Murder in Waiting - Lynn Cahoon Page 0,80

Greg said as he studied the sports page from the newspaper they’d delivered with breakfast.

I’d just finished eating and was eyeing the last piece of banana bread when my phone rang. It was Amy. I glanced at the time. We still had an hour before we were supposed to meet them. “Hey, I thought you said nine.”

“You need to get over here. You won’t believe who’s here. He’s got a babe on his arm.” She paused. “I just sent you a text with a picture. Show it to Greg.”

“Hold on.” I waved him over to sit next to me. “Amy sent us a picture of someone we need to see.”

When the text came up, Greg pointed to the woman. “That’s California April Windsor—Frank’s missing wife. We just got a photo from the driver’s license bureau before I left the station. Who’s that with her?”

“The man with his arm around her? That’s Aaron Presley. The developer.” I spoke back into the phone. “It’s him, right?”

“Yep. It’s him. He hasn’t seen me because we’re sitting in a different room, but I saw him when I went to find the ladies’ room. I acted like I was taking a picture of the buffet.”

“Tell Amy to stay there and we’ll be right over. I’m going to get security involved because there is an active missing persons investigation on her.” Greg pulled on his shoes and I relayed his message.

As we headed to the elevator, I grinned. “So much for no work this weekend, right?”

He leaned down and kissed me. “Sometimes it falls in your lap. I’ll get security in on this, do a real quick interview, then figure out if I should be arresting her for killing Frank. If so, I’ll have to do the whole extradition thing. If not, maybe I can just have her come to the station on Monday.”

“Ever the optimist.”

We power walked to the Venetian, which was farther than it looked. The good news was, the sidewalks weren’t as crowded as they would be later in the day. When we got there, I went directly to the buffet and Greg went to the security desk. I had to pay to get in, which wasn’t fair because I wasn’t eating, but I grabbed a mimosa off the tray as I walked by and then sat at Amy’s table.

“Where’s Greg?” Amy glanced around nervously. “We don’t have to go confront them on our own, do we?”

“No. Calm down. He’s getting security involved. He’ll talk to them and then we’ll be done. Nice job, seeing them in this crowd.” I took in the restaurant. People milled about the buffet lines. And the room smelled amazing. “I might just have to eat something, considering I had to buy my way in.”

Amy pointed to the other room. We could just see their booth. Cali was standing up and leaving. “Oh, no.”

I glanced at the entry area. No Greg, no security. Crap. I took a sip of my mimosa. “Text Greg and tell him she’s on the move. I think she’s probably just going to the restroom, but if she goes to her room or leaves the hotel, I’ll text you.”

“Be careful. She might be dangerous.”

Cali was maybe five foot one and a size zero from what I could see. I wasn’t worried about her taking me in a fight. I was worried about her disappearing again. I nodded to Amy. “Just text Greg. I’ll keep my phone available and text as soon as I can.”

I followed her out of the restaurant. So much for my second breakfast. That half of a mimosa had just cost me forty-five dollars. Maybe Greg could expense it and pay me back. The mayor would have a conniption. We went past the first restroom, but maybe she hadn’t seen it. She was heading to the main lobby and out of the building. I hurried to get closer. If she got onto the street and hailed a cab, I would lose her. Maybe I could ask for directions and keep her on the street until Greg arrived. I saw her approach the main doors, but then she turned right. When I jogged up the few stairs, I realized where she was going. The art museum. I stood in line behind her to get a ticket and texted Greg our location. At least this way I’d get to do something I wanted at the same time as following our missing person. Multitasking was the best.

I was able to stay in the same