Read Online Gambler by S.J. Bryant - Free Book Online

had
a thing for me, see. I told her I needed rent, that I'd pay her
back. And I will!" Zodac looked straight at Nova as he said his
last sentence.
    "You'll be dead before you get a chance. If
the Zine doesn't get you, those girls you just cheated will."
    She turned on her heel and stalked out of
the still-open door, a grim expression on her face.
     
    ***
     
    Nova stood in front of Crusader's
storage-bay wall. A screen lit up its surface and she frowned at
the images scattered across it. There was a photo of Zodac and the
bottles of Zine Nova had found with a red line connecting him to
the casino. On another side of the screen were pictures of the two
other casino staff; Fenton and Siaro.
    Nova put a finger to the screen and drew a
cross over Zodac's face. A red line appeared on the screen
following her finger, covering his picture. She then dragged a
picture of a pile of cred-sticks onto Siaro's face and drew a line
across him as well.
    She found the interactive board helped to
organise her thoughts and arrange information. It wasn't often her
hunting required this much analysis. Usually her job was simple.
Catch the bad guy and bring him, or her, in. She put her hands on
her hips. There was nothing more she could do but investigate her
last suspect: Fenton.
     
     

CHAPTER TEN
    Fenton's house was in the more reputable
part of the city compared to Zodac. The streets were paved and only
the occasional beggar in shabby clothes marred the otherwise
pristine neighbourhood.
    She strode up to Fenton's house, looking it
over, examining the smooth outer surface and quaint garden. She
opened the knapsack at her side and pulled out copies of the
compromising photos she had found in Fenton's locker, sticking them
to his door to create a rough collage of debauchery.
    She stepped back to admire her work, then
nodded and walked to the other side of the street. She stood partly
shadowed by a tall building and folded her arms across her chest.
Two transporters came and went before she spotted the man
sauntering towards her.
    The man wore a black long-sleeve shirt and
black pants. He walked with a jaunty gait and swung his head from
side to side, his chin tilted up as if he was looking down at the
world. To the casual passer-by the man would appear carefree, but
Nova saw straight through the façade. The sideways glances scanned
for approaching danger, the jaunty swagger made his movements hard
to predict. Nova inwardly nodded with approval.
    When Fenton approached his own front door
his pace slowed and his gaze locked onto the photo collage. He took
a few quick steps to the door and began ripping the images down,
holding handfuls of tattered pictures. He whipped around and stared
to either side, his head swinging wildly. At first he saw nothing,
his eyes remaining wild. As Nova stepped out of the shadows, his
eyes narrowed.
    Nova sauntered across the street, stopping
some distance away.
    "Interesting pictures you have," she
said.
    "What's it to ya?" he asked, pulling a few
more pictures from the door.
    "Just a casual observer interested in
talking."
    "I don't want to talk to you. Get out of
here."
    "That's a shame. Maybe you'd be more willing
to talk if you could see a photo of mine?" Nova asked, reaching
into her knapsack to pull out a final photo.
    She held it up to the man and his hands went
still. The photo showed Fenton's locker, open, with his condemning
photo collection scattered throughout. Sitting on the very top of
the pile of filthy images was one of Cracos, caught in a very
awkward pose with none other than Zodac Xion.
    "How did you get that?" Fenton hissed.
    "Ah, so you are ready to talk?" Nova
asked.
    The man frowned but said nothing.
    "I have copies of this ready to send out to
all the casino staff, including Mister Cracos. I wonder what he'd
think of it?" Nova asked, the picture of innocence.
    "Don't!" Fenton cried out, stepping towards
Nova with his hands held out.
    "Then just answer a few questions for me and
I'll be on