“We should disappear for a week. Just you and me. Maybe Emma.”

  Greg didn’t look up. “As soon as this case is closed, you’ve got it. Maybe a trip to Oregon to play on the dunes again?”

  “I’m not sure I’d call our last Oregon trip relaxing. But I don’t understand how someone comes to Vegas to relax.” I closed my eyes. “There’s too much to do and too much to see.”

  “And too many places to eat,” Greg said. I could hear him typing on the keyboard. The man was a multitasking master.

  “And definitely too many people,” I added, curling up in a ball. I guess he let me sleep for a while, because the next thing I knew, he was shaking my arm and telling me I had thirty minutes to get ready. He knew I didn’t need a lot of time. Which helped.

  I dragged myself into the shower and tried to wake up. Cali’s sad face kept coming to my mind. The poor girl. She’d been married less than a year, and now she was widowed. I wondered what the other wives got in the division of property. Frank seemed to be the type who liked to take care of others. But how in the world had she not known of his wealth? I guess she thought he worked full time for the Heritage Society and that was where he got his money. Greg and I were definitely having the money talk soon. Before this got any more serious. I didn’t want him to think that the Miss Emily fund was part of the package. Right now, I used it for important things, like supplementing Nick’s education costs. Or Sasha’s childcare, so she could attend school. It was kind of like being an invisible Santa Claus. And I felt like the money was going to important projects. I didn’t want to have to clear that with anyone, even Greg.

  A discussion and a worry for another day. Right now, it was time to celebrate with my friend.

  Chapter 22

  Amy had chosen the learn-to-gamble package. We had our own minicasino, where we could play any of the casino games with a teacher/dealer by our side. And we all had a ton of fake money. At one part of the night, I was sitting at the blackjack table with my aunt. She was winning; me, not so much.

  “You’re too impulsive,” she said after I’d lost the third hand in a row. “You need to lower your bet until your luck goes to your side.”

  “If I lose, I have to win bigger to make up for the loss,” I countered. “It’s math.”

  “Heaven help the shop if we ever have a downturn. You’ll be broke before the economy can even start to turn around.” She glanced down at the cards she’d pulled. Blackjack.

  “That’s the fourth, no, fifth blackjack you’ve hit since I sat down here.” I looked at my cards. I had a two and a ten. Twelve. If I hit, I had a chance to bust. But the dealer had a nine showing, so I had to hit. I tapped the table. A pretty red queen added to my pile.

  “Oh, too bad.” The dealer turned over his other card and showed his nineteen. “But you had to hit. Either way, you would have lost.”

  “See. It’s out of my hands.” I put up my chip for another round. “Sometimes you’re lucky and sometimes you aren’t.”

  “Actually, I believe you make your own luck.” My aunt put a hand on my arm. “You know I love you, right?”

  Great, the gin and tonics were getting to her. Now she was going to tell me how much she hated my hair. Or Greg. No, it wouldn’t be Greg. It would be one of my shortcomings. “Yes, and I love you too. This is an amazing way to kick off Amy’s upcoming wedding, don’t you think?”

  “Actually, it’s a young person’s tradition. One last party. The thing people don’t realize is, the parties that happen after your marriage are sweeter and more special.” She smiled at me. “But I am happy for her and Justin. And you and Greg.”

  “Don’t start. He hasn’t asked and I haven’t thought about it.” I looked at my cards. I had twenty. So did my aunt. Maybe we’d both win this hand.

  “He will. And I’m betting he will soon.” When the dealer turned over an eight to go with his king, she smiled. “You should listen to me. I’m very lucky tonight.”

  “I always listen to you.” Well, that wasn’t always the truth, but it wasn’t the time or place to talk business. Even though I was dying to find out who she’d hired. Maybe it was Jay’s friend’s daughter. I’d forgotten he’d said something about her needing a job. I couldn’t stand it, and I’d had one too many beers just sitting here. I felt brave. “Tell me who you hired.”

  My aunt nodded to the dealer, who gave her a six to add to her fifteen and hit twenty-one. I’d passed on an eighteen. The dealer drew a seventeen. “The table wins,” he announced.

  My aunt pushed her chips into the dealer. “I’m heading to bed. Make sure you’re downstairs at eleven thirty. And please wear something suitable. I’m not expecting formal wear, but maybe a nice dress? Tell Greg to dress up too.”

  “This restaurant is that fancy?” I sipped my beer and watched her. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll find out.”

  I watched her cash in and realized she hadn’t answered my question. I decided to leave it until Monday. Work could wait.

  Amy sat down next to me. “This is so much fun. I love roulette. Who would have thought? And now I’m going to kick your butt in cards.”

  “Good night, girls,” my aunt called as she left the room.

  Amy looked at her and back to me. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “Aunt Jackie has left the building.” I nodded to the dealer. “She was just getting tired of winning. Let’s see how lucky you are.”

  “I’m the bride. They have to let me win. It’s in the contract.” She squinted at the dealer, trying to read his name tag. “Isn’t that right, Dave? Because I’m getting married on June 8, I get to win tonight.”

  “If you say so,” Dave the dealer grinned. “Of course, I can’t control the cards. What comes up, comes up.”

  “But the house is usually the winner, right?” I glanced at the automatic card shuffler. “There’s no way to really win.”

  “Unless you have an amazing memory for five decks of cards, yes, the house has the better odds.” He dealt our first hand. “But if you’re just here for fun? The best way to win is to think you can. Be positive and upbeat, and the cards may go your way.”

  “That sounds like a self-help motto on how to live life.” I glanced over at Amy. Her eyes were starting to glaze over. Thank God we weren’t playing for real money or I’d call it and pour her into an elevator to go find her room. I was still going to have to do that later, but I was enjoying playing. And it made me wonder about Cali and her statement.

  “Hey, just a question. Can people get underwater gambling? I mean, like totally spend their paycheck for the next year plus under?”

  He nodded. “It’s the bad side of the casino. They are supposed to cut people off when they get to a crazy level, but you can get under really quickly. And if you’ve been drinking the free alcohol, you may not realize just how many markers you’ve signed. I always try to send people to their room when they start looking like that.”

  I knew he was talking about Amy. “She’s the bride this weekend. We’ll let her play some more, and I won’t let her out on the real casino floor. I’m in charge of her.”

  As I looked around the room, I realized that was the truth. No one else was still playing slots. Amy’s cousins had disappeared, probably around the same time Aunt Jackie had gone to bed.

  “Don’t worry about the time.” Dave noticed my scan of the room. “I’m paid until one no matter whether you or your friend leave. But if you don’t think you’ll need the others, I’ll send them home.”

  “That will work.” I smiled at my friend and pointed to her cards. “Blackjack. You did come lucky.”

  * * * *

  By the time I got Amy to her room and into Justin’s care, it was already one. He took her arm and led her away. “Thanks, Jill. You’re the best.”

  I had lived up to my maid of honor responsibilities and now it was time to find my own room and get out of these shoes. While I waited for the elevator, I slipped them off and held the offending heels in my hand.

  When I got on the elevator, a man already in the car chuckled. “Long night?”

  “More like too high of heel. I’m used to flip-flops.” I had considered putting on my sparkling, gem-encrusted flip-flops when I got dressed but changed my mind. Now I was going to have to wear these tomorrow too because my aunt wanted me looking “presentable.”

  “Flip-flops are cute.” The man smiled at me and moved a little closer. “Of course, bare feet are the total turn-on.”

  I pushed the button for five. “Sorry, dude, my dance card is full.”

  He moved back away from me. “If you change your mind, my name is Dane and I’m here all weekend. I’ll be at the blackjack tables. High roller section.”

  I wondered if that got him chicks. I got off on my floor and called back, “Have a nice night, Dane the high roller.”

  I heard his chuckle as the door closed.

  Greg was still awake when I came into the room. He was watching sports on the television. I curled up next to him and watched the announcers go over a play that either was the best thing he’d ever seen or the worst, according to his panel mate. “Did you have fun? I can’t believe you guys are already back from the party.”

  “Justin’s friends all bailed. His brother couldn’t get away because of some music gig. He tried to put on a good act, but he was bummed. Harrold turned in early. Toby picked up some cocktail waitress that was just getting off shift. She was going to show him ‘the real Las Vegas.’ Justin and I sat at the blackjack table until it went cold, then we came upstairs. How did you do?”

  “About the same. Amy hired a learn-to-gamble room and we played with a lot of fake money all night. Aunt Jackie probably won enough on blackjack to finance a world cruise for her honeymoon. Too bad it wasn’t real.” I cuddled closer. “And I got hit on in the elevator.”

  Greg turned down the sound and turned toward me. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “Some high roller thought my bare feet were sexy, but I told him I was already spoken for.” I pointed to the shoes I’d dropped by the door. “Those things are killer. I don’t know how people actually walk in them.”

  “You’re not supposed to walk far in them.” He kissed me. “So was this guy cute?”

  “Cute, rich, and had a great body. Why?”

  Greg smiled down at me. “I’m just wondering why you came back to the room so soon. It’s not like we’re married or even engaged, right?”

  “Believe me, bud, if I wanted to be somewhere else, I would be.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why? Are you telling me you would have gone home with someone else? Just because we’re not formally hitched?”

  “Not on your life. Although I do think I’m going to have to do something so your hand doesn’t look so naked. Even when your feet are bare.” He leaned down and kissed me, and I forgot about Dane and the elevator and Vegas and even Amy and Justin.

  * * * *

  The next morning, the alarm blared, and I watched Greg roll over to turn it off. He shook my arm. “Time to get up.”

  “Why? We don’t have to go anywhere. It’s not noon, is it?” I tried to gauge the amount of sunlight, but we had pulled the shades last night.

  “The buffet opens in thirty minutes. Do you want to go and actually eat something this time?” He started to lie back down. “Or we could just wait to eat at lunch.”

  I threw off the covers. “No way. I’ll jump in the shower and I’ll be ready in ten. Did you see the crab cakes Benedict on the sideboard?”

  Thinking of food got me busy, and by the time Greg was out of the shower and dressed, I was flipping through my email, making sure Deek didn’t have any issues. We have an alert at that bank that emails us about deposits—and withdrawals—and there had been two since I’d checked. Friday night and Saturday evening. The amounts looked normal, if a little high for a weekend day, but I wasn’t going to complain. I closed the laptop with a snap and slipped on my flip-flops. “Are you ready?”

  “Sure, let me grab my phone. You’re really looking forward to this buffet, aren’t you?”

  “Darn right. I want to try one of everything.” I slipped our room key in my tote. “And I’m sure that walking to the Venetian should counteract all the calories I’m getting ready to consume.”

  “Or not, but I won’t tell if you don’t.” He frowned at a text. “Crap. There goes my witness.”

  “Did something happen? Do you need to handle it?” I wasn’t going to be upset if he said yes. Well, I wasn’t going to be visibly upset.

  “Nothing I can do today. Someone came and bailed Aaron Presley out of jail. I guess my paperwork to question him in Frank’s murder didn’t get filed in time. He’s in the wind now and I’ll probably never close the Gleason case.” He held the door open for me.

  “Isn’t that a little overdramatic? Maybe there’s another way to pin him to the crime.”

  “If there is one, let me in on it. Right now, I’m out of ideas.” He pushed the call button to the elevator. “I can’t believe they didn’t have better control on the guy.”

  We were crossing the street when I saw Cali. She was trying to flag down a cab and she had a man with her. “Is that Aaron?”

  Greg took off running, dodging through the stopped traffic. “Call 911. Tell them that I’m in pursuit of a possible homicide suspect. And stay on that side of the street.”

  A woman standing next to me laughed. “I guess he told you, now, didn’t he?”

  I ignored her and dialed. When the dispatcher came on, I moved down the street to keep Greg and Cali in my sights. “I need a car dispatched to outside the Venetian. Greg King, police officer from South Cove, California, is in pursuit of a homicide suspect from South Cove.”

  “We have a substation in the Venetian. Our officers have been alerted and will be joining Detective King shortly. Can he keep the suspect under control until then?” the dispatcher responded. I was shocked. I’d thought I would have to explain who I was and why I was calling in a foot chase. “Ma’am? Is he near the suspect?”

  “Greg can handle his own, but there are two of them.” I didn’t say one was a girl, but even girls could have a gun.

  “Just stay on the line with me,” the dispatcher tried to calm me.

  I heard a scream. Not from Cali, but from Aaron. “Oh, thank God you’re here, she’s trying to kill me.”

  “Shut up,” Cali screamed at him. “If you would have done this right, we would have been gone by now. But no, you had to stop at the casino for your lockbox.”

  “You idiot. How far did you think your inheritance was going to go once they figured out you were the one who masterminded Frank’s death?” He pointed to his leg. “The witch shot me.”

  Now Cali was waving around a pistol. “For the last time, I didn’t shoot you. This gun just went off. I hardly even touched the trigger.”

  Aaron’s response was cut short by the sound of a shot. From Cali’s gun. A window shattered in the building behind them. Then, before anyone could say anything, a team of black-suited men rushed behind Cali and took the gun from her hands. She was cuffed in record time. Then she and Aaron were taken inside the casino. I waited for the walk light, then sprinted after them. I caught Greg just as he was going into a door marked “Staff Only.”

  “Are you all right?” I hugged him. Then stepped back to make sure there weren’t any bleeding holes in my boyfriend.

  “I’m fine. Thanks for the assist. I was expecting a patrol car, but with that traffic, I don’t think they could get through. Come on, let’s see what our friends have to say.” He put his arm around me and, as we walked down the plain hall, a voice came from my phone.

  “Is everyone all right? Hello?” the dispatcher asked very loudly.

  Greg took the phone from my hand. “This is Greg King, detective from South Cove, California. Thanks for sending your men in so quickly.”

  He listened and laughed. “Well, still, I appreciate the assist.”

  He hung up and handed the phone back to me.

  “What did she say to make you laugh?”

  He opened the door marked “Security” and motioned me to go ahead of him. “She said your call wasn’t the weirdest one she’d had to deal with today. And she had just got on duty.”

  Greg checked in with the front desk and they started to lead him back to the cell area. He looked at me. “Go eat. I’ll be along in a while.”

  The receptionist at the desk stood up. “I’ll take you over to the buffet. And get you in as our treat. We appreciated the help you provided to apprehend the suspects. The alert just went out that these two have been suspected of stealing several pieces of art and multiple counts of identity theft.”

  I stepped toward her, then stopped and looked at Greg. “You’d better have this tied up by eleven. I’m not explaining to Aunt Jackie why you’re late.”

  “I’ll be there. I promise.” He pointed to the door. “Go with the nice officer. You get grumpy when you don’t eat.”

  “Whatever.” Although I was starving, I didn’t want him to think he was the boss of me or anything.

  Chapter 23

  My aunt brushed Emma hair off my dress with her hand. She really had gone all-out with one of her favorite Chanel suits. Harrold stood nearby, looking handsome in a black suit. Greg was wearing dress Dockers, but not a suit. I hoped they would forgive him. Or let him borrow a jacket if he needed one.

  “Where did you say he was?”

  Greg had arrived back at the room right at 11:15. I told him I’d come down and stall, but he needed to hurry.

  I glanced at the elevators again. The door opened and Dane the high roller stepped out. He saw me watching and pointed to my feet. I saw him mouth the words, Nice shoes.