Card Sharks

this?'

'Aw, heck, no. I got to live around here.'

Matt dropped the towel over the stuff. 'Why not the cops?'

'He said the fire chief is in on it,' said Peter. 'Cops might be, too. And he's just a kid.'

'And a joker. All right, I'll check it out. And I keep this. Now leave me alone, all right?'

I slid out of the booth, glad to get away from him. Peter thanked him. Out on the street again, though, even Peter let out a long breath of relief. Then we started to walk.

'In a sense, he's taking advantage of you,' said Peter. 'If that proves out, he'll get lots of credit that should go to you.'

'It's okay with me,' I said.

Tonight was the night. Before six o'clock, I started walking toward the Bowery on the route Flo had taken before, hoping to run into her on the way. I didn't see her. Starting to worry, I paced up and down the sidewalk, peering closely at every cab. Six o'clock passed. I paced more frantically.

When I saw Jube the Walrus down the block on his regular run, I ran after him. 'Hey, Jube! Jube!'

'Evenin', Chop-Chop. Have you heard the one about — '

'Look, Jube, I'm in a hurry. That girl I was with yesterday — have you seen her?'

'No, Chop-Chop, I'm afraid not. You're expecting her, eh?'

'Yeah! And it's important — she wouldn't miss this!'

'No? Well, this isn't her part of town. I was surprised to see you with her. I never thought she'd come to Jokertown.'

'You mean you know her?'

'Not personally, of course. From her picture in the paper.'

'In the paper? Look — do you know who she is?'

'Whoa! Don't you?'

'Well — no. I just met her.'

'Chop-Chop, she's Fleur van Renssaeler. Her daddy is Henry van Renssaeler, the Congressman.'

'He is? Uh — do you know where they live?'

Jube didn't know, but he was able to find out. I suppose it might have been in the society pages of an old paper or something. He told me to meet him back there on the corner in fifteen minutes, which I did. Henry van Renssaeler lived with his daughter and her two older brothers, Brandon and Henry, Jr., in a penthouse apartment. I never did find out why Jube bothered to help me. Looking back, I suppose he resented her father's attitude toward the wild card.

I wasn't going to go after Flo — Fleur — alone, though. First I hurried over to Biff's. Cheetah and Troll were hanging around there at that hour as usual. Tonight the place was full of other jokers, though, all talking about the fire. After last night, Cheetah and Troll were up for more adventure. Even back in those days, Troll had a sense of what you might call joker identity. When I got them aside, I told them I had to visit the home of a well-to-do nat girl and was real scared. They agreed to come along. So we headed uptown on the subway.

The apartment building was in just the kind of fancy area of New York you might have expected. In those days, you know, even rich people didn't have the kind of security you see nowadays. They didn't need it then.

We just walked inside and went over to the elevator. This young guy in a gray uniform was sitting there on a stool, reading a comic book. His eyes got real wide when he saw us, but he just took us up without a word.

I was nervous when I knocked on the penthouse door. The little peephole darkened as someone looked out. Then I heard a muffled gasp and footsteps and voices inside.

Finally the door was yanked open. This stiff, arrogant man in a suit and tie was glaring down at me. He had to be Fleur's father, Henry van Renssaeler.

'Is Fleur here?' I sounded like a kid who wanted her to play.

'Get out of here!' He jerked his head toward the elevator door. 'You filthy….' When he looked up and saw Troll behind me, his mouth just dropped open.

Behind him in the foyer, I could see a uniformed black maid and a couple of other servants staring at us. Then Henry swung the door to slam it in my face. Before it shut, though, Troll reached over my head and gripped the doorframe with one giant, warty hand. The door banged off his hand and bounced open again.

I felt another very large hand shove me forward, inside the apartment. Cheetah, laughing loudly, danced past me to a small table and ripped a telephone cord out of the wall. The servants huddled in a corner, where Cheetah held them by showing his teeth, waving his arms, and making his favorite chimp noises.

I turned. Troll ducked inside the doorway, slammed the door shut, and leaned down toward Henry, trapping him against the wall with a green arm as thick as my waist. Henry was sweating heavily, speechless.

'Where's Fleur?' I demanded.

Her father glanced down at me, but he didn't speak. I couldn't tell if he was being defiant or was just too scared. Anyhow, I turned around and yelled her name.

'Here!' Her voice was distant and muffled, but a knocking sound was much sharper.

I rat down a long carpeted hallway. 'Fleur! It's Chuck!'

'I'm locked in! Over here!' She pounded on her door again.

I fumbled with the knob, but it required a key. 'Troll!'

His footsteps pounded down the hall toward me.

'Look out, Fleur! Back up!' I stepped aside and Troll simply crashed into the door, smashing it down.

Fleur stood in the middle of the room, staring at Troll in horror.

'Cone on!' I darted inside and grabbed her arm. 'Have you got the money? For tonight?'

'No I couldn't get to the bank.' She snatched up her purse.

I dragged her out and pulled her down the hall.

Chetah was still jumping around in front of the servants, but Henry had started toward us. He stopped, though, when he saw Troll coming back. Fleur looked away from him as I drew her past him toward the front door.

'Whore!' Henry yelled. 'Filthy whore — joker's whore!'

We stopped at her bank in the neighborhood. She acted like she was in a trance, quivering and sweating but doing everything she had to do. Once she had the cash, we took Fleur back to Jokertown on the subway, of course. I kept an eye on her wristwatch. We would just barely make her appointment.

Back in Jokertown, I thanked Cheetah and Troll. They took the hint and got lost. I led Fleur quickly up the sidewalk in the waning light. She clung to me, crying quietly.

'What happened? Did your father find out?'

Her voice was tight. 'Not exactly. But he was real mad that I was out the other night — he checked up on me and found out that I wasn't at my girlfriend's after all. When I started to leave yesterday, he locked me in.'

'Now I've really done it — he saw you with jokers.'

When we reached the rear of the club, Waffle was pacing restlessly by the back door. He looked like a human-shaped cookie cut-out of a waffle in both texture and color, and in his very flat shape. He wore a white t- shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his brown, waffled shoulders, and blue dungarees with the cuffs rolled up over white socks and dirty tennis shoes.

'Gimme the dough,' said Waffle.

She handed me five one-hundred dollar bills. I held them out.

Waffle snatched them. 'All right, follow me.'

We followed him. He led us up a back alley and then opened a small unmarked door. He went inside first. This door opened on a narrow hallway. I shut it behind us.

Waffle opened an interior door. 'They're here, Doc.'

The elderly man who appeared was of Chinese descent, short and stocky like Peter Choy, with receding black hair and a deeply lined face. He wore a long white lab coat. His otherwise human face had a long duck beak. 'I'm just Doc,' he said calmly. 'My nickname is Peking Doc. You don't need to tell me your name.'

'Hi,' said Fleur, in a whisper, as she stared at his beak.