Jingle of Coins (11 page)

That rat was probably having a good laugh right now, wondering if she was looking over her shoulder for the cops! Well, if he was trying to get her attention, he’d certainly done it, although she intended to see that he was paid back in kind. One-upmanship was one of the few adult games she enjoyed—and was good at. Oh yes, the man would definitely pay.

After signaling for her bill, she left the waiter a generous tip and exited the restaurant. A soft breeze tickled her skin when she stepped outside, reminding her of the awesome power of nature. The desert might be hotter than hell during the day, but at night it took on a life of its own.

She drove home with her windows open, savoring the drop in temperature and, once she left the strip, the clear night sky. A sleek white limousine slid to a halt behind her in the parking lot, and Kate emerged from the passenger section. Dressed in a strapless sapphire blue gown with a pleated bodice, the woman looked like a queen. Her long blonde hair was twisted into a bun on the top of her head and two corkscrew curls framed each side of her face. A sapphire pendant rimmed in silver hung at the base of her neck, suspended on a strand of diamonds the size of English peas, and a deep blue sequined purse and see-through sandals completed her outfit.

Feeling definitely grubby in her tee shirt and slacks, Emily joined Kate on the walkway. “Nice dress.”

“Thanks,” Kate said as she reached up to remove the pins holding her hair in place. Shaking the long tresses free, she massaged the top of her scalp. “This is my favorite dress. I wear it every chance I can.”

“It’s certainly beautiful,” Emily agreed, fingering the gauzy material. “You look like a fairy princess.”

“Nothing so glamorous, I’m afraid,” Kate answered with a wry grin. “Just a long, boring dinner for a visiting dignitary." She patted Emily’s arm. “Let me give you a piece of advice. If anybody offers to take you to a formal dinner for a visiting ambassador, tell them no. With a capital ‘N’!” She laughed heartily as she accompanied Emily on the walkway. “All the ambassador did was talk about how great a war hero he was and how his wife didn’t understand him.”

Emily snickered, and Kate continued, “If he’d been young and good looking, I might have been amused. But this guy was short, fat, bald, and boring. To top it off, he had body odor that smelled worse than rancid milk! It was all I could do not to gag every time he got near me, which, unfortunately, was often. That man followed me like a shadow. You wait until I see Robert again. Boy, is that rat going to pay. He deliberately set me up with that old geezer so he could flirt with the ambassador’s wife, who happens to be a wealthy heiress, some twenty-five years younger than her husband. And—she doesn’t even smell!”

The pained look on Kate’s face as she described her smelly admirer was funnier than her story, and Emily laughed as she tried to imagine Kate holding her breath most of the night. “Sounds like you had your hands full. Glad I wasn’t there.”

“Next time, I’ll be sure to let you take my place so you can get in on all the fun.”

“No, thanks. I’ll pass,” Emily retorted. “Did I tell you that I start my new job tomorrow? As of today, I’m the newest floral designer for the Emerald Lagoon Hotel and Casino.”

Chapter Eleven

The gentle warmth of the sun’s rays dancing on her cheeks woke Emily from a dreamless slumber. She jerked upright when she realized that she hadn’t heard the alarm. Seven thirty! Damn—she’d have to hurry to make it to work on time.

Emily pulled her Jeep into an open space in the casino parking lot, aware that she’d probably be asked to move her car once she officially started. She switched off the engine, took a deep breath, and hurried down the maze of tiled hallways that led to the florist shop.

The clerk she’d met previously was behind the counter, and the shop was full of customers. She waited until the young woman had a spare moment, then walked over to the register. “Hello. I’m Emily Sane,” she said, extending her hand. “Remember me? I’m supposed to start work this morning.”

“Thanks. The prices are under the arrangements, and the register automatically figures the tax. Call me if you have any problems.”

Three more customers walked into the shop, and Emily struggled to keep her composure while answering questions about various arrangements. This must be why Clarise hired her so quickly. If this early morning rush was anything to go by, she and Sara were going to have their hands full.

Sara emerged with a box filled with bouquets of yellow roses, purple irises, and baby’s breath, and placed it on the counter. She disappeared into the back and returned with a second carton brimming over with ribbons and bows. While Sara inventoried the contents against an order sheet, Emily waited on an elderly man dressed in a black pin stripe suit and orchid silk shirt. Unlike the other customers, who’d either charged their flowers or paid with a check, he laid two one hundred-dollar bills on the counter. Picking up the money, Emily rang up the purchase and handed him eighty-seven dollars and fifty-nine cents in change. He walked away, and she stuffed the hundred dollar bills under the plastic coin drawer that fit inside the register. Just when she thought she had a moment to catch her breath, four more customers walked into the shop. Sara eventually returned from her deliveries, and once the last customer left, the two women took a much-deserved break.

“Is it always this busy?” Emily asked, glancing at the bare shelves on either side of the room.

“It didn’t used to be, but since we started the Gondola Weddings, we can’t keep enough bouquets and flowers on hand,” Sara replied. “The couples keep coming in. You should see some of the stuff they buy. We’ve been run off our feet trying to keep the shelves stocked. I’m sure glad you’re here.”

“I’ll help any way I can,” Emily replied, glancing toward the door. “I don’t mean to change the subject, but Clarise said she’d meet me at ten. Do you have any idea where she is? She said I’m supposed to go to some kind of orientation.”

Sara reached under the counter, removed a chunk of pineapple from a plastic zip lock bag, and stuffed it in her mouth. “She’s upstairs. Some big management meeting,” she said between bites. “There’s no telling how long she’ll be tied up. Orientation always starts at one and lasts four hours. If Clarise isn’t back by then, I’ll take you. You get to sign a lot of paperwork and watch two or three really boring films, so be prepared to be bored out of your mind.”

Emily grinned and declined Sara’s offer of pineapple. “Thanks. I appreciate the warning.” She edged off the stool and stared at the flowers sitting in the refrigeration unit. “Do you have any arrangements I can make? I’ll be glad to start on them. I’m kind of anxious to get my feet wet.”

Sara slid off her stool. “Cool! I hate doing bridal bouquets. We have one wedding tomorrow and two the day after. I’ll pull the flowers and show you what the brides ordered. The bouquets aren’t difficult. I’m no expert, so I only show the brides pictures of the ones I know how to make,” she added with a sly grin. “No sense showing them what they can’t have, right?”

Emily laughed. “You’re too funny, Sara.”

“Well, now that you’re here, we can start showing them all the bouquet pictures. Maybe we’ll even increase our sales.” She paused, scratched her head, then glanced back at Emily. “On second thought, maybe that’s not such a good idea. We’re already swamped. What will we do if business increases?”

Emily shook her head and smoothed the layers of tissue paper stacked on the edge of the counter. “Work harder, I guess. That reminds me. One of the customers gave me a couple of hundred-dollar bills. I stuffed them under the coin tray. Was that okay?”

Sara nodded. “Sure, that’s fine. You checked to make sure they weren’t counterfeit, right?”

“Oops. Uh, nooo…Was I supposed to?”

Sara smacked her forehead with her palm. “Crap. I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about that. I sure hope they’re okay.” She set her bucket of flowers onto the counter, then dashed to the register. Opening the drawer, she pulled out the hundred-dollar bills and held them up to the light. “Oh my God, they’re counterfeit,” she whispered in a horrified voice.

Emily’s stomach churned. “Oh no. I can’t believe I’m going to get fired my first day on the job.”

Sara slowly placed the bills back into the register and closed the drawer. “I don’t think they’ll fire you since one of the things they teach you in orientation is how to check for counterfeit money. The easiest way to check for validity is to make sure the money has an inscribed security thread that runs vertically. The other thing you’ve got to watch for is the microprinting. That’s supposed to be on the rim of the portrait.” She sat on her stool and chewed her fingernails. “The hotel’s been getting a lot of phony money lately; there’s been a big push to make sure that anybody who handles money checks to make sure it’s real—before the customer walks.”

“Damn it. It never occurred to me to check for counterfeit bills.” Emily stared at Sara for a few moments, then snapped her fingers. “If it’s any help, I can describe the man who gave them to me.”

Sara lifted her head and stared. “We were really busy. Are you sure you can remember what he looked like?”

“I’m positive. I’m really good at remembering details,” Emily replied matter-of-factly. “It comes from being an artist. I studied people’s faces when I was doing portraits, and it stuck with me.”

Sara dialed an extension, spoke with someone for a few minutes, then hung up. “I’ve called security.” She pointed to the camera mounted in the corner of one wall. “They can show you the security film, and you can identify him from that.”

“When do I have to go see them?” Emily asked in a somber voice.

“Right away.” Sara patted her arm. “Don’t worry,” she soothed as a uniformed guard entered the shop. She pointed to the guard. “That’s Ben. He’s here to escort you to the security chief’s office.”

Emily’s heart thumped. This was only her first day on the job, and she was already being escorted to the head of security! God, how much worse could things get?

The guard chatted with Sara for a few minutes, then motioned for Emily to follow. He remained silent as they rode the elevator, and once they reached the security area, directed Emily to a chair in the reception area while he disappeared down a hallway. A few moments later, a short, rotund man with a cigar stuck in his mouth walked over and introduced himself.

“I’m Dan Keener, Head of Security,” he said, removing the cigar that dangled precariously on the edge of his lip. “Come with me.”

Emily willed her feet to move forward. She followed Chief Keener into a private office and perched on the edge of a visitor chair. The room fell silent as Keener stared at her, and she clenched her fingers into tight balls as she waited for him to make the first move.

“I understand this is your first day.”

She nodded, then found her voice. “Yes. The shop was swamped, so Sara asked if I could help out on the register while she finished up a wedding order.”

He nodded. “Do you remember who gave you the counterfeit bills?”

Emily unclenched her hands and leaned forward, resting her fingers on the edge of his desk. “Yes,” she said eagerly, glad finally to be of assistance. “He was an older gentleman, with white hair. The front part of his head was bald, and the sides were slicked over his ears. His eyes were blue, and he had a white mustache and bushy eyebrows. He also had a small scar on his left cheekbone.”

“You certainly can remember a lot,” the security chief observed in a chilly voice. “Especially for your first day in a busy shop. How’s that?”

Emily felt an iron fist clamp around her heart. He thought she was making everything up! She counted to ten, then launched into her explanation. “I used to be an artist until a car accident took away my ability to paint. Over the years I’ve studied lots of people’s faces, and it sorta stuck with me. Besides, he stood out like a sore thumb, dressed in a black pin stripe suit when everybody else was in shorts, tee shirts, and sandals.”

Chief Keener scratched his head. “I see.” He stood up and walked over to a VCR. “We should get the security tape in a few minutes. Would you mind pointing him out?”

“No, of course not.” She studied his face for a few minutes, then looked down at her lap. “Are you going to fire me because I took counterfeit money?” she asked in a low voice.

“Not today, Miss Sane. However, if this happens again, you will be fired.”

Emily lifted her gaze to his, grateful for the reprieve. “Thank you.”

“You’ll have to talk to the Secret Service Agent who’ll be giving the counterfeit training this afternoon,” he said as he motioned for a guard to bring the tape. “His name is Sam Dozer, and he’s been working with all the employees. Your description of the man, plus the tape we have should be a big help. If nothing else, at least it will give the Secret Service a face to look for while they try to figure out who’s behind all this.”

Emily waited in silence as the tape started, then walked over to the television screen when the counterfeiter appeared. “That’s him,” she announced, her voice an excited whisper. “Look, you can see him putting the money on the counter.”

A few minutes later Keener switched off the tape. “Thanks for your help. You can go back to the shop. We’re done.”

“No problem.” She started for the door, then swung around. “I will never accept another hundred-dollar bill again without checking it,” she said in a low voice.