Deviant Read Free

more years he’d be on half pay by now living on easy street, and if he’d stayed on at the Glynn Casino he could be earning big bucks too, but he had screwed up that job just like he had screwed up half a dozen others since.
    Walt was Danny’s stepdad, of course; his real father was a married guy living in Illinois with a whole other family and kids. Juanita—Danny’s mom—never talked about him, but that was the information he’d been able to get from his aunts over the years. Some guy who had lied to her and made her promises and got her pregnant and then skedaddled. Danny was an only child, but sometimes he thought about those half brothers and sisters out there. How many of them were there? Were there boys? Girls? Whereabouts in Illinois? Chicago?
    When he visited his cousins in L.A., he was jealous of their bunk beds and private games, secret handshakes and jokes. They always included him in the games (he was a year older than Jose, and Jose kind of looked up to him),but when the weekend was over it was back to Vegas and his big, spacious, comfortable, lonely bedroom.
    â€œYou know, I’m not really supposed to drink coffee,” Danny said.
    Walt put his arm around Danny’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s just sit and talk. We never get a chance to talk. Let me get you a chocolate-chip muffin. What do you say?”
    Danny sighed and they sat at the Starbucks near the luggage carousel.
    Of course they didn’t talk. Walt was absorbed in his thoughts and Danny spent the time wondering if he should adjust the grip tape on Sunflower. His foot had almost slipped on that vert earlier.
    â€œDanny,” Walt said in a conspiratorial whisper.
    His eyes had narrowed and he had a reckless grin on his face that Danny had seen one or two times before.
    â€œDanny, do you see that fellow over there?”
    Walt had gone to some fancy New England boarding school and sometimes his voice adopted a slightly more patrician accent than normal, and he used phrases like “do you see that fellow …”
    â€œWhat fellow?” Danny sneered.
    â€œThat fellow. He’s going to try something, watch, just watch.”
    â€œI’m not interested, Walt. Leave me alone.”
    â€œWhen are you going to start calling me Dad? Huh? Ever?” Walt said angrily.
    The Walt/Dad thing was just another one of his tactics,but one that tended to work. Danny was guilt-tripped into silence.
    â€œYou see that character over there with the blond hair and the twitches? He’s been looking at that little black suitcase going round and round for the last fifteen minutes. Everyone else has got their bags and gone. That one’s unclaimed, and you know why it’s unclaimed?”
    â€œ
No se.
”
    â€œBecause whoever owned the suitcase didn’t travel with it. They didn’t make the flight, but the bag did. And that dude over there is going to steal it.”
    The word “steal” made Danny cringe.
    A month ago he’d been caught stealing a Snickers bar from the 7-Eleven. The cops had dragged him home and embarrassed him in front of Walt and his mother.
    His mom had made a big deal out of it.
    And when JJ’s basketball money had gone missing from the locker room and people had accused him, his mom had not believed that he was innocent.
    They were all so high-and-mighty about it.
    â€œWhat are you going to do about it if he does take it? Turn him in? It’s a victimless crime, isn’t it? It’s insured, right?” Danny said.
    â€œI’m going to stop him before he gets into trouble,” Walt said.
    â€œNo, you’re not. Just sit down.”
    Walt began walking toward the baggage carousel.
    â€œNo. Walt, don’t do it!” Danny pleaded, swallowing themuffin, grabbing Sunflower, and trying to catch him before it was too late.
    Walt picked the suitcase off the carousel and began carrying it over to the United desk. Before