The Devil Makes Three (22 page)

“No. I’m running a little late this afternoon. I’ll have to miss my first class.”

“So close to midterms? You do live dangerously.”

“You’ve no idea.”

“Okay.” I could hear the suspicion in his voice, but it passed quickly enough. “So, what are we going to do?”

Slapping my forehead in a gesture of futility, I said the first thing that came to mind. “We? We’re not doing anything. I’m taking care of it.”

Silence came over the line and I glanced at my screen, making sure we were still connected. We were. “Are you still there?” I said, moving closer to the window, as if it would give me better reception.

“Yeah. I’m here.”

“What are you thinking?”

I heard him sigh. “I’m thinking maybe you’re right. I need to stay out of this.”

His sudden turn around made my eyes bulge and my brain contract. Why had he acted so adamant the night before only to cave now? “Okay,” I said, for a lack of anything else coming to mind. “May I ask why you’re agreeing with me?”

“Honestly? I just don’t know what to think anymore.”

“What?” Bells and whistles flared. “You think I killed him now?”

“I don’t know what to think Gretchen. But last night, when your father came into the room I saw a very talented actress at work. I… I just can’t be sure of anything now.”

My jaw dropped. I wanted to reach through the phone and smack him. Never mind that he was right. How dare he doubt me?

“But don’t worry. I’m not going to tell Cohen anything. I’m probably freaking out over nothing, but as we’ve always said, I’ve got a lot to lose. I can’t afford this.”

Taking a deep breath I composed myself. “Right. You’re absolutely right. I guess I’ll see you in class.”

“Yes, class.” He sounded pained, as if worried he had made the wrong choice, but unwilling to back down. “And I hope that you know that nothing in this situation will affect your grades in any way.”

“Of course. Could you be more obvious that you’re planning on using this conversation as a defense, just in case?” I said, then flipped the phone shut and chucked it across the room. It hit the wall with a thud and fell to the floor, the battery flipping off into the closet.

Hawkeye, who had followed me from the kitchen, sat staring at me from the corner of my bed with wide eyes and a hunted expression.

“Men are scum!” I said, and flounced off to the shower.

Chapter 19

In which Gretchen plays poker

and loses a lot more than her shirt.

If the week went any slower, it would've been a scientific phenomenon. Midterms approached a week from Thursday, like a stalking kitty, and I got caught 'deer in the headlights' style with the questions on Collin's study guide. As he passed them out only one week prior to his test, I couldn't help but glare at them and him, certain he had made them difficult just to piss me off. Luckily, my other classes were practically done thanks to Corbin and his magic fingers. How he'd managed to get hold of the previous years’ information, I didn't know, but I loved it.

Not that he had given me surefire A's. I still had to memorize the information to regurgitate in essay form, but at least I had already organized the information into essay outlines. The only problem would be clearing my brain from the stress at hand to let the information take root.

I spoke to Corbin only once during the week, on Thursday night. I called to make sure he was working on the Shark problem and hadn't had another run-in with Candy. He replied that he hadn't, but that I shouldn’t worry even if he had.

“I know how to take care of her now, and it won't have anything to do with feathers.”

“Is the arm in pain?”

“No. I don't feel pain.”

Right. “So what's up with Richard the Shark?”

“I'm working on it. You haven't heard from Cohen again have you?”

“No, but it's only a matter of time. Collin as good as threw me under the bus Tuesday morning.”

“Really?” This brightened his tone.

“Try not to worry too much, will you?” Sarcasm dripped from my words, but I couldn't help myself.

“Oh. Poor Gretchen. Now you're left with little old me. Don't worry. I'll make it worth your while. I can make you forget you ever knew him.”

“Yes, but I would prefer if my brain functions weren't tampered with. Besides, you're still on the rebound from little Miss Candy and I don't think I'm the right kind of girl for the type of relationship you’re looking for. For all I know you could disappear into the sunset... or an unmarked grave.”

He laughed and informed me that if anything happened to him, I would certainly know it since it would probably be bloody and in the news. I told him I didn't watch the news, but did read the obituaries occasionally.

He told me to write him a nice one.

I hung up feeling generally dissatisfied with the conversation. Like Corbin would even want an obituary.

The next day Katie called to make sure I still planned on poker that evening. For a lack of anything better to do except study I told her I'd be there.

“Great. I'll pick you up at 7:00. It's a flat hundred dollar buy-in with a dollar ante and three dollar minimum bet.”

“I remember. See you at 7:00.”

For some reason, the prospect of playing poker with four other girls made me nervous. Personally, I would have preferred playing with men, finding them easier to ignore and less judgmental. Because of these insecurities I found myself eying my closet with contempt, wishing I had time to go shopping. It wasn't as if I didn't have anything to wear. I just didn't know what to wear. After all, I didn't want to look too hussied up. Katie was my only clue and she set a fairly lax standard. She didn't seem the type to hooch herself up for a night out with the girls. Finally I settled on a black button top and a pair of jeans. I took a shower and did my makeup, just to make sure I didn't look too casual, then slipped the clothes on and checked myself out in the mirror.

The top was wrinkled.

It was a testament of my apprehension that I actually got out my ancient iron, inherited from my dead grandmother, and fixed the problem. Damn my inferiority complex.

Katie couldn't have been prompter if she had set a stop watch. The moment my phone flipped to 7:00 she pulled into my parking lot and honked. Rushing from the bathroom, where I examined my freshly ironed shirt, I gathered up my purse and phone then dashed out the door.

“So where is this place?” I asked, sliding into the seat next to Katie.

“It's at my friend Sheryl's house. It's her and two of her roommates.”

Oh goody.

The house was on the other side of campus, rented by students craving independence not granted from the dorms, but also unable to make it in their own apartment.

The main floor consisted of a living room with a monstrous entertainment system – no doubt representing someone's previous year’s tax return - a kitchen, and a dining area. I suspected poker night was the only action the table saw.

After introductions to Sheryl, Cali, and Marcey and 20 minutes of girl inspired chaos, we all sat down at the table and bought in.

“Do you play much?” Sheryl asked.

“No. I've never played actually.”

They all exchanged knowing looks that indicated they intended to rob me blind.

“Here. You'll need this,” Katie said, handing me a card-sized list of the rank of poker hands. “Don't worry. None of us are any good either.”

And none of them had poker faces.

Ten minutes into the game my phone rang. It was Corbin.

“What?” I said. Sheryl and her roommates looked at me like I was slightly scary. Katie just made her bid.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing that involves you. Why?”

“It would be really helpful for me if you could have an alibi for the next few hours.”

“Oh crap. What are you doing?”

“Exonerating you from some uncomfortable positions. It's what you wanted, wasn't it?”

“Is it going to involve more uncomfortable positions?”

The girls snickered around me and Katie glanced up from her cards, her brow furrowing. “Is this that guy? As in the guy who knows that girl who broke your laptop?”

I nodded and closed my eyes.

“Don't worry, Temptress. Nothing will point in your direction after this.”

“Good. Does that mean I'm out of a job?”

“Of course not. Anyway, stay with others for a few hours. Can you handle that?”

I glanced at my fellow poker players and sighed. “Handle it? That's up for grabs. But I'll try.”

“Please do. Night, Temptress.”

“Goodbye.”

I hung up and tossed my phone onto the table then raised the bet.

During the game the girls mostly discussed situations and people I didn’t care about like who dated who, who just broke up with whom and who had been seen with him last. It was typical, vapid gossip. Only once a family business got brought up did I gain a little interest.

“Your family owns what?” I asked Katie, tuning in at a familiar name.

“State Safe Bail Bonds.”

“Why does that sound familiar?”

Katie shrugged, but she didn’t look happy. “I don’t know. Have you ever gotten out of the clink on bail?”

“No.”

“Ever bailed out a friend or family member?”

“No.”

“Then I’ve no clue why it sounds familiar.”

Something in her manner convinced me to the contrary. Sheryl speaking up reinforced the theory. “Oh, you do too know why.” She glanced from Katie to me then tossed a chip into the pot. “Relax, Katie. It will pass.”

“What am I missing?” I asked, glancing between the girls.

Katie grimaced and tossed in her bet. “The company is under investigation for criminal activities.”

“What kind of criminal activities?”

She shrugged again. “I don’t know. My dad isn’t talking about it much. Personally, I try to keep out of the business.”

For some reason, this stayed with me. At the end of the hand I pressed the issue. “So how long has the investigation gone on?” I asked casually.

Katie shuffled the deck and began to deal. “A month or two.”

“What triggered it?”

“I don’t know.”

I glanced from Katie to the other girls. They were deeply ensconced in a conversation about manicures and couldn’t have cared less what we discussed.

“Is it a valid suspicion?” I don’t know what made me ask it, but I did and her response confirmed my instinct. She finished tossing the last card to Sheryl and placed the deck next to her cards, then glanced up at me through lowered eyelids.

“I don’t know. My father is a businessman. But most of the people he deals with are criminals. You do the math.”

“Alright then.”

“But I’m not too worried,” she said after a moment. “He’ll get out of it.”

“Oh? How do you know?”

She shrugged. “There’s this guy who my dad and I do some work for occasionally. He’s the type of guy who takes care of those who take care of him.” She gave me a significant look then picked up her cards and began shifting them around.

The hair on the back of my arms stood on end. Could she really be referring to Corbin? But how did she know I was connected to him? “What kind of work do you do for him?” I asked, my jealousy instincts kicking up a notch.

“Me? Computer work. I’m the go-to girl when he needs some research done. You know, checking up on potential clients, or potential employees.” The significant look came back and she poked Marcey, indicating it was her bet.

“Employees?”

“Yeah. Like his delivery people.”

I felt about to explode. Not only did Katie apparently know everything, but she also knew that everything she told me was news. “You must be his right-hand girl.” Instinct begged me to toss my cards in her face and storm out, but a quick reality check told me that wouldn’t be a good idea. After all, the last run-in with another of his women had gotten him shot. I wasn’t about to have anything like that happen again.

“Depends on what you mean by right-hand. He relies on me a lot, but not as much as I’d like.”

“Well, I wish you luck.” I said, tossing my chip into the pot. “I certainly wouldn’t want to date my boss, though.” Don’t scratch her eyes out, don’t scratch her eyes out, I told myself.

Katie nodded approvingly and raised the pot. “So did he ever pay you for your laptop?”

I grimaced. “Things happened. I never actually got around to asking him about it. But considering what followed, I would say he paid for it one way or another.”

The other girls’ attention had returned to us at that exact moment, and they glanced at each other with fake scandalized expressions. Katie’s eyes narrowed even further.

“I mean, he had a huge confrontation with her about me and since everything she accused him of was erroneous, I figured he’d suffered enough. I had the money to take care of it anyway, so I let it pass.” Shaking my head once more, I motioned for Sheryl to make her bet. Katie grimaced then sighed, looking exhausted.

#

When I sat down at the table, Katie informed me the game ended at 11:00 every week, regardless of specific player financial situations. Come five minutes to 11:00, I was fine with this, having lost about fifty dollars in the last half hour. The people were starting to get on my nerves anyway.

Katie was alright when I could ignore the fact that she had connections with Corbin, but the other three bordered on the giggly girl type, making me want to smack them.

Taking a look at my last hand of cards I folded instantly. Katie glanced at me with a knowing smile and did the same. Five minutes later we bolted out the door.

“Sorry about that. They get like that some nights. You should have seen them when their fourth roommate played. It was like they channeled Barbie.”

“It's okay.” I lied. “I'm getting tired anyway. I think it's time to go home.”

Katie drove me to my apartment building in a weighty silence; neither of us wanted to continue the earlier conversation, but seemed unable to forget it. At least, I was unable to forget it. I was suddenly all too aware of how cute Katie was in a natural sort of way, even if she did look barely legal. And for all I knew, barely legal was a bonus point for her, where he was concerned.