Dead Man's Hand (5 page)

“
It needs to be done ASAP
. Time is running out and I can
’
t wait any longer.
”

“
Will everything be ready?
”

“
Of course. You just take care of Watters. It
’
ll be perfect. It has to b
e. You better hope it is
.
”

“
I don
’
t know
. Sounds risky.
”

Sanders pulled a brochure from his jacket. He opened it to the centerfold and
set
it on
the desk
.
“
A
piece of this will be all yours.
”
He pointed to
the layout of the new Greek Hotel and Casino.

Don
’
s eyes widened. The place would make millions.
He tried to touch the paper,
but
Sanders
grabbed it
and stuck it inside his jacket.

“
How about a deal memo for a sense of security?
”
Don
said.
“
I would feel better knowing
I have some documentation for my share.
”

Grinning,
Sanders
slapped him
on the back
.
“
You
’
ll just have to trust me,
Donald
.
”

He
frowned.
I have no choice
.

When
Sanders
left,
he relaxed back into his chair
. All he could think about
was that Sanders could no doubt
pull this off
and
would be a real power in Vegas.

Chapter 5

Calvin didn
’
t get to work until after eleven, a good time for an impromptu visit. He walked into the little shop and the odor of cigarette smoke and sweat
assaulted him
. The noise
he
had grown accustomed to the last three years—fingers tapping keyboards, phones ringing
and
sports games from around the wo
rld on the televisions—greeted him
like a punch in the gut. A couple of heads shot up from behind newspapers,
but seeing
a big black man,
they
returned
to their reading.

The lines for the day were already posted on the board and he scanned them as he
nodded to the
secretary, who
was busy
painting red
-
lacquered nails.
“
You got something for me, Dixie?
”

She opened
a drawer and searched it
.
“
Nothing here
.
”

H
is pulse quicken
ed,
but
he
said nothing. He headed to the back.

“
Hey, Don
.
”
Calvin
nodded at his boss.

Pitt
looked up from his computer.
“
Where the hell have you been?
”

“
What? I never punched a clock before.
”

“
Sorry. Tough morning. I have nothing for you yet today.
”

“
What about my cut on Pierce? I know he paid you in full this morning.
”

“
What
?
No, he hasn
’
t. Well…
he paid part of it.
”

Calvin put out his hand.
“
S
top there. I don
’
t want to h
ear it. I got his attention the other night
, told him to pay you this morning
and
I know he did, so stop trying to hold on
to my money.
”

Pitt started protesting
and
he
cut him off
.
“
Now.
”
Calvin
leaned forward and
glared
into Pitt
’
s piggy eyes.
“
He owed you $20,000
and
I want
$4,000 in my hands within the next minute.
”

Pitt sighed.
“
Not you too. What a morning.
”

“
Me too? What do you mean? Who else was in here?
”

“
No one. Never mind.
I
’
m too
tired to argue with you
. You
’
re right anyway. Dixie said Pierce limped in this morning before I arrived
and
paid it all.
”
Pitt smiled.
“
I guess he got the message.
”

“
My money, Don
.
”

“
All right. Calm down. I
’
ll get your money.
”
Pitt disappeared into the back of his office
and
returned with a large envelope.
“
Here
’
s your $4,000. Count it if you want.
You
finished?
”

“
No. You still owe me $6,000 from the job before that. Harry Walker. Five days ago
.
I know he paid too, because if he hadn
’
t, you
’
d have already sent me back to see him. I want everything settled before I leave the office this morning
,
so don
’
t even waste your breath. Just get my money.
”

Pitt sighed and raised his hands, then dropped them to his side. He went into the back again and brought Calvin a larger envelope
and
sat down.

Calvin stuffed both envelopes int
o the deep pockets of his
jacket
.
“
I
’
m not counting now. I
’
ll do that later. I
f anything
’
s missing, I
’
m coming back to collect from you. And what Pierce received will
seem
like a slap on the wrist.
”

“
What
’
s gotten you in such a bad mood? You forget to take your meds?
”

Calvin lunged across
the desk
as Pitt sprung back, his chair striking the wall hard
.

Pitt
raised his hands in a defensive posture.
“
Whoa! Just kidding. Loosen up. You got your money. Go. I
’
ll call you when I need you for the next job.
”

“
That
’
s what we have to talk about.
”

“
I
’
m tired of talking. Let
’
s do that another time.
”
Pitt turned his back to Calvin and began typing on the computer keyboard. But Calvin stood still and stare
d, thinking about when
he and Pitt had first met.

After his humiliating injury,
he
’
d
moved to Vegas to start over. He had no contacts, no money
and
no prospects. He was feeling sorry for himself
and
blamed everyone else for his situation.

His first night in the new city, Calvin had gotten drunk in a local pub, started a fight
and
beat up two customers, a bartender and two bounc
ers. Pitt saw the fight and even went
to court to vouch for Calvin
, saying he acted
in self-defense
—
a total lie. One of the bouncers
had
gone
to the local ER
. A severe concussion, Calvin had heard. He
could have g
one to jail.

“
I like your style,
”
Pitt had said.

When the man
asked Calvin to collect for
him and showed him the money, Calvin figured
he owed the bookie
. Besides, n
o other offers
were
that good. And even though he hated the collecting job now,
he
was still somew
hat proud to be the best. Pitt
’
s rate of return had been
100
percent since Calvin had taken over.

“
I thought you were leaving.
”
Pitt scowled
.
“
What
’
s your problem today?
”

“
I want out.
”

“
What do you mean
,
out
?
”
Pitt
said in an icy tone
.

“
That
’
s it. I
’
m done.
”

“
Oh
,
really?
”
Pitt
got up,
walked around the desk and sat on
the edge of
it, folding
his arms across his chest.
“
T
ell me, what is it you plan to do?
”

“
I don
’
t know yet
.
”
He thought
about the ways he could hurt Pitt
.
B
ut that would be a bad move.

“
Of course you don
’
t, because you can
’
t do anything else. You don
’
t have a degree, you have one knee and you look like a
bum.
”

He
took
deep breaths
and did a slow mental count
to calm down.

Pitt continued.
“
Remember when I found you?
You had nothing. No job. No money. No home. Nobody! I saved you. I was the only one there for you. I saved your a
ss from the slammer. You
owe
me.
”

“
I don
’
t owe you shit.
I paid that debt off long ago.
”

“
Don
’
t give me that bullshit.
When you had nothing else, I offered you
twenty percent of every collection, in
cash. More money than you could ever dream of, with the shape you were in. I turned you into
the perfect collecting machine,
an intimidating giant with a psychopath
’
s lack of emotion
and
the capacity to
be
a madman when the job
required that kind of terror. Did
you forget that?
”

Calvin shook his head.
“
You came to
me
.
”

“
That
’
s right.
I did. I thought that an angry football star was perfect for the job
and
I was right.
”

“
I should have listened to my brother when he tried to talk me out of it.
”

Pitt grunted.
“
Your brother.
A lousy
L.A.
detective.
I hate cops. I don
’
t trust
‘
em.
”

“
Josh
just made detective first
grade
—
a
real
job
. He tried to warn me, but I was too stubborn to listen. I
’
m sick of this
.
”

“
Tell me…
”
Pitt
smiled and Calvin would have liked to remove it
.
“
Just how much money has Joshua made over the last three years?
”

“
Not e
verything is about money
.
”

“
Maybe so
, but I haven
’
t seen much that money can
’
t buy.
”

“
There
’
s more to life.
”
Calvin shrugged.
“
L
ike being happy.
”

Pitt
wipe
d
his eyes
in mock sympathy
.
“
Ah, gee. The leg breaker isn
’
t happy. I
’
m all choked up.
”

“
I want out now.
We
’
re all square on what you owe me. I
’
m finished.
”

“
Well, you can
’
t just walk out, Calvin.
You
’
ve been torturing people for years
and
they put people in jail for that.
When I wa
nted deadbeats terrified of you
that was one thing. But let
’
s say that now I decide to get some of the deadbeats to go to the police and press charges against you.
At first you were an asset, but maybe now you
’
ve gotten out of control.
”