Hocus Croakus Read Online Free PDF Page A

Arizona. And somehow, even though Joe had a bit of the gambler in him, he and Judith hadn’t spent time together at a real casino.
    As always, the people fascinated Judith most. A woman sat in the dollar section with a Chihuahua on her lap. The dog was pushing the buttons with his paw. As the cousins passed by, the woman pulled the dog’s ear.
    â€œYou lost again, you little twerp. I’m not giving you any more money if you don’t come up with a jackpot on the next three tries.”
    Judith was amused, but Renie didn’t seem to notice. She was moving like a running back, dodging a slot mechanic here, a cocktail waitress there, and making end runs around anybody else who blocked the aisles between the banks of machines.
    Judith couldn’t keep up. She would have lost Renie had her cousin not sat down at a quarter console in the Spring section of the casino where pink and white petals drifted down and dissolved upon contact. Fortunately, there was an open seat next to Renie.
    â€œOkay,” Renie said, slipping a crisp twenty-dollar bill into the machine. “Watch. I’ve put in twenty bucks, it’ll register as eighty quarters. I play off the credits. It saves my shoulder from inserting coins every time. Always bet the maximum, which is two quarters on both these machines. If you don’t play all the required coins, you can’t win the big jackpot or any bonuses.” As Renie explained, she pointed to the payoffs on Judith’s machine. “What we’ve got here are two different kinds of Farmer in the Dell machines. They pay and play the same, only the animals and other symbols are different. Got it?”
    Judith’s head was whirling. “I think so. Maybe I’ll watch you first. I didn’t realize you’d been here before.”
    â€œJust once,” Renie replied, pushing a button. “Drat. Nothing.” She pushed the button again. “Bill and I stopped in last month when they were razing the cabin. Phooey.” She hit the machine a third time.
    â€œWhat were the contractors doing today?” Judith asked as a raven-haired cocktail waitress in scanty buckskin attire sauntered by inquiring, “Cocktails?”
    Renie turned to the waitress. “A Pepsi, please.”
    Judith looked uncertain, then requested a diet 7-UP. “Are the drinks free?” she whispered to Renie as the waitress moved away.
    â€œYes, but tip her at least a dollar.” Renie was looking not just intense, but grim. “I’m down to sixty coins. Maybe we should move on. I never play a machine that doesn’t start shelling out right away.”
    Judith stood up. “If you move, I’ll find you. I’d like to see how Joe’s doing.” Somehow, the idea of watching Andrew Jackson disappear into a dark hole made her nervous.
    â€œI won’t be very far,” Renie said, then let out a satisfied sound. “I got twenty. Coins, that is. I’ll stay here for now.”
    The table games weren’t that far from the quarter slots. There were long rows of blackjack tables, starting with a five-dollar limit. Judith figured they must go down in amounts, but after the first eight tables, she encountered ten-dollar limits, then twenty-five.
    A feeling of unease overcame her. Had Joe been foolish enough to play in a high-stakes game? Maybe the three-dollar tables were on the other side of the pit. As she turned the corner, she spotted Joe, talking to abarrel-chested man with a handlebar mustache and wearing what looked like an expensive suit.
    â€œJoe!” she exclaimed. “I’ve been looking for you.”
    â€œHey, Jude-girl, meet Pancho Green, the casino manager. He used to work in Vegas at Caligula’s Palazzo.”
    Although Judith put out her hand, her face froze for just an instant. Caligula’s Palazzo was where Joe had married his first wife, Vivian, while he was in a drunken stupor.
    â€œHello, Mr.