Dead Man's Hand (45 page)

E
pilogue

Monday morning,
Calvin woke up rested and happy, having just had the first real, dreamless sleep in a long time.

He
’
d beaten Baxter just over
a week ago
and he still couldn
’
t believe that he was able to win over such a competitor
.
The healing was not complete
,
but the doctors were amazed at his speedy recovery.

Last night, after taking all the medication he
’
d been prescribed, he
’
d gone to bed early with
Rachel. They had nothing to fear and few worries, a brand new prelude to making love for them.

F
or t
he first time in four years,
because of the doctor
’
s strong meds,
he
’
d
been able to sleep with little
pain. He looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand next to him and
turned it off.

He set his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes. A wide grin appeared on his face. He
’
d been smiling a lot of late
and
had a lot to smile about. But h
e needed to get moving so he wo
uldn
’
t be late for the
start of one of the most important days in his life.

He and Dale lived by the same creed
—
do your best. After that, whatever happened was what it was and whether he was continuing from the top or near the bottom,
Calvin knew he would persevere an
d never quit again.

Energized with excitement and determination, he sat up on the edge of his bed and stretched his side. He twisted his midsection and rubbed the large scar on his shoulder that was slowly beginning to form. It would always be a physical reminder and memory of that night, but only that.

He
rose
and checked the stability of his knee. After the way he
’
d pushed his body from
that Wednesday evening
when he
’
d learned of Grant
’
s death, through Saturday
night, including that
pursuit of Baxter, his knee had a lot of new injuries to recover from. He planned to
start physical therapy in a week
and
when his bod
y was ready,
resume his grueling daily exercise regimen
in small doses
.

He
laughed.
I want
to be Superman again.

T
he bathroom door open
ed
and Rachel stepped out.

His
eyes bulged.
“
Wow, Rachel. You
’
re
stunning.
”

Rachel did a little pirouette and smiled.

She
wore
a new, dark-colored
Armani suit and her
hair, dyed back to its natural
straw
color, was cut short to reveal her high cheekbones a
nd strong jaw. She sported black-
framed glasses that gave her an intellectual look. Her face displayed just enough makeup
,
but not too much.

Calvin had always thought of Rachel as beautiful, in her heart
and
physically, but he was amazed by how radia
ntly beautiful she looked now.
More than ever, she looked like the All-American beauty she
’
d always been to him.

“
Can you believe this place?
”
Rachel spread her arms out wide.

He
smiled.
“
Yeah, it is pretty amazing.
”
They had just moved in yesterday, so the apartment was still
by no means fully
furnished. It wasn
’
t upscale Vegas, but it was a definite upgrade from his last apartment.
“
You
’
re up early
.
”

“
This is a big day for me, for us.
Did you ever think, even a few days ago, that we
’
d be here now?
”

“
No.
”
It was true. That he and Rachel had come this far together as lovers and were now here, even more together, as they shared their love was still a dream to
him
. The new lives together he
’
d envisioned for them before had been realistic, not the dreamlike quality they both felt so strongly now.

Calvin sighed.

“
Wh
at
’
s wrong?
”
Rachel asked.

“
I
’
m a bit nervous.
”

“
Y
ou
’
ve never been nervous
about
anything in your life.
”

“
But this is all so new
for me. What if I fail?
”

She
put her hands on her hips.
“
Calvin Watters, have you ever failed at anything in your life?
”

He
smirked.

“
I didn
’
t think so. Now ge
t in that shower
.
”

He
saluted
with a mock grin
.
“
Yes, ma
’
am
.
”
He started to move
, then
hesitated.
“
How about a quickie for good luck?
”

Rachel rolled her eyes.
“
In your dreams. Move!
”

He jogged into the bathroom,
giving
her
a
flirtatious
slap
on the backside
on the way by
.

They
left t
he apartment and jumped into their
new
vehicle, a second-hand
Ford Escape
—the vehicle Rachel had picked out since Calvin
’
s car had been confiscated
. He followed the directions
he
’
d been given and saw Dale and Jimmy stand
ing outside their parked cruiser
.

As
he strode toward them
, Calvin put his han
d out, but Dale
batted it away
, givin
g him a
hearty hug
instead,
which Calvin
was happ
y
to return
. When they separated, Jimmy stepped forward, shaking Calv
in
’
s hand.

“
Another smooth
lookin
’
suit, Calvin,
”
Jimmy said.
“
You have great taste, Rachel.
”

She
flashed a grin
.
“
Thank you,
D
etectives. It
’
s
so nice
to see you again
. Especially here.
”

Calvin looked at Dale
. They shared
a special bond, as deep as the one between Dale and Jimmy.

Dale motioned
toward
the big building.
“
It
’
s not much, but we knew your budget. The rent
’
s
affordable and it
’
s in a decent part of town.
We prioritized getting the office ready so you could open for business right away and we
’
ve had i
t somewhat furnished
. But
I
’
m sure
you
and especially
Rachel will want to put your own personal touches on it.
I
’
m sorry we couldn
’
t do more for you, Calvin.
”

“
What do you mean?
”

“
What you put yourself through. I
’
m sorry the department couldn
’
t compensate you in some way for the work you did.
”

“
I didn
’
t do what I did for money or a reward.
You
’
ve given me
…
us
—
”
h
e
put his arm around
Rachel
“
—o
ur lives back.
The fact that the four of
us became friends i
s a bonus.
”

Dale didn
’
t say anything. He didn
’
t need to.

“
Have you registered for training yet?
”
Jimmy
asked.

Calvin
nodded
.
“
I
’
ve signed up online and I start next week. I
’
m taking
the complete package—interviewing skills, fraud and insurance investigations, surveillance and criminal investigations. I can have my PI
degree
in
eighteen
months.
But legally I
’
m allowed to practice, as long as there
’
s proof I
’
m in session. I have up to three years to acquire my license.
”

“
That sounds great
.
I know you
’
ll do it. Like everything else you attempt.
”

Rachel elbowed Calvin
’
s ribs.
“
See.
”

“
Well, I
’
m sure you
want to have a look
,
”
Dale said
.
“
As promised, once your business is set up and running, we
’
ll send as much work as we can your way.
Let us know when you apply for your PI license.
”

“
Good luck to both of you
,
”
Jimmy said
.
“
You deserve what you have now and we couldn
’
t be happier for you.
”

With that, the veteran partn
ers turned and got into their vehicle.

As they drove away, Cal
vin
glanced at
Rachel
.
“
Are you ready?
”

She
took a deep breath.
“
I
’
m right behind you, Mr. Calvin Watters, PI. It sounds just right.
”

He
could only smile.

♣

Message
from
the Author

Dear Reader,

Thank you for picking up a copy of
Dead Man
’
s Hand
. I hope
you enjoyed reading this novel as much as I did writing it. My goal was to please anyone who loves thrillers, sports, or a walk on the wilder side of Las Vegas. I hope that I succeeded.

According to Wikipedia,
“
The
dead man
’
s hand
is a
Two-pair
Poker Hand
, namely
‘
aces and eights
.
’
This
card
combination gets its name from a legend that it was the
five-card-draw
hand held by
Wild Bill Hickok
, when he was murdered on August 2, 1876, in Saloon No. 10 at
Dead
w
ood, South Dakota
.
”

This is a work of fiction. I did not base the characters or plot on any real people or events. Any familiarities are strictly coincidence.

There is not a single moment in time when this idea came to be, but circumstances over the years that led to this story: my hockey injuries, frequent visits to Las Vegas, my love of football, crime books and movies.

Dead Man
’
s Hand
became real from mixing these events, taking advantage of experts in their field and adding my wild imagination. The internet also provides a wealth of information, available at our fingertips with a click of the mouse.

For more information about my books, please visit my website at
www.authorlukemurphy.com
. You can also
“
like
”
my Facebook page
www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Luke-Murphy
and follow me on Twitter
at
www.twitter.com/#!/AuthorLMur
p
hy
.

I
’
m always happy to hear from readers. Please be assured that I read each email personally and will respond to them in good time. I
’
m always happy to give advice to aspiring writers, or answer questions from readers. You can direct your questions/comments to the contact form on my website. Please let me know what you thought of the book. I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Luke