Wild Card

A male I.R.S. agent appeared on the screen. Pointing at the elderly man’s money, the agent explained the deal. The elderly man’s face turned to horror, and he shoved the I.R.S. agent to the floor, and ran out the door.

The camera followed him outside. The elderly man ran into a parking lot with a pair of guards on his heels. He appeared to be trapped. Leaping onto the roof of a car, he began hopping from vehicle to vehicle, leaving dents in the rag tops and cheap imports. Jumping to the street, he quickly disappeared.

“We never caught him,” Valentine said.

The tape had ended, and he popped it out of the VCR. Several members of the commission were mumbling under their breath to Nancy Pulaski. When he turned around, the chairperson was staring at him.

“Detective, you have obviously become an expert on catching cheaters,” she said. “The commission is open to hearing how you’d like to tackle these problems.”

Valentine hid the smile forming at the corners of his mouth. He knew that the commission members had graduated from some of the finest universities in his country. His own degree had come from Atlantic City High School. “First, I suggest we drop charges against Louis Galloway, if he agrees to never gamble in Atlantic City again.”

“I thought you said he was guilty,” she said.

“He’s guilty of being clever. He saw a flaw, and he exploited it. He probably didn’t realize he was breaking the law.”

“But you still want to ban him.”

“It would send a bad message to other cheaters if we didn’t.”

The members went into a huddle. Under his breath, Banko said, “Go for the kill, kid.”

The commission members came up for air.

“This seems like a reasonable compromise,” Nancy Pulaski said. “We’ll have the district attorney contact Galloway’s attorney, and present your offer. Now, what are your other suggestions, detective?”

Valentine looked into their faces. The night before, lying with his head in Lois’s lap, he’d realized something. If the casino was going to be his new home, then he needed to police it, and stop horsing around. “I want to overhaul Resorts’ procedures from top to bottom. First, I want to bring in an outside consultant to shore up our procedures. Then I want to add more cameras. And, I want to do background checks on our high rollers.”

“Why?”

“I want to make sure the casino isn’t being used to launder money.”

They went into another huddle. He had thought long and hard about the hundred grand in Vinny Acosta’s money belt. He was convinced Resorts wasn’t getting ripped off, which meant Vinny was somehow laundering mob money.

The commission broke from their huddle, and he saw Nancy Pulaski lean forward on her elbows, studying him. The other members mimicked her. Banko laughed softly under his breath.

“Think you’re up for the job, detective?” she asked.

Valentine nodded and said, “Yes ma’am.”

“Then it’s yours,” she said.

Chapter 38

“Your tip led to the biggest bust here in ten years,” Bill Higgins said over the phone that night. His voice was slightly raised, and he sounded happy. “A group of employees at the Stardust had rigged the scales used to weigh coins from the slot machines. They were stealing thirty-five grand a day in quarters. It was going on right in front of our noses.”

Valentine smiled into the receiver. “You nail the whole gang?”

“Every last one of them. Tell your snitch I owe him a drink.”

Valentine stood at his kitchen sink drying dishes. Before dinner, he’d told Lois about his new responsibilities, and she’d acted like it was the best news she’d ever heard. Now, Bill was telling him he’d help nail a bunch of wise guys three thousand miles away. It didn’t get any better than this.

“How would you like to do some consulting work for me?” Valentine asked. “I’m paying two hundred bucks a day, plus expenses.”

“Air fare, too?”

“Of course.”

“What’s your time table?” Higgins asked.

Valentine glanced at the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall. The date was January 5th. In three months, Atlantic City’s second casino would open on the spot where the Marlborough-Blenheim hotel had stood, and he had a feeling that every hustler on the east coast was going to be there.

“As soon as you can.”

“I’m in a bind right now,” Higgins said. “There’s a gang of blackjack cheaters that’s taking us to the cleaners.”

“What are they doing?”

“I don’t know. I’ve watched the tape a dozen times. My gut tells me they’re using a computer, only there’s no evidence of one. They’ve taken five different casinos for two hundred grand apiece.”

Valentine whistled through his teeth. “You want me to look at the tape? Maybe a fresh pair of eyes would do some good.”

A few months ago, Bill would have probably laughed at him. He didn’t now.

“That would be great,” his friend said.