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Authors: Kimberly Reid

BOOK: Creeping with the Enemy
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Chapter 27
W
hile we kill time working on MJ's bio homework and watching a
Murder, She Wrote
marathon until Lana comes back to the hotel room, I try to convince MJ she made the right decision coming with Lana and me to Vegas. With most people, I can run a con as well as any professional, but MJ isn't buying my story.
“You know how I feel about snitching. Now I'm working with the cops? If the Homies ever found out ...”
“How would they?”
“The only reason you and the cops are here is because of information I got from the Homies.”
MJ gets up to look in the minibar refrigerator for the umpteenth time. It's killing her that Coke and Oreos are just there for the taking—well, for six dollars each—and she can't touch them. Lana swore us off the minibar.
“I would have figured it out eventually. Your information just helped speed things up. And that's what we'll say if it ever came out you helped, which it never will.”
“Don't see why I needed to be here, anyway. Ever heard of the telephone?”
“They don't want to talk about this over the phone.”
“Please—cops don't use phones?”
“It isn't just the cops. The feds are working on this,” I say, which I shouldn't have.
“Just call your mother and have her shoot me now,” she says, slamming the little refrigerator door closed. “Might as well die at the hand of someone I know.”
“You aren't going to die. Not by a Vegas Homie sneaking up on you, anyway.”
“How then? You know something I don't?”
See, this is what I mean about not being good with the people part of detective work. I never seem to say the right thing. Most times the truth works, so I give it a try.
“You're not here because the phone lines might be tapped or because the feds asked for you. I wanted you to come because I'm afraid to do this. Lana thinks I can help her get Cole, talk Bethanie into meeting me and get her in a position for the cops to rescue her. I'm a thinker. The very thought of getting that close to the actual thing going down makes me want to puke.”
“So you want me here to have your back.”
“Yeah.”
“You could've just said that from the beginning.”
“No one likes to admit they're a wuss.”
“You do. You're always saying that, how you're afraid. But seriously, you're kind of badass and don't even know it.”
“Yeah, right.”
“You took down a burglary ring. A thug pulled a gun on you but you're here to tell about it. Now you're helping the cops find a fugitive witness and you're about to save your friend from a mob hit man. I'm sorry, but all that is way badass.”
We're both quiet for a few minutes, watching Jessica Fletcher nab yet another killer in Cabot Cove, because we don't know what to say after such a Hallmark moment. Well, I don't imagine Hallmark would have a moment that involved a mob hit man and gangsters pulling nine millimeters, but our version does and it's just kind of awkward. While MJ flips around the channels, I take a look at the magazines on the coffee table. From the looks of them, all there is to do in Las Vegas is gamble, shop, and eat. I imagine it would be smart to do them in reverse order though; the people who gamble first probably don't have any money left to do the other two.
When I land on a full page ad for our hotel, I realize I've sent Lana and her team to stake out the wrong place. Based on the noise in the background when Bethanie called me and what I read on her reverse bucket list, my best guess was she told Cole she wanted to stay at Circus Circus, still trying to do all the things she never got to do as a kid when her father was dragging her around to illegal card games. Her parents had confirmed for me that she still hadn't been to the circus that they knew of (or the zoo, or Disney on Ice—not that I'm being judgmental), but I'd never asked them if she'd been to an amusement park. Given their track record, I'm thinking it isn't a stretch to say she hasn't.
“Bethanie's not at the Circus Circus hotel.”
“So why'd you tell your mom she was?”
“Because I just figured it out.”
“Where is she, then?”
“Right here, same place we are. See?” I say, showing her the ad. “There's a roller coaster inside this building. Who would have thought you could put a roller coaster inside a building?”
“I guess if they can build the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the pyramids all on one street, they could put a roller coaster inside a building.”
“Come on, MJ. We have to go.”
“Go where? I'm about to eat those Oreos and I don't care what your mom says.”
“I'll buy you a whole box of Oreos downstairs. We need to find Bethanie and Cole.”
MJ looks at me like I've lost it, but she follows me out the door.
“So what are we gonna do if they're here? It's not like we can knock on two thousand doors.”
“It's better than sitting in our room. There's pretty much no chance of seeing them in there. We'll call Lana, she'll get some of the team moved over here, and in the meantime, we'll watch the lobby.”
Soon as we get off the elevator on the main floor, I see how stupid my plan is. First, there is more than one way to get into the hotel and we can't watch them both. Second, I think every tourist in Las Vegas is probably walking around in the main lobby alone. MJ and I sit down next to some plants and a waterfall and I give Lana a call. Once she and some more cops get here, my plan will be a lot more effective.
“What did she say?” MJ asks when I end our call.
“She'll be here in about fifteen minutes. They're going to leave a detail at the other hotel, but she said we have to follow any lead.”
“So we just wait here for her?”
“Don't be so nervous. The police aren't looking for you, remember?”
“Right. It's just a habit. When I hear the cops are coming, I'm used to running, not waiting around to give 'em a tour.”
Even though it's nearly impossible to pick someone out of the hordes, I give it a try. MJ is pretty useless in helping me because she's never seen Cole or Bethanie except in photos, which is never the same as knowing someone for real. Especially in this crowd.
“So how many are coming? That will be a lot of doors to knock on.”
“She's bringing a subpoena to make management show her the guest list.”
“Like they checked in under their real names.”
“Good point. But they should at least narrow it down to the dates people checked in. Maybe if I see the list even a fake name will jump out at me.”
We watch people moving past, getting on the elevator, getting off, half of them drunk and it's only noon. These Vegas people are brilliant, giving away free alcohol so people can lose their money even faster.
“You really think this dude won't hurt your friend?” MJ asks, startling me because I was so focused on watching the people filing past, hoping I might catch a glimpse of them.
“I don't know for sure. But I didn't get that feeling from him, and I've been around enough scary people to know. Mostly I'm just hoping he won't,” I say, realizing that my feeling about Cole might be more wishful thinking than an honest-to-God hunch.
“You didn't get that feeling from Donnell, and he ended up trying to kill you.”
“I wasn't seeing him straight,” I say, never taking my eyes off the crowd. “When you grow up with a kid, play dodgeball with him and drink his mother's lemonade on a hot day, you figure he won't grow up to kill you.”
“I tried to warn you about him.”
“I'll listen to you next time.”
People keep walking by. I figure the ones who look sober and happy probably just arrived. They're sober because they haven't found out about the free alcohol yet and happy because they still have all their money. Next comes a tour guide trying to yell over the slot machine that has loudly repeated “WHEEL OF FORTUNE” about a thousand times since I sat down next to it. Her group is beyond geriatric, so they're having a hard time hearing her. For that matter,
I'm
having a hard time hearing, and she's standing right in front of me. I'm about to suggest to MJ that we find a quieter spot to run our surveillance when I spot Bethanie and Cole heading for the elevator.
“There they are. Bethanie's okay!” I say, relieved and happy, but only for a second. “Oh snap, MJ. Lana's still ten minutes away.”
“What do we do?”
“We follow them. Bethanie is fine now, but who's to say this is not the day he's going to do something. Even once Lana gets here, she'll have to give the subpoena to the hotel, go over the list. That'll take forever. Let's just follow and we'll call her once we see which floor they get off on.”
I'm saying all this to MJ as we walk to the elevator, not noticing that the geriatric tour group has just separated us. It isn't until I'm in the back of the huge elevator and the doors have closed that I realize MJ isn't on with me. It's just me, Cole, Bethanie, and half a retirement home.
Chapter 28
W
hen the elevator doors open on the fifth floor, Bethanie and Cole, who have been silent at the front of the car during the short ride, get off. I'm grateful for the tour group between us because Cole and Bethanie didn't have a clue I was just three feet behind them. I wasn't able to see Bethanie leave the elevator, but Cole was the tallest person onboard, and I definitely saw him leave. As soon as the doors open again, I get off with half the tour group on the tenth floor and look for the nearest stairwell. It takes forever to run down to the fifth floor, and the whole time I wonder why they didn't request a higher level. I'd have expected Bethanie to demand nothing less than a penthouse suite, until I remember Mr. Larsen put a lock on her allowance.
Now that I'm on the fifth floor, I'm not sure what I should do. Call Lana and then stake out the hallway until she gets here? Tell MJ where I am and wait for her so we can confront Cole? Since the first idea is the least confrontational, I go with that one. As I'm dialing Lana's number, I get an idea of how to find Bethanie and Cole's room, assuming they're sharing one. I end the call to Lana and dial the prepaid phone Bethanie last called me from, hoping she hasn't already thrown that one away, too.
I don't hear anything on the first ring so I start walking down the hall, slowing down at each set of doors listening for a ring. On the third ring, I hear something but haven't pinpointed the room when my call goes to voice mail. She's got a nerve ignoring my calls, not that I didn't expect it. Bethanie must know by now that I'm going to curse her out and tell her to get home if she does pick up, which she won't, so I call again.
This time I'm able to tell the exact room the ring is coming from—room 501, north end of the hallway, last room before the door to the stairwell. Cole is smart. He has a fast getaway if the cops—or the bad guys—get between him and the elevator. That also explains the low floor. He could be out of the room and downstairs mixed into the crowd on the casino floor in under a minute. They must be sharing 501 because Cole wouldn't have time to grab Bethanie from another room and make his escape. Amazing how much cops and bad guys think alike.
I listen at the door while I text MJ my location, ready to jump into the stairwell if the voices get close to the door. The voices are muffled, but I do hear Bethanie say my name. She's probably telling Cole who was calling her. I finish the text to MJ and I'm about to start one to Lana when I hear Bethanie scream.
Okay, now what? Run? Panic? No, I'll bang on the door and demand they let me in. So what—Cole can do to me whatever he just did to make Bethanie scream like that? That's when I spot the fire alarm on the wall. I break the thin glass plate with my phone, pull the alarm, and wait on one side of the door, hoping Bethanie and Cole will come out of their rooms like everyone else on the floor is doing. I only have to wait a few seconds before Cole steps out into the hall and looks the opposite direction from where I'm standing, toward the elevator. I take the opportunity to kick him hard as I can in the back of his knees, catching him completely off guard. Now he's on the ground, and probably has no idea what hit him.
Bethanie comes out of the room just as I land my kick.
“Come on, that'll only give us about thirty seconds,” I say as I grab her arm and start pulling her toward the elevators. She doesn't put up any resistance, probably because she's still so shocked to find me in Las Vegas, at her hotel door taking down her boyfriend/kidnapper during an apparent fire.
“I thought you weren't supposed to take the elevator in case of fire,” Bethanie says. She must be truly dazed and confused if that's the only issue she has with all of this.
“You're right, the elevator is taking too long,” I say, wondering why I hadn't used the very escape plan I figured out Cole had come up with. I should have taken the stairs, but now the doors to the stairwells at either end of the hall are jammed with people trying to escape the nonexistent fire. Only problem is I don't see Cole anymore. He must have gone down the stairs with the crowd. The cops can look for him later; at least I have Bethanie, and after I give her a quick once-over, I'm relieved to see she looks fine. I don't know why she screamed, but it looks like the fire alarm stopped Cole from doing whatever he was about to do to her.
Just then, the elevator doors open to reveal two scary-looking dudes.
“That's the guy from the bodega robbery,” I say at the very same instant Bethanie says, “That's the guy from my parking spot. You're in the pictures, too. That's how I know you.”
I look down the hall and it's now empty in both directions. It's just the bad guys, me, and Bethanie, and I'm really wishing we hadn't just revealed that we know exactly who they both are. That's the kind of thing I hate in movies, and makes me want to yell at the soon-to-be victim how stupid they were for letting the bad guys know they know they're the bad guys. But now I see how it can happen.
Bethanie and I start running toward the stairwell on the other end of the hall, but before we can reach it, the bad guys catch us. Bodega robber has me by the arm, and the other guy has Bethanie.
“Wait, I know who you're looking for,” I say.
“We have who we're looking for,” says bodega robber.
“You were looking for me?”
“I don't even know who you are,” says the other one. “Her—we're looking for her.”
Any other time, my feelings might be hurt, but right now I'm more afraid of the bruise bodega man is going to leave on my arm, and probably worse.
“No, I mean Cole. That's who you really want, because he betrayed you and the Family.”
The two guys look about as confused as Bethanie. Yeah, that'll teach you not to know who I am.
“Am I right?” I ask, but don't wait for an answer. “Of course I'm right. I left him doubled over in pain in front of room 501. Take him and let us go.”
“He ain't there now.”
“Because he ran back into the room.”
“During a fire?”
“There's no fire. I pulled the alarm, and I told him so.”
“DeLong wants the phone. Where is it?” parking spot guy asks Bethanie.
“Cole took it from me,” Bethanie says.
Why is everybody and their mother jonesing for her phone? Do they think the cubic zirconium are really diamonds, too?
“Cole also has the ransom,” I lie, “and isn't that what you really want—Cole and the money?”
“What's going on, Chanti? What ransom?”
“Shut up, Bethanie. You're just delirious and confused. Cole must have drugged you,” I say, but the bad guys aren't buying it.
“Thanks for the tip, but we want Cole, the money, and the girl,” says parking spot guy as he starts pulling us down the hall toward room 501. “Since you seem to know so much, we'll need to take you with us, too.”
As I'm being dragged to room 501 where Cole certainly is not hiding, I wonder how I'll explain that to the bad guys when we get there. Just then, Cole steps out of the stairwell and yells something I can't make out, but the bodega robber takes off running down the hall. At the same time the parking spot guy lets go of Bethanie to follow his partner, the elevator pings its arrival. I start heading for it, hoping the doors stay open long enough for Bethanie and I to jump on, but Lana and Falcone step out of it. Now they're separating the two bad guys—bodega man between Cole and the cops, and parking spot guy between the cops and us. I can see on her face Lana is working out how she'll run this, but before she can even draw her weapon, the bad guy has already run back to Bethanie and me. His gun was already drawn. He has the advantage.
“Okay, this is how it's gonna go down—” the bad guy starts, but doesn't get to finish.
The only thing that goes down is him. MJ has tackled him from behind and is now sitting on his back and applying a choke hold until Lana can get him into handcuffs. Falcone takes off in the other direction after Cole and bodega man, who are probably long gone, lost in the crowd on the casino floor.

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