Софи Келли - A Tale Оf Two Kitties

“That’s right,” she said. “Face cards are worth ten and an ace can be worth one or eleven. The dealer deals two cards to everyone from the shoe.”

“The shoe holds the cards, right?” I said.

“Yes.” I could picture my mother nodding on the other end of the phone. “Invented, by the way, by John Scarne, one of the most incredible magicians I’ve ever seen. Before that the game was dealt from a single deck. The shoe can hold between two and eight decks of cards.”

I did a little math in my head. “So, wait a minute; using more cards is going to give an advantage to the casino.”

“Exactly,” Mom said. “And it works against someone like Mr. Janes, who had to have been counting cards to have won that much money.”

“He did have a PhD in math,” I said.

“So he probably had math skills that were better than the average person.”

“Yes.” I checked my watch. I only had a few minutes left on my supper break.

“After those first two cards are dealt a player has several choices. ‘Hit’ means take another card from the dealer.”

“And ‘stand’ means you don’t want any more cards.”

“That’s right,” Mom said. “‘Double down’ means you can increase your original bet. If your first two cards are worth the same you can split them into two hands. That’s called a split.”

“So if Leo was counting cards, what was he doing?” I said. “I’m guessing it means keeping track of what’s been dealt and what cards are left to be played.”

“Essentially that’s it. A good card counter knows what the odds are of getting the card he needs. But keep in mind not only is the dealer watching, there are also cameras overhead watching. Card counters get in trouble when it’s obvious what they’re doing, for instance when everyone can see them looking around. I take it Mr. Janes didn’t do anything to give himself away.”

“I guess not,” I said.

“Smart man,” Mom said, and I caught a hint of approval in her voice. “Keep in mind,” she continued, “it may be considered to be wrong by the casinos but card counting isn’t illegal, not unless the player is using something other than his own mental acuity—some kind of computer for instance.”

“So why was Simon banned from playing anymore?”

“Because a casino is private property. Just the way you can refuse to let someone in your house, a casino can refuse to let someone play. If I’m in your house after I’ve been told I’m not welcome, that’s considered trespassing and that is a crime. The same would be true in a casino.”

I checked my watch again. It was almost time to get back to work. “Thanks, Mom,” I said. “This helps a lot.”

“You’re welcome, Katydid,” she said. “Stay safe. Tell Marcus I said hello. And tell Maggie there’s a surprise wedding coming on the show.”

To my surprise Maggie had turned out to be a huge fan of The Wild and Wonderful . “Whose?” I asked. “Wait a minute, are you getting married? Is that why they wanted you for more shows?”

“You know I can’t tell you that,” she said. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I said. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

I ended the call and set my cell on top of the desk.

Card counting was a lot harder than I’d realized. Leo had been good enough that no one knew how he was doing whatever it was he’d been doing. I could see why Elias wanted to figure that out, why any casino owner would. Had Leo taught his technique to some of his students? He’d already cost Elias a million dollars. How much money had they, or could they, win as well?

I headed back downstairs and joined Mary at the circulation desk. She was putting books to be reshelved on the cart while I sorted through the ones that had come in on reserve. The third book I picked was for Leo Janes.

“We can cancel this one,” I said to Mary. “It was for Leo.”

She took the book from me and turned it over to look at the back cover blurb. “I suggested this one,” she said. “Leo came back in the morning he was . . . The morning he died. I got him set up with a temporary card and he asked me if I knew anything about theatrical makeup.” She raised an eyebrow. “I told him I knew a few things about being onstage.”

I was guessing that Mary had learned a lot of things from dancing at The Brick. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what they all were.

She handed the book back to me. “I suggested this book and requested it for him.”

I put the book on the counter to be returned to the library it had been requested from. “Why was Leo interested in stage makeup?” I asked.

Mary shrugged. “He didn’t say, but I know that Mia is thinking of getting involved in the spring production at the high school. It was probably just his way of staying involved in her life. According to Mia he was interested in whatever she was doing.”

“From what I heard about the man, he was a good grandfather.”

Mary nodded. “What happened to him wasn’t fair.”

I glanced at the makeup book that Leo would never get to read with Mia. “Life really isn’t fair sometimes,” I said.

“I’ve always hated that,” Mary said with a wry smile. She looked over her shoulder toward the computer room. “Change of subject. So, did Maggie figure out where she’s going to display those old photos?”

“I think so,” I said. I pointed at the side wall. “I think she’s going to use that wall.”

Mary was wearing her favorite fall-themed sweater—orange and brown with big embroidered yellow and red leaves. She brushed some bits of paper off the front. “I’m looking forward to seeing those old photos framed.”

“Me too,” I said. “And Maggie’s convinced both Thorsten and Harrison to let her display the mail they received.”

Mary laughed. “Well, in Thorsten’s case I don’t think it was the first card like that he received. He cut a pretty wide swath when he was younger.”

Since rumor had it that Mary herself had been part of that swath I decided not to comment.

She was still staring across the room with a thoughtful look on her face. “You know, if this were a movie something dramatic would have happened because someone didn’t get their mail when they were supposed to,” she said.

“Mary Lowe, do you have a secret romantic side?” I teased.

“I like a good happily ever after once in a while,” she said, her eyes gleaming.

“So have you heard of anything romantic happening because of a piece of that found mail?”

She shook her head. “Burtis got a note from the school about Brady. But I don’t think there were any love letters found. I don’t think there were that many pieces of mail behind the wall. You know about Thorsten and Harrison.” She started ticking off names on her fingers. “One of Lita’s cousins got something—another Christmas card, I think—and then there was Leo and maybe two or three other people and that’s it.” She’d started stacking books on the cart again.

“Wait a minute,” I said. “ Leo got one of those pieces of mail?”

Mary nodded but she didn’t turn around, so she didn’t see what had to be a shocked expression on my face. “He said it was nothing important.”

Meredith Janes had written a letter to her best friend that had ended up behind that wall at the post office. Now I wondered, could she have written one to her husband as well?

• • •

Marcus had hockey practice so I headed home to Owen and Hercules when the library closed. Harry had left a note telling me that he’d fixed the side of the raised bed in the backyard and he’d be back on Monday with some topsoil and mulch to replace what had been lost.

I told the boys about my conversation with Oren. “And Leo Janes got one of those pieces of mail that were found at the post office,” I said as I changed into yoga pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt. “Do you think it’s possible it was from Meredith?”