September 4, 2025

The Hammer Files: A Bet on Red and The Bookie

Jack Hammer03 mins
A grayscale, high-contrast pulp-noir graphic novel panel shows Jack Hammer, a burly man in a trench coat and fedora, sitting at a cluttered desk in a dimly lit office. He is intently looking through open file folders, with a desk lamp casting a harsh light on his face, emphasizing his serious expression. The desk is strewn with a phone, ashtray, and crumpled papers, conveying a gritty detective's workspace. A grayscale, high-contrast pulp-noir graphic novel panel shows Jack Hammer, a burly man in a trench coat and fedora, sitting at a cluttered desk in a dimly lit office. He is intently looking through open file folders, with a desk lamp casting a harsh light on his face, emphasizing his serious expression. The desk is strewn with a phone, ashtray, and crumpled papers, conveying a gritty detective's workspace.
This entry is part 3 of 16 in the series Chapter 1: The Case of December's Debt.

The Desk of Jack Hammer

I found his name in the old journals, right where I knew it had to be. Claude Bronson. The name was a ghost from a past I had tried to bury under a pile of empty whiskey bottles and late nights. The man who had taken me in when my father went to prison. He was the one who taught me the rackets, the one who gave me a name in this town. He also taught me that no good deed ever came without a string attached.

Sitting at my Desk was a pilgrimage to a younger, more naive version of myself. I ran my hand over the chipped paint of the desk, the worn leather of the blotter, and found my fingers tracing the worn edges of the single photo I’d carried in my wallet for decades: a faded picture of my mother and father, smiling.

A Bet on Red

I drifted back to those years. The warm springs and falls. The hot summers and cold winters. The love of a mom and dad. And the emptiness I felt when they were gone. I drifted… drifted…

Then Bang! Claude’s voice screamed out at me from the past. It was something he said to me long ago when I was down on my luck and up against the wall. He said “Jack if you’re going to bet, bet hard. And Bet it all on red.” Then I thought again about that ‘femme fatale in dark glasses with a red purse’. And I knew what my next move had to be. I had to find a girl who was playing a dangerous game.

Series Navigation<< THE HAMMER FILES: The Case of the Red PurseThe Hammer Files: Rocco’s Game and The Girl >>

Chapter 1: The Case of December's Debt.

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