Chapter 1a

The Cards
Written by Lewis B. Walker IV

     Chapter 1

     Jeremy Gates reached for his pack of Treasurer Gold cigarettes lying in the raised center console of his Lexus LFA as he stopped at a red light. He paused and stared fixedly at the postcard sitting under his cigarettes.

     Immediately, obscured images of a young girl, the Queen of Spades, clouded his thoughts. Although Jeremy couldn’t see any measure of detail, his mind saw the beauty in both the Queen’s body and soul, and he knew, despite the youthful depiction, she was far older and wiser than anyone he’d every known. Her voice was relaxing, soothing him into submission, but that same voice betrayed him, taunting him with promises of sanity and a return to a normal life. Despite the Queen’s pledges, he knew nothing from her words ever produced anything tangible except false hope.

     In Jeremy’s peripheral vision, cars drove by, and he could hear what seemed like distant sounds of car horns blaring at him to go. Reluctantly, he snapped his focus to reality and drove on.

     That damned postcard had stolen his life. He’d become recluse, neglecting his responsibilities for the last three months, before accidentally running into Colin McLeay and discovering the beginnings of the secrets related to the postcard’s mysteries. Now Jeremy was out and about again, but all his activities revolved around that blasted postcard.

     He played with the postcard, turning it over in his hands several times while driving. It was simple enough in its appearance: a processed stamp with the address section filled out for Lucian Darke. The message section stated, “Play with us,” in cursive writing, and the back of the postcard had an image of a Chinese Leaf Painting. Painted on the leaves were an ancient Chinese form of playing cards, originally known as money cards, with one portraying a queen. Nonetheless, the postcard’s simplicity was anything but.

     When Jeremy had reached his destination, it felt like record time; his thoughts had distracted him for most of the ride. Getting out of the car, the usual smug look and arrogant posture of the young and successful he ordinarily sported was gone. This could be it. The moment he’d longed for since the postcard found its way into Jeremy’s hands. But he’d learned along his travels to expect the worse and hope for the best–no need to get excited. None of his previous attempts led him any closer to the truth. His usual confidence felt like a betrayal, so he hid it from himself in an attempt to mitigate the devastation of another failed attempt to gleam more about the postcard.

    Getting out of the car, Jeremy glanced at his crooked parking job thinking he should have just let the car park itself. For the price he paid, it should drive itself too. Oh hell, he didn’t even know why he bought the damn thing other than because it was a prototype of Toyota’s entry into the high class luxury auto business. He’d told himself he’d donate it to charity once the real car was released to the general public. This was another one of the million things he’d let slip because of his damn obsession with that fucking postcard.

     He turned and crossed the street. Little shops adorned both sides of the street with well-to-doers perusing the over priced specialty stores. A mid-aged attractive lady, bundled in a mink coat with a matching mink hat and gloves despite the 78 degree weather, scurried by, almost knocking into Jeremy. The eccentric bitch didn’t even bother to say excuse me. Mink lady walked by again. This time she looked like Vanna White turning letters on Wheel of Fortune as she passed one particular store, gesturing at something in the window.

     She rushed back and forth, becoming more frantic as Jeremy drew close. Looking into the shop’s window, he saw tons of sports and trading cards. One in particular caught his attention with a similar attraction that he experienced the first time he’d seen the postcard, only less intense.

     A woman, with the skin tone of a medium complicated black person but the facial features of a Asian with long white hair was adorned in a scantly clad tribal warrior outfit and what looked like a magical staff, was centered on the card. The trading card was entitled “World of Chi” with the character’s name, Kahbi, at the bottom and stats along both sides. An eerie calm rushed through Jeremy. This card felt right. The feelings he received from it weren’t contradictory and overwhelming like those he got from the postcard.

     When Jeremy broke his gaze from the card, he noticed mink lady smiling a child’s grin of pleasure. She mouthed, “Bye it.  It was meant for you.”

     “I can’t hear you, lady–what?”

     Again, her mouth moved, but she didn’t actually speak the words.

     “I’m no damn lip reader,” he said.

     Remembering his urgency to get to the antique store, he tried to move past mink lady, but she stepped in front of him and turned him around to face Kahbi’s card with more force than he thought mink lady’s petit frame could muster.

     “What the hell?” remarked Jeremy with an about-face. “If you touch me again… Get the hell out of my way–now.”

     She did so, bursting into tears and uncontrollable sobbing. Jeremy gaped at her with disgusted confusion. She really was crazy. Giving her once last peek over his shoulder as he strode away, he set his path back to the antique shop.

     When he opened the door and rushed in, a pleasant electronic chime sounded. An older, sophisticated, and scholarly looking woman brought her attention from the glass vase she was examining to the door with a bit of a wry expression forming on her face as she watched the hurried Jeremy. She reminded him of a college librarian getting ready to scold him for being too loud. Though, he could see from the sparsely spaced antiques spread throughout, the cleanliness of the shop, and the expensive clothing she wore, that she’d more likely be a high class museum curator.

     “Colin McLeay said you can read the hidden meaning in this postcard. Says you owe him a favor. And–shit–the postcard. I left it in the car.”

     As he ran out the door, Jeremy heard the woman clear her throat and quietly called to someone. Mink lady was posted outside the door, still gesturing Jeremy toward that stupid Kahbi card. No longer crying, she appeared jovial. What kind of meds is she on? he thought.

     This was turning out to be a shamble. Maybe he shouldn’t even go back. All the signs were pointing to him wasting his time again. But where would that leave him–nowhere. If this was going to be another failure, he’d at least see it through. What was he turning into, some kind of depressed loser, a quitter? Not me, he thought.

     And with that self-enlightenment, his life almost came to an end. A school bus seemingly materialized from thin air just moments before a child’s voice screamed from the oncoming bus, “look out.” The child with his head stuck out of the bus’ window and his tongue stuck out of his mouth as though he were the driver teasing Jeremy with death, must have been Jeremy’s savior. Heart pounding hard, he shook off his scare, looked both ways, and then continued to cross the street. “Look both ways before crossing the street” popped into his head, a random phrase from a firetruck toy, one of the few toys he had when he was a kid, used to say when you pushed its buttons.

     The school bus stopped down the street at the corner. Mink lady ran toward the bus, calling out to someone named Becka. Yeah, she’s crazy. Acting like a mime to me, but yelling at the top of her lungs to her kid. Poor girl, mom’s a nut, Jeremy thought.

     The car door was still ajar and his keys where still in the ignition. The postcard wasn’t there. He’d left it on the center console, but it was gone now. Being caught up in his obsession, he’d lost everything. How could he finish his life with so many unanswered questions? He’d never failed at anything, but now, he’d failed at the most important thing he’d ever been challenged with.

     Reaching into his suit coat pocket to get his cigarettes–he’d remembered his fucking cigarettes, but not the postcard–there was the postcard. Relief washed over him. He hadn’t lost it. He reached into the car for the keys, closed his car door, and leaned against the car.

     Mink lady was gawking at him from in front of the open bus door with a shocked look as though she’d shared Jeremy’s experience. What was it with this lady? Maybe she had some connection to this whole business with the postcard. Perhaps he should talk with her. Maybe this individual had a card of her own that had driven her to her lunacy. Was this how he’d end up? Colin was always trying to discourage Jeremy from his pursuit of answers, telling Jeremy to let things go and move on for Jeremy’s own protection. But how could he?

     He resigned not to make things out of nothing. That lady was simply the crackpot she acted like. Resolved mink lady was inconsequential, Jeremy made his way back to the antique store, being careful of traffic, and prepared himself to convince the antique store lady, Janice Tuckerman, to give him the information he sought.

     When he walked into the store to the chime of the opening door, Janice was still behind the counter, but a tall well built gentleman in a black suit and tie stood behind her. Black suit man peered at Jeremy with distrust and a weird smirk–a challenge in his eyes.

     “I’m sorry about the abrupt entrance and sudden exit. My mind seems to be all over the place this morning,” said Jeremy.

     “Yes, well, Mr…” started Janice.

     “Mr. Gates. Jeremy Gates,” finished Jeremy.

     “Yes, Mr. Gates. I don’t know what Colin told you, but one thing is for sure, he must not have told you to mind your manners. Your outburst into my shop and you’re rude demanding tone is unacceptable. What makes you think I’d do business with you after you disrespected me like that?”

     Jeremy approached the counter, and black suit man shift his stance, looking ready to pounce on Jeremy. “Look, I apologized. This is urgent and I’m willing to pay you for your time and any information you can give me. I have a cashier’s check made out to Janice Tuckerman for $10,000. I need answers, and according to Colin, you may be my last hope.”

     “Money,” laughed Miss Tuckerman. “You think this is about  money? Not only are you rude, your an ignorant pompous ass as well. You can’t buy–”

     “Just read this,” said Jeremy, shoving the post card in Miss Tuckerman’s hand.

     The exchange threw both of them into wide-eyed shock. Miss Tuckerman’s hand blazed in a blinding light as Jeremy let go of the postcard, temporarily blinding him. His head burned with unseen, unattainable knowledge like words on the tip of his tongue he couldn’t articulate, just out of his reach of understanding.

     When his vision clearedand his mind settled, he saw Miss Tuckerman’s eyes rolling into the back of her head. She screamed as black suit man grabbed her to keep her from falling. The postcard dropped to the glass counter, and Jeremy quickly snatched it up before it could fall behind the counter.

     “Get out! Get him out of my shop, Jonathan. If he tries to stay, if he says one more word to me–kill him.”

     Black suit man gently sat Miss Tuckerman on a chair behind the counter, and before Jeremy could blink, black suit man was around the counter, knocking Jeremy to the ground. A kick landed square to the mid section of Jeremy’s back, sending him flat on his stomach. Another kick nearly took of the side of his face, but he managed to scramble out of black suit man’s path and onto his feet. Jeremy ran for the door, but black suit man was able to get one last shove in before Jeremy made it fully out.

     “Son-of-a-bitch,” murmured black suit man, closing and locking the shop’s door.

     Jeremy collected his self and rose off the sidewalk. He stared blankly at the shop, now with all the window and door blinds closed. He could vaguely hear black suit man and Miss Tuckerman talking, but he couldn’t hear well enough to make out the words.

     Another blown opportunity. Colin wouldn’t like what he heard when Jeremy reported these events and asked for another resource.

     The short walk to the car felt like an eternity. He forgot to check for traffic again; luckily, no cars where close. The school bus was still there, down the street from his car, but mink lady was nowhere in sight. Whatever, he wasn’t in the mood for her, so her absence was a good thing. But why was that bus still there with all those kids on it?

     The car door was opened again. He was sure he’d locked them after he took the keys out of the ignition. Getting into the car, he noticed his passenger door wasn’t fully closed either. He looked around the car, in the center console, and in the glove compartment. Everything appeared to be untouched. His cell phone still laid on the floor where’d he dropped it in his haste to find the postcard he’d thought he’d lost. There was a missed call, the president of his board, well he’d have to wait. Jeremy needed to call Colin first.