"He played five hands simultaneously, $500 a hand. He hit all 16s and stood on all 17s. I even had him split aces and eights and double-down on ten and eleven so it wouldn't look as if he was deliberately losing.
"We calculated that he would lose ten to fifteen-thousand dollars an hour. In fact, he lost $50,000 in just under four hours."
"Didn't the friend try to stop him?" I asked.
"He tried everything in the book. He pleaded, he cajoled, he got angry. Several times he walked out. Ned played his part perfectly. He kept saying, 'I just want to break even,' and 'just a few more hands.' Finally, I had my five minutes on stage when I told him that we wouldn't extend him any more credit-that he had lost too much. Ned yelled at me so realistically I even wondered for a minute if he had been smoking something-and not a peace pipe, either."
"Do you remember the name of the other man?" I asked.
"He was from San Francisco, I think. His name was…Buchanan."
Chapter 17 THE FUNERAL
The service for Ned was held in a chapel at the cemetery. It was presided over by a minister belonging to a Protestant denomination; I wasn't sure which one. The chapel was almost full of people.
The casket was closed and had lots of flowers around it. The organist played “Auld Lang Syne,” among other Scottish songs.
Elma sat in front with her three children. Her eyes appeared to be red and she held a handkerchief, but she was in control of herself. She must be a strong woman.
My father wasn’t there, of course, but many Dionysus employees were. I didn't know most of them. I recognized John, my father's administrative assistant. He was with a group and didn't see me so I decided not to approach him. Arrow came in with several other people. She was wearing a black dress, much less revealing than the one she had worn in San Francisco.
The service was simple and respectful. Several friends of Ned got up and spoke glowingly of him. When the service ended the minister invited the attendees to form a procession of autos and follow the hearse along the grounds to the gravesite.
I was sitting in an outside aisle seat. When I stood up and turned around to walk up the aisle I saw James Buchanan getting up from a side seat in the last row. A woman was with him. She looked Asian. Before I could approach them they walked briskly out of the chapel, with James holding the woman by the elbow as if to urge her to greater speed.
I followed as fast as I could without knocking people down. When I went through the outside door I was momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight. Then I saw the white limousine, as long as a city block, pull away from in front of the chapel. I couldn't see through its windows, but a quick sweep of the parking lot confirmed that James and the woman were not in evidence.
I strolled outside, cursing myself for not figuring out that James would attend the funeral of his erstwhile partner. I had missed my chance to ask him about that day in the casino, but a second thought told me that he probably wouldn't have told me anything, anyway.
My thoughts went back to Ned and a feeling of sadness returned. At least Ned hadn't been trapped in northern Scotland all his life. He had been able to pursue his dreams.
I stood in the sun, waiting for Arrow to come out, in case I could get a chance to speak to her about the casino. To my surprise, Charlie White walked out of the chapel all alone, dressed in a dark suit similar to the one he had worn yesterday. He had not mentioned to me that he was coming to the funeral. He looked larger and stronger than he had across the desk, not the kind of person you wanted to have as an enemy.
I walked over to him, called his name and said, "It was a beautiful service."
"A fitting sendoff for Ned on his journey to the Happy Hunting Ground," he said with a twinkle in his eye.
"Are you going to the grave site?"
"No, I have to get back to work, much as I hate to on a day like this."
He strolled slowly toward a large Cadillac so I walked along with him. I remembered a question I had forgotten to ask. "Did Ned say why he wanted to make it appear that he had lost a large sum of money?"
"He didn't volunteer anything and I didn't ask him. I'm sure he had his reasons."
"Karl!"
The voice, coming from behind us, was Arrow's. She had separated herself from her group. She had been crying. I gave her a sympathetic hug.
"Karl, who is your beautiful friend?"
I had momentarily forgotten about Charlie White. I said, "Mr. White, this is Arrow. She's the one who saw Ned at your casino."
They shook hands. He stared at her and said, "I remember you. You were watching Ned play. I wondered who the Indian babe was and why I didn't know her."
Arrow managed a smile and said, "Well, at least I have a few drops of Indian blood."
"A few drops are enough. Why don't you come to work for me? I need to brighten up the place. I won't even ask what tribe you are."
"Thanks, but I already have a good job."
"Arrow is executive assistant to my father," I said. Then to Arrow, "Mr. White told me Ned didn't really lose any money playing blackjack. It was faked to fool Buchanan."
Arrow looked from one of us to the other and said, "That's where I saw Buchanan before. He was watching Ned play and looking upset and angry. I wondered who he was, but then I forgot about him."
"Now all we have to do is to determine why Ned wanted to fake him out."
We chatted about that for a few minutes. I hoped Charlie White would come up with something. He didn't, and soon he made ready to leave. He said to Arrow, "Since we're both friends of Ned, we need to console each other." She gave him a smile and he enveloped her in a gigantic hug.
He gave her his business card and told her to drop by the casino anytime, but he didn't tell me that. Then he drove away in his big car. I asked Arrow if she wanted to go to the gravesite. The procession was about ready to move out. She shook her head. "Can we have a quick strategy session?" I asked.
"Sure. Then I have to go back to the office."
"I'm wondering whether Ned's attempt to fool James into thinking he was throwing his money away has anything to do with Dionysus."
"Or whether it was something more personal since they've known each other all their lives."
"Would you like to fill Elma in and get her reaction? I don't think it would hurt to do it now." We hadn't told her about the casino episode, pending Arrow's evaluation of her financial situation.
"Let's wait. Elma has enough to deal with at the moment. Even if this didn't cost her money, the relationship between Ned and James is an emotional issue with her."
"When will you see her?"
"Tomorrow."
"At least try to find out which way she's leaning with her stock-toward James or toward my father."
"That may be hard to do. She's definitely got a mind of her own."
I walked Arrow to her car. Before she got in she gave me another hug and said, "I want you to know how glad I am that you're working on this even though Richard has released you from anything to do with Dionysus. It means a lot to me. And I'm sure it means a lot to Richard, too, even if he doesn't say so."
I didn't know about my father's feelings. For one thing, he wasn't aware of what I was doing and I wasn't going to fill him in until he was further along the road to recovery. But it warmed my heart to know that Arrow appreciated me.
I stopped by the hospital on the way to my Tuesday afternoon gig at Emerge to see how my father was doing and to tell him about the service for Ned. I met Jacie in the hall where she had been talking to a nurse. She looked excited.