Banko shut his eyes like he was about to faint. He was usually not prone to such dramatics.
“He was cheating,” Valentine added.
Banko’s eyes snapped open. “You can prove it?”
“Absolutely. Did Galloway file a beef?”
“He did better. He called Nancy Pulaski, the chairperson of our illustrious Casino Control Commission. They’re old pals. Pulaski has asked me to appear in front of the commission tomorrow morning, and explain what the hell’s going on.”
Banko looked worried. The CCC was typical of the modern American representative committee. The board consisted of two high-powered attorneys, one heir to a pharmaceutical fortune, the owner of a car dealership, and Nancy Pulaski, the wife of a well-connected heart surgeon. The fact that none of them knew anything about casinos had made them a perfect rubber stamp for the governor.
“Want me to go with you?” Valentine asked.
“First tell me why you arrested Galloway,” Banko said.
“I’ve put in several new procedures in the surveillance control room. One of them is called JDLR. It stands for Just Doesn’t Look Right. If a player does something that looks suspicious, we rewind the video, and watch it until we determine what the JDLR is.
“Usually, it’s something innocent. Or, it can be cheating we’ve never seen before. In Galloway’s case, a camera caught him spilling a drink on his cards. It looked rehearsed. Then I noticed that Galloway had won a lot of money.”
“How much?”
“Five grand.”
“Couldn’t it have been luck?”
“That’s what I first thought. Galloway came back the next night, and we taped him. Sure enough, he spilled his drink on the cards again.”
“How much did he win this time?”
“Six grand.”
“You figure out what he’s doing?”
“Not right away. But I knew he wasn’t drunk. It was his first drink of the night.”
“So you let him go.”
“Couldn’t prove anything, so I had to. Then he came in yesterday, and spilled his drink again. And I nailed it.”
Banko hunched his shoulders and leaned over his desk. For all his shortcomings, he still took tremendous pleasure out of arresting people who broke the law. “Tell me.”
“Galloway always played two hands,” Valentine said. “When he got dealt baby cards in both hands, he spilled his drink, and took the cards out of play.”
“Baby cards?”
“The two through six. Those cards favor the house in blackjack. If a cheater depletes the deck of baby cards, he alters the odds in his favor.”
“How many baby cards did Galloway take out?”
“Eight. It gave him an unbeatable edge.”
“Why didn’t the casino replace the cards?”
“They should have. It’s standard procedure in most casinos.”
“But not Resorts.”
“No, sir.”
Banko leaned back in his chair, the tension melting from his face. He had not disguised his dislike for the CCC over the past eighteen months. They had invaded his turf, and not once consulted him. “Why
“Commission rules. I guess they think it slows the game down.”
“Think we should get that rule changed?”
“Yes, sir.”
The office door opened, and Banko’s secretary came in. She was a Polish woman named Sabina who’d worked for Banko for many years. It was no secret that she disliked practically everyone, and she glanced impatiently at the clock on the wall, then frowned at her boss and walked out. Valentine guessed Banko’s next appointment was waiting.
“We’re meeting the CCC in their offices,” Banko said. “I’ll pick you up at your house at seven-thirty tomorrow morning.”
“Do I need to bring anything? Valentine asked.
“Just wear a suit,” the sergeant said.
Valentine found Doyle waiting for him in the lobby. The Pinto was in the shop, and Doyle had driven him to work. His son had suggested burning the Pinto to collect the insurance. Valentine wanted to burn the car just to put it out of its misery.
Standing with Doyle was a woman dressed in a leather mini-skirt, red leggings and a fake fur draped
