The Big Gamble by Michael Mcgarrity

Author:Michael Mcgarrity
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Police Procedural, Police, Police - New Mexico - Santa Fe, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Detective, Fathers and sons, General, Kevin (Fictitious character), Casinos, Mystery fiction, Santa Fe (N.M.), Thrillers, Kerney, Fiction, Police chiefs
ISBN: 9780451410993
Publisher: Onyx
Published: 2003-08-05T07:38:58+00:00

Mansion was the only word that came to mind when Clayton arrived at Rojas’s house. He’d never seen anything like it. The semicircular driveway was paved with brick, and an attached six-car garage had a second story accessed by an exterior stairway. The entryway, illuminated by soft lights, was a series of arches under a covered portal. Above the portal four double-sash doors opened onto a roofed balcony with a lacy cast-iron railing. The place looked like a Spanish villa.

Motion-sensitive lights came on as Clayton walked up the pathway to the house and Luis Rojas greeted him at the door. Clayton went through the formality of identifying himself and showing his shield.

“By all means, come in, Deputy,” Rojas said pleasantly. A couple of inches taller than Clayton, Rojas wore a lightweight crewneck sweater and a pair of casual slacks.

In the living room Rojas directed Clayton to a sitting area in front of a window that looked out on a lighted landscaped interior courtyard with a fountain.

“How can I help you?” he asked.

“Have you seen Harry Staggs today?” Clayton asked.

“No, but he called me to apologize for any trouble he might have caused. I told him he’d done the right thing by talking to the police. After all, a man has been murdered. That’s far more serious than getting busted for playing an illegal game of chance. Are you here to arrest me?” Rojas smiled charmingly. “I must tell you my reputation will suffer if you do.”

Clayton shook his head. “That’s not my intention.”

“What a relief,” Rojas said with a chuckle, as though it was all a big joke.

“Did Staggs tell you what his plans were?”

“I didn’t know Harry had any plans, other than to obey all the gambling laws in New Mexico. He told me you’d shut down his operation.”

“We think he’s left Ruidoso,” Clayton replied.

“I wouldn’t have any idea where he might have gone,” Rojas said.

“Do you know a man named Johnny Jackson?”

Rojas shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t. I’m not very helpful, am I?”

“Do you know this woman?” Clayton said, holding out the blonde’s photograph.

Rojas took it. “She doesn’t look familiar.”

“You were seen with her at the Ruidoso airport.”

Rojas didn’t blink. “That’s not possible.” He rose from his chair. “Excuse me for a minute. I think I can clear up the confusion.”

He came back in the company of a strikingly attractive blonde. “Deborah, this is Deputy Sheriff Istee. He wants to ask you a few questions. Deborah is my girlfriend.”

Deborah smiled at Clayton with pretty blue eyes, shook his hand, and answered all his questions. Yes, she’d flown to Ruidoso with Rojas. No, she wasn’t at the poker game. She’d spent that night at Rojas’s vacation home, and stayed over an additional day after Luis had returned to El Paso.

“Did you go anywhere, see anybody, do anything?” Clayton asked.

“I took several hikes by myself,” Deborah replied. “But I didn’t see anybody. Other than that, I didn’t go out at all.”

“How did you get back to El Paso?”

“I drove Luis’s SUV.

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