| "The Wedding Gig" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen King |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Mystery short story |
| Published in | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (1st release), Skeleton Crew |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Media type | Print (Periodical & Paperback) |
| Publication date | 1980 |
The Wedding Gig is a short story by Stephen King first published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in 1980 and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.
Told from the viewpoint of a bandleader during Prohibition, the story centers around a small time racketeer, Mike Scollay, who hires the narrator's jazz band to play at the wedding of his 300-pound sister Maureen, and her 90-pound fiancé. At the gig, Scollay's enemy, the Greek, blackmails a man to come to the wedding reception and insult Maureen in front of the guests. Shortly after, Mike is shot down in a hail of gunfire from the Greek's men.
Maureen takes over his business, making it into a large criminal empire, and getting revenge on the Greek, until she dies of a heart attack years later.
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