Read Death in the Casino: Target Practice Mysteries 5 Online
Authors: Nikki Haverstock
Tags: #cozy mystery
Death in the Casino: Target Practice Mysteries 5
To my father, who told me bedtime stories about Nikki and the magical horse when I was a little girl.
When opportunity "nocks"...
A tournament in Vegas means gambling, archery... and murder? The last thing Di, her roommate Mary, and Great Dane Moo expect when they arrive in Sin City is to be swept up in another investigation. But when friend Loggin fears he might be the next victim, the competition takes a back seat to finding a killer.
A wholesome cozy murder for every sleuth in the family
This is the fifth book in the Target Practice Mysteries series.
Target Practice Mysteries 5
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CHAPTER ONE
Moo, my Great Dane buddy, and I pressed our noses to the window of the Westmound Center for Competitive Shooting Sports's van as we flew down the freeway past the glittering casinos of Las Vegas. I imagined how they would sparkle at night.
"Just a few more exits to the casino," Jess called over her shoulder as she maneuvered to the right lane.
Jess, a friend from college who was now my boss at the Westmound Training Center for Competitive Shooting Sports, was driving the center's van to our first travel tournament of the year. Next to me was my roommate and coworker, Mary. Moo was on my other side. Tiger and Minx, two of the on-site athletes from the center, had also hitched a ride from Wyoming to the casino just off the Vegas Strip, where the tournament was being held.
Suddenly the van was filled with the sound of chirps and beeps as several phones, including mine, alerted to a message. I pulled out my phone as Mary and Minx did the same.
I had a message from Loggin, an archer that worked for the same parent company as us, that read, "Hurry! Someone is trying to kill me."
Minx leaned her head over the back of the seat between Mary and me. "Kill him? What's the knucklehead going on about?"
Mary looked up from her phone. "Why don't you call him and see?"
Minx sat back and punched a few buttons before talking into the phone.
Tiger turned around in the front seat as our van turned down a wide road. "Another mystery, eh? We can't take you two anywhere."
I snickered at him as he turned back to his phone, where it looked like he was texting someone.
"Don't be so dramatic," said Minx. She looked at me and rolled her eyes. "We'll be there in a few minutes. I can see the casino now. Bye."
I turned back to the front of the van as we went through an intersection and approached a large casino. It was several miles from the Vegas Strip, which meant there was ample parking. A parking garage was off to one side, but Jess pulled into the open parking area in front of the casino. On the electronic marquee beneath the name of the casino flashed the name of the tournament, the Casino Cup.
"Casino Cup?" I turned to Mary. "I didn't know this tournament actually had a name. You've just been calling it the Vegas tournament."
Mary unbuckled and reached to slide the door open. "This is the first year it's been called that. There are a ton of new changes: bigger prize money, sanctioned betting on the tournament, and the new name." She leaped out of the car, twisted, and stretched.
Moo was two steps behind her. I grabbed his leash as it snaked out and was dragged out of the van. Once he hit the ground, he raised his nose to sniff the air, and I was able to catch my balance. Holding tightly to his leash, I reached back into the van to grab my messenger bag. The air was still cool but much warmer than the Wyoming winter we had escaped. We had left a day earlier with an overnight stop in Utah on the way down. I was almost as thrilled as Moo was to be out of the car.
I stretched down to touch my toes then fidgeted to get rid of the stitch in my side from Moo pushing up against me for hundreds of miles. Jess popped open the back of the van. Mary grabbed the bow case that we were sharing and passed me my rolling bag.
Once the van was locked up, we headed toward the casino. Minx's phone rang. "Hello. Yeah." She spun in a circle. "Where? Okay. Bye." She raised her voice to call out to us as we continued toward the entrance. "Jess, can you check in without us? Mary, Di, and I have to go meet with Loggin."
"Sure." Jess and Tiger continued walking.
"Where is he?" I looked around the parking lot, trying to spot Loggin's tall, athletic build, but except for us, the parking lot appeared empty of anyone standing around. As I spun in a circle, a dark blue truck flashed its lights.
Minx was facing the opposite direction. "He said he's in a truck."
I grabbed my bag. "Then I know where he is." Moo raced ahead, darting one way then the other as I moved toward the truck.
Loggin rolled down the window and peered around. "Are you alone?"
Minx crossed her arms. "Do you see anyone else out here? Why do you think someone is trying to kill you? "
"I don't think, I know. After a few months around these two"--he pointed at Mary and me--"I think I know when violence is about to happen."
He had a good point. "Fair enough," I said. "Can we go over to that grass? Moo's been stuck in the car for a while."
He exited the truck and gave each of us a quick hug. "I'm glad that you guys are here. Finally, people I can trust."
"Awww, Loggin, that is so sweet of you." I followed him to the back of his truck, where he pulled out a bag and a bow case. "I thought you'd been here a few days. Why aren't your things in your room?"
We fell into stride with him, and I walked double-time to keep up with his long strides. "You know I won this tournament last year, and I feel even more confident this year. The payout is
way
up this year, a hundred thousand for the men's pro division. I really want to win. I still have debts from last year."
"Even with the job at Andersson Archery?" I followed Moo onto a patch of grass while Loggin, Mary, and Minx huddled on the sidewalk.
"I've only been there for about a month. I'll eventually pay everything off, but a win will be a big load off my shoulders financially. Plus, I want to win. Twice as many guys are in our division as last year--the best from all over the world."
I nodded along. Archers, like most athletes, were competitive by nature. "This doesn't explain why you think you're in danger."
"Right. Last night a group of about twenty of us went out to eat on the strip. They ordered a round of shots, but I passed. I never drink on a competition weekend. The two buddies I was sharing a room with started to feel sick, so we left. We had parked on the other side of the road. When we started to cross, this van tried to run us down."
I turned my back on Moo so he could do his business. "It's a big city. People drive like jerks all the time."
"It wasn't an accident. I saw that van come to a complete stop then go. The license plates were gone as well, but that's not the entire story. I hear that about an hour later, another group of guys left, and one of them got hit by a white van on the same corner. He's in critical condition."
I sucked air in through my teeth. "That's pretty dang suspicious."
"And it gets worse. My two roommates were still feeling awful this morning, so I drove them over to the clinic. The doctor there thought that someone might have slipped something into their drinks. That was the final straw. They packed up and left the second they got back to the casino."
I turned to Mary and raised my eyebrows. She pursed her lips and nodded back. "Did you, your roommates, and the guy that was hit with the van have anything in common?"
"We're all shooting in the same division, the men's pro division. Clearly a competitor is trying to take us out." He looked around furtively. "I figured that you can protect me. You can be my angels, like Charlie's Angels."
I chuckled. "Loggin's Angels. You know we are always up for an adventure. So your roommates bailed. Is that why you were hiding in your car with your luggage?" I cleaned up Moo's mess and threw it in a trashcan.
He nodded. "I can't afford to put the entire room on my credit card. I'm hoping to find someone I trust to share a room with."
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and a smile broke across my face when I saw the call was from Liam. I stepped away to answer. "Hello."
Liam's muffled voice came through. "Hey, Orion, Mom, and I just landed. You there yet?" The heavy engine noise of the Westmound company jet roared in the background.
"We just got here. Jess is checking us in."
"Can she check us in as well? But only if it's convenient."
I took a few steps away and lowered my voice. "Sure, I'll run in and ask her in a second. But first, what kind of room do you and Orion have? Loggin's in a bind for a place to sleep after his roommates quit the tournament."
"Uh, hold on." His deep, rumbly voice was muffled before returning. "Tell him if he wants to dogsit Moo on Saturday evening when we take you and Mary out to dinner, then he's welcome to have the fold-out couch in our room."
"You guys are so nice."
"Only for you. We'll be there within the hour."
"I'll wait for you. Bye." After I hung up, I took a few seconds to try and wipe the smile off my face but failed. I gave up and turned back to the group.
Mary looked at me and laughed. "Let me guess. Liam's here?"
"Yes, Miss Smartypants, they should be here any minute. And I have a possible solution for Loggin if he wants, but we need to get inside so I can pass a message on to Jess. Come on." I grabbed my luggage in one hand and pulled Moo in close with the other as Loggin joined me on the sidewalk.
"What's the solution?"
"If you want and are willing to walk and watch Moo on Saturday evening, you can crash on the couch that pulls out into a bed in Liam and Orion's room."
"Seriously? That'd be awesome. You're saving me already, Princess." He tapped the automatic door button at the front of the casino.
Minx giggled behind me. "I love that my nickname for Di is catching on."
I rolled my eyes but continued to the check-in line. Nothing had been able to dissuade Minx from the nickname I hated, so I did my best to ignore it.
We all made it through the doors and halted to let our eyes adjust. The line to the front desk snaked back and forth through velvet ropes. The clanks of the slot machines filled the air. The doors were tinted, and no windows meant that the interior was insulated from any sense of time. It was like stepping into an alternate world.
Moo danced and pranced at the end of his leash. He lifted his nose in the air, and his head jerked in all directions as buzzers, bells, and machines flashed and chimed.
"We're not in Wyoming anymore, Moo." I pulled him close and patted his ribs. "Can you watch my luggage while I talk to Jess?" I shed my jacket and threw it over my bag before walking over to Jess as she approached the desk.
"Good, you're here. I'm pretty sure they will want to see Moo." She pulled out a credit card.
"Liam called. Can you check them in as well?"
"Sure." She gave the gentleman Liam's mother's name, Elizabeth Andersson, too.
He dutifully nodded. He rapidly typed in his screen and started pulling out room keys. As he did, I realized that on the front of the room keys were pictures of archers holding their bows. I turned around. There were banners with pictures of archers and the words "Casino Cup" hanging from the ceiling.
"Wow. I had no idea that the entire casino was going all out for the tournament. Or that they'd allow Moo to come."
The gentleman leaned over the counter slightly then ducked down to pull out an additional bag. "We are thrilled to have both the tournament and your dog here with us this weekend. These are additional supplies for your canine companion, including a map to all our pet facilities. Should you have an accident, there's a number you can call, and we'll handle the situation immediately."