Дэвид Балдаччи - A Gambling Man

In a timid voice she said, “I did, Mr. Armstrong. She’s quite good. I think she’ll really bring in the crowds.”

Armstrong studied Callahan for a moment before turning to Archer. “And how is Willie Dash doing?”

“He’s fine.”

Armstrong put out a thin, long-fingered hand and gripped Archer by the arm. “Let’s have a chat, Archer. I have a private room here.”

“You want some company, Archer?” said Callahan quickly and looking uneasily at him.

Armstrong answered. “I’m sorry, Liberty. Maybe another time.” Archer said, “I’ll meet you back at the bar. We’ll toast your new career.”

Callahan gave him a half smile that sank off her face as quickly as a cement block dropped over the gunwale of a boat. “Sure, okay.” She glanced behind Armstrong as the two men stepped forward. Both were as tall as Armstrong but far bulkier, and their faces held nothing approaching human. “I’ll come looking for you if you’re not there soon,” she added.

Armstrong said, “Let’s go, Archer.”

The two sides of beef immediately stepped forward and marshaled Archer out.

Armstrong eyed the two women. “Mabel, we’ll talk later.”

“Yes sir.”

He glanced at Callahan, who stared resolutely back at him. Then, without a word, he followed the others out.

The room was small, dark, and located in the bowels of the place where, Archer presumed, only the rats typically lurked. He was feeling like a trapped one right now.

The single bulb illumination overhead gave him no comfort.

One of the men, on a sign from Armstrong, searched him, found the .38, pulled it out, and placed it on a table out of Archer’s reach, before the other man pushed Archer into a chair.

Armstrong sat down in the only other chair in the room, which faced Archer. He glanced at the gun. “Going around armed already? Do you feel that necessary? Are we that dangerous in Bay Town?”

Archer glanced at the men. “And what do they have under their jackets? Lollipops?”

Armstrong lifted out paper and tobacco from a pouch taken from his jacket pocket, dexterously rolled a small cigarette, and lighted it with a match struck against the table.

“The best tobacco in Mississippi,” he said in a soothing tone as he sucked in a throat full and then let it ease out into the small space. “Have it shipped in monthly. You should try it.”

“Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?” said Archer. “Or am I supposed to just watch you smoke?”

This statement earned him a staggering blow on the side of the head from one of Armstrong’s men that knocked him from his seat. The other man lifted him up and slammed Archer back into the chair.

Armstrong made a clucking sound. “Tony is overzealous sometimes in his loyalty to me, Archer, though I can hardly fault him. You understand loyalty, do you not?”

“When it’s explained to me,” said Archer, rubbing at his face. A searing pain went from his head to his toes, and the ringing in his ears made it impossible for him to hear the accelerated beats of his own heart.

“Well, I can provide that explanation, then,” said Armstrong, scooching forward a bit on his chair. “First of all, loyalty starts at home. I have a daughter whom I cherish and a son-in-law whom I respect.”

“Loyalty, okay, that’s good to know. Thanks. Are we done here?”

The second blow caught Archer on the other side of the head, and he slumped out of his chair, groaning. When Tony went to pick him up, Archer caught him in the gut with a pinpoint uppercut, doubling the man over and causing him to stagger back and retch up whatever was in his stomach. It came out as a pink slop that hit the floor. The other man grabbed Archer around the neck, lifted him off the floor, and slammed him into the chair. Tony recovered and gave Archer punches in the neck and oblique while the other man held him in place.

“Enough,” barked Armstrong, and the breathless men released Archer and stepped back. “Archer, if you wish to be beaten to death, then by all means carry on as you are. But I see no future in it for you.”

Archer fought back the urge to vomit, as the pains continued to radiate from his head and now to his gut and back. With an effort he managed to sit up straight. He reached into his pocket and took a few moments to pull out a handkerchief, which he used to dab at his mouth. He bent down and picked up his hat from the floor and put it on. “So where do I come into all this?”

“You are investigating the allegations against Douglas?”

“On his behalf. Which makes me wonder what I’m doing here getting my ass kicked by these two gorillas.”

“What will make me happy, Archer, is that you do not ever question my daughter again. You should not have questioned her in the first place. She is not party to anything that her husband may be involved in. Do you understand that?”

“Okay. Yeah.”

“And this Ruby Fraser woman?”

“What about her?”

“Is she having an affair with Douglas?”

“He says not. And she says the same.”

“And what do you say?”

“I don’t know. But if I tell you my opinion, am I going to get slugged again? If so, I’d just prefer to lie.”

Tony started to swing a fist at Archer, but he ducked out of the way, pivoted on the balls of his feet, came out of the chair, and struck the man flush on the chin with a thunderous blow. Tony staggered back and slammed into the wall. His eyes rolled back into his head and he slid down the wall, unconscious. His legs splayed out and his pants were edged up enough to reveal the tops of pale, hairy ankles.

The other man pulled a black, square-muzzled .45 automatic from his shoulder holster and took aim at Archer’s right eye.

Armstrong said, “Put that away, Hank, and give Tony a nip from your flask to revive him unless you want to carry him out of here.”

While Hank did this, Armstrong eyed Archer. “You pack a pretty big wallop. Good to know.”

Archer held up the set of aluminum knuckles he had pulled from his pocket under the guise of getting his handkerchief. “Yeah, pretty big.”

“But getting back to the issue. Your opinion?”

“I haven’t looked into it enough to have an opinion. We only started the investigation today. But if you want a half-assed opinion, I’d say that there’s some truth to it.”

“But that truth does not have to come out?”

“We were hired by your son-in-law. I would imagine he gets our report and no one else. So I don’t see that as a problem for him and his campaign for mayor.”

“I don’t know about that. But I do know this, Archer. Bay Town is a deceitful place with secrets. You’ll find that out soon enough.” He paused. “If you make it that long.”

“I survived the war. I think I can get through this.”

Armstrong shook his head. “Wars are straightforward. It’s you against the men in the other uniform. There is no nuance, there is no need to think about what you need to do. Here, it is quite a different scenario. It’s a chess match with no room for error.”

“Yeah, when you say it that way, I can see how that might be. Thanks.”

“What do you intend to do now?”

“Continue the investigation.”

“And what course will it take?”

“I got a list of people to talk to from Wilson Sheen.”

“May I see the list?”

“And if I refuse?”

“I can assure you that all of our myriad interests are aligned here, Archer.” He glanced at Tony, who had come around with two pulls on the flask Hank had poured down his throat.

“But I can’t guarantee that Tony over there will not be so upset at being sucker-punched by you with a pair of aluminum knuckles that he won’t resort to drastic actions. I could be wrong, but I wouldn’t bet your life on it. Would you?”