Aces and Knaves

James. He told me once he knew James too well to do that."
    Smart fellow. I remembered something. "James wanted Ned to exercise his stock options and keep the stock, didn't he? That way, Ned's proxy is worth more and James doesn't have to buy as many shares in the open market."
    "If you know so much, why are you asking me?"
    Oops, I didn't want to aggravate him. In reality, Ned had exercised his options and immediately sold the stock, so something must have come between him and James.
    "I heard a wild story," I said, "that James and Ned were in a casino in the desert east of LA and Ned lost a ton of money playing blackjack."
    "It's true," Stan said. "James and Ned went to Palm Springs to look at a company there, a possible acquisition for Tartan. I don't know why he took Ned along; I did the analysis on the company and I knew a hell of a lot more about it than Ned did."
    Stan poured himself a fresh cup of coffee and stirred milk into it with such vigor that it sloshed over the side of the cup and onto the saucer.
    "So they stopped at the casino," I prompted.
    "They stopped at the casino and Ned completely lost it—his head and his money. James was so amazed that when he returned here that he couldn't stop talking about it."
    "And so that was the end of their deal?"
    "Which deal?"
    "The deal for Tartan to acquire Dionysus."
    "It should have been. Especially if the deal meant Ned being CEO of Dionysus. I mean the guy was two quarts low. But, incredibly, James stuck with him. He still wanted to do the deal, make Ned CEO and all. I can tell you, he wouldn't have done that with anybody else."
    "Then why did he have Ned killed?"
    Stan looked at me as though he hadn't heard me. I knew he had so I stared back at him, trying to remain calm. He deliberately got up from the table and walked toward the door to the kitchen. When he got there he turned around and said, "You'd better be careful what you say. You don't want to end up like Ned."
    This was the second time he had voiced that threat.
    ***
    When I opened the door to the bedroom I heard the click of computer keys. Arrow was sitting cross-legged on her bed, wearing a T-shirt, with her laptop, appropriately, in her lap. The computer was connected to a phone jack in the wall. She looked good in the white shirt against her tan-colored arms and bare legs, but then she looked good wearing anything—or nothing.
    "Is this the newest in leisure wear for the up-and-coming female executive?" I asked.
    "I found it in your overnight bag," she said, tossing a mock-coy look at me over her shoulder and then turning back to the keyboard. "I hope you don't mind. I figured I should be wearing something when you returned. You don't seem to like me when I'm wearing nothing."
    Apparently, I hadn't communicated my likes and dislikes successfully to Arrow. "So you're being diligent, checking email and executing all the other important duties of your position."
    "I am feeling guilty because we didn't accomplish anything yesterday."
    "We know more about how James operates and how he plays his current version of The Game."
    "But that doesn't help us pin Ned's murder on him. Besides, I have to call Richard at nine to tell him where we are and give him the daily briefing." She paused and looked around at the antique furniture, including a huge rocking chair that had probably survived the 1906 earthquake. "I love this room. And did you see that bathtub? It has jets and everything. I could spend my life in that. How long do you think they'll let us stay here?"
    "If we stay here tonight we might end up with bullets in our backs."
    "Meaning..."
    "Meaning that I just talked to Stan and made him mad."
    "Is he still here?"
    "No, he left, either to go to work or to look up the gangbangers who do his dirty work for him." I gave Arrow a short description of our meeting.
    "Is it a good idea to antagonize Stan? If he was really the one who got Ned killed..."
    "What was he going to do, stab me with a kitchen knife? Somehow, that doesn't seem like his style. But we are going to have to be careful around him."
    "Do you think James had Ned killed because Ned somehow didn't carry out his part of their bargain in regard to Dionysus?"
    "James apparently doesn't suffer defectors lightly." And if I didn't produce Elma's proxy, I would be a defector.
    Arrow considered that. "Should I try to talk to Stan?"
    "For reasons already stated, I don't think it's a good idea, especially since you're associated with me."
    "So