I imagined Will’s rage at hearing I’d lost all his merkles. He’d probably shift into a bear and eat me on the spot. And I wouldn’t actually blame him. At least it’d be a quick way to go.
Mouth dry, I split my cards into two hands of five and two—I had a pair of twos I put in the two-card hand facedown in front, a pair of nines in the five-card hand in back. They were decent cards: not great, not terrible.
Still, a misstep now and I wouldn’t have any more money to play with. Either I’d live to see another round, or I’d lose everything. I gulped and tried to breathe, though I felt like I might be sick.
29
FIFI
Bora Kang waited for us all to form our hands, then flipped her own cards. As she arranged them into her own two hands, Fifi yapped. She’s got a rounded red card with a lady on it, then a sharp pointy black thing. Well, I think black… I am color blind. And then a—
The other players shot the little dog hard looks, and Bora Kang shushed her pup. I pinched the bridge of my nose. Kinda defeated the purpose of telling me her cards when I could clearly see them for myself.
Fifi let out one more yip, which earned her a sharp, “No!” from Bora. The dog whined and flattened her ears. I’m in trouble.
Yeah, Fifi, you and me both.
I held my breath until Bora Kang set out her cards, then breathed a sigh of relief. I’d lost the five-card hand but beat her king and ten two-card hand with my pair. Bora Kang went around the circle, flipping our hands and doling out winnings, or taking them for the house.
When she got to me, my one loss and one win led to a push, and she left my pouch of coins alone, moving on to ponytail. He, to my secret glee, lost and let out a string of muttered obscenities.
I raised a brow. “Wow. A gracious loser, too.”
He growled at me, but I ignored him, keeping my gaze on Bora Kang, a smug grin on my face. Which fell as soon as I realized I had to do this all over again. I could pull out now and ensure Will had his money… but I’d have to leave without any information to help Peter solve the case.
Bora Kang finished, scooped up the remaining cards, then gazed placidly around the table. “Antes?”
In a split-second decision, I left the pouch of coins out on the table. I was in for another round. Maybe I could just win on my own merit? I bit my lip. Not likely. Coast, maybe, but execute my plan? Doubtful. I’d hoped to win big with Fifi’s help and offer Bora Kang back some of the house money for information on Davies.
The next few rounds seemed to stretch on forever—probably because I was hardly breathing the whole time. I pushed for a few, then won a few in a row, then lost a few until I was back down to Will’s original five thousand merkles, then won a few more. But I wasn’t any closer to getting information.
I’d even tried flushing out information by asking buzzcut if he was a cop. He’d shot me a hard look, and Bora Kang assured me her gambling hall prided itself on discretion. And that was the end of all conversation.
I bounced my leg. At the moment, I had twenty thousand merkles in my possession—more than I’d seen in years. I could walk now, give Will his money and then some, and even keep some for myself. I thought of Peter and all he’d done for me—if I left now, I wouldn’t be any closer to solving this Davies thing or making sure Peter kept his job.
A plan suddenly occurred to me. It was a quirk of Pai Gow that players could take turns being the house. Which meant, if I played as the house, the others would all play against me. I could win big, and leverage the money to get answers. But I’d have to risk everything I’d won… including all of Will’s money. I gulped, and when Bora Kang offered me the chance to be the house (which all the others had declined), I nodded. “I’ll be house.”
She blinked at me, the only movement that revealed her surprise, but the other four men jerked their heads up and stared. I squared my shoulders and pretended their reactions hadn’t shaken my faith in this being a good idea. Ponytail started laughing, and I had the urge to kick his shin under the table. “Good luck.”
I sneered at him. “Thanks.” I thought of my words to Will. No risk, no reward… I shoved my mountain of gold coins forward. My beautiful, shiny coins. I let out a little whimper.
Bora Kang still dealt the cards out, but the energy shifted. Everyone, including her, was playing against me now. I had to beat them all to amass the kind of fortune I’d need to bribe Bora Kang for information… especially if she had a reputation for discretion.
I gulped as I gathered my pile of cards. The others looked theirs over and I used the distraction to let out a few whines.
Hey! Fifi!
The little dog looked up, ears perked.
I woofed and pressed a fist to my mouth, pretending it was a cough when sunglasses looked over at me. I need you to bring me some cards from the discard pile.
Bora Kang had dealt all the cards out and set the extras aside. I needed those to fill in my hand in case the ones I had weren’t great. It was a riskier cheat, but hey, I was desperate.
Fifi wagged her tail and yapped. But I got in trouble last time I helped you.
Ponytail
