Page 27 of A Devious Secret

The young woman smiled as she accepted the coins. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, handsome.”

Stephen turned to Hawthorne. “I’m going to join the game at table six and see if I can garner any more information.”

“I will join you.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Hawthorne put his hand up. “Trust me, it is wholly necessary.”

Stephen tipped his head before he started walking over to table six. As he reached for one of the empty chairs, a balding man that sat at the table spoke up. “That seat is taken.”

“By whom?” Stephen asked.

“By anyone other than you,” the man said as he glanced down at the cards in his hands.

Hawthorne pulled out a chair and sat down, not bothering to ask for permission. “My friend and I want to join the game.”

“Do you have money?” the man asked.

“We do,” Hawthorne replied.

“Loads of it?” the man pressed.

Hawthorne huffed. “I will once I take it from you.”

The man let out a bark of laughter. “I like you.” He glanced up at Stephen and scowled. “But you, not so much.”

Stephen went to sit down and said, “I’m looking for someone.”

The man glared at him. “We are not snitches here.”

“He isn’t in trouble or at least I don’t believe he is, but…”

Hawthorne spoke over him. “What my friend is trying to say is that we will play.”

Placing a card into the center, the man said, “You will have to wait until this game is over.”

Stephen counted four men at the table, and they all seemed to have the same hollowed out looks in their eyes. He wondered how long they had been gambling.

A man with a rounded face met his gaze and asked, “Do you even know how to play Loo?”

“I do,” Stephen replied.

The man gave him a disbelieving look. “You don’t belong here, Mister,” he said. “Go home and stop wasting our time.”

“We will go, but we need some information first,” Hawthorne said, leaning forward. “And we are not leaving until we get it.”

The balding man tossed his cards into the center. “That will cost you.”

Hawthorne retrieved two gold coins and slid them towards the man. “Where can we find Benjamin Heathcote?”

The man’s eyes remained fixed on the gold coins. “What did he do?”

“Nothing, we are just looking for him,” Hawthorne replied.

“Why?”

“Does it matter?” Hawthorne asked.