Poker Chips and Poison

by Rodney Strong

  Vanessa paused, her fork half-raised towards her mouth. ‘Either way we’re screwed.’

  ‘Not quite. Like I said, there’s a third option: we solve the case and find the murderer before Zoe turns up here in the morning.’

  ‘And how do you propose doing that in...’ Vanessa glanced at the oven clock behind Alice, ‘the next fifteen hours?’

  ‘By spending the first part of it eating and thinking,’ Alice replied, crunching on a wonton.

  SEVENTEEN

  IT TOOK THE REST OF dinner and several sips from the hip flask usually hidden in the container marked flour before Alice formed an inkling of a plan.

  ‘Why hide the hip flasks?’ Vanessa asked, disrupting her thoughts. ‘You’re the only one who lives here.’

  Alice grinned. ‘Two reasons. One, it’s an old habit that I don’t have the desire to break. I always hid valuable things around the house and I like to stay in practice.’

  ‘And the second reason?’

  Alice’s smile grew wider. ‘Because I like the thought that when I finally stop breathing, the person who goes through this place will find a seemingly endless supply of hip flasks in the most unusual of places.’

  Vanessa cracked up laughing and that’s when the inkling turned into a half-plan.

  ‘Did we check the freezer? That’s a good place to hide things, although it’s best for diamonds. What?’ she said, realising Vanessa had stopped laughing and was looking at her strangely.

  ‘We’ve already had this conversation,’ Vanessa said.

  Alice frowned, then remembered they had talked about it in Betty’s apartment.

  ‘Right,’ she waved her hand in irritation. ‘I’m allowed to forget things occasionally without being accused of senility.’

  ‘I didn’t accuse you of anything.’

  ‘You were thinking it,’ Alice shot back.

  ‘All I said was we’ve already had that conversation. And if you’re going to get grumpy every time I look at you then I can just leave now.’

  They glared at each other and it was Alice who blinked first.

  ‘Fair enough,’ she said. ‘I’ll try to keep the grumpiness to a minimum.’

  Vanessa nodded, ‘Thanks. And I’ll try and avoid looking at you.

  ‘We’re beginning to sound like an old married couple.’

  ‘Who are you calling old, grandma?’

  ‘You’ve got too much sass. Why don’t you go to the gym and work it out?’

  Alice stopped.

  ‘What?’ Vanessa asked.

  ‘Maybe I am losing it.’

  She got up and started walking towards the door.

  ‘Where’re you going?’

  ‘To the Olympic complex. I saw Betty go in there on Tuesday and she was carrying a bag.’

  Vanessa caught up with her at the door. ‘You didn’t tell me that.’

  ‘I just remembered. If she wasn’t going to the gym, then why did she have a bag?’

  Vanessa pushed the elevator call button. ‘Because she was hiding the gold.’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘Why was she hiding it? Why not just leave it in her apartment.’

  Alice pondered that all the way to the ground floor until they stepped through the front door and paused on the top step. Freda and Les were walking hand in hand towards the rose garden. Freda must have talked to him.

  A thought suddenly came to her.

  ‘Because she told someone about the gold,’ Alice said. ‘And then Betty didn’t feel it was safe in the apartment, so she decided to hide it.’

  They began walking towards the recreation building.

  ‘But... the only person she told was Owen,’ Vanessa said in a low voice. ‘Are you saying...’

  ‘I’m not saying anything,’ Alice replied. She refused to believe her friend was responsible for murder.

  ‘Besides,’ she continued, having thought of something. ‘He was the one who told me about the gold. Why would he do that if he was the one who killed Betty for it? It would have been smarter to keep quiet and look for it once he’d got her out of the picture.’

  ‘Good point,’ Vanessa said, relief evident in her voice. ‘Although the cynical voice in my head says that maybe he just needed you to get him into her apartment.’

  ‘Never listen to the cynical voice,’ Alice replied. She wished she could believe her own words, but a lifetime of lying to other people had left her with the ingrained assumption that everyone else was doing the same.

  As they got to the front door of the recreation centre Alice looked towards the café. Teresa and Nanci were standing outside talking. As she watched, Nanci walked away and Teresa headed in her direction.

  ‘I’ve got a better idea,’ Alice muttered to Vanessa. ‘Teresa!’ she greeted her.

  ‘Hello, Alice, Vanessa,’ Teresa said with a wary smile. ‘What are you two up to?’

  Alice looked around as if to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in closer. ‘Teresa, I think you should be careful of Nanci. I don’t trust her. I wouldn’t want you to be taken in.’

  Teresa squeezed Alice’s arm. ‘Don’t worry, Alice. You’re a dear to be concerned, but I know all about Nanci’s background. I had my lawyer do some digging before I agreed to let her teach me card tricks.’ She laughed at the surprise on Alice’s face. ‘I know I come across as a bit, shall we say, frivolous sometimes, but I have no intention of giving my money away. You don’t know how painful it is handing over my poker losses each week. If someone shows up and decides they want to be my best friend I always get them checked out.’

  ‘Just how rich are you?’ Alice asked bluntly.

  Teresa winked. ‘Let’s just say that I can see rich when I look in my rear-view mirror.’

  Alice only just managed to conceal her irritation. If she’d known the woman was that wealthy she would have raised the stakes in poker a long time ago.

  ‘Speaking of rich, did you know that Betty had left a considerable sum of money when she died?’

  She did her best to ignore Vanessa’s look of shock, while focussing on Teresa’s expression.

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes,’ Alice confirmed with a nod, ‘a valuable heirloom.’

  ‘Oh really?’

  Alice watched her closely. There was no sign of greed, only curiosity.

  ‘Yes, a family heirloom. Betty told us she left it in the games room in a special hiding spot. Vanessa and I are going to check it’s safe and hand it over to Betty’s daughter at 9am when she arrives.’

  ‘Why not put it in the office safe?’ Teresa frowned.

  ‘Well the thing is...’ Alice stopped. She hadn’t actually thought this far through.

  ‘The thing is,’ interjected Vanessa, ‘there’s no room in the safe right now, and we’re going to make sure the object is secure where it is. It’s just as safe where it is, especially since no one knows it’s there.’

  ‘Right,’ Alice said shooting Vanessa a look of appreciation. ‘Don’t tell anyone, Teresa, understand?’

  ‘Of course. Lips sealed and all that.’

  ‘Thank you. Now we’d best press on. Remember, not a soul.’

  ‘Absolutely. If there’s one thing I know how not to talk about it’s money.’

  Teresa walked away towards her building while the others walked inside.

  ‘Why did you tell her?’

  ‘What’s Teresa’s reputation in the village?’ Alice said.

  ‘She’s tight with money,’ Vanessa replied.

  ‘And?’

  ‘She’s loose with gossip,’ Vanessa finished with a grin.

  ‘I guarantee you she’s heading for the dining room right now to not tell everyone she can find about Betty’s heirloom.’

  ‘So how does that help us?’

  They walked down the hallway to the games room, and Alice pushed open the door.

  ‘How does a flood of people coming to search for the gold help us find it?’ Vanessa asked again, as they stepped into the
room.

  ‘I think most people will treat Teresa’s story as nothing more than a curiosity. As far as we know there are only two people that know there’s really any gold. Owen, and the murderer.’

  ‘And you’re hoping that the murderer will come and try and find it.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  Vanessa looked at her suspiciously. ‘And we’ll jump out at them and shout Gotcha?’

  ‘Exactly,’ Alice repeated.

  ‘Got to say, I hate this plan.’

  ‘You don’t have to stay,’

  ‘Oh sure, I’ll just leave an old woman by herself to wait for a murderer. Mum will love hearing that when I go around for Sunday dinner. “What did you do this week, darling?” “Oh I let one of the residents get herself killed while I went home and ate rocky road ice cream and watched Netflix.”’

  ‘Are you finished?’

  Vanessa’s eyes narrowed, then she shrugged. ‘Sure.’

  ‘You know you get quite testy when you’re mad.’

  ‘Then stop making me mad,’ Vanessa shot back.

  ‘Why? It’s entertaining. Now that the issue of you staying is settled, let’s look for the gold.’

  The communal room was about the size of Betty’s entire apartment. At one end was a pool table and table tennis table, while the other end had several tables for card and board games. A full-length built-in cupboard ran along one wall, and large windows let in plenty of natural light.

  There were limited places to hide a box of gold and once they’d searched behind all the books and inside all the game boxes they reluctantly concluded it wasn’t there.

  ‘Now what?’ Vanessa asked.

  Alice surveyed the room trying to identify anywhere they might have missed. ‘The plan doesn’t change. The gold might not be here, but the murderer doesn’t know that, so we wait.’

  ‘And what if someone comes in to play a game of pool?’

  ‘It’s Thursday night. Everyone is either glued to that cooking show on Channel One, or the rugby match. No one will be coming here,’ Alice said.

  They chose seats which allowed them to see the door clearly, but meant anyone would have to step right into the room to see them. To pass the time Alice showed Vanessa some more card tricks, then beat her six poker hands in a row. Slowly the room grew dark as the sun disappeared behind the hill.

  Vanessa switched on the overhead lights.

  ‘This is a waste of time,’ she said as she shuffled the cards.

  ‘It wouldn’t be if we were playing for money.’

  ‘That’s not what I—’

  The door swung open.

  EIGHTEEN

  ‘OH,’ SAID NANCI. ‘I wasn’t expecting anyone to be in here at this time.’ She had stepped confidently into the room and had frozen on seeing the two women.

  ‘No? Then what are you doing here?’ Alice asked.

  Nanci’s eyes darted around. ‘I just came to play some solitaire,’ she said fixing on the deck of cards.

  ‘I’m sure a woman of your life experience would have some cards in her apartment,’ Alice said in a deliberately casual tone.

  ‘Yes,’ Nanci nodded, her eyes still roaming the room. ‘Of course I do, but sometimes I like a change of environment.’

  ‘Oh absolutely.’ Alice nodded.

  ‘What are you two doing in here?’

  Alice looked at Vanessa who was sitting rigidly in her seat, her knuckles white as she gripped the edge of the table. She patted Vanessa’s arm.

  ‘You haven’t just talked to Teresa, I suppose,’ Alice said, ignoring Nanci’s question.

  Nanci’s eyes rested on Alice’s face. She licked her lips.

  ‘Teresa?’

  ‘Yes, and of course she didn’t tell you about Betty’s missing heirloom and how it might be hidden in this room.’

  Nanci seemed to be struggling with how to respond, then her body relaxed. She nodded. ‘Alright, yes. Old habits and all that. I thought it might be worth a sniff.’

  ‘To give it to Betty’s family?’ Vanessa suggested.

  Nanci smiled, then looked at Alice. ‘Remember when we were that naïve?’

  Alice shook her head. ‘I never was. Anyway we’re settling in for a long game of cards, we might be here late into the night, or even early morning.’

  ‘Perhaps I could...’

  ‘No, you couldn’t,’ Alice replied firmly.

  Nanci sighed. ‘Oh well, easy come easy go. Enjoy your game.’

  After Nanci left the room, Vanessa turned to Alice. ‘What are you doing? She could have been the killer!’

  ‘No,’ Alice shook her head. ‘She’s a con artist and shady as all hell, and she might have conned Betty out of the gold, but she wouldn’t have killed her for it.’

  ‘How can you possibly know that?’ Vanessa demanded, her eyes flicking to the closed door as if expecting Nanci to pop back through any second waving a killer plant.

  ‘Because she’s me. A slightly younger less polished version of me. And I wouldn’t kill anyone.’

  ‘That’s lame.’

  ‘Are you dead? No? Then trust me, it’s not her,’ Alice replied.

  They settled down again but Alice quickly realised Vanessa’s heart was no longer in the game. She looked at the big clock on the wall with its exaggeratedly large numbers and saw it was edging towards nine o’clock. Outside darkness had reduced the world to shades of black with glimpses of streetlights through the trees that lined the edge of the property.

  ‘I’m getting thirsty. Would you be a dear and go and fetch one of the hip flasks from my apartment?’

  ‘But what if... what if someone comes while I’m gone?’

  Alice looked at the clock again. ‘You won’t be long, and I’m sure if anyone shows up before you get back I can stall until the cavalry arrives.’

  Vanessa looked unconvinced so Alice pressed on. ‘I’ve got my phone. I’ll call you and you can come running. It’ll be good for you to get some fresh air because we’re likely to be here all night and I don’t need you falling asleep on me.’

  ‘Okay, but I’ll be right back,’ Vanessa said.

  She paused at the doorway and looked back, as if about to change her mind, then disappeared into the hallway and the door slowly shut.

  Alice got up from her chair and searched the room again. The gold had to be somewhere and this was the only place it could be.

  A little later she slumped back into the chair, tired and still without the gold. She looked back at the clock and saw that Vanessa had been gone for almost ten minutes. She felt her eyes slide shut and yawned. It had been a long time since she’d attempted to stay up all night and she was beginning to think she might have overestimated her ability to do so.

  She closed her eyes once more. Vanessa would be back in a few minutes. It wouldn’t hurt to rest until then.

  NINETEEN

  SHE DREAMED THAT THE door opened and someone entered the room. The person towered over her chair.

  With a start she realised she wasn’t dreaming. Her eyes snapped open and blinked a few times, adjusting to the light.

  ‘Shame. I was hoping you’d stay asleep, it would have made this a lot easier.’

  ‘Sorry to complicate your murder plot,’ Alice replied. Her eyes darted to the clock. She’d been asleep for almost thirty minutes. Where was Vanessa?

  ‘Your friend won’t be coming to help. She’s been detained.’

  ‘What did you do to her, Gordon?’ Alice snapped. ‘If you’ve killed her I’ll—’

  ‘You’ll what?’ Gordon smirked. ‘Overpower me and race to her rescue?’ He gave a short laugh that sent a chill down her back.

  ‘No, I’ll do this.’

  Gordon obviously felt that his superior size and the fact that he was a man meant an ordinary woman like Alice would be automatically intimidated by his presence. He didn’t consider three important factors. One, he had killed one of her close friends. Two, he might have harmed a girl she was very fond of. And three,
she had never been an ordinary woman. As such, Gordon was completely unprepared when Alice’s hand shot out, grabbed one of his fingers and wrenched it sideways.

  There was a loud snap, and an even louder scream.

  Staggering out of her chair, Alice hobbled to the door, silently cursing her old body for seizing up every time she sat for more than a minute.

  In the dimly-lit hallway she should have turned right and headed for the entrance. Instead she turned left and slipped into the dark gym. Ducking down, she shuffled along the wall until she was sheltered by one of the machines. Every muscle and joint reminded her of her age.

  Alice heard a door opening and held her breath, then let it out slowly when she realised it must have been Gordon going into the hallway. She reached for her phone to text for help, but it wasn’t in her pocket. With a groan she realised it was still on the table in the games room.

  ‘I know you’re in here, Alice,’ came Gordon’s muffled voice. She was pleased to note the pain in his voice. ‘There’s no one coming to help you. I’ve got all night.’

  He moved further down the hallway. She knew it wouldn’t take him long to realise she wasn’t in the pool or changing rooms and come back her way. Hopefully she would have enough time to arm herself.

  In the dim light she made out the weights at the other end of the gym. Stepping out from behind the exercise machine she began to quietly cross the room. The minute she took a step forward the sensors caught her movement and the gym lights came on full.

  Alice froze, then looked through the glass door into the hallway, where Gordon was smiling at her.

  ‘Should have broken his face,’ Alice muttered.

  Willing her legs to move she walked as quickly as she could towards the weights stacked neatly against the wall. As she reached them she heard the door open.

  Reaching down she attempted to pick up a five kilogram disc. Her arms and back issued a fresh protest, so she ditched that idea and picked up a two kilo weight instead. Turning to face Gordon she gripped the weight in both hands and held it in front of her.