Casino Capers

by Dan Kelly

  The cop in the shed, Officer Callahan, is thinking, “This may be our guy. Nope, he’s walking away. Wait, he’s stopped and is coming back. He’s sure taking a good hard look at the walkway.” Using his hands free communicator, he lets the rest of the strike team know what’s going on. It seems like an eternity, but finally the man steps over the chain, walks up to the window of Red’s office and begins writing something on the clipboard. Officer Callahan updates his team and says, “It looks like our target has taken the bait. No one move or make a sound until I give the signal.”

  Callahan wants to give the Chameleon sufficient time to get completely absorbed by what he is seeing and hearing, so that he will be oblivious to what is going on around him. The more surprised he is by the take down, the less chance there will be of someone getting hurt.

  Fifteen minutes go by before he gives the command to take the suspect down. As quietly as they can, the officers behind the barricade slide the moveable crate out of the way and Callahan slowly and quietly opens the door to the shed. There are no rusty, squeaky hinges on the Floating Fantasies, even with the constantly damp air.

  The Chameleon is concentrating so hard on what is going on in Red’s office that he doesn’t hear the officers approaching until one of them trips over a wrench that was left leaning against the base of the staircase railing, sending it loudly sliding along the walkway.

  In a flash, the Chameleon assesses the predicament he’s in and heads for the ship’s railing. Halfway there he slips on the wet deck and falls to his knees. At that same exact moment, Officer Callahan launches himself at The Chameleon’s chest, but instead of making contact he sails right over him and lands on his belly several feet away. Before Callahan can recover or any of the other officers can get their hands on him, the Chameleon has vaulted over the ship’s railing and disappeared.

  Minutes later they hear a small outboard motor revving up, the sound quickly fading away down river. Apparently, he had a contingency plan in place to make his escape if he found himself in a bind. He must have had some kind of boat hidden along the bank of the river close by.

  Chapter 44

  Several hours later, everyone but Sylvia is sitting in Rex’s office assessing the damage and trying to figure out what the next step should be. Red is still speechless from hearing the news which is a rare condition for him. Bill is surprised not to hear a long string of invective and ah, nuts, nuts, nuts out of him and this worries him more than if Red had blown his top.

  Uncharacteristically, Red is just sitting on the edge of Rex’s desk shaking his head with this unbelieving look on his face. Chuck on the other hand is fuming and heads are going to roll. “I emphasized over and over again that stealth was essential for the success of this operation. I gave strict orders that the area was to be thoroughly searched for anything that could endanger that success. You would think that policemen would know how to police an area!”

  Popeye is looking at Jillian and for the first time since he met her he sees apprehension in those intelligent eyes. “She knows what the consequences will be for our failure. She knows that now everybody in this room will most likely be a target for this screwball’s hate. The gloves are off and there are no holds barred. I hope I can keep her safe.”

  Rex is deep in thought, anger seeping out of every pore. Suddenly, he picks up his phone and violently jabs in a number. All conversation comes to a halt and every eye in the room turns to him. “Hi, Peg, I need to speak with Tucker. Do you know where he is? Can you track him down for me? I really need to talk with him. Thanks, Peg. Have him call me on my cell. Bye.”

  Rex hangs up, slams his fist on his desk and says, “Listen up everybody. It’s time for a change in strategy, a change in tactics. Although well thought out and well intentioned, your entrapment schemes aren’t working. They may never work or take too long to prevent even more serious mayhem and perhaps loss of life. It’s time to bring in professionals who know how to run miscreants to ground and finish them off if need be.”

  His audience was no longer intently looking at him. They were now gaping at him in astonishment over what he just said.

  Jillian’s recent conversation with Red about fighting fire with fire immediately pops into her head and when she glances over at Red he’s nodding his head in agreement. “Popeye’s onboard as well, no pun intended, as he’s waving his fist in the air. Clyde just looks scared to death and Nate, Bill and Chuck are playing it cool, keeping their cards close to their vests until they have a better idea about what Rex has in mind. As for me, I guess I’m now a prime target because the Chameleon now knows of my complicity in trying to trap him. I’m also going to have to jump onboard and go along with whatever changes are put on the table as long as they’re not illegal.”

  “My friend Tucker is one of the best at finding and taking care of trouble makers. He’s successfully helped me deal with saboteurs, embezzlers and crooked politicians; saboteurs in South America who were bent on shutting down my oil digging and refinery operations, a small group of exceptionally bright embezzlers who had managed to imbed themselves in my import/export consortium in Europe and siphon off megabucks from the revenue stream and crooked politicians in the Far East who, if I didn’t pay them off, would shut down my manufacturing conglomerates there.

  “He’s rough and tough when he has to be. His methods are sometimes questionable, but he manages to stay on the right side of the law, barely, and he’s the most tenacious person I’ve ever met. He’s also one of my inner circle of friends and I’d trust him with my life, which just might be the case with this lizard on the loose.”

  Shaking his head Bill says, “Lizard describes him perfectly. The way he’s managed to elude capture is very similar to the way some lizards can detach themselves from their tails to escape from predators. He’s quick and is a master at camouflage.”

  Rex pounces on what Bill has said with, “Well, birds are a chameleon’s number one enemy and my friend Tucker is a killer hawk. Once he spots his quarry, the prey doesn’t have a chance. If Tucker has the time to help us out, our chameleon’s days are numbered.”

  Red’s thinking, “Wow, my initial assessment of this man was right on. You definitely don’t want to get on the wrong side of Rex Spaulding.”

  There’s a knock on Rex’s door and he shouts, “Come on in.” It’s Sylvia with a message for Red. “Red, Joe Amato has been trying to reach you. He says it’s urgent that he speak with you. He wouldn’t tell me what it’s about.”

  “Thanks, Syl. May I use your phone, Rex?”

  “Have at it.”

  The phone rang once and Joe answered with a curt, “Amato.”

  “Joe, it’s Red. What’s up?”

  “Man, you’re harder to get ahold of than a winning lottery ticket. I might have a lead on where the Chameleon is holing up.

  “About 3:30 this afternoon, I think I was almost run down by him. I was out on the river getting acquainted with my new 36 foot Catalina Sloop, the wind was just right and I was having a ball, when all of a sudden out of nowhere comes this slick silver and black speedboat at what must have been full throttle heading straight for me. The guy at the wheel wasn’t looking where he was going. He was looking back over his shoulder as though he was looking for someone following him, someone he was trying to get away from.

  “My curiosity was aroused and when he missed me by maybe a yard I was madder than hell, so I decided to try to follow him to see where he was going and maybe get the chance to give him a piece of my mind. There was no way I was going to catch up to him, but the wind was strong enough for me to keep him in sight even though I was quite a distance away.

  “He pulled into shore about five miles downriver where those cabins are that are rented out during fishing season. The water is kind of shallow there and I was afraid I’d run aground if I tried to go in after him. I had cooled down by then, so I turned around and headed back to where I dock the Top Notch.”

  Red questioningly repeats, “Top Notch?”
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  “That’s what I call my floating fantasy. She’s an amazing example of craftsmanship and seaworthiness, Red. She’s something else. Hey, what did you expect, something as predictable as The Four Aces or Black Jack or Royal Flush because I manage a casino? Come on! Give me a little credit for some imagination, will you? I thought of calling her Fast and Loose, but my wife nixed that idea because of the kids.”

  Laughing Red repeats, “Fast and Loose? Now that shows some imagination, but back to the guy in the speedboat. What makes you think he might have been the Chameleon?”

  “Jillian called me earlier to let me know about the disastrous results of your latest attempt to cook the Chameleon’s goose and I eventually put two and two together. The speedboat and what happened on the Floating Fantasies is just too much of a coincidence.”

  “You could be right, Joe. We’re all meeting in Rex Spaulding’s office right now. I’ll pass on what you just told me and get back to you.”

  “Okay, Red. Bye.”

  When the rest of them heard what Joe had to say, they all agreed with him. They were suspicious too. Rex said, “Let’s stay cool and not rush into something we can’t handle. I’d like to wait to talk with Tucker and get his input and see if he can juggle his schedule to help us out.

  “Chuck, I know you might be feeling a little uncomfortable right now about bringing in someone like Tucker, but trust me. He may bend the rules quite a bit, but I’ve never known him to break them. He can do things to get information that you wouldn’t dare try because of established law enforcement policy and procedure, yet he still manages to stay on the right side of the law.”

  “I’ll play it by ear, Rex. Even though he’s not breaking the law, if I get too uncomfortable I’ll become a spectator on the sidelines.”

  Red says, “Okay, I guess our next move is to sit tight and do nothing until Rex hears from his friend Tucker. I’ll get in touch with all of you once Rex knows if Tucker is in the ballgame and how he wants to proceed or, if he isn’t, to set up another meeting to once again tax our imagination to come up with something to annihilate this blight in our lives once and for all.”

  As they all leave Rex’s office, it’s getting dark outside and Popeye doesn’t want Jillian going home by herself. “She’s in a lot more danger now that the Chameleon knows she’s betrayed him. He’s probably madder at her than the rest of us because of how she played him.”

  Before he could offer to follow her home like he did the last time, he heard Red say, “Jillian how about having dinner with Nate and me and then we’ll follow you home to make sure the Chameleon isn’t lurking around somewhere waiting for the opportunity to wreak more havoc?”

  Popeye was glad that Red had extended the invitation and that she had accepted, so he was able to relax a little, just a little. He was still nervous about Jillian’s continued safety and cornered Chuck as he headed down the gangway to his car.

  “Chuck, is there any way you can provide some protection for Jillian. I think she’s the most vulnerable among us to the Chameleon’s lust for revenge right now?”

  “I agree, Popeye. I don’t have the manpower to give her 24 hour protection, but I can assign someone to keep her under surveillance at night once she’s home.”

  “That would be great. Jillian could call someone at the station to let them know when she’s heading home. Just let her know who to call and, Chuck, don’t tell her I asked you to do this. I don’t want to take the chance that she might get upset over my sticking my nose into her business. She might decline the protection just to prove she can take care of herself and doesn’t need anyone looking out for her, even though I think she does.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Popeye. I was thinking about doing something to protect her anyway.”

  “Terrific. Take care. Let’s hope our luck changes tomorrow.”

  As Popeye heads for the pilothouse, Bill heads for his office to once again review the Floating Fantasies security system from top to bottom. “With all of the precautions we’ve taken, the Chameleon is still able to get onboard and move about undetected. Maybe we need better electronic surveillance. We have hidden cameras in the casino, but none elsewhere on the ship. Maybe we need more security guards roaming the ship. Whatever we need, I better come up with it soon. This nut is liable to plant something a lot more deadly onboard the next time around. It’s my job to make sure there isn’t a next time, but so far I haven’t been doing my job very well.”

  Red, Jillian, Nate and Clyde are standing on deck outside of Rex’s office and Red has just asked Clyde to join them for dinner. “Thanks for the offer, Red, but I’d better get in touch with my brother to see what he’s doing tonight. If he finds out that I’m in town and haven’t called him, he’ll flip. Unfortunately, Curtis and anal are synonymous terms.”

  Red and Jillian laughed and Red clued Clyde in. “Clyde, your brother and I have been locking horns lately and I’m not one of his favorite people, so be prepared for a blistering critique of my capabilities as a casino manager and member of the human race.”

  Clyde said, “I know my brother is not Mr. Congeniality, but he is my brother and I keep hoping that someday someone will come up with a cure for a dyspeptic personality and diarrhea of the mouth.”

  This brought on more laughter from everyone, including Clyde. “Okay, Clyde. Have a nice evening, but don’t say hello to your brother for me. You might find your dinner in your lap.”

  Laughing, he walked away, punching his brother’s number into his cell phone.

  Chapter 45

  Sitting in one of the Cherie’s Jubilee’s beautiful banquettes, having just devoured a 4fantastically delicious dinner and now enjoying a mellow brandy that has her taste buds applauding with approval, Jillian is prodding Red and Nate to share some of their brotherly high jinks with her. “Come on, all brothers have stories to tell that would have shocked their parents if they had known what they had been up to.”

  Smiling Nate said, “We got into our share of mischief, but compared to some of the kids in our neighborhood we were little angels. Red, do you remember Matey Morrison?”

  “How could I forget him? Jillian, this kid put Dennis the Menace to shame. A day didn’t go by that he didn’t tick somebody off. That seemed to be his sole purpose for existing. He’d stick pins in doorbells, let air out of car tires, put dog poop on car door handles, switch the salt and pepper in the shakers and the hot sauce with the ketchup in the bottles at Syderman’s deli, mess with the sprinkler heads on peoples lawns so they’d be watering the street instead of the lawn. One day I came home from a ball game with my dad and found my bike up in a tree. I knew he did it, but I couldn’t prove it. He was something else and he never got caught. His father took a job in Canada, so I don’t know whatever happened to him.”

  “Wow, he sounds like a kid not even a mother could love, but that’s not what I’m curious about. I’m sure you two were up to no good from time to time in your formative years. Come on, give.”

  Reluctantly Red said, “Our history is quite tame compared to Matey’s, Jillian, but one thing comes to mind. Nate and I sound a lot alike on the phone and when our girlfriends would call we’d pretend to be who we weren’t. One day a girl Nate had been trying to date called to see if he wanted to go horseback riding with her the following Saturday. Pretending to be Nate, I asked where she was going riding and what kind of horses were there. I told her I had never ridden a horse before and asked her to make sure I got a real gentle one. The date was made and I told Nate about the call, but not about the requested horse. He was on cloud nine for the rest of the week and thanked me repeatedly for setting it up. Collette was a gorgeous gal and very popular with the guys and he had been striking out with her for weeks.

  “Now, for the kicker, Nate is an excellent horseman. At sixteen, he had a room full of trophies for triage, jumping and racing. He sat on his first horse when he was still in diapers. When he gets to the riding stables and meets up with Collette, she has already selecte
d the gentlest horse in the universe for him to ride. In fact, it was a real old nag that was ready for the glue factory. Nate took one look at it and asked for another horse.