Fall Guy

table, standing on tiptoes to try to get a look inside the bag I was carrying.
    „You're not Greek, are you, doll? You never mentioned your last name?“
    „Not Greek. A Jew bearing gifts. I believe that's considered kosher.“
    He smiled.
    I handed him the bag.
    „Six-pack, chips, dips. You're a find, doll.“
    The bell rang. He handed the bag back to me. „In the kitchen. Anywhere there's room. Beer in the fridge.“
    I carried the beer and chips into Irwin's kitchen, seeing the stool at the sink and a folding stepladder leaning against the wall adjacent to the kitchen door. I put the beer in the fridge. There was already a whole shelf of beer in there. I opened the cabinets until I found a large bowl and dumped the chips in there. I was taking that back to the living room when the door opened and there stood Parker with three other men.
    „Rachel,“ he said.
    „Hello, Parker. Nice to see you again.“
    He looked at Irwin, then back at me.
    „I invited her,“ Irwin said. „At least she brought something.“
    I held the bowl of chips aloft. „A six-pack, too. Thirsty work, playing poker.“
    Now they were all squinting at me, Parker because I was there, Irwin because he thought he'd caught me in a lie—he had, too, at least one—and one of the other three because he had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, the smoke making him squinch up his eyes. I guess the other two were just waiting to be introduced, hoping the mark had a ton of money to lose. And that she did.
    „Enough chitchat,“ Irwin said. „Let's play cards.“
    There was a light hanging over the poker table, the wire running across the ceiling and down the wall. Irwin shut off the rest of the lights and we took our seats, all except one of Parker's friends, the one with the cigarette, who went to get the first round of beer. I thought about going back to the kitchen for the dips, but didn't bother.
    „We're still on for tomorrow, right, Rachel?“ Parker asked, fidgeting with the money in his pocket. Or maybe he'd found the set of keys he'd lost because whatever it was he was fooling with was making a jingling kind of noise.
    „As a matter of fact, you're not,“ Irwin told him. „Rachel here was kind enough to pack up your stuff and leave it with me. You can take it tonight when you go.“
    Parker looked betrayed. „But you said—“
    „Dog has to go to the vet,“ I said. I turned to smile at Irwin. He smiled back approvingly, one con artist appreciating another.
    „But you said—“
    „You said you needed your clothes,“ I told him. „They're right there.“ I pointed to the stash of things against the wall.
    „But there's other stuff that's mine.“
    „I can give you the rest on Saturday, after the memorial.“
    „What memorial?“ Rattled now.
    „I was going to tell you all of this, in due time.“ Irwin picked up the deck and began to shuffle. „Everything in due time. But first introduce your little friends to Rachel.“
    „Bill, Ricky, Ape, Rachel.“ Not telling me who was who. Though I had a sneaky feeling the one with hair on the backs of his hands might be Ape.
    „Gentlemen.“
    „Don't count on it,“ Irwin said. „Now, you told me you've never played poker before. Shall I go over what beats what?“
    „Nah. I'll catch on,“ I told him. „Anyway, I can't stay too long. I have this appointment.“
    „With a gentleman,“ Irwin told the others, „a real one, I suspect.“
    „So why can't we get the rest of my stuff now if you can't do it tomorrow? I'm here. You're here.“
    „Right. I'm here. I'm not there.“
    „Bitch.“ It was the one who was smoking. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and bent it into the ashtray, leaving it only half out so that the smoke kept coming and coming. It sounded like
    the voice from the answering machine, but that person had said his name was Andy. Maybe they all used as many names as Parker did.
    „You talk to a lady like that,“ I told him, „you'll go right straight to hell.“ I watched for a reaction, but there was none. He just reached for a beer and pulled out the tab.
    Dashiell walked over to the window, poked aside the curtain and looked down at the street. The compressor of the air conditioner kicked on. Irwin picked up the cards.
    „Win or lose, I'm out of here in an hour. Agreed?“
    „You can leave right now,“ one of Parker's friends said, either Bill or Ricky or perhaps even Ape. „Who invited you, anyway?“
    „I did.“ He had a big voice