Mystery Lover

by Annette Broadrick

  “Oh.”

  “They’ve made it clear that I have offended their sensibilities by being so nosy. They have a very physical way of showing their displeasure.”

  “Who are ’they‘?”

  “I can’t give you a positive ID at the moment, Sunshine. Are you still willing to help me?”

  “Oh, of course. What do you want me to do?”

  “Go to Las Vegas.”

  “Las Vegas? What are you doing there?”

  “I’m not in Las Vegas. I want you to contact a man there for me. You'll have to see him in person and he’s tough to reach. I would say almost impossible, as a matter of fact. But you've got to try. He’s the only one who might have an idea how to find me.”

  “Who is he?”

  “His name is Tony Carillo. He owns the Lucky Lady Casino.”

  Jennifer could feel her heart leap in her chest. “You want me to go find a gambler?”

  “I’m not concerned with his personal habits at the moment, Sunshine. He’s the one who can help me. ”

  “What do you want me to tell him?”

  “Wait until you get to Vegas and I’ll tell you. ”

  “Chad! Must you be so mysterious?”

  “At this point, yes. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. ”

  “I didn’t say that. Of course I’ll go.” Jennifer found a small bag and gathered a few of her clothes and cosmetics. No doubt she’d be gone the entire weekend. The day was going to be another hot one, Jennifer decided soon after she left the apartment. But then, what could you expect in August? If she’d ever thought about going to Las Vegas, which she hadn’t, she was sure she would have picked a cooler time of the year.

  Jennifer could not get rid of the tight knot of excitement that seemed to have formed in her chest. At long last she was going to find out more about Chad.

  He had reluctantly told her that Tony was an old friend of his and if anyone could get him out of his present precarious situation, Tony could.

  What Jennifer also realized was that Tony could tell her a great deal about Chad that she had always wanted to know.

  Jennifer faced the fact that rushing to Las Vegas to help Chad was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her—which certainly seemed to make a statement about her life.

  Actually, having Chad in her life was the only exciting thing that had ever happened to her. After a very careful poll among her classmates while she was growing up, Jennifer had discovered that she seemed to be the only person blessed with an invisible friend.

  She had quickly learned not to discuss him with anyone, and what else, after all, did she have to talk about? Jennifer hadn’t been interested in dating because she never knew what to say. She didn’t, care anything about cars and that was what most of the boys talked about.

  So she had spent many hours talking to Chad about things she was interested in, things she had read about in books, or magazines. She had known he was much older than she was and had a great deal more experience with life. Yet he had always been very patient with her, willing to discuss any subject she brought up.

  Jennifer smiled to herself, remembering how he had dealt with her questions about sex. Now that she thought about it, those questions should have been asked of her mother, but whenever she broached the subject, her mother had seemed embarrassed and Jennifer had allowed her curiosity about the subject to drop.

  Chad had been much more matter-of-fact. She had been lying there in bed one night, thinking about some of the stories she was hearing at school, when Chad had spoken up.

  “Don’t believe everything you hear, Sunshine. It could get you into trouble.”

  “If you think that I would do something like that—” she started to say indignantly, when he interrupted.

  “Of course you will.. . at the right time and with the right person. But sex isn’t something to be experimented with, like a toy. The act of love is all tied up with our emotions. When it’s used only as a tool to convince people around us that we’re adults, we can get hurt and hurt many others as well.”

  They had talked long into the night, and by the time Jennifer fell asleep she felt as though she had graduated from childhood.

  His lessons had stuck with her through the years. Although she had dated once she moved to Los Angeles and began working, she had never been tempted to prove anything with anyone. Nor had she met anyone with whom she wished to share such intimacy.

  Perhaps she wasn’t the type to marry. She certainly didn’t draw second looks in a crowd. Jennifer had always been disgusted that she’d stopped growing when she was only a couple of inches over five feet. Although she had often been told that her eyes were her most striking feature, whenever she looked into the mirror all she could see were wide blue eyes staring back. Even her hair wasn’t a real color. She wasn’t quite a blonde, nor was her hair dark enough to be considered brown. Jennifer thought of herself as an almost person. Almost average height, but not quite, almost blond, but not quite, almost attractive.. . but not quite.

  Not that it mattered to her, she reminded herself firmly. She was content with her life. And now, she was doing something for Chad that would help to re-pay all the wonderful things he had done for her through the years. She smiled at the thought.

  Eventually her mind made its way to her job, and for the first time, she felt a little uneasy. Jennifer hadn’t given a thought to whether she would be back home in time to go to work on Monday. If not, she wondered what she should do.

  Jennifer had taken a secretarial course as soon as she completed high school. It had been important to her that she be independent as soon as possible. Her mother’s health had never been good and Jennifer wanted to relieve her of the burden.

  She could have stayed in Oceanside but preferred to get away, to make new friends, to experience new things. Her new life would have been very lonely if she hadn’t had Chad.

  Surprisingly enough, Jennifer made many friends at the school, and when one of them mentioned that the Cameron Investigation Service was looking for stenographers, she and two of the other graduates had applied.

  Jennifer had been surprised at the size of the place. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but certainly nothing on the scale that met her eyes. The receptionist sent her to the personnel director, who tested her and had her fill out the necessary applications. The director explained that Mr. Cameron managed to keep several stenographers busy transcribing the reports he dictated.

  C. W. Cameron had built quite a reputation, so Jennifer was told, as an insurance investigator. Although he was out in the field quite often, he kept in touch with the office and oftentimes called in and dictated on the machines that were set up to take telephone transcriptions.

  Jennifer had been working there for almost five years and she thoroughly enjoyed her job. She had been Mr. Cameron’s administrative assistant for several years now, handling as much as possible for him when he was out of the office, doing the preliminary investigations of cases—the tedious, time-consuming research that went with that sort of investigation— then turning them over to him to follow up the leads she uncovered.

  They worked well together and he paid her quite well. Jennifer felt it was unfortunate that Mr. Cameron was such a cold, unfeeling individual. Perhaps it came with the job, or something.

  After all the years she had worked for him, he still insisted on calling her Ms. Chisholm. In this day and age of immediate first names and instant friendships, C. W. Cameron was a throwback to another era.

  He wasn’t all that old, either. Jennifer had gotten a glimpse of his insurance file once, which stated his age as thirty-seven. He didn’t look that old, until you gazed into his eyes. His eyes seemed to have too much knowledge about people and their behavior.

  Some of the women in the office teased her about working for him, since he was single and more than a little handsome, with his tawny-colored hair and sherry-colored eyes. Jennifer shivered a little. He might be attractive, but
he was too cold a person to ever attract her.

  Jerry was more her type. She had been dating him occasionally for almost a year now. She really enjoyed Jerry. He was relaxed, easygoing, fun-loving, and did not pressure her to deepen their relationship. Too bad she couldn’t combine the personality of the one man with the brilliant mind and incisive intellect of the other one. What a combination that would be.

  Jennifer suddenly remembered that she had a date that night with Jerry, and she had totally forgotten about it. He would be over to pick her up and she wouldn’t be there. How could she have been so absentminded? When Chad had contacted her, everything else had flown out the window.

  She would have to call him and explain as soon as she got to Vegas. Explain what? Jennifer had never been able to find the words to tell Jerry about Chad. At first, it hadn’t been important. They had been casual friends, neighbors until Jerry had moved to be closer to his new job. Occasionally he would have her over to eat popcorn and watch television. Once in a while she would prepare a meal for them and they’d go see a movie. After he moved, they spent less time together, but he still called to see how she was doing and to talk about his job.

  Jennifer had never stood him up before. Surely he would understand that something unexpected had come up that changed her plans.

  By the time she reached the outskirts of Las Vegas, Jennifer was tired and hungry. She hadn’t wanted to stop and eat, which was a good thing. Crossing the desert hadn’t given her much opportunity.

  First things first. She would find a restaurant, eat and call Jerry.

  He answered on the fourth ring.

  “Am I interrupting anything?” she asked.

  “Oh, hi, Jennie. I must have fallen asleep. Couldn’t figure out what was happening at first.”

  “Things must be tough on the job these days, huh?”

  He laughed. “No. Just resting up for our big date tonight.”

  “That’s why I called, Jerry. I’m afraid I’m going to have to cancel.”

  “Is there something wrong?” She heard the concern in his voice.

  “Not really. A friend needed some help this weekend and I volunteered.”

  “Where are you? I keep getting all kinds of background noises.”

  “I’m in a restaurant.”

  “Oh. Well, I’m sorry I won’t see you tonight. I’ve been saving all kinds of things to tell you.”

  “Look, why don’t I call you next week? We can check our schedules and pick another time, okay?”

  “Sure. No problem. Well, you take care. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Jennifer hung up and walked out to her car. The desert heat caused her to wish she’d worn something besides her jeans and shirt. One of her halter tops and a pair of shorts would have been more appropriate.

  “Not in a casino, Sunshine.”

  “Oh! There you are. You pop up at the most unexpected times.”

  “I told you I’d contact you once you got to Vegas, didn’t I?”

  She shrugged and realized that that wasn’t much of an answer. “Okay. I’m here now. What next?”

  “/ want you to go into the Lucky Lady Casino, go all the way to the back. You’ll see a sign that says Manager’s Office. Whoever is there, tell them that you need to see Tony Carillo. That you have a message from Tiger and that you have to see him personally to deliver it. ”

  “Tiger?”

  “That’s right.”

  “And he’ll know what I mean?”

  “Sunshine, this isn’t going to work if you’re going to question and analyze everything I tell you to do. Are you with me or not?”

  “Of course I’m with you. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”

  “No need to get testy. All right. The Lucky Lady is on the Strip. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding it.”

  She didn’t.

  Now that the time had come for her to do something, Jennifer felt her heart begin to race in her chest. She had never before realized what a coward she was. There seemed to be no adventure in her soul. No doubt there were many people who would enjoy the mystery and intrigue of what she was now doing. But not her.

  “You can back out anytime.”

  “Oh, shut up,” she muttered. A couple coming out of the casino glared at her as they passed. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t talking to you,” she tried to explain. They pointedly looked around the area. No one else was around. Jennifer knew her smile was a little weak as she shrugged and hurried on in.

  “I thought I taught you better manners, Sunshine.”

  She kept her head down and tried not to move her lips. “This is not the time to go into my behavior, Chad. I’m doing the best I can at the moment. I’m just not used to this sort of thing.”

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. You’ve limited yourself too much all these years. You need to reach out and stretch your potential to its maximum.”

  “Right now all I want to do is find Tony Carillo.”

  “May I help you?” The beautiful young woman sitting at the desk in the manager’s office asked Jennifer a few moments later.

  “Yes. I’d like to see Mr. Carillo.”

  “Do you have an appointment, Ms.—”

  “Chisholm. Jennifer Chisholm. Uh, no. I’m afraid not. Would you tell him that I have a message for him from—uh, er—Tiger?”

  “Tiger?”

  Jennifer could feel the heat in her cheeks as she determinedly kept her gaze on the woman in front of her. “That’s correct. I’m supposed to deliver it in person.”

  The woman picked up the phone on the desk and dialed. Then she spoke quietly into the receiver. She waited, obviously listening to something, then responded and hung up the phone.

  Her gaze was filled with speculation when she glanced back at Jennifer. “There’s an elevator across the lobby. Push the top button. Someone will meet you to show you his office.”

  “Good work, Sunshine. You passed the first hurdle.”

  “What do I do next?”

  “Wait until you meet Tony, then I’ll tell you.”

  “What’s the matter, don’t you trust me?”

  “Yes. I just want to make sure they aren’t giving you the runaround.”

  Jennifer stepped off the elevator onto plush carpeting. A young man about her age stood there waiting. He grinned. “You’re here to see Tony, right?”

  She nodded her head.

  “This way.”

  She followed the man down the hallway and into a well-decorated office. A secretarial desk was on one side, and what looked like a word processing unit was carefully covered. There was nobody in the office.

  The young man tapped on another door, then opened it. Motioning for her to enter first, he waited until she passed him, then quietly closed the door behind her. She was now alone with the man Chad called Tony Carillo.

  His office appeared to be the size of Jennifer’s entire apartment. She looked at the ornate wall hangings and furnishings with awe before her eyes turned to the man who had gotten up from behind a massive desk and started toward her.

  He looked to be in his mid-thirties, and was of medium height, with dark hair and eyes. He held out his hand to her as he approached.

  “I’m afraid I wasn’t told your name, young lady,” he said with the hint of a smile. “The only information I got was that you have a message from Tiger.”

  “Jennifer. Jennifer Chisholm. I was told to—”

  “Ahh. So you are Chad’s Jennifer.” He took her hand and held it between both of his. “Yes. He has chosen well.”

  “Chosen?”

  “What I meant to say was that I’ve heard many things about you and am delighted to meet you at last.”

  “You know Chad well?”

  He laughed. “Extremely well. We grew up together in California.”

  “Oh.”

  “So what can I do for you? You said you had a message from him.”

  “From Tiger.”

  “Right.”

&n
bsp; “You mean Chad and Tiger are the same person?”

  “Yeah. It was a joke because we always hung around together. You know.. .Tony—the Tiger.” His smile widened. “That was probably before your time.”

  “He’s in trouble.”

  Tony’s smile disappeared. He led her to a sofa and they sat down. “What sort of trouble?” he asked with a frown.

  “I’m not sure. He said he walked into a trap.”

  Tony gazed out the window and she could tell that he was thinking. Finally he turned back to her. “Where is he?”

  “He didn’t say.”

  “When was the last time you talked with him?”

  “Well, you see—”

  “Tell him late last night.”

  “Late last night,” she managed to parrot.

  “Uh-oh. Then something must have turned sour at the last minute. He thought he had them for sure.”

  “You talked to him recently?”

  “Yes. He’s working on something for me.”

  Jennifer gave a quick sigh of relief. “Oh, good. Then you can help him.”

  “Not if I don’t know where he is. I know who he was dealing with, though. Max can play rough.”

  Jennifer wished she knew what more to say. Never had she felt more helpless.

  “Tell him that I’m somewhere in southern Utah, in the mountains. I’m in some sort of shack. I haven’t seen anyone since they dumped me here last night. I have a hunch no one is going to bother to see if I’m eating. There’s nothing here.”

  Jennifer repeated Chad’s words. When she finished, Tony stared at her in confusion. “I thought you just said you didn’t know where he was.”

  “Well, I didn’t. I still don’t. That isn’t enough information to find him, is it?”

  “It’s a hell of a start, let me tell you. Max, the man I’ve been hoping to get enough evidence on to take to court, owns property in southern Utah. Before we had this falling out, he took me up there hunting a couple of times. I think I know exactly where that shack is.”

  “That’s a relief, Sunshine. Looks like you’ve managed to get me some help.”

  “May I go with you to find him?” she asked.

  “No!” Chad replied quickly.

  “I can’t see any reason why not. I’m sure you’re anxious about him.”