Page 8 of Merry Murder Season
Chris took my drink order—a hard cider—and left the registration table. I gave Beth my cashbox and she combined it with Chris’s. Greg came up and handed me a bottle. “Oh, thanks. Chris just wentto get me one.”
“Not anymore. I caught her on the way there.” He put a Coke in front of Beth. “Looks like you drew the short straw.”
“I like counting money. I have to do it after every service, so I’m used to it.” Beth glanced over to where Jim was already playing a game. He was partnered up with one of the club members. They looked like the odd couple. Jim was all clean-shaven, dressed in a polo shirt and docker shorts. His partner wore jeans and a T-shirt that barely covered his belly. “Lord, I hope that man can deal with Jim’s narrow-mindedness for a few hours.”
“Jim will be fine.” Greg glanced at the pairings. “It looks like Beth has one of the best players in the league, as do you.”
“I got a good player? Cool.” My nerves went down a little. I hadn’t played darts except for the occasional night out since college. “I hope I canhit the board.”
“I think your partner will be fine. He’s nationally rated and always gets lower players in open tournaments like this.” Greg watched as Dom and Lille, who somehow got paired together, high-fived each other on the first board. “I’m not sure this wasa great idea.”
“What? We have probably a couple of grand to give to the charity and over three boxes of new toys. What could go wrong?” I said, not knowing I had just jinxed the entire night.
Greg shook his head. “The alcohol is just beginning to flow.”
* * *
As usual, Greg’s prediction was spot-on. We were down to six pairs still in the running for the win when the first fight broke out.Greg, who was still in it but not playing, let Toby handle getting the men out of the dart room. He looked over at me.“There’s one.”
I was watching my partner throw and ignored his comment. The way Dan could hit the board, I wasn’t needed. Except for the lucky shot I got every other round, to our competition’s dismay. We needed two more numbers closed and we would move onto the hill, which meant we hadn’t lost a match yet. I was getting a top-notch lesson in darts.
Toby came back into the room and sat with us. Greg raised an eyebrow. “They both had sober rides home and agreed to leave rather than me putting them in the drunk tank, so I think that was a win.”
“No one was hurt?” Greg sipped his soda. He might be off duty technically, but he knew he could be called in at any moment. South Cove was his town.
“Bruised egos. One guy made a pass at the other’s girl. I think he forgot who he came with. His wife is mad as a hornet.” Toby grinned as the next player grabbed his darts. “I think you’reup, boss lady.”
“I’m just delaying the inevitable,” I said as I stood and went to the throwing line. Dan walked up to me. “What do you want me to get? Points or try to closethe fifteens?”
“We always try to win the game, darling.” Dan nodded to the board. “Just relax and aim at those fifteens. If you miss,I’ll clean up.”
I could hear the other team behind me, strategizing for their next turn. If I missed and they got a turn, they could add enough points that Dan wouldn’t be able to win alone. I blocked out the voices. I needed to trust myself as muchas my partner.
I aimed, and by the time I’d thrown all three darts, I’d closed the number and won the game.
Dan grabbed me and swung me around. “I knew you could do it.”
Greg grinned as I came back to the table. “Nice darts.”
“Thanks, but I think my partner just about had a heart attack,” I teased as I finished my cider. We moved to another table to wait for our next game. Now I got to watch Greg and his partner play againstLille and Dom.
Lille wasn’t happy and Dom, usually chatty, was silent. Something had happened between them since they’d signed in but I’d been too busy playing with Dan to notice. Chris was manning the board and had the next games already prepped to play. I walked overto talk to her.
“You’re running this like a well-oiled machine.” Ismiled at her.
“Thanks, but you’re winning, so of course you’d say that. I had a complaint that I was running the games too fast an hour ago. Ithink we should get out of here in just over an hour. I’m ready to go home. I forgot how tired I am of dealing with drunks.”
“Did you used to work at a bar?” I didn’t know Chris well.
She smiled as she watched the games. “You could say that. I was married to Chip, so I was free labor for ten years. It was fun the first few years, but it got tiring quickly. You don’t have a home life. And Chip? Well, let’s just say he’s not the one-woman type.”
“I’m sorry. You didn’t have to come back for this.” I wondered why she had.
“Carrie’s a friend. I owe her. So I’m here.” She nodded to the board where Greg was now playing. “Go on, your man’s up. I hope it’s a King versus King final.”
The next fight was quieter than the first and happened right after Greg and his partner kicked Dom and Lille out ofthe tournament.
“You did that on purpose,” Lille told Dom as she pulled on her coat. “I’m getting a little tired of your redemption tour. I prefer my men tohave a spine.”
