Page 97 of Can't Win 'Em All
“I said no, and I mean it. I’m never backing down on that.”
“Oh, you’re going to come around to my way of thinking. I have faith.”
“You guys are adorable,” Pearl said out of nowhere.
I cast her a suspicious look and waited.
“You’re adorable, but you make me want to puke,” she added. “Can you tell us why you invited us here? I really do have other things I would prefer doing than watching you two verbally copulate.”
“Suck it up,” I challenged. “You’re fine. Although … who are you dating again? I must have missed that announcement.”
“She won’t tell us,” Opal replied. “It’s some big secret. I’m considering hiring a private investigator to follow her around and come up with the goods, though. I can’t torture her appropriately if I don’t have a name.”
“Yes, see what happens if you even try that,” Pearl said sweetly. “You’ll be a strange lump in the desert if you go that route.”
It was the “lump in the desert” reference that jolted me back to reality. “So, we really did invite you here for a reason, and it has nothing to do with us.”
“It’s about Ryder,” Rex supplied as he sat on the couch next to me, making sure our legs were touching as he got comfortable. It was a small show of support, but I appreciated it. “We think we might have figured out his plan.”
Mom’s eyes narrowed. “You mean because he’s pushing the amphitheater so hard? I figured he was just doing that so he could pretend he had important ideas.”
“I thought that at first too,” I acknowledged. “Now, though, I think it’s something else.” I pushed forward in halting terms. “So, remember how Dad used to go to card games at The Chiffon every week?”
Mom’s countenance grew dark. “Yes, and thank you so much for reminding me of that.”
“Sorry.” I meant it. “I have a reason for bringing it up, though. Rex and I were talking about the amphitheater, and how the first thing Dad would have to do would be to find a space for it. It’s not as if we have vacant real estate coming out of our eyeballs on the Strip. An amphitheater is big too.”
Zach was the one who grasped what we were getting at first. “You think Dad wants to take the land that The Chiffon is on,” he guessed.
I nodded.
“That makes no sense, though,” Opal argued on a headshake. “Chet Haskins has turned down every offer that’s been thrown his way for thirty years. He doesn’t want to sell. Most people think that he’ll hold onto the land until he dies—given how much he drinks and smokes, it won’t be long—and then the land will go up for auction.”
“And won’t that be a mess,” Mom mused, shaking her head.
“We understand all of that,” I assured them. “The thing is, there have been rumors for years that the reason Haskins doesn’t want to sell is because he doesn’t have to. He could get a lot of money for that parcel, but instead he runs a flea bag hotel with no casino. Why?”
“Because supposedly he has dirt on a bunch of important people and extorts them,” Zach replied, not missing a beat. He immediately paused when he realized what he’d said. “Oh.”
“Oh,” Rex agreed, bobbing his head.
“Dad was one of the people being extorted.” It wasn’t a question. Zach was resigned to the correct answer. “What a piece of crap,” he complained.
Olivia looked genuinely baffled as she glanced between faces. “Am I the only one who doesn’t understand what’s happening?”
Rex took pity on his sister. “Haskins supposedly brought prostitutes into his weekly card games. He did it for months and it wasn’t a big deal. Eventually, he used the video footage he’d amassed from those encounters to blackmail the other card games members into paying him an exorbitant amount of money every month.”
“Oh.” Olivia’s eyes went wide. “So, basically we’re saying Ryder has a sex tape out there somewhere.”
“Yes,” Mom agreed. “That would be just like him.” She was grim. “Unbelievable,” she said after a few minutes. “Just un-freaking-believable.” She looked angry rather than hurt. Nobody was surprised by Dad’s antics any longer.
“I’m sorry,” I offered all the same. “I know it seems like he can’t possibly embarrass us anymore. Then he always does.”
“He always does,” Mom agreed, her hand going to her forehead. “So, what do we think his plan is?”
“I don’t think he’s gotten past offering the deal to Haskins,” Rex replied.
“Why would he do that, though?” Pearl interjected. “I mean…how does he think this is going to work?”
