‘Well, I can’t see what all the fuss is about,’ Lex announced blithely. He could tell that the fact he’d picked poker up so quickly and so easily was annoying Jesse, and he was determined to get as much mileage out of the petty victory as he possibly could. ‘This game is so painfully simple that we might as well sit around playing snap and have done with it.’
To Lex’s gratification, Jesse’s mouth fell open and the cowboy gaped at him like a landed fish. ‘Snap?’ he managed at last. ‘ Snap? Here’s a piece of advice I’ll give you for free, kiddo, don’t ever make that suggestion to any cowboys you meet in Dry Gulch.’
Poker was a mixture of talent and luck, which was why Lex naturally excelled at it. He was dealt more than his fair share of full houses and straight flushes. And, when he didn’t get a good hand, he was able to calculate the odds of what Jesse had and, that way, always knew whether he should cut his losses or bluff flawlessly.
‘This is so easy it’s not even fun,’ Lex said after about an hour of playing, throwing down the cards as he spoke. ‘I think I’ve got the knack of it now.’
In fact he was being deliberately flippant. The truth was that he could tell already that he was going to enjoy poker. And if there were a few more players at the table then it would be even better.
‘That there was your basic hold ’em,’ Jesse replied almost sulkily. ‘But there’s other variations you’ll have to learn yet. Seven-card stud and five-card draw and Omaha and black vulture poker and-’
‘Fine, we’ll do that later when I have five minutes to spare,’ Lex replied. ‘I’m going to get changed for dinner.’
‘Dinner? Dandy! What are we having?’
‘You aren’t having anything,’ Lex said sternly. ‘You’re staying right here out of sight. You’re supposed to be dead, remember. Look, you do appreciate how important it is that you stay out of sight, don’t you? It’s bad enough that you’re in the hotel as it is. You must not leave this room. Even if the hotel is on fire. Got it?’
Jesse shrugged. ‘Well, I gotta eat some time. I’m a big fella, not a skinny chap like you. I need food.’
‘We’ll both eat from the mini-bar before I go downstairs.’
It was a fortunate thing that everyone already seemed to have decided that Lex was so grief-stricken he was refusing food. It would make it less suspicious when he didn’t eat a single thing that evening. And leaving good food on his plate would be much easier to do if he wasn’t actually hungry. So, before he went downstairs, he and Jesse stuffed their faces on the food that was packed into the mini-bar. There were sandwiches, savoury snacks, chocolate and cake? not to mention the gigantic fruit basket in the living room as a condolence present for Jesse’s being horribly killed. They ate until they could not eat any more.
‘Well, I guess I’ll just go and have myself a little lie down,’ Jesse said once they’d finished. ‘There’s nothing like a snooze after a good meal.’
‘Splendid idea,’ Lex replied over his shoulder as he headed into his own room to get changed. He’d brought a slightly smarter outfit for dinner, which was just as well seeing as how he’d got a copious amount of crumbs over his first one? in addition to a smear of melted chocolate across the collar of his shirt whilst greedily trying to consume a particularly large slice of dark, moist chocolate cake. The grief-stricken impression he was trying to convey may have been very slightly spoilt if he had gone down to the restaurant with chocolate stains all over his clothes.
So he put the black shirt and tie on, brushed his hair and rubbed at his eyes a bit before spending a couple of minutes practising grim, pained, mournful expressions at himself in the bedroom mirror.
‘Gods, I’m good,’ he muttered to himself as he straightened his tie. His face was so pitiful that he almost felt sorry for himself! Lex could pull different facial expressions off at will if the occasion called for it but, wherever possible, he liked to spend a few minutes carefully getting himself into character first. It never did to turn your nose up at preparation simply because you were endowed with a Gods-given talent, and were naturally lucky to boot.
Now that he was ready, he lingered in his bedroom only to rummage around in his bag until he found the handcuffs. Lex’s bag used to belong to the same enchanter he had stolen the ship from. It was a magic bag that was bigger inside than it was out and could be filled with a practically endless supply of stuff without ever seeming to become any heavier. Lex had therefore packed it full of everything and anything that he might ever conceivably need in a Game, scam or theft. He was sure there were handcuffs in there somewhere and, within a couple of minutes of searching, he’d found them.
Concealing them carefully in the palm of his hand, he then wandered into Jesse’s room. The cowboy was? as he had hoped? stretched out on the bed with his arms behind his head and his hat pulled down over his face. This was the very definition of a sitting duck. Poor fool; he was totally unsuspecting. Jesse didn’t even look up when Lex walked in but merely said lazily, ‘Ain’t you gone yet? I thought you’d be down there hobnobbing by now.’
‘I just wanted to stress once again how vital it is that you don’t leave the room this evening,’ Lex said, wandering casually nearer to the bed. ‘Leaving the ship with Lady Luck’s help was one thing but leaving the room could have potentially disastrous consequences for me. You do understand that, don’t you?’
‘Sure, sure,’ the cowboy drawled lazily.
‘Good,’ Lex replied. ‘In that case, I know you won’t mind me taking a little precaution.’
And, in one fluid motion, he leant forwards, snapped one cuff around the cowboy’s wrist and the other around the bedpost.
Jesse tilted his hat back with his free hand, looked at the handcuffs, looked at Lex and said calmly, ‘I sure as hell hope you’ve got the key to those, partner.’
‘It’s probably in my bag somewhere,’ Lex replied. ‘I’ll let you out when I get back. But I don’t trust you any more than you trust me. This works both ways? partner.’
Jesse was clearly annoyed but was trying not to let it show. Lex grinned and said, ‘Crossing me has consequences. My old companion? dear old Montgomery Schmidt, lawyer and nag extraordinaire? learnt that very quickly. I’m sure you will, too. You may not be the brightest button in the box but you’ve got half a brain at least.’
‘You’re too kind,’ Jesse replied.
‘So I’ve been told many times,’ Lex said before flashing the cowboy one last big smile and saying, ‘Have a lovely evening.’ Then he turned on his heel and walked out of the bedroom to head to the dinner downstairs.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The hotel had several restaurants but it was the largest, poshest one? the one with all the vaulted ceilings and crystal? in which they had the welcome dinner. There were name cards at the various tables? each one seating between seven and fifteen people. Lex found himself on one of the largest tables completely surrounded on all sides by wealthy, fat women who were positively weighed down with jewellery. There was simply no doubt about it? finding something suitable to pinch from one of their rooms later would be no trouble whatsoever.
Jeremiah and Lorella were already seated when Lex walked in. He was pleased to note that Jeremiah looked distinctly unhappy and Tess? who was sitting beside him? looked subdued almost to the point of appearing unwell. Lorella didn’t look too happy either. Lady Luck had smugly told Lex that she had been caught by an enchanted dolphin trap almost as soon as she left the galley, right at the very start of the round. The episode had rather taken her down a peg or two.
Lex spent the evening looking suitably morose, pushing the food around his plate and quietly resisting the attempts of the clucking women all around him who were trying to entice him to eat.