Scarlet Lady (16 page)

“I wish he felt the same concern for her.”

“So do I. Look, I’m sorry about all this. Carson doesn’t mean to be an albatross around Katie’s neck. It’s just always been that way. She’s the caretaker and he was taught to accept it. Really, he isn’t a bad person. He’s just weaker than Katie.”

“So where is she?” Montana asked again.

“I truly don’t know.”

“You haven’t seen her at all?”

“I didn’t say that. I picked her up early this morning outside the
Scarlet Lady
.”

“So it
was
you. She disappeared. I wondered where she went.”

Cat pursed her lips for a moment, then said, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but we went shopping.”

Montana frowned. He hadn’t expected that. “And how many times do you and Katie go shopping in the morning on a workday?”

“Before she met you? Never,” Cat admitted. “Katie is a stickler for the rules.”

“And you bought …?”

“A new outfit for her.”

“Clothes? Not another short red dress, I hope.”

“No, it’s short, but it’s black. And it isn’t a dress. It’s a skirt and a leather jacket. She also bought a T-shirt and a pair of boots.”

That confused Montana. He couldn’t picture Katie in a Western outfit. Now that he knew her better, he would never have pictured her in a strapless red dress either. She’d worn that in an attempt to distract her opponent. But she’d ruined it by jumping into the river. Why would she go and buy something else equally bizarre?

Surely she wasn’t— He didn’t want to think what she might be up to. “Cat, tell me she wasn’t going out gambling again.”

“I can’t tell you anything, Montana. I’m sworn to
secrecy. And I don’t break my word. I will tell you that she’s used to straightening out matters by herself.”

“But this is one time she can’t do that.”

“I know, and I can tell you that she’s pretty discouraged. On top of that, she seems unusually tense. I don’t know if it’s Carson’s disappearance, or you. What do you think?”

“Me? I think Carson is on his own. Someone needs to look for Katie.”

“She’s where?”

Montana swore into the phone and hit the convertible’s brakes, ignoring the car horn and squealing tires behind him.

“Tell me that again,” he ordered, certain that he’d misunderstood.

“I said,” Royal repeated, “just like you asked, I put out the word that you were looking for Katie. About ten minutes ago a man named Sam called. He said she’s in a high-stakes poker game with Big Jonah and Little Willie at the Casino Louisian.”

Montana groaned. Not Jonah and Willie. She couldn’t have picked tougher gambling companions. “Thanks, Royal. Tell Sam I owe him. How’d he find out?”

“The infamous Leon. You know, the guy in the gray limo you’ve been looking for. He’s at Sam’s place. Sam figures he’s bagged two birds with one shot. Wants to know what it’s worth to you?”

Montana pushed the gas pedal to the floor and the
car shot forward. “I’ll call Sam myself.” Moments later he was talking to the proprietor of the
Dixie Queen
. “Thanks, Sam. I owe you.”

“That you do, old buddy.”

“Just name your price, Sam. Whatever you want. Is Leon still there?”

“Yep. But I’m about to throw him out. He’s annoying my customers. If he’d bothered the winners, that’d be fine. But he always disappears with my best customers—the losers.”

“No. Don’t throw him out. Hold on to him till I get there.”

“I’ll try.”

Montana hoped Sam could hold on to Leon, but as badly as he wanted the man, right now Katie was his most pressing problem. Katie might think she was the best poker player on the Mississippi, but she was in over her head. Way over her head. The two men she was matching wits and skills with were the two toughest cardsharps on the river.

Montana thought a minute. “I’m going to try to send someone there to talk to him.” He needed someone who was close and could get there quickly. Cat. Montana signed off and dialed her number.

No answer. The message on her machine told him, invitingly, “At the sound of the tone, tell me ‘everything.’ ”

“Since you’re not there, I can only hope you’re with Katie. If you’re not, she’s playing poker with two serious gamblers at the Casino Louisian. I’m on my way there now. If you get this message, go to the
Dixie Queen
and
see if you can locate a man named Leon. Stick to him like glue till I can catch up. He may know where Carson is.”

Montana thought about what he’d just asked and decided that while Cat’s daring and ingenuity were called for, he just might have put her in danger—if she got the message—and if she followed his directions. After a moment he called his office and was rewarded by Royal’s prompt answer.

“Thank God,” Montana said. “You’re there.”

“I’m here. Why are we thankful?”

“A better question is why are you there? Isn’t the boat supposed to be going upriver?”

“It is. But I was told you had an important message and I thought I’d better check it out. It’s from Mario, down at the Louisian. He heard you were looking for Leon and wanted you to know he’s just left his place.”

“Yeah, that’s what I called about. I talked to Sam. Leon’s there now, on the
Dixie Queen
. I want you to go there and find a woman named Cat.”

“Uh-huh, and how will I know her?”

“She’s a real looker. Tall, red hair, tight clothes. You can’t miss her.”

“When I find her, what do I do with her?”

“She’s Katie’s friend. I just sent her there to look for Leon. I want you to make sure she’s safe.”

“And where are you going to be?”

“I’m going after Katie.”

Thirty minutes later Montana pulled into the parking area of the casino where Katie was playing poker. He brushed past the attendants, stopping at the first table inside.

“The poker game. Big Jonah and Little Willie, where are they?”

“Our games are private.”

Montana grabbed the dealer by the throat, jerking him across the table. “My name’s Montana. I want to know where they are and I want to know now.”

“Hey, man, we don’t want any trouble around here. Let me call my boss.”

“Never mind. Just tell Mario I’m here.” Montana let the dealer go, whirled around, and started up the stairs. The first two private rooms were in use, but the players were strangers. Behind the third door he found Big Jonah, Little Willie, and Katie, each holding five cards. There was a pot full of chips in the center of the table. The two men were looking at Katie, apparently waiting for her to answer the last bet.

At Montana’s entrance, all three players looked up: Jonah in surprise, Willie in annoyance, and Katie with a quick flash of desperation.

“Montana,” Big Jonah said. “Aren’t you a little off course here?”

“Oh, I try to fish all the waters, Jonah. Hello, Katherine,” Montana said with a deliberate drawl, groaning silently when he took in the short black skirt and fringed leather jacket. She looked like a honky-tonk girl on a night out, all curves and legs. He felt his throat tighten. At least there was a poker table between her and her
companions. There wasn’t between her body and his. He wanted to grab her and drag her out of there. “I thought you were going to wait for me.”

“Sorry. Got tired of waiting. I decided to celebrate my birthday without you.”

He pulled out the chair beside her, eased himself into it, and stuck out his legs, casually crossing his ankles. “Bad girl. Birthdays usually start with a nice dinner and a cake. Then fun and games.”

“So it’s my day and I’ll celebrate any way I choose.” She smiled at the other two players. “I wanted to play poker. Don’t mind him, guys. He just likes to think of
me
as the dessert. Very expensive dessert. Go home, Montana.”

“Nah. Think I’ll stay. I can’t wait to see you take their money.”

Willie laughed. “Never happen. I’m a man who likes sweet things, too. And I’m just about to be able to afford a lot of expensive sugar. Unless you’re prepared to back the lady, she’s out of money.”

Montana cut his eyes toward Katie. “Is he right?”

She winced and nodded. “I’m out of money. It’s either fold, or come up with something to use as collateral. I’m trying to decide,” she said brightly, “what I want to risk.”

Montana didn’t like the sound of that. What did she have? Bad question. He didn’t want to think what she had, nothing except a seedy plantation and, remembering their bet, herself—neither of which he wanted her to bet. On the other hand, he’d already seen what she
could do in a poker game. “Can you take ’em?” he finally asked.

“I think so. Want to see?”

“No. If you say you’ve got the hand, I believe you.”

She raised her eyes, facing him straight on, the memory of the IOUs in her pocket reminding her of his opinion of her. “That’s pretty funny. You believe me?”

“Okay, Red, cut the chatter,” Jonah interrupted. “What are you going to do?”

“Red?” Montana smiled. “So you’ve heard about the reputation of the infamous lady gambler in red? That doesn’t bother you?”

“Haven’t heard about no reputation; she just told us her name was Red. Didn’t take long to know she meant red-hot. ’Course, right now it looks like she’s just about run out of steam.”

Montana pulled a cheroot from his pocket, bit off the end, and stuck it in his mouth. “Guess you really haven’t heard. I ought to warn you, one poker player to another, I gambled with her and lost.”

Willie looked at Montana with disbelief on his face. “She took you? For how much?”

“You don’t have to do this, Montana,” Katie said.

“Too much.” Montana was tempted to say that she’d won his boat, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so, even if it would make Willie and Jonah worry. She’d gotten herself into this fix; she’d have to suffer the consequences. The only problem here was that if Katie was cheating again, Jonah wouldn’t take lightly to a marked deck.

“Jonah,” Willie said, beginning to look a little concerned, “are you sure about this?”

Jonah glared at Willie. “Cut the small talk, Willie. He’s just trying to spook you. What about it, Red? You in?”

Katie glanced down at her cards again. “As you can see, I’m out of chips, guys, will you take my IOU?”

Both men laughed. “IOU? Not in this lifetime,” Little Willie answered for both.

“If that’s all you’re offering, I’ll just claim your money now,” Big Jonah said.

Katie looked down at her hand. She was holding two pairs, kings and tens. Not the best, but it should be good enough. She ought to bet Montana’s boat. It would serve him right. Let him see how it felt to really lose his livelihood. With the winnings in the pot she could pay off Montana and anybody else Carson owed, and have enough left over to repair Carithers’ Chance. Then she’d give the boat back to Montana.

Katie chewed on her lower lip. Let them think she was sweating. Damn! She
was
sweating. If she lost, they’d both lose everything. Having Montana so close wasn’t helping. She took a deep breath and put him and what they’d shared out of her mind. Logically, if she didn’t win, everything was lost anyway. For the first time she could understand how Carson felt. She’d have to gamble that her hand was better than either of theirs.

“If you won’t take my IOUs, let me offer you another proposition, guys.”

Willie looked at Jonah, then said, “We’re listening.”

“First, I think I’d better tell you who I really am,” she said. “You ever heard of the Carithers family?”

Jonah grinned. “Carson Carithers? Sure. Everybody’s heard of him. Most of us have taken some of his money.”

“Well, I’m his sister.”

That brought an even bigger grin.

“We own a plantation on the Mississippi, Carithers’ Chance.”

“We know. He bragged about it enough.” Little Willie shuffled his feet. “So what does that mean to us?”

“The plantation says I see your bet and I call.”

“The plantation?” Willie said. “What do I want with a plantation?”

Montana drew himself up slowly, almost like a cat with a mouse in his sights. He’d studied the cards and the table. So far as he could tell, she wasn’t playing with a marked deck. And knowing Willie and Jonah, there was more than a little chance that she could lose.

“Now just a minute, darling. You’d better think about that.” He couldn’t question her ability—not in front of Jonah and Willie—he’d have to do it another way. “Let’s don’t get carried away. Just throw in the cards and we’ll go dancing.”

Katie leaned over and patted Montana’s knee. She hadn’t expected that. He was worried about her losing Carithers’ Chance. He’d obviously chosen to forget that she owned his boat. She glanced at Jonah and Willie. This was no time to argue.

“You don’t think I can do it?” she asked.

“No … I mean, yeah. Hell, I know how good you
are. It’s just I’d rather be partners with you than those two.”

“Wait a minute,” Jonah said. “I think you’d better explain how you own part of the plantation.”

“It was part of a bet her brother lost to me,” he explained.

Jonah looked at Montana and smiled. “But it’s worth more than he owes or you’d own the whole thing. I think I’ll take the bet. I might just like being partners with Montana.”