You Can't Catch Me(38)

I get up to go to the bathroom. As I suspected, the man is wearing a wedding band, tight on his fat finger, which is what also makes it okay: he’s a married jerk buying a woman an expensive drink in a bar, and the fact that he’s married means there’s no way he’s going to complain to anyone when he gets taken.

I catch Jessie’s eye as I pass them and give her a short nod. He’s too engrossed in Jessie to notice me. I go into the bathroom and waste a few minutes washing my hands and drying them carefully. When I return, I stumble on the floor and grab on to Jessie for support.

“Oh, hey,” I say as she straightens me up, “it’s you.”

“Wow,” Jessie says. “Long time.”

“Such a long time.”

“So great to see you.”

“You too. You look great. This girl,” I say to the man, “is amazing.”

“I was just thinking that myself,” he says, smiling at Jessie indulgently.

“Oh!” Jessie says, turning and patting him on the arm. “Is it all right, Robert, if she joins us?”

He looks caught between wanting to please Jessie and being stuck with me. “Sure, of course. What were you drinking?”

“We’re having champagne,” Jessie says enthusiastically, draining the rest of her glass. “Is that okay, Robert? We can pay our own way.”

“Absolutely not.” He motions for the bartender, pointing to Jessie’s glass and holding up two fingers in a move that reminds me of Liam. What would he think if he could see me right now?

“Thank you,” I say, shoving that thought aside.

“Think nothing of it.”

“Say, you look familiar,” he says to me. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Don’t think so.”

“No, I’m good with faces. Give me a minute.”

I turn away. We should abandon this mission pronto before he figures out that I’m that girl. I never thought I’d be recognized in Philly, especially now that all the press has died down.

Robert snaps his fingers. “Can’t get it. You must look like someone.”

“I have that kind of face.”

I reach into my purse and pull out a pack of cards, putting it down on the bar. I put my hand back in, looking for something. “My stupid phone always gets lost in here.”

“Oh,” Jessie says, picking up the cards. “Can you still do it?”

“Do what?” Robert asks.

“She can do magic,” Jessie enthuses.

“Magic?”

I aw-shucks kick at the floor. “Well, not magic exactly, but you know that card game? Three-card monte?”

“Of course.”

Jessie jumps in. “She can beat the game, every time.”

“Impressive,” he says.

“Anyone can do it.”

“You’d finally be willing to teach me?” Jessie says.

“Sure, why not.”

I open the deck and find the three cards I need, then bend them in the middle, so they make a tent on the table. I show Robert the red queen. “This is the card you need to follow.”

He nods. His face is puffy from too many stops at this bar on the way home, but he wasn’t a bad-looking guy once, if you go for the prep-school type.

“Watch the queen.”

I show it to him again, then start my shuffle. I flop the cards onto the table. The queen is in the middle, but if I’ve done it right, he should think it’s on the left.

The bartender brings us our glasses of champagne. I take a sip. It’s cheap and sweet. No chance that it’s actually champagne, but grifters can’t be choosers.

“Could I get an order of fish and chips?” I ask the bartender. He winks at me quickly. He’s seen this scam before, some version of it. And what does he care? He knows this guy is good for the bill.

“Oh, that sounds good. Me too,” Jessie says. “Do you want anything, Robert? I bet you like the ploughman’s.”

“I do, actually.”

“I knew it.” Jessie rubs her hand along his arm. “So, we’ll have that too. Your drink okay?”

“I’ll have another,” Robert says, pointing to his glass.

The bartender turns to go, and Jessie picks up his glass and smells it. She wrinkles her nose. “Ugh, how do you drink this?”

“I’ll teach you to appreciate it if you like.”

Jessie smiles at him. “Maybe later. Let’s let . . . Oh my God, I forgot your name.”

She means me. She’s slurring her words. She needs to slow down on the champagne.

“It’s June.”

“Right, of course, how silly of me. Robert, this is June.”

We shake hands formally though we’re already past that stage.

“June, finish the trick.”

“So, Robert, which card do you choose?”

He looks down at the cards on the bar. “I was distracted.”

“That’s all right, I’ll do it again.”

I go through the routine. His eyes have been following the wrong card the whole time. He points to the card on the left.

“I just took your money.” I flip over the card to show him his mistake.

“How did you do that?”