Page 42 - Unlikely Stories 1

Your Lucky Numbers

ago outside the jurisdiction of our home state; I could not be
extradited without a grand jury finding sufficient evidence to do so—
and there is none, I assure you. And the outrage will indeed cool
before anyone finds us. If I am publicly identified, and our house is
burned down before the riot is over, well, I made sure our fire
insurance covers arson. I did all this, and trained you to be ready the
moment a disastrous draw occurred, without letting you know. I
couldn’t. Our safety depended on it.”
Ty was silent, as Bernie rested on his laurels. She would be
proud of him, he was certain. The lottery might cease to exist, they
might have to move to the other side of the country, but they would
survive.
“Bernie,” she finally said in a small voice, “just tell me one
thing: what were the numbers drawn tonight?”
He grinned.
“The worst possible pattern, because the most obvious: 1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6. The people around me were paralyzed when it happened,
but I was already dialing your number. You see the value of being
prepared.”
“Bernie: you know the convenience store at the end of our
block, the one where you go for chips and soft drinks”
“Of course I do, Ty. Mr. Chidambaram and his wife are old
friends, now.”
“Yes, Bernie, they know us quite well. I didn’t know about
this situation with your job because you never told me. And every
Wednesday I have been buying a lottery ticket there, for years. I kept
that from you because I know how much you frown on all types of
gambling. Well, I, too, have been playing the same lucky numbers
every time on the chance that they would come up sooner or later. I
chose them because I thought that nobody else would pick them, so
that if we won we wouldn’t have to share the jackpot. Bernie…”
“What?” he shouted. “Ty: what are those numbers?”
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.”

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