Detectives Josie Hernandez and Joshua Porter drove away from Port Pinnebog General Hospital with more questions than answers. Neither detective spoke for several blocks. Both had the same thought going through their heads.
They drove in silence
Porter clicked the indicator arm down to change lanes. He glanced in the side mirror as he slid the car to the left.
Porter used the indicator to change lanes
"One more body and we'll have a hat trick of unsolved murders."
Josie Hernandez scoffed. "We don't know the woman they fished out of the Pinnebog was murdered."
"We don't know it yet but we will and that will put a second name under the Unsolved column. Captain Glass isn't going to be good with that."
"Until we do know Jane Doe was murdered, we should concentrate on the Tina Johnson case."
"We can't do that, Josie. Then this case will go cold, too."
"What case? Maybe Jane Doe jumped into the river."
"Let's at least have something we can tell Captain Glass about the woman other than she was a floater."
"We know she wasn't the name on the card."
"See, that right there. We know she wasn't that girl with the sprained ankle's friend, but we don't know if that was the friend's card."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the girl with the sprained ankle's friend's name is Jillian Proust. Maybe Jane Doe is Jillian Peabody or Jillian Peppermill or Jillian--"
"All right. I get it."
"I want to go to the Big Wheel Casino and see if someone there can tell us which Jillian-P-Zero-four-nine owns the card in your pocket."
"All right," Josie said. "But talk Tina Johnson with me until we get to the Big Wheel."
"All right, I can do that. I still say Tony Kitchner is our man. He's got priors."
"Not for murder."
"First time for everything."
Josie scoffed. "The Kiitchners insisted Tina Johnson was already dead when they went into the jewelry store."
"To return a necklace the wife stole earlier in the day? After hours? Come on, Josie. Who does that? Look, Tony Kitchner went in there that night to rob the place after his wife cased the store that afternoon. The necklace was a bonus, a thank you to his wife. Tina Johnson surprised the Kitchners. She had tripped the silent alarm before they killed her."
"There was no sign of forced entry. The door was unlocked when the uniforms arrived. That tells me Tina Johnson let her killer into her shop. That she knew her killer."
Did Tina Johnson know her killer?
Porter concentrated on his driving for the moment. They were caught in the traffic leaving the political rally at the Swann Club.
"All right, new theory," Porter said. "Agatha Kitchner shows her husband the necklace and they do decide to go back to the jewelry store to rob it. They show the necklace to Johnson through the window, say they want to return it. Johnson lets them in, and Kitchner pounces."
"So, they surprise Tina Johnson."
"Yeah..."
"There's a problem with that."
"Big one. Who tripped the alarm if they surprise her?"
"You see why I don't think the Kitchners are guilty of murder? Theft. Larceny. Yes. Murder? No."
Porter mulled it over. "Only person that could have purposely tripped the alarm was the killer. He or she is hiding in the back, sees the Kitchners, sees an escape."
"Trips the alarm. Takes off knowing the Kitchners will get caught."
"So we've got an open case."
"It's what I've been telling you."
Porter pulled into the self-park lot at the Big Wheel Casino. "Time to shift gears."
The Big Wheel Casino
The Big Wheel was down the block from the Swann Club. This was not by accident. And while Oliver Swann did not have a stake in the casino, his club certainly benefitted from the proximity. The closest Ollie Swann came to gambling was a room in the back where he hosted the occasional 'charity' poker game.
It was a little before midnight when Detectives Porter and Hernandez arrived at the Big Wheel. The crowd was in change-over mode. More and more people dressed for a big night out were strolling into the casino as early evening gamblers were trudging out the doors. The groups passed each other the way tree shadows blended together on a lawn, completely unaware.
The late-night crowd changed
Detectives Porter and Hernandez looked for the first casino host or hostess they could find, which wasn't hard to do. She pegged them as cops before they slipped their badges around their necks.
"Detectives," the hostess said. "I'm Angela Hart. How may I help you?"
Angela Hart
"Detectives Hernandez and Porter," Josie said. "We need to know if there is any way you can track a card of a missing woman."
Angela Hart hesitated. "I'm assuming you have a warrant."
Josie Hernandez shook her head. "We fished a woman out of the Pinnebog a couple of hours ago. She had a Big Wheel Rewards card in her possession. We're hoping to I.D. her from it."
"It might not even be hers. People leave their cards in machines all the time," Hart said. "This unfortunate woman could have grabbed it by mistake."
"We just want to know if your eyes in the sky caught anything that might help identify the dead woman and help us find the woman the card belongs to see we can ask her how she may have misplaced it."
Again, the hostess appeared reluctant. "Sounds like you're trying to identify two women off the one card."
Porter did that pointing thing he tended to do to add emphasis. "That's pretty much it, Miss Hart."
When the hostess still didn't offer any indication she would do anything, Josie tried a different tactic.
"Is Bobby Gardner working tonight?"
The hostess showed a flicker of emotion. "You know Bobby?"
"We went through the academy together. He left to be head of security here."
"Oh." She smiled at Hernandez. "I'm sorry. Could I get your name again?"
Porter felt the atmosphere cool.
"Josie Hernandez. Just tell him Paquita is here to see him."
The hostess smiled as politely as she could. "Just a minute." She lifted the receiver of a house phone on a countertop, turning her back to the detectives.
Porter leaned closer to his partner. "Paquita?"
"I used to dance ballet when I was a kid."
"And you were the smallest in the class?"
"No. I got picked to play this peasant girl named Paquita in a Spanish ballet by Edouard Deldevez and Joseph Mazzilier. The girl's actually of nobility but was kidnapped by the people of this village for whatever reason. Anyhow, Napoleon shows up, Paquita saves a French soldier from being executed by the village mayor, and discovers she is a princess. She and the officer marry."
"Oh. Well, it all makes sense, I guess."
Porter let the pause grow. Josie interrupted the silence.
"He saw a picture of me dancing on my chest of drawers."
Porter nodded. He tried to hide his grin. "Now it all makes sense."
"Let it go," Josie said. "There's no mystery there."
Hart hung up the phone. "Mr. Gardner asked me to take you up to his office. This way, please."
Porter genuflected. "After you, Paquita."
A private elevator took them directly to the security nerve center, a fantasy land illuminated by lightbulbs and tubes and panels glowing in gem-tone shades of red, green, blue, and more. One entire wall flashed, beeped, and hummed. The hypnotic energy stopped both detectives inside the elevator.
"Where are we?" Josie asked quietly.
Porter scanned the room. A myriad of colorful lights reflected off his glasses. "Remember what happened when Dorothy pulled back the curtain? The wizard was just a man...
At various desks, individual technicians observed activities on the casino floor by watching flickering images on window boxes before them.
The utilitarian dynamo took up an entire wall
"The detectives are here, Mr. Gardner." Angela Hart pressed her back against the sliding elevator door to keep it open. Her position also provided her more alluring profile.
Bobby Gardner turned away from a series of animated windows. Some had images, some had scrolling lines of words.
Bobby Gardner looked up from the dynamo
"Paquita."
Josie Hernandez smiled. "Tipo."
Angela Hart huffed. She stepped back into the elevator. The doors closed instantly.
Gardner walked over. He shook Porter's hand. "Bob Gardner."
"Joshua Porter."
The obligatory introduction out of the way, Gardner turned to Josie. "I'd ask how you've been," Gardner said. "But you're obviously here on official matters."
"We do," Porter said. "But first, what is that machine against the wall?"
Gardner chuckled. "She's a beauty, isn't she?"
"She?" Josie scoffed.
"Paquita, you are looking at a Quantum Transponding Processor Instrument. Our own magical QT-Pi."
"What's she do?" Porter asked.
Gardner shrugged. "Everything. Look around you. She powers the Big Wheel."
"How do you have one and the PPPD doesn't?"
"We have the money."
"I'm surprised Mayor Tibbets hasn't included one in her plans." Porter nudged Josie. "Can you imagine what would happen to the crime rate if the department had one of these dynamos?"
"Yeah, Josh," Josie said. "We'd be out of jobs."
Gardner shook his head. "People get complacent, Joes. They still try getting away with crap. Anyhow, how can I help?"
"We need some background on this card." Josie took an evidence bag out of her jacket. Inside was the plastic rewards card.
The newest trend: rewards card
"Well, it's lavender."
"We can see that."
Gardner flashed a grin. "That means whoever owns this is one of our big rollers."
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah. The first tier is bronze, then silver, gold, white, and finally lavender."
"How big a roller?" Porter asked.
"Tens of thousands of dollars," Gardner said. "Beyond the high end of what you're imagining. The rewards card is relatively new. Players get cash bonuses, qualify for meal vouchers, hotel stays."
"So this Jillian P nine-five-eight-nine drops a lot of coin here."
"To put it in perspective, Detective Porter, we've issued less than a hundred of these. This Miss Jillian is number twenty to get this tier. I can tell because twenty is the number after the H."
"What's the H stand for?"
"Nothing. It's just a random separator between the membership number and the number of the cards we've handed out."
Josie looked up from the card. "Is there any way we can get her full name from the card?"
"I can do you one better but I have to take the card out of the bag."
Josie turned to Porter. "You got a glove?"
Porter pulled a blue glove from his pocket. Josie put it on and removed the card from the bag.
"Let me hold it," Josie said. "Now we are looking for a woman named Jillian Proust but there is no proof this is her card. There could be another Jillian P in Port Pinnebog."
"Right now she's Jillian P Doe," Porter said.
Gardner motioned for the detectives to follow him. He led them to one of the operators watching a window box.
"Shelly, these are detectives. They need information from this rewards card."
"Ooo," Shelly said. "It's lavender."
Shelly tapped her screen
Porter and Josie exchanged looks.
"Okay, Jo," Gardner said. "Slip the card in that slot."
Josie put in the card. Shelly's fingers tapped over a pane of glass displaying rows of buttons labeled with letters, numbers, and symbols similar to a typewriter. Pods of information popped up on Shelly's window box. Josie rolled an empty chair next to the technician.
Josie sat next to the watchers
Shelly read aloud the information appearing on the window before her. "Jillian Rose Proust. Twenty-five-forty-eight Terrill Boulevard, Apartment five-eighteen, East Tower, Pigeon Gardens Apartments, Tip Town."
Josie turned to Porter. "Take a look. That's not the woman we found with the card."
Porter tried to see the image between Shellly and Josie.
"Put it on the big screen," Gardner said.
A second later the image appeared on a large pane of glass that could have been a picture window.
Jillian Proust casino I.D.
"So this is Jillian Proust," Porter said.
"Yes," Shelly said. "First use of the card this evening occurred at eight-forty-seven p.m. Last used ten-oh-three p.m."
"So, whoever used the card was here for just under ninety minutes," Gardner said.
"You know all of that from the card?"
"You know, Josie, we're less than fifty years from the next millennium." Gardner chuckled. "Technology is an amazing tool. We can even tell you what games she played."
"Would you, please?"
Gardner nodded at Shelly.
"Her first game was roulette. She used fifty dollars of bonus cash."
The image on the window changed.
"Wait a minute," Porter said. "That's not Jillian Proust."
A game of roulette
Josie stood. She joined her partner at the large window. "That's the woman we pulled from the river."
"If she's not the card owner," Shelly said. "How is she activating the card?"
"She has to know the card's F-DAC," Gardner explained. "Each user creates a unique four-digit activation code. If a player wants to receive rewards or use existing ones, she has to input a code."
Porter focused on the screen. "Who's she with?"
The woman leaned over a numbers wheel with a red-haired man in a tan leather jacket.
"Where did they go next?" Josie asked.
Shellly tapped the keys in front of her. "This is them playing Queen's Gambit, a high-dollar slot."
Max bet is $100
"How high?" Porter asked.
"Max bet is one hundred dollars. She played the minimum."
"And that is?"
"Ten dollars. She was using bonus cash again. They played for ten minutes then played poker for a couple of hands. They used bonus cash the entire run."
A few hands of poker
"Then what?"
"A few more slots and then they cashed out several vouchers at the east cage."
A few more slots
"How much?"
Shelly turned to Bobby Gardner. "Five thousand dollars."
Porter whistled.
Josie looked at the image on the large window. "Where's Jane Doe?"
"Could be in the restroom," Gardner said. "Or sitting at the bar. The cameras link to the initial insertion of the card for single image capture from the nearest lens. That might be her a few chairs to his left. Not clear."
"Excuse me, Mr. Gardner."
Gardner turned to another security technician. "Got something, Bridgette?"
"Looks like some of the overflow from the Pederson rally is getting out of hand in our card room."
The security tech transferred the image from her small window to the large window.
A security technician spied an altercation
Gardner turned to Josie. "A couple of fights tonight at the Swann."
"We heard on our radio," Josie said. "Not the launch Viggo Pederson expected."
"No. I'm sure it's not."
"Hey, thanks for the help."
"Yeah, well, if you need anything else, I'm here."
Shelly approached with several photographs of the woman and the red-haired man. "I thought you could use these."
Porter looked at the photographs. "These are in color," Porter said. "How did you do that so quickly?"
"Oh, I just captured the image and, you know, printed them."
"We have to get a QT-Pi."
"Maybe if we're good, Santa will bring us one," Josie said. "Come on."
They rode down with Gardner in the private elevator. Porter kept looking at the color photos trying to give Josie the opportunity to talk to Gardner. Neither spoke; they did exchange a grin or two on the way down to the casino floor. They parted ways but not before Angela Hart shot an icy glare at Josie.
"That hostess doesn't care for you, partner," Porter said.
Josie squared her shoulders. "I don't really care."
"Okay, killer, let's call it a night. We've got reports to write in the morning. Captain Glass is going to be impressed by these photographs."
Security marched out the rowdy group
Gardner hustled over to the altercation. A squad of floor security agents escorted a group of young men to the door. One of the men in the boisterous pack yanked his arm out of a guard's grasp.
"Take your hands off me, buddy. Do you know who I am?"
"No. But I will when you tell the police."
Josie and Porter stopped at the same time. Mixed in the group was a familiar red-haired man. He spotted the badges and kept walking.
The red-haired man spotted the badges
Josie whistled. Heads turned.
"Grab the redhead," she said holding up the badge around her neck. "I'm not wearing my running shoes."
Gardner walked over to the guard. "Put him in a holding room, Joe."
The red-haired man pointed at himself. "Me? I'm not with them."
"We just want to talk to you," Josie said.
"About what?"
Gardner turned to the man. "You were using a missing woman's rewards card."
"Yeah. Is that a crime?"
Porter held up one of the pictures. "Could be. We pulled this woman out of the river a few hours ago."
The red-haired man stared at the image. "Is she all right?"
Gardner nodded his head. The guard pulled the man down a hall.
"This way," Garnder said. Porter and Josie followed him.
Compared to the security office upstairs, the holding room wasn't much more than a walk-in closet with a table and some chairs. The guard put the red-haired man in one chair. He then stepped back to stand by the door. Gardner leaned against a wall. Porter and Josie sat in chairs on the opposite side of the red-haired man.
"I'm Detective Hernandez," Josie said. "This is Detective Porter. We'd like to ask you some questions."
The red-haired man folded his arms.
"You have a name?" Porter asked.
The red-haired man said nothing.
"Joey," Gardner said. "Break his finger."
Joey the guard
"You can't do that," the red-haired man said.
"I'm not the police." Gardner looked at the guard. "I'll count to three. If Joey doesn't hear your name, he'll break your finger."
"Say it loud," Joey said. "I don't hear so good."
The red-haired man looked at the detectives. "Hey, you're cops. You can't let him do this."
Before anyone could object, Gardner counted quickly. "One-two-"
"Ryan Byrne!"
He quickly told them his name
Gardner stopped the guard. He looked at the red-haired man.
"Where'd you get the card?"
"Some lady gave it to me."
"Gave it to you?"
"Yeah."
"She just handed it to you."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"She said it was a thank you for helping her friend. They were getting off a trolley and her friend tripped. I caught her before she fell under it. The lady gave me the card. Told me how to use it."
"Where did the lady go?"
"She got in a cab to go to the hospital to be with her friend."
"Full circle," Josie said.
"Who's the woman in the pictures with you?" Porter asked.
"You never. told me how she is." Byrne looked at the detectives. "Was she hurt?"
"She's dead."
"Eva's dead?" Byrne looked at the. photos on the table.
"Eva who?"
"Eva Pierce. A friend of mine. I called her to hang out. Told her about the card and everything. We played for a while. Then she met up with guy she knew. Dylan or Darren. i don't remember. Anyhow, I went to the can, came back and she was gone. I figured she left with him."
"That make you angry?" Porter asked.
Byrne scoffed. "No. Eva and I are just friends. If I was going to be mad about anything it be about the card. I think she took the card when she left."
"Did you go anywhere after Eva Pierce left?"
"Nope. Been here all night. Lost everything I won."
Porter laughed. "Don't you know, Mr. Byrne? The house always wins."
"You lost five thousand dollars?"
"Five thousand?" Byrne scoffed. "The biggest hit I had was fifty bucks. Where did you get five thousand dollars?"
"The last transaction on the rewards card was a five thousand dollar cash out."
"Must have been after Eva ditched me."
"Am I done here?"
Gardner turned to the detectives. Josie nodded. Gardner looked at the guard. "Walk him out, Joey."
Byrne looked at the detectives and the head of security. "Hey. That's not like secret code for 'break his knee caps', is it?"
Joey the guard opened the door. "Let's go, buddy."
Byrne stood. "Whitman," he said. "I just remembered the name of the guy Eva talked to. Darren Whitman."
"Thanks," Gardner said. He turned to Joey. "Eighty-six the knee cap thing."
Byrne wasn't sure if Gardner was joking. Joey the Guard pulled Byrne from the room.
Joey the Guard led Byrne from the room
When the door closed, the three people in the room laughed.
"You wouldn't have broken his finger, would you, Tipo?"
Gardner only grinned.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I'm putting this in now in case this chapter is done. It might not be. I've already gone back to the first chapter and tweaked it to make the Kitchners more substantial to the story. I had to as everything following their trial is predicated on Phyllis Norton disappearing after opening the Kitchner's freezer.
I also needed this chapter to address the murder of Tina Johnson. Artie and his team have no reason to investigate that crime. I think Artie will eventually link it to whoever is cooking Delirium Six aka Captain Coughs.
And what of the missing Phyllis? I have that chapter all set to go, it just doesn't want to be added yet.
How about that Jilly? Overly concerned about the company finances but is a lavender-tier casino goer. Always secrets.
As I thought, I had some changes to put into the chapter. There's a new development growing.
When I think of the 1950s for cinema, the two obvious genres are film noir and sci/fi/horror specifically atomic mutations (Them, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman to name a few.) What I've been watching evolve is a kind of mash-up between crime fiction and science fiction. this adds an element of the fantastical to an otherwise noir procedural.
I revisited the chapter to clean up some prose. I also worked in a better way of introducing the dynamo rather than just plopping it into the story like someone plopping mashed potatoes onto a plate. Now it's got purpose, a back story, and an air of value.
I've rewritten the cap of this chapter three times. I think this is it.
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