Porter swallowed his Adam's apple.
âNo police,â he said.
7
A Tree in the Forest
A rchie's spare car was a Mercedes SL 600 coupe. It had more amenities than most third-world countries, and while sitting at a traffic light, Valentine played with the different buttons on the dashboard.
He hit the button for the CD player and was assaulted by a throbbing rap song. The lyrics were about abusing women and killing cops, and he ejected the offensive music. Archie was of his generationâbig band, Sinatra, the other crooners. This crap wasn't him at all, and Valentine tossed the CD into the glove compartment.
His motel room had been cleaned, the tread marks fresh in the carpet. The red light on the bedside phone was blinking, and he dialed into voice mail. Two messages awaited him.
âHey, Pop,â his son said. âI just got a call from my bartender. Big Tony took over this morning and fired everybody. He's running my bookmaking operation and has some scary colored guys collecting bets for him. I've got to get him the money. Call me, will you?â
Valentine couldn't believe his son's nerve. The bar was
his,
and he wasn't going to pay for it a second time. He erased Gerry, then played the second message.
âTony,â Mabel said. âI need your help. Please call me.â
He glanced at his watch. It was nearly eleven thirty. He had promised to call Mabel every morning at nine sharp and hadn't done so once. He dialed his house.
âGrift Sense,â she answered.
âHey, kiddo, how's it going?â
âThere you are. You must start leaving your cell phone on. I've got another panicked customer on the line.â
âWho?â
âFrank Beck.â
âNever heard of him.â
âHe's the new head of security at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe. He's holding on the other line.â
Harrah's was a good customer, and he sat on the edge of the bed and unbuttoned his jacket. âWhat's the problem?â
âBeck thinks he has a dice cheater in his casino. This player wins money
every
time he bets. Beck can't figure out what he's doing.â
âAsk Beck if the guy is throwing the dice, or just a bettor.â
Mabel put him on hold, then came back. âBeck says he's just betting.â
âAsk him to describe the type of bets the guy is placing. This might get a little complicated, so you'd better write it down.â
She was gone a little longer this time.
âThis is so exciting,â Mabel said when she returned. âThe man is in the casino
right now.
Beck says he always puts $1,000 on the Field bet, $600 on Place bet on 10, $600 on Place bet on 9, $200 on 12 âOn the Hop,' $200 on 11 âOn the Hop,' and $600 on any 7. Whatever that all means!â
Valentine closed his eyes and ran over the bets in his head. Opening them, he said, âTell Beck I'll call him right back.â
Mabel put him on hold. When she returned, she said, âDo you have any idea what this man is doing?â
âYes. He's part of a crew. They're laying sixes. It's one of the oldest dice scams in the world.â
âWhy didn't you have me tell him?â she asked, sounding a little miffed.
âBecause I didn't want to embarrass him.â
âWhy would that embarrass him?â
âBecause if Beck knew anything about craps, he would have made the scam. Only he doesn't, which means he's new.â
âIf Beck doesn't know anything, how did he get his job?â
âHe must know somebody upstairs. That happens a lot in casinos. It's called having juice.â Valentine glanced at his watch. A minute had passed, and he had Mabel give him Beck's phone number. Then he said, âYou still liking the job?â
âIt's very exciting,â his neighbor said.
âTalk to you later.â
He hung up, then punched in Beck's number. Beck answered from the floor of Harrah's casino. He was panicking and sounded a heartbeat away from a stroke. Valentine