Fiddle Game, page 1
Razor's Edge
Fiddle Game
J. Arens
Big Town Publishing
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents
either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living
or dead, events or places are entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by J. Arens
Cover art by Med Foxx
mohamedsaidyekhlef@gmail.com
Edited by: E. Paige Spear
CollaborativePassages.org
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or used in any manner without written permission
of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations
in a book review.
First edition October 2023
ISBN: 979-8-9878005-4-6 (ebook)
ISBN: 979-8-9878005-8-4 (paperback)
Published by: Big Town Publishing
districtdetectives.com
Contents
Dedication
1. The One with the Set Up
2. The One with The Fiddle Game
3. The One With The Shell Game
4. The One With The Invite
5. The One With The Arrival
6. The One With The Instructions
7. The One With The Prep Work
8. The One With The Beginning
9. The One With The Wardrobe Change
10. The One With The Sneaking Closer
11. The One With The Offer
12. The One With The Talking Money
13. The One With The End
The One With The Review Reminder
The One With The Next Book
The One With The Other Books
The One With The Author Bio
To: Celeste
My first international fan.
Every writer should have a friend like you.
Talk soon?
Chapter 1
The One with the Set Up
Olivia Wainwright, Big Town USAs District Detective, looked through the bars of the cell that she had been inconveniently shoved into by a couple of large thugs. She had been in the four-by-four foot cell for nearly five hours. It had been a long time since Olli wandered into The District without her partner, Dallas Stowe.
He had gone home for a bit, taking the first train out of Big Town heading for Middleville. He hadn’t really given much of an explanation, just told her that he needed to go home. And that it had been too long since he had been there. He promised to explain when he got back, despite the fact Olli assured him didn’t need to tell her.
Olli had, of course, offered to go with.
She had heard stories about Middleville, and was curious to see where her second best friend in the world grew up. But Dallas had turned her down, telling her that it wasn’t that sort of trip. She had protested; they had almost had one of their rare arguments about it.
It was only when Dallas had promised to take her home sometime in the near future that Olli relented and allowed him to get on the train on his own.
With Dallas out of town, The District Detective office was quiet. Dee was there, of course. And Olli was nearly constantly reminded of her holographic secretary’s presence.
And the paperwork that Dee insisted that she do.
So, Olli turned to old habits.
The third day after Dallas left for home, Olli swung on her black leather jacket, bid goodbye to Dee and walked out of the office. Down two flights of stairs, to the dual revolving doors in the front wall of Wainwright Detective Agency, without telling anyone where she was going. She walked straight to the rear door of the brand new, black Pierce Arrow Lebaron Coupe.
Her best friend in the entire world, ex-moonshine runner and hack driver extraordinaire, Montana Dirks was behind the wheel, smiling brightly. Even when Dallas was in town, Montana—or Monte, as Olli and Dallas called him—was Olli’s willing compatriot in adventures into The District.
The District.
A sprawling section of town made up of warehouses and tenement buildings. All of them built just before and during The Great War, hastily thrown together to house the workers for the docks and war building efforts. The Harbor had made Big Town the perfect place for submarines, destroyers, and troop carriers to be built.
Along with a healthy dose of munitions.
With the war effort came the money. And with the money came the bigger houses and businesses on the edge of town. By the time the Roaring Twenties swept through Big Town, the entire town had shifted to the East; leaving behind The Harbor, the warehouses and the tenement buildings—abandoning the haunting reminders of the war and following the siren song of good times and affluence.
But not all of Big Town’s residents left The District. Joey Leftfoot stayed—Big Town’s first mafia don. He and the men in his crime family saw the opportunity swirling in the abandoned part of Big Town and took it upon themselves to snap it up.
The District became so dangerous-between the decrepit buildings and desperate men-that no one dared to cross The Line.
No one except The District Detective.
Alan Wainwright had held the title for most of Olli’s life. And when her grandfather had retired, handing over the reins of WDA to his son, Olli realized her dream and stepped into The District Detective Office.
It had been so long since she had wandered into the lair of one of the most dangerous men in Big Town. So, with no one to talk her out of the adventure, Olli had Monte drop her off a few deserted blocks away from his headquarters.
Anthony—Razor—DeLuca wasn’t dangerous in the sense that he would kill her on sight. He was much more clever than that. Which is where the danger came in. Despite the fact that he often made Olli’s life hard and convoluted, he was also the only mob boss she could interact with without worry of being shot.
Plus, she loved matching wits with him.
Part of the cleverness came from his constant ability to set up traps and tricks to keep his headquarters from being invaded.
The obstacle course to get from one of the many entrances to the office in the center of the large building was brutal. And nearly always changing.
It was in one of those traps that Olli had managed to get herself caught. And only a few yards into the building this time...it was embarrassing. She was better than this. She even knew about the little trap door. He had changed the way that it was sprung.
Probably because of her. And now...here she was.
“We’ve really got to stop meeting like this.”
Olli had sat herself down against the back wall, her knees pulled up so she could rest her arms on her knees. “I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to come down here to gloat.” She folded her fingers through each other so her hands were loosely half-folded and picked her head up to look at him in a bored way. Olli opened her eyes and looked at the barred opening of her cell.
The sharp-dressed man stepped out of the shadows of the hallway and leaned his shoulder loosely on the other side of the bars and clicked his tongue a few times. His smile was warm and a bit sly. “Now, Doll. What happened? You’re usually so much better than all this.” He gestured to the cell and smirked a little.”
“You played dirty. Changing the way the door swung. I don’t even know how you managed to do that without making it obvious.” Olli’s right eyebrow went up slightly.
“Is that any way to talk to someone like me?” He smirked and touched the very tips of the first three fingers of his left hand against his chest.
Olli rolled her eyes and fluttered her eyelids at the same time. “Razor.”
“Olli.” He mused with the same tone that she had used.
Olli sighed and pursed her lips. She reached up and rubbed both of her ring fingers against the outer corners of her eyes in small circles. Her hands dropped down onto her knees and she shook her head. “We don’t have to do this every single time, you know.”
Razor clicked his tongue. “I thought that we had a good thing going!”
Olli shook her head, and half laughed. “We both know that you’re just going to take me upstairs to your office. We’re going to talk for a few minutes and then…”
“And then you’re going to find some way to escape?” Razor wondered, smirking at her.
Olli smirked and shrugged a little. “Something like that. Now—” she clapped her hands against her knees and pushed herself up onto her feet. “What do ya say we tally a line in your win column for this one? What d'ya say we skip to that part, so I can get back home? That way Al won’t have to worry about if I’ve gone missing.”
Razor smiled and adjusted the way that he leaned against the bars of the cell Olli was standing in. A small chuckle escaped him. “What about Dallas?” He wondered. “Surely your partner would notice that you were missing?” Razor looked around a little. “Or did I somehow miss him and the game is still afoot?” He gestured in vague circles with his hands.
Olli shrugged and bobbed her head. “He’s out of town.”
“So you thought you’d take a trip across The Line by yourself for old time’s sake?”
“Aces. I didn’t realize that I had to ask your permission to do my job,” Olli quipped.
Razor shook his head and smiled at her fondly. “Never lose that fire, Doll. It’s part of what makes you so special.”
Olli half laughed and folded her arms over her ribs loosely. “Well. Don’t I just feel all warm and fuzzy inside?” She walked a little closer to the bars.
“Only just being honest, Doll.” Razor assured, not moving from where he was leaning on the bars.
Olli came up to the bars and loosely draped her arms through two of the openings that were about rib height. She looked over at him, only a couple of steps away, and smirked. “You know, you’re in a really unsafe spot. You must be losing your touch…”
“Losing my touch,” Razor scoffed and pursed his lips a little before shaking his head. “We both know I’m not.”
“I could reach you right now, where you are. Crack your head against the bars. Give you one of your notorious head injuries.” Olli smirked and shrugged. “Make my escape.”
Razor chuckled. “Doll...how you talk to me.” he clicked his tongue once, attempting to get across his displeasure with the single sound.
Olli tilted her head a little and looked at him through the bars. “I could.”
“But you won’t,” Razor assured.
Olli’s eyebrows jumped. “How long have we known each other?” she wondered, her tone not the least bit curious. Though she was amused. “That con man tone isn’t going to work on me.”
“Con man tone?” Razor’s head pulled back a little, and he looked at her for a moment like he didn’t know who she was.
“Aces. Don’t be so insulted.” Olli looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I exactly?”
“Crack my head against the bars?” Razor assumed, tilting his head and smirked slightly. “Because if you do that, your escape wouldn’t be assured. And our little game would come to an end.”
“Come to an end?”
“They’ll find me. And you in the cell and then I would be forced to do something about you. And neither one of us wants that.”
Olli knew he was right. “I hate that con man tone,” she grumbled, looking over at him. She pursed her lips together and shook her head slightly.
Razor chuckled. “You think that I have a tone, Doll?” He wondered, adjusting the perfectly starched cuffs of his white shirt so the edges were just peeking out of the black and gold pin-stripe, double-breasted suit coat. The very movement appearing tailored and full of perfected panache. More like something someone in high society would, rather than a mob boss.
“I know you do. The first time I met you used it. Remember that? When you sent me through the icebox in that horrid tenement building?”
Razor’s smile was quick and bright. “Ah, not the first time that we met, but...I’ll allow it.”
“I didn’t exactly meet you the first time that we crossed paths. I was a bit distracted and distraught at that particular moment.” Olli pointed out.
Something like melancholy crossed Razor’s face for the briefest second. “Yes. I suppose that’s true.”
Olli took a breath and pursed her lips. She didn’t like the way the conversation had suddenly turned. “So…” she muttered a few quiet moments later. “Can I go home now?” Olli tilted her head and jerked it slightly toward their left.
Razor shook his head. “I can’t let you leave. Not yet.”
Olli’s eyebrows knit together slightly. “Any particular reason why? Or just because you’re feeling especially spiteful for some of the mean things I said to you?” She smirked a little.
Razor chuckled a bit and shook his head. “Actually, there’s an incredible snowstorm blowing around outside. And what kind of host would I be if I just let a young girl rush off into the middle of a blizzard?”
Olli grunted. “I thought it looked like it might snow today.” She stood up straighter and pivoted a bit to lean her right shoulder against the bars so she was facing him. “Hold on. Since when has the weather dictated anything that we do here?” She loosely folded the very edges of her fingers together and looked at him with her eyebrows up.
Razor cleared his throat a bit and looked at her, something like weighing the consequences on his features. “Doll, it started to snow almost four hours ago.” He shook his head slightly. “It’s been snowing so hard we can’t see the buildings across the street.”
Olli’s left hand untangled from her right fingers. She held up one finger, then all of her fingers splayed out in a stopping motion. Her head turned to the left a bit, not so far that she took her eyes off him, and it tipped toward her right shoulder. She pursed her lips and closed her eyes. After a long, heavy breath, she opened her eyes and looked at him, while pointing an accusing finger at him. “That isn’t a very nice thing to say, Razor.”
“We don’t like it either. It’s like the whole world has come to a halt.”
“Is it really snowing that hard out there? Or are you just trying to keep me here?” Olli wondered skeptically.
Razor shook his head at her. “Have I ever lied to you?”
The question threw Olli off. She bit her lips together and looked at him for a moment. “Strange. It didn’t feel like four hours since they shoved me in here.” She looked at him closely, deciding to let the talk about the weather drop for the moment.
“Perhaps you’re losing your touch, Doll.”
Olli snorted. “You’ll lose your touch before I lose mine.” She looked at him with a small smirk, one eyebrow up slightly higher than the other.
“What is that supposed to mean!?” Razor’s voice jumped sharply.
“You’re older than me. And you’re a one-trick pony.” Olli shrugged and smirked at him smugly.
“You wound me!”
“Are you saying that it isn’t true?”
“Not entirely.” Razor shook his head. “Moonshine may be my best seller, but that doesn’t mean that it’s all that I do.” He shook his head and looked at her shrewdly. “You should know better than that.”
Olli tilted her head. “Oh?” She didn’t bother to keep the surprise or confusion out of her voice. “You’re not?”
Razor looked at her for a moment and scoffed. “In this economy? Absolutely not. Much better to diversify.”
Olli nodded a little and snorted. “Aces. All right. So...how many tricks does your pony have?”
“Certainly more than one.”
Olli grunted. “Well.” Olli gestured with her right hand in a slight swinging, circular motion. “Go on. Tell me your greatest hits.”
“My greatest hits?”
Olli nodded. “Tell me all about the crazy layers that make you...you.”
Razor smirked. “You’re not even going to ask to go upstairs to the office where it’s warm?”
Olli shrugged and gestured to herself with both of her hands. “I’ve got a nice shirt and pants on. Even have thick socks. I’m plenty warm.” She swung her left foot slightly.
Razor smirked a little. “You want me to tell you a couple of the tricks my pony has done?” He watched her for a moment. “All right. I think we’ve got some time.”
Olli smiled a little. “I’m all ears. Since you won’t let me out of the cage…” she gestured around her a little, using the same tone that he had.
“I’ll be right back.” Razor used his shoulder to push off the bar he had been leaning on. He pivoted and walked away down the hallway, the opposite direction of Olli.
Olli blinked and looked a little confused. She stood up a little straighter, her shoulder and arm coming off the bar she had been leaning against. “You’re just going to walk away?” She called. Her head canted right while she looked after him, trying to see where he went without straining, so it wouldn’t be obvious. Her eyebrows knit together slightly.
Razor was never rude.
At least...not to her.
It made her nervous that something else was afoot.
Olli walked away from the bars, keeping a few feet between her and them. She waited a few more minutes, half-braced for something to happen. She started to relax and allow the boredom to creep in again. It seemed like she was going to be here for a while again. After a bit, she dropped down onto the floor where she had been sitting when Razor arrived a few minutes before. She pulled her knees up, dropped her forearms onto her knees and half tapped her fingers.
He could have at least left her something to pick the lock with…
Olli opened her eyes and picked her head up off the wall when she heard footsteps coming. She leaned her head a bit to see who was coming. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear that it wasn’t Razor.
