Casino Capers

by Dan Kelly

  Now, Collette is a little confused as she’s watching Nate check out some other horses, apparently knowing very well what he’s doing. She spent a lot of time convincing the manager to rent that horse because he wasn’t normally rented out. The horse belonged to the manager and he’d owned him since he was a colt. She was wondering what the ding dong was going on.

  “The more time Nate takes to check out the other horses, the more annoyed Collette becomes. The straw that broke the camel’s back though was when Nate had finally picked out a horse and personally put the saddle on, he mounted and said, ‘I’ll race you to the fence.’ and then he took off like he just broke out of the gate at Churchill Downs. When he reached the fence and looked around, Collette was livid and gone. It’s amazing that I’m still alive to tell you about this little equestrian exploit of mine.” Looking at his brother, he sees this big grin on his face and says, “He’s smiling now, but he wanted to do some frightening things to me then.”

  “How did you find out what happened at the stables?”

  “It took several days for that to happen. It took Nate a whole day to muster up enough courage to ask Collette why she took off like she did and she gave him an earful. One look at his face when he came home and I knew I had better make myself scarce or I’d be in traction for several months. It took another two days for me to test the waters, to risk life and limb and ask him what happened. I thought he’d pounce on me with a vengeance, but he just convulsed into laughter and said, ‘That was your best effort yet, bro, but my day is coming.’ He then told me what had happened.”

  “Did his day come?”

  “Oh yeah, but we’ll be here forever if we get into that.”

  “What happened to Collette?”

  Nate said, “Ten years later I married her.”

  “Oh, you guys, that’s a wonderful story.”

  Red said, “We aim to please.”

  It was getting late and tomorrow had the potential for another taxing day. Red said, “We’d better call it a night. Jillian, Nate and I will follow you home and make sure you get there safe and sound. You might as well go into work tomorrow and hopefully make a dent in what’s waiting for you there. I’ll keep you posted on any new developments with the Chameleon. When Rex hears from his friend Tucker, I’ll let you know what he says.”

  Nodding her agreement, she leads the way to the parking lot.

  Chapter 46

  Mid-morning the next day Rex and a stranger come into Red’s office. “Red, you got a minute?”

  “Sure. What’s up? Did you hear from your friend Tucker yet?”

  Smiling, Rex turns to the stranger and says, “In the flesh.” Pointing to his friend he says, “Tucker Riley”. Pointing to Red he says, “Jacob Borman, but for obvious reasons everybody calls him Red.”

  Red stands up behind his desk, leans across it, shakes hands with the man and says, “Friends like you are hard to come by. Wouldn’t a phone call have been a lot cheaper?”

  With just a hint of a smile Tucker said, “Actually, no. I was already in town. I flew in from Dallas last night to take care of someone else’s urgent business and checked into the Sheraton down the street. It was a last minute thing and in my rush to get here I left my cell phone in my car, so my wife couldn’t reach me. I called her this morning to let her know where I was and she told me about the call from Rex. Instead of calling, I just walked over.”

  “Red, I gave Tucker a general overview of what’s been going on with the Chameleon. He’s already cleared his calendar and wants us to tell him everything we know about the guy.”

  “Well, Tucker, from what Rex has told us about you I’m sure glad you’ve agreed to have a go at ending this nightmare we’re embroiled in. We’ve dreamed up some pretty good schemes to put an end to his onslaughts, but nothing has worked. We’re stumped.”

  “I understand your frustration. I’ve been in your shoes a few times myself. Let’s start from the very beginning, with the first thing this man did to harass you.”

  Four hours later Red and Rex were exhausted from telling and retelling Tucker everything they could think of about Carl “The Chameleon” Carducci. Red is quite impressed with Tucker.

  “He’s methodical, but he has a way with structuring questions so that your mind is stimulated to look at things from more than one perspective. The questions he asks, his ability to rapidly assimilate and draw conclusions from what he is being told has me feeling that maybe Tucker is the remedy for our malady. Oh knock it off, Borman. We need solutions not metaphors!”

  Red and Rex are waiting quietly but impatiently for Tucker to say something, to give an opinion, outline a course of action, something. Tucker hasn’t taken any notes. Apparently he has an excellent memory. He’s walked over to Red’s office window and has been staring out at nothing for five minutes now and the silence is driving them up the wall.

  Tucker is a nondescript man, nothing unusual about him to make him stand out in a crowd. He’s about six feet tall, solidly built but not muscle bound, wavy dark brown hair neatly trimmed, dark brown eyes set in an average looking Irish mug. The only thing that appears to be out of synch with the image projected is the way he uses those eyes. He seems to be able to take in everything around him without actually looking at them and when he looks directly at you, he makes you feel like you’re under a microscope.

  Finally, he turns away from the window, resumes his seat in front of Red’s desk and says, “You people have done some incredible things to bring this man to justice. You’ve done nothing wrong. He’s just been incredibly lucky. Rex is right in suggesting that a different approach to your problem be used. This Chameleon character has become quite dangerous. The danger is reflected by the escalation in his aggressive behavior. Revenge is a nasty motivator and it can make people do some very horrible things. Your enemy’s intelligence, caution, skills and unpredictability make him an adversary that should definitely not be taken lightly.

  “His attacks are becoming more frequent and potentially more life threatening. It’s time for you to become more aggressive. I’m going to ask you to authorize me to embark on a manhunt to track him down and force him into submission. I have a team I work with and they’re the best. They can be here by nightfall. It’s your call, guys.”

  Red looked at Rex and said, “Jillian should have a say in our decision. She’s stuck her neck way out for us and we owe her.”

  “I agree. Tucker, I’m going to have to ask you to sit tight for an hour or so until we can get this lady over here to meet and talk with you. Do you have a problem with that?”

  “No problem. From what you told me about her participation in the encounters with the Chameleon, I sure would like to meet her. The sooner we get started the better though. The Chameleon’s probably more than a little shook up over what happened outside of Red’s office and I’d like to put the pressure on before he has time to settle down enough to think about what he’s going to do next. I want to get him flustered, confused, panicky. He may still be at one of those cabins downriver, but I doubt it. We’ll check it out, but he probably noticed the sailboat following him and flew the coop.”

  Okay, Red, get her over here as soon as you can. Boy, we’re going to owe Joe Amato big time. Tucker, while Red is tracking Jillian down let me give you a tour of my dreamboat.”

  Red punched in Jillian’s number at the Go For It and Jillian picked up before the first ring ended. Her Caller ID showed her it was Red calling so she answered with, “Hi, Red. Is Rex’s friend going to help us?”

  “She must have been waiting anxiously by the phone for me to call. I can’t fault her for her anxiety. I’m not very cool myself right now.”

  “He’s offered, but Rex and I want you to meet and talk with him and give a thumbs up or a thumbs down. As far as we’re concerned, you’ve earned that right.”

  “Red, that’s very considerate of you, but I’ll go along with whatever you two decide.”

  “No way. Can you come over now? Rex is k
eeping his friend occupied with a tour of the Floating Fantasies, but Tucker wants to get the ball rolling ASAP.”

  “Oh all right. I’ll be there in twenty. Bye.”

  Fifteen minutes later Jillian is walking up the gangway of the Floating Fantasies scolding herself for the sudden case of nerves that she’s developed. “After all that has gone down, why are you now getting so uptight?” Before she can answer herself, Red spots her from his office door and yells down to her.

  “Thanks for coming right away, Jillian. I’ll go round up Rex and Tucker. There’s fresh coffee in my office if you want some.”

  Not only was it fresh, but it was Rex’s special brand of Columbian coffee. “A girl could get used to this.”

  A few minutes later, Red, Rex and Tucker returned to Red’s office. Introductions were made, but before anything else could be said there was a knock on Red’s office door. It was Popeye and Bill.

  Red said, “Come on in, guys.” While Red’s introducing them to Tucker, Jillian’s psychology training kicks in and she notices a tiny flicker of recognition in the eyes of Tucker and Popeye. It was very brief and then it was gone, but it had been there, Jillian was sure of it. “Now what was that all about?”

  Red said, “I’ve asked Popeye and Bill to join us, Tucker, because they also have a stake in the outcome of whatever you might decide to do.”

  “That’s all right with me, Red. Let me summarize for them what we’ve been talking about and the course of action I’m suggesting and why.”

  When he was finished Jillian asked, “If the Chameleon is no longer at one of the cabins downriver, how are you going to go about tracking him down?”

  “Good question. I’m hoping I have a good answer. The Chameleon is evidently good with disguises, but the best of disguises can be very uncomfortable if worn for long periods of time, making you sweat and itch like crazy. I believe that when he’s not engaged in one of his acts of vengeance, he’s walking around as himself. No one around here knows what he really looks like.

  “In fact, there’s only one person who knows him well enough to pick him out of a crowd, this Sam Ferguson in Chicago. I’m sure other people know him, but from what I’m being told, he’s a loner and pretty much blends into the background. People don’t notice him; really take a good look at him. What I would do is arrange for a sketch artist to interview Mr. Ferguson and come up with a good enough likeness that would enable anyone looking for him to recognize him. No one else would be able to provide the detail that Mr. Ferguson can provide.

  “Since he’s been in Bettendorf, he’s been renting places to live. We can pass copies of the sketch around to all of the landlords and see if we can get a handle on where he’s staying. He’s got to eat. He’s either shopping for groceries and eating in or he’s eating out at fast food places or restaurants. We can pass out copies of the sketch to all of the eateries and supermarkets in the area and see if we get a nibble, pun untended.

  “Where’s he getting the money to pay his rent, buy food and other things he’s needed for counterfeiting, disguising himself, and renting things like speedboats, etc.? From what Mr. Ferguson has told you, he had a good job, but he wasn’t independently wealthy. He could be stealing a lot of the things he needs, but I don’t think so. He’s just too intent on getting his revenge to get sidetracked into spending the time required for something like that on a scale that would do him any good.

  “He’s too smart to be using credit cards or checks in his real name, but he could be using someone else’s. He’s good at counterfeiting, so this might be the source of his funds. We could get the police and banks in the area to put out an alert for landlords and merchant to be extra careful when checking the IDs of people using credit cards. I don’t think he would resort to forging checks because that would require spending time for research which again I think he would avoid.

  “Word will get to him that these sketches are being circulated and he will begin to worry about the odds of getting caught before he can exact his revenge. With each passing day, the pressure will build as he finds himself more and more restricted in his movement about town. Every cop will have a copy of the sketch and be on the lookout for anyone resembling the artist’s rendering. Along with the sketch and the information on who to contact if seen, we’ll also include a request to be on the lookout for anyone who might be wearing a disguise.”

  Bill asked, “Wouldn’t all this scare him off? He could decide to flee to just about anywhere and wait until things cooled down and then come back to resume his vendetta.”

  “This man’s not going anywhere, Mr. Kieffer. He wants his revenge and he wants it now.”

  “My team and I would be on a hunt, a manhunt. Any hunter will tell you that a successful hunt is dependent upon flushing out the quarry, so you can get a clear shot. That’s what all of this is designed to do.

  “The pressure will build to a point where the Chameleon won’t be able to take it any more and he’ll lash out in a blind rage, throwing caution to the wind, which will put him in our crosshairs so we can bring him down, hopefully not literally. Unlike the local police department, I have the manpower to get the job done, but time is of the essence. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to accomplish.”

  Bill’s thinking, “Wow, this guy is definitely on a different page from the rest of us. He’s not even in the same book. Hell, he’s not even in the same bookstore!

  Jillian notices that Popeye didn’t react like she thought he would when Tucker brought up the likelihood of the Chameleon “lashing out in a blind rage.” Up to now he’s been very protective of her and his quietness surprises her. He appears to be willing to defer to this man’s judgment. “Something strange is going on here. The man has a plan though that just might work.” Looking at Red, she gives him the thumbs up and then says, I’ve got to get back to the Go For It now. Popeye, I hope you’re still going to be looking out for me when Mr. Riley here stirs up this hornets nest.”

  Looking her straight in the eye he says, “I’ll be doing little else until this mess is over, Jillian, I promise you.” and looking at Tucker he added, “Nothing is going to happen to you while I’m still breathing, nothing is going to stop me from keeping my promise.”

  Red’s thinking, “There are some strange vibes flying around here.” , but says “Okay, Tucker, do your thing. Please keep Rex abreast of events as they unfold. He’ll keep the rest of us in the loop.”

  Rex took Tucker back to his office to discuss the cost of what Tucker had in mind. Bill went back to his office to call Chuck and let him know what was going on. Jillian got up to head back to her office, but decided to ask Red a couple of questions first. “Red, why weren’t Nate and Clyde in this meeting?”

  “They felt that there was nothing more that they could do here, so they flew back to Chicago earlier this morning.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to talk with your brother more. He’s a fun guy.

  “That he is, but he’s got a lot on his plate waiting for him when he gets back and he didn’t want any more piling on.”

  “Red, there’s something else I want to ask you.”

  “Ask away.”

  “Did you get the feeling that something was going on between Popeye and Tucker? I’ve got a strong feeling that they’ve met before.”

  “You know, I did pick up on something when Popeye was promising to look out for you. It wasn’t what he said; it was the way he looked at Tucker when he said it. How could they know each other and if they do why didn’t they act like it?”

  “I don’t know, Red. Whether they know each other or not, it shouldn’t have any bearing on what Tucker is setting out to do. I’m just curious about why they would want to keep their acquaintance a secret. My asking you about your impression was a way for me to confirm that it wasn’t just my imagination.

  “Well, I’d better get back to work. Nate’s plate isn’t the only one overflowing.”

  When Jillian left, Red started thinkin
g about what was on his plate and when he checked his computer, he couldn’t find the bloody thing. His calendar and task list were blank. “Man, this fruitcake has taken over my life. I think I’ll call my cab Circles. Why not? Those are the kinds of routes I’ll run and I’ve been running around in circles ever since the Chameleon crossed my path. It’s appropriate. Ah, nuts, nuts, nuts.”