Jingle of Coins

by C. D. Ledbetter

  Emily took her time getting ready, and when the wall clock chimed six, hurried to meet the other women. Most she recognized from the laundry room; others she’d passed on the stairs or mailboxes. Once Rosie made the introductions, she shepherded the group toward her van.

  The women sampled their way through varied offerings of shrimp, prime rib, pasta salads, and dessert, and then decided to try their luck at the slots. Emily found herself alone when the group split up to search for a winning slot machine. An avid people watcher, she hovered for a few minutes near a group of senior citizens and watched as one little old lady commandeered an entire bank of nickel slots. Whenever someone walked by, the woman leaned to one side and stretched her arms across the bank of machines. Several people attempted to play one of the woman’s machines, and each time the feisty old lady scrambled off her stool, stood determinedly between the would-be slot player and the machine, and told the player to take a hike. When one man insisted that she had too many machines going, the old woman swatted him with her purse. Emily tried not to laugh as the man muttered under his breath and quickly moved away. God help anyone who tried to come between little old ladies and their slot machines!

  Chuckling, she strolled down the aisle and after making sure nobody wanted it, selected a nickel machine on the back wall. It didn't take long to flag a roving change person and purchase ten dollars worth of nickels. Emily fed the coins into the slot machine one at a time, noting that the machine made an odd sound every time the reels spun and symbols appeared on the pay lines. With each successive nickel the noise grew louder, and she wondered if one of her coins was stuck on the inside. Frowning at the grinding noise, she turned to the man on her left. "Does my machine sound funny to you?” she asked. “It's making a strange noise."

  He stopped shoving nickels into his machine and leaned closer. "What noise?"

  "It happens when I press the ‘spin’ button. Wait, I'll show you." She dropped a coin into the machine, pressed the button, and waited. Sure enough, her machine made a funny grinding noise.

  “Try it again. I don’t hear anything.” Getting out of his chair, he nudged Emily aside, then leaned forward and placed his head against the front panel of her machine. Emily dropped five coins into the coin slot, pulled the handle, and waited. The machine whirred, three bars lined up on the pay line, and once again she heard the odd buzz.

  Straitening, the man shook his head. "Sorry, lady, but I don't hear anything.” He reclaimed his machine, dropped in a few coins, and pulled the handle. He moved closer, listened until the slot machine completed its cycle, and then straightened. “My machine's making more racket than yours." Gesturing with one hand, he continued to drop nickels into the coin slot. “Don’t worry about the noise; just play it till it quits. If it breaks, they have people to come fix it. Just play.”

  "Thanks." Emily thought about moving to a different machine, but decided to stay where she was. “Okay, here goes. My last five nickels. Maybe the Goddess of Chance will shine on me and I’ll win.”

  The man laughed. “That’s the idea. Somebody’s gotta win. Just keep shoving those coins in. These things are gonna pay off sometime. If you don’t play, you can’t win.”

  She dropped in her last few coins and pulled the handle. Her machine still made noise, but this time it was on a much higher pitch. Even with her hearing aides in, the sound hurt, causing her to clap her hands over her ears. To her surprise, the lights on top of the slot machine blinked, bells whistled, and her machine blared out a loud tune. The winning symbol combination had lined up! Emily watched as the machine spit out nickel after nickel, and listened to the coins make a ting, ting, ting sound as they bounced into the metal tray below.

  "Hey, lady. You hit the jackpot!" the man next to her shouted. "You won a thousand nickels!"

  She grinned back at him. "I can’t believe it! This is the first time I've ever played the slots," she confessed. "How much is a thousand nickels?"

  "Fifty bucks."

  She felt her mouth drop. "What? Fifty bucks? That's all? Look at the machine. It's still dumping out coins! Are you sure a thousand nickels is only fifty bucks?"

  He nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. Don't knock it. At least you won something. I've been sitting here for over an hour, and I'm already out eighty bucks." He lowered his voice. "Since you’re a first timer, I'm gonna give you some advice. Don’t ever walk away from a machine until after the reels stop spinning. Somebody else could claim your money. And don’t put too much money back into that machine now that you’ve won. Once a machine hits the jackpot, it usually doesn't pay off again."

  She patted his arm. "Thanks. I'll try another one once it finishes dumping my nickels.” A few minutes later she scooped her coins into a large plastic bucket, then roamed the aisles until she found an open machine. As Emily dropped coins into the slot, she listened for the sounds she’d heard before, but this time all she heard was the whirr, whirr, whirr of the reels as they spun and locked into position. When she'd lost about a third of her coins, she gave up and moved to a different aisle.

  She hadn't played more than ten nickels when the slot machine creaked and groaned like the first one. What the devil? Shaking her head, Emily stared at the pay line, wondering if her imagination was playing tricks on her, or if the noise actually meant something. She tried to remember how long had it been from the time the noise started until the first machine paid out, but couldn’t, so she dropped in three more nickels and crossed her fingers.

  This time the noise rose several octaves, causing her head to throb. Was it going to hit? Unable to stand the suspense, she closed her eyes and counted to ten. When she opened them, two jackpot symbols rested on the pay line in front of her, and the third reel was still spinning.

  Emily held her breath until the spinning stopped, revealing the third jackpot symbol. She'd won again! Holy Cow! She jumped off her chair and watched as the lights on top of the slot machine flashed and the music blared. Once again the familiar ting, ting, ting of nickels bouncing into the metal tray boomed in her ears. Another fifty dollars! She could do this all night!

  Once the machine stopped spitting out nickels, she glanced down at her watch. Damn. Ten o’clock, time to meet up with the rest of the group. She hurried to the payout window and slid her buckets toward the teller. The woman dumped her nickels into a square coin counter bin in the center of the room. A digital screen positioned above the bin flashed out incremental amounts, then stopped at sixty-eight dollars and thirty-five cents.

  Grinning at the teller, Emily stuffed the money into her wallet and rejoined her group in front of the casino. On the way home, she hesitantly told them she'd hit two jackpots.

  Rosie, one of the losers, summoned a smile. "Not bad for a rookie, Emily. What's your secret? Do the machines talk to you?"

  "You're not going to believe this, but they do," Emily replied.

  The group burst into laughter.

  "So, are you hooked for life now that you've hit two jackpots on your first visit?" Betty asked. She touched Emily's arm. "Be careful. There's a down side to gambling. It's easy to get so caught up in the fever that gambling becomes your whole life. I know, because as a counselor, I've seen it happen too many times. It’s the same story over and over again. People win the first couple of times out and think it's great. Then they raise the stakes and start to lose. The result is they become hooked and gamble all the time because they're so sure the next spin of the reels will make them a winner once again. Before they know it, they've lost their job, their house, and their family. I don’t want that to happen to you."

  Emily patted her fingers. "Don't worry. I'm sure my win was a fluke. I’ll tell you what, though. I sure got a kick out of hearing those nickels go ting, ting, ting."

  Later, as Emily got ready for bed, she wondered if fate was playing another cruel trick on her. Had she had a stroke of good fortune? God knows she was due one. Or…was it something else? Had her heightened sense of hearing allowed her to discern which machine was re
ady to pay off? It sure would be ironic if the injury that ended her artistic career turned out to be a benefit rather than a burden.

  She thought about the different machines she'd tried. The first one made noise as soon as she put money into the coin slot. After that, it was probably only ten or twelve pulls before the noise level changed and the machine paid off. The second machine, however, hadn’t made any grumbling whatsoever.

  She knew the machines were operated by computer chips. Obviously, they must have some kind of device that calculated the number of spins between jackpots. Each machine would probably be on a different payoff cycle so they didn’t all pay out at the same time. That made sense, especially for financial reasons. After all, the casinos were in the business of making money—not giving it away. Otherwise, how could they afford to stay in business?

  Even if the slot machines were electronically controlled, that still didn’t account for the reason why she heard the varying sounds. Could her intensified hearing be sensitive to that high a pitch? Nah, she couldn’t be that lucky—or could she?

  She remembered Betty's warning and wondered if she would become a compulsive gambler. Probably not, she didn’t have the temperament to become addicted to gambling. She was simply curious to know if her heightened hearing ability gave her the advantage of being able to "hear" a machine as it got ready to pay off. It was possible that her wins were a one-time fluke. If not, maybe this stroke of good fortune would last long enough to keep her going until she could find another way to make a living.

  Well, there was only one way to find out. She'd have to go back to the casino and see what happened. Win or lose, she was still ahead, because she could play with the money she'd won. If she lost it, she wouldn’t be out anything. Hopefully, she’d win.

  Emily spent the next three days trying to get up enough nerve to test her theory. Until trial and error proved her wrong, she decided to stick to her belief that Lady Luck had merely paid a once-in-a-lifetime visit. It was a shame her windfall happened on the nickel machines. The dollar machines would have been so much nicer!

  One thing was certain. She had to go alone. That way, if she made a fool of herself, nobody would know. To make sure she didn’t run into any of her neighbors, Emily drove to a different casino. Her heart thudded and her breath came in painful gasps as she pulled into a parking space and cut the engine.

  Nervous and dry-mouthed, she sat quietly for a few minutes trying to get up enough nerve to test her theory. Finally, after reminding herself that there was nothing to be afraid of, Emily wiped her sweaty hands on the side of her slacks and climbed out. If she were lucky, she'd leave the casino a few bucks ahead. If not, well, the worst that could happen would be that she'd have a little less cash and feel dumb.

  Wincing at the onslaught of sound, Emily wandered around the casino until she found a group of nickel machines. Her plan called for her to start out as cheap as she could and, once the machines started paying off, work her way up to the more expensive slots, preferably dollars. This really was too easy. All she had to do was wait for the machine to change pitch. Once that happened, she'd count the number of spins it took for it to pay off, and bingo! Instant money.

  As far as she could tell, the only flaw in her plan was that she couldn't be sure if the machine would change pitch. She’d have to try several rolls of nickels at each machine until it creaked and groaned. Once that happened, the jackpot would follow—she hoped.

  Holding her breath, Emily unwrapped the first roll of nickels and inserted the maximum number of coins into the slot. Nothing happened. Undaunted, she tried again. Still no sound. It didn't take long to lose her entire cache. Ten dollars later, she decided that her original assumption about Lady Luck’s one-time visit had been correct.

  Some inner impulse urged her to spend a couple more dollars, so she purchased another two-dollar roll of nickels and fed in a few more coins. Nothing happened, and when the money disappeared, so did her patience. Putting more money into the machine was stupid. She still had almost fifty-one dollars left; she'd put that money to use somewhere other than gambling.

  Emily was still trying to figure out the quickest route to the parking lot when a quarter machine across from her began making noises. Two spins later, the noise increased another level. With each whirl of the reels, a thrill shot across her stomach. Oh my God! Her idea wasn’t stupid! She’d been right! That machine was going to pay out, and soon! Crap, the man playing it still had coins left. Damn!

  She wondered if the man playing the slot machine heard the noise, but his frustrated expression led her to believe he was unaware of what was happening. A shiver raced down her back. Maybe he would leave before the machine paid off. She felt bad about wishing him bad luck, but still hoped he’d leave before the jackpot hit.

  As luck would have it, he ran out of money and walked away. The moment he left, she jumped in front of his machine and signaled for the change girl. Her pulse quickened as the woman swapped her ten-dollar bill for a tightly wrapped roll of quarters.

  Emily whacked the coins against the side of the machine to break the wrapper, dropped two quarters into the coin slot, and reached for the spin button. The wheels whirled around and around, and as she listened for the change in pitch, a small shred of anxiety nibbled its way into her consciousness. Was this how compulsive gamblers felt? Was she becoming a compulsive gambler? She tried to subdue her excitement by telling herself that she was only excited because it looked like her theory might be valid. This was an experiment, much like scientists did. It was a little different than most, but a heck of a lot more fun.

  She continued to count spins from the time the machine started making sounds. The slot machine sucked up quarter after quarter, bringing the number to forty. Worried that the machine would reset if it remained inactive for any length of time, she decided to purchase an extra roll of quarters.

  Emily resisted the urge to put in the maximum coins, and dropped her quarters in one at a time. Her money would last longer if she only put in the minimum. That had been her mistake at the nickel slots. Instead of being prudent, she'd opted for the maximum, and her money hadn't lasted as long as it should have.

  Of course, one coin meant she wouldn't win as much, but she reminded herself that this trip was to test her theory, not to win money. She remembered to write down the type of slot machine it was in the notebook stashed inside her purse, and continued to count the number of spins. Her cache dwindled to four coins as the machine changed pitch one last time and the winning combination aligned in the windows.

  Emily’s adrenalin level skyrocketed as she jumped up and down. She’d done it! Her idea worked! She could actually tell which slot machine was going to pay off! In the midst of her excitement, she felt a familiar throbbing in her temples.

  Oh no, not now! She couldn’t be getting a headache now! Of all the rotten luck, this had to be the worst. Emily grabbed her medication bottle from her purse, popped off the cap, and shook out a couple of pain pills. As she swallowed the foul-tasting tablets, she prayed for the machine to pay off quickly so she could get home before her migraine reached full intensity.

  As the machine continued to count the coins, she jotted down the number of spins it took for the quarter machine to pay off. Twenty minutes later she cashed in two hundred fifty-five dollars. She'd done it! She'd won! Her theory wasn't a bunch of hogwash and wishful thinking.

  Some of her excitement faded as her headache worsened, forcing her to drive home through a blur of blinding pain. Fighting off the waves of pain-induced nausea, she dragged herself up to her second floor apartment. Her knees buckled as she closed the door, and she slid to the floor. This was the worst headache she’d ever had. She thought about taking another pain pill, but decided against it. No sense risking an overdose.

  A few moments later, she crawled to the bedroom and eased into bed. Would the black cloud hanging over her never go away? This was just her kind of luck. She finally figures out a way to make a ton of money, and inst
ead of cashing in on her idea and getting rich, she ends up with the migraine from hell. Damn, damn, damn!

  Emily eased her limbs into a more comfortable position and ignored the fear that her headache wouldn’t dissipate, forcing her to call her doctor. Assuming, of course, that she didn't die from it first. And, considering what caused it, death might be a more palatable option that trying to explain her recent behavior to her physician.

  Chapter Three

  Glen Craigone unpacked the last of his facial recognition system handouts, then grimaced as he surveyed the makeshift conference room, noting the worn carpet, thin wall paneling, and stained ceiling tiles.

  A series of ill-matched folding chairs that had seen better days surrounded two cafeteria-style tables placed in the center, and the remaining furniture, stacked pancake-style, lined the room. The regular conference room was too small to hold all the attendees, so instead of splitting the training into a two-day affair, this casino’s management opted to convert the employee lounge into a temporary conference center. A maintenance man told him management was in the process of refurbishing the property; it was obvious that this room must be somewhere near the bottom of the priority list.

  He glanced up as Robert Hoyland, Chief of Security, appeared in the doorway.

  “Everything okay?” Hoyland asked.

  “Fine.” Glen resisted the urge to smooth his hair and put on his jacket. There was no reason to feel inadequate because the casino’s security chief looked as if he’d stepped out of the pages of the latest issue of a man’s fashion magazine.

  “Good.” Hoyland glanced at his watch. “Since you still have a few minutes, I wondered if you’d take a look at something.”