The little balls rolled with their unmistakable ringing sort of whir. The man in the tuxedo closed another cashier's cage, shunted the line. They were consolidating any remaining cash.
It was 10:18. The man in the tuxedo went rapidly to the three croupiers. Each said something to his roulette players. Each table did just one more spin. Chips were paid just one more time. Then green covers were tossed over the tables and the wheel.
It was 10:20!
The last keno number was called over the P. A. Then another voice came on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the casino is closed!"
The sounds of all games and devices faded out. The crowd, quiet for a moment or two, then began to talk and move toward the remaining open cashier's cage.
The line was very long. People were standing there in it, holding their chips. The man in the tuxedo and two additional cashiers were working hard to shovel in chips, hand out cash. The cage computer was a stuttering blur of flashing lights.
One more floor-show player was at the window. A cashier handed him all the bills he had left. Then he turned to the man in the tuxedo and said something. He turned back and began to write on a pad. He handed the floor-show player a slip of paper.
The P. A. suddenly opened up: "Ladies and gentlemen, we regret we have to announce that your chips will be taken in, in return for IOUs. Please be orderly."
There was a hubbub. But all three cashiers there began to accept chips and issue IOUs. Tough mugs patrolled up and down the customer line, looking grim.
A man came in from the street, some gambler in a violet-hued suit. He yelled, "The other casinos on the Boardwalk are shut! Somebody has broke the banks!" The guards rushed him out.
The P. A. said, "Ladies and gentlemen, be calm. Keep the line moving, please."
Tom-Tom raced up with his last bag of money, handed it to the Countess Krak, said "Jeez" one last time, and vanished.
The line, impressed by the tough mugs, moved rapidly, taking IOUs for their chips.
Heller was looking around a pillar and down the stairs. Two tough mugs were standing there. He looked up the long corridor that ran at right angles to the one the Countess Krak was sitting in. Two tough mugs were standing there. Heller looked along the mezzanine itself. At the far end, blocking any exit, were two more tough mugs. He had obviously waited too long. He was boxed!
The line below dwindled at the cashier's cage. Aside from tough mugs, the casino was more and more deserted. But the tough mugs were being added to, probably from other, now-closed casinos.
There were a lot of eyes on Heller on the mezzanine. Several tough mugs moved toward the bottom of the stairs.
"Dear," said Heller as he touched his collar, "did you find a place to hide the money?"
"Yes, dear."
"Well, I think you had better start working on it. I have a hunch certain people are not pleased."
There were just a few left at the cashier's window. It was pretty obvious the management wanted all the public witnesses safely out of the building and away.
I hugged myself. This was going to be juicy. I even began what kind of a surprised message I would have delivered to Heller and Krak in the hospital. And condolences. "Dear Jettero. I was amazed to discover that you were in the Atlantic City morgue...."
My attention was drawn to the Countess Krak. She was pitching bag after bag of money down the laundry chute! Oh, how obvious. That was the first place they would look! All the management had to do was go down to the laundry room and wheel it out!
Heller was watching the final gambler getting his IOU. It was an elderly man and he was insisting it be stamped. His voice was very clear now in that silent casino even if it was huge and he was quite distant. He got his stamp. Two tough mugs escorted him to the door. Two more tough mugs closed and locked the entrance.
The pair on the mezzanine began to walk forward toward the place Heller was sitting.
"Dear," said Heller into his lapel, "keep your head down and take care of the money. I think the natives have ceased to be friendly."
"Yes, dear," said the Countess Krak. She boosted the last sack into the laundry chute.
I thought she would duck into a nearby room. But she did something absolutely astonishing. She reached up, took hold of a molding and pushed her feet into the laundry chute!
With a sort of angling twist, she let herself drop!
With one foot out to the right and the other to the left and both of them against the duct sides, she began to drop. Her fall was being braked by her feet!
Down she went. Sixty feet!
The slither of leather against the duct sides rose to a screech!
The duct sections sped upward past her in a blur!
She plummeted down out of the duct opening in the top of the laundry room. She landed on the money with a soft thud!
The Countess Krak glanced around. It was a big laundry room flanked by machinery on all sides but one. Here lay a huge mound of laundry to be done.
She jumped off the money. She found a stack of laundry bags. Working very fast, she began to stuff the black sacks into the clean, white bags.
Heller had moved back to the place where she had been sitting. He could see down the stairs, he could see along the mezzanine, he could see down the very long corridor which led into the hotel.
Into his collar, he said, "Are you all right, dear?"
The Countess said as she worked, "Just fine, Jettero."
"Well, you lay low, dear. I think somebody is going to try to celebrate the Fourth of July in January."
"What happened on the Fourth of July?" said Krak, stuffing more money sacks into more white laundry bags.
"I think they objected to the English landing on the coast to collect taxes. They are very possessive of money, so take good care of it, dear."
"Yes, Jettero."
Heller turned around. Two men had appeared at the end of the corridor at his back!
He spotted a big plastic-covered sofa further down the rail. It had two thick, upholstered chairs flanking it.
The two men moving toward him along the mezzanine were still about thirty feet away from the sofa.
Heller dived out of the corridor cover and, in a rolling somersault, landed beside the sofa. He gave it a yank. He gave the two chairs a shove. He flattened himself on the sofa.
He was protected now from all angles of possible fire.
The two men coming up the mezzanine had halted. They drew guns. One of them said, "Step out in sight, sonny. You can't get that money out of the building, anyway. You might as well give up."
"And if I don't?" called Heller.
"Then things could get rough," said one of the men. "We know you got a gun. Throw it out here so we don't have to shoot you."
"You want the bullets, too?" said Heller.
"Of course," said the first man.
"Then have one," said Heller. He levelled the Taurus revolver he had taken off the waiter. He fired!
The bullet tore a furrow down the rug.
"Jesus!" yelped one of the men. He raised his gun to shoot.
Heller fired into the wall and the ricochet went through the casino with a howl!
He fired again and a light fixture over their heads exploded, showering them with glass.
"Sangue di Cristo!" one of them yelped.
Heller was still shooting!
The two dived over the mezzanine rail and hit a roulette table!
They scrambled off of it and were gone!
Heller ducked back.
The pair who had been coming up the corridor where the money had been were out of Heller's view. He was watching the corner where it came into the mezzanine.
A head appeared there and a gun below it.