Jackpot

Chapter 37

Mabel’s cell phone rang as she was passing through downtown Tampa. It was Running Bear, and he was pouting. She hated when men did that.

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t feel safe in that room,” she said.

“I would trust the elders with my life,” he said. “They are honest men.”

“What about the bird tattoos on the lead elder’s hand?” she asked.

“What about it?”

“Your crooked dealer has the same tattoo. I think they’re related.”

“Not all. The bird is an old symbol among the Micanopys. It means may your crops prosper. Many tribal members wear those tattoos on their hands.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry I overreacted.”

“There is no need to apologize. May I make a suggestion? Lets take the elders to the surveillance control room, and show them a tape of our crooked dealer in action. If they see him deal off the bottom, perhaps they’ll be convinced.”

“You want me to come back?”

“Please, Mr. Struck.”

“Only if you protect me,” Mabel said.

The chief laughed softly into the phone. “Of course.”

Patience, Mabel knew, was more than just a virtue.

The first day she’d worked for Tony, he’d sat her down at his kitchen table, then gone into the other part of the house to get something. Mabel had watched the birds through the back window. Five minutes had passed, then ten. Annoyed, she’d started to get up. Tony returned, and sat down across from her.

“The first thing you have to learn in this business is patience,” he’d said.

So Mabel had taught herself how to be patient. It wasn’t easy. She was the type of person who wanted everything done yesterday. But over time she’d learned.

The situation at the Micanopy casino was a perfect example of being patient. She, Running Bear and the elders were crammed into a corner of the surveillance control room, watching a video of the crooked poker dealer taken several night ago. Ten minutes passed without anyone saying a word.

“There,” Mabel said, pointing at the screen. “Did you see that?”

The seven elders of the Micanopy nation leaned forward. So did Running Bear, who’d been leaning against the wall.

“See what?” asked Bill Bowlegs, the lead elder.

“Your dealer is staring at the discards on the table. He’s looking for certain cards. The way he paused is a dead giveaway. Can you freeze the frame?”

Bowlegs called to a technician. “Freeze it.”

The tape stopped. Mabel pointed at the discards. “There’s the Ace of Hearts and the Ace of Spades. As he picks up the discards, he’ll control those cards.”

“Play it,” Bowlegs called out.

The tape resumed playing. They watched the crooked dealer place the two aces on the bottom of the deck, then shuffle around them.

“Damn,” Bowlegs said. “I see what you mean.”

The other elders nodded. So did Running Bear.

“Let’s call him off the floor, and have a talk with him,” Bowlegs suggested.

Mabel put her hand on Bowleg’s sleeve. Every man in the room looked at her.

“May I make a suggestion?” she asked.

Bowlegs said yes with his eyes.

“We still don’t know what the scam is. I suggest you let him continue to deal, and watch him. Sooner or later, he’ll try it again, and then you’ll know.”

“You’re a smart lady, Ms. Struck.”

Mabel flashed her best southern smile. It was the first nice thing he or any of the other elders had said to her. “We’ll see about that,” she said.

An hour later, the crooked dealer made his move.

Cheating at poker was different than cheating casino games. Every casino game had a set limit on how much you could wager. As a result, a casino cheater had to beat a game many times in order to make any money. Poker was different: All a cheater had to do was win one big pot.

The game was seven card stud, with the first two cards dealt facedown. They had watched the crooked dealer pause as he was picking up the discards, and place four kings on the bottom. He shuffled around the kings, then dealt two rounds, dealing kings off the bottom to the player on his immediate right. The elders emitted a collective gasp.

“I’ll be damned,” Bowlegs said.

The game progressed, with the dealer dealing rounds of faceup cards to the players, with betting going on between rounds. When the fifth and sixth rounds were dealt, the dealer again dealt a pair kings off the bottom to the player on his right.

Bowlegs whistled through his teeth. “That pays a bonus.”

“What pays a bonus?” Mabel asked.

“Four kings. The casino pays a ten thousand dollar bonus to any player that gets four of a kind.”

Mabel drew back in her chair. Tony had always told her the bigger the crime, the bigger the crook. “So that’s the scam,” she said aloud.

Bowlegs rose from his chair. Mabel took the opportunity to take a hard look at him. He did indeed have bowed legs.

“I want him pulled off the floor and arrested,” Bowlegs said. “Agreed?”

Mabel interrupted him. “But we still don’t know what’s going on.”

“We don’t?”

“No. Remember the last time you caught him? When you interviewed the player he was helping, he proved to be innocent. My guess is, the man who just got the four kings is also innocent. That appears to be your crooked dealer’s MO.”

“His what?”

“Modus operandi. He deals winning hands to strangers.”

Bowlegs look flustered. “Why would he do that?”

“I don’t have any early idea. Lets watch him, and find out,” Mabel said.

Bowlegs parked himself in his chair and resumed looking at the monitor. Out of the corner of her eye, Mabel caught Running Bear smiling at her. The chief seemed to be enjoying himself, and she gave him a wink.