“Look, Ice,” Stilman began, but Maxine cut him short with a gesture.
“I’m afraid we’re going to have to postpone our search,” she said, staring at something out in the casino. “I’m afraid we have a bigger problem to deal with.”
“What is it, Maxie?” Laverna said, craning her neck to see.
“The oriental gentleman at the pai-gow table,” Maxine clarified, not shifting her gaze.
Stilman frowned. “Which one?”
Pai-gow was a form of poker utilizing dominos and dice which originated in Old Earth Japan. While nearly every casino offered it in some form or other, most gamblers descended from Western cultures still found the play too intricate for comfort, so the tables were invariably filled by those who were raised gambling on the game.
“The one on the far end … in the white shirt.”
Stilman followed her eyes. “So?”
“Look at his arms,” Maxine instructed.
The man’s shirt was of very fine cotton, and his arms were clearly visible, though it took a moment to realize that it was his arms one was seeing. Adorning the arms, from shoulder to wrist, were colorful swirls of tattoos, so vivid that, to a casual glance, they almost seemed to be a paisley pattern on an undergarment.
Maxine knew that the significance of the decorations was not lost on her companions as they both reacted, Laverna with a low whistle and Stilman with a narrowing of the eyes.
“I think I’d like to speak with that gentleman,” she said. “Could you invite him to join us, Mr. Stilman?”
“What …. now? Here?”
“Yes, now. But not here,” Maxine said with a tight little smile. “We’ve taken a suite of rooms here at the Fat Chance. It’s occurred to me that I should be a bit more closely involved in monitoring this project.”