the
cards."
He picked them up and shuffled. "Blackjack,"
he said and, after burying a card, dealt us both a hand. I had
eighteen. He had twenty, which he showed me before I could bet. I
looked blank and he said only, "Watch," and then dealt six
hands, face up. I got between thirteen and seventeen in all six. He
got twenty four times and two blackjacks.
"Impressive. Are you always that lucky?"
"They're marked," he said. "Never play
cards with a thief." He tossed the deck on the table, leaned
back, and looked at me.
"You think I killed Northrup.”'
"You say you didn't. I told you I accept that,"
"You don't convince me."
"Maybe it's the other way around."
He put his coat on and stood up. "Let's go out
on deck. I'll tell you a couple of stories." I followed and we
found our way back to the desolate spot where he'd dumped the jewels.
The old lady was there, and it was still as private as any place on
deck.
"How are you today?" Jack said to the old
dame, who took the remark first as an intrusion, then looked at Jack
as if he were invisible. He shrugged and we walked to the rail and
looked down at the waves and at our foamy wake.
"I dumped a guy in the water once over marked
cards."
I nodded, waited. He stared out at the ocean and went
on: "A card game in a hotel. It was the first time I ever met
Rothstein. I was working as a strikebreaker with Little Augie,
breakin' heads, just out of jail. A bum. I was a bum. Augie says to
me, 'You wanna work strongarm at a card game?' And I said all right
and he sent me to this hotel room and there's Rothstein, the
cocksucker, and he says to me, 'What happened to your head?' 'Nothin'
happened to it,' I said. "That haircut,' he said. 'You look like
a skinned rabbit, skinned by somebody who don't know how to skin. Get
a haircut for pity's sake.' Can you imagine that son of a bitch? He's
got seventy-six grand in his pocket, he told me so, and he tells me
get a haircut. Arrogant bastard. He was right about the haircut. A
barber-school job. Awful. I tell you I was a bum on the street and I
looked like one. But he made me feel like a zero.
"So the game went on
and there's this high roller—let me call him Wilson—who's
challenging Rothstein. There's other players, but he wants to beat A.
R., who's the king. And he's doing it. Wins eleven thousand one hand,
eight the next, in five thousand-dollar freezeout. Rothstein has two
men in the bathroom looking over the decks Wilson brought, and they
find the marks, little tits on the design in the corner. First-rate
work by the designer. Rothstein hears the news and calls a break but
doesn't let on, and then tells me to brain Wilson if he gets out of
hand, and I say all right because he's paying me. He bottom-deals
Wilson a six and Wilson calls him on it. Then A. R. says never mind
about bottom dealing, what about a man who brings paper into a
legitimate game? And when Wilson stood up, I brained him. Didn't kill
him. Just coldcocked him and he went down. When he came to, they told
me to take him someplace he wouldn't be a bother. They didn't say
kill him. I took him to the river with a driver and walked him to the
edge of a dock. He offered me four grand, all he had left from the
game, and I took it. Then I shot him three times and dumped him in.
It turned out he had three kids. He was a cheater, but he was
complicated. He looked at me and said, 'Why? I give you the four
grand.' His life had to be complicated with three kids and I killed
him. I wanted the four grand bad and I knew he had it. But I never
killed anybody before and I tell you I blame Rothstein. Maybe I
wouldn't have killed him if he didn't say that about the haircut,
make me feel I was such a bum. I knew I was a bum, but I didn't think
it showed so much. With the four grand I wasn't a bum anymore. I
bought a new suit and got a haircut at the Waldorf-Astoria."
* * *
The money inspired Jack. He and his brother Eddie met
one Ace O'Hagan, who drove for Big Bill Dwyer, the king of Rum
cards."
He picked them up and shuffled. "Blackjack,"
he said and, after burying a card, dealt us both a hand. I had
eighteen. He had twenty, which he showed me before I could bet. I
looked blank and he said only, "Watch," and then dealt six
hands, face up. I got between thirteen and seventeen in all six. He
got twenty four times and two blackjacks.
"Impressive. Are you always that lucky?"
"They're marked," he said. "Never play
cards with a thief." He tossed the deck on the table, leaned
back, and looked at me.
"You think I killed Northrup.”'
"You say you didn't. I told you I accept that,"
"You don't convince me."
"Maybe it's the other way around."
He put his coat on and stood up. "Let's go out
on deck. I'll tell you a couple of stories." I followed and we
found our way back to the desolate spot where he'd dumped the jewels.
The old lady was there, and it was still as private as any place on
deck.
"How are you today?" Jack said to the old
dame, who took the remark first as an intrusion, then looked at Jack
as if he were invisible. He shrugged and we walked to the rail and
looked down at the waves and at our foamy wake.
"I dumped a guy in the water once over marked
cards."
I nodded, waited. He stared out at the ocean and went
on: "A card game in a hotel. It was the first time I ever met
Rothstein. I was working as a strikebreaker with Little Augie,
breakin' heads, just out of jail. A bum. I was a bum. Augie says to
me, 'You wanna work strongarm at a card game?' And I said all right
and he sent me to this hotel room and there's Rothstein, the
cocksucker, and he says to me, 'What happened to your head?' 'Nothin'
happened to it,' I said. "That haircut,' he said. 'You look like
a skinned rabbit, skinned by somebody who don't know how to skin. Get
a haircut for pity's sake.' Can you imagine that son of a bitch? He's
got seventy-six grand in his pocket, he told me so, and he tells me
get a haircut. Arrogant bastard. He was right about the haircut. A
barber-school job. Awful. I tell you I was a bum on the street and I
looked like one. But he made me feel like a zero.
"So the game went on
and there's this high roller—let me call him Wilson—who's
challenging Rothstein. There's other players, but he wants to beat A.
R., who's the king. And he's doing it. Wins eleven thousand one hand,
eight the next, in five thousand-dollar freezeout. Rothstein has two
men in the bathroom looking over the decks Wilson brought, and they
find the marks, little tits on the design in the corner. First-rate
work by the designer. Rothstein hears the news and calls a break but
doesn't let on, and then tells me to brain Wilson if he gets out of
hand, and I say all right because he's paying me. He bottom-deals
Wilson a six and Wilson calls him on it. Then A. R. says never mind
about bottom dealing, what about a man who brings paper into a
legitimate game? And when Wilson stood up, I brained him. Didn't kill
him. Just coldcocked him and he went down. When he came to, they told
me to take him someplace he wouldn't be a bother. They didn't say
kill him. I took him to the river with a driver and walked him to the
edge of a dock. He offered me four grand, all he had left from the
game, and I took it. Then I shot him three times and dumped him in.
It turned out he had three kids. He was a cheater, but he was
complicated. He looked at me and said, 'Why? I give you the four
grand.' His life had to be complicated with three kids and I killed
him. I wanted the four grand bad and I knew he had it. But I never
killed anybody before and I tell you I blame Rothstein. Maybe I
wouldn't have killed him if he didn't say that about the haircut,
make me feel I was such a bum. I knew I was a bum, but I didn't think
it showed so much. With the four grand I wasn't a bum anymore. I
bought a new suit and got a haircut at the Waldorf-Astoria."
* * *
The money inspired Jack. He and his brother Eddie met
one Ace O'Hagan, who drove for Big Bill Dwyer, the king of Rum
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