Aces and Knaves

watching her from my window, probably because she was married to my father. But I watched her anyway.
    I went down the stairs and out the door. I closed it and locked the dead bolt with exaggerated slowness to give Jacie time to cover up. I needn't have bothered. As I walked past the pool she was floating on her back. I hurried my steps, not looking directly at her.
    "Where is the gay caballero off to this morning?"
    Jacie's looks might have gotten her into silent films, but she couldn't make it into the talkies because of the harshness of her voice. Her body wasn't bad, however. I felt that since she had addressed me I was entitled, so I looked directly at her and confirmed not for the first time that she was a natural blond. I said, "I'm going to tilt at a few windmills and right some unrightable wrongs."
    "Well, just make sure you don't queer things instead of righting them." She laughed.
    Jacie was comedically challenged. I jerked my head to the front with an effort and went through the open sliding door into the castle. I was in the formal dining room, with its massive chandelier from Austria. I heard noises from the adjacent kitchen.
    I poked my head through the door and said, "Hi, Luz, how's my sweetheart?"
    "Karl! Mi hijo ."
    I went to her and gave her a hug. As I put my arms around her ample body I thought of the mother I no longer had.
    "I'm cooking spareribs for dinner," she said. "I have a great tomato sauce. I will make enough for you, if you like."
    "That sounds wonderful, but I don't know when I'll be home."
    "Would you like me to put them in your refrigerator? You only have to heat them in the microwave. And I will give you some beans, too."
    "Thanks, Luz. I don't know what I'd do without you."
    "You would waste away to a spot of grease. But I will take care of you."
    "Bye. Gotta run." I waved to her and dashed toward the garage. I have to admit that I learned two things from my father. One was to treat the "janitors" well because they can help you. Luz's title was actually housekeeper. I invested her IRA for her; it had tripled in value in the last two years, partly because of Dionysus stock. Fortunately, I had sold Dionysus near the top.
    The garage had three outside doors, but inside it was big enough to hold at least six cars. The advantage of designing your own house is that you can build in extras like that. My father had torn down the previous house on the lot and built his castle from scratch. He liked nice cars. I could drive any one of them, except the classic Rolls Royce Corniche, in return for helping to take care of them.
    The second thing I learned from my father was, regardless of your income, always spend less than you take in if you want to become wealthy. Since I didn't have much income that was difficult to do. But not owning a car was a big savings for me because I didn't have to worry about payments, insurance and depreciation.
    My father had driven the BMW this morning, as he usually did. Jacie liked to drive the Mercedes. I often drove the red 1966 Jaguar XKE Roadster, but today I wanted something inconspicuous. The least conspicuous car was a beige Toyota Camry. It had been Jacie's before she married my father, but now she never drove it.
    By moving the Mercedes I was able to free the Toyota and back it out of the garage. I activated the electronic gate across the driveway with my remote and drove through the fence. As I started along the street, mindful of the residential 25 mile-per-hour speed limit, I glanced at my watch and realized I was going to be late for my appointment.
    ***
    Years of living in Palos Verdes had taught me the shortcuts through the maze of curvy hillside streets, so I quickly got to Crenshaw Boulevard where I could make better time and coasted down to Pacific Coast Highway, on the flatland. I arrived at the restaurant only five minutes late.
    The restaurant was sparsely populated with patrons. The breakfast crowd was gone and it was too early for the lunch bunch. I wondered whether I could pick out Arrow, but before I had a chance to look around I saw an arm waving from a booth.
    The young woman attached to the arm was much too good looking to be in business, but there was nobody else near me she could be waving to so I walked over to her and said, "Hi, I'm Karl."
    "I'm Arrow. My pleasure. Have a seat."
    We shook hands. She had a firm, dry grip. She indicated the part of the semi-circular, vinyl-covered seat opposite her and I sat down. She wore a red