Smoke and Mirrors

95

Pierce Mulvane had been relieved when Kurt Klein had summoned him with the news that the Gardner land transaction would be done that evening by nine. On Monday the crews would come in from their hotel rooms in Memphis, and in two weeks the ground would be raised several feet, and a trench would be dug to the base of the levee. Soon, a temporary hole would be cut in the levee to connect to the river so the actual casino could be floated there in sections from the fabrication yards. Using the Mississippi River as a highway, they would put the casino together section by section in the concrete pond. The levee would be put back as it had been by the corps, the trench filled in by private contractors, and the casino’s foundation would forever float in a few inches of water.

Klein had invited him to have a celebratory dinner in his suite after the papers were signed. Mulvane picked up his receiver and pressed the intercom button. “Send Tug in.”

Tug Murphy came through the door seconds later, closed it behind him, and stood in front of the desk, hands behind his back. “Yes, sir?”

“Sit,” Pierce said, smiling. “Take a load off.”

Tug took a seat and sat with his back straight, folding his hands on his knee.

“I’ve been asked to have a celebratory dinner with Herr Klein tonight,” Pierce said, suppressing the glee he felt. “The Gardner land deal is in place, and I believe he wants to make my position with River Royale official. The Germans are big on formality.”

Tug nodded once.

“As a reward, he asked me to give you and Albert the night off,” Pierce said.

Tug’s expression became worried.

“You should be honored that he’s so thoughtful. Not that you don’t deserve that and a nice bonus-which will be forthcoming-but that he has thought enough of your efforts to make the gesture.”

“A few minutes ago his man, Finch, said he wanted to go get some local color,” Tug said. “He said we-him and Albert and me-ought to go to a restaurant that had good local food, and hit the blues bar. He said Mr. Klein wanted to treat us to a big night out. He said maybe there’d be some female company later on. It felt kind of…I don’t know…weird to take us out on the spur of the moment. He’s usually such a planner. I told him I had some things I had to see to, and he sort of insisted. He said the two men who worked with him might want to come with us, if that was all right.”

“I see,” Pierce said, thinking through what Tug had said from several angles.

“What seems weirdest is that Klein would have all three of his bodyguards out as well, leaving him unprotected,” Tug said. “Even stranger is that he would send Albert and me along too.”

Pierce thought it was possible that Klein felt secure enough now that the land deal was done that he didn’t feel he needed protection. But Tug’s troubled expression concerned him.

“If Finch wants to see the sights, seeing he’s a foreigner and all…And naturally they want someone to show them around. What time did Finch say he wants to go out?”

“Around eight-thirty.”

“I give you my approval,” he said with a big smile. “Go and have fun. I’ll tell you all about it when you come back. One thing…”

“Yes?” Tug asked.

“When we move out there to the new resort, you’re going to be getting a big raise and expanded duties.”