Vegas or Bust: An Aggie Underhill Mystery

by Michelle Ann Hollstein

  Jack buried his face in his hands and then remembered something that Miriam had mentioned. Anita had told Miriam that Aggie Underhill had a cop for a boyfriend. That was one of the reasons Miriam had wanted to invite Aggie to the wedding. She’d hoped that Aggie would bring her boyfriend with her in case Harold showed up and tried to ruin the wedding.

  “You know what Mama? You’re right,” Jack said, hopping up from the bed. “I’m gonna contact the police.”

  “Of course I’m right,” Sylvie said, smiling at him. “That’s the smart thing to do. I knew I could talk some common sense into you.”

  Jack leaned down and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Thanks, Mama,” he said and then left the room in search of Aggie Underhill and her friends.

  ***

  “I was feeling depressed,” Harold explained, sucking down another beer. He, Aggie and Betty had been joined by Roger. The four of them were sitting at a table near the bar in the casino.

  “It’s understandable,” Betty said.

  “I can’t believe that you flew all the way to Las Vegas to stop the wedding,” Roger said.

  “Yes, but I changed my mind,” Harold explained.

  “That’s very commendable of you,” Aggie said.

  “What a waste of money,” Roger said. “You flew all the way out here from Ohio and then didn’t even follow through with it! I think it’s crazy!”

  “I think it’s romantic!” Betty stated, smiling at Harold. “Except for the fact that you’re a cheating louse.”

  “Thank you, I think,” Harold sighed and then pushed his fingertips to his temples. “How did I get myself into this mess?”

  Aggie shook her head, mulling over all of the information that Harold had just given her. He flew to Las Vegas to try and stop Miriam from marrying Jack. He came here to ask for her forgiveness and to reconsider giving him one more chance. He had explained that he knew it was a long shot, but thought he’d try anyhow. Once he got to the hotel he’d seen Miriam and Jack enter the lobby to check into their rooms. They’d seemed so happy. Miriam had a special warm, happy glow to her. A happiness he hadn’t seen in a very long time.

  Harold had decided to let things be. In all of the years he’d been married to Miriam, neither one of them were as happy as she appeared to be with Jack. Harold headed for the slot machines, had more beers than he could count, and somehow ended up at a poker table. He played several hands and as luck would have it, had done very well. He vaguely remembered being bought several more drinks and being invited to a private poker game. Stupidly, he accepted, and lost. Somehow the men that he now owed a lot of money to had tied Miriam to him. Even though he and Miriam’s divorce was just recently finalized, they believed they were still married. In a drunken stupor, he must’ve mentioned her. He remembered the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he was being tossed out of a car. One of them men gave him a time limit to pay his gambling debt or else Miriam would be killed.

  “Two hundred thousand dollars?” Aggie questioned the amount of the ransom.

  Harold nodded. “That’s with an hourly interest being tacked on.”

  Roger whistled. “That’s a lot of dough! I can’t believe you gambled that big.”

  Harold shook his head. “The funny thing is I don’t remember any set amounts on the card games.” He shrugged. “I know I had cash on me from winning at the tables in the casino, but I don’t know what happened to it. I just don’t remember much. They kept giving me more drinks…it’s all a blur.”

  “Sounds like they may have drugged you,” Betty said. “I’ve heard of that happening.”

  Roger smoothed his mustache with his forefinger. “You’d better pay those guys. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

  “Don’t pay them!” Betty said. “Those thugs belong in jail!”

  “I think Roger’s right,” Aggie agreed. “You need to pay them.”

  “I don’t have the money,” Harold said. “I was trying to get on a winning streak again and it never happened. I’m completely tapped out. I was thinking of going to the bank and getting some sort of loan. The only problem is that these guys want their money by midnight. If I don’t get it to them… if… oh, God… Miriam… You think they’ll cut me a break and give me more time?”

  “Not a chance,” Roger said. “I know they want their money. I mean, they might give you more time and up what you owe them and Miriam might lose a finger or two.”

  “Oh, God,” Harold sobbed. “What have I done?”

  “I’m telling you, you need to go to the police,” Betty said. “It’s the only way.”

  “No,” Harold cried, and then cleared his throat while trying to get in control of his feelings. “They’ll kill her. They already warned me. No police are to be involved.”

  “You have to take that chance,” Betty said. “You need to contact them.”

  “I think Harold’s right,” Aggie said. “I think the goons that have Miriam are watching. They’ll know if he goes to the police. You’ll have to pay them.”

  “Like I said,” Harold began, “I don’t have the…”

  “I have the money,” Aggie stated. “Don’t worry.” She was financially secure and two hundred thousand dollars wasn’t going to break her. She could afford it, especially if it was to save a life.

  Roger and Betty stared at Aggie wide-eyed.

  “Aggie,” Roger gasped. “That’s a lot of…”

  Aggie held her hand up to silence him. “I don’t want to hear it. You spent $200,000 on a fish. This is for a woman’s life.”

  Roger bit his lip. He spent the equivalent, if not more in the long run, on a rare silver Arowana fish that was considered good luck from a breeder in Singapore. He purchased Angelica to be a part of his decorating motif within his home. And her good luck had brought him lots of good fortune within the world of decorating. “You’re right,” he said, suddenly feeling guilty for his stinginess.

  “There you are!” Jack said, joining them in the bar. He stood at the end of the table. “Aggie, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I just checked your room and then started searching the casino… Thank God you weren’t on the strip. I’d never have found you. Are you still dating a cop?”

  “You mean Tom?” Betty asked. “He’s…”

  “Um, we’re friends,” Aggie answered, quickly. She was surprised to see Jack and equally surprised by his question. She noticed his swollen lip and that his eye was turning purple as if he’d just been slugged moments before. “Are you all right? We were concerned about you. Were you in a fight?”

  “I need to ask you a favor…” Jack’s eyes shifted from Aggie to Harold, who was sitting across the table from her. He’d been so focused on finding Aggie that he hadn’t noticed Miriam’s ex-husband until now. “What’s he doing here?”

  “It’s not what it looks like,” Harold said, jumping up from the table, his chair flying backwards. He defensively put his hands out in front of him. “I didn’t mean for them to take Miriam. I swear!”

  “What did you say?” Jack asked.

  “I didn’t mean for them to take her. I swear!” Harold’s voice cracked.

  “It’s because of you!” Jack screamed. He lunged at Harold. Harold ducked out of the way. The only reason Jack missed him was because of a sharp pain that penetrated his side. He grunted and clutched hold of his ribs. He was sure that at least one of them was broken from being kicked repeatedly.

  “It’s all a misunderstanding!” Harold said. “I swear! I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

  “I bet you didn’t!” Jacked shouted. “And I bet that’s why you’re here! To wish the bride well? Yeah right!”

  “Stop it!” Aggie yelled. “No one meant for this to happen!”

  One of the bartenders rushed over and positioned himself between the two men. “Is everything all right here?” he asked Aggie.

  “Everything’s fine,” Aggie said. “Right?”

  “You did this to Miriam!” Jack yelled, pointin
g at Harold who was standing behind the bartender.

  “Take this outside or I’ll have security take you out,” the bartender said to Jack. “Understand?”

  Pure adrenaline pulsed through Jack’s veins causing him to shake. Jack held his breath, forcing himself to calm down. He knew that if security took him away, he’d be no good to Miriam. He needed to talk to Aggie. He needed to ask if her cop boyfriend could help without letting the kidnappers know that the police had been contacted. Jack nodded at the bartender.

  “All right,” said the bartender. “Anymore of this and I’ll have you all kicked out.”

  Both Jack and Harold nodded curtly. Jack caught Harold’s eye and sneered.

  When the bartender was out of earshot, Jack turned his back to Harold and put his hand on Aggie’s shoulder. “Your cop friend… can you ask him for his advice? Can you get him involved without me actually going to the police?”

  Betty was listening in. She nodded. “I think that’s a good idea, Agsie, dear. Call Tom.”

  Aggie shook her head. “In this case it’s better to pay the ransom.”

  “I would,” Jack said. “But I don’t have that kind of cash.”

  “Aggie’s gonna pay it,” Harold said.

  “What? You’d do that?” Jack asked. He leaned over and grabbed Aggie in a bear hug. Pain seared through his ribcage and he groaned. “Thank you.”

  “Think of it as a wedding gift,” Aggie said, remembering how she’d forgotten to buy them a gift.

  “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Why don’t you go to the hospital and have your ribs looked at?” Aggie suggested.

  “How’d you know?” Jack grunted while clutching his side.

  “It doesn’t take a genius to see that they’re broken.” Aggie shook her head, staring at him.

  “All they’re gonna do is tape them up. It’s no big deal,” he said. “I’ve broken ribs before. Besides, I need to see this through with Miriam first.”

  “I don’t like this, Aggie,” Betty said, scowling. She was nervously shredding a napkin into tiny little bits and making a small mess on the table. “I still think you should call Tom.”

  “Tom had told her to stay out of this,” Roger said, twitching his mustache. “So she can’t call him.”

  “Things are different now,” Betty said, grabbing a fresh napkin to mangle.

  “He’d still tell her to stay out of it,” Roger said. “He’d tell her to call the police and make a report.”

  “Well, I agree,” Betty said, pouting. “She should stay out of it and let the police handle it.”

  “For once we agree on something.” Roger nodded. “Two hundred thousand dollars is way too much money to waste on a wedding gift.”

  Chapter 14

  After making a few phone calls, and pulling a few strings, Aggie had the money wired to the account scrawled out on a scrap piece of paper that the kidnappers had given Jack. Sitting on the side of her bed, she hung up the phone and sighed, “It’s done.”

  “Good,” Roger said. “Now all we need to do is retrieve Miriam.”

  “Thank you so much, Aggie!” Jack said. “You truly are a lifesaver.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Aggie said. “I’ll be happy when Miriam is safe and sound.”

  “How do you know they’ll actually give you Miriam now,” Betty whispered. She was sitting next to Aggie on the bed. And Jack was sitting at the small table with Roger. Harold was sitting at the foot of the bed staring at a sitcom on the TV.

  “We don’t,” Aggie said, quietly. “We just pray that they do.”

  “Couldn’t they just take the money and then kill Miriam?”

  “Yes, they could.”

  “Then why won’t you call Tom? I don’t understand.”

  “I think Miriam has a better chance if the police stay out of it.”

  “Well, I don’t agree. I think you’re just being stubborn.” Betty crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the TV. She suddenly felt cold even though it was warm in the room with the heater running. She rubbed her arms through her pink formfitting sweater to try and warm herself.

  Aggie threw her a sour look, but decided not to respond to the harsh comment. She knew that Betty was just worried for Miriam’s safety.

  “It’s almost time,” Jack said for the umpteenth time since they entered the room. He was obsessed with staring at his watch. “Let’s go outside. They said they’d leave her just out front at midnight. Or anyway that’s what I remember. I hope it’s just out front. Which side of the casino is the front side? Or do you think they’d go around back… or the parking garage…”

  “It’s eleven thirty,” Aggie said. “Let’s head downstairs. We can split up and take different casino entrances to keep an eye out for her. I have a feeling that they’ll drop her off before midnight so that you won’t see them leave. I wouldn’t be surprised if they drop her off a block or two away and just point her in the right direction.”

  “What? Why would they do that?” Jack asked, getting up from the chair. “I already know what they look like. Doesn’t really matter, does it?”

  “As far as they know you may have contacted the police,” Roger said matter-a—factly. “Or that you’d have them followed or something so you could turn them in.”

  “Do you think they’ll hurt Miriam?” Jack panicked. “I didn’t call the police. You know that!”

  “But they don’t know that,” Roger said. “They might think it’s a trap.”

  “Oh God, oh God,” Jack said, pacing back and forth. “They’ve gotta know…they’ve gotta…we gave them the money…”

  “They might think the money is police money,” Roger stated. “I’ve seen it on a TV show before.”

  “Oh God,” Jack groaned. “Maybe Mama was right and I should’ve just gone to the police anyhow. They’d probably know what to do.”

  “I know what show you’re talking about!” Harold looked over at Roger, his eyebrows knit together with concern. “I’ve seen that episode. Oh jeez, what have I done?” He smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. “How could I have been so stupid?”

  Jack suddenly stopped pacing and stood in front of the TV, glaring at Harold. “If anything happens to Miriam, anything at all, mark my word, I’ll kill you!”

  Harold jumped up and poked Jack hard in the chest with his forefinger. “You think I wanted this to happen? I love Miriam!”

  Jack’s eyes widened, his ribs burning. He grabbed hold of Harold’s finger. “If you loved her so much, you wouldn’t have been cheating on her!”

  Aggie hopped up and quickly pushed herself in between the two men. “Miriam will be fine. Let’s go.”

  ***

  Aggie walked in a hurry to the parking lot. She’d talked Betty into going with Harold, and Roger into going with Jack. They split up to check different entrances of the casino. She told Roger and Jack to go to the main entrance because that’s where she felt Miriam would most likely be dropped off. Betty and Harold went to a side entrance, and Aggie told them she’d check the parking garage entrance.

  Hurrying, Aggie dug around in her large silver pocketbook in search of her car keys. She found them in a small side pocket while hiking as fast as she could to her car. This was one of those times she wished that she’d used valet parking. Normally she didn’t like strangers driving her car, but this hike was killing her. She cursed at herself for not changing her shoes. Why she’d felt the need to wear strappy high heeled sandals to dinner was beyond her. And why she didn’t think to change them was also beyond her.

  Several minutes later, and completely out of breath, Aggie pushed the alarm button several times. The alarm on her Mercedes chirped.

  “There you are,” Aggie said, spotting the silver car. She opened the driver’s side door and slid behind the wheel. “Now to catch us some crooks.”

  Aggie started up her car and carefully backed out of her parking spot. She looked at her blue eyes in the rearview mirror and questione
d her sanity. But then she pushed it far from her mind. If she was going to do this, she needed to act now. She knew that more than likely she’d never spot the kidnappers, anyhow. But it couldn’t help to be prepared just in case she did see them. If she did, she’d follow them back to their hide out, get an address and then call Tom. Then he could dispatch the news to whomever it was that needed to know where these guys were hiding out and they’d come catch them.

  Smiling, while thinking about her brilliant plan, Aggie exited the parking garage and circled the block. There was quite a bit of traffic being that it was a Saturday night. Not only were there a ton of cars, there were also a ton of people on foot. They were everywhere. Aggie waited for a mob of people to cross the street.

  “Come on already,” she groaned, when she spotted a man dressed up as a Transformer across the street. “Bumblebee,” she said, remembering the yellow car’s name. She’d taken her grandson Shawn to see the movie when it was in theaters. Boy did she get an earful from Sarah when she got him home. She hadn’t realized that the movie was rated PG-13. She figured talking cars that looked like robots would be fine for a small boy. She still didn’t understand why her daughter had gotten so worked up over it.

  A couple of people darted out right in front of Aggie’s car at the last second, causing her to put on her brakes once again. The couple waved an apology and crossed. A yellow cab looming behind her honked at her to move out of the way.

  “I’m trying!” Aggie complained and made the turn. She slowly crept past the Planet Hollywood hotel hoping to see the men. Right away she spotted Roger and Jack standing out front. Roger did a double take when the cab honked again at Aggie.

  “Go around!” Aggie yelled, impatiently. She rolled down her window and waved him around. The tires of the cab screeched as he pulled in the next lane, slamming on his brakes when another car almost collided with him.

  Aggie frowned at the near accident the cab almost caused. Then she looked over at Roger and Jack. She and Roger locked eyes. Roger seemed shocked to see her. Feeling uncomfortable because she knew Roger was wondering why she was driving down the street, Aggie broke eye contact. Just then, a little ways down the road, Aggie spotted a black car pull up to the curb and a woman getting out of the back.