Dead Man's Hand
Page 38
“I’m a detective, remember?” Jay said. He cleared himself a space on one end of the sofa and sat down. “Let’s not make this any harder than we have to. I just want to get the hell out of here, check myself into a hospital, and take some serious painkillers for about a month.”
“So who’s stopping you? Go.”
“Not till we get something straight. You’re not writing anything about Gregg Hartmann.”
Digger laughed. “The hell I ain’t. This is the story of my life. I’m writing it all … Syria, Berlin, Mackie Messer, the Crystal Palace, everything.… I’m going to hang him out and watch him twist in the wind. I figure a special issue of Aces with nothing but the Hartmann exposé. Or maybe I’ll sell it to the Washington Post, really show that bimbo Sara Morgenstern a thing or two.” He slapped the computer with his hand. “When this thing comes out, Greggie’ll be lucky if they don’t lynch him.”
“Real good,” Jay said wearily. “So how many other wild cards will get lynched in his place? Ever think about that?”
“That’s not my concern,” Digger said. “I’m a journalist, that’s all. I just tell the truth and let the pieces fall where they may.”
“Yeah,” Jay said. “Funny, the truth wasn’t so important when there was a chance those falling pieces might be coming off your body.” He held up a hand before Downs could interrupt. “Just hear me out,” he said. “I’ve already gone over this with Tachyon. He was right—this is a story that can’t ever be told. There are reasons, Digger.” He went over them, one by one.
Digger was unmoved. “You’re asking me to be part of a cover-up,” he said when Jay had finished.
“Real good,” Jay said. “You got it.”
“No way,” Downs said with righteous indignation. “I got ethics. Besides, what about me? Why the hell should I let Hartmann off easy, he tried to have me killed! Forget it, Ackroyd.”
“I know who killed Chrysalis,” Jay said. “He’s going to turn himself in tomorrow morning at the Jokertown precinct house. If you agree to drop the Hartmann exposé, you can have that story instead. I’ll arrange for the killer to give you a complete confession before he goes to the police.” Jay had already talked it over with Hiram on the flight home. Hiram had agreed; Hiram was in a frame of mind to agree to most anything that might possibly spare further bloodshed. “It’s quite a story,” Jay said. “It’s got blackmail, drugs, sex, death, aces, jokers, the works. Juicy.” He ought to know. He’d helped Tachyon work out the details. What it didn’t have was any mention of Gregg Hartmann or James Spector. Ti Malice was villain enough. “You can have an exclusive,” Jay promised Digger. “In fact, how’s this, I’ll arrange for the killer to turn himself over to you, and you can deliver him to the cops.”
For a moment, Digger looked tempted. Then his child’s face screwed up in a frown. “Do I look stupid or what? The Hartmann thing is headlines coast to coast, talk shows, books, hell, a Pulitzer for sure, maybe a Nobel. No way am I gonna swap that for some penny-ante Jokertown murder. I mean, gimme a break, Chrysalis? Who cares? She’s just another dead joker.”
“I’ll throw in some money,” Jay said.
Digger got indignant. “Hey, I don’t take bribes, you got it? You can just keep your goddamned money, the American public has a right to know the truth.”
Jay sighed deeply. He was running out of ammunition. “Okay,” he said. “Have it your way.” He stood up. “Once you run your little scoop, it’s going to get real cold out there for wild cards, but if you think you can stand the chill, hey, who am I to argue?” He started for the door.
“Me?” Digger said. “Why should I have to stand the chill?”
Jay turned and looked back at him. “You’re an ace, aren’t you?” he said innocently. He touched a finger to the side of his nose and raised a meaningful eyebrow.
“But no one knows that,” Digger said.
Jay smiled.
“You wouldn’t,” Digger said, horrified. “I told you that in confidence, man. If anyone found out, I could be in a world of shit.”
“So true,” Jay said sympathetically. “You know, if it was up to me, I’d just as soon keep a lid on it, but…” He shrugged. “The American public has a right to know the truth.”
His hand was on the doorknob when Digger called out after him. “Ackroyd.”
Jay looked back over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
Downs regarded him thoughtfully. “How much money?” the reporter asked.
MIDNIGHT
They stopped at the Red Apple Rest, a twenty-four-hour restaurant on Route 17. Brennan got out and went inside.
“I need seventeen cheeseburgers, twelve foot-long hot dogs with chili, three with mustard and sauerkraut, twenty-six large fries, fifteen Cokes, ten Seven-Ups, and one large coffee. Black.”
“Jesus, mister,” the counterman said, “what ya got in your van, a pack of starving animals or something?”
“Just a few friends,” Brennan said, laying his money on the counter.
Brennan turned as the counterman went to fill his order, and looked back over the parking lot. The moon had nearly set. Hanging on the rim of the horizon, it looked to Brennan like a skull, smiling. It took little imagination to add eyes of deepest blue and lips of coral red. He smiled back as it slipped below the horizon, and said softly, “Good-bye.”
CLOSING CREDITS
STARRING
created & written by
Jay (Popinjay) Ackroyd
George R. R. Martin
Daniel (Yeoman) Brennan
John Jos. Miller
CO-STARRING
created by
Jennifer (Wraith) Maloy
John Jos. Miller
Thomas (Digger) Downs
Steve Perrin
Hiram Worchester
George R. R. Martin
Ti Malice
John Jos. Miller
The Oddity
Stephen Leigh
Dr. Tachyon
Melinda M. Snodgrass
Mother and her Children
John Jos. Miller
FEATURING
created by
Charles Dutton
Walton Simons
Lazy Dragon
William F. Wu
Ezili je Rouge
John Jos. Miller
Det. 3rd Grade Thomas Jan Maseryk
Chris Claremont
Det. 2nd Grade Harvey Kant
Walter Jon Williams
Big Joe Jory
John Jos. Miller
Quasiman
Arthur Byron Cover
Father Squid
John Jos. Miller
Fadeout
George R. R. Martin
Sascha Starfin
John Jos. Miller
WITH
created by
Doug Morkle (Durg Morakh)
Victor Milan
Elmo Schaeffer
John Jos. Miller
Jack (Golden Boy) Braun
Walter Jon Williams
Billy (Carnifex) Ray
John Jos. Miller
Robert (Bludgeon) Seivers
George R. R. Martin
Tripod
John Jos. Miller
Nephi (Straight Arrow) Callendar
Walter Jon Williams
Stigmata
Stephen Leigh
Squisher
John Jos. Miller
Jube (Walrus) Benson
George R. R. Martin
Doughboy
Victor Milan
Charm
George R. R. Martin
Wyrm
John Jos. Miller
Mackie Messer
Victor Milan
SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY
created by
Chrysalis
John Jos. Miller
The Wild Cards Universe
The Original Triad
Wild Cards
Aces High
Jokers Wild
The Puppetman Quartet
/>
Aces Abroad
Down and Dirty
Ace in the Hole
Dead Man’s Hand
The Rox Triad
One-Eyed Jacks
Jokertown Shuffle
Dealer’s Choice
Double Solitaire
Turn of the Cards
The Card Sharks Triad
Card Sharks
Marked Cards
Black Trump
Deuces Down
Death Draws Five
The Committee Triad
Inside Straight
Busted Flush
Suicide Kings
The Fort Freak Triad
Fort Freak
Lowball
High Stakes
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
GEORGE R. R. MARTIN is the author of the international bestselling A Song of Ice and Fire series, which is the basis for the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones. Martin has won the Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy Awards for his numerous novels and short stories. Visit his website at georgerrmartin.com, or sign up for email updates here.
JOHN JOS. MILLER is best known for his involvement as a contributor to the Wild Cards universe. He also wrote GURPS Wild Cards, a supplement for the GURPS role-playing system.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Monday: July 18, 1988
Tuesday: July 19, 1988
Wednesday: July 20, 1988
Thursday: July 21, 1988
Friday: July 22, 1988
Saturday: July 23, 1988
Sunday: July 24, 1988
Monday: July 25, 1988
Closing Credits
The Wild Cards Universe
About the Authors
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously.
WILD CARDS VII: DEAD MAN’S HAND
Copyright © 1990 by George R. R. Martin and the Wild Cards Trust
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Michael Komarck
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-7653-3561-6 (trade paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4668-2439-3 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466824393
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First published in the United States by Bantam Spectra
First Tor Edition: June 2017