A Joyful Noise (Kansas Crossroads Book 14) by Amelia C. Adams

Author:Amelia C. Adams [Adams, Amelia C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-10-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Chet rumpled his clothes up a little bit and then walked the few blocks to the saloon, taking a different way than he had before. It was about half past noon. He wanted to catch the card player he’d spoken with before, but he didn’t want to seem too anxious.

“So, you came back,” the man said when Chet entered the saloon. “I wondered if you would.”

“Found myself a way to spend a couple of pleasant hours, but the call of the cards brought me back,” Chet replied. He pulled out a chair at one of the tables and sat down. “I never heard your name.”

“That’s because I never spoke it.” The man sat across from Chet and idly picked up a deck of cards that rested on the table. “Most people call me Valdez. If you work for me, it’s Mr. Valdez. If you’re married to me, it’s Lazy Good-for-Nothing.” He laughed at his own joke as he shuffled. As if emerging from the woodwork, three more men sat at the table, wordlessly accepting their cards as he dealt.

Chet glanced at the men as he picked up his own cards. None of them were the men he sought, but he hadn’t expected them to be. He was using this game to get information. He figured his suspects would be tucked away until that night, judging how late they’d been up the night before.

“Are there rooms for rent upstairs?” he asked as he rearranged the cards in his hand.

“Only under special circumstances,” Valdez replied. “You can stay at the Brody or you can stay at the little boarding house up the street there, if you want to stay on this side of town. There are other places if you go down a few blocks.”

“What are those special circumstances?” Chet asked. “I like staying close to my cards—is that special enough?”

One of Valdez’s friends laughed. “Not hardly. You gotta be in good with one of the girls.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.” Chet discarded one and took a new one. “Does that mean, lots of cash, or does that mean knowing them for a long time? Like a long-lost buddy or something like that?”

“Money talks. It always talks,” Valdez said. He discarded two, but didn’t seem any more pleased with his new selection.

“Well, once we’ve played a few hands, maybe I’ll see if my winnings will buy me a room upstairs.” Chet pretended to study his cards, even though he knew full well what he held. “That Brody place looked a little too sedate for my tastes when I walked past.”

“Then the boarding house is definitely out of the question. It’s run by an older widow woman who sleeps with a pistol under her pillow, from what I hear,” said the man to Chet’s left.

“See? I know where I’m not wanted.” Chet laid his cards out on the table. “I expect one of you has something better?”

The other players shook their heads, and Chet smirked as he pulled the pot toward himself.

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