And Along Came Spider - The Entire Series, page 37
part #0 of And Along Came Spider Series
“May I help you?” a cute blonde lady asked.
Exhausted, Marti said, “I think I need a safety deposit box.”
“For what, miss?”
Martina’s eyes glanced down to the suitcases at her feet.
The cute blonde stood, looked down at the large bags, then let her eyes roll back up to Martina. “Are those full of … something?”
Glancing back at them, Marti said, “Yes.”
“Well, then you’ll need to rent several …” The blonde studied her.
“I’d rather not divide the contents …”
“Well, then if it’s the suitcases themselves, you want in it, we could rent you a locker in the main vault. The lockers are a hundred dollars a month. Of course, that includes the insurance.”
“Insurance?” Marti glared.
“Yes, for any losses that may occur, up to one million dollars.”
“Losses?” This sent a chill through Martina. “I thought that’s what banks were for, to prevent losses occurring.”
“Well, yes. But we don’t know what those suitcases contain. I mean it could be anything. And the value of it may be disputed … That is, if there was a loss, of course.”
Tiring of this quickly, no longer concerned with the insurance, Martina said, “Will I have the key?”
“Yes, of course. Everything is the same as a safety deposit box, except you won’t be able to enter that vault personally. Someone will need to bring your bags to you, using your key, of course, when you’re ready to retrieve them. And that can only happen during regular banking hours: nine a.m. to three p.m., Monday through Friday.”
Not wanting to drag this out any longer, Martina agreed. “That’s fine.”
“And how long will you need the locker for?”
“That depends,” Martina said. “What happens if my rent runs out, and you can’t locate me?”
“If after a time we can’t reach you at the address or phone number on record, the items are turned over to the state.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Marti said. “And if I pay far in advance, will I receive a refund if picked up early?”
“Of course,” the cute blonde said with a smile.
“Okay,” she said, reaching into her purse, “Then I want it for a hundred months.” She tossed out the ten thousand dollar bundle of hundreds, put there from the safe mere minutes ago.
“But that is over eight years,” the cute blonde said, as if that was forever.
“Eight years, four months, to be exact,” Martina responded.
In filling out the papers, Martina put her parents down as next of kin, with Gloria Gillen as receiver, in case they should pass in the meantime. Taking her key, Martina left the bank satisfied she had done the right thing. At least now half the money was in a safer place.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
On the way back to the Dunes casino, Martina stopped at a jewelry store, bought a charm bracelet, and had the small gold key added to it. She planned to tell Gloria what it was for at a later time. But for now she was concerned about what to do with the remaining nearly six million dollars in the old safe. Some she planned to give to Gloria, if it became necessary for her to leave town again. Virginia Koffee’s trial was scheduled for next month, and God only knows what kind of crowd that would bring to town. Especially with her tentatively scheduled to be a witness again … or so Slade had said. The DA had notified him of that possibility only a week ago.
Coming into the casino, she caught Gloria’s eye again. Gloria then followed her to the kitchen, where Martina planned to make ham sandwiches for everyone.
“I can’t take the suspense anymore,” Gloria said, coming up from behind. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on now?”
“Can you at least wait until tonight?” Martina turned to her. Seeing the anxious look on her face, she then said, “No, I suppose you can’t. Okay, if you insist, then I think it is best you sit down.”
With that, Gloria pushed herself up on a counter and waited patiently while Martina pulled a baked ham from one of the refrigerators and collected a loaf of bread from nearby.
Two minutes later, Gloria’s screams were heard throughout the casino. So blood curdling were they that all twelve women from Gloria’s class came stampeding in, thinking she was in the process of being murdered. Of course, once they saw she was all right, they withdrew their fangs and went about making their own lunch, as they usually did anyway. These were street women, and Martina shuttered to think what may have happened had she really been hurting Gloria.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. Soon thereafter, Slade came bursting into the kitchen, gun drawn. He had been up in his office when the screams echoed through the empty place. Looking about then and seeing everything was normal, he holstered his gun and exited just as rapidly. It was as if he had more urgent things to do than get to the bottom of a non-event.
Then when the dust had settled, and the gals had gone out to the casino with their lunches, Martina cautioned Gloria about telling anyone of what she’d heard. And that included Slade.
“I would never tell him something like that,” Gloria confirmed. “We’re butt buddies, not pen pals.” She laughed at her own funny. “If I did, he’d probably try to borrow some of it from you.”
“Why would he do that?” Marti was curious.
“Why do you think those investors are coming to town?” she said.
When she didn’t continue, Martina said, “Why?”
Gloria took a bite of her sandwich, then talked around it. “It’s because he is in trouble with them. It’s mostly about the cost overruns and construction delays of this place. They’re worried about their investments, I guess.”
“What else? You said mostly …”
“Oh,” Gloria said. “Yeah, well, he needs a million dollars to satisfy the gaming commission before he can open. That is the minimum cash reserves a casino must have on hand, at all times.”
“And he can’t borrow it?”
“Not allowed. The reserves must be un-encumbered. That means he can’t borrow it from a bank.”
“Then the investors are going to have to put it up,” Martina said.
“That’s the stickler. They’re saying they don’t have it, because of the cost overruns.”
“Wow. That sounds like a catch twenty-two,” Martina said. “You know Gloria … I had planned to give you some of that money anyway. If you want to help Slade out, just tell me?”
“Not a chance,” Gloria said. “I found out a long time ago, money and sex don’t mix. Anybody that has ever been there and done that knows better. If something is to happen in that department, you’ll have to do it yourself. The only thing I want between Slade and me at the moment is his willy.” She again laughed at herself giddily.
This time, even Martina thought what she’d said was humorous, and laughed right along. But that didn’t mean she had lost sight of her concern for Slade. However, if she was going to help him, a plan would need to be developed. Once Gloria had returned to her trainees, Marti went upstairs. For hours, then, she paced the floor in her office. Then, once she had a pretty good idea of what Slade must be up against and what could be done about it, she walked down the hall to his office. She began by apologizing for the incident in the kitchen earlier.
“That thing in the kitchen was my fault,” she said. “I hope it didn’t give you acidosis,” she smiled.
“No.” He dropped his pen on the desk and leaned back in the chair. “I needed a break anyway.” He ran a hand over his face, as if distressed.
“Can I help with anything?”
“I wish you could, Martina.”
“Try me. I mean, what is a president for, if she can’t be called on when the chips are down?” Now it was Martina’s turn to laugh at her own, if accidental, joke.
Slade cracked a little smile, but still looked worried. “Okay, I will,” he said. “This is something you ought to know anyway. Sit down, Martina.” He gestured to a chair across the desk from him.
Martina eased herself down, then waited for the same miserable story Gloria had just told her. Aside from a little sugar coating here and there, it was basically the same as hers.
“So you see, without the cash reserve, we can’t open,” Slade said in summation. “And if we can’t open as scheduled, then we must reapply for the license, a process which takes an additional six months to complete. My investors can’t wait that long for a return on their money. They have people they are obligated to as well.”
“And do these investors have ownership?”
“Well, yes and no. There’s nothing in writing. As far as the Gaming Commission is concerned, I am the owner of the Gold Nugget and the Dunes, one hundred percent. Well, make that ninety percent, now that you and Gloria are aboard, for the other ten percent. But the way it was agreed with the investors, they get half of every dollar of profit realized, on everything.”
“So our ten percent actually comes from your fifty percent, correct?”
“No. Not correct,” Slade said. “Since they saw the value in having other legitimate persons aboard as much as I, they agreed to share in that expense. So in actuality, we share in that fifty-fifty … five percent each, so to speak.”
“I see,” Martina said. “But if I’m reading this right, they have no real ownership?”
“Yes, but if there is a profit made on the eventual sale of either or both of the properties, then they share in that as well.”
“So is there a contract to that effect?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“We have a hand shake.” He smiled.
“That’s all?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“Because none is needed.”
“You know, Slade, for a brief time toward the end of my stay in St. Louis, I actually felt as though I had a special bond with Harry Dunbar,” Martina said, never letting her eyes leave his. “I mean, I literally worshiped the ground the man walked on. Oh, Harry had his faults … but who doesn’t. One thing I could count on, though, from Harry, was the truth. Therefore, since you two were cut from the same cloth, I’d like to think that we — you and me — will someday have a similar bond that binds us.”
“I’m sure we will …”
“Wait,” Martina cut in. “I’m not finished.”
“I’m sorry.” Slade gave her a backward wave of the hand, giving her the floor.
“First off, you and I both know the ten percent you gave me and Gloria is in no way shape or form a justifiable expense. So now, would you mind telling me what the real reason was behind that ridiculous move?”
Slade paused for a moment then came straight out with it. “Okay, Martina. I should have known I could never pull the wool over your eyes for long. The initial reason was we needed a couple of genuine people in the company to give it legitimate status. And since it was up to me to find these people, when you two came along, how could I resist? I mean, for the money I got legitimacy, charm, beauty, brains, but most of all, grit. From you both. So no matter what you may think, in my eyes it was a great deal — for the three of us … I mean, I got all that for a lousy ten percent of the profits that may or may not materialize, otherwise. Hell, I couldn’t have located two better people if I’d of used the Pinkertons to flesh you out as possible candidates …” Then, after a long pause under her glare, he said, “Are you satisfied now?”
“You were looking for women all along, weren’t you?”
“Yes. I thought women would be easier to control,” he said, and laughed. “Boy was I mistaken.”
Marti didn’t find the humor in that, and it showed. “I have one more question, if you don’t mind?”
“Shoot!” he said, tossing up his hands.
“Are your partners in any way connected with organized crime?”
“Now you’ve gone overboard, Martina.”
“Not if I’m expected to come up with a cool million dollars, I haven’t.”
“Do you think you can?” Slade was shocked at the possibility.
“No question about it,” Martina said, boldly.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” He leaned toward her.
“Never been more,” she said. “But the only way this will work is if you give your mafia friends the boot.”
“Yeah, well, that may be easier said than done …”
“You just said they were desperate,” she said. “If that’s the case, they ought to sell their share for a song, if that’s the case. At least that is …”
“Sell?” he said. “I never said anything about them selling.”
“Okay, let me put it this way. Why would anyone want to put up the reserve million, while the investors sit back and soak up all the profits thereafter? Somehow, that seems a raw deal. Wouldn’t it be better just to buy them out?”
“Do you know how much money that would take?”
“You said you were into them for three million …”
“Yes, that’s true. But add that to the million we need for the reserve. Now you’re up to four …”
“Do it!” She stood.
“Do it? Do it with whose money?”
“I’ve got it,” Martina said.
“Martina, are you pulling my leg?” He squinted at her. “In all seriousness, can you raise that kind of money? And if so, how long will it take?”
“One … two days, tops,” she lied … but then she hadn’t, really. “That is, if you reach an agreement with them tonight. Saturday is only two days away.”
“Count on it, then.” He stood swiftly and extended a hand.
“Don’t lie to me, Slade. I want your word that when they are gone, they are gone for good. And no more of this hand shake crap. I want the same deal for my investor they had, except in writing. And I want both properties listed as collateral on a note, until the contract is signed.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Martina. But I don’t see as I have any choice in the matter. Okay,” he said, skeptically. “Who do you want the contract made out to include, as investor?”
“Make it to the Gwyn Raizel Charitable Foundation.”
“A foundation. Now that’s interesting.” Slade grabbed a pad and wrote it down. “Who’s this Gwyn Raizel?”
“Let’s just say, she’s a dear old friend.”
“Oh,” he said. “So when will I know if we have a deal?”
“Give me an hour. You may as well draw up the note, while you’re waiting. So that’s ready when the money arrives,” she said. “Then tonight, Gloria and I plan to gussy up and go out on the town. We have some celebrating to do.”
“Celebrating what?” He smiled up to her.
Thinking fast, she said, “Life.”
“Oh,” Slade said. “Just make sure you come through on this thing first, Martina. If not, I may be a dead man by Sunday. I just thought you ought to know, these guys don’t joke around.”
“Just get the deal, Slade,” she said. “The cash will be ready when you are.”
Surely the Honorable Judge Jeremy Beckworth would help with the setting up of the foundation, and other legal matters that may arise. He may even agree to be chairman of the board. And as far as the FBI was concerned, for what reason would they want to continue investigating Slade Brannagan, once the casinos were equally owned by what soon would be a legitimate charitable organization?
“By the way, I haven’t thanked you properly for the Caddy.”
“You like it?”
“With all that horsepower, if it wasn’t titty pink, I’d probably want to take it to bed with me.” She laughed.
Slade chuckled as well, but she could tell his heart wasn’t in it. She figured it best to go call the judge now … get the ball rolling before Slade worked up a heartburn.
“By the way, Martina,” Slade said. “I saw Jamie this morning over at the Gold Nugget. He asked about you.”
“How is he?” Martina asked.
“He’s fine. He just wanted to know if you’d be moving back into your old suite … now that you’re back in town.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Of course I said you wouldn’t be,” he said. “But if you want, Martina, I can have him transferred over to the Motor Court, here at the Dunes, once it’s open for business?”
“I think Jamie is just fine right where he is. Don’t you, Slade?”
“Was that decision based on what’s best for you personally … or for the business?”
“Both,” she said.
“Okay,” he returned. “But, if at any point you change your mind, Martina … it’s your call, okay?”
“Thank you, Slade. It was sweet of you to be concerned,” she said, and turned to leave. She would make the call from the private line in her apartment, then go to locate three briefcases, each with at least enough space to hold a million dollars in cash. She planned to have the three million needed to pay off the investors ready whenever Slade asked for it, even if that was as early as tonight.
“Thank you, Martina,” Slade said, and came around his desk. Reaching her, he opened his arms wide, prepared to pass on a hug.
Martina obliged, knowing full well what it was for. It had to be a great day when she had the wherewithal to save a life without firing a shot … especially when that life promised to produce for the Gwyn Raizel Foundation a lot of money over the coming years. And the profits from that would be generously passed on to the sick and needy. Yes, even the cold and naked, as Jamie had said, would be helped as well.
BOOK THREE
and along came SPIDER
and along came SPIDER III
BY
J. R. WRIGHT
Copyright © 2014 by J. R. WRIGHT / DKW BOOKS
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
To Sherlock with Love
Las Vegas, Nevada - March, 1956
CHAPTER ONE
Only weeks before the Virginia Koffee murder trial was set to begin, Martina thought it may be a good idea to disguise her looks if she was to continue working the floor at the casino. To accomplish this in a believable fashion, she felt it necessary to consult a professional. That’s when she began calling around town anonymously in search of the right person. She not only needed a makeup artist, she needed a hairstylist, and a fashion consultant as well. Hopefully all rolled up into the same person.
