Against The Odds (Anna Dawson #1) (33 page)

I told them about Saul not meaning to hit Gus. Gus remembered dropping the mail, moving at the last minute. He seemed to hang on to that like a lifeline, allowing himself to come to terms with his best friend targeting him.

I told them about the whole plan being about revenge on Ben for his affair with Rachael years earlier.

I didn’t tell them about Ben’s child being given away. Who would that serve? Not knowing who Saul had dealt with nearly forty years ago, there was probably no way to find that child now. A child who would be grown, probably with kids of their own.

And it would have broken Ben’s heart to know that he and Rachael had had a child together. One that she had given up as her penance for being with Ben.

Jack had heard Saul mention Ben’s child, but had never brought it up, either in front of me or in any kind of report that I had seen. Botz hadn’t asked me about it, so I assumed Jack hadn’t even mentioned it to his partner.

If I were ever able to speak to him alone again, I’d be sure to thank him for that.

I checked my appearance one final time in the mirror and started to leave my room but was stopped by my phone going off. I started to reach for the iphone on my dresser but realized the sound was coming from my bedside table. It was my old cell phone.

A feeling of dread ran through me. I didn’t know who was calling, but knew it was probably someone I didn’t want to talk to.

I should have just left, just walked out of the room, but I didn’t. I walked to the stand, sat on the bed, smoothing my skirt across my lap and picked up the phone.

“Hello?” I said.

“JoJo?” Raymond Joseph said.

My shoulders sagged. Somehow I knew he’d make this call, that he wouldn’t be able to resist. I’d just hoped that maybe I was wrong, or at the very least I wouldn’t be getting this call so soon.
 

“Yes.”

“You know who this is?” he said, not wanting to say his name over the phone. I looked at the caller ID on my phone. Unknown caller. He was probably at a phone booth. He was a smart kid, Raymond, that’s why he’d been chosen.

“I know who this is,” I said.

“What’s the line for the Michigan State game?”

“I have no idea,” I said truthfully.
 

He snorted on the other end, not believing me. “Come on, don’t shit me.”

“I’ve been out of circulation for a few days. I haven’t seen any lines.” No need to tell him how I’d spent the days since I’d left him in Dubuque.

“USA Today has it at eleven,” he said. He’d done his homework. He was so promising, it broke my heart thinking about what he would become.

Me.

“That’s probably what it is…” I almost said here but caught myself, though I probably wasn’t fooling him. “In Vegas.”

“Would you pay for a guarantee that Michigan State would lose by ten or less?”

“No,” I said. I heard a hiss in his voice. “But I know someone who would,” I added.

“And would that someone pay me part up front? And would you be able to bet that part for me?”

I sighed. I had fed a hungry dog, and he’d followed me home. It seemed I now owned him. “Yes, I believe he would. And yes, I would do that for you.”

There was a pause on the line and then he said, “Fuck.” I didn’t know if it was out of relief, dread, happiness or something else all together. Raymond had just had experienced a hummer. Or a cock squeeze as Jimmy called it. Either way, he was hooked.

“When can you make arrangements? So I know for sure. How much do you think we’re looking at?”

“Well, you’re unknown to my…associate…he has no reason to trust you, so probably no more than five thousand.”

“Unknown? I…”

“He doesn’t know you were involved,” I said.

“Five? What the fuck? You paid me twen—” he cut himself off. Smart.

“We’re talking playing the spread here right? Not an outright loss?”

“Right.”

“Well, that would pay a lot less.”

I waited for Raymond to absorb this. Praying he wouldn’t ask what the money would be for a loss. I’d damaged this kid enough.

“Okay. Go on,” he said.

“After this, and you’re…proven…I would imagine your fee could go up.”

I didn’t like speaking for Vince. And Vince probably didn’t like me speaking for him, but I knew he wouldn’t want an opportunity like this to slip away, either.

“All right. Five. But get as much up front as you can, bet it all.”

“Fine.”

“When can you call me back?”

I looked down at my black suit, pantyhose and pumps. The funeral wouldn’t last long—who was going to get up and talk about Saul for hours? I’d have to get Ben and Gus home and stay here for a bit, but then I could probably meet Vince later tonight. “I have to be somewhere right now, but I think I can probably get back to you really late tonight. Or tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow would be better. I’ll call you at eleven. My time.” Very smart.

I hung up and left to go bury another friend. Or a man who had once been my friend.

T
here were more people than I’d expected at the funeral home. Saul had known tons of people of course working in the casinos for years, but after the news of Saul’s guilt had been in the papers I figured people would stay away.

Maybe they hadn’t seen the papers or heard the news. Or maybe they were attending out of a fascination, a disbelief that Saul was capable of murder and plotting more murder.

Or maybe, like us, they chose to remember a man who at one time had been a good friend and to say goodbye to
that
man.

We were brought to the front and there we sat. Gus, Lorelei, Jimmy, Ben and me. I could tell the room was filling up behind us, but I kept my eyes forward, my hand in Ben’s.

Saul’s ashes sat in an urn on top of a table in the front.

The service was mercifully short. At one point I saw a tear stream down Ben’s face, but his demeanor never changed. He sat stoically by my side.

I couldn’t imagine the thoughts that must have been playing havoc in his mind.

Gus and Lorelei seemed to be comforting each other. I put my hand on Jimmy’s arm for a moment and he let it stay there and he brought his other hand up and squeezed mine.

There’d be no recession with pall bearers at this service, so when the funeral director motioned to us, we got up and started down the aisle.

It was then that I saw Jack and Frank Botz sitting near the back. They both wore suits and ties, and it pained me somehow to see Frank in a plain blue-striped tie instead of his regular cartoon characters.
 

They both nodded to Ben and me as we walked by. I could feel Jack’s eyes staying on me, almost burning a hole in my back.

A few rows later I saw Vince. He must have seen my surprise, but he only nodded to me. I nodded back. Ben ignored him, but Jimmy and Gus both nodded at him.

The funeral director asked me into his office where I settled up with him. Lorelei and I had both agreed that we would pay for Saul’s funeral expenses. We didn’t tell Ben. He didn’t ask.

He handed me the urn with Saul’s ashes. I was surprised at how light it felt in my hands. It seemed like the older one lived, the heavier your urn should be, but I knew that was ridiculous.

By the time I got outside, the parking lot had turned into an informal meet and greet as will happen at funerals, especially one that didn’t have a burial planned or an after-service reception of some kind to go to. Some of these people hadn’t seen each other in a while, a lot of them casino retirees, and they wanted to catch up with each other.

I just wanted to go home.

Gus was still staying with us. He hadn’t mentioned going back to his place and Lorelei seemed to like fussing over him.

I turned to Jimmy. “You want to come over for a while?”

He shrugged. “You having people over?”

I shook my head. “Not people. Just us.”

He nodded. “I’ll be there.”

I tried to find Vince in the crowd. If I could talk with him now, privately, then I wouldn’t have to leave the house later.

I found him as he was nearing what I assumed was his car. I’d always met him at places, had never seen him arrive or depart. He drove an understated sedan, but a high-end one. Not flashy, but expensive. Kind of like Vince himself.

“Vince,” I said and he turned to face me. “Thanks for coming,” I said as I neared him.

“Saul was well-respected. He was a pioneer of the sports book industry.”

I nodded, appreciating Vince leaving it at that.

“Do you have a second? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

He gave me a look that I swear held pity. He thought I wanted to borrow money again? Already? “It’s not about me. Well, not directly.”

His eyes narrowed now. “Sure, Anna.” He looked around at the people milling around, some coming this way to their cars. “Let’s get in the car.” He walked around, leading the way and opened the passenger side door for me. I got in and settled the urn on my lap. He shut the door and returned to the driver’s side where he joined me in the car.

It took only a few minutes to lay out Raymond’s intentions to Vince. The idea of a sure thing, one that was only a junior—who had many more games in him, elated Vince.

I assumed it elated Vince, he showed the same amount of emotion he always did, which was to say none.

Our business completed, I stepped out of Vince’s car and scanned the parking lot to see Ben, who happened to be standing next to Jack.

Who happened to be watching me. Leave Vince’s car.

A look of sadness came over Jack’s face and I knew whatever hope I felt that maybe Jack would be able to see past my gambling—and its involvement with people like Vince—came crashing down.

I straightened my shoulders, gave a small shrug; a this is who I am kind of directive.

Jack gave me a small, sad smile and nodded at me, then moved to help Ben toward our car.

He walked slowly beside Ben and something about their movements….so similar. Somebody said something to Ben and both he and Jack turned to address that person, their profiles at the same angle, and my knees nearly gave way.

I knew what had happened a year ago that started this whole chain of events. What had made Saul snap.
 

Jack Schiller had moved to town.

A sudden rush came over me of voices and images from the past few weeks.
 

Something about seeing Jack that first time outside the municipal building when neither of us would go in, noticing his eyes, how they twinkled like Ben’s. How something about him seemed so familiar to me.

I thought of the how the picture of Rachael—one I had seen thousands of time—had suddenly seemed different, as if I knew her, recognized her. Enough to ask Saul if she’d been from around the Las Vegas area, thinking maybe she still had family here.

She did, it seemed.

And right now, he was helping Ben into my car.

Jack helped his father get in the Lexus, folded up his walker and placed it in the rear storage area. He shut the door, moved back to the front, leaned into the open window and said something to Ben.

His father, Ben.

Ben must have answered him because Jack was nodding. Then he patted Ben’s arm and stood up, stepped back and looked right at me.

He gave another small nod and turned to walk away.

I started to call out to him but stopped as Lorelei and Gus made their way over to the car. “We’re ready to go, Jo,” Lorelei called out to me, her new diamond stud earrings catching the light.

I walked to the Lexus, still watching Jack’s retreating back. He was still within hearing range, but I said nothing, just waited as Lorelei helped Gus into the back seat and then got in herself.

I handed the urn to her, and shut her door. I crossed to the driver’s side and got in. Jack had reached his car, turned one last time and looked at us. Then he got in his car and pulled away.

I started the Lexus and drove my family home.

~*~

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