Elizabeth Wrobel

The Case Files of Sam Sleuth #4:
The Ace of Clubs

   My name is Sam Sleuth, well actually, it's Samantha Green, but Sam Sleuth looks better on the window of my tree house. It attracts more clients. I'm a detective. I rid my neighborhood and the local nursing home of crime. The case I'm going to tell you about happened on a Tuesday. Every Tuesday after school I go visit my grandma at the nursing home and we play cards for two hours. Today was a half day of school because of a parent teacher meeting. I got to the nursing home early and Grandma was in the middle of a card game with a friend.
     "Hello, Samantha." She greeted me with a smile as I entered the card room. "Anne, this is my granddaughter, the detective," my grandma said proudly.
     "Your grandmother tells me you're a good detective. Do you think I could watch you solve a case sometime?" Anne asked.
     "I guess so." I smiled. I didn't know at that moment, she'd be watching me solve one that day.

     

       I pulled out my science book. My favorite subject. I tried to study while Grandma and Anne played cards. But I couldn't concentrate. I kept hearing two senior citizens arguing at the table behind me.
     "I did not cheat, Mr. Jones!" a woman exclaimed.
     "You must've, Kate," Mr. Jones said. "How else could you have won?"
     "Because I'm good at this game!" Kate suggested.
     "Ha! You could only win by cheating!" Mr. Jones declared.
     "Not again," Grandma groaned. "They do this every day. Neither one of them has ever cheated, but when one loses they always have to blame the other one."
     "Why do they play cards together everyday if they hate each other?" I asked.
     "I doubt they hate each other, Child. They have been married for over fifty years," Grandma explained.
     I turned sideways in my chair to watch the fight between the couple.
     "You stacked the deck!" Mr. Jones accused Kate.
     "Mr. Jones, you really are a sore loser!" Kate told him.
     "I'm not a sore loser!" Mr. Jones said. "You're a cheater!"
     "I did not stack the deck! I do not like you accusing me of such a thing." Kate sat back in her chair and crossed her arms.
     "How do you explain getting the cards you needed, but I didn't get the ace of clubs I needed to win?" Mr. Jones demanded.
     "I was lucky!"
     "Is that the only excuse you got?" Mr. Jones asked.
     "Yes it is!" Kate pushed back her chair and stood up.
     "Where do you think you're going? That game doesn't count, we're going to play another one," Mr. Jones said.
     I got out of my chair and picked up the stack of cards in the draw pile they hadn't gotten to yet. Mr. Jones said he needed the ace of clubs to win. The ace of clubs wasn't even in the draw pile.
     Kate sighed. "All right, fine. We'll play until you win."
     Mr. Jones grabbed the cards off the table. I handed him the draw pile. He cut the deck in half. He took the cards from one half, and shuffled them into the second half sideways. While doing that, one card fell on the table. He picked it up and continued shuffling. That gave me an idea. I got down on my knees to look under the table. There it was. Laying sideways against the table leg, was the much needed ace of clubs. I picked it up.
     "I'm going to watch you this time so you don't cheat!" Mr. Jones warned Kate.

     "Hold it!" I said getting back on my feet and holding up the card. "Nobody cheated. The ace of clubs was under the table. I watched the card fall out of the deck while you were shuffling this time, Mr. Jones. That gave me the idea it might have happened before…to the ace of clubs."
     "Who are you, Child?" Kate asked.
     "My granddaughter." Grandma beamed proudly. "Samantha."
     "Well, it is very nice to meet you, Samantha." Kate smiled. You are a wonderful detective!"
     "Thank you, Ma'am." I smiled then handed the card to Mr. Jones. "You'll need this before you deal."
     "Thank you," Mr. Jones said and then looked at his wife. "I told you that game didn't count!"
     "You could apologize for calling me a cheater, Mr. Jones." Kate crossed her arms.
     "Don't push your luck, Kate. Just play your cards." Mr. Jones said.
     I stifled a laugh as I sat back down at table.
     "Well, it was an honor to watch you in action, Samantha." Anne smiled. "How would you like to join us? We can play three handed Rummy."
     "Well," I said as I put my science book back in my backpack. "I don't know, do we have all the cards?"
     "The ace of clubs is right here." Grandma smiled as she shuffled it into the deck.
     I grinned. "Then deal me in, Grandma!"

~©Elizabeth Wrobel~