Hunter's Moon.htm (16 page)

"Good, good," he said, nodding. His voice warmed a notch for a flickering moment. "How's your dad?"

That question was actually an honest one. They really did like each other. "Dad's doing well. He's retired now. Living the life down in Florida. Whiling away the hours playing boccie and canasta."

"He always was a sucker for a good boccie game." Leo's laugh was deep and genuine. He sobered so suddenly it was like someone hit pause on a video. "What can I do for you?"

I raised the briefcase slightly and it caught his eye. "I've got some business with you."

He stared at me menacingly for long seconds. I didn't flinch. Sue looked back and forth from me to Leo. She nibbled her lips nervously. Without a word, he turned and walked down the hallway. I started to follow when she grabbed my arm in a panic.

"I've got a bad feeling about this, Tony."

I touched her arm lightly and winked. "Don't worry. Everything's fine. Why don't you wait for me in the restaurant? Order me a beer and a steak. Rare. I'll meet you in a couple of minutes. Bobby, would you show her the way?"

Bobby nodded and moved to stand next to Sue. "Okay," she said hesitantly but followed Bobby. She looked back to me more than once.

Leo was standing at the door of his office waiting. I followed. He opened a door at the end of the hall. A placard on the door read, 'Private— No Admittance'. Leo's inner sanctum.

I entered the room, scanned for bodyguards and cameras and then closed the door behind me. He was a confident little asshole. Nobody was in sight. I listed for a moment with my wolf hearing but I didn't hear any mechanical sounds other than the slight hiss from the blower. I shifted my leg and felt the ankle holster press into my skin. Good enough.

He went behind a carved oak desk and sat down on a black leather executive-style chair.

"Well, well," he said snidely after he was seated. "Tony the Nose. You realize that I'm only seeing you out of deference to your dad."

I reached into my pocket and withdrew the key to the cuff. "Yeah, I know. It's the only reason that I'd set eyes on your ugly puss too."

All hints of the polite smile were erased. "What do you want, sazee?"

Huh? Must be new slang for something really bad. Leo wouldn't address me with anything less. "I've got business. You want it or should I go elsewhere?"

I opened the case and turned it to show him the neatly stacked bills.

"How much?" he asked.

"A million. What's the house cut?"

He pursed his lips and I could see his beady eyes sparkle. "Ten percent."

My eyebrows shot to the roof and I snorted. I closed the case again with a shake of my head. "You've got to be kidding. Fuck this. I will go somewhere else." Audit or no, someone else in town had to be doing business.

I closed the case, set the locks, and was just about to snap the cuff around my wrist. He tapped all of the fingers of his left hand on the desk. It sounded like a muted woodpecker. Finally, he spoke.

"Fine. Five percent. Plus an hour with your lady."

Whoa! Where the hell did that come from? I didn't think he'd even glanced Sue's way.

"The hell you say!" The cuff snapped closed. I wanted to reach across the desk and rip out his throat. But I didn't. Say 'thanks', Dad.

"No dice. You don't want my money? Fine. But you even talk to my lady and you'll be breathing out of a new hole in your skull."

He quavered his hands in front of me. "Ooo! I'm so scared." He wasn't. His eyes were cold and dead.

His mistake. He should be.

I flipped him a one-finger salute and pocketed the key. He exhaled a sharp breath and I could hear him counting slowly under his breath. I walked toward the door. The knob was in my hand when he said with annoyed acceptance, "Six percent. It's the best offer you'll get in town."

I stopped where I was and thought about it. Yeah, six percent was at least equal to what I'd get elsewhere and it'd make me points with Dad. God, the things I do for family. I turned to face the piece of scum.

"Done." I repeated the performance of unsnapping the cuff and handed him the case. "I'd like a receipt."

"Don't trust me?" he asked with a sneer. The sharp, unpleasant smell of his hate oozed through my brain.

"Not as far as I can throw you and I can't even pick you up."

He wrote a house receipt for the cash and accepted the case. He told me what table to be at and who the dealer would be.

I was surprised that he never mentioned that he could smell my fur like I could his. But then again, I didn't mention it to him. Maybe that's the way it works. But I learned I could smell others like me. Or, maybe I'm nuts.

I left Leo's office with the receipt and no case. I had some cash to get coins and the table would be set up for me soon. So I joined Sue in the restaurant. I raised my eyebrows as I saw her digging into a half-eaten rare steak. Another rested on a plate across from her.

"I thought you like your steaks well done."

She raised her eyes to me in confusion. "I do. Why?"

I motioned to her plate. She looked at the piece on her fork as though she had seen it for the first time. Horror filled her eyes and she set the utensil down shakily. "That's weird."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Ask the waitress to send it back."

"But it's half eaten!"

"So? It's none of their business. You're not asking for a new one."

I was almost done with my steak when hers returned. But she had a hard time eating the thoroughly cooked slice of meat. I got the distinct impression that she preferred it rare. The wolf inside me was pleased but I didn't say anything.

We went downstairs and while she was looking at the quarter slots I set her up on a machine.

I called to her and she sat where I directed. She looked up at me as I started to leave. "Aren't you staying?"

"I'm going to go play the tables for a bit. Gambling is kind of a solitary activity. You won't be real social when you get involved in the machine in front of you."

"Okay," she said with a shrug, "If you say so. Where will you be?"

I directed her attention to the blackjack table at the edge of the pit. "See the table with the red-headed woman dealer? That's where I'll be. If you run out of money or want to leave, just come get me." I pressed the button to start her reels spinning for the first time. A single cherry came up and she won two credits.

"Ooh, look! I already won! This is fun!" She pressed the button again but nothing hit. She was engrossed but twenty credits down by the time I left.

I knew the dealer at my table. A single chair was open and waiting when I arrived. Marge smiled at me and I smiled back. "Good to see you again, Mr. Giodone," she said softly, as she removed the small placard labeled 'Reserved' from the spot in front of my seat.

Marge smells nice. Sweet and soft, like a fluffy blanket just out of the dryer. She's sort of the 'Mom' on the floor. She's older than she looks and smells. Meaner too.

"New hairdo?"

She smiled and smelled warm and fuzzy. "Nice of you to notice. Are you in for this hand?" I nodded.

An hour later, I was ten thousand up and going strong but I needed a break. The table had attracted a crowd while I played and there were groans from the group when I stood and stretched. "I'm going to take a break, Marge. Cash me out."

She handed me a tray and I stacked the multi-colored, paper wrapped tokens in it. I glanced toward where Sue had been playing and she was still sitting at the same machine. When I came up behind her, she started in surprise. "You scared me," she said with a giggle.

I looked at the display. It read 407. Not bad. Two hundred up from when I left her.

"You're doing well." I nodded in approval.

"Okay, I guess." She smelled a little disappointed. "I was higher earlier. It'd be more fun if it was big money." I looked at her and my brow furrowed. She didn't consider this big money? Then I realized what the confusion was and I smiled.

"Sue, what's 500 multiplied by two?"

She looked at me and shrugged. "A thousand. Why?"

"Then 200 times five is the same?"

"Duh," was her reply. "So?"

I pointed toward the number on the face of the machine. "Then I guess that you've won about a thousand dollars, huh?"

The look on her face was worth the wait. I didn't need a smell to know her thoughts. She looked again at the front of the machine and then to the machines to the side of her. "This is a nickel machine, right?"

I shook my head. "A five dollar machine." There was no dollar sign in front of the large number on the face of the machine. She had thought she was playing nickels.

"Five dollars a pull!?" She looked at the display once more. "Oh, my God! I won a thousand dollars! Aahh!"

I chuckled as she exploded into laughter. Her happiness gave way to delight and citrus burst into my nose. She leapt up and hugged me hard enough that I almost dropped the tray in my hands. The tingles were even headier from her excitement. I had to smile. All of her millions and she's still enthused by this small win. She stood in front of the machine just looking at it, not sure what to do next.

"Do you want to cash out?" I asked. "I thought about taking a break."

She looked at the machine again. "I don't know how." She appealed to me with glittering but confused eyes and I grinned. I reached across her and pressed the 'Cash/Credit' button. The machine began to ding wildly as the oversized, copper-colored coins exited into the tray noisily. I winced slightly. The headache was back.

We took a break and walked around the casino watching the other players. We stood back from the gaming tables while I explained each game in a whisper so we wouldn't distract the participants.

"Are you going to play again?" she asked, after she thought she understood how the games worked.

Well, I sort of have to. I didn't want to be here for days to "win" back my money. "I had planned to. Want to watch?"

She nodded eagerly and she started to pull out a stool at the table where we stood. I shook my head and steered her back toward Marge's table.

Sue leaned in to me and whispered, "Why this table?"

I shrugged. "I was winning here. Call me superstitious." She mused about that for a moment and then smiled. She believed me.

"Are you both in?" asked Marge with a calm face. Her question actually was, "Are you both supposed to win here?" I thought about it for a second. It would look better overall for both of us to win but I didn't want Sue to get sucked into this too far. She's a bright girl. I figured she'd understand the concept and why I needed to launder the money, but I didn't think she'd want to be involved in the process.

Money laundering is a necessary part of my business. Large amounts of cash are hard to account for, even with a couple of businesses to run it through. Capone and Gotti never got busted for murder or racketeering. They got hammered on tax evasion. So I dutifully pay my taxes even if I have to break secondary laws to do it. But the less people involved in deals like this the better. I don't know how the casino works it into their books. Nor do I care.

I shook my head. "Just me." Sue looked at me in dismay. "Oohh," she said with a pout. I probably should have let her in on the plan, but it was too late now.

I lifted her hand to my mouth and kissing it gently. "You're my good luck charm. I don't want to play against you and risk losing."

She smiled. "Flatterer." Cookie spice and citrus licked at my nose. She tucked an arm through mine.

I anted and the game began. Sue watched the game and the people as well. She tried to whisper things to me but it was sort of distracting. Even when the odds are stacked to win, I still have to pay attention to the game. I put a finger to my lips and she shushed. I could tell that she wanted to play. After about an hour she started to get bored. She shifted in her seat constantly and kept looking around her.

"Can I go play the machines again?" Frustration edged her voice.

I nodded. "Don't go far. I don't want to have to track you down later. Try playing the keno machines. I think you'll like them." She nodded happily and wandered off toward the slots again.

Another hour passed and I looked up from my game and stretched. Marge took a sip of water from a glass, which was my cue to lose the next hand. Can't win every hand. It would be noticed. But I was already thirty thousand ahead. The crowd around the table was sizable. I glanced around the room to find where Sue was sitting. She should be very visible considering she was wearing bright yellow. I didn't see her. Oh, well.

There was a smattering of annoyed sounds from the crowd when I lost the hand and Marge gathered the chips from the table. I jumped slightly when a heavy hand landed on my shoulder. What now?

"We need to talk, Giodone," Bobby's voice hissed in my ear. "You've got trouble."

I glanced at Marge without giving any reaction to Bobby's warning. I stood up smoothly.

"I've got a call, Marge. Hold my chair." She nodded and raised one finger. A guard moved over to her side. She whispered to him and he sat in my place to keep the crowd honest. Another grey suit widened his coverage of the area in response.

I moved away with Bobby and said in a low voice, "What's up?"

"Like I said, you've got trouble." His voice was still low and strained. I couldn't catch his scent to see if he was lying or if he was worried. He looked worried. He kept scanning around us and checking the mirrors on the walls to make sure that we weren't followed.

When we reached a semi-private spot— not that there are many in a casino— I stopped him. "I'm not going any further until you tell me what's going on."

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at me with angry eyes. "Does the name Jeffrey Prezza ring a bell?"

Ah, shit! "You heard about that, huh?"

"Hell, Tony! Everybody's heard about that. Well, anyone who matters. Anyway, I just overheard a conversation. Leo's setting you up. He called Vito Prezza and a couple of his boys are on their way over to collect you. That's why you haven't been winning so fast this time. They're stalling you. You need to get out of here."