She narrows her eyes but then acquiesces—a rare victory for me. “Fine.” She turns to Miss Wonder. “Ms. Maravilla, I hope you know that we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to physical altercations at Aces Underground.”
She brushes herself off. “I didn’t see you stopping us.”
She chuckles. “In an outfit like mine? I don’t think I’d be very successful. That’s why I called Chet.”
“It took him several minutes to get here.” Miss Wonder stares her Queen down. “Admit it. You were enjoying the spectacle.”
She widens her eyes, making the wings framing them take flight. “Nonsense. I loathe violence. Nothing upsets my poor heart more.”
Miss Wonder smirks, but then she heads off.
She’ll thread herself through the eye of the needle, and I’ll only need to stall Her Majesty for a few moments.
I take her into the grand suite. “Rouge.”
She crosses her arms. “Chet.”
“How are you doing? I wanted to ask if there had been any development with regard to the Seven of Spades.”
She jerks her gaze toward the curtains’ opening. “Careful, Chet. These areas aren’t soundproofed, as you are well aware.”
“Of course.” I bow my head. “Apologies, my Queen.”
She curls her lips. “And there is no news. But the Kings are out and about trying to track down information. I have it on good authority that Mr. Hathaway may in fact be aware that his father’s death was not entirely natural.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Again, so much I don’t know.
Her Majesty’s lips twist into a grin. “It’s a story I’m quite proud of. Henry Hathaway was the last person who tried to expose what we do here at Aces. How we…help others. It started with his HOUSE Act, which was meant to make us more transparent. That of course was a complete flop, so he tried taking matters into his own hands. It was ten years ago, back when my father started getting sick and I began taking over. He was already washed up from his last term as mayor and was looking to discover something about me that might help shine up his tarnished legacy. When I caught whiff of his plans to reveal our inner workings, I had his food poisoned with a concoction that mimicked the effects of a heart attack.” She cackles. “It was divine.”
I cross my arms. I understood Henry Hathaway knew something about what was going on, because I’d found out about the riddle he’d left his son upon his death. But no one would have taken his rantings and ravings seriously after what happened to his political career.
I want to find out more, but it’s been five minutes or so. It’s time to take Rouge to her office.
I bow my head once more. “I suppose I should be returning to my atrium. Do you mind if I use the bathroom in your office before I return?”
Her Majesty raises her eyebrows. “You’ve never asked to use the bathroom before.”
“Yes, but I ate something that doesn’t agree with me. And it would be improper for an employee to use the guest restrooms during service hours.”
She purses her lips but gestures out the grand suite. “Have at it. I’ll be right behind you.”
I cross the club and make my way to Her Majesty’s red door. I open it slowly and sure enough, Miss Wonder and Mr. Hathaway have opened the secret door behind the armoire in the office. I step through. The two of them are surrounded by a small pond of red diamonds and have their noses pressed into Her Majesty’s manifesto.
All the evidence they need to put her away. And this is all the evidence I need to put them away.
“Miss Wonder. Mr. Hathaway.”
Mr. Hathaway looks up, gives me a look I’ve never seen from him. As if he’s actually glad to see me. “Chet,” he says. “We need you to escort us out of here as quickly and discreetly as possible.”
I clasp my hands and slowly crane my neck over my left shoulder. I’m positively giddy. All my players have landed exactly into their places. “You might want to see what’s going on in here,” I call out.
Her Majesty narrows her eyes at me but then glides into the office, her lips pursed. When she sees Miss Wonder and Mr. Hathaway through the secret door in her armoire, she draws a slow hand up to the diamond necklace nestled in her cleavage, her eyes widened. She glares at the two invaders. “It looks like you two have been palming an ace.”
They don’t move.
Her Majesty raises her scepter. “I’m afraid Aces Underground has a strict policy about cheaters in the Diamonds section. This applies to all patrons, even the King and Queen themselves.”
