Sin City Homicide by Victor Methos

still felt empty to him. Regardless, no one was going anywhere with four million dollars of his money.
    As James was stepping out of the bathroom, Milton Henry approached him.
    “There you are. Where you been?”
    “Didn’t know my CEO got to ask me that and treat me like some asshole.”
    “I didn’t … I wasn’t saying—”
    “I’m just kidding, Milt. You need to relax. What do you need?”
    “Cal Robertson’s here, and he’s causing a scene. They called me down to take care of it, but he threw a drink in my face and called me a kike.”
    “Where is he?”
    “Near the stage.”
    James walked briskly through the casino and across the bridge over the strip. The casino occupied two buildings; he and Raj had come up with the idea together. One contained all the shops, shows, and attractions. The other was solely for gambling, a place where the hardcore gamblers could be alone while their families whittled away their time watching dance numbers and magic shows.
    He made his way past the act on stage and saw that several of his guards had cornered Cal. He was ranting, flailing his arms, and shouting so loud that people were turning to look at him. James brushed past his men and grabbed Cal’s arm.
    “What the fuck are you doing? Are you drunk again?”
    “You son of a bitch,” Cal said, ripping his arm away. “You son of a bitch. I’ll have your ass, you cocksucker. She was nineteen, you motherfucker.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Fuck you . Fuck you!”
    He spit in James’s face. Milton handed him a handkerchief, and he calmly wiped the spit off.
    “You need to calm down, Calvin. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “I’m meeting with the board. You’re a psychopath, you cocksucker. We’re throwing your ass back to the ghetto you came from. And maybe I’ll have a talk with the cops, huh? I know what you did to Daniel, you fucker.”
    “I had nothing to do with that, Cal.”
    “Bullshit. You always hated his guts. You’re a murderer on top of a fucking cocksucker.”
    “Get out of my casino.” James glanced around quickly and saw that only a handful of people were watching.
    “It’s not your casino, you—”
    Before Cal could finish his sentence, James bashed his fist into Cal’s jaw, knocking him back. One of his men grabbed Cal, and before he could open his mouth, James had struck him in the genitals and uppercut him in the face.
    “Get him outta here.”
    James watched as his men dragged away a barely conscious Cal Robertson. He put his hands on his hips and swore under his breath.
    “That’s not good, boss.”
    “You don’t need to tell me. Um, get… um, fuck. First, get me some fucking ice for my hand, then get the board on the line.”
    “Everyone?”
    “Everyone.”
     

10
     
     
     
    Leaning against the Cadillac, Stanton waited for Marty out on the curb. He was reading on his iPhone when a valet came up to him.
    “Nice car.”
    “Thanks. It’s not mine. Just a rental.”
    “Still, all a man needs is to drive that around for a little bit.”
    “You think so?”
    “I don’t know. You seem happy enough.”
    “Thanks.”
    “Whatcha readin’?”
    “Ecclesiastes.”
    “Who wrote it?”
    “It’s in the Old Testament. It’s my favorite book from the Bible, actually.”
    “Oh, you a Christian man? Well , that’s cool. We see a lotta your folk down here. I’m Baptist myself. You?”
    “Mormon.”
    “No shit? Let me tell you, man, I went down to Park City for that Sundance Film Festival. Ain’t never been treated better by folks in my life. You Mormons is okay with me.”
    “See any good movies?”
    “Nah, I go for the food and the sight-seein’. Them movies is all messed up. Made by the celebrities I see up in here every day, and them folks is really messed. Like someone said, ‘They walk around like they so fine, but their assholes smell just like mine.’ You know what I’m sayin’?”
    He smiled. “Yeah, I