“I met Dr. Jalrick at a poker tournament. His hobby is poker. He enjoys the game but isn’t very good at it. He asked me for some advice, which I gave him. Every once in a while he contacts me and asks me a question or two. Whenever he sees me, he comes over to say hello and thank me. He’s still not a good player but better than he was.”
The inquisitor gave a blank look. “That’s all?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“He spent a long time thanking you.”
“Dr. Jalrick does tend to be prolix.”
“Prolix?”
“Long-winded. Like some scientists, he’s in love with his own voice.”
The questioner thought for a moment, frowned, then stood up and paced back and forth a few times. Then he turned to Mavers and nodded. “All right. For now, we’ll accept that. But if you have lied to us, we will return and talk to you again. The second talk will not be as pleasant as this one.”
“That’s probably an impossible goal anyway. This session was so nice.”
He gestured to his partner, and the two left without another word.
Mavers gave a deep sigh of relief.
“For a guy who only wanted to play a few hands of poker, this is getting complicated.” he said aloud.
He yelled, “Come in!” when the knock came. Geneva opened the door and rushed in.
“James, are you OK? I just saw two men coming out of your room and one of them didn’t look friendly at all.”
“The other one wasn’t friendly either.” Mavers said. “I think I’ve just met the only two thugs on Kargar.”
“What did they want?”
She walked over to the sofa and sat down beside him.
“Long story short. A man named Slippery Ed is running a scam, which is having some repercussions. I don’t know why I’m covering for him. I could have told those guys that Dr. Jalrick is a fraud. I told Ed his con was none of my business and I guess it isn’t, but I don’t like what he’s doing.”
“What exactly is he doing?”
“Taking advantage of some good people.”
Mavers briefly sketched out Ed’s plan. “I find it particularly distasteful. This is a real nice planet. We don’t have to worry about being robbed or assaulted. We’re in a high stakes convention with tens of millions on the table, but we don’t have to worry about robbery or organized crime. Or even disorganized crime for that matter. Stealing from the Kargars is becoming more and more reprehensible to me.”
Geneva showed a wide but somewhat condescending smile. “Jim, we’re in the business of playing poker. Nowhere in our job description does it say we right wrongs, expose con games, pursue justice or even help old ladies across the street. Kargars do those things. It’s part of their faith. We’re Neo-Orthodox Seven Day Hedonists. We worship at different altars.”
Mavers leaned back and sighed. “I guess so. If we exposed all the con games, we’d never get to play any poker.”
“Yes, we have to focus. The tournament begins tomorrow.”
When Slippery Ed opened the door the next morning, Mavers’ kick hit his chest with a loud thump and lifted him off the floor. He groaned as he landed hard on the plush carpet. A coffee pot and cup on a nearby tray shook. Mavers strode in and closed the door. Slippery Ed looked up at the ceiling but his eyes had trouble focusing. Mavers poured some coffee. Slippery Ed had trouble catching his breath. He panted and groaned. Mavers grabbed his shirt and hauled him to his feet.
Chapter 5
“We’re going to have a talk, Ed.” Mavers slammed him into a chair. It almost tipped over, but Mavers caught the armrests and jammed the legs back on the carpet. The tray also held a glass of ice water. It splashed in Ed’s face. He coughed and shook as water droplets flew through the air.
“Who are the two men who paid me a visit last night?” Mavers demanded.
Ed's eyes slowly focused again. “Jimmy, you almost killed me.” His voice was weak. Syllables just managed to escape from the mouth.
“Don’t think it hasn’t crossed my mind. Although killing me probably crossed your mind. So who are they?”
The hurt man panted again. A hand rubbed his chest.
“Ed, I know how you think. You thought I might go to Deacon Terk. It’s what you would do. So you sent two men to make sure I was staying silent. They were asking about our conversation. I lied to protect your scheme. I’m not sure I want to lie anymore for you.”
He choked once more then looked at Mavers. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play games with me. That kick should have told you I’m in no mood for it.”
“I’m not. I sent no one to you last night.”
It can be very difficult to tell when a master liar is actually speaking the truth. But Ed’s answer had the ring of authenticity. Mavers stepped back.
“You didn’t?”
He shook his head.
“Oh, come on Ed. With $25 million on the line I don’t think you’d just trust me. With $25 million on the line, you wouldn’t trust your own mother, and she certainly wouldn’t trust you.”
“Captain Wilders was my man. I don’t know anything about two men in your room.”
“Captain Wilders?”
“Yeah. I thought you might do your White Knight thing and go to the police. So I thought I’d bring the police to you. You had a chance to tell him of the scheme. You didn’t. So I figured you were going to keep our secret.”
Mavers picked up the coffee cup from the tray and settled into a chair.
Ed kept rubbing his chest. He wheezed as he took in air. “Damn, I ache every time I breathe. Did you have to kick me?”
“No, I didn’t have to. It was one of the benefits of the job.”
“You’re rather nasty to the man who saved your life.”
“How do you figure that?”
“I’ve got about a dozen people working this scam. But the cuts are not equal. Tellie and I each get $8 million when it’s all over. Which leaves nine million for the other ten. Even so, if a few of those men thought you would screw up our deal, they’d kill you. Captain Norton told our little group last night that you said nothing. That satisfied them, at least for now. But you’re a threat to them.”
“Would one of your associates be a six-foot-six silent type with huge hands?”
“No.”
“Then who was he?” Mavers asked.
“There have been rumors. We did our best to keep it secret. But we’ve been hearing whispers.”
“Oh, great.”
“There’s something else you should know.”
“I know all I want to about lousy fake expensive tablets.”
“They’re not fake, Jimmy.”
Mavers plunked the cup back in the saucer. “Give me that again.”
“They’re not fake.” He stretched out his hand but it didn’t reach to the tray. “Can you hand me a cup of coffee? I still can’t move well.”
Mavers walked over and poured another cup. Ed pointed behind him.
“There’s a tray of whisky in the cabinet there. Could you pour in a shot or two?”
Mavers handed him the whisky-laced coffee and told him to explain.
“The Berowle plates were found by anthropologist and linguist Dr. Lyndon Hollister, after a 60-year quest. The Three Apostles never revealed where they had stored the tablets, but they gave a clue occasionally. Dr. Hollister investigated their background, letters, files and notes for any scant evidence of where the tablets might have been placed - if they existed. After dozens of false leads and dozens of fruitless journeys, he found a hundred and twelve inscribed plates. Hollister was able to translate the language. He told no one of his findings because he didn’t want knowledge of the tablets revealed until he could prove they were real. When he translated the documents he discovered the original sayings were a great deal different than the scriptures passed down by the Three Apostles.”
“Do tell. But how did you come to get them?”
“Dr. Hollister was shaken by his discovery. He wanted a confidant to talk to, but his find was so explosive he didn’t think he should share it with anyone on the planet. So he made contact with Tellie.”
“Tellie?”
“This is not the first time Tellie has pretended to be Dr. Asterman Luddick. There have been a few times in his career when an academic disguise was very useful. On one of those occasions he met Dr. Hollister. They became friends.”
“So Dr. Hollister calls up an off-world scientist, thinking he will get a balanced and objective opinion.”
“Yes, but Dr. Hollister was old and not in good health. He was also thinking seriously about his legacy. One of the finest civilizations in the galaxy could be destroyed due to what was on the tablets. He was still struggling with whether he should reveal the plates when he passed away.”
“Leaving the tablets in the tender care of his fake archaeologist friend who hatches a scheme to get rich.”
Ed nodded. “Tellie and I have worked together before. Tellie figured he would need a few more people to pull this off. He not only realized how valuable the plates were, he also realized how dangerous this almost scam could be. Do we want to tell the Kargars their religion is based on a lie?”
“You didn’t do too well in keeping it a secret.”
“Yes, we did. The leak didn’t come from us. We were dealing with Deacon Terk and two other Kargar businessmen, and they had aides and friends and who knows what. We asked them to keep everything confidential but…”
Mavers reached over and poured more coffee. “Could Dr. Hollister have been wrong about the tablets?” he asked.
“Hollister was old and sick. When you get old sometimes the mind lapses a bit. Was he mistaken? I suppose it’s a possibility. Is it likely? I don’t know. Considering his health, maybe a 25 percent chance. Maybe even more.”
Mavers rubbed his temples, wishing he had never met Slippery Ed. “There’s one thing I don’t understand. If you and Tellie had the real tablets, why pretend they’re fake?”
Ed didn’t bother with the coffee cup. He grabbed the bottle and took a swig. “Ever deal with an honest man, Jimmy?”
“From time to time.”
“They’re a pain. In a con you need to know who you’re dealing with. Tellie and I discussed this a long time. Terk is a man of integrity. If we told him the tablets were real, even though he’s a man of deep faith, he might feel obligated to tell us to turn our discovery over to scientific authorities. That’s the last thing we wanted.”
“You’d prefer a payoff.”
“Darn right. If they’re fake tablets he’ll buy them like that.” Ed snapped his fingers. “All we have to do is negotiate price, which we have.”
“Then since we have men with guns running around and I have a poker game coming up, why don’t you hurry up and make the sale, then all our lives can get back to normal?”
“That I can do. The sale is set for this afternoon. We give him the tablets and he gives us $25 million. Then we exit the planet. We already have our tickets. By eight o’clock tonight we’ll be out of your hair.”
“Good, have a nice flight.”
Chapter 6
Two hours later when Mavers sat down at the poker table and greeted the other players, he wasn’t in the best frame of mind for the game. But the cards favored him. The game was five card. He kept getting pairs – two queens, two kings – and a couple of times three of a kind. The cards were especially favorable on the last hand between Mavers and a gambler from Tarros. The other three players had lost their stake. A hundred thousand in chips were on the table. The game was over when he laid down three sevens and two fives. The Tarros gambler had just flashed his three kings. But a full house beats three of a kind.
Geneva had also had a good day. They celebrated by dinner and dancing. What Mavers did could not really be considered dancing, but Geneva sparkled on the dance floor. By the time Mavers retired he thought he had heard the last of Slippery Ed.
Mavers woke up with a start, nerves and muscles tense. Two men stood in his motel bedroom. They were not as intimidating as the six-foot gorilla. Both were tall and well-built, but they didn’t look like musclemen. They wore business suits and smiled. The blond gentleman had a reddish complexion with freckles across his face.
“We’re sorry for the intrusion, Mr. Mavers, but our boss would like to have a confidential chat with you. It’s very important.” he said.
“Who is your boss?”
“Willisford Terk. We would like to escort you to his office. It’s only a few blocks from here.”
Mavers yawned. “Well, at least you don’t have guns.”
“We don’t carry guns. We only request.”
“Since your boss is so polite, how can I refuse?”
When Mavers had been escorted in, Terk rose from his desk, walked over and offered his hand.
“Good to see you. May I offer you some coffee?”
“Coffee would be nice. I left the motel a bit hurriedly and didn’t get a cup this morning.”
“My apologies for that. Please sit down.”
Mavers did and watched as Terk poured a cup and brought it to him. Terk didn’t return behind his desk. He pulled up a chair about three feet from Mavers and sat down.
“Mr. Mavers, I will get right to the point. I am having something of a spiritual crisis. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced something like that.”
“No, I’m a gambler. In my profession we don’t have many of those.”
Terk chuckled. “Even so, perhaps you can help me with mine.”
“I don’t see how but I’ll do what I can.”
“Professor Jalrick told me you had given him poker advice. I wondered if you and he had discussed other matters - such as what he was doing on Kargar.”
“He mentioned a few things here and there.”
Terk paused for a moment. He looked weary. Even so, there was a gravitas around him. If Ed was slippery, Terk was as solid as brick wall.
“I’ve been awake all night struggling with a problem. Dr. Jalrick and Dr. Luddick found some tablets that may or may not have significant historical importance, particularly in regards to our faith. Our entire civilization rests on our faith. It is the foundation of law on this planet.”
Mavers nodded.
“When I believed the discovery was fraudulent I had no reservation about buying the tablets and destroying them. But rumors have reached my ears that the tablets might be genuine. The rumors are that the writing on those tablets are a great deal different than what is in our scripture. I believe in my faith, Mr. Mavers, but I also believe in the truth. To me, there was no difference between my beliefs and the truth. But if those tablets are real… I cannot destroy them, no matter what devastation it would cause. Do you understand my quandary?”
“Yes, I think so.”
Deadly Voyage (Logan Ryvenbark's Saga Book 1) Page 6
