Murder in Waiting - Lynn Cahoon Page 0,78
“And for me, having time to read is fun. Look, Greg’s on his way, so I want to be available when he gets here, not in a show so he has to sit in the room by himself. Maybe when he gets in we can meet for drinks after the show and do some gambling?”
“Now that sounds like a plan.” Justin took out his wallet and put a card on the bill. “That way everyone doesn’t have to be so jealous of me being with the two prettiest women on the Strip.”
“You’re such a charmer.” Amy smiled at her soon-to-be husband.
I stood. “I’m going to run back to the room and get my swimsuit on and grab my book. I’ll text you as soon as Greg arrives, okay?”
“Sounds like a plan. We’ll be out of the show around ten.”
I left them talking about how excited they were to see the tigers, and I wondered if I should have gone with them. As I walked by the casino on the way to my room, I decided to go play some slots instead of reading. The level of alcohol in my system seemed to think it was a great idea too. I found one that looked like fun, with random bonuses, and sat down.
That was where Greg found me when he arrived at the hotel. “Winning?”
“I’m on the same twenty dollars. I get it up, lose a lot, then get it up again. Right now, I’m on an upswing, so I could cash out.” I glanced at my watch. It was after ten. “You made great time. How’s Emma?”
“Your dog is fine. She wanted to kick some butt when I let her outside. She lunged at the one guy who’d been trying to pick your lock. Good thing we got new locks and a security system installed a few years ago. He would have made short work of the old one.” He took out a ten and slipped it into the machine next to me. I cashed out at just over a hundred, then put in another five and held on to the ticket.
We played as we talked about the break-in. When we cashed in our tickets and started walking to the room, I looked at him. “So why are you here?”
“I figured I wasn’t making any progress on the case, so I might as well take some personal time and relax.” He punched the elevator for our room. “I need to change into some clean jeans, but do you want to go grab a bite? I know you probably already ate, but I’m starving.”
“I could eat. But I’m supposed to let Amy know when you’re here so we could do something together tonight.” I leaned against him in the elevator, feeling the strength I needed to go on. “Oh, and Mike Masters isn’t a writer, he’s a fed. And so was that real estate lady. They had to come back to Vegas for some meeting. I guess that’s where they’re stationed out of.”
Greg spun me around and stared at me. “What are you talking about?”
I explained everything that had happened that night. When we reached the room, Greg pulled off his shoes. “I’ll change into something a little warmer. If Amy and Justin want to go walking the Strip, I want some jeans and sneakers on.”
“We’re not leaving the room tonight. Text Amy and tell her I have to work. I’d appreciate it if you would order some room service. A burger would be fine, or anything you think I’d like. I heard the food here is pretty good.” He went over and picked up his computer bag. “No alcohol. I want to get this done, then tomorrow we can turn off the rest of the world and celebrate with Amy and Justin.”
“Was it something I said?” I went to the desk to find the room service menu.
“Actually, yes. If the feds have been involved in this investigation from the beginning, they might have some leads on why Frank was killed. And if it had something to do with their investigation, they can take this over. They’re not good at sharing information, and I’m not having them play me like a fiddle. At least not anymore.”
I scanned the menu. “You can get anything, including prime rib, through room service. I’m looking at the seafood pasta. I know I ate tonight with Amy and Justin, but I can’t even remember what it tasted like. Except the first bite. Which was amazing.”
He reached