For Your Own Protection(62)
Whatever James had been doing, he wasn’t going to let him get away with it.
So he called Sean to make sure Beth and Charlie were well, warned him not to let James in the apartment should he reappear, and spun the line that Amy had just asked him over to her place for a late-night chat to discuss some teaching opportunities. Sean was already very concerned about what was going on, and hadn’t even wanted Matt to leave his apartment to grab some clothes from his flat once he had explained everything. If Sean or Beth had known his real destination and purpose, they’d definitely have tried to talk him out of it.
Matt took a deep breath when he saw the casino ahead. It wasn’t comfortable ground for him. Even though it was a popular haunt of UGT employees, Matt had only been there once before. Encouraged to try it out by Sean one night to celebrate a particularly successful trading day, the experience had left him largely cold. That was just over two years ago. He still had his membership card, though, tucked away inside his wallet, which he played around with nervously in his pocket as he came up to the entrance. He had to hope his membership was still active, as he seemed to remember that the casino as a rule didn’t allow people to join and enter the club on the same night.
A burly security guard who looked like a professional boxer nodded at Matt as he passed through the entrance door and into the foyer. At least he was past the first hurdle. He waited at the desk, behind another customer, who was just being told he’d have to wait twenty-four hours until membership. The young guy wasn’t happy, but his reaction was no doubt tempered by a second guard watching from just a few feet away. The guy merely shook his head and walked away.
‘Hello, can I help you?’
Matt smiled and fished the card out from his wallet. He handed it over for the woman to scan. ‘Matt Roberts,’ she read from the screen. ‘Welcome back to the club, Mr Roberts. It’s been a while.’
‘Yes,’ Matt said, relieved that it had worked.
‘Are you aware of the new funding arrangements?’
‘No.’
‘We’ve introduced contactless payment. Use your debit or credit card at the terminals near the tables. There are instructions on-screen, or just ask a member of staff if you get stuck. Have a good evening,’ she said, handing him back the card.
He slipped it into his pocket. ‘Thank you.’
Another customer stepped into his place as he moved off towards the archway that he remembered led through to the gaming area.
‘One moment please, sir.’ Matt tensed as the second security guard came up to him, imagining he was about to be challenged and removed. ‘If you don’t mind,’ the man said, holding up a metal detector.
‘Of course.’ It was not like Matt had a choice in the matter. But at least he knew there was nothing to hide, and it didn’t seem as though the guard was looking to eject him from the place.
‘If you can just hold your arms out to the side.’
Matt did as requested, and the guard began sweeping up and down his body. The machine remained silent.
The security guard replaced the device in the holster on his belt. ‘If you don’t mind, just a quick pat-down.’
Matt stayed rooted to the spot as the guard completed what could only be described as a thorough frisk. As the man who had been queuing behind him at the front desk strode straight through without any glance from the guard whatsoever, Matt wondered why he had been singled out.
Had it just been random? Had the guard picked up on his nervous demeanour, like a dog sniffs out fear?
Or was it something else, something he should be more concerned about?
The guard stepped back. ‘You’re okay. Sorry for the delay, sir.’
‘No problem,’ Matt replied. The guard nodded and immediately looked past Matt, eyeing the next customer. Matt moved through the archway and into the semi-darkness of the main gaming area. He emerged on to a balcony overlooking about a dozen large round tables, all of which were staffed and had games in progress. Around the perimeter of the room, banks of slot machines flashed and blinked. He glanced at his watch. It was half past ten. For the club, the night was only just beginning, and would go through until five in the morning. But in here, apart from for the staff counting down their hours until they could go home, day or night was almost an irrelevance. There were no clocks on the walls, and no windows. It was an intentional design feature, to suck customers into an all-consuming world, where there was no time except time to gamble.
As he scanned the floor, Matt half expected to see one of his colleagues from UGT. Maybe even James himself. He strained to look across at the gamblers on the far side, but it was just that bit too dark to make out faces. He wondered whether this venture would turn out to be a waste of time.
A staff member, a youngish girl who was walking past, caught his eye. ‘Are you okay, sir? Anything I can help you with?’
‘I’m fine, thanks.’ He’d have to move, as he was attracting attention.
Matt retreated to the bar and ordered a very expensive Coke. Sipping at the drink, he suddenly realised how unprepared he was for this task. He decided he’d head for the roulette table – the game he’d be most comfortable with – and see who was there. If there was an opportunity to ask a fellow player about James, then he’d do that before asking any of the staff.
There were three players at the table, and a croupier, a man in his fifties, who nodded a greeting. Matt waited for the next spin and then joined the game. His number didn’t come up. He played again, with another loss.