James Swain - Super Con

He grabbed a bottled water from the fridge and returned to the living room. Grimes’s men had caught Broken Tooth and dragged him back in through the rear door of the house. The Chinese gangster had suffered bruises and cuts and lost the fake cap on his signature front tooth. In his hands was his prize cricket in its carrying cage.

He handed Leon the bottled water. Whispering, he said, “We’re going to have visitors. When they come in, start moaning like you’re hurt.”

“Sure, boss,” his driver whispered back.

The doorbell chimed. Grimes said, “That must be the ambulance,” and told the Latino gaming agent to answer it. The Latino agent went to the broken front door. It was still on its hinges, and he gently opened it. Pepper and Misty stood outside, wearing miniskirts and halter tops and showing plenty of skin. They brushed past the Latino agent and entered the foyer.

Leon started moaning. Grimes hurried over to him.

“What’s wrong?” Grimes asked.

“I’m hurting all over,” Leon said.

“Lie on your back on the floor.”

Leon got on the floor and kept up the dying-man routine. Grimes looked genuinely concerned. Leon was a major witness to Grimes’s case and was worthless dead.

Misty and Pepper chatted up the Latino gaming agent. The front door was still open, and Misty shut it with her heel. The gaming agents were effectively tied up. Grimes had to deal with Leon, the Latino agent was busy with Pepper and Misty, and the remaining three agents were babysitting Broken Tooth, leaving Cory and Morris free to move Travis into the trunk of the rental parked in the garage without anyone being the wiser.

“You didn’t call our service asking for two girls?” Pepper asked.

“No, ma’am,” the Latino agent said.

Pepper acted put out. “Then who did?”

“Maybe you have the wrong address,” he said.

“Ah, come on. You sure one of you boys didn’t call?” Misty said playfully.

“Ma’am, we’re with the enforcement division of the Nevada Gaming Board,” the agent said, becoming irritated. “You’re going to have to leave.”

Grimes caught the drift of the conversation and lifted his head. “Carlos, tell those whores to hit the road, or I’ll run them in.”

Pepper and Misty left in a huff. The Latino agent shut the door and returned to the living room. “Maybe one of them called the girls,” he said, indicating the stiffs.

“They’re not much use to them now,” Grimes said. “Make yourself useful and search the place.” To Billy he said, “Does your driver feel good enough to give us a statement?”

Leon had returned to his chair and was sipping the bottled water Billy had brought from the kitchen. Billy said, “Are you up for that?”

“I think I can manage,” Leon said.

“I’m talking about going down to the police station and being questioned for an hour or more,” Grimes said, just to be sure Leon understood. “It’s important that we get your statement while the events of what happened are still fresh in your mind.”

“I’m your man,” Leon said.

“Perfect.” Grimes spoke to Billy. “You, too.”

“I’d be more than happy to give you a statement,” Billy said.

Grimes acted like he’d just won the lottery. The local media always made a fuss when the gaming board busted a notorious cheat trying to rip off the town. Grimes was about to be turned into king for a day; if the gaming board didn’t promote him, one of the casinos would lure him away to run security. The future was looking bright for Frankie boy. Moments later, the Latino gaming agent appeared in the living room.

“Hey, Frank, I just found a dead guy in the garage,” he said.

“Jesus Christ. I’m coming.”

Grimes left the room. Leon lowered his water bottle and gave Billy a hard look.

“Is that who I think it is?” his driver whispered.

“I don’t know who you think it is,” Billy whispered back.

“Travis. I heard him talking to Broken Tooth on the phone.”

“So you know.”

“Yeah. He betrayed us. Good riddance,” his driver whispered.

“Cunningham, get the hell over here!”

Grimes filled the living room doorway, his face livid. Billy swallowed hard and obeyed. He followed Grimes through the kitchen into the garage and immediately saw the problem. The garage door was raised. It had been closed when the gaming agents had raided the house. Grimes had spotted the discrepancy and knew that he’d been set up.

The trunk of the rental was open. Travis’s rigid body lay inside. Grimes grabbed Billy by the collar and pulled the young hustler down so his face was next to the dead man’s.

“Who is this guy? And don’t tell me you don’t know him.”

“So help me God, I’ve never seen him in my life,” Billy said.

No job ever went perfectly. Cues were missed and lines were flubbed. It was part of the thieving business, and Billy was not going to hold a grudge against Cory and Morris for not shutting the garage door in Broken Tooth’s rented house. Cory and Morris’s assignment had been to stuff Travis in the trunk of the rental and flee the scene, which they’d done. He hadn’t told them to shut the garage door, so the blame rested squarely on his shoulders.

“You sure you don’t know this guy?” Grimes asked suspiciously.

“No sir,” he said.

“Why does my gut tell me that you’re lying?”

“Maybe your lunch isn’t agreeing with you.”

“You’re not funny.”

Grimes pulled Travis’s wallet from the dead man’s back pocket and extracted his ID. Grimes then made a call on his cell phone and ran a background check. Travis had a clean record, and there was nothing that tied him to Billy or to cheating casinos. Grimes ended the call with a scowl on his face. “Stiff’s name is Travis Simpson. Worked as a blackjack dealer for the casinos, doesn’t have a criminal record. How do you know this guy?”

“I don’t know him,” Billy said.

“I think you’re lying. In fact, I’m sure of it. While we were inside the house, those two hookers blocked the front door while your crew put Simpson’s body in the rental. You want me to believe Broken Tooth murdered this guy, but I’m thinking that isn’t the case.”

“I don’t have a crew.”

“My mistake, so sorry. So who shot this poor bastard? Was it you?”

“I didn’t shoot anybody. I don’t even own a gun.”

“If I searched your place, I wouldn’t find a weapon?”

“No sir.”

“Then a member of your crew shot him. Is that the story?”

“I don’t have a crew. Maybe I should call my lawyer.”

“That’s totally up to you.”

“Let me rephrase that. Do you want me to call my lawyer? Because if I do, I won’t give you a statement, and your case will go right down the shitter.”

Grimes snarled like a junkyard dog. “What did you just say?”

“Get the potatoes out of your ears. If you’re going to pin a murder rap on me, I’ll stop helping you. If I do that, then all you have is a recording of Broken Tooth talking about fixing the Super Bowl and no witnesses to back it up. A smart lawyer will get your case tossed.”

Billy had the special agent over a barrel. Without Billy’s statement and later testimony, the case against Broken Tooth could not move forward and would eventually be thrown out. Only this was not the way Billy wanted things to go. If the case blew up, Grimes would resume harassing Mags and ruin her career, and Broken Tooth would be set free and more than likely come after Billy. He decided to shift tactics and play nice.

“Can I make a suggestion?” he asked.

“I’m listening.”

“Before you decide to accuse me of murder, why don’t you check the dead guy’s cell phone? Maybe he was working with Broken Tooth and they talked to each other.”