"How could you do that?"
"I had to, Karl. Things were getting out of hand."
"Thanks a lot. With friends like you I might as well fall on my sword."
"Don't give me that shit. I have to protect Dionysus. I also told Richard why we came here last week. He told me in no uncertain terms to stop working on Ned's murder. First, he doesn't want us to stick our necks out and, second, he doesn't believe James had any part in Ned's murder."
"How did you find out I was here?"
"I tried to call you, as I said. I left several messages, but you didn't return my calls. When I was going to Richard's house to give him briefings I got to know Luz. She told me that when you went out for more than a few hours you told her so that she wouldn't cook for you. So I called her and asked if she knew where you were. She told me you had flown to San Francisco."
"You get 'A' for detective work."
Arrow ignored my sarcasm and said, "There's only one reason you would go to San Francisco and that is to work on Ned's murder. I had to tell Richard. What he said I won't repeat, but I finally convinced him that even if he didn't want to help you as a father, he had to do it as CEO of Dionysus. A phone call here wouldn't be sufficient because what can you accomplish on the phone? So I caught the next plane."
"How did you solve the puzzle of the day with your feeble MBA brain?"
"One of James' lackeys tried to give me the puzzle. I told him to shove it and to put James on the intercom. I told James what I thought of his stupid-ass puzzle and that I needed to talk to you."
"And he let you in."
"Of course."
She was definitely CEO material. "Well, now that you're here you can turn right around and fly back to LA. I don't need you."
Arrow looked at me steadily and said, "Karl, you've got to tell me what you're doing."
"I'm just having a little fun."
"If that grim expression means you're having fun, I'd hate to see you when you're not. I don't play games, remember? You're using the serious chips. You made another bet with James, didn't you?"
She knew too much. "So what if I did? That's my business."
"It's Dionysus business so it's my business. And your father's business."
"My father doesn't care if I rot in hell."
"He does! He does care for you. He just thinks you're too…reckless. And that recklessness is jeopardizing Dionysus, not to mention your own skin."
How could I get her off my back? "Okay, I made another bet." I looked around to see if anyone was within earshot. "If I win I'll find out whether James had any part in Ned's murder."
"How are you going to do that?"
I explained my reasoning in a low voice, making Arrow strain to hear me over the crowd noise. When I said it out loud it didn't sound so grand. If I couldn't even convince myself that it would work, how could I convince Arrow?
At least Arrow didn't interrupt me. When I was through, she said, "You're trying to extract a confession from a murderer, based on his personal integrity. How much integrity does a murderer have?"
I couldn't answer that question. Why did she have to show up to complicate my life?
"I sat within a few feet of this spot," she continued, "and listened to you tell that guy George why his system wouldn't work. You sounded very wise. But you don't follow your own advice, do you?"
I felt like strangling her to shut her up. But she wasn't through.
"It would break Richard's heart if you went to work for James, when you won’t work for him-your own father. So I'll tell you what I'm going to do, for Richard's sake. I'll be your assistant and your moral support. Even if that means just carrying your chips. But why can't you just cancel the bet now like we did before?"
"It's too late." Meaning that my own integrity was at stake.
Arrow looked ready to argue the point but apparently decided not to. She said, "Okay, tell me what your strategy is. That way I'll know if you're veering off course."
Even though she had turned traitor and squealed on me to my father I felt more comfortable with Arrow here. She could help me maintain my discipline. I told her my basic strategy and we agreed that I would play no more than an hour at a stretch and then rest for at least fifteen minutes. And no alcoholic beverages.
At 11 o'clock I had significantly increased my stake. I think Arrow's presence helped me stick to my plan.
Arrow suddenly said, "Okay, that's it. You're through for the night."
I remembered we had agreed on an 11 o'clock stop time, but I didn't want to quit. I figured that I could keep on winning. But Arrow grabbed my rack of chips and walked away. My urge to strangle her returned. I took several deep breaths and forced a smile at the dealer. I said, "I guess I'm through." He saluted me and I left the table.
When I caught Arrow she said, "I think it's better to quit while you're ahead. It will give you a positive attitude going into tomorrow's game."
She had a point there, although I didn't admit it. She told me she had a hotel room booked. I did too, but not at the same hotel. She said she would work at her hotel tomorrow and meet me here at seven when the casino opened.
I got a receipt for my chips and we walked toward the stairs. James came over to us from some people he was talking to and said, "Arrow, I don't know whether I'm glad or sad that you showed up. I'm glad to see you again, but you obviously have a steadying influence on Karl. He plays better with you here."
"Why don't you just let him cancel the bet?" Arrow said. "He's proved he can be cool under fire."
"Not now," I said, heatedly. "I'm going to win."
"Besides, I couldn't do that," James said with a smirk. "Then I'd never find out what question you want to ask me." He turned to Arrow. "And now that I know you're as feisty as you are beautiful I wish I'd made you part of the package and insisted that you work for me if Karl loses."
"In your dreams."
Chapter 31 FLORA
There was nothing like walking the hills of San Francisco to clear the head. When all your energy is required just to get to the top of a hill where the cars parked perpendicular to the street tilt so much that the slightest touch will tip them over you don't have any energy left for negative thoughts.
Such as what would happen if I lost the bet and actually had to go to work for James. That thought had come to me during the night and I was trying to expel it now.
I finally sat down in a small park to rest, fearful that I would exhaust myself so much I wouldn't be at my best at the blackjack table. I watched two hummingbirds play tag in the air and reviewed the last few weeks.
The day my peaceful world had turned upside down was the day my father had come to me for help. That was the day Ned had been murdered. Since then, I had been told by my father and others not to try to solve the murder. But here I was doing just that, more to save my own skin than anything else.
If I knew James had ordered Ned’s murder, somehow I thought that would free me of any obligation to James, such as the money I owed him or my agreement to obtain Elma's proxy. Even if I couldn't prove it in a court of law. But it was naive of me to think that James would actually tell the truth, even if I won the bet.
So what else could I do? There was at least one string that hadn't been explored, I was sure, by the police. That was the mysterious Chinese lady who had Ned's gun in her possession. She and Ned must have been old friends. Or were they more than friends?
It occurred to me that the woman with James at Ned's funeral could have been Chinese. I hadn't gotten a good look at her, but she definitely had Asian features. Was this another case of James and Ned sharing a woman? There was certainly precedent for it.
Suddenly, I wanted to find and talk to this woman. But how? I remembered that I had passed an Internet cafe a few blocks back. Sip cappuccino and check stocks and email. I got up and headed in that direction.