Sunset Over Misty Lake

by Margaret Standafer

  He moved on from the unexpected entertainment and focused on the huge horseshoe-shaped bar in front of him. Many of the seats were taken and most of those seated were jabbing at the gaming machines built right into the bar while they sipped their drinks. Joe circled, daring only a glance now and then toward the bar. He didn’t spot anyone who matched Joshua’s current description, but he didn’t know if it was even the right bar as he’d already spotted another smaller one farther back in the casino and he figured there were likely still more.

  He strolled past and headed for the next bar, mimicking the head-on-a-swivel tourists he’d spied earlier from his room. The casino wasn’t overly busy, but there was enough activity to keep the noise level up and enough tourists doing nothing but wandering to allow him to blend in. Try as he might, as he neared the bar, he couldn’t keep his eyes from searching the three bartenders for anything familiar. It wasn’t especially bright inside the casino, but the bartender with his back to Joe looked to have reddish hair.

  Joe’s pulse quickened at the thought of catching a glimpse of the person who’d caused him immeasurable anguish. He forced his hands to relax when they wanted to clench into fists. He walked by, wandered down a row of slot machines, then turned back toward the bar giving him a look at the bartender’s face. Frustration set in when he realized there was no instant recognition. But why would there be? He’d never seen a picture, never even gotten a decent description. Red hair, fair complexion, blue eyes. That was all he had to go on. That, and the name on the man’s name tag.

  He’d have to get a lot closer in order to see that. Joe debated, but not for long. All the warnings and cautions went straight out the window now that he was potentially almost face to face with the guy. He didn’t care about the chance that Joshua had looked at Karen’s phone, that he may have seen a picture, that he may recognize Joe. He didn’t care that Joshua may be on high alert, that he may sense someone studying him a little too closely.

  Joe told himself he wasn’t an idiot, he wouldn’t be obvious, and he wouldn’t give Joshua any reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary. He didn’t have to tell himself he wasn’t going to let the opportunity to do something to help pass him by. That he already knew.

  He pulled his cap down a little lower on his forehead and strode to the bar. Dropping into one of the empty seats, he leaned back and purposefully turned away from the bar to scan the casino floor. No point in acting too eager.

  It was only a minute or two before he heard a voice.

  “What can I get you?”

  Joe turned and found himself staring directly into a name tag. Kellen. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to look into the man’s face, not to study every detail and commit them to memory, not to then rearrange those details with his fist. Instead, he turned his head and looked down the bar at the beer taps.

  “Give me a beer. Something local, if you’ve got it.”

  “Sure thing.”

  When Joshua walked away, Joe did study him. The way he walked, the way he moved his hands, the way he shifted his weight to his right leg while he operated the tap, the way he tossed his head to shake the hair, badly in need of a cut, out of his eyes. A person could change his appearance easily enough. Changing his body language and habits wasn’t quite so easy. Joe intended on memorizing all he could so no matter how Joshua chose to present himself, Joe would be able to—in Vegas terms—spot the tells.

  “There you go. Enjoy,” Joshua said as he positioned a coaster with one hand and used the other to set the beer on top of it.

  “Thanks.”

  Joe pushed a fifty in Joshua’s direction, deliberately choosing the larger bill so there’d be no question as to whether he wanted change. Through it all, Joe was careful to keep his eyes on the man’s hands instead of on his face.

  And those hands told him a few things. First, the absence of hair on the ring finger of his left hand indicated he’d probably worn a wedding ring for a while, maybe still did when he wasn’t working. That played into what Cort told them about Joshua being married before. Next, while there wasn’t a lot of hair on the man’s hands, what there was, was dark, not the reddish color like the hair on his head. Joe wasn’t a geneticist but understood genetics enough to know that a natural redhead wouldn’t have black body hair. Finally, the black shirt that was part of Joshua’s uniform was neatly pressed, precisely tucked, and securely buttoned at the wrists. The other two bartenders had their sleeves rolled up to their elbows. Logical, as they were frequently washing glasses, wiping up spills, and washing their hands. Sleeves would get in the way and common sense would dictate rolling them up.

  Unless you had something to hide.

  Joe watched Joshua at the cash register as he efficiently punched in Joe’s order and made change. He returned with the change and a receipt that he slid next to Joe’s glass.

  “Let me know if I can get you anything else.”

  Joe nodded in response then watched Joshua move on to the next customer. This one was a woman, and Joshua was suddenly much more talkative. Joe couldn’t hear their conversation, but he could see the woman laugh at something Joshua said right before she toyed with her long, blonde hair.

  Joe felt sick, although it was hard to tell if it was the nausea at witnessing Joshua in action or his barely controlled anger that had his stomach pitching. When Joshua made no move to help the grey-haired couple that sat a few seats down from the woman, instead angled his back to them and kept talking to the blonde woman, Joe knew there was no way he could sit by and watch a potentially dangerous scenario play out in front of him. When the woman laughed again and this time placed her hand on Joshua’s arm, Joe caught the glint of the ring on her left hand. He didn’t think past protecting her.

  “Hey!” He raised his voice enough to command attention, but at the same moment, a roar erupted from somewhere behind him.

  Joe turned, as did Joshua and everyone else within hearing range. It was the same two men, whooping, hollering, and celebrating even more loudly than before. More back slaps, more dancing, and this time, the dancing was accompanied by a song that they sang remarkably loud and remarkably off-key.

  Keeping his body turned toward the men, Joe watched the woman out of the corner of his eye. He saw her stand, give a little wave to Joshua as she shrugged and nodded in the direction of the revelers, then head toward them. When they caught sight of her, they quit hugging each other and one of them engulfed the woman in his bear hug, lifting her nearly over his head and twirling her in circles. She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips.

  She was in good hands.

  Joe knew it was time to leave. He’d let his emotions take over and had come close to making a scene, to doing exactly what he’d promised himself he wouldn’t do. He risked one more peek at Joshua as he headed for the exit. It might have been Joe’s imagination, but he swore Joshua, who’s eyes were still on the celebration in front of him, blew out a sigh of relief at narrowly escaping certain disaster.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  SHE’D STAYED AT Sam’s through lunch, but then headed home to let Dylan nap. With the twins also sleeping, Karen had time on her hands, and for the first time in a long time, she didn’t know what to do with that time. There was laundry, there was always laundry, but it wasn’t yet a dire situation. She’d already dusted and cleaned up the kitchen. If she turned on the vacuum, at least one of the kids would wake up, so that wasn’t an option. Dinner would be a simple affair with just Dylan and herself to feed so no prep work was needed. She could head outside and fuss with her flowers, but she’d spent the entire morning outside in the heat and figured when Dylan woke, they’d be back at it. She didn’t need it now.

  A glance at the clock told her it was a good time to check in with her mother. Over the last couple of weeks, her mother had settled into a routine taking her grandmother to visit her grandfather in the morning, maybe observing some of his therapy sessions, staying through lunchtime, then headin
g home in the afternoon. Sometimes, they stayed into the evening, but her grandfather tired easily and tended to resist resting when he had company so most of their visits were kept to a few hours.

  Her mother picked up on the first ring.

  “Hi, Karen. How are things going? Do you need help?”

  “Hi, Mom. No, I’m fine, just calling to see how Grandpa’s doing. How was the visit today?”

  “You know I can come over if you need a break. I’m sure it’s hard with Joe gone.”

  Karen bit back her sigh. She should have known her mother wouldn’t answer questions until she was assured things were okay with her daughter and grandkids. And no matter how much Karen tried to reassure her, Rita would still have her doubts.

  “We spent the morning at Sam’s, so I had help with the kids. Susan was there too, so I hardly had to lift a finger.”

  “I could come over tonight, cook dinner, maybe do some laundry?”

  “You don’t need to do that. Dylan will want macaroni and cheese or cereal. I’m going to let him choose some of the meals while Joe’s gone. I can handle mac and cheese. The household chores are under control. Thank you, though.”

  “Well, maybe another day.”

  “Maybe. How’s Grandpa?”

  “He’s better. And this time when I say he’s better, I really think he is better. There’ve been days where I’ve said that but haven’t believed it. Today was a good day.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad. Did you talk to his doctor? You were supposed to meet with him this morning, weren’t you?”

  “I did. He thinks Grandpa could go home in a couple of weeks.”

  The hope, the doubt, the fear that what had been dangled in front of her would be snatched away in an instant before she could grab it. Karen heard it all in her mother’s voice.

  “That’s great news, what we’ve been hoping for.”

  “Don’t you think it’s too soon? He’s still so shaky with the walker and he still has trouble feeding himself. Grandma can’t help him in and out of the shower. What if he falls? She can’t help him up. They could both end up hurt.”

  “Mom, don’t worry. Two weeks is a long time. Look how much progress he’s made since he’s been at Lakeland and think about how much more he’ll make in two weeks. Besides, his doctor won’t release him if he’s not ready.”

  “But what if he is ready? It sounds awful, but I think I’ll worry more once he’s home.”

  “He’ll have help at home. The doctors and nurses have already talked about home health care. Someone will come in a few times a week, or however often is necessary, to help with those things he and Grandma need help with.”

  “I don’t know how Grandma’s going to like having someone in her home. You know how she is.”

  “She’ll be so glad to have Grandpa home it will trump any concerns over having a nurse there to help out. We’ll just have to assure her it’s only temporary.”

  “It might not be temporary.”

  Now it was sadness that Karen heard in her mom’s voice. “No, it might not be, but we don’t know that. We’ll assume the best.”

  “You’re right. We have to stay positive, don’t we?”

  “We do, especially when there’s no reason not to.”

  Her mother was quiet, and Karen knew that despite her mother’s words, she was thinking the worst.

  “I’d like to visit Grandpa tomorrow. I’m going to see if Anna and Sean can watch the kids for a few hours. If they can, I’ll drive up and try to talk with the doctor to see if I can get any more specifics out of him.”

  “Oh, that would be good,” Rita said on a long exhale. “I didn’t want to ask, I know you’re busy without Joe there, but you’ll know the questions to ask and you’ll understand the answers. Thank you.”

  “I’ll call Anna and then let you know for sure.”

  “And I’ll whip up something for your dinner tomorrow night. Even if Dylan won’t eat it, you need a good meal.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Talk to you soon.”

  When she disconnected, Karen felt oddly refreshed. She may not be in Vegas doing something productive, but at least she was in Misty Lake doing something productive. Helping her grandparents, her mother, shouldering some of the burden where her grandfather was concerned, felt good. She’d gladly be the go-between and help decipher the doctor’s reports in order to make the best, most informed, decision for her grandfather.

  With a satisfied nod, she called Anna, her reluctance to face her in-laws fading and realizing if things worked out, Dylan would get his promised puppy fix and then some.

  Joe took his time returning to the hotel. He wandered in and out of casinos until he couldn’t stand it any longer. Amazing that given how different they all tried to be, it came down to slot machines and poker tables. It didn’t matter if those slot machines and poker tables were in New York City, Paris, or on some tropical island, at the heart of it, they were all the same.

  It was interesting to ponder whether he’d have a different attitude, a different opinion of the city, if he were there under different circumstances. It was unfair, he supposed, putting a negative spin on everything he saw based solely on his present mood. As he walked, he made an effort to take the city for what it was…a vacation destination for countless thousands, an escape from reality, and in the winter, a haven for those wishing to escape the snow and cold.

  He couldn’t do it and he couldn’t wait to go home. If he had to place a bet while he was in the city, he’d place it on he and Karen never making Las Vegas their vacation destination.

  Deciding it was still too early to go back to the hotel, Joe bought himself an ice cream cone and sat on the edge of a fountain he found in a sliver of shade. The ice cream melted faster than he could eat it. Trying to stay ahead of the drips distracted him for a few minutes.

  But try as he might, he couldn’t come up with enough distractions to keep him from dwelling on his stupid actions. He’d have to fess up and tell the others what he’d done, he knew that, but he hoped to put it off for as long as possible. And he hoped to have to do it only once. If he could avoid everyone until dinner, he could tell his story when they were all together, then face the questions and the disapproving looks only once.

  Until he called Karen. She was going to be angry, and rightly so. He’d promised to stay away and then gone and done just the opposite. He hoped for some good news from the others to pass on and to hopefully outweigh his not-at-all-good news.

  Pushing to his feet, Joe took off in the direction of his hotel. If he walked slowly, and if he took a long shower, it should be close enough to dinner time.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  THEY DECIDED TO have dinner, like breakfast, in Cort’s suite to take advantage of the privacy. Joe thought his chances might be better in the middle of a crowd, but he didn’t push.

  “Who’s first?” Joe asked. “Everyone should have something to report and I’m eager to hear it all.”

  “I looked for you earlier,” Riley said. “Where were you?”

  “Around. I tried to stay busy.” He looked at Jake. “How’d the talk go with Opal?”

  “Let’s sit,” Jake said.

  “That sounds ominous. It didn’t go well?”

  “It went very well,” Jake answered. “Like Karen said, she’s a remarkable woman. No matter what Cort and I threw at her regarding Joshua, she held her ground. I’m not sure there’s anything that can scare her. She’s all in, and if I had reservations before meeting her, I can say I don’t any longer.”

  “Really?” Joe asked. “You’re okay with her being involved? You didn’t want anyone involved.”

  “I didn’t want any of you involved,” Jake corrected him. “Opal could work for the FBI. She had information that will help us. A lot of information.”

  “I could work for the FBI,” Shauna said, “if I wanted to.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

  Jake spared her a glance. She scowled at him. “O
pal’s more than willing to work with the police. Bud is going to get in touch with her to set up a meeting.”

  “What sort of information does she have that you think will be so helpful?” Cassie asked.

  “She has access to his schedule, first of all, so we know when he’s working. She’s also picked up on a few of his habits which are interesting. For example, he never joins other employees in the break room, instead choosing to remove his uniform and wander the casino. While there’s no rule against it, Opal said it’s very unusual. Common practice is to put some distance between yourself and the customers.”

  “Yet his actions haven’t raised any suspicion?” Frank asked.

  “Opal feels confident she’s the only one who’s noticed, and that’s because she’s been looking. He doesn’t go near the bar and never gambles, more just lurks around in the shadows. Her words. He doesn’t cause trouble or do anything to attract notice. Some of the employees got together and went out last week one night. Joshua didn’t go along. She asked another coworker about him and was told he never hangs out with any of them. He seems to be a loner. And most interesting is that she’s never seen him with a cell phone. While it’s frowned upon to use a phone while they’re working, everyone does it, she said. Especially during slow times. People at least pull out a phone a few times during the day to check a text or look up something or other. Not Joshua. Not once.”