Innocent in Las Vegas (13 page)

I spent the time between appointments waiting at the café I’d chosen. It was a quiet, semi-dark place and there were few patrons at that hour. I was the only customer, other than three skinny men who looked like unemployed scriptwriters, and I settled at a corner table.

Escaping from the shooter had given me a greater appreciation for my privacy and safety, and I couldn’t help but think that Stone’s idea of moving into the Tremonte had been brilliant. I smiled to myself, imagining someone wearing a black ski-mask waiting for me in my empty apartment for hours and hours. Hopefully, they would get a cramp.

I fished my MP3 player out of my bag, attached my headphones, and replayed my conversation with Derek. I felt like I was missing something; I tried to use his words to piece together a link between Ethan and Audrey’s deaths.

If their affair was a secret, there were very few people who knew they could be connected. Sophia was one and Derek was another – but perhaps he’d lied about the whole thing; perhaps he was the one who’d killed Ethan and then he’d gone after Audrey when she’d refused to come back to him. All I needed was some way to prove that Ethan knew Derek, and would have pulled over to the side of the road for him.

On the other hand, perhaps I was looking at the whole thing from the wrong angle. I tried to forget about Derek and think about everyone else I’d talked to. As the minutes ticked by, I grew more and more frustrated. I knew I was missing something right in front of my eyes. I searched desperately for what it might be, but nothing jumped out at me, and the minutes slid by as if they were seconds, and before I knew it, it was time for my meeting with Max.

I recognized Max as soon as he walked into the café. He was short, stout and balding, and he beamed at the world in general.

I smiled and waved at him as he walked over with a spring in his step. I couldn’t imagine him being even mildly irritated, let alone angry enough to yell at someone.

We introduced ourselves and I thanked him for coming at such short notice.

“No problem,” he said, “I have lots of free time.”

He looked as though he did, but I kept that thought to myself. I couldn’t imagine someone having a job and still looking so relaxed, unless they were on holiday.

“I heard you used to be manager of the Riverbelle,” I said and he laughed.

“Oh, yes, I can’t believe those times. Feels like a lifetime ago.”

“I thought you didn’t want to leave?”

“No. That was just me being short-sighted. I wasn’t happy to leave at first, but then I got a fabulous consulting position with the Riviera. And now look at me! Great pay, lots of free time and fun work, once in a while.”

“Sounds impressive. So things worked out for you?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

The waitress arrived with Max’s coffee and he graced her with another cheerful smile. If he hadn’t been so likeable, his joyful demeanor would have been annoying.

When the waitress left, I said, “Why were you so angry when you left the Riverbelle?”

Max looked at me seriously, his sunny disposition clouding over momentarily. “I didn’t leave, I was forced to resign.”

“Why?”

“They wanted to promote Steven Macarthur. He was an up-and-comer and a hard-worker, not an old lazy-bones like me.”

“That doesn’t sound unreasonable.” I smiled. “Everyone wants employees to work hard for them.”

Max nodded. “I guess you’re right. But I was worried I wouldn’t get a new job at my age.”

“But it happened.”

“Yes. Steven set up an interview with a friend of his.”

“That was nice of him.”

Max leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He narrowed his eyes and hunched his shoulders. “Sure, it was nice of him.”

He looked like a completely different man and I tried to hide my surprise. Obviously he was hiding something and I tried to think fast. He wasn’t telling me the real reason why Steven had given him his job. I didn’t know why this was important, or why he would bother to try and hide it, but the lie bothered me. If Steven didn’t like Max, there were only a few reasons why he’d help him out. Either he felt sorry for Max, or Max had convinced him, somehow.

“You know,” I said, “Steven didn’t seem like a very nice man to me. Why’d he really get you the job?”

Max shrugged. “I guess even the meanest people have some niceness about them.”

“Or maybe you bribed him. I’m sure the Riviera wouldn’t like knowing that.”

“I didn’t bribe him.”

“Then maybe you blackmailed him.”

Max’s eyes widened slightly and I knew I’d struck a nerve. “Come on, Max,” I pleaded, “What difference does it make now, after all this time? Neither of us likes Steven and if you’ve got some dirt on him, it would really help my investigation.”

He frowned and shook his head. “Nobody’s meant to know this.”

“But I already do. If you don’t tell me know, you know I’ll just go to Steven and try to get it out of him.”

Max sighed and I could see I was wearing down his defenses.

“Please,” I said, “Please, please, pretty please? You can see I’m desperate!”

He sighed again and his lips tightened into a thin smile. “Fine,” he said, looking almost like his old self again, “But if you tell anyone this, I’ll deny it.”

“Scouts’ honor,” I said, holding up three fingers even though I’d only ever been in the Brownies for a week.

Max leaned forward. “You have to understand. I was desperate. I had expenses and a lifestyle I’d gotten used to.” He took a sip of coffee and went on. “I’ve never liked Steven. He’s too smarmy for his own good; comes into work too early and kisses ass too much. I blame him for pushing me out of my job. So after I got fired, I followed him home for a couple of days.”

“What did you see?”

“He was having drinks with a group of dealers and security guys.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“No. But after I saw them together, I visited the casino floor a few times.” He paused and looked at me. “Do you know why casinos have so many security guys?”

“To make sure players don’t cause trouble?”

“And to make sure dealers don’t cause trouble.”

My jaw almost dropped to the floor, I knew exactly what he was about to say. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes. I didn’t have proof, but I had enough to scare him.”

“So you never reported him…”

Max gulped. “Look, if I had proof, I would’ve told Ethan or Neil. But I didn’t have any proof and Ethan wasn’t talking to me.”

“How’d he do it?”

“I’m not sure.”

“But you must have a good hunch.”

“Well…” He looked at me carefully, and I guess he decided I could be trusted. “I think one of the dealers swiped a pack of chips each time the guards came by for collection. All Steven had to do was not report them.”

I sat in silence, completely awed. It was the Big One, the one all the jackpot-chasers were after. Except it wasn’t a jackpot. It was the mother lode of all scams, one that was untraceable because it was run by the guys on the inside.

“This is big,” I said.

“It’s huge,” he agreed. “But I had no proof. Just enough of a suspicion to threaten him.”

“Steven doesn’t seem like a nice person,” I mused. “But he’s never been a suspect in Ethan’s murder. The guy’s got the perfect alibi.”

“Even if he had no alibi, I’d never believe he’d kill Ethan.”

“Why not?”

“He’d never hurt the guy. He had everything arranged perfectly for himself and he had Ethan eating right out of his hand. He’d never mess that up.”

That made sense. I’d only met Steven very briefly but he’d seemed smart and focused, unlikely to do anything stupid. “You don’t like Steven,” I said. It was more of a statement than a question, and Max smiled.

“No, I don’t. What else did you want to ask me?”

“What’s Thelma Durant like?”

He shrugged. “Nice enough. Doesn’t come into the office too often. Prefers to head to the spa.”

“And her husband?”

“Does a lot of work at the casino. Nice guy. The women all love him.” He winked at me and I tried my best not to giggle.

“Did he get along with Ethan?”

Max took another sip of his coffee. “They argued a bit. Ethan wasn’t too thrilled about Neil at first, but I think he respected the man after a few years.”

“Leo?”

“He was pretty young when I was working there.”

“Sophia?”

He shook his head. “I’m still surprised at that marriage. You know, everyone thought she was a scheming gold-digger. And now she’s proven them all right.”

I sighed. “She hired me, you know.”

“Doesn’t mean a thing. It’s just to look good in front of the jury later on.”

I was tired of hearing that line. I didn’t want to believe it. I was feeling annoyed and I said, “I went to the Riverbelle to talk to the guys there. And you know what happened? Some thugs tried to back-room me.”

Max looked at me in surprise. “They still have that room there?”

“You knew about it?”

He shook his head. “We had that room there for emergencies, even though we never used it. Everyone at the casino knew about it.”

I sighed. It was just as I’d feared. Too many people had access to the place and anyone at the casino could’ve hired Beady Eyes and Mr. Beard to threaten me.

Our coffees were finished and I said, “I’ll call you if I think of anything else. And here’s my card. Let me know if you think of something.”

“I will,” he said, pocketing my card.

When I got back to the Tremonte, I called Thelma. She was the one person I hadn’t talked to yet, and though I didn’t think she would be any help, I needed to contact her.

She answered after about five rings. When I introduced myself, she went quiet for a moment and then said, “Who are you working for?”

“Sophia Becker.”

She snorted. “Good luck with that.”

I could tell she was about to hang up, so I interjected quickly. “The investigation could uncover who really killed Ethan.”

“We all know it was Sophia.”

“I’ve discovered some things the police overlooked. I’d really appreciate your help.”

“And what if you find more evidence that it was Sophia?”

“I’ll go to the police with it.” The truth was I didn’t want to believe I’d find more evidence damning Sophia.

“I’m busy,” she said. “Can we just do this over the phone?”

“I’m afraid not.” The one thing I’d learned during my training was that people were more forthcoming face-to-face. “I could meet you anywhere you’d like, a café or a restaurant or your house.”

“Ok. You can come over to my house the day after tomorrow.”

It was a victory of sorts but I still said, “Are you free any time before that?”

“No. I’m busy.”

She hung up and I heard the line go dead. I stared at my phone and put it away with a wry look. She hadn’t told me what time to go over, so I’d need to call her again tomorrow to check. For all I knew, she didn’t actually intend to meet me.

I called Leo next. I introduced myself when he answered and hoped he’d remember me.

He did. He said, “Oh hey, what were you doing in the casino that day?”

“I went by to talk to your Uncle Neil. What were you doing?”

“My aunt told me she’d give me a tour and she did. It’s a massive place and it was nice to see where Dad worked. I think maybe I’ll go work there once I’ve finished school.”

“Thelma must’ve been happy to hear that.”

He made a non-committal noise and said, “I’m not sure. She wanted me to sell her my shares of the casino, but I’d rather not. I said that if Sophia lost the case, we could divvy up Sophia’s shares instead of me getting them all, but we’ll see. I don’t want to argue about the casino with her.”

I wondered if Leo was heading into a legal minefield. If Thelma was serious about getting control of the casino, she might not give up so easily.

I asked Leo what he thought of Steven Macarthur, but he didn’t have much of an opinion. So after chatting about the weather for a bit – we both wished it would just cool down already – I told him to call me if he ever needed to chat and hung up.

The next person I needed to talk to was Neil Durant. I called his cell phone and thought I detected a hint of annoyance when he answered.

“Neil, it’s me, Tiffany.”

“Pleasure to hear from you,” he said, his tone of voice implying that it was anything but a pleasure.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“Yes?”

“I wonder if Ethan might have known a young guy, Derek Girard?”

“Name doesn’t ring a bell. Why?”

“Um, it’s hard to explain, but I think he might be connected somehow. He’s works at one of the Downtown casinos, and I thought he might have worked at the Riverbelle, maybe.”

“Hmm.”

“Do you think you could look into it? I’d really appreciate it.”

He let out a short, exasperated sigh and said, “Sure, why not. I’ll tell HR to run a profile.”

“Great.” An idea occurred to me and I said, “Do you think we could meet up after work today?”

He was instantly suspicious. “Why? I have somewhere I need to be.”

“It’ll be just two minutes. I have some information that might be useful to you.”

“Like what?’

“Just meet me, ok?” I gave him the name of a quiet diner. “When can you be there?”

“An hour from now.”

We hung up and I gave myself a virtual pat on the back. I didn’t know if this would go anywhere, but it was worth a shot. I had the feeling that almost everyone I talked to was hiding something from me, and my chat with Max had given me a brilliant idea.

I drove to the diner, arriving a few minutes early and enjoyed a delicious apple cobbler as I waited for Neil to arrive. The place served Southern-style comfort food and I figured I might as well eat while I was there.

Neil arrived a few minutes late, which meant that my cobbler had a good few bites into it. I’d already paid for it at the counter, and when Neil sat down opposite me, I offered him a bite.

“No thanks,” he said. “I talked to HR about Derek.”

I put down my fork. “And?”

“Derek applied for work at the Riverbelle but was turned down because his interview didn’t go that great. We told him he could reapply once he’d gotten a bit more experience.”

“Was Ethan at the interview?”

Neil looked at me like I was stupid. “No, of course not. That was a dealer interview, the HR guys take care of it.”

I did feel a bit naïve, but how was I supposed to know which interviews a CEO deems worthy of his time?

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Neil said.

I swallowed a bit of cobbler quickly. “I heard a rumor there might be a ring of dealers stealing chips.”

Neil’s eyes narrowed. “Where did you hear that?”

I shrugged. “Can’t name sources. But I guess you could look into your surveillance. Besides, some of your security guys are thugs. Do you know two of them threatened me the other day I was there?”

Neil smiled. “Were you trying to beat up another player?”

“I wasn’t even in the pit! This wasn’t about gambling. They told me to stay off the case.”

Neil looked at me seriously and shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And if we’re done here, I have to get going.”

I watched him head out the door and I quickly wolfed down another mouthful of cobbler before following him into the parking lot. I started up my car and followed his large black SUV toward the expressway. I figured he was heading towards his house at Lake Las Vegas. He picked up speed once we hit the expressway, but I kept an eye on him. When he signaled that he was exiting, I was only two cars behind him and I followed him onto Lake Mead Parkway. I expected him to keep going till he got to his gated community, but he surprised me after two minutes by taking a quick right.

We both drove at a slower pace along less busy suburban streets; he didn’t seem to have seen me and I followed him as he took left and right turns in quick succession. He parked on the side of the street and I quickly pulled into an empty driveway, crossing my fingers that the homeowners were out. Nobody seemed to have noticed me and I cut my engine and watched as he walked up to a modest house. He knocked, the door opened, and he disappeared inside.

I figured he would be at least a few minutes, so I moved out of the driveway before someone complained and parked right behind his SUV.

The minutes crawled by and became hours, and I watched as the sky grew darker and the sun set. Lights began to go on in the nearby houses and I imagined that dinner was being served. I regretted not bringing something to eat with me. Although I’d eaten up that large slice of cobbler in the diner, it clearly wasn’t enough sustenance for a stakeout.

Just when I was wondering if Neil had stepped into a black hole, the lights went on inside the house he’d disappeared inside. I watched as the front door opened and Neil stepped out. He leaned back inside and kissed someone. When he stepped away and began walking towards the street, I caught a glimpse of long, bare legs and blonde hair before the door closed.

When he was two feet from his car, I stepped out of mine.

Neil’s eyes grew saucer-like and he stared at me for a long minute without blinking.

“
I,Hi,
Hi,” I said. “Remember me?”

He finally found his tongue and shook his head as if to clear the disbelief from his mind. “What do you want? Are you here to blackmail me?”

“Why would I blackmail you? I’m a nice girl and honestly, I’m a bit hurt by the accusation.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I just wanted to talk to you. But now I see why you were in such a rush to leave the diner. She must be really special if you gave up eating the world’s best apple cobbler. How does Thelma feel about her?”

He scowled. “Leave Thelma out of this.”

I stepped forward, feeling like I’d just been hit with a thunderbolt. “I get it now. No wonder you were two hours late getting home the night Ethan was murdered! You did leave when you said and you did take a detour.”

His scowl deepened. “So what if I did?”

“You had a great alibi but you couldn’t use it because then your wife would have grounds for divorce, and you’d lose everything you’ve gotten used to.”

He shrugged. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“That gun in Sophia’s bedroom was convenient.”

We stared at each other for a while longer.

Finally, Neil said, “You wouldn’t tell Thelma, would you?”

I shook my head, no. “So nobody else knows about this woman?”

“Ethan found out, but he kept my secret and I kept his.”

“You knew about Audrey? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“No.” He blinked in surprise. “He never had anything with Audrey. Ethan knew to stay away from co-workers. He was seeing Vanessa, his ex-wife.”