86 Avenue du Goulet (A Samantha Jamison Mystery Volume 3) by Peggy A. Edelheit

going to pluck this chicken clean for any kind of information I could get.
    The others? I figured they were okay for the evening with me occupied elsewhere, which, when I thought back on it, might have been a mistake.
    What was I thinking when I walked away from them, leaving them on their own? You would think I had learned from past experiences that when left unattended, they were completely unpredictable and mildly dangerous. Okay, let me correct that, completely dangerous.
    Now, as far as how the rest of my evening went…
    That’s for another chapter!

 
     
     
    Chapter 46
    Russian Roulette
     
     
    “Hey, wake up, Sam.” Martha said impatiently, shaking me vigorously. “It’s past noon. You’ll never guess what happened. I can hardly believe it myself.”
    I rubbed my eyes. “Believe what?”
    “What happened last night, that’s what.”
    Okay, she had me. I sat up. “What happened?”
    Martha sat on the edge of my bed. “Well, we finished dinner, then visited some shops that were still open, but we still didn’t want to go home. I spotted a casino down the street from the parking lot. Crystal and I wanted to check it out. Hazel and Betty were somewhat reluctant, but finally we talked them into it.”
    I was hoping this wasn’t going south, but I braced myself for the worst.
    “Tell me those two sweet old ladies didn’t lose much!”
    Martha laughed. “Lose? Are you kidding me? Those old biddies won a ton of money.”
    “How? They don’t gamble.”
    “Well,” Martha said, laughing. “They do now.”
    “Playing what?”
    “Roulette!” She sat there silent for a second, thoughtful, then smiled. “I wonder if they could learn to count cards.”
    I was still confused. “But they don’t know how to play poker, let alone play roulette.”
    “Believe me, they learn real quick.”
    “How much did they win?”
    “Well, let’s put it this way: Enough to take us all to Cannes for dinner and fireworks at the Carlton sometime soon, which includes their several course dinner, while dining overlooking over the Mediterranean by moonlight.”
    “The two of them are so ladylike and proper. But gambling? Where are they now?”
    Martha snickered. “Right after their first win, they were hooked. Currently, they are sleeping it off after having had a few drinks to celebrate the occasion. We lost count.”
    “Oh, my! Remember they didn’t fare too well the last time we all drank through my wine rack in Ocean City?”
    Hearing our voices, Crystal appeared in the doorway. “Well, I have to admit, those two sure surprised me last night. They actually forced me to give them turns riding on the back of the Harley all the way home.”
    “Exactly how much did they drink?”
    They winked at each other and started laughing.
    Crystal shook her head. “You really don’t want to know the bar tab they covered. Let’s just say that the two of them should be coming around sometime this afternoon.”
    Martha laughed. “They surprised even me.”
    Crystal, about to push off from the door to leave us, asked, “By the way, how did last night go with you, Sam?”
    “I ended up playing roulette myself. Russian roulette.”

 
     
     
    Chapter 47
    All Bets Are Off
     
     
    Changing her mind about leaving, Crystal came back into the bedroom and sat on the other side of my bed. “And this is leading us where?”
    Martha gave me that look. “You might as well tell us.”
    I leaned back on my pillow. “I was planning on an evening of digging information out of Philippe, but it didn’t exactly go according to plan.”
    Martha laughed. “How could the evening go south when Philippe doesn’t know your reputation for trouble?”
    I groaned. “Yeah, well, he does now.”
    “How is that?” Crystal asked.
    “I was about to ask about his so-called relationship with Mademoiselle Forniet when he leaned into me intimately.”
    Martha didn’t get it. “So, what’s wrong with that?”
    “Nothing. I closed my eyes for what I