When they left Palio, Kat said she was going to play some quarter slots to calm her nerves. Jimmy said he’d see her at the game. Armed with the names she had given him, he went to see if he could locate the other posse members. Coincidentally he ran into someone else he wanted to talk to.
He was entering the elevator court when an elevator opened and Sabine Chevalier stepped out. They both stopped short.
“I guess you want to talk to me, oui?” she said after a few seconds.
“Why would I want to talk to you?” he asked. “All you did was throw me to the cops. Why would you think I’d support your alibi, Sabine?”
She shrugged. “I thought you were a gentleman.”
“That’s funny,” he said. “In the past when I’ve lied about having sex with a woman she’s been upset.”
“Just a—how do you say?—little white lie.”
Her makeup was impeccable, her complexion clear and smooth, her expression serene and beautiful. She didn’t look like a woman who would slide a blade into a man, but Jimmy had known a lot of violent men who didn’t look like criminals.
She also didn’t look like a woman who was worried that her alibi had fallen apart.
“I’m curious,” he said. “Why’d they let you walk after I blew your story?”
“They have no evidence to arrest me on,” she said. “For now, all they have are suspicions.”
Jimmy had to move aside as another elevator opened and several people got out.
“Can we go somewhere and talk about this?” he asked.
“What is there to talk about?” she asked. “I am not mad at you.”
“You’re not mad at me?” he asked.
“Oh, come, come,” she said. “I saw the way those detectives were looking at me. If you had lied, you would have been the man to them. And you want to be the man, Jimmy, n’est-ce pas?”
“It’s funny, but I usually prefer having done the work before I get the credit.”
“And you think sleeping with me would have been work?” she asked with a smile.
“I think we should go someplace and talk,” he said, as they had to move aside again to allow more people to leave an elevator.
“I really do not think we have anything to talk about, Jimmy.”
“Oh no? How about whether or not you killed Tim Bennett?”
“I did not,” she said. “End of conversation.”
“Then why did you lie about being with me?”
“Look,” she said, starting to get annoyed, “I will apologize to you for that, okay? But I do not want to talk about this.”
“I don’t either,” he said, “at least, not in an elevator court.”
She glared at him.
“You are not going let this drop, are you?”
“No.”
She took a deep breath and said, “Oh, all right. I was on my way to the Pool Café. Come with me, if you wish.”
“Lead the way.”
“I like being outside,” Sabine said as they sat down beneath an umbrella. “I do not get to sit in the sun much.”
He didn’t comment on the fact that she wasn’t sitting in the sun now. It was a beautiful spot, however, overlooking not only the pool but also the Bellagio courtyards.
A waitress came and took their order. Just coffee for him; coffee, a chocolate croissant, and assorted cheeses for her.
“I watch what I eat when I am home,” she said, when she had the croissant in her hand, “not when I am away.”
“So what was your relationship with Bennett?” Jimmy asked.
“That creep?” She made a disgusted face. “I did not have a relationship with him.”
“Okay, what was your connection?”
“Phiff! I did not have one.”
“Then why do the cops think you killed him?”
“They do not think I killed— Look, they are only partially sure that a woman did it. They are talking to a lot of the women players.”
“Well,” Jimmy said, “none of them claimed they were sleeping with me at the time. Why did you?”
“The truth?”
“That would be refreshing.”
“I panicked,” she said, echoing Kat’s reason. “I thought if I told them I was in bed with someone, they would believe it. Then I tried to think of who I would want to be in bed with.”
“And you came up with me.”
“Oui.”
“I’m flattered,” he said, “but could it simply be that we’d had dinner the night before and I was the first one to come to mind?”
“That could be, I guess.”
“Less flattering,” he said, “but more probable.”
“Honestly,” she said, “most men would be flattered and not try to reason it away.”
“Believe me,” he said, “I often wish I was like most men. It would save me a lot of time and trouble to just go along, fat, dumb, and happy.”
“Well,” she said, “not so fat.”
“Thanks.”
“Look, Jimmy,” she said, “I admit I lied and it was foolish—and I am sorry if I inconvenienced you—but I did not kill Tim Bennett.”
“If you didn’t, then who do you think did?”
“Take your pick,” she said. “When Tim came on the scene he was obnoxious. After he won a bracelet, he was even worse.”
“What about his buddies?”
“His posse? Why would any of them kill him? He was the star of the group, getting them all their attention.”
“Jealousy?”
“Without him no one would know who the hell they are,” she said. “Does not sound like a motive for murder to me.” She leaned forward and asked, “Are we playing detective? Am I your—how do you say it—moll?”
“That’s what you’d be if we were playing gangsters,” he said.
“Oh. Well, c’est la vie.” She sat back in her chair. “How do you stand in the tournament?”
“I’m doing okay.”
“This whole business ruined my concentration yesterday,” she said. “I sat out most of the hands the rest of the night.”
Which was the difference between a pro and an amateur. Sitting out hands was what Kat should have done as well.
“I know it’s easy for me to say since I’m not a suspect,” he said, “but don’t think about it today. If you keep looking around for the police to come and get you, you’ll be knocked out of the game in no time.”
“I am a suspect.” It was a statement, not a question.
“I guess so.”
She thought a moment, then said, “All things considered, I’d rather be a moll.”
Later, when he thought back, it would still seem odd to Jimmy that the sound of the broken glass had come last. First came the splash, as the body hit the water in the pool. It sounded more like a sack of cement striking the ground, but the accompanying splash made it clear that something had struck the water.
Next came the shower of glass, with the sun glinting off it so that it looked like someone had sprinkled the pool area with fairy dust.
And that was when they all heard the tinkling sound of glass, which—for a moment—increased the whole fairy-dust image because it sounded more like bells.
Then it all came together and the horror of what had happened struck them.
“Oh, my God!” Sabine cried out.
Most people around the pool were frozen. Jimmy was one of the few who left his place and went to the pool to see what exactly had happened.
First he saw the body. It had plummeted to the bottom when it first hit and was now floating back to the top, ribbons of red streaming from it. But it took a moment for him to realize it was blood. Suddenly, there was screaming everywhere. Horrified guests began running about aimlessly. But Jimmy didn’t hear any of that. It was all dull background noise to him.
Then, while most of the others were still watching the body, he saw three things floating on top of the water. Instinctively—although not on a conscious level—he knew they had come from the dead man’s pocket.
Two of them were floating faceup: the jack of spades and the king of clubs. He knew that the card facing down would turn out to be the queen of hearts.
And he knew that the man in the water would turn out to be a poker player.