Gilbert Honsinger appeared, coming from the rear of the casino. His eyes were fixed on Johnny. “Mr. Fletcher,” he began, as he came up, “I’ve just come from your room...”
“Ah, yes,” Johnny said quickly. “I was just going to make a complaint about that. I’m not used to having corpses dumped into my room...”
“Corpses!” exclaimed Whit Snow.
“A corpse...”
“Harry Bloss,” said Honsinger.
Air whistled through Snow’s teeth. “Bloss... dead...!”
Honsinger inclined his head towards his office. “Come in, Whit. You, too, Mr. Fletcher.”
Johnny followed them into the owner’s private office. Honsinger closed the door carefully, then whirled on Johnny. “Now, if you don’t mind, Fletcher — let’s have it.”
“Didn’t Mulligan tell you?”
“He said you claimed to have come upon Bloss over in Death Valley. Saw him die.”
“Wh-who did it?” Snow asked hoarsely.
Honsinger gestured to him to be silent. “Mulligan says he’s been dead for twenty-four hours. Is that right, Fletcher?”
“I was Mr. Fletcher awhile ago.”
“This is no joking matter.”
“Who said it was?”
A glint came into Honsinger’s eyes. “Look, Fletcher, you’ve won a little money. But I’ve known a lot of people in my time. Big ones. And sharp ones. I sized you up the first time I set eyes on you.”
“If it comes to that,” Johnny, “I’ve seen a few people myself. Sure, you own this joint. It’s probably worth a million bucks. But what were you doing five years ago? Or, say ten...?”
“I was running a floating crap game in Chicago,” Honsinger laughed shortly. “All right, we understand each other. Now, about Bloss...”
“I hear he worked here.”
Honsinger nodded. “He was the best blackjack dealer I ever had. You never had to watch him.”
“Then why’d you let him go?”
“I didn’t. He just walked out one day. Without a word.”
“When was that?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“Without his pay?”
“It was the first of the month.”
“Oh, then, he left seventeen days ago. Today’s the seventeenth.”
“So it was seventeen days.”
“Three days are important. You can go across the country in that time.”
“You’re stalling, Fletcher,” Honsinger said. “I want to know how you ran into Bloss.”
“Just the way I told Mulligan.”
“I want to hear it firsthand. How did you happen to be in Death Valley?”
“It was just one of those things. We stopped at Baker for gas and I saw the sign, pointing to Death Valley. I’d always wanted to see it...”
“In July?”
“It was evening and I thought it would be cool. We drove for a couple of hours and the wind was like a furnace blast. So I turned the car around and then I saw this man — Bloss. He was staggering toward the road. I got to him just as he fell. He died inside of sixty seconds.”
“Did he talk? I mean, before he died...”
“He asked for water. But we didn’t have any.”
“And he didn’t say anything else? Who he was?”
Honsinger was leaning forward expectantly. Johnny said, “He didn’t say a word.”
Honsinger seemed to relax. “You didn’t... uh... look through his pockets?”
“Why, yes, I did. He had this...” Johnny took out the purple check, “...in his pocket.”
“So that’s where you got it!” Honsinger reached for the check, but Johnny pretended not to see his hand. He dropped the check back into his pocket. Honsinger frowned a little. “Nothing else?”
Johnny shrugged. “Nothing important. Some paper matches, with the name of this place.”
“Is that why you came here?”
Johnny laughed. “I came because it looked like the biggest joint along the road.”
“Mulligan tells me you didn’t have a dime this morning.”
“That reminds me,” said Johnny. “I’m losing money talking here. I could be out at the crap table...”
Whit Snow interrupted. “I offered him the grand to keep away, boss.”
Honsinger looked inquiringly at Johnny. Johnny smiled and shook his head. “I said no.”
Honsinger grunted. “You’ve got a streak, Fletcher. Like to get into a real game?”
“What kind?”
“Without a limit?”
“I thought two hundred was the legal limit?”
“In public. We have a little private game sometimes. Riley Brown’s here. And there’s an insurance man from Chicago...”
“Chatsworth?”
“Know him?”
“He joined our party at dinner. But I saw him shooting a silver dollar at the table.”
Honsinger smiled. “I saw him peel off eight thousand dollar bills the other night.”
“Did he make it?”
“The hard way.”
“Where do you have this game?”
“Up in my apartment, after twelve.”
The door opened and Nick the bellboy stuck in his head. Honsinger exclaimed angrily, “Can’t you knock?”
“Sure,” Nick replied, unabashed, and knocked on the open door. “Mr. Fletcher, your friends have gone over to The Last Frontier. They told me to tell you.”
“Cragg, too?”
“Yep.”
Fletcher grinned at Snow. “You’ve saved a grand.” He began emptying his pockets of checks, dumping them on Honsinger’s desk. “I may need some cash over at The Last Frontier.”
Honsinger didn’t seem too pleased about the transaction, but he stacked up the checks. “Five thousand, one hundred and fifty,” he said. “Want it all in cash?”
“I feel like plunging.”
“Save some for the game later.”
“Oh, I’ve got the ten grand to fall back on,” Johnny said. “Which reminds me, if you don’t mind — I’d like your check for it. Just in case.”
“In case of what?”
“Just in case.”
Honsinger gave Johnny fifty-one one hundred dollar bills, a fifty and then wrote out a check for ten thousand dollars. “Not bad,” he said, “starting with a dollar.”
“It’ll be a hundred thousand before I’m through.”
Honsinger regarded him sourly as Johnny left the office. In the casino, Nick fell in beside Johnny. “I been callin’ all around town about Langford, Mr. Fletcher,” he said. “He don’t seem to be registered at any of the hotels.”
“Have you tried the motels?”
“I’m going to now.”
“Well, have me paged at The Last Frontier if you find him before I get back.”
Johnny found his car where he had parked it that morning. The keys were still in it.
Chapter Ten
El Rancho Vegas was a half mile from El Casa Rancho and beyond it, another half mile, was The Last Frontier. In the spaces between the three big casinos was virgin desert. Johnny drove easily to the El Rancho Vegas and was passing it when he suddenly became aware of a pair of headlights swooping down upon him from the rear. He stepped on the gas, but it was too late. The headlights swung out and the car started to pass Johnny’s. Johnny pressed the accelerator down to the floorboard, but the other swerved over toward him and he was compelled to brake and pull up on the shoulder of the road. The other car stopped in front of Johnny’s.
Johnny jumped out of his car, but promptly gave up the thought of flight on foot. A man from the car ahead was out as soon as he was and a gun flashed in the light of Johnny’s headlights.
“All right, buddy!” a harsh voice yelled.
Johnny raised his hands.