Page 7 of Dead Man's Hand

SADIEDISCONNECTED,a lump in her throat.DJ had a sister?Why had she thought it was just him and the conman uncle who’d raised him? Not that DJ knew any more about her life than she did his. When they’d been thrown together, she’d just assumed that he was like her, from the same background, caught up in a world not to either of their making or liking. DJ had taken on his uncle’s debt to the organization her godfather ran. The payments on that debt, which were almost paid, were what had kept them together.

She’d done her best to treat it like business, especially after her godfather had warned her against getting too close to DJ Diamond. But she’d gotten to know the man from sitting across a poker table from him all that time.

While she’d been shocked to learn that DJ had a little sister, she wasn’t surprised that he would drop everything to bail her out. What worried her was that she’d never heard him sound like he had on the phone. Desperate? Anxious? Neither was good in this business, she thought as she quickly threw some clothing and money into a bag along with their decks of marked cards.

Two hours later, as she boarded a plane to Montana, she reminded herself that this might be the last time she saw DJ. Their “arrangement” was over. She’d told her godfather that she wanted out as soon as DJ’s debt was paid. He’d been disappointed but not surprised.

“What will you do? You’ll miss this,” he’d said.

“I don’t think so. I want a family.” She didn’t have to tell him that she also wanted to be as far away from criminal organizations as she could get.

“I understand,” he’d said. “Your father was like that. Tell Diamond we’re even. His uncle’s debt is paid in full. My present to you since I can tell that you have a soft spot for him.”

Sadie had only smiled. “Thank you.”

“But you’re not quitting because of him, right?”

“No, that partnership will be over,” she said, hating how hard it would be to walk away from DJ Diamond. She’d grown more than fond of him. But she would walk away, she’d told herself.

“Good,” her godfather said. “By the way, you’re better at this than your father ever was, and he was pretty darned good.” It had been her father who’d taught her that poker wasn’t a game of chance. It was a game of skill, mental toughness and endurance.

“Never sit down at a table unless you know you can beat everyone there—one way or another,” he’d said over and over. “You’re going to lose sometimes, so never throw good money after bad. It all comes down to reading your opponents and knowing when to cash in and walk away.”

Whatever DJ had going on in Montana, it was time to cash in and walk away. She would tell DJ when she got to Montana. She would also offer him the seventy-five grand so they wouldn’t have to use the cards in her carry-on bag. He wouldn’t take it, but she would offer. She feared that unlike her, he’d never be able to step away from the con. He enjoyed it too much. But eventually, his luck would run out. The thought made her sad. As her godfather had said, she had grown a soft spot for the cowboy.

BUCKCRAWFORDMADEthe drive down to Casper, Wyoming, arriving in late afternoon. Luella Lindley lived in a small house in the older part of town. She was in her sixties, retired after being a telephone operator for years. She lived alone except for her three cats, George, Bob and Ingrid. She had a weakness for chocolate, her husband had been dead for almost twenty years, and she played bingo on Tuesday nights at the Senior Center.

He’d gotten all that information the first time he’d talked to her. Had she known Judy Ramsey? Yes. “We were like two peas in a pod,” Luella had told him. “Sisters, that’s what Judy called us, me being the older sister.”

It took a good five minutes after ringing the doorbell for the woman to answer the door. She’d warned him that she used a walker and would be slow. Luella opened the door, leaning on her walker and smiling broadly. The smell of meat loaf wafted out, making his stomach growl.

“I hope you’re hungry,” she said, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement, giving him the feeling that she didn’t get many visitors. “I made my famous meat loaf. Come on in. No need to stand out there on the front step.” She turned and led the way into the house. “Have a seat.” She went from the walker to a recliner. “Didn’t expect a good-looking cowboy, although you did sound young on the phone. Are you really a private detective?”

“Yes, and you should have demanded proof of identification before you let me in,” he said.

She laughed. “I saw you drive up. You didn’t look that dangerous.”

Buck knew he couldn’t leave until he had meat loaf, so he let Luella talk about everything under the sun for a few minutes before he said, “What can you tell me about Judy Ramsey?”

“Sweet thing she was. Never had a lick of sense when it came to men, though,” Luella said with a shake of her head. “Broke my heart every time she let some man hurt her.”

“You knew her twenty-nine years ago. Did she tell you she was pregnant?”

The elderly woman nodded. “She was scared, but I could tell a part of her liked the idea of being a mother.” She shook her head. “Turned out it was female problems. No baby. Never going to have one. By then, she’d realized she wasn’t mother material.”

“Did she tell you about meeting Maribelle Brookshire?”

“Read all about it in the paper. I have the Lonesome paper sent to me. The news is old by the time it arrives, but I don’t care. It doesn’t cost much and that is my hometown.”

“So she told you about her deal with Maribelle to buy the baby if it was a girl?”

“No,” she said after a moment. “I could tell something was going on, but no. She was devastated when she found out there was no baby. I didn’t realize the main reason was because she’d already sold the baby to Maribelle Brookshire. I thought her behavior was due to a man, but then she began asking questions about babies... I had to wonder why since I knew she wasn’t having any of her own.”

“What kind of questions?”

“Like what they ate, how to burp them, how to even put on a diaper and what you needed to buy for a baby. I thought she’d gone crazy.”

“If you’ve read the news, then you know that Maribelle and Harrison Brookshire are awaiting trial for Judy’s death. I’m engaged to their daughter they bought from Judy, Ansley Brookshire.”

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