by Robin Mahle
“Morning.” Jacob walked by Alex in the hall as he held a cup of coffee. “Hey, man, are you all right?”
“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. I was just thinking about something.” Alex returned a pleasant smile and tried to play off his distraction. “Welcome back. How was the graduation ceremony?”
“Good. Went off without a hitch,” Jacob replied. “Looks like I didn’t miss too much. How’s the resubmittal going for Woodmill Estates?”
“On schedule. I’ll catch up with you later? Got a million things to jump on this morning.” Alex continued along the hall.
“Sure thing.” Jacob peered back at him with noted concern.
Alex entered his closet-sized office and sat down at his desk. He was feeling off his game and the guys around here would notice, no doubt. Jacob had; he was certain. Maybe he was part of the problem. Alex knew Jacob was living with one of the cops, a woman named Riley. He’d heard stories about her but never asked if they were true. Alex hadn’t lived here long enough to stir up anything, so he figured if Jacob wanted to share, he would. Alex was in Owensville because he had to be. Indianapolis wasn’t a solution any longer. The other larger cities, Terra Haute and South Bend, well, they just didn’t appeal to him. And he’d heard good things about Owensville. How it was growing, and jobs and houses were sprouting up everywhere. It was a great place for a fresh start. He needed that if he wanted his marriage to heal and his kids to be happy. He’d learned a tough lesson back in the big city. One he wouldn’t want to repeat.
Silas Levin, a fifty-something man with a high-styled coif of salt and pepper hair and a stubbled gray beard, stood behind the bar and wiped down the counter. His dynamic personality matched his looks and it helped him to draw in a healthy crowd. The Happy Hour regulars arrived, and even for a Tuesday, it was decent. He’d learned to temper his expectations in the small town. Having come from Chicago, and before that, Pittsburgh, it was an adjustment coming here. But he enjoyed the peace and quiet of Owensville. There were enough people to keep his bar afloat, but not enough to get rich off of. These were to be his golden years. His kids were grown and finishing college and starting their own lives. He’d matured from his younger days and didn’t look for trouble anymore. The only problem was that the tight-ass cops around here were verging on harassment with their recent drop-ins. Oh, they played it off like it was all cool and they were just making sure things were going well, but Silas knew the truth. The God-fearing folk around Owensville didn’t care for his friendly card games and made sure the cops were aware of them. So far, they hadn’t done much but to remind him he was under their watchful eye. It was the one place he didn’t want to be, so he moved things around, shifted them so as not to draw too much attention.
There were a few people here in town who enjoyed a bit of gambling and some who had the money to make it interesting. Those were the folks he wanted to attract. So the goal was to keep the cops off his scent. After all, compared to where he’d been, this was nothing. These cops didn’t know what a real setup was like.
Silas cast his sights on the front door, which opened to reveal precisely who he’d been thinking about. “Your ears must’ve been burning,” he said to himself.
Two of Owensville’s finest entered the establishment. A young female who looked like she didn’t take shit from anyone and a young male who was clearly the one who took orders from her. And they were walking right toward him.
“Evening, officers. Can I get you something to drink, on the house, of course.”
“No thanks. Still on duty,” the female officer replied. “I’m Officer Thompson, this is Officer Pruitt. We just wanted to check in on things. We heard there was a scuffle the other night and just making sure you don’t need us for anything.”
“I appreciate the gesture, Officer Thompson, but I’ve been around long enough to know how to handle these things. There’s no need to get the law involved. In fact, it tends to set my patrons on edge, if you catch my meaning.”
“Sure. We understand,” Officer Pruitt replied. “But like my partner suggested, if we can be of any assistance at all, don’t hesitate to call on us.”
Silas wore a smile uniquely disingenuous. “I’m quite sure that won’t be necessary.” He peered at the female officer. “Well, as you can see, I’m a little busy, so if there’s nothing else?”
“Nothing else, but we thank you for your time.” Officer Thompson turned on her heel and started back toward the entrance. She stopped and peered back at Silas. “You’ve done a lot with the place. I remember when it was the old Moose Head.”
“You grow up around here, then?” Silas asked.
“Yes, sir. My dad spent a lot of time bellied up to that bar there. You have yourself a good evening, Mr. Levin.” She pushed through the doors.
Riley waited at the curb outside the Crooked Horse for Ethan to catch up.
“What the hell was that?” he asked. “You didn’t ask to have a look around or anything. Just walked right on out of there.”
“I saw everything I needed to see.” She folded her arms and leaned back against the patrol car. “He’s hiding a few things, or at least, he thinks he is. I think we need to learn a little more about Silas Levin.”
“What’d you see?”
Riley pulled off the car and walked around to the driver’s side. “Trouble.”
It seemed the air was especially sticky tonight as Alex stepped out of his Toyota 4Runner in the parking lot of the Crooked Horse. The hour was approaching 11pm, which for a Tuesday and for a working man such as he was, this was late. But then again, he hadn’t planned on being out tonight. That was, not until Silas Levin insisted he participate in a friendly game of poker to allow his buddies a chance to earn back their money. And if Alex was under the impression this was anything but coercion, he wasn’t as smart as he thought he was.
He entered the darkened bar where less than a handful of patrons remained. Silas was behind the bar and the two locked eyes immediately. With a slight clearing of his throat, Alex approached him. “Hey, man. I’m ready to get this party started.”
Silas held his gaze and chuckled. “No need to be nervous, Alex. We’re just here to have a little bit of fun. What can I get you to drink?”
“I’ll take a beer, thanks.”
“I’ll get you your favorite. Stella. You had luck drinking that the other night. Wouldn’t want to throw you off your game.” He pulled on the tap and filled a glass with the beverage, leaving just a hint of foam on the top. “Here you are. Let’s go back. The boys are waiting.”
Alex grabbed his glass and followed Silas to the backroom where he’d been only a few short days ago under much different circumstances.
“All right, fellas. The man of the hour has arrived.” Silas held open the door.
Alex peered inside at the faces that appeared much less friendly than they had last week. “Hey.” He raised his hand in a sheepish manner. “Good to see you guys again.” He skulked to the table and pulled out a chair.
“Where’re your friends?” one of the men asked. “Couldn’t hack it, could they? Pussies.”
“Yeah, they don’t have the balls to hang with serious players like yourselves.” Alex studied the men in search of a friendly face but didn’t spot a one. “Okay, so what’s the buy-in tonight?”
Silas leaned in his ear and whispered, “All you have to do—is lose.” He stood upright again and patted Alex on his back. “Let’s get this ball rolling, fellas.”
The only empty chair at the table was where Silas sat down, and it just so happened to be next to Alex. And as Silas’ words reverberated in his mind, he stared at the cards that lay in front of him. It was an easy ask, losing. Nothing to it. Alex was reminded of the wad of cash in his pocket and how it would soon be returned to its rightful owners, whether they deserved it or not. As far as he was concerned, they should’ve been man enough to accept defeat and this whole thing would never have come to pass. What kind of men were they anyway?
Heat began to rise under his collar the more he considered the notion of being strong-armed into throwing in the towel. What did he really have to fear from this guy? Who the hell was he? After all, Alex had Jacob. And Jacob’s girlfriend was an Owensville cop. He could have this guy arrested, if he wanted to.
But as he peered at his hand and cast a brief glance to Silas, he realized there was something about him that said Silas wasn’t messing around. Alex could feel it in his bones, and to defy him, well, that could bring more trouble than this three grand was worth. He had a family to consider; a job. A gambling man by nature, Alex couldn’t bring himself to fight this time. “Fold.”
The room filled with grunts and growls. Silas cocked his head and peered at Alex. “What the fuck, man? Don’t puss out like that. We just started.”
Confusion swept over Alex. Hadn’t the man just told him to lose? And he did, so what the hell was going on? He shrugged his shoulders and returned a sheepish grin. “What can I say? Luck wasn’t on my side with this one.”
The hand continued until it was Silas’ turn. He peered at his cards. “Call. Let’s see those cards, boys.”
The hands were laid on the table. Alex couldn’t believe the round ended so quickly, but the interesting thing was who ended up winning the pot.
Silas pulled in the chips. “There’s always the next hand, fellas.”
Alex peered at him, wondering why he wanted his buddies to get an opportunity to win back their money when it was he who had won that pot. Maybe it was still early, and Silas didn’t want it to look set up, which of course, it was.
Riley hadn’t filled in the captain on what transpired at the Crooked Horse earlier this evening. There wasn’t much to say on the matter and thought it best to wait until tomorrow to give him the low down. But that wasn’t really how she felt about Silas Levin, that there wasn’t much to say about him. She just didn’t know what that was at present.
“Can I get you some water or anything, Riley?” Jacob stood from the sofa and started into the kitchen.
“Thanks. No, I’m okay.”
He retrieved a glass from the cabinet and placed it under the sink. “You haven’t said much tonight. Are you feeling okay?”
“Fine.” Her voice carried through the small house into the kitchen.
Jacob shook his head and returned with a glass of water and sat back down. “You’ve been on your laptop for the past two hours. Are you looking for something?”
Riley set her sights on him and folded down the lid of the laptop. “Not really. Maybe just doing a little bit of recon before I talk to Ward tomorrow, but I haven’t come up with anything.”
“Recon? For what?” Jacob sipped on his water.
“I just got a funny feeling when I met the owner of the Crooked Horse.”
“No one should feel good when you get a funny feeling.” He used air quotes around the words.
“It’s nothing. I mean, I didn’t see anything significant, so either the guy is really good at hiding his emotions or he doesn’t have any, which could also be true. He didn’t exactly strike me as a man full of feelings.”
“So what about him has your hackles raised?” Jacob asked.
“I don’t know. I thought if I tried to root around his history, I might find something. But the thing is, he doesn’t seem to have one. Not that I could find and I have access to a few different databases. He’s just not there.”
“Did you think that maybe he’s never committed a crime?”
She peered at him. “Or he’s just never been caught. Point being, I’m just trying to cover my bases.”
“Hey, far be it from me to stand in the way of your job. If you need to do this, then by all means, go for it. I do know that one of the guys I work with, Alex Laughlin, he was there the other night when the bar had that fight or whatever.”
“He was there?”
“Yep. Said he bailed early, but I don’t know. He’s a pretty big poker player. Even played in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. Maybe you should talk to him. He might know something.”
“That’s not a bad idea. Thanks. Of course, it’s not legal to gamble here, so Captain wanted to put a stop to that before it got out of hand, which, by the sounds of it, it had, at least that night. Anyway, that’s why I was there earlier with Ethan. Ward wants us to be sure the owner knows we’re here and looking out for the place.”
“Did you and Ethan talk about Gracie at all?”
“No. It’s not my business, Jacob. And it’s not yours either. I’m glad Gracie has Ethan, if that’s what this turns out to be. She’s a good person. He’s a good person. I don’t see the problem.”
“That’s because you’re not letting yourself see the problem,” Jacob replied.
“I don’t want to fight about this.” Riley stood from the couch. “It’s getting late. I’m going to bed. Are you coming?”
“Sure.”
Midnight had arrived and Alex remained in the game, down almost two grand. The guys he was playing against weren’t good players and he’d actually won a few hands without trying. Silas took in a fair chunk of the winnings, which still confused him. It seemed all that would accomplish was to ensure the players didn’t return. He knew the deal. The game would go under if people didn’t feel good about it at least some of the time. Just like anything in life. One could take a beating once in a while, but if it happened all the time, the answer was to remove oneself from the situation.
“I don’t know about you fellas, but I’m feeling worse for wear. Who’s ready to call it after this hand?” Silas peered around. “Glad we’re all on the same page. Tonight’s been a good night and I think we have Alex to thank for that. He gave us a shot at earning back our losses from the other night. And by the look of things, you fellas did your level best.”
“Better than before, that is a fact,” one of the men said. “However, it does seem ol’ Alex here might’ve been playing us for fools.”
“I’m sorry?” Alex asked.
“Boy, after the way you played the other night, I’m just supposed to sit here and believe that was some sort of dumb luck? I may be slow, but I ain’t stupid. Silas, I think we was getting played the other night and I think we got played tonight. This boy here just wants to keep us on the hook, I suspect. Ready to pounce on us again the next time around. Lull us into a sense of complacency.”
“Is that true, kid?” Silas turned to him with furrowed brows. “You weren’t playing us, were you?”
Alex’s mouth might as well have fallen to the floor. What the hell was going on? What was Silas playing anyway? “No, sir. I enjoyed playing with you guys last week, had a run of good luck, and figured I could duplicate that, but it turns out, I overestimated my own skills. I hope there are no hard feelings ‘cause I’d like to try my luck with you bunch another time.”
Silas returned to the other man. “See? The boy’s just wanting to join in with us. That’s all it is. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.” He pushed up from the table. “And I think we all came out a little better this go-round.”
Alex waited in the room for the men to leave and Silas walked them out. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to go just yet, and when Silas finally returned, it was a good thing he stayed put. “Hey, I had fun tonight. Thanks.” He took a step.
“Whoa now.” Silas jutted his hand and smacked Alex in his chest. “We aren’t done here. I covered for you with Jim over there because I think you were being obvious to try and fuck me over. Is that true?”
“No, sir—Silas. I wasn’t. You asked me to go easy on them and I did. Just like you said. I didn’t lose it all, but you know I can come back. I got no problem with that.”
“Okay then. We’ll do this again on Thursday.” Silas started out the door. “But there’s something you should know.” He stopped dead in the doorway. “We’re going to have to come together on a solution here.”
“A solution for what?” Alex asked.
“If you and
me are going to work together, we’ll have to come up with a plan of action. I can’t afford for those boys to turn on me. You’ll play like you do and we’ll split the winnings. If they see me losing too, well, they’ll believe we’re copacetic. After all, I’m the owner of this establishment.”
“Wait, you want me to take their money and split it with you?”
“Did I not make myself clear, kid?”
“Um, yeah. Perfectly clear.” Alex felt the weight on his shoulders.
“And just so we’re on the same page, you’ll need to make sure your boys are here too. We gotta go big or go home, so we’ll need to step up the game. Bring in some fresh meat. You can do that, right?”
“Sure.”
“You’re a good kid, Alex. I knew that the moment I met you. Now go home to your family.”
Alex walked past him in a daze until he made it out the door. The fresh air pulled him back and he realized what he’d just done. He was going to be working for Silas Levin and there wasn’t going to be a choice in the matter. And worst of all, he would have to drag his friends in with him.
7
The clock showed midnight and Ethan turned to Gracie as they both rested on the sofa, the television airing a late-night talk show. Her head lay against his chest and her curly brown hair lay in reedy strands against her cheek. He pushed them away with the tip of his index finger. “I should probably go home. It’s getting late and I have work in the morning.”
Gracie pulled upright. “Sure. It is getting late. Thank you for coming over tonight.” She held his gaze for a moment too long until leaning in to kiss his lips.
