Shell Game – Chapter 15 – Ten G’s

Evan stared at the brown-suited man sleeping peacefully on his office floor and shook his head before searching his pockets.

Harold Huber was not carrying anything close to ten-thousand dollars. Evan thought the offer was too good to be true, yet he was mildly disappointed since he’d never seen that much money in one place and had always wondered if holding it would change him in some way. If nothing else, it would make him more than square with all his creditors.

Once getting over only finding five one-hundred-dollar bills in the wallet, he found a square, sepia portrait of an older woman tucked in there. Evan held the picture next to Harold’s face. He could see the resemblance and assumed the picture was of Harold’s mother. Even criminals can love, Evan mused as he replaced the wallet and went through the other pockets. His search came up almost empty and laid his sparse findings on his desk.

What he found, other than lint, was a ticket to the Granada Playhouse downtown. It was for a play called Yukon Melody. The Athens Gazette had said it was worth a person’s time and money. But Evan did not voluntarily sit in dark rooms with strangers and avoided the different cultural events around town. He also found a peppermint, a claim ticket for some items at The Webster Hotel, and a rabbit’s foot on a chain. On the back of the claim ticket was scrawled the address to Evan’s office.

Placing all the items back in their proper homes, Evan then pulled the snub-nose from Harold’s hand, flipped open the gun’s cylinder, and emptied the six bullets into his palm. Evan rested the gun on the corner of his desk. Then, he sat in his desk chair and waited for Harold to rouse himself.

Fifteen minutes later, by Evan’s watch, Harold began to stir. Harold sat up and felt his jaw, and then he looked up to see Evan looking at him. Evan saw Harold’s face quickly realize how he ended up on the floor. As he tried to regain his dignity while working his way back up to his seat, Harold said, “I suppose I deserved that.”

“Just so that there are no unnecessary hard feelings between us,” Evan said, “I feel I should be square with you. I searched your pockets while you were away just now.”

Harold quickly felt his pockets before saying, “I suppose I deserved that too.” He gave Evan a weak smile.

“Imagine my surprise,” Evan began, “when I discovered you were lying to me about this deal of a lifetime?”

The look of shock and hurt on Harold’s face surprised Evan. “I have not lied about even one detail, Mr. Gold,” Harold said. “I hope you understand I have not told you everything, but what I have informed you of is pure as chastity.”

“Then how come you only have five hundred dollars when you are offering me ten G’s?” Evan scowled.

Amused, Harold laughed to himself. “I see, I see,” the man in brown said, clearing his throat, “You don’t imagine I would carry that amount of currency about my person, do you? In my experience, you never know when someone may decide to rough you up and go through your pockets.”

“I wasn’t the one who pulled the gun, Harold,” Evan said.

“Besides,” Harold continued, “it is not my money that you’ll get, but my employer’s. Remember, sir, I am but a humble messenger. I can vouch for my employer and tell you that if you help us locate this pearl, ten-thousand dollars will be placed in your possession.”

Looking around at the decor of the office, Harold said, “By the way, and I suppose I should have started simply by asking, I do forget my manners at times, would the pearl happen to be in this office?”

“Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t,” Evan said.

“You’re not going to say?” asked Harold.

“I don’t see a lot of reasons why I should. See it from my side. Let’s say I do have it. You don’t have the money, and you’ve threatened my life. Neither of those things would make me want to do business with you. So far, there’s no upshot for me, you understand?”

“Yes,” said Harold rubbing his sore jaw, “I understand, but, and forgive me for asking what I’m sure is a primary school question but, knowing I had a gun, why would you risk personal harm if handing over the item would remove the threat?”

“It’s the principle of the thing. I don’t like threats,” Evan said with a shrug. “Makes me cranky.”

Harold laughed. “I see, I see. You have an interesting way of looking at the world. Every man should have such a thing, I think.”

“What thing is that?” Evan asked.

“Oh,” Harold waved his hand, “convictions, principles, you know that sort of thing. If a man has them, he should not violate them even if there is sound logic to suggest otherwise. If, say, he values, as you say, independence over survival…” his sentence trailed off. Harold felt his pockets again and smiled. He reached in, pulled out his wallet, and made sure all was well. He smiled when he saw that everything was still there.

“I suppose we will be in contact with each other?” Harold asked. “I assure you my employer’s offer is honest and fair.”
“I’m sure it is,” Evan said, sitting up slightly in his chair. “About your employer. Who is he, and when might I meet with him?”

“Oh no, no, no, no,” Harold said, “that is not how we do things. It is my responsibility to protect my employer’s identity. He would, for reasons I’m sure you can appreciate, like to keep his presence in this matter as discreet as possible.”
“Uh-huh,” Evan felt the inside edge of his molars with his tongue. “All the same,” Evan said, “you should play nice. I know the boys down at police headquarters. There are two unsolved murders out there. I might be able to convince them you played a part in them.”

“I would find that kind of petty activity well below your standards, Mr. Gold,” Harold said. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but you have a bit of a reputation built up.”

“Is that right?” Evan said, unimpressed.

“I assure you,” Harold nodded.

“And just what is it people think of me?” Evan asked.

“That your ethics would not let you, um, send a man up the river, as it were, just to settle a score,” Harold said. “It was that very depth of character that drew my employer to you. He likes dealing with honest people.”

“I do, too,” Evan said.

Harold opened his wallet and produced a hundred-dollar bill. “Can I offer this token to ensure you will help us locate the pearl in question?”

Evan eyed the bill, then looked up at Harold, “Add a twin to that soldier, and you can have your assurance.”
Harold smiled again, “Of course.” He reached in his wallet and drew out a second bill. Evan took them and laid them on the desk.

Evan said, “Nice doing business with you, Mr. Huber,” and stood up. Harold also stood and replaced his wallet in his coat pocket. “By the way,” Evan said, “I guess you’ve figured the pearl isn’t here. If you didn’t know, my office was tossed pretty good last night. Even if it was here, it isn’t now.”

The look on Harold’s face revealed a poker player’s resolve. “I see.”

“Well, there you go,” Evan folded his arms across his chest. “Assuming it was ever here, what’s your next guess where this pearl of yours might be?”

Harold Huber bubbled up a laugh and said, “I guess that you know exactly where it is.” He tapped the two bills on Evan’s desk. “This is my wager that I’m right.”

“As I said, I like to deal with honest people, particularly when it comes to crooks. How can I know your boss is the rightful owner of this pearl in the first place?”

“That’s an insightful observation, Mr. Gold. Believe me when I tell you, it would be impossible for me to prove that to you. What I can tell you is that by the manner in which it was taken from my employer, you would also reach the same conclusion that my employer is the person who deserves it more than anyone else.”

Evan nodded and rubbed his chin. “And the deal is ten-thousand? Plus, expenses?”

“Yes, plus expenses, minus any advances along the way,” Harold said.

“Is the law or anyone else looking for this pearl? Is it stolen?” Evan asked.

“I’m not sure how to answer that one,” Harold said, “It was certainly not stolen in the traditional sense of the term and, to answer your actual question, no, our fine boys in blue are unaware of its existence. However, it is a sensitive acquisition and my employer-”

“Would like to be kept out of it,” Evan said. “You’ve made yourself clear on that point.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Gold,” Harold said. “Having gone through my pockets, I’m sure you know where I’m staying at The Webster?”

Evan nodded.

Harold smiled again and said, “Then, I will take my pistol and be off.”

Evan pointed his hand at the snub-nose.

In one fluid move, Harold reached down for it and raised it back up to the level of Evan’s stomach. “I came here to search the office, Mr. Gold, and I’m going to do it. Please place your hands palms-down on the desk and no sudden moves.”

Evan sat back down in his chair and placed his hands on the desk. He then turned over his right hand to reveal Harold’s six bullets. Evan smiled. Harold’s eyes went wide, and his cheeks flushed. He checked the state of his gun’s cylinder before grabbing his bowler and storming out of the office.

Evan enjoyed the best laugh he’d had in a very long time.