Jones and Lovemarine arrived at 6:03. There was time for a quick bite of food before Vincent de More was due to arrive, but they were unwilling to risk any greater amount of time away from the apartment. Slight worry was paid to de More staking the place out and seeing the detective arrive.


    Jones set up his trap to be attached to the base of the counter. He planned to sit on the edge of the sofa when Vincent walked through the door. The door was left unlocked to ensure that the private eye was as far away from the murderer as possible. If there was to be a fight, it was best for it to not happen immediately. The two were heavily reliant upon the fact that Vincent would confess.


    Jones tested his contraption and then reset the device. The ecstatic grin following the powerful whip of the wooden plank was caused by his extreme satisfaction with the handiwork.


    Still three hours remained before they expected the arrival of de More. Lovemarine took out a deck of cards and asked Jones if he was willing to play. Jones agreed with a sense of reluctancy, The hesitancy appeared to be genuine, after all there was no other way to kill the time in the apartment. Truthfully, Jones'' voice had lied. He enjoyed the thrill of the gamble just was reticent to show it to a man he was coming to respect.


    "You are not the kind of person to count cards, right?" asked the detective as he shuffled the deck.


    "No, it is doesn''t make that much of a difference. I read a book about it once. The technique was enthralling, seemed like a true demonstration of intelligence, but then the guide ended by saying how much of an advantage once can expect. Simply, the juice is not worth the squeeze." replied the man now eager to receive his two cards.


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    "I take it you do not gamble much." asserted Jones expecting a response.


    "No, I do not have the time nor the needed additional stress of losing what money I do have."


    "Busy life?"


    "I have two kids and a wife. One kid is just about done with college and the other, she is just now graduating high school." responded the detective.


    "Why take the risk of being a homicide detective then? Being shot poses the threat of consuming more time than gambling ever could." asked Jones.


    "If I did not do this job, who would? Most people have great fear of being near the dregs of society. I feel this is where I am needed most." said Lovemarine while handing out the second round of cards.


    "Although, these days I feel the fear starting to take hold. Today, I truly felt nervous when on the ground, just praying that the person had no angle to finish us off. Well generally you hope that you do not die, but before today it was always a sense of I can''t die now I have to get justice. Today, I was motivated to continue living to see my family again."  admitted the middle aged detective.


    "Do you ever feel fear son?"


    Jones replied, "All the time. I just try to not let it affect me. I think it is natural to worry."


    Lovemarine here offered some advice, "My first partner on the force gave me some words of wisdom on the matter. Thinking is for before action and not during. You sometimes just have to do what you think is best and never look back. Do not blame yourself for an unfavorable outcome. Just take solace in the fact that you tried. Trying is more than what most people will ever do in their life. Most people take orders. That is fine at some juncture, but not in this line of work."


    "Seems to make sense." said Jones with a smile. He had drawn his first blackjack of the night.


    "So when Vincent de More steps through that door, what will you do?" asked detective Lovemarine of the private eye.


    "I am just going to take justice as it comes and accept whatever number is written in the cards."