Jennings Kavenaugh, a thirty-year-old bachelor who likes flashy suits and shoes, is a pit boss at the Royal Flush Casino in Detroit. It has taken him thirteen years to make the climb up the casino ladder to his current role of accounting for the winners and losers. But Jennings has just one problem-he hates gamblers who cannot stop gambling. Jennings has a reason for all his hatred for addicted gamblers: his father committed suicide over his own gambling debts. Years later, Jennings is still haunted by the memories, and now all of his efforts to rebuild his life are about to disintegrate. When a casino guest leaves her young children at home alone while she visits the casino to try her luck, Jennings snaps. Enraged at her selfish act, he makes an impulsive decision that changes his life forever. In a thriller that takes twists and turns through the unpredictable world of risk, high stakes, and compulsion, a serial killer is unleashed and will not stop until his mission is complete.

Pit Boss

By Michael L. Odden

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Michael L. Odden
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-0277-1

Chapter One

"Hey, kiddo, when I get back, me and you are going to play catch, an' maybe even go to a ball game.

OK?"

"OK, Daddy."

"I love you, Jennings."

"I love you, too, Daddy."

So ended the last conversation Jennings Kavenaugh would ever have with his father. The next morning his father was found in his car on the other side of town. He had shot himself. He left a note in the glove compartment, in which he apologized to his wife for blowing all their money. He also begged for forgiveness from his children. Jennings often thought of this on his way to work. He didn't know why.

Welcome to the Royal Flush, the premier casino in the city of Detroit, plush, lush and completely state-of-the-art. Jennings Kavenaugh had heard all the crap before; he'd been working at the Royal Flush since it opened. But every morning he heard it coming in to work, it didn't matter that this was the employee parking lot. The automatic voice came on like clockwork.

Jennings managed the blackjack, roulette and crap tables. He was a pit boss. It was his job to account for the winners and the losers in his section, to make sure the floor supervisors were watching the dealers, and that the dealers were doing their jobs the right way. He had worked his way up from dealer to floor to pit boss and it took him all of 13 years to make the climb. It had been easier for him than most because he had experience, working at the Indian casino up north. His quick rise could also have been due to his cool attitude and charm. When the Royal first opened he was a dealer, so he understood all his coworkers' complaints, and was always empathetic when dealing with them. He would listen but was also able to get them to understand the business side of things, and make them want to do a better job. The floor supervisors liked him because he helped out when things got busy. He didn't sweat the money and tried to make the day go by smoothly by ensuring that everyone had fun. He joked with the players, too. Even the bosses liked Jennings because they knew he had a winning personality and did a great job with the assets.

Jennings walked his pit watching, talking and listening to everyone. When players got out of line, he had a smooth way of dealing with them and getting them to understand the casino's point of view. Sometimes he gave in to a player and gave them a meal pass. He said, `if you feed them, you had a better chance of them coming back and behaving better. He also stood up for the other employees. When a player complained about the service, he defended the servers, explaining how they had to cover so much ground and that they did the best they could.

Jennings was a thirty-year-old bachelor who liked sharp flashy suits and shoes. When he arrived at the casino, he spoke to everyone from security to servers, and even some players. He got himself a cup of coffee in the employee dining area and checked the schedule for his pit assignment. When he got to his area, he prepared the pit for his gaming shift. He checked the inventory numbers, signed his name and assigned his dealers to their tables. The floor supervisors arrived, went to their designated sections and got their own paperwork finally, the dealers signed in and reported to their assigned tables. Once the cards were on the tables and the money was verified, the games could begin. Jennings phoned the shift office that everyone was present and the games were open. One of his floor supervisors was Justine Drake, a middle-aged woman who had moved from Atlantic City to Detroit. Justine had been in the business longer than Kavenaugh, but didn't know as many table games as he did. Jennings walked to her section.

"What's up, Justine?"

"My pressure, that's what. You know I hate this damn section."

"Sorry, babe, but I trust you more than the others. Look at my crew."

Justine laughed because she could see the other supervisors, Kevin Crown and Neal Harris.

Kevin was a young know-it-all, who really didn't know shit, and Neal may have known a lot at one time, but drugs and time had deteriorated most of his brain cells. He remembered just enough to get by.

"Who do you have running relief?" Justine asked.

"Steve Granger. It's his weekend coming up."

As the day progressed, Jennings found himself watching the players more than usual. He watched their facial expressions, and body language. He even tried to listen in on some of their conversations. He wondered if his father had acted in the same way as some of these players, miserable, cussing and fussing at everyone from dealers to servers, and supervisors. Losing was always someone else's fault. The day ran smoothly as usual, and by the end of the shift there had been no big winners. Kavanaugh relinquished the pit to the new boss, an older woman named Sheryl Cummings. He stopped to say goodbye to Justine.

"Later, J."

"Bye, Jennings."

Jennings raced out of the casino and jumped into his ride. His first stop after work was the gym. After his workout, he swung by the grocery store, and then went to his apartment. He pulled into the gated

community, and parked. He took a quick shower, fixed his meal and sat on the couch to eat. Just as he was about to take a bite of his food, the phone rang.

"Damn, can I even get into the house good? Who the hell would call me right after work?" "Hello. Oh, hey, Mom. How are you?"

Jennings' mom was a retired schoolteacher who spent much of her time helping her mother and father. Mable Kavanaugh had a hint of frustration in her voice when she answered, "Jennings, you could call your mother sometime. I mean, I could be lying over here dead and you wouldn't even know it."

"Sure I would, Ma. G-ma would call me, heh, heh."

"That's not very funny, mister," his mother replied.

"Sorry, Ma. What's new over there?"

His mother proceeded to update him about all his aunts and uncles who had become ill, his grandfather's bout with constipation, and all her own nagging ailments. During a slight pause, he was able to get in a question.

"How's Chloe? I haven't heard from her since school started."

"Your sister is doing fine, just getting adjusted to life away from the dorms. Renting an apartment will really start to prepare her for the real world. I'm so proud of her for following in my footsteps instead of your sorry-ass fath-".

"Aw, c'mon, Ma, please, please give it a rest sometime." Jennings couldn't stand it when his mother berated his dead father, and she did it all the time.

"I'm just saying she could've done worse."

"I understand, Ma. How is my G-ma doing?"

"She's doing very well. I swear she'll outlive all of us, she has so much energy. And your brother is also doing well."

"That's cool," replied Jennings. "Well, Ma, I gotta go finish eating, so I'll talk to you later, OK?"

"Alright baby," she responded, I'll talk to you later. Bye-bye."

Jennings wasn't trying to be rude to his mother, but it irritated him when his mother dogged his father out, and she seemed to do it every time she talked to him. He wondered if she talked about his father to everyone like she did to him, or did she save the bad mouthing for just his ears only. Jennings ate his dinner and started to get ready for the next day of work. He went to his closet to pick out a suit from the many he owned. He pushed past the six-button suits, pressed on...