You want one? Rufus asked.
Im trying to quit.
I tried to quit once. Enrolled in one of those special progams.
Did it work?
Yeah. Every time I wanted a smoke, I called a special phone number, and a guy came over and got drunk with me. Rufus laughed through a mouthful of smoke. His pack fell from his hand, and he bent over to pick it up. As he did, he glanced beneath one of the poker tables.
Well, lookee here, he said.
He pulled something from beneath the table, then held it on his palm for Valentine to see. It was pink and looked like it had been thoroughly chewed.
Know what this is?
Gum?
Silly Putty.
Valentine came over for a closer look. You think its a bug?
Uh-huh.
So weve got a mucker in the tournament.
Sure looks that way, Rufus said.
A mucker specialized in switching cards during play. The bug was his assistant, and used to secretly hide a card beneath the table. When the mucker needed the card, he brought it up, switched it with a card in his hand, then put the extra card back in the bug. The switch required terrific timing, skill, and plenty of nerve.
Theres also a paper clip involved, Rufus said. The paper clip is wedged into the Silly Putty, and the card is stuck in the clip.
Did you see a paper clip on the floor?
No, but there has to be one.
Valentine searched the floor beneath the table. The carpet was sticking up after being vacuumed, and he walked over to the cleaning men and took out his wallet. They instantly silenced their machines.
Which one of you cleaned that table? he asked, pointing.
None of the men spoke English, but their eyes said they were eager to help. Rufus came over and asked them in Spanish, which he spoke without an accent. One of the cleaning men stepped forward and raised his hand.
I clean, the man said haltingly.
Rufus asked him to open the bag on his vacuum. The man obliged, and Valentine handed him a twenty-dollar bill. The mans face lit up.
Rufus glanced into the bag, then stuck his hand in up to the elbow, and twirled his long fingers around. Moments later he pulled out an object, and held it up to the light. It was a paper clip painted black. Mucking cards during play was the hardest cheating known to man. No matter how good a mucker was, he never drew attention to himself, and played under the radar. This wasnt Skip DeMarcos scam; it was somebody elses.
Looks like weve got another cheater working the tournament, Valentine said.
8
Hanging out with Eddie Davis was a step back in time. Outside of being an undercover detective, Davis was like a lot of guys Gerry had grown up with. He was single, liked to frequent clubs and singles bars, and drove a souped-up car. He was an eighteen-year-old kid in a forty-year-old body, and enjoying every minute of it.
Davis was also a night owl, and they did a loop of the island, eventually returning to the Atlantic City Expressway entrance. Gerry found himself remembering the housing development that once stood there, and the park with a statue of Christopher Columbus. The park had been one of his fathers favorite places; his mothers, too.
Daviss cell phone began to play the theme song from the TV show Cops. Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you? He ripped the phone from the Velcro pad on the dash.
Davis here.
Eddie, its Joey, his caller said. I need help. Im at Ballys with our friends.
Daviss brow knotted. You got them pinned down?
Yeah.
Ill be right over. Davis closed the phone. His tires ripped the macadam as they took off.
Trouble? Gerry asked.
Theres a gang of blackjack cheaters weve been trying to nail for a month. Two men, one woman. My partner spotted them at Ballys.
Is the woman nicking cards?
Daviss head jerked in his direction. How did you know that?
Nail-nicking cards in blackjack was a speciality among female cheaters. The woman would put in the work with her fingernails while no one was looking,
then her partner would read the cards before they were dealt from the shoe, and signal them to the gangs third member, who did the heavy bettingorganized cheating at its best.
Lucky guess, Gerry said.
Davis got onto Atlantic Avenue, put his foot to the floor, and sped south.
Not that its any of my business, Gerry said, but why havent you arrested them before now? It sounds like you know them pretty well.
Weve tried to arrest them, Davis said. They always seem to know when were coming, and which door were coming through.
Psychic cheaters?
Its starting to feel that way, Davis said.
Gerrys mind raced. The hardest part about cheating a casino was avoiding the police, who were always present on the casino floor. It occurred to him that Daviss blackjack cheaters werent psychic, they were just smart.
Ballys neon sign blinked gloomily in the pale night sky. The front entrance was jammed with stretch limousines, and Davis pulled down a side street and parked his car. He grabbed his cell phone off the dash, then turned to Gerry. Sorry, but I need to leave you here.