by Jerold Last
After a break it was time for my rematch with Sam. We drew an audience of everyone still in the dojo to watch this time. Sam was obviously conscious of the fact that we were the center of attention, and clearly he intended to win this time. He tried for a little bit of gamesmanship by intimidation before we started.
"How about a little side bet to make it interesting? Would you like to try for double or nothing on your fee?"
"No, I wouldn't. How about a side bet where you tell me the truth about what happened here last night if I beat you again?"
"What's in it for me if I take that bet and win?"
"Vincent and I will tell Lt. Coelho that we didn't find anything out about Russ' killing and he should clear it for all of us to go home on tomorrow's flight."
Like I said, Sam was a risk taker. We shook hands on our bet, bowed politely to one another, and started our match.
About half a minute into the match Sam seemed to carelessly give me a potential opening for a back mount. I was about to take it when I thought about the fools mate in chess, a strategy to make you think you have a sure win if you make a certain move, a strategy designed to distract you from what your opponent is really doing. I ignored the apparent easy win opportunity and remained alert on defense. Sam's body language told me I had guessed right. Eventually we ended up grappling on the mat. I stayed patient and maintained my defense. Sam lacked the patience to continue grappling. He needed to do something. That's when he made a mistake and let me get him into a real back mount on the mat. My legs were wrapped around his lower body and hooked inside his thighs. I had him completely under control. My arms were around his neck applying a chokehold. Sam tapped out and I had won.
We separated and Sam bowed to me in acknowledgment of my win.
"I guess you win not only the match, but the side bet too. I think everybody can hear this, not just you. Ellen and Jeff can confirm everything I tell you, and I assume Bill and Arnie suspect at least some of this. Is that OK?"
"Sure, we can do this whatever way you're most comfortable with."
"First and foremost, I want to assure you that what happened was an accident. Russ and I made a stupid side bet on a match, a lot like I just did with you. In this case our bet was that if I won, the reward would be a weekend for me with Ellen, no strings attached. If Russ won, he would have gotten a very substantial sum of money. We slipped downstairs at about 2:45 or 3 to have our match with no distractions. Ellen was there to watch and make sure that nobody cheated. Russ fought a lot like your style---careful, patient, strong defense. He wasn't as fast as you are, but he'd have given you a competitive match.
"We were pretty careful for a few minutes, then we closed, each of us got a pretty good grip on the other's gi, and I got a pretty clean takedown with a leg sweep. I ended up on my back, in and out of the guard position, while we grappled for several minutes. Things were pretty even at that stage. I got an opening and went for his arm.
"That's when things started to get real weird. Like anybody else who has learned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu I've been taught the Kimura arm lock, but I haven't practiced it since my white belt days, and I've never even tried to apply it in a real match. It just isn't a move I'd ever use. Somehow, without any conscious thoughts about what I was actually doing, I got him into the Kimura arm lock. He was tapping out when I dislocated his shoulder. We separated and I helped him get back up while I apologized to him for going too far with the arm lock. He started to walk off the mat towards Ellen under his own power when he tripped or something. At the exact same time the lights flickered off and on several times, then went dark, the air seemed to feel a little cooler. The lights came back on and the first thing Ellen or I saw was Russ lying there dead on the mat with a dislocate shoulder and a broken neck. There wasn't anything on the mat he could have tripped over, and even if he had tripped Russ knew how to fall correctly so he wouldn't have been hurt. We were pretty sure that nobody would believe us if we told them this story, so we decided to rejoin the group upstairs and see if we could bluff our way out of trouble.
"And here we are now. Ellen, would you like a turn now?"
Her right hand went to her bangs and pushed the hair out of her field of vision. "I swear that everything Sam just told you is absolutely true. I'm only sorry we didn't tell you all of this when it happened." She broke down and started crying.
Jeff had been quietly standing by listening to all of this. "I can corroborate the beginning and the end of Sam's story. I came down with them and watched the first half of the match. It was exactly the way Sam described it to you. I needed a quick bathroom break so missed the last minute or two of the match. I saw the lights flicker and felt that wave of cool air just as I was coming out of the bathroom to rejoin the group. I saw Russ lying there on the mat with Sam a few feet away from him looking shocked and confused. Ellen was watching from several feet off the mat."
Even though his hand was in its usual position in front of his mouth his story was consistent both with what Sam and Ellen had just told us, and the facts as I knew or guessed they had occurred. I believed him.
Bill and Arnie nodded. They both said they were upstairs while all this was going on, but that they knew about the bet and the ongoing match downstairs. They had kept silent until now out of loyalty to their friends.
Sam and the others were clearly telling the truth, at least the truth as they saw it. It had been very late at night and they all knew the story of the ghost in the gymnasium. All of them had four hours of jet lag to cope with, so they may have been especially suggestible. However, we heard what had actually happened as far as any of five responsible adults knew what they had done and seen. Either Russ had died in some sort of grotesque accident or the ghost of Masahiko Kimura had taken revenge on yet another innocent victim.
Vincent and I never got to bed that night. Very early the next morning we told all of this to Lt. Coelho, who thought a bit and then replied that our entire group could go home on a flight later today. The detective indicated that the death of Russ Pardo would be formally ruled to have been an accident. However, all of the details would be added to the incidents in the thick Gymnasium Ghost file.
"I have access to the crime scene photos from all of the other ghost-related deaths at the gym," Joao told us while stroking his goatee with more than his usual intensity. "There are several small details at all of these scenes that we did not release to the public or to the media. The scene around Russ Pardo's death exactly matches every one of these former incidents. I am a rational man, but remain open to the possibility that Masahiko Kimura's curse has claimed yet another victim."
He solemnly made the sign of the cross and said good-bye to us. I never saw him again.
-----------------------------------------------The End--------------------------------------------------
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
If you want to read more about Suzanne and Roger, their South American mystery novels in order of their publication (and occurrence) include:
1. "The Ambivalent Corpse" (http://www.amazon.com/Ambivalent-Corpse-Crime-Meant-ebook/dp/B0060ZFRQG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319989507&sr=1-1), set in Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, which introduces several of the recurring characters.
2. "The Surreal Killer" (http://www.amazon.com/The-Surreal-Killer-ebook/dp/B007H21EFO/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330988453&sr=1-2), set in Peru and Northern Chile and
3. "The Matador Murders" (http://www.amazon.com/Matador-Murders-American-Mystery-ebook/dp/B008QD4BJE/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343522003&sr=1-3&keywords=matador+murders), set in Montevideo, Uruguay and Central Chile, which introduces readers to Vincent Romero and Bruce, the Nanny extraordinaire.
4. “The Deadly Dog Show”, their first North American mystery novel, is also available as a Kindle book from Amazon. Most of the action in this novel takes place in California. (http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Roger-Suzanne-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00E25BM3I/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374416914&sr=1-1&keywords=b00e25bm3i)
. All of these novels are available as $2.99 Kindle E-books from Amazon.
5. In addition, there are two shorter books in this series available from Amazon. The novella “The Body in the Bed”, available as a $0.99 Kindle E-book from Amazon, also takes place in Montevideo. It’s set chronologically just after “The Matador Murders”. http://www.amazon.com/South-American-Mystery-Series-ebook/dp/B00A1PZZ86/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1352084384&sr=1-6&keywords=the+body+in+the+bed
6. The novelette “The Body in the Parking Structure”, also available as a $0.99 Kindle E-book from Amazon, is the same novelette that is included in this anthology.
You can learn a lot more about Suzanne, Roger, and the author at their blog site, conveniently located at http://suzanneandrogermysteries.blogspot.com
Please consider taking the time to write a brief review of this book for its Amazon book page. Thank you.