“You’ll vouch for her, General?” Lucille gave Pepper a censuring stare as she took her place. “If so, then I’m prepared to grant an exception. After all Iama Christian.”
“Do try to remain clothed,” Doc muttered under his breath as he pulled out a tile from the cloth bag. “Q.”
“Okay. Question. Is this that famous Southern hospitality everyone goes on and on about?” Pepper put her phone away and tiptoed closer.
Besides the General, no one so much as cracked a smile. Her own cheeky grin wavered. “Tough crowd.”
“Stop hovering or you’ll give me hives.” Lucille selected her tile. “V.”
The General glanced at his. “S.”
All three turned to Pepper with expectant expressions. Smothering a smile, she sat and plucked one out. “P.Like my name.”
“You’re up first,” Lucille said witheringly. “Are you at least passingly acquainted with the rules?”
Pepper debated whether she should own the truth or not. Her letters wereT,E,S,A,R,I, andP. A shimmer of excitement took hold. Best play it cool. “I think so. We spell words, right?”
Doc and Lucille exchanged another look.
Oh, yeah. This was going to be fun.
“Yes,” Doc said carefully.
“And while bragging rights are well and good, we prefer to spice it up,” Lucille continued. “That is, if you have no moral objection to a little harmless amusement.”
“Spice?” Pepper’s tone was innocence personified.
“Aw, go easy on her, you two,” the General said.
Lucille opened up her handbag. “Five-dollar stake. Each.”
“Winner gets twenty bucks?” Pepper sat on her hands to prevent clapping.
“Gambling keeps us young,” Lucille said. But her leer conveyedI’ve flossed bigger things than you from my teeth, small fry.
The General cleared his throat. “I don’t think we should take advantage of—”
“Count me in.” Pepper tugged out a crumpled fiver from her hip pocket. Abraham Lincoln stared from the table with an uncertain expression that saidI hope you know what you’re doing. She tapped her lower lip. “Let me try to remember. If I use a few tiles, then do I replace them?”
“Yes,” Doc said.
She furrowed her brow. “What if I use all my tiles in the first go?”
“A bingo?” Lucille said. “That’s fifty extra points.”
“Interesting.” Pepper grabbed herPtile and twirled it between her fingers. “One more question. I’m new in town, but what’s all this I’m hearing about Captain Redbeard’s missing treasure being hidden in Everland? You guys sure have a colorful local history.” Inwardly, she cringed. She was going to blow her cover by overplaying this aw-shucks routine.
“That’s no rumor,” Doc said. “His first mate, Joseph Elleselle, founded Everland and took the secret to his grave. Of course Hogg Jaw wants to take the credit, but what can you expect from a den of hustlers and shysters.”
“You’re asking the wrong gal.” She placed thePover the center star, thenI,R,A,T,E,S. “Bingo.” She smiled at their stunned faces. “One benefit of growing up in Moose Bottom, Maine, was that the winters were loooooong. That meant a whole lot of Scrabble. My sister and I won the junior state championships and came in third and fourth in the New England Young Masters Tournament.”
The General whistled under his breath. “Lady and gent, we were had by a professional hustler.”
“Or amateur pirate?” Pepper winked.
Doc’s jaw clenched as Lucille actually snarled. “There are two books I value in this world. One is the good word. The other is this.” She slammedThe Official Scrabble Players Dictionaryon the table. “Let’s roll.”
The scores flew after that. The game full of tricky two-letter word placements.Za. Xi.
