you’ll excuse us, Mr. Crenshaw and I have some business to discuss.’’
‘‘Certainly,’’ I said, and Sophie and Marylou also said something. I wasn’t really listening to what they said. Instead I was focused on Haskell Crenshaw’s face. He knew what was about to happen, and he was terrified.
In that moment I felt really sorry for him. He caught me looking at him, and he must have read my feelings in my expression. For a moment, he offered me a sad smile. The smile faded, and he took a deep breath.
‘‘Okay, Deputy,’’ Crenshaw said. ‘‘I’m ready to go.’’
Ainsworth nodded. He escorted Crenshaw to the door. ‘‘Ladies,’’ he said, inclining his head before he left.
The door closed behind them. Marylou, Sophie, and I sat there in silence for a long moment.
‘‘He really had me fooled earlier,’’ Sophie said. ‘‘He had me convinced that Basil Dumont killed Avery.’’
‘‘Me, too,’’ Marylou said. ‘‘I still can’t quite take it all in.’’
‘‘He was a very good actor,’’ Sophie said.
‘‘About some things, maybe,’’ I sighed.
‘‘What do you mean?’’ Marylou asked.
‘‘I think he really cared for Avery,’’ I said. ‘‘In fact, I think he’s the only one besides Will who did.’’ I paused for a moment. ‘‘You remember the old saying about how a man kills the thing he loves most?’’
‘‘That’s really sad.’’ Sophie shook her head.
We contemplated that in silence until Marylou spoke again. ‘‘Do you think we can go home tomorrow? ’’
‘‘I don’t know,’’ I said. ‘‘We probably should ask the deputy first.’’
‘‘I really would like to go home right now,’’ Sophie said.
‘‘I would, too,’’ I said. ‘‘I know just how you both feel. But maybe we can go home tomorrow.’’
‘‘What should we do in the meantime?’’ Sophie asked.
Marylou had an odd expression on her face. Sophie and I laughed.
‘‘I know, I know,’’ I said. ‘‘Play bridge.’’ I got up from the sofa. ‘‘You’re right, Marylou—we might as well. I can’t think of anything better to help pass the time.’’
That’s just what we did. As always, bridge was the perfect distraction.
Emma Diamond’s Bridge Tips
Bidding is a crucial part of the game. Partners have to communicate with each other during the bidding process, and ending up with a good contract is the outcome of successful bidding (i.e., successful communication) . Sometimes the bidding process is easy and the path to the final contract smooth. Such is the nature of bridge, however, that bidding can be like tiptoeing through a minefield.
Here is an example of a relatively easy bidding process.
You have just dealt the hand, and you assemble your cards to see whether you can bid. You hold
You have fourteen high card points, with five spades. With this hand you would open with a bid of one spade. Your left-hand opponent passes, and your partner contemplates her hand. She holds
She has ten high card points and four spades to an honor. With this hand she would respond with a bid of two spades. Her left-hand opponent also passes, and now you have to reassess your hand with the information your partner has given you.
With a response of two spades, you know your partner is telling you that she has six to ten points and spade support. If she is on the low side (six points), then together you have twenty high card points. This is not enough for game. If she has ten points, you have a combined twenty-four points. Again, this isn’t quite enough for game. For a game bid (in this case four spades) in a major suit you need a combined total of twenty-six points. With twenty-four points you’re a bit short. You might make three spades, but more than likely you will stop the bidding at two spades.
With those two hands the bidding process is fairly clear. What do you do in a situation where the process isn’t clear at all? For example, you have this hand
You have fourteen high card points, but your best suit is four diamonds to the queen. Opening with a four-card minor can be dodgy, and you don’t have enough points to open one no-trump, even though you have a balanced hand with an honor in every suit.
In situations like this, if you are the first to bid (whether as the dealer or because those bidding before you have passed), you can open with a one club bid. This is the minimum bid you can make. It is quite common to use the one club bid as a way of telling your partner that you have opening points, but that you don’t have a suit to bid. You might have a legitimate one club bid, with five or more clubs, but your partner won’t know that unless you have a chance to rebid the clubs.
Your partner has heard the one club bid, there is no intervening bid, and now she must decide how to respond. If she has a particularly weak hand, with five or fewer high card points, theoretically she should pass because she doesn’t really have enough points to bid. That could leave you in a bad situation if you don’t have a legitimate club opener and there is no intervening bid. At this point some players make use of the ‘‘diamond bust’’ bid. In other words, your partner would bid one diamond to indicate that she has a very poor hand with little or no support for you. By bidding one diamond, she at least gives you the opportunity to bid again if you need to (for example, if you have a four-card major that you could bid instead or if you want to try a one no-trump bid).
If your partner has six to ten points and a good diamond suit, she would bid two diamonds to show you that she has more than a ‘‘bust’’ hand. If she has six to ten points and a five-card major suit, she would bid one in that suit. The one club bid is often interpreted by the partner as an invitation to name her best suit. If she is able to name a major suit, and you’re able to support that bid, you can play the contract in a major suit.
The one club opener can be a very useful—and a very frustrating—bid. If you and your fellow bridge players decide to use the one club opener and the diamond bust response, you should discuss it before beginning play to ensure that everyone understands. Otherwise you could end up with some very confused bidding if some people understand what’s going on and others don’t.
Another useful convention in bidding is the use of transfers in response to a one no-trump opener. In chapter 13 Bob and Bart give Emma and Sophie an explanation of this, and you might want to reread this section as a refresher on transfers.
Bidding is a tricky process, and we’ve just touched on some of the basics here. There is much more to learn, and for those who want to know more about the intricacies of bidding and responding, Emma (and I) recommend the following books:• Silberstang, Edwin. Handbook of Winning Bridge. 2nd ed. Cooper Station, NY: Cardoza Publishing, 2003.
• Grant, Audrey. Bidding. ACBL Bridge Series. Memphis: American Contract Bridge League, 1990.
If you would like to know more about Emma Diamond and the Bridge Club series, please check out the Web site www.bridge-mysteries.com
About the Author
Honor Hartman is the pseudonym for a mystery author who has lived in Houston, Texas, for more than twenty-five years, has two cats and thousands of books, and plays bridge as often as possible.