Brothers Scott and Chris Worley have been Mary's witnesses for five years and hold a soft spot in her heart: they were her very first witnesses. They came into the program alone ten years ago when Scott was twenty and Chris was only ten after witnessing the murder of a local loan shark by a bigger local gangster who had decided that he wanted to own Chris and his budding talents on the basketball court. Since the boys' parents died, Scott had been looking after Chris for most of his life-a responsibility that didn't change when they entered the program and one that he takes very seriously to this day.
Now it looks like all Scott's hard work is paying off. Not only is Chris the star of his college basketball team, the Tigers, for Division 2 Los Lunas College, but also Division 1 scouts are showing a lot of interest. After Scott invites Mary and Marshall to attend a game to see Chris's talent in action, Mary becomes suspicious that Chris has a gambling problem. It was no big deal that he asked to borrow $3,000 from her for a new computer and school books, which Mary is not allowed to do according to Program rules, but when she finds out that he had already gotten three grand from Scott, she realizes that Chris was trying to con her.
Technically, Mary shouldn't be getting involved in their personal affairs at this point, but this particular issue touches on an old personal wound for Mary, since her father, who has been missing for twenty-five years, was a gambling addict. Is it a coincidence that Jinx just received a letter from the FBI stating that unless otherwise contested, they are going to petition the court to declare her father legally deceased-or synchronicity?
