Quid Pro Quo

' I am off to the beauty parlour. Shall I get you something on my
way back?' With these words Mrs Jolly stepped into the porch and from
there into the waiting car. She did not wait for her husband's reply.
The husband Brian Jolly was a retired armyman. He had opted to put his
papers in once he became eligible for pension. With the money he got
upon retirement he opened a security agency. In the last six months he
had been supplying men and sometimes women to residential buildings and
factories. These men and women performed a variety of jobs chief among
them maintenance of security. They were also involved in basic
detective work and delivering large amounts of cash to specified
locations. They did recovery of assets too. Mr Jolly was a very
efficient person and business was booming. But there was something in
the morning mail which was bothering him since it arrived. It was a
sheet of paper on which the following words were written in black ink:
'Your game is up. This is the last day of your life.'. Brian Jolly was
a brave man. He had fought two wars and had been decorated once. He was
not going to be disturbed by something possibly written by a prankster
who had found him in the phone book. He had better things to think of.
Four of his college friends were coming to visit him this morning. The
five of them together were known for their affinity for the bottle.
Now, Mr Jolly had the most famous stock of alcohol in town. He was
determined to make the drinking memorable for . Arin, Joel, Barry and
Neil today. In the old days they would start with country liquor made
from molasses. Naturally that was not possible now. So the party would
commence with cheap whisky. Mr Jolly was itching to get drunk with his
friends all over again.
The doorbell rang. Arin and Joel, the two brothers walked in. Both had
served in the merchant navy and made pots of money. However neither had
married and lived on adjacent mansions in Ballygunge. Today they were
both dressed in white and wore dark glasses. Mr Jolly was joyous on
meeting these two men who knew many of his secrets, some of them very
very dark. He asked the two brothers if they were keeping well. Arin
had a problematic heart and Joel suffered from piles. However neither
problem was too acute. The bearer served some light snacks with fruit
juice. The men started playing Scrabble a habit from their old days.
After about ten minutes the bell rang. Mr Jolly opened the door but
could not find anyone. He was about to close the door and lowered his
head for the same. It was then he noticed a man in a wheelchair. It was
Barry the former pilot. He was wheeled in and everyone was shocked.
They wanted to know how the athletic Barry had got crippled. Barry was
reluctant if not hesitant. The gathering was shocked to know that Barry
lost his legs when he fell from a ladder in his attic. Quite an
anti-climax that. Just then a pounding of the door was heard. Everyone
instantly knew it was Neil, the furniture salesman turned logging
tycoon. His flamboyance was talk of the town. So it was Neil.
Now the gathering was complete. The friends gathered at the round table
in the centre of the drawing room. The bottle of whisky was brought. As
was the custom with the friends the first peg was drunk neat. The
bearer was summoned and the bottles of soda brought to the table. Mr
Jolly was very cross when he found that the bottles were already open.
However he did not want to spoil the fun by losing his temper over a
small thing. The whisky was poured into the glasses. The bearer added
the soda and went away. The friends raised the glasses and said in
unison: 'Cheers'. Then they lowered the containers to their lips and
drank the alcohol. Brian Jolly was the first to go. He collapsed and
fell in a heap on the table. Neil was next, then Barry. Arin tried to
get up but fell on to his chair and so did Joel. In five minutes all
five friends were dead. The bearer made a phone call and soon the
doorbell rang. It was Mrs Jolly. She put her hand on the bearer's
shoulder and said, 'Now our revenge is complete my brother Jeremy.
These five men had once murdered our brother and father and looted all
our belongings to pay for their New Year Eve drinking party. May the
souls of our family members rest in peace.'