Straight Deck

Funny, the little things that happen in the course of a day that a person remembers as significant that aren't and the things that happen that really are significant that we pay no attention to at all. Today was that kind of day. My name is Kevin Morris..I'm a Blogger and a Writer. Writing is how I make my living. I write for "Hype" Magazine..A Hip -Hop lifestyles magazine in Philadelphia. I have two blogs that I update nearly daily. I make a pretty good living. I mostly work from home, but two to three days a week, I stop by the office. This was one of those days.

I didn't notice him at all...not at first..A tall, well dressed..I should say impeccably dressed Black man who looked like he was my father's age standing by the Dunkin Donuts where I get my morning coffee with a deck of cards... I walked in got my coffee and my Banana Nut Muffin and walked out..He was shuffling the deck of cards and he said something like- "Are you playing with a straight deck homie?" As I got in my car. I put my seat belt on, looked at him and then said tersely- "Are you?" He said- "The question was posed to you good brother...are you playing with a straight deck?" I rolled my windows up and pulled off...I had no time to entertain well dressed fools...I barely noticed him laughing as I pulled off. It just didn't register that it should
have.

I sat in my office and looked over some papers and jotted down a few notes for things I had to look into regarding stories...I saw Mrs. Tate walk by. Fine ass Mrs. Tate...Her husband was a lucky man to have such a shapely woman to sleep with every night. She was the Associate Editor's assistant....I had lobbied, unsuccessfully to have her as my assistant. If I had of succeeded..I would not be working at home , ever. Of course I'm kidding...I live with my girlfriend, Sepia, who is no slouch herself...Practically every guy who meets her is jealous of me and is almost certainly secretly wondering how I was so lucky. Sometimes I wonder myself.

"Hello Mrs. Tate, that's a nice skirt you're wearing." said Terri Evans, a young copy assistant.

"Oh this old thing? Thank you for the compliment" said Mrs. Tate.

" It is kind of out of style, now that you mention it....but it does look good on you." said Terrie rather cattily.

I put my hand over my mouth...I didn't want either of the women to know that I'd heard that exchange. I can imagine that that remark didn't go over well with at least one of them. I chuckled to myself at how catty, women could be. Then my phone rang...That would probably be
Sepia.

"Are you playing from a straight deck my brotha?" came the strange voice that I didn't recognize.

"Who is this?" I said, then I heard a click...Whoever it was had hung up. I didn't think at that point about the well dressed man with the deck of cards who was standing outside the Dunkin
Donuts this morning. Didn't think of it until I stepped out of my office and saw a deck of playing
cards on the floor.

"Mrs. Tate....Did you see who dropped these?" I asked as she walked by.

"No Kevin...I haven't seen anyone."

"I saw who it was...It was a tall black gentelmen, had on a nice suit..He was shuffling those cards..I asked him if I could help him and he dropped the cards and walked out." Said Terri Evans.

I picked up the cards....The Joker card was on the top....The Ace of Spades was on the bottom. Was this some kind of joke. I put the cards in my pocket and forgot all about the peculiar events. I drove home and parked my car in the garage of my home and walked up the stairs into my living room. I peered out the window. Nothing and nobody strange in the neighborhood.
I heard a key in the door. I turned around slowly. It was Sepia.

"Hey baby..I didn't see your car" I said.

"I parked it around the back" she said.

"What you do that for?" I asked.

"Kevin...are you in some kind of trouble?" she asked.

"No..what are you talking about?" I asked.

"Today, some guy was waiting outside my office when I came to work...I had never seen him before..He had on a nice suit..." she said.

"An old Black man right?" I asked, now curious...

"No, he was white and he had a deck of playing cards.." she said.

"He asked you were you playing from a straight deck right?" I asked...

"No, he asked me if you were playing from a straight deck and he put the deck of cards in my
hands and walked away." she said.

The cards she had were identical to mine...The Joker card was on the top and the Ace of spades were on the bottom. Now I began remembering it all..The man outside the Dunkin Donots , The
man who came to my office and now some white guy shadowing Sepia. Somebody wanted to see
me...but, who? and furthermore....WHY???

Sepia was creeped out, so was I...before we could even discuss what was going on..we heard a commotion coming from outside-

"I don't know who you are bitch, but you better mind your business,
this is not your concern..you could wind up dead-" came the voice...

There was two shots, then four more shots in sucession...then a slump...and the sound of a car pulling off. I told Sepia to stay down....I opened my front door....There was a man lying on the sidewalk .....blood was running from his body into the street....there was no need to check him..he was very,very dead....It was the well dressed old Black man who I'd seen on the corner
this morning and who fit the description of the guy who had come to my office and dropped the
deck of playing cards....he had a pistol with a silencer on it in his right hand. Had he come here to kill me? If so, why? What had I done to anyone???And who had intervened on my behalf and taken him out???

My cell phone was buzzing....I looked...It was Cock Robbins, what could he possibly want???

"Hello.. Cock, this isn't a good time-" I said...

"Kevin...Some White guy in a very expensive suit knocked on my door and somebody shot him dead..." said Cock...

"What the hell? Some cat just got taken out over here too!" I said....

"This guy gave me some playin cards a few days ago, asked me if I was playin from a straight deck or somethin or other...I didn't pay no attention to it, I thought he was crazy..then I got a
phone call today ,askin me the same thing...I come home and this guy tried to get into my house,
but somebody took him out...what's goin on?" said Cock.

"I don't know, but get your wife and get out of that house...I'm taking Sepia over to one of Clerow's spots..Then we'll meet at Josie's and try to get our heads together" I said.

"Kev, I know you rattled, but this aint no time to drink." said Cock Robbins.

"I'm not talkin about drinking you idiot..We'll meet there,compare notes and see if we can make some sense outta this." I said.

"Oh, okay Kevin.." said Cock as he hung up.

I looked over at Sepia.....

"Pack a few things...I'm going to take you to one of Clerow's rentals...I'll get to the bottom of this"
I told her...If only I was as sure of that as I sounded.


(To be continued.......)