The Big Gamble in Paradise; Episode 4

This is the second episode of the novel I'm currently writing. The title is The Big Gamble in Paradise. I'm about halfway through my first rewrite, and I think it will be completed in six or eight weeks. I hope you enjoy this episode, and more will follow.

Episode #4

Trace was as skilled as anyone handling cards. He played many hours while passing time on the Bering Sea. But on the ship, it was a distraction, and gambling was not permitted, not even penny-ante—chips only. And if the captain caught a whiff of gambling, there were no second chances. The men at the table now were there for money or ego, and one is just as much an incentive as the other.

Trace sat at the table, knowing he had to lose. Parker impressed upon him that the house did not want him to leave with 35 thousand dollars. The question in his mind was, How much did the house want back? He was determined not to take chances—lose it all—walk out with what he walked in.

He mused if Parker might be the one he had to lose to. After all, it did seem like more than a chance meeting. Parked played well, but cautious. Ted always bluffed. To Trace, that marked him as a little more than an amateur. Baxter appeared very slick and comfortable at the table. Trace surmised this might be his life—a professional. Jasper Spencer appeared the most curious. He looked as though he just crawled out of a bunk and just worked on his automobile in order to get to the casino.

Something seemed to overtake Trace after a few hands. The game completely consumed his thinking. He played to win, forgetting he wanted to walk away from the table with only the money he walked into the casino with.

Parker saw what was going on and tried to make eye contact with him to break him from the mindset that had overcome him. In a high-stakes poker game, it is near impossible because everyone is suspicious of any movement or prolonged stare.

The game ebbed and flowed. Everyone had their time as a winner, but shortly at eleven thirty, Parker ran out of money. Two hands later, Ted and Baxter pulled away from the table. This left Spence and Trace.

Trace looked across the table at Spence and grinned. “So you’re the one.”

“The one, what?” Spence said.

“You know,” Trace said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Spence said.

“One more hand for everything?” Trace said.

Spencer rubbed the forefingers and thumbs together on each hand. “It’s your turn to deal. Don’t take this personal, but one last hand and the guy in the bowtie deals.”

“How can I take that personal?” Trace said. “I was about to make the same suggestion.”

“Five cards; whoever has the best hand of those five cards,” Spence said.

“I think that’s a good way to end the evening.” Trace looked at his watch. “I have an unfair advantage. Today is my birthday. I’m not in the least superstitious. But I’ve never had a day like this in my entire life. So to give you an even chance, we play the hand after midnight.”

“Sounds like you want to lose,” Spence said.

“I walked in here tonight with a hundred dollars,” Trace said. “If I leave with that, how do I lose?”

“In order to do that, you better sweeten the pot,” Spence said. “You only have half your chips out there.”

“In order for me to put the rest of my chips on the final hand, you’re going to have to help me out.”

Spence grinned smugly. “I’m tapped out; here’s the title to my boat.”

“Your boat?” Trace said.

“One hundred and five foot schooner,” Spence said. “It’s an island trader, worth a lot more than your final bid.”

“What am I going to do with a one hundred and five foot schooner, shit coconuts?” Trace said.

“You won’t have to worry about that,” Spence said. “You’re luck has run out.”

“Let’s do it,” Trace said.

“New deck,” Spence said.

The man in the bowtie grabbed a new deck from a display on a table next to the wall.

He started to unwrap the deck. Trace placed his hands on the deck. “Stop, I’ll pick the deck.”

The man in the bow tie shrugged. “Which one?”

Trace stretched to look at the decks. “Top row, second from the right.”

The man in the bowtie grabbed the deck. He unwrapped it, and shuffled. He slid the deck to Trace. Trace cut the deck. He let the deck lay. The man in the bowtie picked up the deck and dealt five cards to Spence and Trace.

Trace pressed a smile. He held his arm up and glanced at his watch. “Three past midnight,” he said. “My birthday luck has ran out.” He clicked his cheek. “My weakest hand.” He laid his cards down face up. “Pair, of sixes, nine high. Good game.”

He looked across the table at Spence. He scratched his grizzled beard. Trace started to rise from his chair.

Parker said, “Don’t ya wanna see what Spence is holding?”

Trace finished standing and smirked. “Let’s see your hand, Lucky.”

Spence swallowed hard. He tossed his cards on the table, face up. “Pair of fours, six high. I guess you’re the lucky one. Ya got a pot of forty thousand and a boat.”

Baxter and Ted let out a sigh and congratulated Trace.

Trace shook his head in disbelief. “Two crap hands, and it ain’t even my birthday. What am I going to do with a boat?”

“It’s worth three times what I bet,” Spence said. He signed the title and tossed it across the table.

Trace scraped the pile of money into his bag, and what didn’t fit, he stuffed in his shirt. He picked up the boat title and read it. “Poerava, what does it mean?”

“Black pearl,” Spence said.

“That’s a good name,” Trace said, stashing the title inside his shirt. He glanced at Spence and reached back into his bag and tossed a bundle of ten-dollar bills across the table.

“What’s this for?” Spence said.

“My daddy played some poker. I don’t know how good he was, but he said, If you ever clean a man out, at least leave him with something.”

Spence picked up the bundle and ran his thumb over the edge. “Thanks; this ought to get me back to Brisbane. Maybe I’ll find a game of poker and get lucky.”

“Where’s the boat?”

“It’s docked in the harbor,” Spence said. “It’s the only one there.”

“How big did you say it is?” Trace said.

“One hundred five feet,” Spence said. “A cargo island hopper.”

“A white elephant is more like it,” Trace said sarcastically.

Trace gripped the bag in his fist and walked out of the room. Parker followed.

“Let’s slip in here,” Parker said, opening the door to a men’s room.

Parker locked the door.

“You’re never going to make it back to your motel,” Parker said. “That guy, Spence, was supposed to sucker you into losing all your money. You were smart enough to have the decks switched. The one you were supposed to use was probably marked. There was just one flaw in your plan—remember, you were supposed to lose.”

“I didn’t think it was possible with the hand I had,” Trace said.

Parker stood back and looked at Trace up and down. “We’re pretty much the same size,” Parker started to undress. “Undress,” Parker ordered.

“Why?” Trace said.

“I will be you, and you will be me,” Parker said.

They exchanged clothes.

“I should be so good-looking,” Parker said.

“You must have something in mind,” Trace said.

“We are going to walk out into the casino. I will go to the lounge as you and you will mosey around,” Parker said. “That’s right, isn’t it? Cowboys do a lot of moseying. And slip out the front door, and get back to your motel as fast as you can.”

“What about you?”

'Don’t worry about me,” Parker said, stuffing the money inside Trace’s pockets and inside his shirt.

“Now, let’s go,” Parker said, “and remember...”

Trace interrupted, “Mosey, right.”

“Exactly,” Parker said.

“And you go out there and schlep around,” Trace said.

Parker smiled.

The Big Gamble in Paradise; Episode 3

This is the second episode of the novel I'm currently writing. The title is The Big Gamble in Paradise. I'm about halfway through my first rewrite, and I think it will be completed in six or eight weeks. 

I hope you enjoy this episode, and more will follow.

Episode 3

The bartender returned. He placed two business cards in front of Trace and Parker. “As you leave the lounge at the right side of the casino’s main room is a hallway. A man stands in the hallway. Show him these cards and a thousand in cash. If you want to get into a private poker game, he will escort you to one of the rooms where one is held.”

“Why…” Trace started to say.

The bartender interrupted, “Please, no questions.” He smiled and walked away.

“I’m in uncharted waters,” Trace picked up the card and saw a signature scribbled on the other side of the casino’s business card.

“I’m guessing the casino wants some of their money back,” Parker said. “They don’t mind losing it out front but they want it returned in the back room.”

“I think I need something in that seltzer,” Trace said.

“This one time you don’t want it,” Parker said. 

“If what you are saying is so, I either lose it in the back room or on my way back to the motel,” Trace said.

“A lot can happen in a block,” Parker said.

“So much for R and R,” Trace sipped.

“Given a choice between two beatings, I’d take the least,” Parker said.

“Robert Frost?” Trace joked. 

“Nah, another Robert, Robby Rossi, from the old neighborhood,” Parker said. “He’s got a flat nose but he still eats with a fork and not from a straw.”

“Walk over to the chip booth with me?” Trace asked.

“I’m a lousy bodyguard,” Parker said.

“But you do know Robby Rossi,” Trace said. “That has to mean something.”

“Let’s go,” Parker said and downed his final swallow of seltzer and stood. 

Trace walked to the chip booth and cashed in all his chips. 

He counted out a thousand dollars and handed it to Parker. “Let’s go play some poker.”

“You’re kidding me!” Parker said.

“Take the thousand and have a good time someplace else, I don’t care,” Trace shrugged, “but being a part of a high-stakes poker game, how often does that happen.”

“The biggest game I’d ever been in was a ten-dollar pot,” Parker said.

“Welcome to the big time,” Trace flipped Parker’s chest with the back of his hand. “And besides, it’s my birthday.”

“Okay, birthday boy,” Parker smiled. “Let’s see how good I am and see if your luck holds.”

Trace and Parker made their way through the casino gambling floor. They approached the man standing in the hallway. They showed him the business cards. He examined the signatures on the back.

“Second door on the left has three players waiting for a fourth and fifth player. Just walk in,” the man said.

Trace and Parker walked into the room. It was already full of cigarette and cigar smoke. 

A short round man with thin slicked back hair introduced himself, “Ted.”

A shot-thin man wearing a brightly flowered shirt. “My name is Baxter.”

A grizzled bearded man wearing a soiled seaman’s clothing and captain’s hat gave a half smile. “Jasper Spence.”

Trace and Parker introduced themselves.

The men sat without saying a word. It was as if they had done this many times over. Another man in the room dressed in a dealer's uniform; black slacks, a white shirt, a black vest, and a black bowtie. 

He removed the wrapper from a fresh deck of cards. He shuffled and cut them. He dealt one card to each man. “High card deals first.”

Ted had a queen of spades, the high card.

And so the game began. 

The Big Gamble in Paradise; Episode 2

This is the second episode of the novel I'm currently
writing. The title is The Big Gamble in Paradise. I'm about halfway through my first rewrite, and I think it will be completed in six or eight weeks. 

I hope you enjoy this episode, and more will follow.

Episode 2

He looked at the lounge in the mirror. Half of the eyes rested on him. ‘How many drinks does it take for the staring to go unnoticed,’ he thought and gave a simple grin. ‘What do I do next? What do people do who win large sums of money at a casino. I hardly know how to play blackjack. I’ll cash in the chips and run like hell to the hotel.’ He smiled to himself.

At the time his seltzer and lemon arrived, a man sat next to Trace. He wore a wrinkled white tropical suit. His hair was dark blond and unruly. Trace glanced at him and nodded. He looked as if about ten years older than Trace. He may have last shaved five days ago.

“My name is Parker Ellis.” He offered his hand.

Trace grasped his hand. “Trace Troy.”

“You’re the big winner, right,” Parker said, “and I don’t want you to buy me a drink.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Trace said. “I have too many other things to think about.”

The bartender returned and asked Parker, “Can I get you something, sir?”

“I’ll have what he’s having,” Parker said.

“Seltzer and a slice of lemon, on its way, sir,” the bartender said.

“You must be respected,” Trace said.

“What makes you say that?” Parker said.

“I didn’t even get a 'sir’ out of him.”

Parker grinned. “Take it off his tip.”

“Didn’t even think about a tip,” Trace said.

“I know,” Parker said, “your mind is full of too many other things.”

“So what’s your story,” Parker said, “tourist, you work here, visiting friends, you wash up on shore, a fugitive from justice?”

“None of the above,” Trace said. “I’m here for R and R, and I don’t like the term tourist.”

“Sounds like you’re from Texas,” Parker said.

“Southwest,” Trace said. “East coast?”

“Queens,” Parker said.

“So what are you resting and relaxing from, brandin’ the herd,” Parker feigned a Texas accent.

“Where I come from, that accent will get ya beat and hog tied.”

“And where I come from, that accent will get you laughed at.”

Trace grinned. “So, when do I come to visit you?”

The bartender set the seltzer and lemon in front of Parker.

“You’re not much of a drinker?” Parker sipped.

“I drink plenty,” Trace sipped. “I just choose wisely. What about you?”

“I’ve been known to tie a few on,” Parker said, “very few. I’m not real keen on the morning after and the photos that get passed around a week later.”

“I just won big, as you know, and apparently everyone else knows too,” Trace said, tossing his head to the occupied tables behind him. “Alcohol clouds your thinking. I want to be rational.”

“Advice?” Parker said.

“Plastics, right?” Trace said.

“That comes later,” Parker said.

“Okay, I’m all ears,” Trace said.

“Where are you staying?” Parker said.

“The hotel around the corner,” Trace said.

“Perfect,” Parker said. “Cash in your chips and take the cash to the motel and have them put it in the hotel’s safe. Make sure you get a receipt. In the morning, take the cash to a bank. Take out what you think you will need and wire the rest to the first national bank of Tumbleweed, Texas, or you can just send it to my account. I’d highly recommend the latter.”

“So,” Trace smiled, “what is a sweet innocent kid from Queens doing in a casino lounge half way around the world?”

“Sweet and innocent!” Parker said.

“I could look beyond those eyes to deep inside you and tell what kind of person you are,” Trace joked.

“I’m a free lance journalist,” Parker said. “I had a wild idea about covering the coup—the coup that sort of fizzled. It had great promise. But somewhere in Suva, some guys got together and managed to find a way they could all line their pockets without distraction and bloodshed. It’s good for humanity, but for guys like me, a dog crossing the street is not news. The dog caused a six car pile up, backing up traffic for ten miles; now that’s a story.”

“How long have you been doing it?” Trace said.

“Let’s see, I got fired from the Tribune five years ago—five years,” Parker sipped.

“How do you like freelancing?” Trace said.

"Well, considering the Tribune was the third paper that fired me, it’s been steady employment,” Parker said. “I just see stuff and report it. I don’t report to anyone, There’s no insubordination issues; I have no boss. I don’t have to worry about a messy desk; I have no desk. I don’t have to slant what I write; I have no agenda—except to report what I see and hear.”

“It sounds like you have a carefree life,” Trace sipped.

“I suppose I do,” Parker said, “if you consider living out of a suitcase, staying in fleabag hotels, and sleeping in airport terminals. Plus, I had to give up a white shirt, two pairs of underwear, and a change of socks to have room enough for a typewriter.”

“So you must have something to spend and lose,” Trace said. “Why else would you be here?”

Parker paused. “I like the nightlife.”

“Remember, I said something about looking beyond your eyes?” Trace said. “I think you’re here for something, maybe a story. Maybe you want to catch somebody where they shouldn’t be or with somebody they shouldn’t be with.”

Parker sipped.

“I hope that nerve isn’t sensitive to cold,” Trace said.

"I'm working on some things,” Parker said. That’s why I’m here. And when I see a guy as lucky as you, it grabs my attention. How does that happen?”

“Are you sure that’s it?” Trace sipped.

“I’ve been watching Cooper’s house,” Parker said. “Why are government agents visiting a sweet and innocent man?”

“Because of me,” Trace said.

“Whoa,” Parker said, “I didn’t expect that one. That’s an admission of something.”

“You can write and have printed anything you wish,” Trace said, “but it will have to come from somebody other than me. I won’t answer any questions about anything concerning the last few weeks. I hate to disappoint you. I thought we were getting along, but it seems as if I am only a story to you.”

“Believe me when I say this,” Parker said. “It was a coincidence that you and I showed up at this place at the same time. The thing with you and Cooper and the coup is all resolved in my mind. It’s a non story. If you are involved, I suspect you were coerced. A lot of people were coerced; you were only one of them. I don’t do stories that harm innocent people, I just don’t. My father was destroyed by the press. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I know what my family went through, and I’ll never do anything like that.”

“A journalist with scruples,” Trace said sarcastically.

“Your sarcasm doesn’t bother me,” Parker said. “I’m here on something having nothing to do with you—at least I hope. And if it does, I may be your best friend. So to start from the beginning, I here on something not related to you. But you started winning. Why you? Do you know?”

“It’s how I caught my keys,” Trace said.

“What?”

“When I checked in at the motel, I walked away from the desk. The clerk called out that I forgot to take my keys. I held up my hand for him to toss them. It was a bad throw, and I had to catch them behind my back. We agreed that was a lucky catch, and he told me to get to the casino before my luck ran out. And today, I’m twenty-five. That’s where I place my bet.”

Parker chuckled and began to laugh out loud.

The Big Gamble in Paradise; Episode 1

This is the first episode of the novel I'm currently
writing. The title is The Big Gamble in Paradise. I'm about halfway through my first rewrite, and I think it will be completed in six or eight weeks. 

I hope you enjoy this episode, and more will follow.

Episode 1

On Trace’s walk to the casino, he recalled his father’s words, ‘Set a limit you’re willing to lose before you walk in, and leave the minute you lose it—better yet, give it to some charity.’

Before leaving the Bering, Trace thought he might blow a couple hundred dollars. After a few days with his grandpa and dad and their rancher mentality, it seemed prudent to set a lower limit—fifty dollars.

He walked through glass double doors into a lobby of ten slot machines—five on each side. Half of them were occupied. A slim, unkept man sat at one machine, feeding paper money into a machine. He sat slumped and as if in a trance.

‘Not a good look,’ Trace thought. ‘You want well-dressed winners in the lobby with a fist full of winnings. That guy is a poster child for bad luck.’

A tall blond woman in a sparkling short, tight dress greeted Trace just as he left the lobby and walked into an opulent main room.

“Where can I get you started?” She said. “The bar is to your left and the lounge to your right. Our show starts in fifteen minutes. Most of our customers start with a drink and then start at the roulette wheel.”

“Thanks,” Trace said. “I can find my way.”

“We can provide an escort to show you around.”

Trace rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to gamble enough to pay for an escort; leave that for the high-rollers.”

She smiled comfortably, as if she had heard that line a thousand times. “We only want this to be an enjoyable experience for you.”

“Thanks,” Trace said. “I’m sorry, I just came off a bad time.”

“Well,” she said, “you’ve come to the right place for a good time.”

“Tell that to the guy in the lobby,” Trace said and hurried away before she replied.

Trace wondered around the room. He felt out of place, wearing well-worn denim pants and a shirt. He looked only slightly better than the man in the lobby. Everyone else was dressed to lose money and not reflect it. There were those who played and won, thinking the god of good fortune and prosperity stood on their side. There were those who thought they had figured out how to beat the odds. Each seemed to carry an air of superiority to the others.

Trace sauntered around the craps table. He watched and thought of giving it a try. He approached the cash window and asked for one hundred dollars in chips. He returned to the table and placed a ten dollar bet. He rolled an eleven. He won forty dollars.

‘I guess the clerk back at the motel was right,’ Trace thought.

After a half an hour, he won and lost, but won more than he lost. He walked away from the table with another 200 dollars.

He found an open seat at a blackjack table. After two hours, he won some and lost some, but won more than he lost. He now had a total of two thousand and thirty dollars in chips. Then he started losing. Another hour into the game, and his winnings were down to one thousand one hundred and sixty dollars.

“I’m out,” Trace said to the dealer and tossed him sixty dollars in chips. “That takes me down to eleven hundred.”

“A good night,” the dealer said.

Trace gathered his eleven hundred dollars in chips and walked to the roulette wheel. He watched the gamblers place their bets for a few spins.

Trace stepped forward.

“Your number, sir,” the croupier said.

“Today, I’m twenty-five years old,” Trace said. “A thousand on twenty-five.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve had a lucky night,” Trace said, “and this may sound strange to you, but I want to leave all my luck here. I came in with a hundred, and I want to leave with a hundred.”

“Very well, sir, a thousand on twenty-five.”

The clown spun the wheel and flicked the ball.

Trace watched with passive interest and murmured, “Goodbye, my ill-gotten gain.” He grinned.

The wheel slowed, and the ball bounced around the wheel and settled on twenty-five. The players at the table erupted into cheers and applause. People slapped Trace’s back and congratulated him. For a moment it felt surreal, as if he were in a display window, a mannequin with no emotion or awareness of the present.

“Well, done,” the croupier said. “Try again?”

Trace stood without motion or thought. And then uttered, “I’ll take my chips.”

The croupier counted thirty-five thousand dollars in chips and dropped them into a small black bag.

Trace walked around the casino holding tightly onto the bag. He entered the lounge and sat at the bar. 

Whispers spread from person to person.

“What can I get you?” The bartender said.

“Seltzer with a slice of lemon,” Trace said, staring at his image in the mirror.

“Seltzer and a slice of lemon, coming right up,” the bartender said.

‘I wonder if anyone else in the world is luckier on this night,’ he thought, ‘or am I it.’

Just Released New Novel--A Coup in Paradise

During the last few months, I’ve been busy finishing a
novel, A Coup in Paradise.

For a little more than a month, I’ve published consecutive episodes of the novel.

I am happy to announce it is available in paperback and digitally.

As a young boy living on a farm in northwest Ohio, my imagination ran wild. In some measure, due to TV. In particular, a series entitled Adventures in Paradise. It lasted for three seasons, starting in 1959. It can be viewed on YouTube. 

This novel is based on that program, however, it is not the series’s star, Adam Troy, played by Gardner McKay, who is my protagonist; it is his son Trace Troy, a contrivance of my own imagination. He travels to the South Seas hoping to find what his father found and experiencing what made him into the man he became. 

The book can be purchased by clicking the book cover in the upper right of this article or clicking the links in this article.

Check it out and enjoy!