Against The Odds (Anna Dawson #1) (27 page)

And it was only eleven-thirty in the morning.

Chapter Twenty-Two
 

“I
got one. I got one,” the scalper yelled outside—well outside—the arena the next day.

“Where’s it at?” I asked. CIU was having a championship season and tickets were sold out for all home games. Doubles in anywhere but nose-bleed sections were hard to come by, but singles sometimes were available in pretty good sections.

“Lower bowl. Seven rows behind the team. Primo seating.”

I half-heartedly haggled, then paid for the ticket. I didn’t really care about the price, but Ben and Saul had taught me the value of good bartering.

Thinking of Ben and Saul made my heart hurt so I pushed the thoughts aside, put on my poker face, tapped my horseshoe pendant three times and walked into the arena.

Raymond had listened to JoJo, that was apparent from the way he played. Nobody would ever have guessed that he was responsible for the kid from Penn State being hot as a pistol. Raymond would put a hand up, look like he was defending the perimeter, but only the most watchful eye would notice that the hand went up a second or two too late. The kid had plenty of time to get set for his shot.

It helped that Lurch was cold today. I wondered if Raymond had had anything to do with that, but decided not to ask him.

At half time, CIU was up, but only by five, when normally they’d probably be up by at least ten.

In the second half, the entire CIU team seemed sluggish, a step slower than normal. It took me a minute to realize that not only did he control the game, but Raymond Joseph set the tone for his entire team.

I silently congratulated JoJo on her choice.

With three minutes left, the game was tied and my throat was so clogged with fear I could barely swallow. If one team got a couple of baskets up, the remainder of the game would be spent fouling and at the free-throw line.

Exactly what had killed me in the Louisville / Pitt game.

I held on to my pendant as Raymond took the ball inbounds and started down the court. Even I could see Lurch was open at the far end, under the basket. Raymond threw a laser pass that I knew was going to end up in a slam dunk and my admittance into Las Vegas General when out of nowhere, the Penn State point guard swooped in and intercepted the pass, went the length of the court, made a juke move on Raymond, and went in for the easy lay-up.

CIU called time out. As the team made their way to the bench, Raymond looked to the crowd and met my eye. I hadn’t even realized he knew I was sitting near the team. He gave the tiniest of nods to me, and I took my hand from my pendant.

I didn’t need it.

I had Raymond Joseph on my side.
 

M
idnight at the Vegas airport on a Saturday night. Two a.m. Iowa time. Way too late Anna time.

Normally my night would just be gearing up now, but these were no longer normal times.

As we’d discussed when I’d called him after looking at flights, Jimmy met me in the arrivals area, not too far from where Jack and I had met up with Paulie only six days ago.
 

Six long days ago.

“Jesus, Christ, I almost had a heart attack watching that game,” Jimmy said by way of greeting.
 

“Me too,” I said.
 

“It was a thing of beauty, Anna. I’m still not sure who you had in your pocket, and I was watching for it.”

I nodded. Raymond was that good, he sure deserved the praise, but I kept his name to myself.
 

“Anything new? No…developments?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Not a peep.”

“That’s good. Right?”

 
“I used to figure every day I woke up was a good day. Now, I figure everyday I wake up and don’t get no bullet shot at me is a good day.”

“Jesus, Jimmy.”

He shrugged.

“It was okay to place the bet? And to come here?”

He nodded. “Yeah, me and those young punks have an understanding.” He nodded over his shoulder and I saw the two young police officers that I’d given Lorelei’s food to the other night. I waved. They nodded back.

“Plus, I get great parking. Right to the door.”

I chuckled. “That’s good, Jimmy. Keep them close. We can’t lose you.” I patted his rotund belly. He looked embarrassed.

I was about to say more, but he handed me an envelope. “Here you go.”

“Can you hang on a minute?” I asked and he nodded.

I ducked into a women’s room, into a stall. I took my money belt out from under my shirt. I counted out Raymond’s money from the envelope, put it in my money belt and tucked it back under my shirt. I kept the rest of the money in the envelope, put it in my jacket pocket and walked back out into the huge luggage claim room.

I handed the envelope back to Jimmy. “Can you hang on to this for me?”

He nodded. “Yeah sure.”

“Better yet,” I said. “You know a guy who knows their way around diamonds?”

He shrugged. “Course.”

Of course he did. He even seemed hurt that I’d ask. “Would he come to you?” Jimmy nodded. “Okay. Take that money and buy the nicest diamonds you can with it. Something that could be worn everyday, though, no tiaras or anything.” Although the idea of Lorelei’s flaming red hair held back by diamonds was tempting.

“The whole wad on diamonds?” Jimmy asked.
 

“The whole wad.”

Jimmy looked at my unadorned ears, my cheap watch. My plain silver horseshoe pendant. He shrugged. “Well, her ziti’s pretty damn good.”

I laughed. “Exactly,” I said. It took a little of the sting out of how far I’d fallen.

Just a little.

“That all?”

“Yep. Thanks, Jimmy. For everything. You’re a life saver.” I didn’t need to add “literally”. Jimmy’s been around, he knew the score.

He waved my thanks away. “I’ll see you when you get back,” he said and turned and walked away.
 

I stood watching him until I heard a familiar, deep, and angry voice behind me say, “And just when exactly will that be?”

I
had expected the uniforms that were with Jimmy would report back to Jack, even down to seeing Jimmy hand me an envelope and me hand it back after a quick trip to the ladies room. That was fine; nothing Jimmy and I were doing was illegal. He was placing a bet for a friend and paying her off.

It was fine in Vegas…but…what happened in Dubuque stayed in Dubuque.

I hadn’t expected Jack to move as soon as he heard that Jimmy had headed to the airport, but I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

In a sick way, even after leaving the way I had, I was happy to see him.

But Jack Schiller did not look at all happy as he took my hand and led me back toward the main terminal. “You have time for coffee before you fly off to God knows where?”

“You’re just going to let me go?”

“I can’t really stop you, can I?”

“No,” I said.
 

“So, time for coffee?”

I looked at my watch. My flight back to
 
Dubuque didn’t leave for three hours. “A couple of minutes,” I said.

He raised a brow, but didn’t say a word, just walked toward the Starbucks stand.

He brought me a huge cup, himself a small one. We sat at a table, taking small sips. Him staring at me, me not meeting his eye.
 

After a while he let out a huge sigh. “You going to tell me where you were since Thursday night when I left your house?”

I shook my head. He nodded, like he’d expected that answer. “No Johanna Dawson has been on any flight manifest in the last forty-eight hours. But you know that. And you knew I’d check, too, right?”

I said nothing.

 
“Can you at least tell me if this has anything to do with the shootings? Is there anything about the case I should know?”

“I don’t know anything new about the case,” I said, not really answering his question, but telling him all I could.

“Jesus, Johanna,” he whispered. He leaned forward, took my hand. “How deep are you in? Let me help you.”

“That’s not how the game’s played, Jack,” I said. “I can’t get my cop boyfriend to bail me out. You play the cards you’re dealt.”

He sat back, scrubbed his hands across his face. He looked tired. He’d probably had as much sleep as I had since Thursday night—which was none.
 

I wanted to reach out, to smooth away some of that tension. To let him know it was going to be okay. That it was over.

I kept my hands around my coffee cup instead. I knew myself, and I couldn’t swear this type of thing would never happen again. So far, I hadn’t outright lied to Jack, and I didn’t want to start now.

I had the sneaking suspicion that it didn’t matter.

“I don’t think I can do this, Johanna,” he said, confirming my worst fears. He was going to bail. I didn’t blame him, but it hurt nonetheless.

 
God, it hurt.

Not like with Jeffrey where it was my pride that stung. This hurt on a deeper level.

It ached. My pride should have kicked in. I should have just agreed—in a way I did—wished him the best and walked away. But where I could do that with Jeffrey, I couldn’t with Jack.

Not without trying.

“What about not touching each other’s issues, Jack? What about letting our icebergs float?” I tried to keep my voice level, to not let him hear the fear in my voice.

“Christ, Johanna, this isn’t about me showing up drunk on your doorstep some night. Your ‘issues’ are going to get you killed. I can’t just sit back and watch that happen.”

“But—”
 

He put a hand up, cutting me off. “And yeah, I know drinking’s going to kill me too—but I never drive when I’m drinking, so it’s going to be a slow death. You? Not at the rate you’re going.”
 
He took a deep breath, let it out. “It’s more than I can handle.”

“So you’re going to run? To bail? Like you did on your marriage? Like you did to your kid?” I saw the wince of pain on his face, but I kept on. “It’s never going to be perfect, Jack. Not the perfect family you’ve been searching for your whole life. But you keep trying. It’s messy, real life.”

“You don’t think I know that,” he said, he voice low and deadly. He leaned across the table, his hand grabbing my wrist. “You don’t think I see the horrible things families do to each other? Things people do to people they supposedly love? I see it every God damn, day, Johanna. And there’s usually a chalk outline around it.”

I sat back, tried to free my arm, but he held tight. “That’s why I need more from you. I’m not going to get a call some day and have to see your body in that chalk outline. Or if I do, at least I’m not going to have been in your bed the night before.”

I understood. I really did. And I would have made the same choice if I were him. But I gave it one more shot. “I’m surprised, Jack. I didn’t think you’d back down from this.”

He looked at me, his brown eyes turned from anger to pain. He leaned back, let go of my hand. “Neither did I,” he said so quietly I almost missed it.
 

He got up, and walked away from me, never looking back.
 

I know, because I watched until he was out of sight.

I
should have been able to sleep on the flight back to Dubuque, but the pain in Jack’s eyes kept me awake.
 

When Jeffrey dumped me, my pride had stung. But this was different.

Jack was different.

As of today, I’d be out of debt with Vince. I could go to Jack, tell him it was over, that I’d stop betting on games. That poker in casinos—games I’d have to have the money up front for—were all I’d play from now on.

He might take me back. He’d
probably
take me back.

But I’d be lying to him.

I tried to think back to what number lying to loved ones was on the list of signs for compulsive gambling that Lorelei had pulled out at her most recent intervention.

It didn’t come to me.

I
called first to make sure the roommate was out of the apartment as agreed upon. When Raymond gave the all clear, I left the rental car and made my way to the apartment that I’d left forty-eight hours ago.

“You did really well,” I said as I entered the apartment.

“You got my money?” Was all he said.

“Yes, of course.”

He made a motion with his hands. “Give it.”

I pulled an envelope out of my inside jacket pocket. “Sixty-eight thousand. The remaining eighteen thousand for the game, and fifty thousand winnings on your bet.”

Emotions ran across Raymond’s face. Relief, that was one I knew well. Disgust—I knew that one too. And finally resignation.