Read Online The Disciple of Las Vegas by Ian Hamilton - Free Book Online

name is Ava Lee.”
    â€œI’m sorry, am I supposed to know you?”
    â€œNo, but I know you. I’ve been sent by the Ordonez organization to have a chat with you about the Kelowna Valley Developments project.”
    She braced herself, preparing for her body to be slammed against the wall, for a fist to be thrust at her face, for a kick to be aimed at her groin, all accompanied by a shower of obscenities. This was when it always happened.
    He shrugged. “Sure. C’mon in.”
    Ava blinked in surprise and walked past Cousins into the living room. There were boxes everywhere. “I haven’t finished unpacking,” he said, closing the front door. “You want coffee or anything?”
    â€œInstant is fine,” she said, still unsettled by his casual manner.
    â€œWe’ll sit in the kitchen,” he said.
    Ava followed Cousins into the kitchen and sat at a small round table with two chairs. She pulled out her Moleskine notebook while he fussed with two mugs. “I just take it black,” she said.
    He put a mug in front of her and then sat down. “Could you tell me your name again, and do you have any ID?”
    â€œMy name is Ava Lee and I’m an accountant. Here’s my business card.”
    â€œAn accountant, eh? You aren’t what I was expecting.”
    â€œYou were expecting someone?”
    â€œYeah, but not someone like you, and not this soon.”
    â€œThey hired detectives when they couldn’t find you on their own.”
    â€œI borrowed a buddy’s car, drove to Saskatchewan, then crossed the border into North Dakota. They just wave you through there if you look like a local. I also don’t use credit cards or debit cards. That’s just my lifestyle — nothing sinister. I figured I’d be hard to track.”
    â€œBut why would you want to be so evasive in the first place?”
    He smiled. His eyes caught hers and she saw no fear, no hesitation in them. “Philip asked me to stall for him, give him some time to get things sorted.”
    â€œPhilip Chew?”
    â€œWho else?”
    There were times when Ava wished her instincts were wrong. “I expected as much,” she said.
    â€œReally? I’m surprised.”
    â€œYou don’t exactly have the background of a scam artist, and on first impression I don’t think you’re a good enough liar to get Philip Chew to buy in to some bogus land deal.”
    â€œWhy, thank you.”
    They sat silently, drinking their coffee. “Could I have another?” she asked.
    â€œHow did you find me?” he asked, his back turned as he poured water into her mug.
    â€œThrough the Jersey bank,” she said.
    â€œShit. I told Philip I didn’t want to jump through hoops and loops, but he told me if I moved my money directly from Canada to the U.S. it would be caught in no time. So he sent me to this Jersey bank as a kind of halfway house. Some of my money actually just got here yesterday.”
    â€œYour two million or so?”
    â€œI was paid $2,030,000,” he said.
    She opened her notebook. “Do you mind if I write this down?”
    â€œBe my guest.”
    â€œYou’re an oil-field worker, I understand.”
    â€œI was an oil-field worker. A technician, but still working outside,” he said. “I’ve worked all over the place. The last job was in bloody Fort McMurray — northern Alberta — those horrendous tar sands. I put in six months without a break, built myself a very nice bankroll, and decided to treat myself to an extended holiday in Las Vegas. That’s where I met Philip.”
    Ava’s heart sank. There was no worse combination in the world than Las Vegas and a Chinese gambler.
    â€œI play poker for relatively high stakes — ten- to twenty-dollar no-limit hold’em. I started off at the Bellagio but there’s a real pecking order there. If you’re not a high roller or a