“I certainly can’t blame you for that. You have a very nice place here, Mr. Littletree. My friend and I just finished having the ribs at your restaurant and they were delicious.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying your evening with us.” Paul Littletree rose from his chair and Hannah knew that her interview was over. “Tell your parents that we appreciate their concern. And come out to see us again soon.”

When Hannah emerged from the office, the security guard was waiting for her. He wore the same unsmiling visage as he escorted her back into the main part of the casino, and Hannah fought the urge to do something to rattle his composure. If he ever decided to move to England, he’d be a shoo-in to replace one of the guards at Buckingham Palace.

Lisa was right where Hannah had left her, sitting in front of the same slot machine. There was a pile of quarters in the tray and Hannah was surprised. “Are you winning, Lisa?”

“I think I’m a couple of dollars ahead.” Lisa glanced down at her tray. “Why don’t you try it? It’s really a lot of fun.”

“All right, but only for a few minutes. I want to get back before nine. Just let me get some change.”

“Take some of these.” Lisa scooped some quarters out of the tray and handed them to her. “Maybe they’ll bring you luck.”

The machine next to Lisa was empty and Hannah sat down. Her last suspect had been eliminated. If the bouncer had been at the hospital with his wife, there was no way he could have shot Ron. As Hannah pulled the handle and lost her first quarter, she wondered what people found so fascinating about slot machines. They weren’t really interactive, but the man across the aisle from her was patting his machine with his left hand while he pulled the handle with his right.

It must be superstitious behavior, Hannah decided, and as she glanced at the people around her, she realized that every one of them was doing something to try to change their luck. The lady in the red dress talked to her machine, murmuring endearments as the reels spun around. The older man in the polo shirt held down the handle until the reels stopped moving and then he released it to fly back with a jerk. The young brunette in the pink sweater was cupping her left hand in the coin tray as if she could will the coins to fall. Hannah was amused as she turned back to her machine. Everything was mechanized. Didn’t they realize that nothing they could do would change the outcome?

Prompted by the thought that the sooner they left, the sooner she could get home to Moishe and her comfortable bed, Hannah noticed that it was possible to drop five quarters into the coin slot before she pulled the handle. That was nice. She’d get rid of her money five times faster that way. Hannah concentrated on dropping in multiple coins, pulling the handle, and waiting to drop in more.