Target.”
All nearby eyes swiveled to Hope. Conversation stopped, and all movement ground to a halt. The whole store locked in a freeze-frame.
Baby swiveled slowly toward Hope, her face a horrified mask.
“What did you say?” she asked.
“I said, we have to go to Target. I can’t afford these things.”
Baby blinked, her mouth open.
“I mean it,” Hope said.
Baby’s brows knitted in a look of consternation. “Go outside and meet me by the fountain in fifteen minutes.”
Hope shook her head as she left the shop, congratulating herself on ditching an unwelcome shopping companion. But Baby rejoined Hope just a few minutes later, swinging a bright shopping bag and looking like she’d never heard of a cheapskate named Hope.
“You didn’t like that store, okay,” Baby said, sitting down next to Hope. “I don’t get it, I think they have adorable things. But don’t scare me like that again. Target.” She shuddered.
“No, I meant it, Baby,” Hope said. “I can’t afford that jewelry. You’re right, it’s nice. But the bracelets I need are for the card games. They have to clank so that when I move my hands on the card table, I’ll notice. And I need big sunglasses to hide my eyes and a big hat to hide my face. I need stuff that’s functional. And cheap.”
Baby stared at her in shock. “You mean, you actually want to go to Target? For real?”
“Or someplace like that.”
Baby looked at Hope as though she’d just said she ate worms for breakfast.
“I have a car. Let’s drive,” Hope said finally.
“What kind of car?” Baby said, clearly not expecting much.
“Toyota Prius,” Hope said, and Baby sighed in resignation, having had her worst fears confirmed.
“Do I have to?” she asked.
“Big Julie said.”
“Let’s go, then,” Baby said. “But don’t ever tell anybody I went shopping at Target.”
“My lips are sealed,” Hope promised.
Tanner stayed at the four hundred dollar table for a few hours and left after he’d cleared three thousand dollars. When he stood up to cash out his chips, he glanced over at the three dollar table, but the Jersey guys and the mysterious Hope McNaughton who claimed she didn’t know Derek McNaughton were all gone.
Uncles, my eye.
He glanced at his watch. He’d told Troy he’d be home for dinner, but he was hungry now. Maybe he could stop by the kitchen, see Kenji, and cadge a snack before he went home.
He walked through the casino, greeting the floor managers, pit bosses, waitresses, and dealers he knew, and went to the Ginger Palace, one of the casino’s fancier restaurants that was open only for dinner. Kenji Hasegawa, the chef, would be in the back, getting ready for the evening.
Tanner said hi to the maitre d’ who was checking reservations and asked if Kenji was working. Tanner was a familiar face in the casino, and the maitre d’ waved him past the red velvet rope that barricaded the entryway without losing his look of concentration. Tanner headed toward the kitchen and pushed his way into the double swinging doors, just in time to see Kenji handing a plate of niblets to a young girl.
“Hey, Kenj,” Tanner said, sidestepping some sous chefs and bus boys who were flying around the kitchen, doing setups for the dinner crowd. He wondered whose kid that was. Couldn’t be Kenji’s. The girl was maybe ten and had blonde, wavy hair. Definitely she swam from a gene pool other than Kenji’s. Kenji was built like a sumo wrestler, even if he was the most delicate chef in Las Vegas, maybe the west coast. Plus, he’d known Kenji for years, and the guy didn’t have any kids, blonde or otherwise. “How’s it going?”
Kenji Hasegawa stood up and grinned at his friend. “It’s going,” he said. “Amber, meet Tanner.”
“Hey, Amber,” Tanner said.
“Hi,” Amber said. She barely glanced at Tanner. She’d put the little piece of sushi into her mouth and was trying to decide if she liked it.
“Amber’s trying out something new,” Kenji said. “What do you think, Amber?”“It’s very unusual,” Amber said cautiously.
“Let me try it,” Tanner said.
“Is that why you came in here?” Kenji asked, sliding a few pieces of sushi onto a plate for his friend. “To get something to eat?”
“That’s one reason,” Tanner said, taking the plate. “Also I wanted to see if you wanted to go to the UNLV game next week, after Troy leaves.”
“Are you kidding? I’m their biggest fan.” Suddenly he frowned at Tanner. “But I never thought you were. You’re going to college sports now?”
Tanner shrugged, looking at Amber. “Gotta