Poker Chips and Poison

by Rodney Strong

  Gordon turned his attention back to her and seemed surprised at the new gap between them. ‘Oh, well I saw her yesterday morning. She was coming out of the recreation building. We chatted briefly. I invited her to have coffee with me but she had another appointment.’

  ‘How did she seem?’

  ‘Seem? How do you mean? She seemed like Betty.’

  ‘I mean did she seem well?’

  ‘I suppose so,’ he smoothed one of his eyebrows with his fingers. ‘Why?’

  Alice took a deep breath to calm herself. ‘Well her death was very sudden, I guess I was just wondering if she’d been feeling ill lately.’

  ‘Ah, well you would know better than I of course, but no she seemed well. In fact she seemed happier than I’d seen her in a while. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought she’d just...you know.’

  She did.

  ‘No. What?’ she asked with raised eyebrows.

  Gordon’s face flushed and his eyes flicked to Vanessa who was trying and failing not to look amused.

  ‘I know, Mr Harrison. I’ll explain it to Alice later.’

  Alice shot her a look which called her a spoilsport, and Vanessa returned it with one that may or may not have told her to stop torturing the old man.

  ‘Well anyway, she looked very happy.’

  Alice decided to change tack. ‘Gordon, have you met the new woman Nanci?’

  ‘Nanci Katz? Yes, wonderful woman. I’ve invited her to dinner, and I think we’ve got it booked in for one day next week,’ he replied excitedly.

  Poor woman, Alice thought.

  ‘Had you ever seen her and Betty together?’

  ‘What? Not that I recall, why?’

  Alice waved her hand casually. ‘No reason. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet and I just wondered how social she was.’

  ‘Oh right. I can’t say, although she was very friendly towards me, and I do remember seeing her talking to Teresa one time, and Owen too come to think of it.’

  Alice frowned. For a newcomer, Nanci seemed to have talked to a lot of the residents. She shook her head to try and dislodge her suspicious nature. There’s nothing odd about being friendly and trying to fit in. Not everyone had an ulterior motive. Although there was the poker game. There was definitely something weird about that. Or maybe she was a sore loser.

  She heard Vanessa clear her throat and Alice realised her thoughts had been wandering again. That had been happening a lot recently. Between that and the damned cough she’d had forever she was beginning to think that maybe she was getting old.

  ‘So,’ Vanessa began and Alice snapped back her attention to the room, ‘Alice is feeling a little overwhelmed with everything from today Mr Harrison so perhaps we need to let her rest.’

  Alice turned a tired looking face towards her visitor. ‘Sorry, Gordon, but I am feeling a little tired.’

  ‘Of course, my dear.’

  Gordon used the arm of the couch to steady himself as he stood up. He swayed a little, then beamed down at Alice.

  ‘Let’s catch up soon, once you’re over this shock.’

  Alice nodded which apparently satisfied him and Vanessa escorted him to the door, closing it firmly.

  ‘Overwhelmed! I’ll have you know I once stood in a room with ten people, nine of whom wanted me dead, and walked out with their wallets, and two of their phone numbers. Overwhelmed,’ she repeated disgustedly. ‘I have never been that in my life.’

  ‘Noted,’ Vanessa replied. ‘And one day I definitely want to hear that story. But it worked, didn’t it? He’s gone.’

  Alice looked at her for a moment, then nodded. ‘It was quick thinking. You saved me from doing something he’d regret. However next time, can we use a different word?’

  ‘You’re the boss,’ Vanessa grinned.

  ‘Good. Now what do you know about Nanci Katz?’

  ‘Not a lot. Management handles all the paperwork for residents, I’m just the pretty face that greets them,’ she laughed.

  ‘Could you take a peek at her records?’

  ‘All that stuff is confidential. I’m not supposed to talk about anyone’s personal information.’

  ‘I don’t need to know her weight or her bra size, just where she came from.’

  ‘You don’t need to look at her records to know that. Just google her.’

  ‘The google can tell you stuff like that? I thought it was just medical articles and cat videos.’

  ‘That’s YouTube,’ Vanessa replied.

  ‘What the heck is a YouTube?’

  ‘A copyrighter’s worst nightmare.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Alice said.

  ‘Nothing. Anyway we can just type her name in and if she’s ever been tagged in anything or been in the news at all it will come up.’

  Vanessa looked at Alice who stared back.

  ‘Well? Get on with it!’

  Vanessa tapped away on her phone with two thumbs, faster than Alice had ever been able to do with all her fingers.

  ‘Okay. Luckily her name isn’t that common. Here’s something. A Nanci Katz used to live in Christchurch. There’s an article here that... Wow.’ She looked at Alice.

  ‘What wow?’

  ‘It says here that twenty years ago a Nanci Katz was banned from the Christchurch casino,’ Vanessa read.

  Alice’s mind raced as she connected the dots. ‘Let me guess, for cheating at poker.’

  ‘Allegedly cheating at poker.’

  ‘Ha, allegedly is just a word the police use so they won’t get in trouble with judges. She was cheating, and if she’s a gambler then that confirms my suspicions.’

  ‘You think she cheated at the tournament today? But she lost.’

  Alice leaned forward, and placing her hands on the coffee table for support she eased herself onto her feet.

  ‘Yes. That was the whole point.’

  ‘You’ve lost me,’ Vanessa said, standing.

  ‘The point is, never con a con artist. We need to talk to Teresa.’ Alice started walking to the door.

  ‘You’re not going to do or say anything stupid are you?’ Vanessa asked.

  ‘Vanessa, all my stupid days are behind me.’

  ‘Lucky you,’ Vanessa muttered. ‘My day’s not complete unless I’ve done or said something I regretted.’

  Closing her front door, Alice walked to the elevator and pressed the button to summon it.

  ‘Tell me something. You can use that google to look up anyone, am I right?’

  Vanessa nodded and her cheeks turned pink.

  ‘That’s what I thought.’

  ‘I do it for everyone, it passes the time when it gets quiet. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve googled myself.’

  ‘What did you find out?’ Alice asked as they stepped into the elevator.

  ‘If even half the stuff I read was true then you are my hero.’

  Alice sniffed. ‘Don’t believe everything you read.’

  The doors opened on the ground floor and they walked into the lobby.

  Alice paused on the top step.

  ‘But it was probably true,’ she winked.

  NINE

  TERESA WASN’T AT HER apartment, but as they left Stumpy they ran into Les who told them he’d just seen her at the café.

  When they walked in they saw her huddling with Nanci at one of the tables furthest from the door. Teresa looked strained, and then guilty when she spotted them approaching.

  ‘Alice! We were just leaving,’ Teresa said, then followed Alice’s eyes to the full coffee cup on the table in front of her. ‘I mean...’

  ‘Won’t you join us?’ Nanci asked.

  ‘Thank you,’ Vanessa replied.

  No one spoke until the two of them were seated. Alice noted that Teresa refused to look her in the eye, suddenly finding her coffee cup the most fascinating thing in the world.

  ‘It’s a great shame about your friend,’ Nanci said.

  ‘Yes. It’s never easy
when someone close to you passes away.’ Alice studied Nanci, who in turn was studying her back.

  ‘It makes the whole poker tournament seem a bit silly,’ Teresa said.

  ‘It was always a silly thing,’ Alice retorted, then sighed when it looked like Teresa was about to burst into tears. ‘I mean it was always just a bit of fun,’ she continued in a softer voice.

  Teresa looked at Nanci and her cheeks darkened. ‘Of course.’

  Alice sighed again. ‘Look, I don’t care that you cheated, Teresa. I even respect you a little more for it. But I am curious as to whether it was your idea, or yours,’ she turned to Nanci.

  ‘Cheated!’

  ‘It was mine,’ Nanci replied calmly.

  ‘Nanci!’

  ‘No sense denying it, Teresa, especially in light of what happened and what Alice just said. The tournament was just a bit of fun.’ She turned to Alice. ‘Teresa and I were talking and she said she didn’t see the point of entering this year because you were bound to win again, so I offered to help her.’

  ‘How’d you do it?’ Vanessa asked.

  Nanci just stared at Alice, with an almost challenging look on her face.

  ‘This is a complete shot in the dark, but I’d imagine she got herself assigned to my table and lost on purpose, lasting just long enough to learn how I played. Maybe found some tell that I don’t know about. Then she told Teresa what it was, and I’m guessing also told her what her own tells were. Close?’

  ‘I’m glad it wasn’t a real shot in the dark, or there’d be an extra hole in my head about now,’ Nanci said wryly.

  ‘How do you possibly know all that?’ Teresa demanded.

  Alice inwardly enjoyed the amazed expression on her face. Being underestimated had proven extremely useful over the years.

  ‘I imagine she used to be like me,’ Nanci said.

  ‘A gambler?’ Teresa asked.

  ‘I had quite a few jobs during my working life,’ Alice admitted.

  ‘I am sorry about your friend. I only spoke briefly with her but she seemed nice. And I’m sorry about the tournament. As you said, it didn’t mean anything so I didn’t see any harm in helping Teresa win. And it’s not like I taught her to count cards or anything.’

  Teresa choked on her drink and quickly hid her mouth with a tissue as she coughed.

  I bet you tried.

  ‘No, quite right, there was no harm other than to my ego. I’m glad that Teresa won, and once the shock of Betty’s death has passed I’m sure her victory will make a nice distraction from everything else that happened this morning.‘

  ‘Thank you, Alice. I’m sorry my competitive nature forced me to take such drastic action. I was just tired of losing to you. I so desperately wanted to win for a change.

  Alice waved her hand dismissively, then patted Teresa on the arm. ‘It was very cunning and I’m proud of you.’

  ‘So no hard feelings?’ Nanci asked.

  ‘Not at all. Although one day we will have to sit down and play another game of poker, now that we understand each other a little better.’

  Alice and Vanessa left the two women to finish their drinks and walked out into the sunshine.

  ‘Was that like looking in a mirror?’ Vanessa commented as they made their way back towards the main building.

  Alice snorted. ‘I was a lot of things over the years, but common gambler was never one of them.’

  ‘She beat you, so obviously she wasn’t that common.’

  That earned Vanessa an elbow to the ribs and she stepped away laughing. As they reached the Olympic building, Alice stopped.

  ‘Time for a quick swim?’

  ‘No,’ she muttered. ‘But what was Betty really doing here yesterday morning?’

  ‘I can’t understand you when you mumble.’

  ‘I’m not mumbling, I’m thinking quietly with words.’

  ‘Sure, my mistake.’

  Alice opened the door to the building. Immediately inside was a small reception area with a desk that wasn’t usually... attended or peopled or whatever the politically correct term for manned was. Alice struggled to keep up with what was and wasn’t allowed anymore, but then she’d never paid that much attention to it when she was younger either.

  To the right was a glass door, through which she could see the heated pool with a head and two arms visible, ploughing through the water.

  Directly ahead was a wide corridor that led to the rest of the complex. Alice marched past doors leading to massage therapists, physiotherapists, changing rooms, and the large recreation room filled with games and books and a massive television.

  ‘What are we doing?’ Vanessa asked as Alice pushed open the glass door leading into the gym.

  ‘I saw Betty come in here yesterday morning. When I asked her about it she lied and said she was seeing Peter.’

  ‘But Peter wasn’t working yesterday. Garth was.’

  Alice nodded as she scanned the room. The weights might have been a little lighter, but otherwise it was just like any other gym, except there were fewer mirrors. Retired people had less desire to watch themselves in the mirror as they exercised. Stationary bikes and treadmills were lined up against one glassed wall, where users could watch people swim or, twice a week at 8am, partake in water aerobics. Her friends raved about it, but Alice couldn’t see the point of dressing to come to the pool, getting into your swimsuit to work out, then dressing again to go home. It seemed more work to get to the exercise than to actually do it.

  Against the opposite wall were the weight machines, and at the end were some dumbbells and other free weights. A man stood with his back to them, a weighted bar at his feet. She couldn’t see the number written on the weights, but they looked heavy. He squatted down, carefully grasping the bar in his hands, then gave a little wiggle of his bottom as he set himself, before shooting upright, hauling the bar with him. Seconds later his arms were directly above his head and he held the pose for a moment before dropping the bar in front of him.

  He turned and Alice’s mouth dropped in surprise. It was Les.

  ‘Well done,’ Vanessa said.

  Les rubbed the side of his face, leaving a smudge. Looking at his hands Alice saw they were covered with white powder.

  ‘I didn’t know you came here, Les,’ Alice said.

  His face flushed, although it could have been from the exertion. He glanced towards the door and out to the pool before crossing the gym floor.

  ‘The thing is, I don’t really want Freda to find out.’

  ‘That you’re coming to the gym?’ Vanessa asked.

  ‘What I’m doing at the gym.’

  ‘Why on earth not?’ Alice said. ‘I would have thought she would love the idea of her man becoming a muscle bound He-man.’

  Les’s cheeks darkened further. ‘It’s just I’m... I’d just rather she didn’t know, for now.’

  Alice put her hand on Vanessa’s arm. ‘Of course, Les. It’s your secret to have, and ours to keep. Although we surely can’t be the only ones that have spotted you here.’

  Les shot another look towards the door. ‘No, but you’re the only ones who know Freda well enough to mention it to her.’

  ‘We understand,’ Alice replied. ‘But tell me something. Do you come here the same time every day?’

  ‘No, I’m usually here in the morning, but Freda was a little upset over Betty so I stayed with her this morning.’

  ‘Two morning’s ago I saw Betty come into the building at about 8am. Were you here?’

  Les nodded, dislodging a strand of slicked hair, which draped across his forehead. Alice resisted an urge to reach out and push it back into place. ‘I was, but I didn’t see Betty. She didn’t come into the gym or the pool. After lifting I sit on the bike for a while and then have a spa. It helps with my recovery. I would have seen her.’

  ‘Which means she went into the rec room, or to the physio,’ said Alice.

  ‘Or she got a massage,’ Vanessa suggested.

  Alice shook
her head. ‘No. I tried to persuade her to go and see Georgina one time and she said she’d rather lay in a field and let sheep run over her than take her clothes off and have a stranger poke and prod her.’

  Les shrugged. ‘I know what she means. Sorry, I can’t be of any more assistance, but I need to get back to my workout before I seize up.’

  ‘Of course. Be careful, Les, I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself with those weights.’

  ‘Don’t worry about me,’ Les smiled. ‘It’s all about technique, and mine’s perfect.’

  ‘What now?’ Vanessa asked as they left the gym.

  Alice poked her head through the door of the recreation room, but it was empty of people. The doors to the other rooms were firmly shut. ‘Now I need you to try and find out if Betty had an appointment with the physio.’

  ‘I thought you said she hated the thought of strangers touching her.’

  ‘She hated the thought of a massage. Physio is different, it’s medicinal.’

  ‘Okay, so let’s say she did have an appointment. How could that possibly be related to her death?’

  Alice enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her face. The soft breeze carried a hint of freshly cut grass, which overrode the smell of chlorine from inside. ‘Everything’s relevant until it’s not,’ she said.

  ‘That’s like saying everything’s hot until it’s cold,’ Vanessa replied.

  Alice grinned. ‘Nothing like that at all. Can you find out or not?’

  ‘Of course I can. All the appointments are run through a central system. I just need to be at my desk.’

  ‘Right, you go do that, and keep working on the list of who was at the tournament. I’ll see you at my place at 5pm.’

  ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘I’m going to chat with Freda before Les gets finished here. She’s always more chatty when her husband isn’t around.’

  ‘Sneaky,’ Vanessa said.

  ‘Practical,’ Alice replied.

  ‘See you later, and don’t forget the pizza you promised.’ Vanessa walked away with the sort of walk that said I could skip or even run if I wanted to and it wouldn’t be a problem. It had been a long time since Alice had walked like that.

  A short time later she was being ushered inside by Freda. As they sat on the couch, and Alice declined the offer of tea, she thought that Freda appeared to have been crying. It made her feel guilty that she hadn’t shed more tears herself for Betty.