By moving the Mercedes I was able to free the Toyota and back it out of the garage. I activated the electronic gate across the driveway with my remote and drove through the fence. As I started along the street, mindful of the residential 25 mile-per-hour speed limit, I glanced at my watch and realized I was going to be late for my appointment.
Years of living in Palos Verdes had taught me the shortcuts through the maze of curvy hillside streets, so I quickly got to Crenshaw Boulevard where I could make better time and coasted down to Pacific Coast Highway, on the flatland. I arrived at the restaurant only five minutes late.
The restaurant was sparsely populated with patrons. The breakfast crowd was gone and it was too early for the lunch bunch. I wondered whether I could pick out Arrow, but before I had a chance to look around I saw an arm waving from a booth.
The young woman attached to the arm was much too good looking to be in business, but there was nobody else near me she could be waving to so I walked over to her and said, "Hi, I'm Karl."
"I'm Arrow. My pleasure. Have a seat."
We shook hands. She had a firm, dry grip. She indicated the part of the semi-circular, vinyl-covered seat opposite her and I sat down. She wore a red business skirt with matching jacket, over a white blouse. I didn't immediately recognize her ethnicity. Her skin was darker than mine and she had short black hair in tight curls.
"What would you like?" Arrow asked, summoning a waitress. She already had a cup of coffee and there was a glass of water in front of each of us, full of ice cubes, ready to freeze my esophagus.
"Uh…orange juice."
"Anything to eat?"
"No thanks." I'd eaten breakfast.
Arrow gave the order to the waitress before I could say anything.
"How did you know me?" I asked her, trying to break the ice.
"Well, number one, you look a lot like Richard-your father. Number two, he has a picture of you on his desk."
"He does?" I couldn't hide my surprise.
"With your sisters. I would guess it was taken about ten years ago."
"Oh."
"But you still look the same. Except your hair is shorter."
"That was my fake hippy period. So how do you like being one of his slaves?"
Arrow stared at me for a few seconds with her dark eyes, expressionless, then said, "Look, Karl, I know that you and Richard have had your differences, but if you and I are going to get along, please don't air them in front of me."
Whoops! Wrong thing to say. "I didn't mean…"
"I'm sure you know the definition of a slave. And since I have slaves in my ancestry, among the rogues and roues, I know something about slaves. I am not a slave and Richard does not treat his employees like slaves."
"I'm sorry. But you don't look…"
"What? Black? African-American?"
"Right."
"Well, actually, I'm a combination."
"Of what?"
"African-American, Native-American, Asian-American and European-American."
"What do you check on forms?"
"Anything I like." She gave a hint of a smile.
I said, "Thanks for the lecture. I deserved it. I'm afraid I'm only European-American, but I've never seen that on a form."
The waitress came and deposited a glass of orange juice in front of me. She asked if I wanted anything more. When I said no she put the check on the table. Arrow pulled it toward her.
"Why did you want to meet here instead of at the office?" I asked when the waitress had gone.
"Because, since you've never actually been to the office in recent memory, your appearance there might provoke comment. We don't want anybody to think you have an official connection with Dionysus."
"But I can't hide the fact that I'm Richard's son."
"No." Arrow smiled a full smile for the first time. The room became several watts brighter. "But if you can gain Ned's trust, maybe that won't matter."
"We'll see. Anyway, if I'm going to play detective I guess I should do some detecting. Why don't we start with you telling me what you saw at the casino?"
Arrow told pretty much the same story that my father had. When she finished I asked, "Did you do any gambling while you were there?"
"No. Before I saw Ned we were just walking around, and afterward we left because I didn't want him to see me."
"What did you think of the place?"
Arrow made a face. "We went inside from the clean desert air. The first thing that hit me was the cigarette smoke. California is pretty much smoke-free now and I can't stand smoke anymore."
"I guess Indian reservations don't have to abide by the state laws."
"And the noise! From jangling slot machines and God knows what else. And all these fat, old people sitting in front of the slots, mesmerized, pouring in their Social Security checks. It was depressing."
Arrow's description made me laugh. "I take it you're not much of a gambler."
"I have been to Las Vegas-once. I put a dollar in a slot machine-four quarters, one at a time. Then I asked myself what I was doing, throwing my money away. I haven't gambled since. Actually, we just went into the casino to try to get a cold drink. I wasn't planning on gambling."
"Do you know how to play blackjack?"
"I know the object is to get 21."
"But you've never played?"
"No."
"Okay, question. You said you thought Ned was betting $500 a hand. What made you think that?"
"I was behind him, but I was close enough so that I could hear him ask the dealer what the limit was, and the dealer said $500. And Ned was betting a lot of chips on each hand."
"But you don't know the values of the chips."
"No."
"And he was playing five hands at a time."
"Yes. He was the only person at the table."
"Did he appear to know what he was doing? Was he…playing carefully?"
Arrow considered. "Of course, I can't answer as to his strategy, but he was certainly concentrating on the game."
"What was his mood?"
"He looked like he was having fun. He was joking with the dealer."
"Even though he was losing?"
Arrow nodded. "Right."
"You said that you think he may have lost several thousand dollars while you watched. How did you come up with that figure?"
"Well, assuming he was betting $500 a hand, he would win some and lose some on each deal, unless the dealer got a real good hand or busted. I know busted means the dealer exceeded 21. But after I'd watched Ned play for a few minutes his pile of chips was a lot smaller than when I first saw him. In fact, I was afraid he'd run out of chips, stop playing and see me. That's one reason I left."
"Why didn't you speak to him?"
"I couldn't believe he would want anybody he knew see him behaving like that."
I thought for a minute. "I guess we've milked the casino thing about as much as we can. Of course, I retain the right to recall the witness, in case I have any more questions."
Arrow smiled, as I had hoped she would. I said, "Well, when can I meet Mr. Mackay."
"Are you free for lunch?"
I didn't say what I was thinking. That I was free for lunch only because my father had twisted my arm. Instead, I said, "Yes."
"Good. That's the best opportunity because Ned is flying to San Francisco this afternoon. The local Rotary Club meets at noon at the Marriott. Ned and I represent Dionysus. You can go as my guest. I'll fix it so you sit next to Ned. The only thing is, we have to invent a cover story for you, a plausible reason for you to be there. You can be thinking of joining, but most of the members own their own businesses."