Vegas or Bust: An Aggie Underhill Mystery (10 page)

This was the fifth casino he’d gambled in today.  He’d been sticking to the hotels on the strip and was beginning to wonder if he should branch out to some of the smaller hotels in the
older sections of Las Vegas.  Maybe his luck would be better in a smaller casino.  If he didn’t start winning big money within the next hour or two, he’d go try his luck elsewhere. 

Harold’s stomach did a flip flop as he glanced around the room at all of the gamblers around him.  His anxiety was growing.  He wasn’t particularly happy to be back in the Planet Hollywood Casino, but so far it was where he’d been the luckiest.  And he didn’t have much time to spare.  After trying out five others, he realized that his best bet would be to go back even if he didn’t want to. 

He was especially worried about running into Anita.  This morning he’d been recognized by her.  He prayed that he didn’t bump into her again or any other guests from Miriam’s wedding.  And he really hoped the nosy English woman that was always carrying around the largest most hideous purses he’d ever seen, hadn’t been invited.  She had her nose in everyone’s business on the cruise.  And the last thing he needed was for her to be bugging him when he was running out of time.  He had enough to worry about. 

What was that woman’s name again?
he wondered. 
Underhaven?  Underbridge?
  He couldn’t remember.  All he remembered was that her name was all abuzz all over the cruise ship after that jumping ship incident.  And supposedly she saved Miriam from a psychotic woman with a gun.  Not that he was happy about the reason as to why Miriam was up there to begin with.  He balled his hands up into tight fists.  Thinking of Miriam sneaking around the cruise ship behind his back with another man really made him furious.  But then again, he’d been seeing someone behind her back too.  It was his cheating and lack of attention that drove her into another man’s arms to begin with.  He knew it was his fault.  He had no one to blame but himself.  And now Miriam was in trouble and again it was his fault.  If he’d just stayed away and let her get remarried, then none of this would’ve happened.

Harold glanced at the gaming tables and hoped that one of them called out to him. 
One of these tables has to be good luck,
he thought.  But it was hard to have good luck when his stomach was all tied up in knots.  He had so much at stake.  He wondered how he got himself into this mess.  He should’ve just stayed home.  But now there was no going back.  If he was ever going to live with his conscience, he had to at least try his best. 

Taking in a few deep breaths, Harold decided to try his luck at a Black Jack table.  His last hundred dollars was in his pocket.  Both his checking and savings account were depleted.  Next he’d have to call the bank and see if he could take money out against his car or maybe they’d give him a loan.  Frowning, he knew that wouldn’t happen.  His credit had been ruined during the divorce.  The bank wasn’t going to give him a penny.  Besides, he didn’t have any time to spare. 

Sliding onto a chair in front of a Black Jack table, the dealer smiled as he pushed a twenty dollar bill her way.  She gave him four chips and he hoped for Miriam’s and his sake that they were lucky chips.

Chapter 10

After getting the run around, Aggie and Roger sulked out of the office.  The head of security said that he’d heard all about the man that threw up in the casino, but didn’t know much else.  He made a few phones calls, that Aggie felt took forever, and then told them he had no idea what had happened to Jack.  As far as he knew, no one working there had escorted Jack from the casino.  Not any of their men, anyhow. 

Aggie pushed for the head of security to play back the security tapes to see if he recognized either of the two men that Jack left the casino with, but he refused.  She wondered, by the way he’d gotten quiet when she described the men, if he actually knew them and didn’t want to admit it.  Aggie threatened to go to the police, but the head of security had agreed with her and told her that she should do it.  Her threat didn’t quite have the effect she was looking for.  She was hoping for instant action. 

“Why don’t you call Tom?” Roger said.  “Maybe he can put the heat on the security team here.”

“Doubt it,” she sighed. 

“I’m sure Tom has friends working in Las Vegas.  He seems to have cop friends everywhere.  Give him a call.”

Aggie gnawed on her bottom lip.  She couldn’t go to Tom for help, especially since he advised her to not get involved.  If she had to, she’d use him as a last resort.  But until then, she’d keep this to herself.

After a second or two of silence, Roger knew something was up.  “Tom told you to stay out of this, didn’t he?”  He tapped the toe of his brown loafer on the tile floor.  They were now standing in the lobby of the casino.  Roger studied Aggie for a moment and twitched his mustache.  “He said to let the police handle Miriam’s disappearance, didn’t he?  He doesn’t believe that anything happened to her.”

“Well,” Aggie said.  “He didn’t exactly say he didn’t believe that Miriam wasn’t kidnapped.”

“What exactly
did
Tom say?” Roger probed.  “Come on, tell me.”

Aggie looked around the casino to avoid eye contact with him.  She didn’t want to tell him that he was correct and that Tom told her not to get involved.  And that’s when she spotted the top of a balding head with a comb over.  It was Miriam’s ex-husband, Harold Smith.

“I can tell by your silence that Tom told you to stay out of this, didn’t he?  He believes Miriam got cold feet.  I can’t say I disagree with him.  After meeting Jack’s mother, yikes!  I’d run away, too!  The woman is a total…”

“Not now,” Aggie said, clutching Roger’s upper arm and turning him around.

“Ouch!  That hurt!  Why’d you grab me like that?”  Roger complained, looking at his arm while rubbing his sore bicep.  “You put a permanent crease in my shirt.” 

“Look over there,” Aggie said, sternly.

“I have delicate skin,” he said, still perturbed.  “If you creased my shirt just think of what you did to my skin.  You probably left a bruise.”

“Oh, hush,” Aggie said, nodding in Harold’s direction.  “Just look over there, will you?”

“What?  Where?” he asked, staring out into the casino.  “What am I looking for?  Is Jack out there?”

“No, dear,” Aggie said.  “Look past the slot machines and over at the table straight ahead.”

Roger squinted.  It took him a moment to register what it was Aggie was so excited about.  “Is that Harold Smith?”

“I believe so,” Aggie said.  “Shall we go get a closer look?”

“Yeah,” Roger agreed, forgetting about his arm and his hunger pangs.  “I guess he was on the guest list after all.  Unless he’s here to crash Miriam’s wedding.”

“Well, let’s go find out.  If he showed up to crash the wedding, I’d say he did a pretty good job of it by making the bride disappear.”

Roger took the lead with Aggie trailing right behind him.  They came up behind Harold and waited for him to finish his hand.

“Twenty three; bust,” said the dealer.

Harold sighed while staring at his cards.  The dealer swept them away and Harold pushed another red, five dollar chip across the green felt tabletop.  There was an empty chair on each side of him. 

“Two more,” Roger said to the dealer while sitting down to Harold’s left.  Harold turned to look at him and stared hard.  It was apparent that he was trying to place where he knew Roger from.  Roger smiled.  Aggie took a seat to Harold’s right.  She plopped her large silver pocketbook on the table in front of him.  She began to dig around for her matching silver wallet so she could pay the dealer.

Harold’s eyes grew large when he realized where he knew Roger from.  The enormous purse had jogged his memory.  He looked over at Aggie and his jaw dropped.  She was the last person he wanted to see.  “I think I’m out,” he said to the dealer and started to get up as she returned his chip.  “I’ll try my luck elsewhere.” 

“Not so fast,” Roger said, putting his hand on Harold’s shoulder and nodding at Aggie.  “We have a lot of catching up to do.  Sit back down.  We’ll pay for this round.”

“Thanks, Roger,” Aggie said sarcastically as she dug through her wallet.  “Let me get some cash.”  She passed a twenty to the dealer who in turn gave each of them each a chip and Aggie two. 

“Um… all right, thanks,” Harold said, sitting back down.  He squirmed a bit, glancing over at Aggie. 

“So, dear,” Aggie said, “you’re Miriam’s ex-husband, right?”

Harold cleared his throat.  “Um, yeah, I’m her ex.”

“I thought so.  I recognize you from the cruise.  Must be hard coming to her wedding,” Aggie said, shaking her head.  “I don’t know if I’d be able to do that.”
“Yeah,” he said, nodding.  “It’s been hard, but I believe in letting bygones be bygones.”

“That’s really big of you,” Roger said.  “I’d never go to my ex’s wedding.  I’d rather drop dead.”

“You have an ex?” Aggie asked, leaning forward to look past Harold and get a better look at Roger’s face.  She’d never thought of Roger being with someone.  She wasn’t sure why, but she had a hard time picturing him with anyone. 

“Yes,” Roger said, snidely.  “I do.  Doesn’t everyone?”

“Huh.  I suppose so, dear,” was all she could think to say.  Sitting back in her chair she directed the conversation back to Harold.  “It’s such a shame about what happened at the wedding.”

The dealer opened a new pack of cards and began to shuffle them. 

Squeezing his eyes shut, he could feel beads of sweat popping out on his forehead.  “Um, yeah…shame.”

The dealer dealt the cards. 

“Poor Jack being stood up at the altar.  I felt so bad for him,” Aggie continued.  “Stay,” she said to the dealer and then continued chatting.  “Some people say she got cold feet, but I don’t think that’s what happened.  What about you, dear?  What do you think?  Do you think she got cold feet?” 

“Umm.”  Harold scrunched up his forehead as he studied his cards.  “Hit me.”

The dealer dealt him another card causing him to bust. 

Roger tapped at his card giving the dealer a silent command to give him another card.  “Stay,” he said.  His cards totaled eighteen.

The dealer’s cards totaled sixteen.  She kept dealing until she bust at twenty four. 

“I win!” Aggie exclaimed.  Her cards totaled twenty. 

“I’m out,” Harold said, turning around in his seat and getting up.

“Leaving so soon?” Aggie asked.

“There you are!” Anita said, excitedly.  “And you found Harold!  How wonderful!  I’ve been looking all over for you!  The wedding party is getting together for dinner.” 

“Dinner?” Aggie asked.  “That hardly seems appropriate under the circumstances.”  She and Roger slid off their seats. 

“Oh, don’t be silly,” Anita said, pushing past Aggie and looping her arm through Harold’s.  His eyes bulged with surprise.  “You
are
coming with us, aren’t you?”  Anita batted her long, naturally thick lashes at him.

“I, uh, I don’t really have the time,” he said.

Anita, not listening to a word he had to say, began talking his ear off.  “It was very brave of you to be here for Miriam’s wedding.  I know how much that must’ve hurt, even though she ended up leaving poor, poor Jack at the altar.  But I have this friend I met today while out souvenir shopping.  Her name is Paula.  She’s both single and beautiful.  She has long flowing blonde hair…”

Aggie and Roger followed behind Anita as she dragged Harold out of the casino and toward the elevators. 

“Do you know if Jack returned?” Aggie asked Anita while they waited in the hallway for the next available lift. 

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Anita said and tsk, tsk, tsked.  “I went to his room to see if he wanted to join us all for dinner and Betty told me what happened.  Poor
guy.  I bet he’s out drowning his sorrow at some bar.  I told his mother not to be surprised if he comes back to his room completely plastered with some slutty woman on the rebound.” 

“You said that?” Roger asked, jaw dropping.  “To his mother?” 

“Of course she did,” Aggie muttered, rolling her eyes. 

“Why not?  It true!” Anita sang.  “Men always look for a rebound to mend a broken heart.  Besides, it seemed to cheer her up.  No harm done.”

“And I thought
I
was callous,” Roger said.  “I can’t believe she was okay with that!”

“Oh, yes. She was as happy as a clam by the time I left.  She’s even going out to dinner with us.” 

“I, uh, I really should get back to…” Full of anxiety, Harold glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the casino.

“Silly,” Anita said, holding his arm hostage.  “The wedding didn’t happen.  Cheer up!  Besides, you need to get over Miriam.  As I told you, I met the perfect person for you.  You’ll
love
Paula!”

But will Paula love Harold?
Aggie thought. 
Poor Paula.
 
And did Harold have anything to do with Miriam’s disappearance?

As the doors to the elevator to their right slid open, Roger asked, “And where are we all meeting for dinner?  I’m starved.”

“What a silly thing to ask?” Anita giggled.  “The buffet, of course!”

Rolling his eyes, Roger groaned, “Figures.”

***

Jack was in a stupor but it wasn’t due to his drinking.  He had been kicked out of a car and left on the main strip of Las Vegas with a blindfold on.  He’d been told to count to one hundred before taking it off otherwise they’d kill Miriam.  His mind was racing.  So much was going through it at one time.  There was no possible way he could count to twenty let alone one hundred.  Loud music penetrated his ears and then stopped.

Was the car gone?
he wondered. 
Could he take his blindfold off?
  God, he wished he hadn’t given up smoking.  He was in desperate need of a cigarette.

“Hey!” a man addressed him.  “Hey, buddy, you all right?”

Deciding the coast was clear; Jack slipped off the blindfold and looked down the street.  There was no sign of the guys that had dumped him here.  He looked around and realized he was on the main strip in Vegas.  And being a Saturday night, the strip was busy and bustling with tourists.  He turned around to see a large pirate ship behind him in front of the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.  People were standing around talking and pointing at the ship.  A couple, walking arm in arm, not paying attention to where they were going bumped into him, apologized, and then continued walking.

“You okay?” asked the man.  It took Jack a second to realize someone was talking to him.  He looked over at a friendly looking African American man standing near a fence in front of the pirate ship.  He was holding a large instrument. 

“Yeah, I think so,” Jack said, coughing.  His throat hurt and his mouth and tongue felt dry.  He was having a hard time getting his voice to work.  His legs wobbled and threatened to collapse beneath his weight.  “You don’t by any chance have any smokes on you?”

“No, sorry, man.  I gave it up,” said the musician.  “Good thing I was playing here to see what happened to you.  I normally play on the other side of the street.  A little ways past the guy dressed as Bumblebee the Transformer.  Have you seen him?  He’s great.”

“Um, no, I haven’t.”

“Hey, do you need any help?  You in trouble?  I’ll call the police.”

“No!” Jack said, quickly.  “No police.”  He’d been warned that if the police got involved, Miriam would be killed.  “I just need a cigarette that’s all.” 

“You sure, man?  You don’t look so good.  I’ve got my cell on me.  It’s no problem calling them.”

“I’m fine.  Um…just point me in the direction of Planet Hollywood.”

“Sure.  It’s that way.”  The man pointed down the street in the opposite direction.  “You don’t look like you’re in any condition to walk.  Those guys practically pushed you out of the car.  Do you need some cash for a cab?”

“Um…no, thanks…” Jack began walking in the direction of the hotel just as the Pirate ship lit up and a crowd began to form around the fence to watch the show.  The sound of fake gunfire blasted practically making him jump out of his skin.  The crowd roared with applause.

“Suit
yourself,” said the musician even though Jack was out of earshot.  He gathered up his instrument, his CDs, and the rest of his things to relocate.  “I’m going back to the other side of the street where I normally play.  This side has people being thrown out of cars and stuff.”