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Authors: Mike Resnick
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way . . .”
“All right,” she said, picking up the money and getting to her feet.
She walked over to the card table where Morrison was playing, purchased some chips, and bought into the game. The dealer shuffled the deck, dealt out the hands quickly and efficiently, and then called out the various cards and bets.
Val won two tiny pots and lost five larger ones, four of them to Morrison, then returned to the Duke’s table.
“Here,” she said, handing him some chips. “Remember to subtract them from the two hundred dollars.”
“You spotted it already?” asked the Duke.
“There’s only one way they can be working it,” said Val.
“They?” repeated the Duke.
“The dealer’s in on it,” she said. “Morrison can’t be doing it alone.”
“How are they working it?”
“The dealer’s got to be using a shiner,” said Val.
“Impossible!” said the Duke. “I’ve got holo cameras zooming in on the dealers’ hands. If he was using one, we’d have spotted it.”
“What’s a shiner?” asked Sharon.
“A tiny mirror,” explain Val. “He keeps it below the deck, and as he deals, Morrison will get a quick look at the face of each card as it comes off the deck.”
“I know what a shiner is,” said the Duke, “and I’m telling you that no one’s using one. You want to check the holos?”
“Why bother?” said Val. “You’ve checked them.”
“Then you agree they can’t be using a shiner and you’ve wasted close to two hundred Maria Theresa dollars,” said the Duke.
“I didn’t say I agreed,” replied Val. “I said I didn’t see any reason to check the holos.”
“You insist that the dealer’s using a shiner?”
“That’s what I said.”
“If we search him and don’t find it, will that satisfy you?”
“I wouldn’t think it will satisfy you ,” said Val. “I thought you wanted your money back. Well, half of it, anyway.”
The Duke threw up his hands in exasperation. “I am totally confused!” he said. “Captain Cole, she works for you. Do you understand her?”
“I serve with Cole,” said Val. “I work for me .”
“But to answer your question,” replied Cole, “I find that she isn’t wrong very often. If she says she knows how they’re cheating, I’d be inclined to believe her.”
“Then what’s your next step?” asked Duke. “Do you want to search the dealer?”
“That’s up to Val,” said Cole.
“Not much sense searching him,” she replied. “I watched him for seven hands. He never went to his pockets, or even his mouth or ears, and he’d never chance trying to palm it while he was shuffling the cards. If it falls onto the table, he’s dead meat five seconds later.”
“Then I don’t understand . . .” began the Duke.
“I know you don’t,” said Val with a smile. “That’s why he’s robbing you blind.”
“So what do we do now?” asked Cole.
“Now we study the Skullcracker for a few more minutes.”
“I thought it was the dealer we were going to expose.”
“The dealer has a confederate,” said Val. “And it’s clearly the Skullcracker. I want to see his tendencies.”
“Tendencies?” asked David Copperfield.
“See if he’s right-handed or left-handed, see how he holds his head, see what I can learn about him.” She smiled. “Cole’s got the easy part; all he has to do is expose the dealer. I’ve got to get the money back from Skullcracker Morrison.”
“It might be easier to just shoot him,” suggested the Duke. “I’m all the law there is on Singapore Station. I pardon you in advance.”
Val, still smiling, shook her head. “I always thought I was good enough to be the freehand champion if I’d stayed in the Republic. Tonight I’ll find out if I was right.”
“And if you’re not?” asked the Duke.
“Then I don’t give a damn what you do to him.”
“Before or after he kills your captain?”
“If I’m dead, what do I care?” shot back Val.
“I can’t tell you how touched I
“All right,” she said, picking up the money and getting to her feet.
She walked over to the card table where Morrison was playing, purchased some chips, and bought into the game. The dealer shuffled the deck, dealt out the hands quickly and efficiently, and then called out the various cards and bets.
Val won two tiny pots and lost five larger ones, four of them to Morrison, then returned to the Duke’s table.
“Here,” she said, handing him some chips. “Remember to subtract them from the two hundred dollars.”
“You spotted it already?” asked the Duke.
“There’s only one way they can be working it,” said Val.
“They?” repeated the Duke.
“The dealer’s in on it,” she said. “Morrison can’t be doing it alone.”
“How are they working it?”
“The dealer’s got to be using a shiner,” said Val.
“Impossible!” said the Duke. “I’ve got holo cameras zooming in on the dealers’ hands. If he was using one, we’d have spotted it.”
“What’s a shiner?” asked Sharon.
“A tiny mirror,” explain Val. “He keeps it below the deck, and as he deals, Morrison will get a quick look at the face of each card as it comes off the deck.”
“I know what a shiner is,” said the Duke, “and I’m telling you that no one’s using one. You want to check the holos?”
“Why bother?” said Val. “You’ve checked them.”
“Then you agree they can’t be using a shiner and you’ve wasted close to two hundred Maria Theresa dollars,” said the Duke.
“I didn’t say I agreed,” replied Val. “I said I didn’t see any reason to check the holos.”
“You insist that the dealer’s using a shiner?”
“That’s what I said.”
“If we search him and don’t find it, will that satisfy you?”
“I wouldn’t think it will satisfy you ,” said Val. “I thought you wanted your money back. Well, half of it, anyway.”
The Duke threw up his hands in exasperation. “I am totally confused!” he said. “Captain Cole, she works for you. Do you understand her?”
“I serve with Cole,” said Val. “I work for me .”
“But to answer your question,” replied Cole, “I find that she isn’t wrong very often. If she says she knows how they’re cheating, I’d be inclined to believe her.”
“Then what’s your next step?” asked Duke. “Do you want to search the dealer?”
“That’s up to Val,” said Cole.
“Not much sense searching him,” she replied. “I watched him for seven hands. He never went to his pockets, or even his mouth or ears, and he’d never chance trying to palm it while he was shuffling the cards. If it falls onto the table, he’s dead meat five seconds later.”
“Then I don’t understand . . .” began the Duke.
“I know you don’t,” said Val with a smile. “That’s why he’s robbing you blind.”
“So what do we do now?” asked Cole.
“Now we study the Skullcracker for a few more minutes.”
“I thought it was the dealer we were going to expose.”
“The dealer has a confederate,” said Val. “And it’s clearly the Skullcracker. I want to see his tendencies.”
“Tendencies?” asked David Copperfield.
“See if he’s right-handed or left-handed, see how he holds his head, see what I can learn about him.” She smiled. “Cole’s got the easy part; all he has to do is expose the dealer. I’ve got to get the money back from Skullcracker Morrison.”
“It might be easier to just shoot him,” suggested the Duke. “I’m all the law there is on Singapore Station. I pardon you in advance.”
Val, still smiling, shook her head. “I always thought I was good enough to be the freehand champion if I’d stayed in the Republic. Tonight I’ll find out if I was right.”
“And if you’re not?” asked the Duke.
“Then I don’t give a damn what you do to him.”
“Before or after he kills your captain?”
“If I’m dead, what do I care?” shot back Val.
“I can’t tell you how touched I
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