Vegas Moon

9.

“Let me get this straight,” Callie says. “Lucky Peters is hiring you to protect him from Connor Payne?”

“Correct.”

“And you’re Connor Payne.”

“That’s right.”

“That’s what I call a cushy job.”

“The best part, I get access to his house, his business, and his weirdoes.”

“You thinking about stealing his ideas?”

“No.”

“Taking over his business?”

“No.”

“Running a scam?”

“Hadn’t thought about it.”

“Then why do you care about his business?”

“I keep thinking there’s one person in the world who could beat Lucky Peters at his own game.”

“Who’s that?”

“Sam Case.”

Callie pauses. “You’d go into business with Sam?”

“I can’t imagine it, but who knows. It’s just a Rain Man idea at this point.”

“You’re fascinated by the lifestyle.”

“A little.”

“Donovan, trust me. This town will eat you up. They don’t play fair.”

“So I’ve heard. But betting is all about understanding the odds of probability. If Lucky’s winning all the time, he knows how to calibrate the point spread. He’s probably got a bunch of people betting one side of the wager, helping him improve the odds. When he feels the number’s right, he has another bunch bet big money on the other side.”

“Of course. That’s public knowledge. He admits to manipulating the odds.”

“Isn’t that illegal?”

“Not according to the Grand Jury. He’s been indicted twice.”

“And?”

“They tossed it out both times.”

“Don’t you think Sam could calculate the odds better than Lucky?”

“He’s got the mind for it, but no, I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Sam doesn’t know shit about sports.”

I frown. “That can’t be true.”

Callie gives me a dirty look. “I dated him for a month, remember?”

“Right. Sorry.”

She shakes her head in disgust. “I had sex with him!”

“Once. As I recall, you came out of it quite wealthy.”

“Still.”

I say, “The whole gambling thing is fascinating, but I took the job so I could meet Gwen.”

“You plan to charm her into giving you the device?”

“If I have access to the house, I’ll find the device.”

“When do you start?”

“Right after lunch.”

“Lucky wants you to what, watch Gwen?”

“Yeah. I’m to introduce myself to Gwen, keep an eye on her till he gets back, late tonight. He wants me and Gwen to pick him up at the airport. I’m not supposed to let her out of my sight.”

“How convenient.”

“I know. Talk about things falling into place.”

“You want me to slip into his house when you go to the airport? Help you find the device?”

“I might. Let me get a feel for his security first.”

“Oh, please.”

“I know you can get past whatever he’s got in place, but I want to make it easy for you.”

She shrugs.

I’m quiet for several minutes. Callie waits, knowing I’m working an angle. Finally, I look up at her and smile.

“You’ve got a plan,” she says.

“A contingency plan.”

“And?”

“And if we need it, you’re going to love it!”

“Goody. Let’s eat.”