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Launder Care combines the realities of criminal enterprise, with inter-gang rivalries, political intrigue, and small businesses trying to survive on small margins. The settings of Ybor City (Tampa), Atlanta, and New York City provide for unexpected connections that lead to both the expansion of Stanley’s syndicate while exposing his organization to greater scrutiny and rivalry. Don’t overlook historical and fictionalized connections to politicians, the Cold War, segregationists, and how their fortunes changed those of others. You will learn about the main characters and how their connections play out over the course of decades. Will the mob get a slap on the wrist for using small mom and pop operations like childcare centers, corner stores, and laundromats for money laundering or will they get their just desserts?
Enjoy, but don't fold too early. |
What to Know about She Folds
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The Suspects
What happens when a pot head pharmacist and wiccan regularly plays poker with an evangelical Christian who is having an affair with one of the player’s wives? What happens when a medical adviser and amateur architect becomes enamored with a cigar-smoking construction worker who is the only female player. How long will the wife of a player allow a womanizing player to continue to participate when she knows of her underage daughter’s unrequited love for him. Why did they let only one woman be part of their group? Why don’t they stop the liquor store cashier from stalking their wives and borrowing money from them to play? Will the murderer be the nurse with the short fuse, the former navy Seal with PTSD, the gun-totting survivalist, the gay professional who has not come out, a jealous lover, or one of a half-dozen other characters who visit during the poker nights?
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The Victim
The victim had problems with nearly everyone who came to play poker and nearly everyone had problems with her. Even the children of the family tried to avoid her. She tried to impose her religious and anti-immigrant views on everyone, including the players and their families (several were not Christians or minorities). Even so, she loved to host the poker nights and show off her home. She knew her hors d’oeuvres and refreshments were the best among the other wives. Anytime there was a host cancellation, she volunteered her home for the poker night. She especially hoped to be the first woman invited to play, but that did not happen. She had hoped to be the “cool mom,” but that did not happen. She had hoped to be remove the sin from the players, but that did not happen. After her car accident, she was prescribed opioids, kicked it, and began using marijuana to ease her pain --- but she never told her husband.
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The Last Poker Night
It was a normal blistering and humid Florida winter night when the group got together for their regular monthly poker night. Poker night started as a way for these life-long friends to keep connected after they got into their 30’s, got married, got divorced, got remarried, had kids, and generally went through “adult stuff.” The group started with six regular players and occasionally some good friends and family would step in as observers or players. The group stayed at the original six remained core, until five years ago. Having had a solid poker club for more than two decades was an incredible feat. The group withstood personal fights, old rivalries, wives who were jealous of the guys, wives who were jealous of each other, funerals of parents, funerals of children, cancers, heart attacks (even one at the table), DUIs on the way home, DUIs on the way there, and anything else you can think of. This was a tight group. Somehow, over the years, they all ended up gravitating to the same neighborhood.
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