Suddenly I felt tipsy. In a moment I was flat on the floor. The Fat Man had drugged me. When I woke up, there were bruises on my face. I searched the suite and found a torn piece of newspaper in the bedroom drawer. A ship from Hong Kong was landing today at the pier. More important, on the back was a diagram, marked up in red. I went to the office, where I laid out the cards on the table. My secretary, Effie, was there, and so was Brigid. I scolded her for leaving her hotel.

I couldn't stay there, Sam. The Fat Man is dangerous.

You're telling me, I said, as Effie applied iodine to my bruises.

You know anything about this? I asked, pointing to the table.

Oh, Sam, that's the hand that caused us to lose the bird in Casablanca. Do you think declarer can make 5 or would you bet on the defense?

 South
   10 4 2
   —
   A K Q J 10 9 4
   K Q J

Effie, absorbed in the cards, put iodine in my left eye and I let out a yelp. Sorry, Sam. But I think the hand can be set. East wins the ace of clubs and gives West a ruff. Now West must switch to a spade. Otherwise declarer can draw trumps, cash the other club winner, and has two entries to the dummy, one to ruff a club and one to cash the fifth club.

Yes, I said, rubbing my eye, but there's still a criss-cross squeeze. Look. I turned over the cards to the end position:

 South
   10 4 2
   —
   A K Q J 10 9 4
   K Q J

In this four-card ending, declarer plays the last trump, the 4 of diamonds, and discards the jack of spades from the board. East is finished. Whichever suit he unguards declarer plays next.

That's right, Sam, said Brigid. Only one problem. South doesn't know that East has the queen of spades. Maybe West has that card and the finesse is right all along.

No one in the West chair would would return a spade from the queen looking at 100 honors in dummy, I said. Effie nodded. No one, I suppose, except...

Except me, Sam.

 South
   10 4
   —
   4
   J

I was fairly sure the Fat Man did not hold any heart losers. If he did, why hadn't Cairo cashed the ace of hearts at trick two before giving me my ruff? Did you ever think of that, Sam? So I gave up on a heart trick and returned a spade at trick three, and he went for the criss-cross. When the antique dealer saw what happened, he reneged on the sale of the bird.

Suddenly, the door opened and Effie let out a scream. A man with a package wrapped in old newspapers staggered in and fell to the floor, blood stains on his shirt from bullet wounds he had just received. The bird-d-d-d- he cried as he collapsed. The bird? I asked. Or did you say the 'bid'? He then passed out.

THE END of Part VII

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 South Fat Man
   10 4 2
   —
   A K Q J 10 9 4
   K Q J

West 3 all pass	North pass	East 4	South 5
Opening lead: 9

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