Outrageous Vegas Vacation (An Agnes Barton Senior Sleuths Mystery Book 8)

by Madison Johns

  * * *

  We walked into the police department and waited for Detectives McCullum and Mader to show up. Eleanor was twirling a pencil she had found on Mader’s desk, while I gave her a look that meant, ‘knock it off, would you.’ As normal with Eleanor, she didn’t give a care what I thought. I admired her for that. I’m not the leader and she’s not a follower—we’re partners to the end, which I hoped was far away for the both of us.

  The detectives slowed their pace when they came over to meet us. Mader had a white box under his arm and set it down before sinking into a swivel chair.

  “I hope that’s donuts,” Eleanor said. “I missed lunch.”

  The box was opened and Mader offered us each a sweet concoction. I grabbed a peanut crunch donut, layering the floor with nuts that fell off as I bit into it.

  “So, what can I do for you today, ladies?” McCullum asked, scratching his rounded belly.

  “I’d like to bail out Mark Klein.”

  “That’s a good one,” he said. “Bail for him is set at one-million dollars.”

  “A mil!” Eleanor shrieked. “It’s not like the man is Ted Bundy.”

  I had a good chuckle over that and asked, “And why is that, exactly?”

  “He’s a flight risk.”

  “And how did you come to that conclusion? Because of his past?”

  “You don’t understand how these people work. They get arrested, bailed out, and they’re gone.”

  “Mark is innocent. He was with Yvonne Green that morning and what are you doing about getting her to tell you the truth about it?”

  “Look, I know you’re trying to help, but we have our man.”

  “Malcolm was supposed to be meeting with someone that morning and it wasn’t Mark, so who was it?”

  “Who says he was?”

  “Kayla White. You’d think she’d have known, since Malcolm told her that when he left that morning.”

  “There are plenty of things you haven’t looked into,” Eleanor added. “But I suppose there’s no sense in telling you any of them. We’ll look into them ourselves and you’ll both look pretty foolish when you find out how wrong you are about Mark.”

  I smiled. I loved it when Eleanor talked like this. “How about us paying Mark a visit at least, or are you not going to allow us to do that, either?”

  “Fine. I’ll allow that,” McCullum said.

  We were led down a long hallway and were patted down, leaving our purses with a deputy. We sat down on one side of a glass, waiting for Mark to sit opposite us. It took longer than I had anticipated, although I didn’t know what the hold up was. I stared over at a woman crying as she spoke into a black receiver. “I love you, baby. I swear I’ll find some way to come up with the money to bail you out.”

  I hung my head. I’m quite sure there were hundreds of stories about family members not able to bail out their loved ones. Who knew, there might even be innocent people like Mark who were judged for what they’d done in the past. I couldn’t help but think about Mark and his predicament. It broke my heart to know that he was in here without bail while the real killer was free out there somewhere. Who had put the murder weapon into Mark’s room and why? Who had Mark wronged so badly that they’d do something like that to him, or were they just looking for a fall guy? Whoever it was certainly knew about his past. How many people did?

  Mark came through a door and flopped down on a chair opposite us and picked up the phone with a heavy hand. I did likewise.

  “What are you two doing here?”

  “I came to bail you out actually, but for some reason they’ve put it at a million dollars.”

  Mark rubbed a palm over his head. “Are you still investigating this case?”

  “Yes, and hopefully you’re denying you killed Malcolm.”

  “Of course I am. I didn’t kill that man.”

  “You were seen arguing with Malcolm the day before he was murdered, what was that about?”

  Mark sighed. “What does it matter? It’s not like the cops believe anything I say.”

  “Look, we’re here to help you get out of this.”

  “Tell him we can’t do that if he doesn’t cooperate,” Eleanor said.

  “Eleanor says—”

  “I heard her and I’m just not willing to drag Kayla’s name in the mud.”

  “Does it have something to do with the pay-to-party plan that he pushed on Kayla?”

  “I’d do anything to keep Kayla safe and Malcolm wasn’t looking after her best interests.”

  “We know he’d been skimming money from her, too.”

  “If only that’s all it was. Kayla wasn’t aware of how bad it was going to get for her.”

  “Well, share it with us. We can’t help if you don’t.”

  Mark crossed his arms and shook his head. “I believe that she’s in grave danger, thanks to Malcolm’s business dealings.”

  I was getting frustrated with Mark now. He was making it impossible to help him and I knew that he had nothing to do with Malcolm’s death. “How is she in danger? Who means to harm her?”

  Mark’s face hardened. “Tell her to hire a few security guards. Men who don’t come from the casino. It’s important that they be independently hired. Tell her I told you that.”

  A guard ordered Mark out and I could tell by the determined look in his eye that he truly believed in what he was saying.

  “Do you know what Malcolm was doing with the money he was skimming?” I asked, but it was too late as Mark shuffled out the door.

  I threw up my hands and stomped the way out of the room to where the detectives were waiting for us. “Oh, look, Agnes. We have our own personal escorts. I bet we’re about to be shown the door.”

  I smiled. “I might be a little forgetful, but I believe that I know where the door is.”

  “Did Mark happen to confess when you spoke to him?” McCullum asked.

  “Perhaps you should check the tapes. I’m quite positive that you record all the visits.”

  “And why would he confess to something that he didn’t do?” Eleanor asked with a cockeyed look.

  “The sooner the both of you realize that Mark is guilty, the better it will be.”

  “Better for who? You? It seems like if you were so convinced that he did it, you wouldn’t try so hard to convince us.”

  “If you’ll excuse us,” Eleanor said, “we’re heading back to the casino now. I just know I’m going to hit it big tonight.”

  “I’m sure she means playing slots, not manhandling someone.”

  “Go ahead and leave, but it’s unfair to be taking Kayla’s money for investigating Malcolm’s murder when we already have the guilty man in jail,” Mader said.

  “Oh, and why are you so worried about Kayla and her money?” I asked, perplexed. “Did you know Malcolm personally?”

  “Yes, did you?” Eleanor said.

  Detective Mader stiffened. “I might have run across him before.”

  McCullum gave his partner a hard look. “We’ve never had a call at Caesars before.”

  “I know, but I go there when I’m off duty on occasion. My girlfriend is a Kayla White fan, so we’ve been to a few of her shows. I’ve never met Kayla or Malcolm before, but it’s possible that I’ve walked past him before.”

  I shook my head. “Like I believe that story. Isn’t that a conflict of interest, you knowing Malcolm?”

  “I said that I’ve never met him personally.”

  “Yup, you’re so believable.”

  “Why should we believe that? Look how it worked out for Mark. Plenty of innocent men get railroaded into convictions,” Eleanor said.

  “Mader,” McCullum said. “Don’t say another word to them. They’re so desperate that they’re pulling straws. If Mader said that he’s never met Malcolm before, I believe him. I could get an officer to show you the door if you like.”

  I left in a huff and Eleanor followed me out the door. We hopped in a taxi and on the way back to the casino, I sai
d, “Why does it seem like Mader is pulling our leg? I have a hard time believing he wouldn’t pull rank to get a backstage pass if it’s true that his girlfriend is a big fan.”

  “And if he’s met Kayla, he must have met Malcolm.”

  “It’s the mention of money that has me baffled.”

  “Yes, it’s a strange comment, to say the very least,” Eleanor agreed.

  “And his partner is covering for him.”

  “Looks like we have to ask Kayla a few more questions.”

  “But we had planned to hunt down the president of the Foxworth Agency,” I reminded her.

  “Hopefully after dinner and a show.”

  “Part of one, anyway.”

  Chapter Eleven

  We arrived back at Caesars and I had to stop while Eleanor put a twenty into the first slot machine she passed. It was a zombie one and she quickly found her way onto the bonus round, where she won several hundred dollars. Instead of continuing to play the game, she cashed out and put the printed slip into the machine that spit out the cash.

  I gave Andrew a quick call and he told me that he’d meet us at the Bacchanal Buffet. When I told Eleanor, she was so excited that I was barely able to get her upstairs to speak with Kayla before dinner.

  “You’ll make us late,” Eleanor pouted. “I’ve been dying to eat there.” She rubbed her palms together with a huge, cockeyed grin on her face.

  “Now, Eleanor. How many times have I told you not to use the dying word? It’s always wound up to cause us trouble.”

  We came off the elevator on Kayla’s floor and knocked on the door. It took a few minutes before she let us in.

  Once we were inside, I said, “We went to see Mark in jail. I had hoped to bail him out, but it’s sort of steep.”

  “To the tune of a million dollars,” Eleanor said.

  Kayla frowned. “That’s unfortunate, but I should bail him out. I can’t see him behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit.”

  “From the way the detectives acted, it sounds like it’s an open-and-shut case,” Sue said. “My daughter can hardly afford to bail Mark out if what your husband said was true.”

  I frowned. “What did my husband have to say?” I asked.

  Kayla sighed, making way over to a dresser and pulling out a small bottle of whiskey. She opened it and downed it, making quite the face. “It appears that Malcolm has been skimming my money since he’s been handling my career and it’s more extensive that Andrew first thought when he went through additional paperwork he found. He was here not long ago, trying to explain it.”

  “Did you have any idea that Malcolm was doing that?” I asked.

  Kayla shook her head. “N-No.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “I’ve been such a fool. I should never have trusted that man.”

  “Certainly he couldn’t have taken everything, and now the money you are making from here on out will go into your account.”

  “Yes, that is something, but where has all that money gone?”

  “You’ll need to contact the police so they can look into your missing money and find out where it might have been diverted.”

  “Should I call them now?”

  “I’ll do it, honey,” Kayla’s mother said. “I wish we had gotten our own accountant to look over the financial details.”

  I called Andrew and he promised to be right over while Kayla called the police. Luckily Andrew arrived first and had a stack of papers in hand.

  “I hope you’ve had time to go over the documents,” I said.

  “I did, and it might be a waste of time calling the police.”

  There was a knock at the door and Detective McCullum and Mader were led inside.

  “I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,” Mader said.

  “No? I had told you that we’d still be investigating,” I said.

  “That Malcolm stole money from my daughter Kayla,” Sue said. “And we need that money trail found so she can get her money returned.”

  Andrew shook his head. “That might not be so easy if you signed these papers, Kayla.” He pulled out a stack of papers and asked, “Is this your signature on these documents?”

  Kayla took the papers and shuffled through them. She then nodded slowly. “Yes, it looks like my signature. Malcolm was always asking for me to sign one thing or another.”

  “Didn’t you at least read what you were signing?” I asked.

  “Not really, Malcolm assured me that he only had my best interests in mind.”

  “Yes, while he was pilfering all of your money,” Eleanor said.

  “No need to make Kayla feel bad. Perhaps the detectives can get Kayla’s money back,” I said.

  “That’s the problem,” Andrew said. “The contract Kayla signed gave Malcolm the right to also serve as her accountant. She signed all the transfer slips so it appears that the money he moved, he had legal authority to do so.”

  “That’s interesting,” Mader said. “Were you aware of Malcolm’s deception, Kayla?”

  “No,” she admitted. “It appears that I’ve wasted your time.”

  “Is this the first time you’ve seen Detective Mader?” I asked. “I mean, after Malcolm died?”

  Kayla smiled. “Well, no. He’s been backstage at some of my shows with his wife.”

  And so the light bulb goes off.

  “This has nothing to do with this investigation,” Mader said.

  “Did Detective Mader happen to also meet Malcolm before his unfortunate death?”

  “I can see there’s no reason for us to have been called,” McCullum said, heading for the door.

  “I had forgotten that I might have met him once,” Mader said. “But we had only a drink once and that was several month ago.”

  “Come on, Mader. We’re needed in court tomorrow and need to prepare.”

  “Is that for Mark?” I asked.

  “Yes, we’ve about finalized the details of Malcolm’s death.”

  “Oh, and I suppose you’ve already had the coroners report, too?” I said.

  “And the toxicology is back as well?” Eleanor asked.

  “Well, no, but we do have the murder weapon in Mark’s room.”

  “So, where were you before the call about Malcolm’s death?” I asked.

  “Don’t answer that question,” McCullum said. “I hope that you’re not suggesting that Mader had anything to do with Malcolm’s death because we were together before we got the call.”

  My smile faded. “Now, what I’d really like to know is have you established who Malcolm was meeting with the morning of his death?”

  “We have evidence against Mark.”

  “In my experience, you have to investigate every option before you make up your mind about who really did kill Malcolm. Mark could have been set up and you know it.”

  “Fine, go ahead and investigate more and if you happen to find out who Malcolm did meet with, I’d appreciate you giving us a call.”

  The detectives left and Andrew said, “I’m sorry, Kayla. I wish I could have given you better news. In the future, never sign anything unless you read it or have an independent attorney look over it for you.”

  “I had offered to help out, Kayla,” Sue said. “I wish I was able to convince her to trust me instead of Malcolm, but he was such a talker and had a way of convincing us that he was an honest man. We’re from a small town and don’t know anything about contracts and such.”

  “Malcolm gave me an allowance so that I wouldn’t overspend my money,” Kayla said. “I suppose I should have questioned him more, but I was just happy that I got a music contract. At the time, I had no idea what that would involve, the time in the studio, the music videos, the tours. I was just happy that I could do what I love most, which is to sing in front of a live audience.”

  I could agree with what Kayla had to say. Who would know how to handle things when they’re discovered as a new artist? I couldn’t blame Kayla and she needn’t blame herself, either.

  “Don’t blam
e yourself,” Eleanor said.

  “Those Hollywood types are very slick and smart enough to know how to hide it,” I said. “Eleanor is right, you shouldn’t blame yourself, but didn’t you at least hire an attorney to look over your contract?”

  “No, Malcolm told us that we didn’t need one, that we could just use his lawyer,” Sue said.

  “You should never sign any contract without legal representation,” Andrew said.

  “In life, there are no do-overs. It’s really too bad that Malcolm had so easily fooled you. I wonder who will represent you now?” I asked.

  “I can help my daughter,” Sue said. “At least I’m family.”

  “Malcolm must be working for someone. I hardly think that he was able to finance everything himself,” Andrew pointed out.

  “No, he worked for the Foxworth Agency. Eleanor and I had hoped to sneak off to the Mirage to question the president, Max Trogan. We were told he’d be there tonight, playing a high stakes poker game,” I filled Andrew in.

  “So much for the buffet place and a show afterward.” Andrew frowned.

  Eleanor’s face dropped. “That’s no fair. You know I’ve wanted to go there.”

  “We could at least have dinner first, couldn’t we?” I asked.

  “Sure,” Andrew said. “If we leave right now.”

  “Thanks again for all your help,” Kayla said. “I need to get ready for my show tonight. It’s part of my routine to take a long, hot bath first.”

  We left and I felt so bad about what had happened to Kayla. Malcolm very well may have taken her future, unless she was able to keep it going here in Vegas. She’d relied so much on Malcolm, would she be able to go it alone?

  * * *

  We went to our room to change and Mr. Wilson was already there, his face pressed against a fan, not that it wasn’t cool enough in here with the air conditioning.