Zero Worship: Confessions of a Fake Psychic Detective #6

Chapter 13 - Last on the Stump

.././.\\.\//.

A sharp gust of wind pushes the two overturned cards off the stump. They flutter to the ground, leaving one remaining beneath a small rock.

"Remember, witch, you promised not to scream," Glenn says to Zandra.

And I'll keep that promise. He's still got one hand tucked into his armpit, out of sight.

"You're not any good at cheating," Zandra says. "You swapped cards. There's a red seven behind your back."

"Nuh uh," Glenn says like he's back on the playground. He untucks his hand and opens his palm to show there's nothing inside. "You'd know all about cheating, but you're wrong this time."

He dropped the red seven behind his back. I don't need to mention that, though.

The two cards in the dirt are a black seven and a red seven.

And if a red seven is behind Glenn's back, that means the one card that's left on the stump isn't a red seven. A pack of cards only comes with two red sevens: a diamond and a heart.

"Turn over the last card, child," Zandra says.

"Why? The game is over. You lost," Glenn says.

"Turn it over."

"No."

"Don't I get one last request before I die?"

"No."

Glenn squeezes the handle of the tactical knife.

"You don't have to do this," Bexley says in a whisper.

Glenn snorts. "Rules are rules."

"You didn't play by the rules. You rigged the last game," Zandra says, feeling loquacious to buy her time to think. "You put two red sevens on the stump, plus another red card. I'd bet it's a six or an eight, so that the suit symbols on the card are close to a seven. Then you palmed the black seven. You figured the odds of me choosing the six or eight were one in three, which would've blown up your horseshit plan. The odds of me choosing one of the red sevens, allowing you to swap in the black seven without revealing the six or eight, were two in three.

"That's what you thought, but you should've taken it a step further. Since I get to switch my guess, the odds of you overturning six or eight are two in three. You simply lucked out that the last card on the stump is the six or eight.

"You might've gotten away with it had you not sucked so hard at swapping the black seven in. Maybe you should try again with a better plan, dumb fuck.

"Now, Glenn, child, turn over the last card on the stump."

Another blast of breeze blows the red seven out from behind Glenn. Almost as if by telekinesis, it helicopters onto the red and black sevens on the ground.

Glenn stares in disbelief.

"Are we done here?" Zandra says. "This was fun, but I've got other things to do."

Glenn comes at Zandra with the knife. She rolls to get away, but he stops her with a boot on the back. He presses to keep her belly in the dirt and flips the knife so that the tip points downward.

Zandra turns her face so she can spit out dirt and tell Bexley and Chad to start screaming.

"Relax. I'm letting you go," Glenn says. He lowers the tip of the tactical knife into a small hole on one of the handcuffs. He gives the knife a twist, and the cuff unlocks. He repeats this with the other handcuff and helps Zandra to her feet.