Sheldon, Sidney - Memories of Midnight by Sheldon Sidney

Author:Sheldon, Sidney
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Published: 2006-04-23T03:11:50+00:00

Chapter 12

There were four men in the hotel room besides Tony Rizzoli and Victor Korontzis.

'I want you to meet my friend Otto Dalton,' Rizzoli said.

'Victor Korontzis.'

The two men shook hands.

Rizzoli looked at the others quizzically. 'I don't believe I've

met these other gentlemen.'

Otto Dalton made the introductions.

Terry Breslauer from Detroit . . . Marvin Seymour from Houston . . . Sal Prizzi from New York.'

Victor Korontzis nodded to the men, not trusting his voice.

Otto Dalton was in his sixties, thin, grey-haired, affable. Perry

Breslauer was younger, but his face was drawn and pinched.

Marvin Seymour was a thin, mild-looking man. Sal Prizzi was a

huge man, built like an oak tree, with powerful limbs for arms.

He had small, mean eyes, and his face had been badly scarred

with a knife.

Rizzoli had briefed Korontzis before the game. These guys have a lot of money. They can afford to lose big. Seymour owns

an insurance company. Breslauer has auto dealerships all over

the United States, and Sal Prizzi is head of a big union in New

York.

Otto Dalton was speaking. 'All right, gentlemen. Shall we get

started? The white chips are five dollars, the blue are ten, the

red are twenty-five, and the black ones are fifty. Let's see the

color of your money.'

Korontzis pulled out the five hundred dollars that Tony Rizzoli

had loaned him. No, he thought, not loaned, given. He looked

over at Rizzoli and smiled. What a wonderful friend Rizzoli

is.

The other men were taking out large bank rolls.

Korontzis felt a sudden sense of concern. What if something

went wrong, and he lost the five hundred dollars? He shrugged

it off. His friend Tony would take care of it. But if he won. Korontzis was filled with a sudden feeling of euphoria.

The game began.

It was dealer's choice. The stakes were small at first, and there

were games of five-card stud, seven-card stud, draw poker, and

high-low.

In the beginning the wins and losses were spread evenly, but

slowly the tide began to turn.

It seemed that Victor Korontzis and Tony Rizzoli could do no wrong. If they had fair cards, the others had worse cards. If

the others had good hands, Korontzis and Rizzoli had better

hands.

Victor Korontzis could not believe his luck. At the end of the

evening he had won almost two thousand dollars. It was like a

miracle.

'You guys were sure lucky,' Marvin Seymour grumbled.

till say,' Breslauer agreed. 'How about giving us another chance tomorrow?'

till let you know,' Rizzoli said.

When they had gone, Korontzis exclaimed, 'I can't believe it.

Two thousand dollars!'

Rizzoli laughed. 'That's chicken feed. I told you. Otto is one

of the slickest mechanics in the business. Those guys are dying

to get another crack at us. Are you interested?'

'You bet.' There was a broad grin on Korontzis' face. 'I think

I just made a joke.'

The following night, Victor Korontzis won three thousand dollars.

'It's fantastic!' he told Rizzoli. 'Don't they suspect anything?'

'Of course not. I'll bet you they ask us to raise the stakes

tomorrow. They think they're going to win their money back.

Are you in?'

'Sure, Tony. I'm in.'

As they were sitting down to play, Sal Prizzi said, 'You know,

we're the big losers so far.

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