applause and cheers rang through the air.
Bella acknowledged them with a slow, regal nod. Before descending the stairs, she gave the big dog beside her a silent signal to sit. When she reached the floor of the gaming hall, she wound her way through the maze of green, felt-topped tables covered with tall stacks of chips and gold and silver coins. She graciously exchanged comments with those she knew and stopped to introduce herself to the few she did not recognize.
Finally, Bella made her way across the room to where Sam waited. She silently cursed herself for noticing that he looked particularly handsome tonight in a new checkered wool suit and gold brocade vest. When she reached the faro table where he stood waiting, Sam took her hand and whispered in her ear.
“You’re looking especially radiant tonight.” He drew her close and discreetly ran his fingertip along the edge of her heart-shaped bodice. “Did you wear this gown for me?” he asked, laughing softly.
“Oui, mon cher. For you, Sam. Only for you.” She nearly choked on the words as she covered his hand with hers and gently moved his exploring fingers away. “But you will have to wait until midnight when I am through dealing.”
“I’ve waited a long time already. I guess I can wait a few more hours.”
She leaned forward, giving him an unobstructed view into the bodice of her gown, then kissed him lightly on the mouth.
“I promise you, it will be a night you will never forget.” With that she took her seat at the faro table, opposite Howard, the case keeper, whose look of reassurance betrayed his usual stolid expression. Once she was settled, Howard placed a deck of cards and a dealing box in the center of the table. Bella had always taken pride in running an honest gaming house, but tonight’s game called for special equipment. The cards were lightly sanded so that when one card was dropped upon the other, the two appeared as one. The faro dealing box sported an intricately painted face of a tiger. A hole in the tiger’s eye allowed the dealer to see the next card up for deal. Bella had only to press a concealed lever to release an extra card. She had ordered the specialty duo so she could turn the tables on any professional gamblers who tried to cheat the house.
“So, gentlemen,” she said, smiling a flirtatious smile at each of the men who had hurried to take a seat at her table, “you want to ‘buck the tiger,’ eh?”
Once she began shuffling the deck, once she felt the cards in her hands, she was able to rein in her emotions and become all business. She cut the cards and put them into the dealing box, confident that everything would come about just as she had planned.
Another of Bella’s trusted employees, the lovely waiter girl Felice offered everyone at the table drinks on the house. After handing Sam his, Felice gave Bella a discreet nod.
“All bets down, gentlemen,” Bella told the gamblers.
She watched Sam sip his drink. The drug Felice had put in Sam’s glass would begin taking effect within the hour. An annoying headache, blurred vision and impaired judgment were the first symptoms, followed later by excruciating stomach cramps and eventual loss of consciousness.
Bella relaxed and allowed herself a small, satisfied smile.
Cards ranking from ace to king were painted on the top of the faro table where the players placed their bets. By the end of the first game of twenty-five turns, Sam was winning.
She knew that his run of luck would make him overconfident as he went into the next game. During the next hour, Sam’s judgment became so impaired that he played carelessly and was now down to his last few chips. He kept rubbing his forehead and squinting to focus.
“Is something wrong, Sam?” Bella asked solicitously.
He slowly came up out of his seat, leaned across the table and motioned Bella to meet him halfway.
“It seems I’ve run a little short, my love. Could you extend me a small loan—say a thousand—until tomorrow?”
Bella feigned surprise. It was the moment she had been waiting for. “A loan? Oh, Sam...but I never—”
“I’ll pay you back tomorrow as soon as the bank opens.”
Shielding her mouth with her hand, Bella replied discreetly, “Sam, I do not doubt you for a second, but it is against the house rules.”
“Christ, Bella, you’ve got more house rules than a dog has fleas. Come on. Be reasonable. My luck will turn. All I need is a thousand.” He stretched closer, drew her near until his lips brushed against her ear. “You can trust me.”
When he tried to kiss her, she backed away, wagging a finger at him, forcing herself to laugh when what she wanted to do was pull every hair out of his handsome head.
“Very well, mon cher,” she said, feeling as smug as a cat playing with a mouse. “But, you must understand, I am a businesswoman. You will have to give me something for—how is it you say—for collateral?”
He thought a moment. “I know.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a gold watch and laid it on the table before her.
“This watch, it is very beautiful, Sam, but it is not worth so much money.” Turning her hands over, Bella indicated her helplessness with a shrug, then picked up the cards.
“Just hold on one minute,” Sam said, reaching inside his coat. “You want collateral. I’ve got collateral, dammit.”
He pulled a folded paper out of his pocket with a flourish and tossed it across the table.
“There. Heartbreak Ranch. Thirty thousand acres of the finest cattle range in California.”
His tone was proud, boastful. Bella knew the drug had altered his good sense. Before he could change his mind, she asked Howard to hand her a pen and ink.
In a voice loud enough for all those gathered around the table to hear she said, “It is against my better judgment to accept this, Sam. I do so only because you insist, you understand.” At his nod, she added, “Très bien.” With icy calm, she shoved the pen and ink toward Sam, then began to count out a thousand dollars in chips.
Sam stared down at the deed for a moment or two as if trying to focus. His hand shook as he scrawled his name across the bottom of the page.
“All signed and legal,” he said, thrusting it away from him.
Bella blotted the ink, then refolded the deed. With her eyes on Sam, she slipped it down the bodice of her gown, between her breasts.
Over the next half hour, Bella made certain Sam regained some of his confidence and some of his money.
“I told you my luck would turn,” he crowed, his voice too loud, his forehead and upper lip sheened with sweat. Before the next deal, he bet all his chips on the jack of hearts. The risky bet started a flurry of whispers. Within seconds a crowd gathered around the table. The air crackled with excitement.
A stillness akin to death descended upon the Cock O’ The Walk as the crowd waited. Bella made an elaborate show of shuffling the cards, cutting the deck and placing it inside the box. Moving her finger off the tiger’s eye, she saw that the next card up was a jack.
Obviously Sam’s senses were not yet entirely impaired. He had calculated the odds of being
