by James Swain
DeMarco felt himself well up and swiped at his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Guido said. “Did he try to contact you again?”
“Yeah,” DeMarco said. “He’s my father.”
44
Valentine was explaining to Bill Higgins and a homicide detective with the Metro Las Vegas Police Department how he’d sent Little Hands to the big craps game in the sky when the cell phone in his pocket vibrated. Pulling it out, he saw it was his son.
“Would you gentlemen excuse me for a minute?” he asked.
Bill and the detective both nodded solemnly. Before being sent away to prison, Little Hands had earned himself a reputation as the most vicious killer in Nevada, and Bill and the detective seemed to be having a hard time accepting that Valentine had managed to beat him in a fight, even though Little Hands was lying beneath a sheet only a dozen feet away. Stepping into the shade of a palm tree, Valentine answered the call.
“Hey, Pop, it’s me,” his son said.
“You still in Atlantic City?” Valentine asked.
“No, I took a plane out last night and just landed in Las Vegas. I made DeMarco’s scam, and figured I’d better fly out and help you put this to bed.”
Valentine didn’t know what to say. Gerry had beaten him to the finish line. He’d never felt more proud of his son in his entire life.
“You’re a star,” he told his son.
“Yolanda helped, and so did Mabel. And you put me on the scent, so you get credit, too,” Gerry said. “That’s the good news. Now here’s the bad. I think DeMarco is being played for a sucker by his uncle. He’s being used, Pop, and in a real bad way.”
“Used how?”
“This scam is dangerous. Scalzo is putting his nephew’s health in jeopardy, and I don’t think DeMarco knows it. Matter of fact, I’m sure he doesn’t.”
Gerry was jumping to conclusions, a bad thing to do in detective work. The facts were the facts and everything else was air. “How can you be sure, Gerry?”
“Because DeMarco could get sterile,” his son said.
Valentine had investigated plenty of scams where a member of the gang hadn’t been given a complete script of the play. In the end, that person usually got the raw end of the deal, and became a victim.
“Explain this to me,” Valentine said.
Gerry explained what he’d learned from the nurse who’d been having an affair with Jack Donovan. As scams went, it was one of the most ingenious Valentine had ever come across, but did contain a significant health risk. It wasn’t meant to be used in a tournament, where long-term exposure could be dangerous. Gerry was right. DeMarco probably didn’t know the risks he faced.
“That’s one heck of a piece of detective work,” Valentine said when his son was finished. “Maybe I should go to work for you.”
“That would be the day,” Gerry said. “So what do you think we should do?”
That was a good question. Valentine had been thinking about his conversation with Sammy Mann the day before, when Sammy told him that everyone in Vegas knew DeMarco was cheating, but weren’t going to do anything until after the tournament was over. He didn’t agree with that rationale, and now realized that he and his son were in a position to fix things.
“Meet me in Celebrity’s poker room in forty-five minutes,” Valentine said. “We’re going to put the screws to Scalzo.”
“I’ll be there,” his son said.
Valentine killed the connection, and walked back to where Bill was standing. The homicide detective had gone off to find the EMS crew he’d called for, and Valentine cornered his friend. “How much trouble are you going to get into if I go back to Celebrity’s poker room?”
“Plenty,” Bill said. “Why?”
“Because I’m going to go back to Celebrity’s poker room, that’s why.”
“Then wear a disguise. If you get caught, I can say I was in the dark.”
Valentine whacked his friend on the shoulder. “Thanks, Bill.”
He went to the clubhouse and found Gloria waiting for him, then got the rental and drove back to Celebrity. On the way they stopped at Target, where he purchased a floppy hat several sizes too large, cheap wraparound shades, and a neon green T-shirt that said SCREW THE KIDS—I’M DYING BROKE, which he put on in the store and left hanging out of his pants. To round out the picture, he added a little shuffle to his walk. He showed Gloria the transformation in the parking lot, and she burst out laughing.
“Do you really think that’s going to work?” she asked when they were on the road.
“Of course it will work,” he said.
“How can you be so sure?”
“There’s an old geezer robbing banks in Florida near where I live. He dresses just like this. I think he’s up to nineteen banks. They’ve caught him on videotape every time, but he keeps sticking them up.”
“Don’t the banks in Florida have security guards?”
“They do,” he said. “The old geezer walks right past them, gives the teller a note, takes his money, and leaves. The guards don’t pay any attention to him. It would be funny if the guy wasn’t breaking the law.”
He drove to Celebrity and left his car with the valet. As he and Gloria went through the front door of the hotel, he started to do his shuffle.
“You’re moving awfully slow,” she said.
“Need to conserve my energy for the buffet line.”
“Stop that.”
Once they were inside, she pulled him over to a secluded spot and gave him a kiss.
“I’m glad you’re not leaving Las Vegas,” she said.
Valentine got to test his disguise as he neared Celebrity’s poker room. One of the guards who’d escorted him out the day before walked past. Their eyes met, and Valentine touched the brim of his hat. The guard looked through him like he was invisible.
He and Gloria entered the poker room to find a mob of spectators crowded around a table containing the first prize, a whopping ten million bucks stacked like firewood. Shotgun-toting guards stood by the money, their steely eyes roaming the room. It was the biggest prize in professional sports, and according to the electronic leader board hanging over the feature table, DeMarco was the favorite to claim it.
He shuffled up to the feature table. It was bathed in bright lights, with DeMarco’s stacks of chips dwarfing his opponents’. DeMarco looked different than he had in previous days, his face drawn and serious, and Valentine wondered if his conscience was eating at him.
“Is that your son over there?” Gloria whispered. “He looks just like you.”
He spotted Gerry on the other side of the poker room and decided to give his disguise another test. He walked over to him and, getting no reaction, cleared his throat.
“Didn’t I see you on America’s Most Wanted the other night?” Valentine asked.
His son’s eyes went wide. “Pop? Is that you?”
“Keep your voice down.”
“Why the disguise?”
“I got banned from the tournament. You ready for a little payback?”
Gerry nodded enthusiastically. He hadn’t shaved and his eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, but there was a spark in his face that said he was more than ready.
“Good,” Valentine said. “Here’s the plan. The players are going on break soon, and I’m going to confront DeMarco, and tell him the little game he’s playing is over. See that pretty blonde lady on the other side of the room? She’s a newscaster I met. She’s going to distract Scalzo and the bodyguard. I need you to cover her back in case something goes wrong.”
His son look frustrated. “Why don’t you just pull DeMarco off the table, and expose the scam? Then the police can arrest Scalzo.”
Valentine drew close to his son. “If I do that, it’s going to hurt every casino in Las Vegas, and in the long run, our business as well. Let me handle this my way, okay?”
His son’s face softened. “Sure, Pop. Whatever you want.”
45
Being th
e chip leader in a poker tournament was like being king of the world. While the other players were trying to survive, DeMarco could pick and choose his spots, pouncing on players with weak cards when he knew they were bluffing. Letting the other players win a few hands would have made things more equal, but he’d decided it was time to claim his prize and get out of Las Vegas.
The conversation with his father had been eating at him all morning. They hadn’t been talking five minutes when his father had told him what a bad person his uncle George was and how DeMarco needed to get away from him. What were his exact words? You need to escape your uncle’s dark shadow.
DeMarco hadn’t liked that. His uncle could be mean and do horrible things, but that didn’t negate the treatment DeMarco had gotten from him. His uncle had raised him, and DeMarco wasn’t going to run away just because his father didn’t like the man.
But his father hadn’t let up, and when he andDeMarco had finally said good-bye, DeMarco had been ready to curse him out.
“There will be a fifteen-minute break after this hand is concluded,” the tournament director announced over the public address.
Because DeMarco was not in the hand, he decided to leave the table early. He was not five steps away from the table when his uncle was by his side.
“You okay, Skipper?”
“I’m fine, Uncle George. I just need to hit the bathroom.”
DeMarco heard his uncle snap his fingers.
“Guido,” his uncle said. “Skipper needs to take a leak. Make sure no one gets near him.”
“Yes, Mr. Scalzo.”
Guido led him across the poker room to the men’s lavatories. As they walked, DeMarco listened to Guido’s breathing. Guido’s nose sounded broken from the punches he’d received that morning. His uncle had been abusing Guido unmercifully the past few days, and DeMarco was surprised his uncle’s bodyguard hadn’t walked out on him. They came to the lavatories and Guido stopped.
“Shit,” Guido said.
“What’s wrong?” DeMarco asked.
“That lady newscaster just cornered your uncle and shoved a microphone in his face. Her cameraman is filming them, too.”
“You want to go rescue him?”
“Your uncle told me to keep you company.”
“I can take a leak without peeing on my leg. Go help him.”
Guido hesitated. DeMarco sensed that he was probably enjoying seeing his uncle in a tight spot. His uncle had dished out more than he’d taken over the years, and there was a strange joy in seeing him get paid back.
“Why do you put up with him, Guido?” DeMarco asked.
“What do you mean?” the bodyguard said.
“My uncle’s bullshit. Why do you put up with it?”
“I don’t have a choice,” Guido said. “A long time ago, I did something really stupid, and your uncle saved me from going to prison for the rest of my life. In return, I agreed to be his bodyguard and do whatever he told me. That’s the deal we struck.”
“Oh,” DeMarco said.
“Mind if I ask you a question?”
“What’s that?”
Guido jabbed DeMarco in the chest with his finger. “Why do you put up with him?”
DeMarco slipped into the men’s lavatory. Guido had sounded just like his father. Why did he put up with his uncle’s nonsense? He guessed it was because he loved him.
He’d been in the men’s room enough times to have the layout memorized. Stalls on the right, urinals on the left. He soldiered up to an empty urinal and unzipped his fly. He’d heard of guys who’d lost monster hands because they’d had to pee. Thinking about it made him smile, and at first he did not hear the man occupy the urinal beside him.
“How’s that earpiece working?” the man asked.
DeMarco froze. The voice was older, with a heavy Jersey accent. “Excuse me?” he said.
“The inner-canal earpiece you’re using to scam the tournament,” the voice said. “How’s it holding up?”
“I don’t know what—”
“It’s a modified children’s hearing aid,” the voice said. “I’ve got a couple in my collection. They’re smaller than regular hearing aids, which lets you stick them way down in your ear so no one will see them, but they also break down easier. Yours working all right?”
“Who are you?”
“Tony Valentine. I was hired by the Nevada Gaming Control Board to investigate you.”
DeMarco finished his business, then stepped away from the stall and faced his accuser. “You going to bust me?”
“Not today,” Valentine said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you’re not going down until I decide to take you down. And that won’t happen today.”
“Why not?”
“Because the tournament deserves to have a fair outcome.”
DeMarco did not know what to say.
“You understand what I’m telling you?” Valentine asked.
“I think so. You’re going to let me play.”
“That’s right. But you have to give me the earpiece.”
DeMarco suddenly understood. Valentine was going to let him play, but not cheat. He pulled the earpiece out of his ear and handed it to him.
“There’s one other thing I want you to do,” Valentine said.
“What’s that?”
“Get checked out by a doctor once the tournament is over.”
DeMarco heard a toilet flush on the far end of the line of stalls. A man came out, walked past them, washed his hands, and left. “Why should I see a doctor?” DeMarco asked.
“Your uncle hasn’t told you how this scam works, has he?”
DeMarco hesitated. For all he knew, Valentine had a tape recorder on him, and was recording every word they said. If he said yes, it was as good as admitting he’d scammed the tournament. Only he sensed that Valentine wasn’t trying to trap him. He shook his head.
“That’s too bad, kid,” Valentine said.
DeMarco reached out and grabbed Valentine’s arm. “Tell me,” he said.
“Ask your uncle.”
“I already did.”
“He wouldn’t tell you?”
“My uncle said he’d tell me when the tournament was over. Is the scam dangerous?”
“Yeah. You could be sterile. Or worse.”
“What?”
“The cards at your table have been treated with radioactive iodine, which was stolen from a vault in a hospital,” Valentine explained. “Each card has tiny drops of the substance put on the back. The number of drops is based on the card’s value and suit, ranging from one drop to fifty-two drops. With me so far?”
DeMarco slowly nodded.
“Once the iodine dries, the cards are covered with a plastic matte similar to what commercial artists use. That seals the iodine into the card, and ensures the iodine won’t rub off. The dealer has a dosimeter at the table, hidden inside a cigarette lighter. When the dealer deals, he holds each card briefly over the lighter. The dosimeter reads the dots on the back of the card, then transmits the information to a computer strapped around the dealer’s waist. Still with me?”
“Yes,” DeMarco said.
“The computer has a program that reads the dots, translates them into Morse code, then tells you through your ear piece what the card just dealt is. The iodine has a half life of eight hours. From the time the iodine is applied to the cards, it starts to break down. Within eight hours it’s disappeared, and the cards return to being normal. A perfect scam, except for one thing. It exposes the people handling the cards to radiation.”
“Am I going to get sick?”
“You might. Two dealers who were involved with the scam have ended up in the hospital. One of them, who was fighting cancer, died.”
“What about the other players at the table?”
“They run less of a risk.”
“Why?”
“Two reasons. The tournament director rotates them, and you knock them out
so quickly. But you’ve been at the feature table for most of the tournament, which means you’ve been exposed to the cards the most. Chances are, you’re likely to have problems down the road.” Valentine jabbed him in the chest like Guido had done, only with less force. “Now, I’m going to tell you something, kid, and I want you to listen real good.”
DeMarco swallowed hard. “I’m listening.”
“Your uncle stole the scam from a guy named Jack Donovan, then had Jack murdered. It’s never completely made sense to me why he had Jack killed. Your uncle could afford to buy the scam from Jack, and murdering people is usually only a last resort. Well, I figured out the reason.”
“What’s that?”
“Jack Donovan told your uncle that the scam was dangerous, and should be used sparingly. Like in a private game, where you only need to win one pot to come out ahead. The scam was never intended to be used in a tournament. Even though Jack was a scammer, he wasn’t a bad guy. My guess is, Jack would have found out what your uncle was using the scam for, and contacted you.”
“So Uncle George had him killed.”
“That’s right.”
Outside the lavatory DeMarco could hear the sounds of the other players approaching. He thought back to what his father had said that morning. You need to escape your uncle’s dark shadow. He’d never known how dark that shadow was, until now.
46
The men’s lavatory quickly filled up. DeMarco felt Valentine’s hand on his sleeve.
“I want one more thing out of you,” Valentine said.
DeMarco could hear other players swirling around them, the slamming of the stall doors, the loud banter of the players still remaining in the tournament. “What’s that?”
“Level the playing field between you and your opponents.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
Valentine drew close to him, put his mouth a few inches from DeMarco’s ear. “Lose a few hands so that everyone at your table has about the same amount of chips.”