Ian Hamilton - The disciple of Las Vegas

“That was thoughtful. Thank you.”

“You don’t sound too concerned.”

“These kinds of things happen from time to time. I don’t pretend they don’t; I just don’t let them paralyze me.”

“So you’re going to help Philip? Is that what I’m hearing?”

“I’m not working for Philip, but if getting some money back for my client helps Philip, then I guess you could say I’m going to try to help him.”

“How about trying to get my money back while you’re at it?”

Ava hesitated. She was tempted by the idea of another fee, but then she thought of the complications that would entail. “I can’t do that,” she said. “I’m under contract and I handle only one client at a time. If I’m successful, though, there should be some side benefits. We can talk then.”

“I guess that’ll have to do,” he said.

“In the meantime, are you willing to help me?”

“How?”

“I want a copy of your paperwork. I want whatever analysis you and Felix did. I want a signed statement from you, Felix, and whoever else was involved on the losing end, attesting to the fact that you think you were cheated and how you think it happened.”

“I can do that.”

“Now I also need to understand how these sites operate. For example, how are the hands constructed? I imagine there’s some kind of sophisticated computer program at work here.”

“Yeah, there is. The River created its own software but the site is managed by a First Nations band on an island near Kingston, Ontario. The company is called the Cooper Island Gaming Commission.”

“How do you know that?”

“It says so on the website,” he said. “First Nations are exempt from all U.S. and Canadian gambling laws — that’s why we have so many casinos on Native land in North America. It’s just a natural extension to have them administer online gambling. The Cooper Island Gaming Commission supposedly has a hell of a server capacity.”

“So they supply the servers and administer the site.”

“Yeah. There are more than ten billion poker hands in the River system, all dealt on a random basis.”

“And no issues, no problems until about six months ago?”

“That’s right.”

“So if you’re right about Buckshot and Kaybar seeing your hole cards, someone has obviously messed around with the software.”

“That’s what had to have happened.”

“Have you approached the band?”

“They were next on my list, until my car blew up.”

“Do they handle the money as well?”

“No, that all goes offshore. For a few years it went to Cyprus, then for about nine months it was Madagascar, and for the past year it’s been Costa Rica.”

“Ah, I was wondering where Costa Rica fitted into this. That’s where Philip was sending his money.”

“Like the rest of us.”

“What was the procedure for transferring money in and out?”

“They’d take money any way you wanted to send it and they’d pay you just about any way you wanted as well. I never had any problems putting money in or getting it back.”

“Philip’s money was sent to a variety of banks, and to a different person each time. Why was that?”

“For security. When you wanted to send a wire, you had to email them from an address they had on record to let them know what you were planning. They would email you back with the name of the bank and the individual the money was to go to. Once the wire had gone, you had to send them its number and the exact amount of the transfer. You were given detailed directions not to use the words gambling, poker, or The River in any of your communication with the banks. They were trying to avoid any possible problems with the U.S. government.”

“Where does this Jeremy Ashton work? Costa Rica?”

“Shit, no, he’s in Las Vegas. Amazing, isn’t it? A company that’s incorporated in Cyprus, has its operations centre on a Canadian reservation, and flows its money through Costa Rica, and the operations are directed from Vegas. God bless cyberspace.”

“Is it a public company?”

“No.”

“Shareholders?”

“I couldn’t find out.”

Ava drew a circle around the word software. “The First Nations band, could they be investors in the company?”

“No, they provide a service, that’s all. Their main interest is in supplying the server support. A lot of their customers are gambling sites but they make it very clear that they have no financial involvement with any of them.”

“You would think they would know if the software had been penetrated,” Ava said, as much to herself as to Maynard.

“You would. That is, if they had a reason to investigate it.”

“And they should know who Buckshot and Kaybar are.”

“They’ll know.”

“What’s the name of the band?” she asked.

“The Mohneida First Nation. Their reservation is on Cooper Island, which I’m told straddles the U.S.-Canada border about twenty minutes from Kingston.”

“And you didn’t approach them?” she repeated.

“No.”

“Did anyone else?”

“Not that I know of. Felix and I were the only ones doing the forensic work until they dumped that shit on us.”

“That’s good,” she said.

“So what are you going to do?” Maynard asked.

“I don’t know. I need to think about it. And Jack — and I’m saying this as much for Maggie’s benefit as yours — my interest in this revolves around my client. Any reporting I have to do I’ll do to him, and believe me when I tell you, there won’t be much of that anyway. So neither of you should expect to hear from me unless I need something. I’ll make sure that when it’s over, you’ll know the result, good or bad.”

“Are you going to talk to Philip?” he asked.

She looked at Maggie. “Not unless Maggie wants me to. I have enough information here to get me started. Do you think Philip will have anything else to add?”

“Not really.”

“Then I’ll get on with things.”

“The information you want me to send?”

“Send it to my email address,” Ava said.

“I’ll get it off to you in the next hour or so, and I’ll send Felix’s as well,” he said. “You will talk to the Mohneida?”

“It seems to be the logical starting point.”

“Try to keep our names out of this, will you? We’re both still a bit nervous.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Ava said, and signalled to Maggie that the conversation was over.

“Jack, we have to go now,” Maggie said, turning off the speaker.

Ava went over to the computer, where the River website was still open. She clicked over to the administration section and found the gaming commission’s phone number and email address. She would need to find out more about them before making contact. She would also need to decide whom to contact.

Her thoughts were disrupted when she felt Maggie leaning over her shoulder.

“What do you think?” Maggie asked.

“Maynard is credible. Let’s see if his numbers hold up,” Ava said.

“And you really don’t want to speak to my father?”

“Let’s leave him alone for now. Why cause him more distress?”

“So what happens now?”

“Maggie, go home and look after your parents. Hopefully in a few days, a few weeks, I’ll get Tommy Ordonez his money back and your father can work out his issues with him on a different footing. Now I need to get back to my hotel.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“That’s not necessary.”

A cellphone rang in another part of the loft. “That’s mine,” Maggie said, going to answer it.

Ava remained in the study to copy Jack Maynard’s phone number into her notebook. When she walked into the living room, Maggie had her back turned. Ava thought she heard a sniffle and was about to ask if everything was okay, but before she could speak, Maggie spun around. Tears were running down her cheeks.