Read Online The last game by Fernando Trujillo - Free Book Online

in
front of him.
    The other three looked at each other. They
discarded and put their bets down quickly to see what Hector´s next
step would be.
    “Raise.” He said, counting his chips and
pushing them into the center of the table. “There´s two months
there if I´m not mistaken.”
    His calculation was correct.
    Alvaro´s luck was with him, he had three aces
in his hand. So he decided to keep the game going. This was the
first opportunity he´d had to analyze Hector´s playing style. “I´ll
see you and raise you three months.”
    “This is hotting up.” Dante said. “Very well,
losers, I´m in too. Five months to see.”
    Judith passed. Alvaro had already noticed
that she always dropped out when the bets got bigger.
    Hector looked at his chips. “Very well, this
covers your three months and I´ll raise that six months more.”
    That bet took Alvaro by surprise. He didn´t
have any idea what to make of Hector. His voice wasn´t trembling,
his breathing was normal. He looked relaxed, almost as if he was
going to nod off. Alvaro looked at his hand again. Three aces was
very good. Good enough to win most hands. But the bet was very
high. Too high to put it all on the line against a player he didn’t
understand. It was the first time that Hector had even played and
he looked like he was in a coma. A good gambler would recognize the
risk. Would know when to fold and when to hold.
    “Too much for me.” Alvaro said. “I´m
out.”
    “Me, too.” Dante said. “It´s the first time
the stinkpot’s gambled and he´s plucked everyone’s feathers.”
    “Damn!” Hector shouted, throwing his cards
down on the table to reveal a miserable pair of fours. “Some
players you all are! You haven´t got a damn idea! I can´t believe
it.”
    Hector´s explosion caught Alvaro completely
by surprise. He´d just won an excellent hand with a pair of fours!
That was reason enough to celebrate not to be angry like he was.
His face looked completely different, deformed by fury.
    “You´ve won.” Alvaro pointed out. “What´s
your problem?”
    “You, you´re all the problem!”
    “ No screaming.” The girl said suddenly.
“Play, Zeta wants to play."
    “I´d calm down if I was you.” Alvaro warned
Hector. “Or you know what’ll happen.”
    Hector looked through him as if he wasn´t
there. “What, eh? What’s going to happen to me?”
    “Let him go.” Dante said as if he was
enjoying himself. “We can watch how the girl puts the rag and bone
man in his place. It´ll be the most fun I´ve had so far
tonight.”
    “Just cool it.” Judith advised Hector. “The
girl will kill you.”
    Hector pushed the chair back and stood up.
Zeta blocked the path between him and the girl, the room
reverberating with the sound of his growling. But Hector ignored
the dog as if he wasn´t even there, and leaning on the table and
looking straight at Judith, he said. “I´ve come here for this you
fools. My only purpose is to leave with her.” He said nodding at
the girl.
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
    That was the answer to the great mystery.
Alvaro cursed himself for not having figured it out when Hector had
told his story. He was bent on committing suicide, it all fell into
place easily now. The imperturbable way that he´d done everything.
He´d worked it all out before he´d come. The world meant nothing to
him anymore.
    “Then, you weren’t bluffing before. You
wanted to lose.” Alvaro said.
    “You should´ve been a detective.” Hector said
disgusted, as he sat down again. “I should´ve told you straight to
your face. I didn´t know you were such bad players. I´ve only
played three games my whole life.”
    “If you want to give me my chips back, I´d be
more than happy to take them off your hands.” Dante said.
    “I wouldn´t even give one of the days that´s
left to me. You could have won them playing, but now you´ve put me
in an uncomfortable position.”
    “And what position is that?” Judith