balloon permanently.”

  Returning to the Floating Fantasies, Red dropped Jillian off at her car in the employee parking lot. “Thanks for joining Joe and me for dinner, Jillian. It was a lot more eventful than
I had planned, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. You were right. The food was fantastic. We’ll have to try it again sometime.”

  “I’d like that, Red. Before you go, I have a question for you.”

  “Shoot”

  “In light of what the Chameleon pulled tonight, don’t you think it would be best that I try to contact the Chameleon right away instead of waiting a few days? He’s obviously not calming down and it would appear more normal for me to try to contact him right away to ask if it was him at the restaurant. I could also ask him why he took off like he did in the helicopter at the ski resort and if he still wants to work with me. All of this should seem like normal behavior to him.”

  “That makes a lot of sense, Jillian. Leave your contact code on your web site tomorrow and let’s see what happens. If he wants to continue working with you, you should be able to buy the time needed to get everyone together, prep them and record the hologram for the meeting. Good night now and thanks again for your company at dinner tonight and your help.”

  “Good night, Red.” Climbing into her car, she couldn’t help feeling a little nervous about being alone. She quickly locked her doors, started the car, looked all around her for signs of the Chameleon and headed for home. “I don’t know what I’m looking for. With the Chameleon’s ability to disguise himself, I wouldn’t know him if I was staring him straight in the face. The best I can do is look for anything out of the ordinary.”

  Constantly looking in her rearview mirror for someone following her, she was glad to get home, lock all her doors and windows and set her house alarm.

  Chapter 36

  Lying in bed unable to get to sleep Jillian is thinking, “What have I gotten myself into? This Chameleon situation has escalated into something a lot more serious and dangerous than I could ever have imagined. One good thing has come out of all this though. I met Red. He’s certainly an interesting guy. If I needed any additional motivation to stay the course with this Chameleon oddball, Red’s as good as any and probably better than most.”

  Smiling, she finally drifted off to sleep only to be awakened by the phone ringing at three in the morning. “Hello.”

  “Ms. Prevot?”

  “Yes, who is this?”

  “My name’s Pearlman, Ms. Prevot, Ron Pearlman. I’m the security man who was attacked by that lunatic at the bar in the Go For It last night. I’m sure I woke you calling at this ungodly hour and I’m sorry, but I thought you would want to know right away what I picked up on during my brief encounter with that fruitcake. I tried calling both Joe Amato and Red Borman, but couldn’t reach either one of them. They must go into hibernation when they hit the sack. I got your number from the personnel files here at the Go For It.”

  “You’re still there?”

  “Yeah. The people in our first aid station insisted that I be checked out at the local hospital and I just got back to pick up my car and head for home. Joe’s told me a little bit about the troubles Red’s been having with this Chameleon guy and has put me on call in case Red needs any additional security. He also told me that you were working with Red to help capture this maniac, so that’s why I’m calling you.

  “While I was at the hospital, I had some time to think about what had happened to me and about what I might have noticed about the man that would help in capturing him. At first my mind was a blank, but then I remembered that I saw this unusual scar on the guy’s pinky and I knew that I’d seen it before. I racked my brain, but I couldn’t remember where I saw it until I got back to the Go For It a few minutes ago.”

  Holding her breath Jillian asked, “Where, Ron, where have you seen this scar before?”

  “In my apartment building. There’s a guy who lives in my apartment building who has the same scar. I’ve seen it when he reached for his mail in his mail box several times. He doesn’t look like the guy at the bar in the Go For It, but the scar is identical. He doesn’t appear to be the friendly type, so I’ve never spoken with him and can’t tell you anything about him, but I’m not a believer in coincidences, Ms. Prevot. I think this guy should be checked out.”

  “I think you’re right, Ron. What’s your address and if you know the apartment number of the guy with the scar let me have that too.”

  Ron gave her the information and thirty minutes later Jillian had showered and was in her car headed for the Floating Fantasies. Running up the gangplank, she was surprised to see Popeye leaning on the railing talking with one of the security guards. “Popeye, what are you doing up so early?”

  “I was having trouble sleeping. I keep thinking about this Chameleon character and it’s keeping me awake. What about you? What are you doing up gallivanting around good old Bettendorf at this time of the morning?”

  “I need you to get Red for me right away. He told me that he was temporarily living onboard until the Chameleon was in custody. We might have just gotten a break in finding out where the Chameleon hangs his hat. Meet me in Red’s office and I’ll tell you both what has happened.”

  A few minutes later Popeye and a half asleep Red sat down at the conference table and Red asked, “What’s up, Jillian?”

  After Jillian finishes filling them in on Ron Pearlman’s phone call, Red is wide awake and ready to kick butt. “Popeye, call Bill, clue him in on what’s happened and have him get ahold of Chuck to get some of his men over to the Chameleon’s apartment right away. He’ll know Chuck’s home phone number. Maybe we’ll get lucky and catch the Chameleon unawares and our troubles will be over without any more elaborate scheming.

  “And, Jillian, thanks for alerting me. Your quick response to what Mr. Pearlman told you just might have given us enough time to bring an end to this guy’s exploits once and for all.

  “I’m going to get some clothes on and then I’ll meet the two of you back here to wait for the results of the raid on the Chameleon’s apartment. Man, I hope we get lucky. This guy is really starting to wear me down.”

  Ten minutes later Bill called to say that Chuck was at that moment putting together a raid on the Chameleon’s apartment and would get back to him when he had something to tell him.

  Forty-five minutes later Bill called again and Red put him on the speaker. “Bad news, guys. When the police got to the apartment, there was no response to their banging on the door and shouting for the Chameleon to open up. When the super let them in, there was no sign that the Chameleon had ever been there. The closets were empty; nothing in the fridge, no trash, nothing. He’s skipped. He must have recognized Pearlman during the brief set to at the Go For It and decided he’d better head for safer digs.”

  Thanking Bill for the info, Red breaks the connection and then explodes with a string of epithets and nuts, nuts, nuts. Fuming, he begins to pace around the conference room table, muttering a few more epithets here and there that are accentuated by a lot of grimacing and fist waving. Jillian is convinced that if there was anything within easy reach he would have flung it as far as he was able. The Chameleon has definitely hit Red’s hot button one too many times.

  After several minutes, Red begins to cool down and eventually he collapses in his seat at the conference room table, takes a deep breath which he holds for a few seconds then lets out with a loud whoosh. A little embarrassed, he apologizes for his outburst and says, “To say I’m disappointed would be putting it mildly and stating the obvious, judging from my tirade for the past few minutes.

  “As a casino manager, I’m used to the odds being in my favor. The Chameleon’s winning streak has got to be close to running out. The odds have got to be turning in our favor. If I didn’t strongly believe this, I’d probably throw in the towel. I’m not a quitter nor do I think the Chameleon is a quitter, but I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes being too stubborn is being stupid. Determination is a wonderful thing, but sometimes it can lead to a person’s downfall. I hoping that will be the case with the Chameleon.

  “As Jillian has pointed out, the Chameleon is already showing signs of breaking under the strain of t
rying to destroy me and is now willing to take more risk to accomplish what he has set out to do. If his self control continues to deteriorate, he’s bound to make a mistake that will put him behind bars. We have got to be ready when this happens.