Con Game

by Alex Westmore

  “And you’re sure he’ll be at the racetrack?”

  Connie nodded. “I’d stake my badge on it. All we have to do is locate his next victim, and Elson is ours.” Connie recapped the pen and turned the monitor off.

  “What are you doing? We can’t stop now!”

  Squatting down in front of Delta, Megan took both hands in hers. “Honey, it’s been a grueling night for all of us. You’ve lost blood, we’ve lost sleep, and we’ll all lose our minds if we don’t get some rest. Connie needs to sleep, honey. She can’t live on coffee and No-Doz indefinitely.”

  Delta looked at Connie, who was nodding. “Besides, I promised Megan we’d take a break when we got a break, and we did, so I am. Capisce?”

  Delta knew she was outnumbered. “Okay, okay. I guess I’m not thinking straight.”

  “Not a problem, boss. After all you’ve been through the past twenty-four hours, it’s no wonder. Why don’t we all get some winks in and start fresh in a few hours?”

  Delta conceded. “All right. If we have to.”

  Connie grinned and messed up Delta’s already mussed hair. “You have to. How’s your leg?"

  Delta winced. She was trying to forget about it. “It’s still there.”

  Connie grinned. “Good. Get some sleep.” Bending over, Connie kissed the top of Delta’s head. “And let’s see how you feel about it when the drugs wear off.”

  Watching Connie amble down the hall, Delta pulled Megan to her. They hadn’t been alone since Delta returned from the emergency room, holding a crutch in one arm and Jan in the other. “You’ve been a trooper, Megan. How are you really?”

  Wrapping her arms around Delta, Megan hugged her tightly. “Honestly? I’m scared, anxious, exhausted. Seeing you hobble in here was bad, but getting a phone call from Connie saying you were in the hospital, well, I could live forever and not hear those words again.”

  Delta inhaled the scent of Megan’s sweet hair and ran her fingers through its softness. Megan’s body trembled slightly as she caressed Delta’s shoulders.

  “I’m sorry I scared you.”

  “Scared me?” Megan said, gently pulling away. “I was out of my mind. The second Connie called here, I knew. I don’t know how, but I did. I aged ten years waiting for her to tell me if you were alive. It was awful. No, it was worse than awful.”

  Delta pulled her back and held Megan against her. “I’m so sorry.”

  “So am I. Have you ever experienced anything like that? That horrible sensation of time standing still? Well, that’s what it felt like and it sucked.”

  Delta could only remember one instance when time stood still for her; when Miles died in her arms.

  “Have you ever had to hear that your lover was attacked and sent to the emergency room?”

  Delta simply bowed her head. She knew it couldn’t be easy. “Not really.”

  “Well, that’s a slice of what I went through last night. Delta, I thought I’d lost you. I thought Connie’s next words were going to be that there wasn’t much hope. I prayed, Delta, right then and there, that this wasn’t the end.”

  Delta couldn’t look into Megan’s eyes. Delta knew if she saw the pain and anguish Megan felt, that guilt would soon follow, and Delta didn’t wish to feel guilty. “I don’t know what to say.”

  Megan sighed. “A part of me wishes you’d turn the badge in when this caper is over; that you’ll give it up and be a bean farmer. A part of me wishes you’d be scared enough one day and decide that you like living better than saving people’s lives.” Megan slowly removed herself from Delta’s arms. “And a part of me knows that you need that blasted badge as much as you need your heart.”

  Delta looked into Megan’s eyes and found fear, anger, and frustration at the truth. Her face showed the strain of emotions she could not control and did not want. “I don’t know what to say. It’s the same conversation we keep having, isn’t it?”

  Megan shrugged and then nodded. “But I don’t know if I have what it takes to be a cop’s wife, Delta.”

  Megan’s panic transferred to Delta. “What are you saying?”

  Still sitting next to Delta, Megan wiped some of her curls away from her forehead. “I’m saying we have more to work on than just you not being able to give me 100%. Delta, I love you more than anyone in the world. My love for you runs to places in my soul that I didn’t even know existed.”

  “But?”

  Megan locked eyes with Delta, and hung on. “But I don’t know how many more times I can go through the kind of fear I just experienced. I don’t want to be without you, baby, but I don’t know how to handle the feelings I had last night. It was awful.”

  Delta felt like she was holding the end of an unraveling rope, with the ball of panic rising in her throat.

  “I’m saying that when this is over, you and I really need to take some time and talk about ways of approaching our relationship. My love, as much as I hate to admit it, the honeymoon stage is over. It’s time we looked at what kind of work is necessary for the long haul.”

  Long haul. Delta felt as if Megan had just thrown her a life jacket. “You’re not planning on leaving?”

  Megan grinned softly. “Leaving? I’m not a quitter, Delta Stevens. You, of all people, should know that.”

  “Then what do you want, Megan? If you’re not going, what do I need to do to help you stay?”

  “We have a great deal to sort out, and I want to know that you’re going to put as much into that sorting as you are your job. Because if I’m doing all of the work, we’ll never make it.”

  A ray of hope, Delta thought—a woman who was willing to show her how to work on a relationship and not simply walk into another’s arms just because the honeymoon was over. “I swear, Megan, when this is wrapped up, we’ll head up to the mountains and work things out. I’ll do the counseling shtick if that’s what you want, I’ll even read a self-help book. Just show me how to keep a relationship alive after the flames die down.” Grabbing Megan’s hand, Delta held it to her cheek and kissed the back of it. “I swear, I just want us to work. I want to be able to keep you and still be Delta Stevens.”

  Megan shook her head. “I suppose if you always put Delta Stevens before Megan and Delta, then I am going to have to get used to that.”

  “I’ll do everything I can not to, Megan, but I can’t make any promises.”

  “I understand that, love. I really do. Just promise me you’ll be more mindful of where our relationship is in your heart. We can’t always take a backseat to the badge.”

  Delta crossed her heart. “I promise.”

  “Because if you won’t put your badge away every now and then, there’s not much hope for us. You realize that, don’t you? I won’t play second fiddle to your job.”

  Delta nodded. “Fine. You won’t have to.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to pay attention to my needs as well?”

  “Yes. I will. I swear I will.” Wrapping her arms around Megan’s waist and holding onto her as if she was a life preserver, Delta hugged her tighter than she ever had. “I love you so much. I’m sorry I scared you. I’m sorry I get so wrapped up in my wor—”

  “Shh.” Megan backed away and placed her fingers lightly on Delta’s lips. “It’s time to stop being sorry and start working on us. Maybe then, you won’t have to be so sorry all the time.”

  Delta nodded. “I’d like that.”

  “Me, too. Now get up, and let me help you get to bed. You’re looking really pale. Jan said you bled a lot. That’s a pretty deep wound you’ve got going there, and you’re going to have to stay off it.”

  Delta didn’t answer. She could no more stay off her leg than she could stop breathing. “Do I look as tired as I feel?”

  Helping Delta to her feet, Megan nodded. “You look exhausted.”

  “Do I look as tired as a bean farmer might?”

  “What?”

  Delta grinned. “Never mind.”

  Chapter 38

  Delta star
ed at the list of jockeys and horses lying on the table. Italian names, cutesy names, surnames, phrase-names, Irish names, business names, ballplayers’ names, a hundred different types appeared on the list. As Delta tried to fit any sort of Greek connotation to every name, Connie sat at Eddie and retraced Dori’s steps to see if there wasn’t something she missed earlier in the level. As of yet, she had not been successful in taking the trident from Poseidon.

  On Delta’s right, Megan thumbed through an immense volume of Greek mythology that Professor Rosenbaum had given to her. Every now and then, she would cross a name off the list and move down to the next. Between them grew a silent determination. Against Miles’s murderers, the four of them had made a formidable opponent. They acted like a well-oiled machine, capable of grinding to a pulp anyone who was stupid enough to get in their way. They were magic, and Delta hoped their magic would work once more.

  She counted on it.

  Absentmindedly rubbing her bandaged leg, Delta thought back to the moment prior to Elson tossing the star into it. His beady eyes, sparse moustache and black-rimmed glasses left an indelible imprint on her mind. A dozen questions zipped in and out of focus, as she tried to recall the moments just before he tossed the star. Should she just have killed him and risked Jan’s life? What had she done wrong that she would change next time they met? What had she done right? How had he gotten his hands on Jan so quickly? And why didn’t he just come after Delta?

  She remembered his thin, ugly lips moving but couldn’t quite recall what he had said. But there was something, wasn’t there? A word that struck her odd when he said it, but she was too worried about Jan to file it neatly away in her short-term memory. God, what was it?

  Hearing Megan sigh loudly, Delta reached over and patted her hand. It felt good to be working on a case with her. Megan seemed to really enjoy the detective aspect of police work; all the evidence and clue gathering was something she was very good at. It was the cops-and-robbers part that scared the hell out of her.

  Who could blame her?

  In her six years on the force, Delta had been shot at, punched, kicked, and spit on. She’d had someone throw rocks at her, someone try to kill her, and someone pull a knife on her. She’d seen death and destruction on a scale only Hollywood could reproduce, and she’d had her share of stitches. And Megan was frightened for her?

  No kidding.

  Glancing over at Megan, Delta smiled at her. Maybe Megan was making a great decision by choosing to try law instead of business. She’d been an excellent witness in court during Miles’s case, and she was outstanding at researching information for the game. Delta couldn’t help but smile wider.

  “What are you staring at?” Megan asked, lowering her book.

  “Nothing. I was just wondering if I would ever get the chance to call you `counselor’.”

  “You can call me whatever you want, my love, but for now, do you want to hear what I’ve come up with?”

  Delta nodded. “Shoot.”

  “I’ve looked at thirty names so far; seven have Greek potential, and ten I’m unsure of yet. Don’t horse owners ever name their steeds Sally or Honey or Bess? What’s wrong with good old American names?”

  Delta snickered. “Those are cow names, my dear, not the names of champions.” Delta paused for a moment, reflecting on her own words.

  “I know that. But listen to this list so far: The Aphrodite Challenge, Argos, Cassie’s Love, Fortuna 500, Crystal Palace, Mont Blanc Special—need I go on? And then, there are those that are barely passable, but need to be checked anyway, like Diana. Boring, plain Diana. Still, she figures in many myths and is a possibility.”

  “God,” Gina’s voice came from the corner, where she was digging through reference books. “How would you like for someone to name a horse after you? Even if it was a fast one.”

  Delta ignored the last comment and pondered the list before her. It did seem insurmountable, with so many names related to Greek mythology in one way or another.

  “How many of those horses have been champions?” Connie asked, putting a little English on her joy-stick to make Dori avoid Poseidon’s powerful right hook.

  There was that word again. Why the knee-jerk reaction every time she heard it? Closing her eyes, Delta could clearly see the word ‘champion’ forming on Elson’s lips, but the sound never came out. Had she just imagined it?

  Megan checked the sheet. “Twenty were champions last year or are presently considered champions.”

  Delta opened her eyes and looked around for the cane Gina had bought for her. She couldn’t grasp whatever notion was cruising around in her head.

  Slowly standing and lightly putting pressure on her leg, Delta moved to the window and thought about last night’s “stabbing.” She remembered Elson holding Jan, and both Jan and the star were propelled at her at once. He must have said something to her just before he threw it. But she knew that he tossed it and ran. Then, why could she swear he said it after he threw it? It was like having a piece of corn caught in her teeth, and she couldn’t get it out.

  “Elson didn’t say it,” she said under her breath. “Jan was repeating what he had said to her.”

  Connie and Megan turned from their work and stared at her.

  Limping back over to the table and ignoring the ache in her leg, Delta pulled the piece of paper Megan was working on. “All morning, I’ve been trying to remember something Elson said to me that might possibly relate to the horses.”

  Connie quickly pushed the pause button and swung around. The creases on her face deepened every day the strain wore on. “And?”

  “He said something to Jan that I thought, at the time, was an interesting choice of words, as if he was giving me another clue. It hit me funny, but I was losing blood and passing out and I wasn’t sure I heard Jan correctly.”

  “So?” Connie asked, rising from her chair and stretching. “What was it?”

  “He said something about me being the last of the true champions. Jan repeated his words, which is why I’ve had such a hard time retrieving it. I kept thinking Elson said it to me, and he didn’t.”

  Megan grabbed the sheet and ran her finger down the length of the column. “Last champion, last champion. What do you think it means?”

  Delta shrugged and studied the list. “Are we looking for the last horse who was a champion? Or the champion of the last race?”

  Connie strode over and joined them. “Aren’t they one and the same?”

  Megan shook her head. “No. I think she means the champion of the last Springtown Stakes.”

  “Yes!” Connie agreed, leaning closer to the list. “The last races were—”

  “Two months ago,” Megan said, smiling.

  “Enough time for him to fit it into the game,” Connie finished for her.

  Running her fingertip down the list, Megan stopped at the notation of the horses who had won the last races during the Springtown Stakes. “This really narrows down the horses we have to look at.” Grabbing her marker, Megan highlighted all the relevant horses. “This feels like the right track. Pardon the pun.”

  Delta examined the highlighted names. There were five or six she could have crossed off easily. But the seventh caught her attention. “Here’s an interesting one. Harold’s Hubris. Hubris sounds like something Greek. What’s a hubris?”

  Megan and Connie looked at each other and shrugged. “Let’s look it up,” Megan said, opening a thick reference book titled Mythology Through the Ages.

  “Here it is,” Megan announced, setting the large volume on the table. “Oh my God. This is it! Hubris is translated as pride, arrogance, and recklessness. According to this, it is `being so self-assured that one celebrates victory before the battle is over.’ ”

  Connie looked at Delta, who looked at Megan. A hush in the room settled like a fine layer of dust.

  “That’s it,” Connie said softly. “It must be. He must be talking about me.”

  Megan inhaled loudly. “There’s more. It says hu
bris is when a person forgets that he’s human and acts like a god or plays the role of one.”

  “Con, are you sure he isn’t referring to himself?” Delta asked, peering over Megan’s shoulder.

  Connie shrugged. “I don’t think so. No, Del, I’m sure he’s talking about me. Is there anything else?”

  Megan nodded. “Listen to this. In mythology, Hubris was punished by Nemesis, a child of Night. Nemesis, who was thought of as Divine Anger, was the embodiment of Revenge and Retribution. If a person became too prosperous, Nemesis would take some of that prosperity from them.”

  Delta held up her hand for Megan to stop. “Wait a minute. If a person is too successful, then Nemesis would take some of what they earned away?”

  Megan nodded, her eyes glued to the page. “Apparently so. It says, ‘If that person boasts of his prosperity, the gods look upon that as a challenge, and that challenge is usually met.’”

  “He’s referring to me. He’s recalling the old days when I was at the top of my class. I was successful. Clearly, he thought, and still thinks, that I was proud and arrogant of that success.”

  Megan looked up from the book. “So, this makes him Nemesis, doesn’t it? He’s appointed himself a child of the night.”

  “Which is why he strikes only at night,” Delta added.

  “And he’s after Retribution and Revenge. It all fits. In the figurative and literal senses, he feels it is his duty to make me pay for my actions from long ago.”

  Delta shook her head. “Damn, he’s way out there.”

  Megan closed the book. “That’s all it says. What now?”

  “The horse is our key. If we find that horse, we may find him.” Connie sat back down at the computer and released the pause button. “Megan, would you copy the hubris information and tape it over my desk? There may be clues in there that will help me with the game.”

  “As good as done.”

  “And Del, you find out when Harold’s Hubris’s last race is. This time, that maniac isn’t going to get away from us.”

  Turning to her task, Delta watched out of the corner of her eye, as Connie wielded the joystick. Never, in the five years they had known each other, had Delta ever seen her so intense. The light-hearted jokester she knew so well had been replaced by an angry, bitter woman filled with rage and hostility. In a deeper sense, Connie’s lightheartedness seemed lost to the realities of brutal actions that would forever change her life. Elson hadn’t hurt Connie in any physical sense, but he had certainly struck damaging blows to her spirit.