“Yes. I went to get lunch, and when I got back, they were both soaked to the skin and she had him in her lap out on her porch swing, wrapped up in a blanket.”
“Bless his heart,” Hope said. “Why did he run away?”
Duke turned around and leaned against the bookshelves to finish the story.
“It appears his mama has been keeping him out of school so much to help her with the three younger children that the little guy is having to repeat first grade. The kids are making fun of him and calling him stupid, and I guess his breaking point came this morning when he overheard his mama telling his daddy over the phone that she was pregnant again. He told Cathy he wasn’t gonna take care of no more babies. He packed some clothes in a plastic garbage bag and took off.”
Hope grimaced. “That’s terrible that she did that to him. I thought there were laws about parents getting in trouble for not sending their kids to school.”
“There are. Of course, Cathy had already called the police department to report she’d found him, and they’d just received a frantic call from Junie that he was missing, so Lon came and picked him up. Last thing I heard, Lon was promising the little guy that he’d make sure his mama didn’t make him miss any more school just to babysit, and then he took the boy home.”
Jack grinned. “Your life has certainly become more exciting since rescuing Cathy Terry.”
“I guess, but I’d put our cattle getting stolen as a bigger issue,” Duke said. He turned his back on both of them and resumed dusting.
The reminder that had happened shifted their focus enough that they stopped teasing him. By midafternoon, the house was shining, they all smelled like lemon oil, and the rain was beginning to let up.
* * *
Over two thousand miles to the west of rain-soaked Georgia, Blaine Wagner was in his limo on the way to a business lunch at the Venetian in Las Vegas when his cell phone rang. He set aside his glass of wine, and when he saw caller ID, he closed the window between him and his driver, then answered.
“Hello, Rand. I’m expecting updates.”
Rand Lawrence had his notes pulled up on his iPad to make sure he didn’t forget anything.
“Yes, sir, I have some, and interesting ones, for sure. Cathy Wagner filed paperwork to reclaim her maiden name as her legal name.”
“So, she’s Cathy Terry again?” Blaine said.
“Yes, sir, which does explain why she left all of the credit cards and her identification behind. She had canceled all of the accounts anyway, so the cards and ID info are worthless.”
“Do you know where she is?” Blaine asked.
“No, sir. But she left Vegas by bus with a one-way ticket to Denver, Colorado. She did arrive there, but has since disappeared. I received your text about her moving her money out of her bank, but there is no credit card trail anywhere, and while I have some hacking skills, I’m not comfortable trying to find out where she’s moved her money. That’s messing with the FDIC and federal banking laws.”
“Understood,” Blaine said, but his thoughts were in freefall. “Listen, here’s what I want you to do. Just keep the case open, and if anything pops up on any of your searches, let me know. Okay?”
“Yes, sir. Will do. Should I invoice your office, or you privately?”
“Privately, and thank you for asking.”
“Yes, sir,” Rand said, and disconnected.
Blaine dropped his phone back in his pocket and then reached for his wine as the limo pulled up to a red light. The black tint to the windows in the rear of the limo gave him complete anonymity, which also gave him a sense of security. A man with his standing in this city always had to be careful.
He eyed a gaggle of tourists crossing in the walk lane, viewing them all as money in his pocket. He could tell which ones were just sightseers, and which ones came to play.
Even though the people who played the slots and the tables were part of the bloodstream of Vegas, the whales who came to the private games were the ones Blaine catered to. Those were the high rollers who received lavish comps because they wagered large amounts of money during their frequent stays.
Everything in Vegas was a game and a gamble, including the people who came and went, and today Blaine was having to come to terms