"The People All Said Beware," by Christopher Latragna, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2022.
It's St. Louis, MO, in 1955. Henry is a professional gambler who works mostly on a steamboat called the Duchess. One day he learns that the ship will be off-limits on Saturday due, according to rumor, to a mob wedding.
Henry thinks it odd that the management of the ship would close down on the busiest day of the week, so he begins to investigate.
This reminds me of a spy story, although there is not a shred of espionage involved. Like a classic John LeCarre tale, or a set of matryoshka dolls, each secret exposed only reveals another secret, right up to the end.
The title is another secret, at least for me, since it is obviously a quotation, but from what? The answer is perfectly appropriate.
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