Read Online Jack Carter's Law by Ted Lewis - Free Book Online Page A

hundred just so you can show me the four.”
    “Stacking?” Albert says.
    Charlie’s smile disintegrates as he nods to Albert and Albert shrugs and leans across the table and rakes in the pot. Charlie lights a cigarette and tries to show us that it wasn’t very important anyway.
    “Jesus, Jack,” he says. “I really thought the bleeder was bluffing. I really didn’t think he’d got the four.”
    “And did he?” I say.
    Charlie stares at me and when he’s working out what I’m saying he turns his gaze on Albert. Albert grins at Charlie and picks up his cards and turns them over. Instead of three four five, it’s a pair of threes that’s staring Charlie in the face.
    When Charlie gets his voice back he says, “A pair of threes? I could have beaten that. I had a hand that would have beaten that.”
    Albert nods in agreement. “That’s right, Charlie. You certainly had the better hand.”
    “Shame,” Bob Shearer says.
    Charlie scrapes his chair back and stands up. He takes a last look at the pair of threes and walks out of the cardroom. As the door swings to behind him everybody bursts out laughing.
    “What a prick,” Bob says. “What a flaming prick.”
    “Well,” says Con, “that’s Charlie Abbott for you.”
    “Come on,” I say. “Let’s go and prop him up with a drink. Otherwise he might be too dry to talk.”
    Con follows me through the frosted-glass doors. When they’ve closed behind us I say, “There’s one thing. Charlie sure as hell knows fuck all about Jimmy. Not a thing.”
    “Yes,” Con says. “We’re wasting our time down here.”
    “Not entirely,” I tell him. “Charlie’s ignorance might even turn out to be a help.”
    Charlie is at the bar sorting through the remainder of his notes so that he can pay for the use of the half-bottle of scotch Storey’s just put on the counter for him. By the time Con and me get to him he’s already splashed out a tumblerful and he’s sucking it up, eyes closed, trying to blank out the last five minutes.
    “Bad luck there, Charlie,” I say. “I would have backed him having the four, if I’d been sitting down.” Charlie opens his eyes and begins to feel a little better, managing to forget the money for a moment.
    “Yeah, right,” he says. “But that’s cards, isn’t it, Jack, eh? That’s what it’s all about. Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down, isn’t it?”
    “That’s right, Charlie.”
    Then Charlie remembers his manners.
    “Cliff,” he says to Storey, “get two more glasses, will you? Jack, you’ll have a drink, won’t you? And Con?”
    “May as well,” Con says.
    “Charlie,” I say, “can I have a quiet word?”
    Charlie’s just picking up the new glasses and when I tell him I want to talk to him, all of a sudden he’s on the verge of doing the macaroni. Now he knows that I’ve come all the way down here to see him, and reasons why start flashing through his mind while he stands there like a waxwork with the glasses in his hand. I pick up the scotch and pour some in the glasses then I take the glasses from him and pass one of them to Con.
    “Don’t worry, Charlie,” I tell him. “It’s only a word. Nothing for you to worry about.”
    “What do you want, Jack?” Charlie says.
    “Let’s take our drinks over to the corner and I’ll tell you.”
    We move away from the counter and over to the far side of the hall, where there is a long bench seat on a platform raised six inches off the floor and flush to the wall.
Charlie sits down on the bench and Con and myself sit down on either side of him. The two games which were in progress earlier are still going on but they’re right down the other end of the hall. All the other table lights are switched off and where we are the only illumination is the counter’s reflection in Charlie’s glasses.
    “Been in touch with your sister lately?” I ask Charlie.
    “Jean?” he says, looking from me to Con and back again. “I haven’t seen Jean in a