by Jaden Skye
“This place is a mixed bag for sure,” Wayne said, as if reading Olivia’s mind.
“Definitely,” Olivia replied. “Okay, who do I talk to now?”
“I’ll introduce you to someone in charge and then you can meet some of the people Raine saw here on a regular basis,” Wayne said. “Then I have to go to the back and speak to some others who handle the money.”
Olivia was very grateful for both Wayne’s intelligence and his support.
“This is Andie.” Wayne brought Olivia over to a short man with beady eyes and heavy jowls. “Andie, this is Olivia Wells, she’s helping me out.”
“Beautiful lady.” Andie broke into a smile. “You always have good taste, Wayne, no doubt about it.”
Wayne laughed. “Olivia’s helping me find out what happened to Raine,” he added.
Andie looked glum for a minute and shook his head.
“I’m going to let you talk to Olivia and I’m going in the back to talk to Pedros,” Wayne continued. “You tell Olivia all she needs to know.”
“I’ll do that.” Andie seemed pleased with the assignment. “I’ll do more than that, even. I have a video of Raine. I’ll show it to Olivia now.”
“Great,” said Wayne, “and also let her talk to some people who Raine was friends with.”
“I’m on it.” Andie made a fist. “Now you go see Pedros fast. He doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
Wayne turned and left for the back, while Andie took Olivia’s arm and shepherded her through the crowds to a medium-sized table at the other side of the casino.
“This is where Raine likes to play,” Andie started. “She usually sits right here at this seat and has a ball.”
“She was here the night before she left for the party?” Olivia checked one more time.
“Yes, she was,” Andie agreed. “And, thankfully, we have a record of it on video.”
“You video everybody?” Olivia was curious.
“There’s general cameras around, of course,” Andie replied. “But we zero in only when things start to get out of control. All kinds of things happen to people here and it’s not our fault. We have to prove that. You come into the casino at your own risk. You’re on your own.”
“Raine came here often?” Olivia wanted to keep Andie talking.
“More and more the last month or so,” he said. “Things were heating up.”
“What things? What was happening?”
“She was going at it hard, on a roll,” Andie said.
“A winning roll?” asked Olivia, alerted.
“No, she was losing her shirt,” he replied. “That’s the kind of roll that drives people crazy. They become determined to stop it. Come back again and again to turn it around.”
“Why didn’t you stop her?” Olivia knew it was an odd question, but she had to ask it anyhow. “Why didn’t you call her husband?”
“Hey, hold on a minute.” Andie put his hand out toward Olivia. “A person’s life is private. They do what they do. We’re not here as watchdogs over anyone.”
Olivia bit her lips. She couldn’t push too hard or offend Andie. She had to get him to show her the video.
“I understand,” Olivia replied. “Can you show me the video of Raine?”
“Sure,” he replied. “First you look at the video, then you can talk to her friends here if you want to.”
“How well did these friends know her?” Olivia asked in a flash.
“Who knows?” Andie’s voice grew rougher. “They just all play together, egg each other on. I doubt they meet each other outside.”
“Is there anyone in particular Raine was close to?” asked Olivia.
“Nah, a few gals and a bunch of guys came to the same table night after night,” Andie continued. “Come here, sit down. I’ll show you the video.”
Andie took Olivia a few tables away, behind a portable screen. Then he flipped open a computer and on came a video of Raine. Olivia shivered at the sight of her friend again. She was dressed in a skimpy black dress, her hair wild over her face, drunk and high at the table. Olivia watched Raine laughing wildly at nothing at all and then banging her fists on the counter uncontrollably.
“What was happening? Why was she like this?” Olivia was horrified.
“It happens,” Andie said. “And it got worse and worse as the night went on. The more she lost, the wilder she acted. We finally did stop it, though. We kicked her out before she could lose more.”
“Thank goodness for that,” breathed Olivia. “How did she take it?”
Andie shrugged. “She didn’t like it, of course, but she was too drunk to realize. One of her pals, a guy named Victor, put her into a cab and gave the driver the address to take her home.”
“Home? In that condition?” asked Olivia, horrified. “What did her husband do when she returned?”
“I heard the hubby wasn’t there that night,” Andie grumbled. “But how do I know? I never met him. Guys like him don’t come traipsing in here.”
“But this happened to her a lot. He must have known,” Olivia insisted.
Andie shrugged again. “I heard the hubby was always out at one meeting or another. People have a way of keeping their eyes closed when someone in the family is going downhill! It’s an old story.”
Olivia couldn’t imagine that Sean hadn’t been aware of what was happening to Raine. Why hadn’t he stopped it? Or someone?
At that moment, Wayne returned, slipping into the seat beside Olivia.
“Back so quick?” Andie was surprised. “Pedros was helpful?”
“Pedros is good but I need to see Dupris,” Wayne responded. “He left town suddenly yesterday, I just found out.”
“No kidding!” Andie was surprised.
“Where’d be go?” asked Wayne, disturbed.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Andie shot back.
“That’s not an answer!” Wayne grew insistent. “It’s not possible that nobody knows where he went. I need to see Dupris!”
“So pull up a chair and hang out,” Andie answered. “It’s still early. Someone could come along as the night goes on and tell you where he’s gone.”
Wayne pulled up a chair and decided to do just that. “I’m staying here awhile,” he said to Olivia. “How about you?”
Olivia had seen enough here for now. She remembered Sloane telling her to go see Miranda and she wanted to do that right now.
“I’m going to go before it gets much later, and go see Miranda,” Olivia said. “I have a feeling it’s important. Both Abby and Sloane suggested it.”
“Good idea, you go,” said Wayne. “I’m staying put where I am here now for a while.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Olivia put a quick call in to Miranda before she actually drove to her home. Miranda picked up, sounding blindsided, definitely not thrilled to hear from Olivia.
“I’m in the neighborhood. Can I drop by for just a few minutes?” Olivia asked.
“It’s a little late to call, isn’t it?” Miranda said. “I’m a busy person, I have appointments. I deserve some advance notice, don’t I?”
“This won’t take long.” Olivia felt even more eager to see her now.
“How long exactly?” asked Miranda.
“Not long at all. Why? You’re going somewhere?” Olivia asked.
“Actually, I am,” Miranda quipped. “If you get here fast, I can give you fifteen minutes. No more, no less.”
“Fifteen minutes is great,” said Olivia. “I’ll be right over, wait for me.”
*
Raine quickly drove to the upscale town house community where Miranda lived, a few blocks from Raine’s home. The development was safely tucked away behind a large fence with guards at the entrance, checking who was going in and out.
Olivia gave the guard her name. He checked and then buzzed her in through the electric gates. It was good that she had called first. Olivia felt she had to see Miranda, even for a few minutes.
The moment sh
e arrived at Miranda’s town house, the door flew open. “Come in,” Miranda exclaimed. “What can I do for you?”
Miranda was thin and lanky with dark, wavy hair and a determined face. She was dressed for the evening, in a short, black silk dress that fit perfectly and high-heeled, open shoes. Seemed like she had a hot date for the evening.
“Sorry to come here with so little notice,” Olivia started. “Looks like you have important plans.”
Miranda smirked. “I don’t know how important they are, but it’s good to get out! I need it.”
Olivia could completely understand that.
“I’m recently divorced,” Miranda went on, “and I work at home alone.”
Olivia was interested. “What do you do?”
“Run an online business that’s gotten more successful than I ever thought and it’s eating all my time up.” Despite herself Miranda seemed to like Olivia.
“I’m grateful for even a few minutes,” Olivia said.
Miranda stopped and looked at Olivia intently. “Okay, what can I do about this horrible mess?” she asked bitterly. “I’m just as devastated as anyone else but I refuse to sit home and cry about it. It won’t do anyone any good, will it?”
Olivia found Miranda strangely impressive. There was little time now, though, and Olivia decided to jump right in.
“I heard you were the last one to see Raine alive before she disappeared,” Olivia started boldly.
Miranda blanched. “Alive? Are there people saying Raine’s not still alive?”
“No, I didn’t mean that,” said Olivia. “I just meant you were the last one to see her.”
That’s right, I saw her the next morning, after the party. We both went down to get breakfast at the hotel. She was fine. Everything was normal, all was well with the world.”
“Raine was up early to have breakfast?” asked Olivia. “Wasn’t she incredibly hungover from the night before? I would have thought she’d spend part of the day sleeping it off.”
“Raine wasn’t like that,” Miranda interrupted. “She drank all the time and was able to hold her liquor. Yes, she was a little hungover maybe, but that was no big deal.”
“What was her mood? Was she sad or depressed?” Olivia went right to the heart of it.
“Why should she be?” Miranda looked startled by the idea. “She was same as always, talking to me like she might any other morning. Depressed? Why? Raine has everything any woman could have wanted. A picture-book life and a great husband who worships the ground she walks on! Lots of the girls are secretly jealous of her, if you asked me.”
“Who?” asked Olivia abruptly, wondering if Miranda was one of them.
Miranda obviously decided to let it rip then. “How about Sloane for starters? Sloane’s from a poor background and has lived her life clawing her way to the top. She wasn’t so thrilled with the guy she was marrying, either, and everyone knows it. Their relationship has dragged on a long time. Sloane’s always hanging around Raine, looking at the life she has, comparing it to hers.”
That was not the impression Olivia had of Sloane. But she’d only seen her briefly a few times.
“Who else was jealous of her?” asked Olivia, running through them all in her mind. “Nessa?”
“Why do you mention Nessa in particular?” Miranda’s eyes widened.
“Nessa has a different lifestyle,” said Olivia, thinking of her down in Key West with her scuba diving school.
Miranda shook her head. “I don’t think Nessa’s jealous of anyone. She doesn’t have to be, she’s too happy with her own life. In fact, some of us think Raine likes Nessa most of us all. Raine goes on lots of deepwater dives with her. In a way they are two of a kind.”
“In what way?” asked Olivia, fascinated.
“They both need lots of space and do what they want when they want to, when they want it. Neither of them can stand being confined.”
There were clear contradictions here and Olivia had to address them.
“I’ve heard that Raine is a pillar of the community, though,” Olivia exclaimed.
“Not Raine, her husband, Sean,” Miranda corrected her. “He’s the one everybody counts on. He has to look good. But he’s also the biggest stuffed shirt around. Raine does whatever he wants her to, up to a point.”
“What point?” asked Olivia.
“I always wondered that myself,” Miranda laughed.
What Miranda was saying made sense to Olivia. It could explain the secret and separate life Raine seemed to have. Time was running out and Olivia had to get all her questions in.
“Was Raine at all emotionally upset that morning after the party?” Olivia asked again.
“Not at all, absolutely not,” Miranda insisted. “Why do you keep asking? She was talking to me about her flight home in the most casual way.”
“She was looking forward to going home?”
“I wouldn’t say that exactly.” Miranda thought about it. “She was just planning to go back home as usual and that was that.”
“What happened to her?” Olivia began to feel agitated. “What happened between the time you saw her and her trip to the airport?”
Miranda slowed down, ran her hands over her bare arms, and thought hard.
“I think she was abducted,” Miranda finally breathed. “Someone nabbed her. Someone was probably watching her at casinos, could have had their eye on her a long time. She threw money around there, big time. They probably wanted some.”
It made sense to Olivia.
“Or, someone at the bachelorette party spotted her. Raine drew attention to herself, was acting wild,” Miranda went on.
“You mean acting wild with Luigi?” Olivia jumped on it immediately.
“Yes, that’s right. You know about him?” Miranda purred.
“It’s common knowledge, isn’t it?” Olivia repeated.
“Sure, except not with Sean,” Miranda warned. “Listen, it’s possible someone will surface and ask for ransom. Or maybe it was Dupris?”
Olivia felt chilled at the mention of his name. “Why Dupris?”
“Everyone knows Raine owed Dupris fistfuls of money. I heard it never bothered him much, though. In fact, people even said Dupris liked Raine! If you know what I mean.”
“Raine and Dupris were an item?” Olivia was thunderstruck.
“Can’t say for sure.” Miranda smirked. “But why not look a little harder? Could be Raine and Dupris are somewhere together right now?”
Just as quickly as she started talking, Miranda suddenly closed up. “Look, this is enough! I’m late. I’ve got to go now. There’s nothing I can do about this mess anyway, is there? No point in sitting home.”
Like a mini tornado then, Miranda swept out the door of her expensive town house and Olivia followed close behind.
“Let me know what happens and how it’s going.” Miranda waved at Olivia with the back of her hand as she jumped into a cab then and took off into the night.
As Olivia stood there watching Miranda’s cab drive away, her phone rang. To her delight, it was Wayne.
“If you’re free now, this would be a good time get together and debrief,” Wayne said.
“Perfect timing,” said Olivia. “Couldn’t be better, in fact.”
*
Olivia met up with Wayne in a restaurant in Coconut Grove that had soft jazz playing and a low-key atmosphere.
“I ordered a light bite for you,” said Wayne, as Olivia pulled into a seat opposite him at a window table. “Cheese quiche.”
Olivia smiled. “How did you know cheese quiche is my favorite?”
Wayne tapped his fingers on the table. “When you’re a detective nothing escapes you. You sense all kind of little things.”
Olivia was enjoying being with Wayne. She hadn’t seen this playful side of him before. “Knowing that quiche is my favorite isn’t so little,” she said.
They both laughed. Olivia looked far out the window for a moment. The street the restaurant was on was fe
stive, with lights on all around. It could be easy to forget what they were here for. But Wayne quickly changed the topic of conversation.
I hope your time with Miranda was valuable,” he said.
“Yes, it was,” Olivia answered. “Did you find anyone who could tell you where Dupris went?”
“No, I didn’t.” Wayne looked disgruntled. “And someone there knows. They’re keeping it under the vest. I don’t like it. It raises suspicions.”
“When I spoke to Miranda, Dupris came up,” Olivia filled Wayne in immediately.
“Really, how come?” Wayne was interested.
“Miranda said that Raine regularly owed Dupris fistfuls of money, and that he didn’t seem to mind.”
Wayne bristled. “Yes, but who paid this money back to him?”
“That I don’t know,” said Olivia.
“I’m wracking my brains about that one,” Wayne added. “There are questions about Sean, too. How was it he didn’t know what was going on? Raine had her separate accounts, of course, but still?”
It was a good question. Olivia had also wondered how much Sean actually knew about Raine’s life. Right now it seemed he’d woken up. He was fully engaged, organizing the vigil, plastering Raine’s poster everywhere, coordinating local searches, and keeping up volunteers’ spirits. He was also making appearances on radio and TV, begging people to look for Raine. And begging Raine to come home. Beyond that, Sean was letting the police and Olivia take care of business.
“I know you’ve spoken to Sean several times,” said Olivia. “What has he told you?”
“He keeps claiming everything was wonderful between them,” Wayne said. “Raine had her own bank account which she wanted to keep separate from him and he respected that. Even though he’s doing all the right things, he still seems to be in a daze to me. I haven’t wanted to hit him with the hard facts yet. Frankly, I don’t think he could take it.”
Olivia felt protective of Sean as well. When she’d tried to call and speak to him, she’d also had the impression he was still in a daze, couldn’t listen to anything.
