Chapter 6

Julie and Alex made their way toward a large door on the top floor of the casino. Alex was a little more at ease because he had been given a robe to wear by the floor boss. As they approached, a buzzer sounded and the door sprang ajar. Alex looked up to see a small video camera pointed in their direction.

"The owner of this place obviously has security issues," whispered Alex.

The great door opened onto a very large room with glass windows two stories tall along two adjoining sides.

"Wow, get a load of the view," whispered Alex pointing toward a seaward panorama of breathtaking splendor. Dark-blue ocean mottled here and there with lighter turquoise of a lagoon created a stunning vista all the way to the horizon.

"Beautiful," replied Julie nervously.

Steps led from the entry landing down to a sunken sitting area near the windows. Four soft leather couches, situated like compass points, surrounded an enormous coffee table of burled wood. Seated on the couches already were Ingrid and JJ, Beverly and George, and a third young couple, obviously wealthy and strikingly handsome.

"Some more losers, I see. Come on in, the water's fine," said JJ as if he were the one in charge. "The butler dude will be back in a bit. He went to get us something to drink."

Julie and Alex sheepishly moved toward the empty fourth couch and took their seats.

"I see that they already got your clothes, my man," said JJ nodding toward Alex's robe.

"First my money, then my clothes, I'm afraid," sighed Alex. "I'm Alex Adams... my wife, Julie." Alex extended his hand to George.

"George and Beverly Morgan," said George.

"And, you, of course, are JJ Johnson." Alex blushed. "I'm a big football fan."

JJ beamed. "Yes sir, I'm JJ and this here is my wife Ingrid."

All eyes turned toward the other young couple. He had sun bleached blond hair, a dark tan, and muscles that bulged under his tee shirt, a real beachcomber type. She was clearly the taller of the two, even while sitting. Long tanned legs projected from under a very short skirt and long, strawberry blond hair spilled over her slim shoulders.

"I'm Ian and this is me wife, Mona," said the young man. His accent obviously placed his origin outside the United States. "We're from Australia, as you might guess from the accent. Nice to meet you, mate." He arose to shake Alex's hand.

Julie tried faintly to smile, but anxiety about her present situation caused her quickly to return to the forlorn despair she had felt on the elevator ride up to this level. She knew deep inside that the situation could only get more embarrassing for her and for Alex.

Just then a dark-skinned islander with a bright smile and a flowered shirt swept into the room.

"Something to drink, sir, madam? Some champagne, perhaps, or a cocktail?"

Julie looked at her watch. 3:00 p.m., she thought, a little early to start drinking.

"Champagne would be great," answered Alex, "for both of us."

Julie's eyes widened. Alex saw her disagreement, but he simply smiled.

A side door opened suddenly and all eyes turned to greet John Cord. He was immediately in charge.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I know that you are anxious about being here, so let me quickly assure you that the Casino du Roturier is all about fun. No harm will come to you in any way. So, I hope that you will relax and, perhaps, even get caught up in the mirth making. As Alex here can tell you, however, the mirth sometimes comes at our patrons' expense, and, in this case, those patrons are you."

He paused and smiled a comforting smile.

"Each of you agreed to continue playing our naughty little games," Cord continued. "And in doing so, you may find yourself winning a significant amount of money in the process."

John Cord paused waiting for smiles but none were forthcoming.

"The clothing all of you are wearing right now, of course, is on loan from the casino since we actually own it. So, at any time during our little attempts at fun, you may withdraw from the proceedings by simply removing your clothes and handing them over to one of my employees. After that, you are free to stay or go."