Poker Chips and Poison

by Rodney Strong

  Each player had an identical pile of chips in front of them. Yellow were worth one dollar, blue two dollars, red five dollars, and the black chips were ten dollars. Vanessa unwrapped a deck of cards and shuffled them with practised ease.

  ‘You’re getting quite good at that,’ Gavin commented.

  ‘Thank you, Gavin,’ she replied. Her mouth twitched and Alice wondered if she was remembering their secret sessions where Alice had taught her tricks to impress her friends and win rent money.

  Alice was of the opinion that every young woman needed a skill they could pull out of their back pocket, one that might come in handy in unforeseen circumstances.

  Vanessa dealt the first hand and all other thoughts were pushed aside as Alice focussed on the game. She folded and sat back to watch what the others did. Les pushed forward two blue chips, then his eyes turned to where Freda was sitting in a chair under the window, her head in a book. Alice had already noted her location before they started. Les, for all his practicing, was a creature of habit. And he was bluffing. Sure enough when he finally showed his cards all he had was a pair of twos.

  As the game progressed, Alice was pleased to see that the other players still had the same tells as well. The only one she was having trouble reading was Nanci. The woman lost as much as she won, and she didn’t seem to have any obvious gestures or ticks that showed.

  In no time at all Gavin was throwing his cards down and pushing his chair away from the table.

  ‘Well done, all. A very enjoyable way to spend the morning.’ He nodded briskly then walked, straight backed, over to the refreshments table to make himself a hot drink.

  By the time Sofia bowed out ten minutes later, Alice had concluded that Nanci was as she appeared: a novice at poker. Nanci soon joined the others on the sideline and it was just Alice and Les left at the table. Alice’s pile of chips was much bigger than Les’s and he had taken to mopping his forehead with a large blue handkerchief.

  Forty minutes after they started it was all over. Les pushed all his chips into the middle of the table and snuck a furtive look at his wife. Alice decided not to fold after all, and won the hand, and the table, with a pair of fours.

  Les tried his best to hide his disappointment, and for the first time Alice felt a twinge of guilt.

  It’s not like I’m taking his money, she argued with herself.

  ‘Well done again, Alice,’ Les said.

  ‘Thanks. I guess the coffees are on me at the café tomorrow, Les.’

  His expression brightened at the mention of a free drink, and when she glanced over to him later he was cheerfully recounting his game to an increasingly bored-looking Freda.

  ‘Normal programming then,’ Vanessa said from across the table.

  ‘Eh?’

  ‘You winning. As expected.’

  ‘I don’t know about expected,’ Alice replied, ‘but it certainly beats the alternative.’

  Vanessa grinned, then went in search of a drink. Alice knew she would be back to serve as dealer for the final game. She stood up slowly, her back stiff from sitting for so long. Her first few steps were tottering, but once blood started to flow everything eased and she moved more freely. She stopped by the refreshment table for a handful of chips, briefly eyeing up the cheese before dismissing it. Dairy products were problematic these days, and she only braved her beloved camembert on very special occasions.

  Only one table was still playing. It was down to Teresa and Lawrence, a short man with an equally short temper. Alice had been glad not to have him at her table. Last year when he lost, he’d swept the chips off the table and stomped out of the room, refusing to speak to anyone for several days.

  Teresa lay down her cards, revealing a full house of queens and tens. Everyone held their breath and looked to Lawrence. He shrugged, offered his hand in congratulations, and wandered off.

  ‘I hear he’s been told by his doctor that his blood pressure is so high he won’t see another Christmas if he doesn’t keep his temper in check,’ Betty said.

  Alice looked at her friend. ‘It’s not like you to gossip.’

  ‘It’s not gossip if it’s true,’ Betty replied.

  Alice was about to argue the point when she spotted something curious. At least to her. Teresa had stood up from the table and was walking around the room, smiling, looking around her a little too much to be normal. Finally she stood next to Nanci. Teresa spoke to her briefly and a few seconds later both women disappeared through the door to the hallway.

  ‘What are you looking at?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Alice admitted. ‘But I have a feeling something is going on.’

  ‘What?’

  Alice frowned. ‘I can’t be sure. I’m suspicious by nature and I have a thought.’

  ‘Thinking at our age is dangerous,’ Betty laughed, slipping her arm through Alice’s.

  ‘It keeps me young,’ Alice smiled.

  ‘And being suspicious?’

  ‘Kept me out of jail a few times.’

  Betty’s smile faltered, as if unsure whether Alice was being serious. Then she laughed and Alice joined her.

  A bell rang indicating the start of the final round. Four players took their seats, but Teresa hadn’t come back. Vanessa sat down and behind her, Tracey looked at her watch and tapped her foot. Alice had always found the woman a little officious. Tracey liked everything to run on time, which didn’t work when you were dealing with children, animals, or stubborn old people.

  As Tracey opened her mouth to speak, Alice reached out for her drink, accidentally sweeping her pile of chips onto the floor.

  ‘Oh my goodness, I am so sorry,’ Alice said to the table.

  ‘Oh for–‘ Tracey stifled the rest of her sentence. She gestured for Vanessa to help pick up the mess.

  ‘Oh my goodness?’ Vanessa muttered as she knelt next to Alice’s chair and began to collect the coloured chips.

  ‘I refuse to win by default,’ Alice whispered back.

  ‘Oh my goodness, no,’ Vanessa winked. She placed the chips back on the table and Alice had them sorted into piles by the time Vanessa had retaken her seat.

  Luckily, before Tracey said anything further, Teresa came back through the door and took her seat.

  ‘I’m so sorry. I was in the bathroom,’ Teresa said, an excuse that shut down any potential comments about tardiness by anyone.

  ‘Let’s begin,’ Tracey said, tapping Vanessa on the shoulder.

  It didn’t take long for Alice to realise that there was a new level of skill in her friend’s poker playing that hadn’t been there the week before. Teresa won three of the first four hands, once by bluffing, which Alice had not picked up on.

  With renewed concentration Alice focused on the game.

  And lost, badly.

  Judging by the complete silence in the room, she wasn’t the only one shocked by this result. Vanessa’s mouth looked like she was readying to swallow an entire watermelon. Betty’s face showed a similar reaction, and Owen’s eyebrows were trying to meet his receding hairline. Amongst the shocked faces were the smiles of those Alice had beaten, this year and previously. Les’s smile was the widest.

  ‘Congratulations, Teresa,’ Alice said.

  ‘Thanks, Alice.’ Teresa couldn’t hide her delight, but she could barely meet Alice’s eyes.

  ‘That was the best I’ve ever seen you play,’ Owen told Teresa, and Alice was pleased that she hadn’t said it, though they were all thinking it. She didn’t want to come across as bitter and she really was happy for Teresa. But her gut and Teresa’s flushed cheeks suggested there was definitely something up.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have some quiet?’ Tracey said in a loud voice. She was holding the small trophy the winners got to keep.

  After the brief presentation some people returned to their rooms, while others made their way to the refreshments table.

  ‘Better luck next year,’ Gavin said as he filled a coffee cup.

  ‘I guarantee t
hings will be different next year,’ Alice replied. She was determined to learn the source of Teresa’s sudden poker skills and she had a feeling it had something to do with Nanci.

  A crashing sound startled her. Turning, she saw Betty slumped over a table, not moving.

  ‘Betty!’ Owen rushed from across the room. Alice hustled over as he attempted to lift Betty into a chair, but she slipped from his grip and fell back down.

  ‘Betty? Are you alright?’ Alice said, bending over to look at her face.

  Betty’s eyes stared back, unseeing. For a moment Alice hoped that it was just a fall, but when she pressed her fingers onto Betty’s wrist in search of a pulse she couldn’t find it.

  Betty was gone.

  FIVE

  DEATH WAS A SHOCK. Even in a place where the average age of the residents was in the high seventies. But it wasn’t unheard of, and it didn’t take long for the standard protocols of the Silvermoon Retirement Village to spring into action. The first step was to usher everyone out of the room, which they did successfully. Almost. Alice refused to leave her friend, and when Owen heard she was staying he insisted on staying as well. Teresa made a half-hearted protest too, but her face was pale and it didn’t take much persuasion for her to go and have a lie down. Alice promised to pop by her apartment later to check on her.

  Soon they were the only people left in the room apart from Tracey and Vanessa, who was on the phone arranging for an ambulance. Alice had always considered ambulances for the living, but the cynical side of her saw the reason behind the summons. No one wants to be the one to pronounce the death of a person. Or more importantly, to get it wrong. However in this case Alice was quite certain Betty was gone. She hadn’t moved an inch and her eyes still had the same lifeless stare.

  ‘I really think it would be best for the two of you to wait somewhere else until we can get this...‘ Tracey trailed off.

  ‘Sorted?’ Alice completed her sentence. ‘This is Betty. My friend. She is not something to get sorted. You understand?’

  Tracey’s cheeks reddened. ‘I was merely suggesting, for your sake– ‘

  ‘I’m staying. We’re staying.’ Alice turned to Owen who was sitting in a chair next to Betty holding her hand.

  ‘It’s funny, really. I was very fond of her, and was going to tell her. One day. Oh, who am I kidding? I was married for fifty years and I still get tongue tied when it comes to talking about my feelings.’

  ‘Which is why your wife was a saint,’ Alice replied.

  Owen smiled ruefully. ‘Most likely. I shall miss her.’ He looked down at the hand he was holding and Alice followed his eyes.

  She frowned. There was something about Betty’s fingernails that didn’t seem quite right. She bent down to take a closer look. Her fingernails had white lines across them. It triggered a memory somewhere in the back of Alice’s mind, but she couldn’t pin it down.

  A hand touched her shoulder. ‘The ambulance will be here shortly, Alice. I need to go and find her file so Tracey can let her next of kin know.’ Vanessa squatted next to her. ‘Do you need anything?’

  Alice started to shake her head, then glanced across to Owen who was staring into nothingness. ‘I think a situation like this calls for more than tea, don’t you?’

  ‘You know alcohol isn’t allowed in the common areas.’

  ‘Exceptional circumstances. Stop by my place on the way back. In the kitchen cabinet above the oven is a small silver flask.’

  Vanessa nodded. ‘Be back as soon as I can.’ She gave Alice’s arm a quick squeeze then headed out of the room.

  Alice was turning her attention back to Betty’s fingernails when Tracey blurted, ‘I’m sorry about the loss of your friend.’

  Privately Alice thought she should have said this earlier, but outwardly she nodded her thanks.

  The door swung open and a stern young woman strode in. She looked in her early thirties, with short black hair, and was dressed in tight fitting jeans and a dark blue T-shirt.

  ‘Judith? What are you doing here?’

  Judith’s eyes seemed to dart around the room, as if taking a series of mental pictures.

  ‘We were supposed to meet for coffee when the tournament finished, remember? What’s going on here, Aunt Tracey?’

  ‘This poor woman has passed away.’

  The way Judith’s expression changed made Alice wonder about the sudden interest. She picked her way through the gaps between the tables and stopped next to her aunt.

  ‘Suspicious?’

  Tracey snorted. ‘Judith, there are never suspicious deaths here. Few places have a higher death rate than retirement villages. It’s the nature of the business. No offence,’ she added, looking at Alice and Owen.

  ‘That’s why I came here,’ Alice said, earning her a puzzled expression from Tracey before understanding dawned and she looked away in embarrassment.

  ‘Mmm,’ Judith replied. ‘Judith Miller, detective, Wellington police.’

  ‘Alice Atkinson, retired, Silvermoon Retirement Village.’

  Judith’s mouth twitched at the edges. ‘Sorry, the detective thing is new. I’m still trying it on for size.’

  ‘Congratulations,’ Alice said. ‘It seems to fit reasonably well.’

  Another twitch of the mouth. ‘If you don’t mind me saying you seem to be taking this woman’s death well.’

  ‘Her name is Betty,’ Owen said.

  ‘I’m almost a century old,’ Alice replied. ‘You don’t get this far without burying a lot of loved ones. You tend to become... pragmatic about death.’

  ‘Alice!’ Owen looked shocked.

  She patted him on the arm. ‘Of course I’m going to miss her.’

  Judith seemed about to say something, but stopped herself, shifting her look between Owen and Tracey.

  Vanessa returned, holding a folder. ‘I’ve got the contact information for you.’ She handed a slip of paper to Tracey, carefully filling the space between her and Alice. Sliding a small object out of her pants pocket, Vanessa held it behind her. Alice took the flask in her lap and covered it with both hands.

  ‘Thank you, Vanessa. I’ll need to go make some calls. Judith, would you mind waiting here? I won’t be long.’

  Judith waved a hand and sat down in a chair at the adjoining table. Tracey pulled her phone out and began dialling as she left the room.

  ‘Vanessa, why don’t you open a window,’ Alice suggested. ‘It’s a little warm in here. Owen, would you mind giving her a hand? You know how the latches stick, I’m sure she could use a man’s assistance.’

  Owen seemed about to refuse, but chivalry overcame reluctance and he gently placed Betty’s hand on the table and stood up.

  Alice quickly poured a few drops from the flask into Owen’s tea while everyone was distracted. Then she turned to Judith. ‘Go on.’

  ‘Eh?’

  ‘You want to practice by looking at this as a crime scene. So go ahead.’

  ‘How did you know?’

  ‘I may not know how to post something on that Faces book, but I know people.’

  ‘You don’t mind? It’s your friend.’

  ‘Yes, she’s my friend, but unless you’re planning to autopsy her on the poker table, a close inspection isn’t going to hurt.’

  Judith jumped up from her seat and bent over Betty’s body, clasping her hands behind her back as if the act of being near a recently deceased person would prove too much temptation and she was afraid she would poke and prod. Her stance reminded Alice of a chicken bending forward to peck at the ground.

  ‘Deceased seems to be in her early seventies, approximately fifty kilograms,’ Judith murmured. ‘No medical bracelets indicating any known conditions. Did she...?’ Judith turned her head to look at Alice.

  ‘She’d spent her working life on the farm so she’d led a healthier life than most of us. She had some blood pressure problems, but that was it as far as I know.’

  ‘And she fell?’

  Alice frowned as she tried
to recall everything that happened before Betty died. ‘I think so. I had my back to her and heard a sudden bang, but before that she seemed fine.’

  Judith nodded and resumed her inspection. Finally she stretched up tall. ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’

  ‘Thank you. You don’t think it’s suspicious then?’

  A troubled look came across Judith’s face, as if she wasn’t sure whether she was being mocked. Alice made sure to keep her expression neutral.

  ‘Difficult to tell without an autopsy, which is unlikely in these circumstances, but there’s no outward sign of trauma so I think it’s safe to say she died of natural causes.’ Judith gave a little smile. ‘Sorry, that sounds really officious.’

  ‘Is speaking like that part of your training?’

  ‘Actually, yes it is.’

  ‘What are you two talking about?’ Owen asked as he rejoined them.

  ‘Just filling in time,’ Alice replied, wishing he’d given them ten more seconds. She couldn’t ask a police detective to look at Betty’s fingernails now without awkward questions or upsetting Owen.

  Soon the room got very busy.

  First Tracey came back in, almost immediately followed by two ambulance staff. Then Owen insisted on accompanying them to wherever it was they took the recently deceased, and finally Tracey began quietly berating Judith for being disrespectful and treating Betty’s death as a training exercise. For a moment everyone forgot about Alice. Sometimes she found if she sat still she became almost invisible, which was on occasion very useful.

  She beckoned Vanessa over. ‘Do you have your phone?’ she whispered.

  ‘Sure,’ Vanessa replied in matching volume.

  ‘Can you take a picture of Betty’s fingernails.’

  It was obvious by her face that Vanessa had questions, but rather than ask them she pulled out her phone, then looked at all the people crowding the body.

  ‘Leave it to me,’ Alice said. She stood up and took a few paces over to the adjoining table.

  ‘Oh dear,’ she said loudly, slumping into a chair. Everyone ignored her. ‘OH DEAR,’ she shouted.

  Heads turned and conversations paused and suddenly she was the centre of attention.