“Gee. Thanks, Skeeve!”
A sudden inspiration hit me. “Come by around noon. We’ll do lunch!”
It seemed like a really good idea to me. I wondered why businessmen hadn’t thought of talking out ideas over lunch before! For some reason. Vic winced before returning my smile.
“Lunch it is,” he said.
“Umm … I hate to interrupt, partner, but you do have an appointment you’re supposed to be at.”
“Right, Aahz. Vic! Tomorrow!”
With that, I allowed myself to be ushered into the Even-Odds.
A ripple of applause broke out as I entered the main bar and gaming room, and I barely caught myself from turning to look behind me. For me or against me, the people were here to watch the game and if nothing else were grateful to me for providing the evening’s entertainment.
Terrific. I was about to risk a quarter of a million in gold so that folks wouldn’t have to watch summer reruns.
The club had been rearranged since the last time I was there. One card table stood alone in the center of the room, while scores of people lined the walls. While the crowd outside might have been larger, the group inside the club made up with clout what they lacked in numbers. While I didn’t begin to recognize everyone, the ones I did spot led me to believe that the ‘Who’s Who’ of Deva was assembled to watch the game. Hayner, my landlord and leader of the Devan Chamber of Commerce was there along with his usual clutch of cronies. He nodded politely when our eyes met, but I suspected he was really hoping to see me lose.
Don Bruce was there as promised, and raised his hands over his head, clenched them together, and gave them a brief shake, smiling all the while. I guessed it was some sign of encouragement. At the very least, I hoped I wasn’t being hailed with some secret Mob death sign. Of course, that didn’t occur to me until after I had waved back.