Page 46 of Ace of Hearts

Levi

June

Las Vegas, USA

“Theft?” I repeat, dumbfounded.

Thomas nods. I still can’t believe it. After my conversation with Rose, I went back to the tournament for a few hours.

I’d just returned to the suite when Thomas came in and announced that Rose has been arrested by hotel security.

She’s accused of stealing a six-thousand-dollar necklace.

Well, as long as it wasn’t something big, I think bitterly, shocked by the accusation.

“D’you think she did it?” Lucky asks.

I shake my head immediately. Rose has her faults, but she isn’t a thief. And yet I saw the jewels around her neck myself. I don’t know what to think.

“She should have gone home, like she planned ...”

I look at Li Mei, who’s staring down at her nails. I know she misses Rose. She’s still here out of loyalty to me, nothing else. I ask Thomas to repeat what he’s just told me.

“A guest reported that she’d lost a necklace with a red quartz. She says there’s only one in existence like that, because she had it made for her. Rose was caught on the security cameras, wearing it, but when they arrested her, the necklace was nowhere to be found ...”

“Wait a second,” I interrupt him. “You said it was a red agate?”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t her . I’m overcome by a wave of relief, which I try to hide from the others.

“Then they’ve made a mistake. I saw her, and the stone she was wearing wasn’t red.”

They all look at me in silence. It takes a second, but I eventually realize why they’re not totally convinced.

Li Mei makes a face and murmurs, “I don’t want to offend you or anything, but you’re not the first person I’d turn to when it comes to the matter of colors.”

“I know. But also, it wasn’t an agate.”

“OK, I believe you,” Thomas says. “But the problem is, you’re the only witness because she went back up to her suite right after she was with you. She didn’t meet anyone else.”

Oh. Another heavy silence falls. If Rose went straight back after we talked, then yes, I’m the only person who can confirm her innocence.

I already know what I want to do, but I ask the others what they think. “Should we help her?”

Li Mei shrugs and looks doubtful.

Lucky says hesitantly, “I don’t know, Levi ... I love her, but she tricked us all.”

“We have to help her.” All eyes turn to Thomas in amazement when he says this. All eyes, that is, but mine. I just smile. I knew it. Thomas plays it cool, but I knew he had a soft spot for Rose. Like we all do.

“She’s a liar,” Lucky points out.

“What about us? Aren’t we liars?” protests Li Mei. “We weren’t straight with her, either, as I recall. At least, not at the start. She didn’t owe us anything. Sure, she could have told us the truth later, but imagine how hard that would have been for her, knowing how much we hate her father.”

Lucky seems to agree with her point, because he lowers his eyes and says nothing else.

I jump in. “So?”

“So Rose is one of the gang now,” Thomas says. “And we don’t leave anyone behind.”

I laugh in spite of myself, feeling pleasantly surprised. It seems Rose is one of us, whether she wants to be or not.

“Great,” I say. “Then let’s go!”

I’m shown into a bare room, where I find two security guards, a man in a suit, two police officers .

.. and Rose, sitting at a table in morose silence.

Her face doesn’t give anything away. She doesn’t look up at me, but her shoulders tense, proof that she knows I’m there. They tell me to sit down opposite her.

The man in the suite introduces himself as the hotel manager.

“You’re Levi Ivanovich, one of the Main Event poker players,” he says, crossing his arms. “I recognize you.”

“That’s right.”

“And Ms. Alfieri is ... your wife, right?”

“Fiancée,” I correct him.

Rose doesn’t speak; she just sits there scowling, her jaw set.

“OK. Your fiancée was seen with a six-thousand-dollar necklace around her neck, a unique piece that belongs to one of our guests. This guest assures us that her necklace has disappeared. But when we asked your fiancée where the necklace is, she couldn’t tell us. It’s nowhere to be found.”

I resist the temptation to glance over at Rose. The fact that we’re meant to be engaged makes my job more difficult. They might think I’m defending her because we’re in love.

“You also appear on the CCTV images,” the man goes on. “In the corridor, then in the lift. But you didn’t leave the lift together.”

“No, we had ... a little misunderstanding. I’m not a great fan of my future father-in-law.” I lower my voice as if I’m letting him in on a secret. That gets his attention.

“You mean Tito Ferragni? Is that why Ms. Alfieri’s staying in his suite?”

“Exactly. She and I had a little lovers’ tiff, nothing serious. Tito and I are rivals, hence the argument.”

He nods understandingly, clearly intrigued. Eventually, he clears his throat and lets one of the security guards take up the questioning. The balding man comes over and explains that although the police were called, they’ve decided to keep things quiet for now.

“You’re the only person to have seen your fiancée wearing the necklace. Can you describe it?”

I do my best, and he seems satisfied. He shows me the black-and-white image captured from the CCTV camera and asks if this is the necklace I’m referring to. I nod.

“OK. You said there was a stone in the center. Can you tell me what color it was?”

Rose looks up quickly. I was anticipating this question, but not so soon in the conversation, and I haven’t got an answer ready. I just know it wasn’t red.

“Your fiancée claims that the necklace she was wearing isn’t the one reported lost. The stone is a different color, apparently. Your testimony could be extremely helpful.”

“It was red, wasn’t it?” the other security guard asks, looking daggers at Rose.

I look at him and reply calmly. “You’re trying to influence me, sir.”

“Just tell us what you saw,” he grumbles. “What color was it?”

Silence. I think for a long time, then shrug. I have no choice but to tell the truth. I can’t name a color at random and risk contradicting Rose’s story.

“I don’t know.”

“Lying won’t get us anywhere. If you’re charged as an accomplice ...”

“I’d love to see you try that. But regardless, I’m unfortunately not lying.”

Rose interrupts curtly. “Shut up, you idiot.”

I smile a little, without even looking at her. I understand her concern, but it’s needless. I know what I have to say. I also know it’s for the best. Even though deep down, I’m afraid.

I try to calm my pounding heart as I admit, “I can’t answer your question for the simple reason that I have no idea what the color red looks like. Or any other color for that matter.”

There’s an uncomfortable silence. The men exchange glances as Rose stares at me, unable to believe her ears. She tells them I’m joking; the hotel manager sighs, thinking I’m trying to make them all look stupid.

“It’s not a joke. I was born with achromatopsia,” I explain, trying to convince them. “The only colors I see are different shades of gray.”

“You’re lying.”

“I can give you my doctor’s number if you like. He only speaks Russian, though, and he’s not particularly friendly.”

Some of the men frown. They look more serious now. I have their attention. My heart beats faster when the blond man asks the obvious question.

“You can’t see colors, but you play poker? How does that work?”

“I don’t see what one has to do with the other,” I say. “Have you heard of Jay Lonewolf Morales? He’s got achromatopsia, but he’s still a painter.”

I sense Rose giving me a meaningful look, but I ignore her. I can’t allow myself to look at her now. The men confer in low voices, at a loss for how to proceed. I guess they’re disappointed that my testimony didn’t give them the proof they wanted.

Unfortunately, it also didn’t prove her innocence. There’ll have to be an investigation. I hadn’t thought of that, and I don’t like the idea.

“Just because I don’t see colors in the same way as other people doesn’t mean I can’t see them at all,” I say.

They turn back to me, intrigued. “What’s that?”

It’s a risk, but it’s one I’m prepared to take. I can’t let those hours that Rose spent making color charts for me go to waste.

Her eyes don’t leave my face as I explain, crossing my legs nonchalantly.

“With practice, I’ve learned to associate colors with everyday objects whose colors I know.

I’m able to identify a whole spectrum of different nuances of gray.

For example, the gray color of grass isn’t the same as the gray of your trousers, and since I know grass is green, I know that your trousers aren’t green.

They do look very much like the color of the sky in summer, though, and as everyone knows, the sky is blue.

I therefore deduce that your trousers are blue.

They’re probably jeans, in fact. I could confirm that if I were to feel the texture of the cloth, but I don’t make a habit of touching strangers—no offense intended. ”

Nobody speaks. I think I’ve succeeded in making them think twice.

“OK ... so what nuance was the necklace you saw?” the bald guard insists doggedly.

I remain silent for a few long seconds, letting the suspense build. There’s still time to stop this. What if I get it wrong? I think of Thomas, who told me a million times that this plan was too risky ... and I plow on.

I look at Rose for the first time since I came in. Her eyes register a mixture of shock and anxiety. She’s wearing the same shirt as she was on the day she blushed for the first time, after I told her she was beautiful. After she left that day, I asked Thomas what color her clothes were.

“It was that color,” I say now, calmly, pointing at her shirt. “Emerald green.”

I hold my breath, terrified I’ve said the wrong thing, but Rose’s eyes don’t change as the blond security guard lets out a deep sigh.

“Your fiancée did claim that the stone on her necklace was an aventurine. So, it was green.”

Oh thank Christ . I hide my surprise and nod, quietly proud of myself. Rose was right to insist that I should learn the chart. It wasn’t as pointless as I thought.

“How are we supposed to believe you?” the second security guard butts in. “This whole thing could be a scam. You could be lying, and we’d never know.”

“I could be lying whether I see colors or not. That’s a ridiculous argument.”

He doesn’t like my tone; I can tell. His colleague signals to him to be quiet and thanks me for my assistance. He leads me out, and once we’re in the corridor, I ask him what’s going to happen to Rose.

“I’m afraid we’ll need to ...”

“Excuse me?”

We turn toward the sight of an elegant brunette woman striding toward us.

The security guard seems to recognize her, because he gives her a wave and asks if everything’s all right.

She grimaces as she pulls something out of her bag.

I raise my eyebrows in amazement when I see the necklace that was reported missing.

“I’m afraid there’s been a mistake ... I found my necklace!”

The guard can’t believe his eyes. He questions her, but I’m not listening anymore.

The whole thing could be a coincidence, but my father taught me to question everything. This woman accuses Rose of stealing a necklace that is in fact very different from Rose’s, and then she finds the lost necklace, as if by magic ... just after I’ve come to give evidence?

I look around me uneasily, and my gaze falls on the source of my discomfort: Tito, deep in conversation with somebody over by the fountain. The whole time he talks, he stares at me. I watch him, not knowing what I’m looking for, but ...

He smiles and gives me a knowing wink.

That bastard.

“ I have to go.”

I head off toward the lifts and soon join the others in the suite, my hands still trembling and my heart beating. I’m kicking myself for being such an idiot. Tito was obviously behind the whole thing. I bet he was the one who gave her the bloody necklace in the first place.

And he made it disappear just before the police came to find Rose. He got his own daughter arrested, but why? What was the point of it all, if he ultimately intended for her to go free?

I ask Thomas this after I tell him the whole story, and his reply confirms my worst suspicions.

“To get at you.”

I laugh incredulously, running my hands through my hair. I didn’t even begin to see it coming. I rushed in blindly because Rose needed help, which was exactly what he predicted I’d do.

He knew my secret. He knew I couldn’t see colors, somehow.

Through Rose, perhaps—though when I consider this possibility, I don’t believe that for a second.

He concocted this cunning little plan, knowing full well that I’d do anything to clear her name .

.. and that in doing so, I’d have no choice but to expose my handicap.

After all these years, Tito knows me well enough to know I wouldn’t want people to find out—not because I’m embarrassed, but because I would hate for the world to see me differently.

I don’t want my adversaries to play against me knowing that I’m struggling.

I want them to think I do this effortlessly.

But what’s done is done. I regret nothing.

“I’m ready to bet that by tomorrow, everyone in the tournament will know.”

He’s right. That asshole used his daughter as bait to reel me in, and I can’t believe I let him do it. It was a moment of weakness, but it won’t happen again.

“It doesn’t matter. Let them talk! It’s time I stopped hiding, anyway.”

Thomas nods. “And what do we do about Rose?”

Whether she loves me or not, Rose is on our side.

Now we just have to convince her to help us destroy Tito once and for all.