I'd always considered myself a strong man, not really in the physical sense, but more in the confident, motivationally driven and successful sort of thing. As a dutiful and loving husband and a father, I've high morals and standards to strive to meet. I was successful in business and provided well for my family. My job as a business consultant involved a lot of travelling for set periods of time, and when my daughter left the family home to make her own way in life, my wife Lynn then usually accompanied me on my travels. We were both happy and content, until the story I'm about to tell you about unfolded and changed us forever.
I suppose everyone has a little habit of some kind, sex, drugs or alcohol would be prime examples. Mine was gambling; I liked nothing better than the challenge and excitement of a game of poker. Thinking back, it was the only thing I did that had risk attached to it. In both my work and home life, everything was planned and calculated to ensure that our existence was smooth and uncomplicated. So, for me there was nothing better than to sit back once or twice a week and play a few hands. Back in the old days, I guess I started off small, but as I got better, the stakes went up accordingly. After twenty years, I considered myself pretty darned good. Lynn sort of tolerated my little hobby, but was always worried that it would lead to trouble; I of course assured her that it was only a bit of fun and always under control.
There are two separate worlds when it comes to poker; the first is at casino which I try to avoid, as I don't enjoy the glitzy glamour and all the noise that goes with it. My preference has always been to find other interested parties and play in the quiet of someone's house, or maybe in a hotel room. Financially, I was ahead in the winning stakes, over the years I'd built up a ten grand float to play with. There had been times that it had been in the negative, but that was some time back now.
All my troubles started when I took on a three-month out of town contract in a medium-sized city. Lynn and I quickly settled into to our comfortable apartment, generously provided to us by my client, and I put my head down and got stuck into my work. Lynn was an accomplished artist, and would spend most of her time painting. All of her work sold, maybe not for much, but it was her financial contribution to our relationship and would pay for a good holiday once a year which was important to her.
It wasn't long before I began looking for a game of poker and found myself making the rounds of the local casinos to see what was on offer. Out of the three casinos in town, the Golden Globe was the best, and I dropped in twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays nights for a little relaxation. It was there that I first met Johnny Enfield, after a few nights at the same poker table we became acquainted and began to socialise as we played. We were about even in the winning stakes, and while there were other players at our table, we laughed as we won and lost against each other.
A few weeks into it, Johnny mentioned that he also played privately with three or four regular guys, and they were always looking for new blood. I, of course, offered my services, and the following week I joined them. It wasn't a flash affair, just five of us in a run down hotel room with a few drinks. Johnny introduced me to the three other players, Allan, Peter and Kevin, and the fun began. Once a week, we would gather in the same old room and play good poker. We were all confident players, and I won and lost as much as the others. There was lots of laughter and joking as we played, although the strain of the game sometimes came to the fore.
As the weeks flew buy, the stakes somehow got bigger and bigger. I guess it was the pride macho thing where males don't want to be the first to try and put the brakes on, me included. As the stakes went up, so did the excitement, and I was hooked into it, so much so, that I lost track of what was happening. In the last two hands of the night in question, I lost thirty thousand dollars. I was shaking when I returned home that night, and a wise man would've cut his losses and quit. But for the rest of the week I dreamed the gamblers dream of the one big pot, and I eagerly returned for the next game full of confidence and bravado. I left many hours later with my head in my hands and seventy eight thousand dollars in debt.
I learnt two important lessons that night; the first was that I wasn't as good as I thought I was, secondly that my gambling friends weren't really my friends at all. Two days after that fateful game, Johnny's phone calls started - when was the debt going to be paid? At first, the calls were quite amicable, but soon began to have a more sinister feel about them. My problem was that seventy eight grand was a lot for most anyone to find. By this time, I'd finally come to my senses and ruled out any return to the poker table. My only option to settle the whole thing was to cash up an investment, something I was loath to do. I then stuck my head into the sand and hoped the whole thing would just go away, which it didn't.
I arrived home from work one night to find a stranger dressed in a suit in my lounge sipping on a coffee provided by Lynn. Luke McCann politely introduced himself and advised me that he had business to discuss with me. My initial thoughts were that it was to do with the contract I was working on, and I made myself comfortable to hear what he had to say. With Lynn sitting beside me, Luke told me that he was in the debt collection business, and that he'd purchased the seventy eight thousand dollar debt from Johnny Enfield for seventy thousand. He explained that the eight thousand difference was his commission. I felt Lynn's eyes upon me, and my heart sunk into the depths of despair. Luke smiled knowingly from across the carpeted floor for a few seconds before asking how this debt would be paid. I waffled on for a few seconds before he got to his feet and looked down at me with menacing eyes. He was much taller and wider than me, and the threat was real and obvious. Placing a business card on the coffee table beside me, he suggested that I call him in the next twenty four hours. He then made his own way out of the apartment.
The next twenty four hours were the worst in my life; I first sat subdued as Lynn vented her anger upon me. She used language that I would never thought would ever leave her mouth. For the first time in our marriage, her hand lashed my face twice leaving me stunned. She then glared at me in her rage before rushing into our bedroom, the metallic lock snapping loudly behind her, and then I listened to her distant sobbing. Until this night, ours had been a good strong marriage. It was like a partnership, we both valued the same things; morally we were on the same wavelength and we worked hard for what we had. And through my own stupidity, I had put it all in jeopardy.
The next morning after a sleepless night in the spare bedroom, I tried to take my anger out on Johnny Enfield. Over the phone, he listened to my tirade without interruption, and when I'd run out of steam, he told me that Luke McCann was a very dangerous man, and that I'd better pay up quickly. When I asked the obvious, Johnny told me that he wasn't the usual type of debt collector, but his methods were very effective.
Realising the trouble I was now in, my next phone call was to my financial broker. Against his better judgement, I advised him to cash up our retirement investment to cover the debt. My only worry was that it would be two weeks before I could get my hands on the money. My next phone call was to Luke McCann who was surprisingly agreeable about the arrangements, especially when he advised me that the interest over the two weeks would be just above market rates.
Over the next two weeks, I tried to make my peace with Lynn. But she was in a new place; she was distant, but polite when she had to be. She did her best not to be in the same room as me which hurt me more than I can describe. She moved her clothes into the spare room where she slept since Luke's first visit. My vigorous attempts to win her over failed dismally, and I feared for our future. Whenever I tried to explain what had happened, her tearful eyes would engage me for a few seconds before she made her escape.
My despair increased when my broker rang to advise that there would be a further two weeks until the money would be available. The following phone call to Luke McCann did not go well, and I had a feeling that my excuse for non-payment had fallen on unbelieving ears.
Three nights later, Luke McCann was back at our apartment. I reluctantly invited him inside and offered him a seat. Lynn entered the room and took a seat as I began to explain to Luke about the delay in getting his money. He listened with interest until I'd finished and then smiled.
"See, sometimes I get the impression that people don't take me seriously." he commented. "And it's when people don't take me seriously that I don't get paid. So I have this little rule, and this is how it works. I always find it beneficial to demonstrate how serious I am about this sort of thing. I'm currently seventy eight grand out of pocket, and as a business man I have costs and therefore have to protect my investment. When people like you tell me I'm gonna have to wait to get my money, I find a little demonstration of my frustration gets results."
"You're going to get your money." I replied.
Luke smiled as he looked around the apartment, "Oh, I know that, but when, is the big question? What I usually do is break a few things, but I guess this is a rented apartment and it won't have any real benefits. That leaves me the violence option, a few broken bones maybe, just to demonstrate the urgency of the situation."
"You're not serious?" I asked as my heart thumped.
"Deadly serious". Luke replied as he removed a wooden truncheon from inside his long jacket and tapped it on his knee. "As I'm not an unreasonable man, I usually start on the legs first. I mean you can still work with a broken leg, or two."
Lynn surprised us both as she jumped from her chair, "I'm not putting up with this I'm going to call the police."
"DON'T YOU DARE." Luke replied forcefully.
Lynn looked over at me, and sat back down when I shook my head.
"There's no need for this." I replied. "You will get your money."
"I know. But this is not about the money; it's about breaking your promise to me. And that comes at a price. So, where do you want it, an arm or a leg?" Luke asked calmly.
Lynn jumped from her chair and stood between Luke and me.
