by Joanne Fluke
“That’s really something!” Norman exclaimed, spotting the fountain.
“It certainly is,” Hannah said, noticing that the pool was already filled with glittering coins.
“Watch the woman in pink,” Norman said, and Hannah turned to see a woman leave the token booth and toss some coins in the fountain. “She’s the third person to leave that booth and drop her change in the fountain,” Norman commented.
“That figures. It’s in the perfect spot.”
While Norman got in line to get their tokens, Hannah checked in at the apple turnover booth, accepted a small cup of coffee to go, and went back to sit on the ledge of the fountain to wait. Within a minute or two, five people had tossed in their loose change. It made perfect sense to Hannah. Tossing coins in the fountain was a lot easier than opening your purse, finding the right pocket for coins, and dropping them inside. She had no doubt that the fountain would be drained and relieved of its riches the moment Casino Night was over. When it came to raising money, Stephanie Bascomb didn’t miss a trick.
Once Norman had purchased their stack of tokens, they walked up the steps to the stage. The curtains and backdrops that had defined the stage area last night at the talent show had been pulled up to the ceiling to expose the whole basketball court. The wooden floor, itself, had been completely covered with carpeting. A sign hanging over the first row of gaming tables read Lake Eden Casino in flashing neon lights, and Hannah suspected it had been a charitable donation that would be auctioned off to enhance someone’s basement recreation room on the final night of the charity event.
“What do you want to play first?” Norman asked her. “Roulette? Poker? Blackjack?”
“I don’t know. I’m not very good at any of them. What do you suggest?”
“Roulette. It’s a game of pure chance, no skill required.” Norman took her arm and they began to walk toward the Roulette table. “All you have to do is choose red or black. Or odd or even. Those are all even money bets. Or you can pick a series of numbers like one through eighteen, or eighteen through thirty-six. Those are all even money bets.”
“Okay,” Hannah said, but it was a bit too much information to process. “I’ll choose…”
“Wait. There’s more,” Norman interrupted her. “I haven’t covered the two-to-one bets. You can choose dozens.”
“There are dozens of two-to-one bets?” Hannah asked, knowing she’d never keep all this straight.
“No. The bet is called dozens. If you pick the first dozen, it means you’re betting the ball will fall somewhere in the first twelve numbers. There’s also the second dozen, and the third dozen, so you’ve got a choice. And then there are the columns. You can bet on any column of three on the grid and that’ll pay two-to-one if you’re right. Dozens and columns are outside bets.”
“Great. Thanks for explaining it to me. I’ll choose…”
“Not quite yet,” Norman interrupted her again. “I still have to cover the inside bets. You can bet a single number, a street, a split, a corner, a five-number, or a double street. Most people say that the five-number bet is the worst bet on the table.”
“Then I won’t choose that.” Hannah gave a little laugh. “I’ll choose red since that’s my favorite color.”
“Okay. but it’s an even money bet. If you win, the payoff’s not as big.”
“Not as big as what?”
“Not as big as if you choose an inside bet.”
“Okay,” Hannah said. It was pretty obvious that Norman wanted her to make an inside bet, but things like corners, and streets sounded complicated. The easiest seemed to be the single number bet, but which number should she choose?
“Sit here, Hannah.” Norman pulled out a chair for her and took one himself.
“It looks complicated.” Hannah gazed down at the wheel, the grid, and the boxes. “Can’t I just watch?”
“If you’re sitting here, you have to play,” Norman explained. “Non-players have to stand.”
Hannah didn’t think it over for long. She was tired and she wanted to sit down. “I’ll play,” she said.
“Then place your bet.”
Unbidden, an image popped into Hannah’s mind. It was from a James Bond movie and he had just bet a bundle on seventeen. If that number was good enough for such an important fictional character, it was good enough for her! She reached out and placed her bet on number seventeen.
“They used to use an ivory ball,” Norman explained, gesturing to the wheel. “Now they’re usually plastic.”
Hannah stared at the wheel. It had thirty-eight numbered slots, each with the same colored background as the number on the table layout. She watched as the dealer spun the wheel in one direction and then rolled the ball in the opposite direction on a track that ran around the bowl that held the wheel. When the speed of the ball decreased, it fell off the track and onto the wheel itself. There it bounced around wildly until it settled in a numbered slot.
“Seventeen!” Hannah gasped. “That’s my number! Does that mean I won?”
“Yes it does, Little Lady,” the dealer said, smiling at her.
Under any other circumstances, Hannah would have bristled at the term Little Lady, but she was willing to be magnanimous, especially when the dealer pushed a big pile of chips across the table to her.
“Pick them up, Hannah,” Norman said, nudging her.
“But why? They’re okay there, aren’t they? There isn’t very much room in front of me and…”
Hannah was so excited, she didn’t even notice that the wheel was spinning again. The ball in the track slowed and the dealer called out, “No more bets.”
“But I didn’t get a chance to bet,” Hannah complained to Norman.
“Yes, you did. You bet that whole stack of chips you didn’t pick up.”
“Uh-oh!” Hannah groaned, mentally kicking herself for not listening to Norman’s advice. “Now I’m going to lose it all.”
“You’re only out one chip. The rest was house money. And don’t forget it’s all for charity.”
“Right,” Hannah said, but she continued to kick herself as the ball began to slow and settle in the numbered slot…
“Seventeen again!” Hannah couldn’t believe her eyes. “I won twice in a row!”
“Makes me wish we were betting real cash,” Norman said.
Hannah shook her head. “Then I wouldn’t have won. Tell me what to pick up…quick!”
They stayed and played for another few minutes, Norman instructing and Hannah listening carefully. There really was no skill required. All she did was choose a number, place her bet, and either pick it up herself or see it swept away by the dealer.
“Ready for some coffee?” Norman asked, not a moment too soon to suit Hannah.
“Yes. And then let’s walk around to see who’s here.”
Ten minutes, four wishes at the fountain, and two cups of coffee later, Hannah spotted Delores at a Blackjack table seated next to Doc Knight. “Let’s go say hello,” she suggested.
“Perfect timing,” Norman said as they approached. The dealer, who was using a shoe, had decided to replace the decks. That meant he had to break out, display, and shuffle four decks while the players waited. The process would take a few minutes, and that meant Hannah and Norman had time to talk to Delores and Doc Knight.
“Hello, dear,” Delores said when Hannah tapped her on the shoulder. And then she turned to Norman. “I’m glad you’re back at work, Norman. Luanne had a toothache this afternoon. She comes in at nine tomorrow. Do you have any time to see her in the morning?”
“Hold on. Let me check.” Norman pulled out his cell phone and pressed a few buttons. From where Hannah was standing, she saw a display with times and dates. “Send her down at ten.”
“Thank you, Norman. After you’re through, tell her it’s covered under the Granny’s Attic employee dental plan.”
“Which dental plan do you have?”
“The Delores Swensen checkbook plan. But I don’t want y
ou to mention that. I’ll pay and she’ll think that our insurance covered it.”
“Must run in the family,” Doc said, who up to that point had taken no part in their conversation.
“Nonexistent dental plans?” Hannah asked him.
“No, paying medical bills for people who can’t afford them. And you know what I’m talking about, Hannah.”
“Oh, that.” Hannah dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
“You paid someone’s medical bill?” Delores asked her.
“Yes. Sherri Connors was really sick yesterday afternoon at the talent show orientation and I told Perry I’d pay if he took her to Doc Knight’s clinic.” Hannah turned to Doc. “Perry said it wasn’t serious.”
Doc nodded. “She’s a sweet girl and it’s a real pity, but she’ll be feeling better in a week or so.”
“Mother?” Hannah considered the best way to ask about Tim Pearson and whether Nancy had found out anything.
“Yes, dear.” Delores responded, and then she smiled. “I’ll bet you’re wondering why Nancy’s not here.”
“Right.” Hannah mentally complimented her mother for being such a good recipient of daughterly radar.
“She invited a few of the faculty over for cocktails and canapés this evening, a little gathering of department heads, now that she’s chairman of the psychology department. She said she’d give me a call later, when I got home.”
“Wonderful.”
Doc Knight turned to look at Hannah, and then he turned back to Delores. “Why do I get the feeling I’m listening to Julia Child?” he asked.
“Julia Child?” Hannah repeated, wondering what on earth the celebrated French chef had to do with it.
“She was a spy in the Second World War, and it sounds to me like you and your mother are passing secret messages right under my nose. What’s going on?”
“We’re passing messages under your nose,” Delores said, perfectly deadpan, and Doc Knight laughed so hard, he almost upset his stack of chips.
“Is this about the professor’s murder?” he asked, when he’d stopped laughing.
“Yes,” Hannah answered him.
“Well, I could take a guess on who did it, but I won’t,” Doc said, turning to Delores. “Unless your mother worms it out of me. She’s good at things like that.”
“Oh, you!” Delores said playfully. And out of the corner of her eye, she gave Hannah a clear daughter-motherly radar signal to get lost.
They’d been wandering around for about an hour, stopping to play at various games, when Norman’s cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket, glanced at the display, and said “I’d better get this.”
“Okay,” Hannah said, waiting for him to press the right button and speak to his caller. But instead of answering the call, Norman slipped the phone back into his pocket.
“I’ll go outside to take it,” he said. “It’s pretty noisy in here. Why don’t you go play Keno until I get back? They’ve got chairs set up, and all you have to do is mark numbers on a card.”
It was pretty obvious that Norman didn’t want her to go outside with him. Hannah smiled and nodded, and then she headed back to the Keno area. She sat in a chair, reached down to rub her aching feet, and was surprised when someone tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hi, Hannah.”
Hannah turned to look and found herself staring straight into the eyes of her sister Andrea. “Hey!” she exclaimed. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“I’ve been hiding out here while Bill does the obligatory glad-hand thing,” Andrea explained. “I just couldn’t say another, Oh my, how wonderful it is to see you again!”
“But you’re so good at that.”
“Not tonight. I’m too worried about Bill’s latest offer.”
“From Tachyon?”
“Who else? It’s a brand new luxury car and it’s free. He can use it for work and for personal driving. They’re going to give him a gas card and pick up all expenses, including parking.”
“You were right. They really do want him.”
“I know. I’m just scared to death he’ll accept. The kids and I will have to move and…and…” Andrea stopped, struggling to blink back tears. “I’ll be down there in Fort Lauderdale with the bugs and the crocodiles…and you’ll have to deal with Mother all by yourself!”
“Alligators,” Hannah corrected her automatically. “And what do you mean, I’ll have to deal with Mother?”
“I mean you’ll have to…” Andrea stopped and stared at Hannah. “You didn’t see her?” she asked.
“I saw her. She was playing Blackjack with Doc Knight.”
“Well, they weren’t playing when I saw them.” Andrea stopped and frowned. “Or maybe they were playing. It all depends on how you look at it. All I know is they were sharing one of your apple turnovers the same way Lady shared that strand of spaghetti with the Tramp!”
Hannah’s eyes widened. “You mean they were actually holding it in their mouths and eating it from opposite corners?”
“No. I was just using a meta…what do you call that?”
“Metaphor?”
“Yes. I was just using a metaphor. They didn’t have it in their mouths, but they were eating bites of it with their forks. Mother was forking from one corner, and Doc was forking from the other. I…well…I didn’t stick around to see what happened when they got to the middle.”
Hannah couldn’t help it. She laughed. And that earned her a scowl from Andrea.
“I don’t think this is one bit funny,” Andrea said.
“I do.” Hannah knew she had to come up with an explanation that Andrea would accept, and she glommed onto her sister’s reference to the Disney movie. “I was thinking about Lady and the Tramp,” she explained. “I just love that scene with the spaghetti. It’s funny, but it’s so sweet…you know?”
Andrea smiled. “I do know. I feel the same way. It’s my favorite part of the movie, even better than the ending with the baby and the puppies. Tracey loves it, too.” Hannah watched as Andrea stopped speaking and began to look worried again. “What do you think we should do about Mother?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing yet. Carrie’s wedding seems to have inspired all the eligible men in Lake Eden, and Mother’s simply enjoying all the attention.”
“Then you don’t think she’s serious about Doc?”
“I don’t think so, not when I happen to know that she had dinner with Bud Hauge last night.”
“Really?”
“That’s what she said. And then they went to the talent show together.” Hannah gave her sister a reassuring smile. “I really don’t think we have to worry about Mother unless she dates the same man a couple times in a row.”
“Dates?” Andrea picked up on Hannah’s word choice. “Then you think Mother’s dating?”
From the horrified expression on Andrea’s face, Hannah knew she had to backtrack fast. “Not dating exactly,” she said. “It’s more like renewing old acquaintances with everyone she knew years ago when she went to Jordan High.”
“Oh.” Andrea looked relieved. “Well…I guess that’s all right then. It’s good to keep in touch with old friends.” Andrea stopped speaking and nudged Hannah. “Here comes Norman and he looks upset.”
Hannah looked up. Norman was still half a basketball court away, but he did look upset. “He went outside to take a phone call. I hope it wasn’t bad news.”
Both sisters watched Norman bob and weave around stationary people. He was making good progress even though the auditorium was crowded with human obstacles. When he arrived at their sides, he gave a sigh of relief. “Why do people always stop in the middle of the aisle to talk? They do it in grocery stores, too.”
“I don’t know,” Andrea said.
“Me either,” Hannah concurred. “Just one of the peculiarities of human behavior, I guess.”
“I’m sorry that took so long,” Norman said to Hannah. And then he turned to
Andrea. “I ran into Bill when I was outside. He was just leaving, and he asked me to find you and tell you he got called in.”
“Wonderful,” Andrea said in a tone that clearly said it wasn’t.
“Anyway,” Norman turned back to Hannah. “I’m afraid I have to leave. Something’s come up. Do you want me to give you a ride to The Cookie Jar to get your truck?”
Hannah shook her head. “No, I’ll stay here with Andrea for a while.”
“Okay then. Thanks for a fun evening and…I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”
Both Hannah and Andrea watched as Norman turned and headed for the exit. Once they lost sight of him in the crowd, Andrea turned to Hannah. “What was all that about?”
“I haven’t the foggiest idea. Something’s been bothering Norman ever since he came back from the Cities and he hasn’t told me what it is.”
Andrea looked concerned. “Do you think he’ll tell you?”
“I’m sure he will…eventually. But in the meantime, both of us are here without partners…right?”
“That’s right.”
“Good. Does Lake Eden Realty still handle rentals on that new apartment complex at the community college?”
“Yes. I rented a unit just the other day.”
“Is there a master key that will let you into all of the apartments?”
“Yes, but…” Andrea stopped and stared at Hannah in disbelief. “You want me to let you into Bradford Ramsey’s apartment?!”
“Bingo,” Hannah said. And smiled.
Chapter Twenty
“I shouldn’t be doing this,” Andrea whispered as the elevator doors opened and they stepped in.
“Would you rather wait in the truck?” Hannah asked.
“No. Bill told me he was a real ladies’ man. Is that true?”
“That’s what I heard,” Hannah replied, hoping Andrea didn’t ask her for details.
“Well, I want to see if he’s got one of those bachelor pads you read about in magazines, the ones with the round beds, and the mirrors on the ceiling, and fur bedspreads.”
Hannah was about to laugh when she remembered Bradford’s old apartment. There had been a fake fur bedspread.