Chapter 19

 

 

At ten o’clock the next morning, Red has just finished speaking with Joe Amato, and gotten his okay and assurances that the other casino managers will go along with what he’s trying to do and is now trying to get his act together regarding what he wants to accomplish at the noon meeting. He reaches for pen and paper to make some notes, but gets no further as his phone rings. It’s Rex Spaulding. He was able to convince the CEOs at Bank Alpinum and Bank Pasche that the transfers that were made were fraudulent. They transferred the funds that were in the accounts the Chameleon had opened into other accounts that Rex maintained with them and closed the unauthorized accounts.

 

“Fortunately, Red, the Chameleon hadn’t transferred the money out to another financial institution and then repeatedly re-transferred it out to other banks until the funds got lost in the shuffle. They are conducting an intense investigation into how the Chameleon was able to open these accounts in the first place and will keep me informed as to their progress. Until now, they were confident that their firewall configuration was impregnable. Has Ray Cantor heard anything yet from our bank there in Bettendorf?”

 

“I should be getting an update from Ray later this morning.”

 

“Well, when he gets word that a new account has been opened and stricter security measures put in place that are satisfactory to him, have him call me and I’ll arrange for the funds to be transferred back to the U. S. Hopefully, this will be done before the day is over, so I won’t have to juggle other funds to keep you operational.”

 

“Will do, Rex. While I’ve got you on the line, I want to tell you what I’m up to regarding laying another trap for the Chameleon.”

 

Rex listens quietly while Red recounts what he, Bill, Popeye and Jillian had discussed in their meeting yesterday and briefs him on how he met Jillian and why he’s asked her to get involved. When he finishes, there’s nothing but the sound of breathing at the other end of the line. Red’s figuring Rex doesn’t like the idea and is going to tell him to forget it. Instead, the silence is broken by a soft chuckle and Rex asking, “Is this Jillian really that much of a looker? All I get to look at around here is a bunch of guys and my computer. Maybe I should change my line of work. It appears that a casino manager’s perks are a hell of a lot better than mine.”

 

“Does this mean that you don’t mind if I go ahead with my plan?”

 

“Red, I told you when I hired you that I would back you up on everything you wanted to do to stop this guy. I haven’t changed my mind, but you haven’t answered my question. Is this gal really that attractive?”

 

“Rex, you’ve got to see her to believe it when I say she’s got any movie star I’ve ever seen beaten by a mile. She’s very beautiful and on top of that she’s very intelligent and a very classy lady.”

 

“Hmmm. It sounds like you have more than a tactical interest in this young lady. Stay alert lad. You might find yourself going down a road with no U turns or turn offs.” Chuckling more loudly, he hangs up.

 

Thoughts of Jillian and the humorous warning that Rex laid on him keep distracting him to the point that he’s about to take a walk on deck to clear his head so he can get back to planning for the noon meeting, but is stopped by the phone ringing again.

 

This time it’s Ray Cantor calling to tell him that the necessary changes and safeguards have been put into place at their local bank and Red passes on Rex’s instructions and urges him to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.

 

“Well, we’ve been able to avoid calamity this time, but I wonder if we’ll be as successful when we face the next disaster the Chameleon is sure to throw our way. This guy is beginning to really bug me!”

 

As Red steps out on deck, he sees Popeye waving for him to hold up as he approaches from the Floating Fantasies stern. Waiting for him by the deck’s railing, Red glances up at the deck above him and spots Jillian looking down at him. “Hi, Red. I’ve been walking all over this ship for hours and now realize why Rex Spaulding is so enamored by it. The Floating Fantasies is an amazing creation. The craftsmen were worth every penny of the fifteen million dollars he paid to spawn her.”

 

“I’m sure Rex would be ecstatic to hear you say that.” As Popeye comes up along side him he says, “Enjoy. Perhaps this evening you will allow me to share some of the culinary charms the Floating Fantasies has to offer. Do you have any plans?”

 

“No I don’t and that would be a great way to spend my evening. What time?”

 

“How about meeting me here at eight o’clock? After dinner, we could check out some of the entertainment being offered. After all, this is what brought you onboard in the first place, right?”

 

“It’s a date. I’ll see you at eight.” Smiling at the unintended rhyme, she turned and walked away.

 

Turning to look at Popeye, he sees this big grin and hears this deep rumble of laughter. “Well, well, well. It looks like our casino manager has found an interesting way to deal with his troubles. I’m sorry to put a damper on the moment, but I want to get your thoughts back to the Chameleon and tell you about some things I’ve done to beef up security around here.

 

“To prevent any attempt to sabotage our engines, to mess with our navigation systems, to punch holes in our hull, to interfere with communications between different areas of the ship or ship and shore or to tamper with the food being served at any of the restaurants, I’ve arranged for some of my retired merchant marine buddies to come onboard and keep on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. From all outward appearances they will appear to be guests, but they are well trained and experienced in how to recognize potential trouble. You’d be amazed at the type of smuggling related scenarios that take place in the life of a merchant marine.

 

“I’m keeping Sentinel Services out of the loop just in case our boy is connected with them in some way and using my buddies won’t tip the Chameleon off that we might be on to him being or posing as a security guard.”

 

“I like what you’ve done, Popeye. This should force him to try something even more bizarre, more risky, as we’re closing all the roads to the more obvious, readily available, practical means of raising havoc. Be sure to let Bill know what you’ve done. I’ll see you at our meeting at noon.” With that, Red heads out on his walk around the ship to clear his head and think about the best way to implement his plan.