I’m Fixin’ To Play Dead (Part 26)

I could hear the sounds of the casino down the hall from the lobby of the Beau Ravage, where to my great pleasure a hotel phone operator had just told me she would ring Leon Martin’s room for me.

I was so excited that I had actually found him that I was shaking like a leaf when I heard the phone in his room ring, but I only let it ring once before I pressed the button down to disconnect, because I wasn’t quite ready to confront him yet.

I was still standing by the bank of house phones, breathless with the excitement of my success when Red walked up. His hand was extended toward me with a key to the room he had just rented for us. “Are you all right?” he asked, “you look like you done seen a ghost or something.”

Later on, I was to regret blurting out what I did, but I was so overcome with gratitude and joy that I said, “He’s here! That old thieving rascal who stole all my money is right here in this hotel!”

Red had a strange look on his face when he said, “Glad to hear you’ve tracked down who ever it was you been chasing. I would hate to have you on my trail.”

Then he took my arm and said, “Come on, the elevators are down this way. We’re on the 23rd floor. The clerk said we had a great view of the Gulf, but right now the only view I want is the back of my eye lids. How about you, Ralph, you ready for shuteye?”

Still in a dazed condition when we arrived at the bank of elevators, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next. Red punched the up button and the doors slid silently open. Just before we stepped inside I said, “No, I want to go into the casino and look around.”

“I don’t think you really want to do that,” he told me.

“Why not?” I responded.

“Two reasons—you ain’t getting out of my sight until I get paid, and you don’t look very presentable. When’s the last time you shaved?”

Thinking back I realized it had been almost three days. The last time I had shaved my face was this past Friday morning before I got on that airplane that went down in Birmingham and left me the only survivor. It seemed like eons ago.

“I ‘spect you’re right, Red. I imagine I do look pretty rough. I got your money right here in my pocket, and I suppose I ought to clean up before I go into the casino.”

When we entered room 2314 I saw that it was furnished with cherry wood, had two double beds, a Jacuzzi against one wall, a sitting area, a desk and an entertainment center. “Wow!” Red exclaimed. This here is pretty fancy. Shoot, I might stay an extra day!”

I took my bag and went straight into the bath room and was shocked at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was plastered to my head, my eyes were red and the wild growth of my facial hair made me almost unrecognizable even to myself. But the first thing I did was extract the money I owed Red from my money belt. I cracked the bathroom door and called out, “How much was the room, Red?”

“Two hundred a night plus tax,” he answered.

I counted out 16 one-hundred dollar bills to cover the bonus I had promised him, the speeding ticket and two nights for the room. Then I stepped out into the room and placed the money on the bed Red had claimed as his. “Now we’re square,” I told him. After he had counted it and agreed the amount was correct I returned to the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

After I had showered and shampooed I shaved my cheeks and neck, leaving a neatly trimmed beard on my face. Once I was dressed I exited the bath room to ask Red if I looked presentable now, only to find him dead asleep on top of the covers still fully clothed.

I pocketed a room key and headed back downstairs. I could hear the sounds of the casino when I stepped off the elevator in the lobby.

It was almost four o’clock in the morning and I was shocked at the activity still going on in the casino. The throngs of people, the lights and the delightful sounds kind of just sucked you into the mist of it, and I knew Leon would be in his element in this place.

This feeling came over me, kind of like when you see the first rays of the sun and know for sure it is fixing to rise, well, I knew for sure that Leon was in this casino, somewhere. It took me several trips up and down and through the many rows of slot machines and all of the many gaming tables before I got the lay of the place, but none of the shiny bald heads turned out to be Leon’s.

I knew one last place I was fixing to look for him.