Mario hurried off, barking orders to the Don’s men.
The casino came alive again, gradually, the customers mingling and conversing as the gambling resumed.
“You took this calmly,” Blade said, praising the Don.
Don Pucci sighed. “This has happened before. Why do you think I’m in this damn wheelchair?”
Blade stared at the body of the hit man with the shotgun. “What if they had gotten past your men?”
Don Pucci’s hands came out from under the red blanket. Clutched in his right was an Eagle 357 Magnum pistol. “I’m confined to a wheelchair, but I’m not helpless.”
Helen stepped up to the wheelchair. “Do you know where my daughter is?”
“I wish I did,” Don Pucci replied. “I owe you for saving my life. I’ll do anything I can to help.” He reached up and gingerly touched his right ear, smiling at Blade. “That piece of yours almost ruptured my eardrum. I can hardly hear for all the ringing.”
“Sorry,” Blade said.
“Don’t apologize,” Pucci remarked. “I’m alive, aren’t I?” He paused.
“Now, about this kidnapping business. I’m not involved, but if you give me time, I will try and find out who is behind it.”
Blade watched the Don’s men removing the corpses. Two men in jeans and T-shirt were approaching, bearing buckets and mops to soak up the puddles of blood. He saw eight or nine people playing a row of slot machines, and he wondered how they could callously disregard the bloodshed they’d just seen. How could they become so engrossed in the slot machines so soon after witnessing the Shootout? Why were the slot machines so fascinating? He recalled the token Mario had given him, the one in his left front pocket. If the opportunity arose, he intended to use the token and learn the secret of the slot machines firsthand. He…
The token!
Blade abruptly remembered the other token in his possession, the one in his back pocket, the one he had found on the corpse in Halma, the one from the man killed at the kidnapping scene. He reached into the pocket and fished out the blue token, then held it up to read the words printed on both sides: JOHNNY’S PALACE.
What a fool he’d been!
Blade suddenly perceived the reason for his previous ambiguous feelings of unease. The answer had been staring him in the face the whole time, figuratively speaking, and he’d been too dense to notice! Why would the man found dead near Halma have a token from Don Giorgio’s casino unless he frequented that casino! He looked down at Don Pucci. “Would one of your men gamble in Giorgio’s casino?”
Don Pucci snorted. “None of my men would be caught dead in Giorgio’s joint. The games there are rigged.”
“What about Giorgio’s men?” Blade probed. “Would they gamble in your casino?”
Don Pucci shook his head. “Not likely. I don’t trust any of Pucci’s men.
They rarely come in here, because if they do I have one of my boys stick with them like glue. It makes them too uncomfortable.” He squinted at Blade for a moment. “Why are you asking all these questions?”
“There were three people with Helen’s daughter when she was abducted,” Blade detailed. “Two of them were murdered. We also found the body of a stranger. And on his body I found this.” He flipped the token to the Don.
Don Pucci deftly caught it and inspected the token. His lips compressed and his nostrils flared.
“One more thing,” Blade said, acting on his hunch. “What does Don Giorgio look like?”
“How should I describe him?” Don Pucci replied. “He has black hair and brown eyes. He’s a heartless bastard, the meanest-looking son of a bitch you’d ever want to meet.”
Ted’s word came back to Blade in a rush. “His hair was black, his eyes brown. His face was kind of mean looking.” He placed his right hand on his forehead and stared at the floor.
Geronimo nudged his friend’s right elbow. “What’s the matter?”
“Blade? What is it?” Helen added.
Blade removed his hand, his countenance set in a chiseled mask of suppressed indignation. “We were set up,” he said huskily.
“What are you talking about?” Helen asked, perplexed.
“Don Pucci didn’t take Mindy,” Blade elaborated. “Don Giorgio did. Giorgio is using us. He probably hoped we’d barge into this casino and confront Don Pucci. Why else was Ted told we could find Mindy at the Golden Crown Casino?”
“Then Mindy isn’t here?” Helen queried, distraught by the revelation.
Blade shook his head.
“Giorgio wanted us to kill Pucci for him,” Geronimo deduced.
“That’s my guess,” Blade concurred.
“If Mindy isn’t here, where is she?” Helen inquired.
“I can answer that,” Don Pucci interjected. “If Giorgio took your daughter to set you up to whack me, then she’s either in his joint or dead.”
“Oh, no!” Helen said mournfully.
“If you take him on, if you try to locate the girl in his casino, he’ll kill her for sure,” Don Pucci stated. “He’s not about to leave around any evidence connecting him to this caper.”
Helen looked at Blade. “What do we do?”
“We need to come up with a plan,” Blade replied.
“He’s right,” Don Pucci said. “You must play it cagey. If you rush over to the Palace, Mindy is as good as dead. If Giorgio spots any of you in his joint, he’ll snuff her.”
The three Warriors exchanged startled glances.
“Hickok!” Blade exclaimed.
“Who is this Hickok?” Don Pucci questioned.
“He’s a Warrior, like us,” Blade answered. “And he’s in Giorgio’s casino right this moment!”
“Then God help Mindy,” the Don stated grimly.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“How many cards do you want, hick?” the professional gambler asked. He was holding the deck in his left hand.
Hickok glanced at the ring of spectators watching the game. Over an hour ago they had started gathering, after word of his winning streak had circulated around the casino. Initially, six players had been in the game, but one by one Hickok had eliminated them. Now only the arrogant gambler remained, and it was his turn to deal.
“Come on, hick,” the gambler said, baiting the gunfighter. “I don’t have all day.”
Hickok deliberately stalled. How much longer, he wondered, did he need to stay in Giorgio’s casino? How much time did he need to buy Blade and the others? It would be dark soon. Surely they had found Mindy by now. But if so, why hadn’t one of them shown up to let him know? He glanced at the Henry, leaning against the table to his left.
“How many cards?” the gambler repeated.
Hickok gazed at his hand. Three kings, a four, and a nine. He discarded the four and the nine. “Two.”
The gambler dealt two cards to the gunman.
Hickok picked up the cards and almost laughed aloud. The two of spades and the two of diamonds! He had a full house!
“Dealer takes three,” the gambler said, and did so.
Hickok was beginning to worry about his friends. He had stayed in the Palace to insure he was the focus of Giorgio’s attention. Sure enough, he’d been under surveillance all day. He suspected they would shadow him if he departed the casino, and he didn’t want to lead Giorgio’s men to his fellow Warriors. But he was growing weary of waiting, and he was extremely concerned for Blade, Geronimo, and Helen. What if they were in trouble?
He decided to give them until nightfall, then go looking for them, shadows or no shadows.
“Are you playing or daydreaming?” the gambler snapped.
Hickok smiled sweetly. This varmint was going to get his, real soon!
“It’ll cost you to stay in the game, Big-Mouth. Five hundred.” He counted out the chips and added them to the pot.