Shot to Death by Stephen D. Rogers

Author:Stephen D. Rogers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Down & Out Books

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ONE-EYED JACKS

“Deal already.”

“Shaddup.”

“Guys, let’s just cool it.”

“Not even Mike’s deal.”

Mike continued to shuffle with certain hands. “It’s my turn. Dealer’s choice.”

Ned groaned. “This isn’t going to be another one of your screwy games, is it? Drink up everybody. We’re going to need fortification.”

Mike placed a card face down in front of Ned. “It’s called Jack-off.”

“You’re joking.”

Mike placed cards in front of Omar, Paul, and himself. “Each player gets one card face down. Then I deal the rest face up.”

“What’s the object?”

“If you receive a black card, you chug a shot of Jack.” Mike reached down and slammed a full bottle onto the table.

“What if you get a red card?”

“You do a double.”

“Sounds like a good game to me.”

“What’s the object?”

“You already asked him that.”

“Did he answer?”

“I think so.”

Mike dealt one card face up to each player, naming the card as he flipped it over. “Ned has the two of diamonds; Omar has the three of clubs; Paul has the queen of diamonds; dealer has the seven of spades.”

After uncapping the bottle, Mike passed it to his left. “Drink up and then toss in a white chip.”

The bottle went around the table until four chips sat in the middle.

“So how does someone win, or do we just stop when we run out of booze?”

Ned grinned. “We stop when Rachel calls and asks me when I’m going to be home.”

“Don’t keep her up too late.” Omar tried to focus on his watch. “I need her to finish typing that report first thing.”

Mike lowered the deck to his lap and slipped it into his left pocket, taking the one he’d fixed from his right. “The game is up when the fourth jack is exposed. Every time a jack comes into play, the person who receives it has to do something.”

“I was afraid of this.”

“If you pull a jack, you have to spill a secret, something you’ve never told anyone, especially the rest of us.”

“This sounds like a girl game.”

“As a matter of fact, I learned it from my sister.”

“Rachel never mentioned it to me.”

“We played it a long time ago, when we were just kids. You didn’t even know her yet.”

“Let’s go already.”

Mike dealt. “Ned has the six of clubs; Omar has the queen of clubs; Paul has the ace of hearts; dealer has the jack of clubs.”

“You got a jack.”

Mike passed the bottle. “First, everybody drink. Then I’ll tell my secret.”

The three others chugged quickly and added their white chip to the pile. Mike moved more slowly and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before speaking.

“Jack of clubs. That’s violence.” He sighed. “This happened about two years ago. I was parked along Wisconsin. It was late, getting dark. The stores were closing. All of a sudden, in the rearview mirror, I saw someone push this old lady down and grab her purse. She must have said something because he kicked her. Then he started running toward me. I didn’t even think. I leaned over the passenger seat, unlocked the door, and pushed it open just as he reached my car.

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