“Yes. Jack was watching it in the other room and came in and told us. It’s all over the local stations.”
“When we got to Lou’s office, we found him slumped over his desk but still alive. My dad’s the one who called 911.” I shook my head. “I’m so sorry to hear this. We’ll be home soon. Love you.”
“Love you too.” She hung up.
I tucked my phone away, slightly stunned.
My dad came over. “What happened? What are you sorry about?”
“Lou didn’t make it. Jayne said they saw it on the local news.” I left out the part where she thought my dad was responsible. I probably would have assumed that too, based on my father’s statement at the house earlier.
My dad put a hand to his mouth for a few beats, then exhaled. “I wasn’t a fan of the guy, but I wouldn’t have wished this on him either.”
As the shock left me, my senses returned. “Same, but right now, we need to get out of here. We’re in a dead man’s house. And the guard at the gate thinks he just saw Lou pull in with a hot blonde. When he finds out Lou is dead, that’s going to raise some questions.”
A muttered curse slipped from my father’s lips. “This is going to take a little more magic than the first time.”
I didn’t ask what he meant, just trusted that he had it handled as we headed for the car. A few minutes later, I understood. He transformed the SUV into a minivan and me into a soccer mom with himself as her son. We left the neighborhood behind without incident, but I didn’t like that Lou had now technically been in two places at once.
I drove straight back to my parents’ and parked in front of the main doors.
My dad held his hand out. “Keys.”
“You going somewhere?”
“No, I just want to put this in the garage and get a different car out for us to use. Just in case.”
I held on to the keys. “In case of what?”
He hesitated. “In case it comes up that Lou was seen with a hot blonde when he was supposedly dead in the hospital. And someone decides to check the camera footage for the license plate number, which I didn’t use magic to change.”
“Dad.”
“I know. I didn’t think that through.”
I cut him some slack, considering everything going on. “Maybe Birdie can help.” I hoped.
“You go find out. I’ll put the car under wraps.”
I gave him the keys, then hopped out, crossing paths with him as he came around to the driver’s side. Magic was a very useful thing. Except when it wasn’t.
* * *
Jayne
“You did what?” I stared at my husband, hoping for an explanation that made sense.
“I didn’t do it. My dad did. It’s not like he purposefully left the plate unchanged. He just forgot,” Sin said.
Birdie snorted for the second time. “I think it’s kind of funny.”
“Sure,” Sin said. “Until you realize if they run the plate, it comes back to my dad. Which is why I have to ask if there’s anything you can do about it?”
She eyed Sin like a mother might look at a child who had misbehaved one too many times. “Such as?”
“Such as go into the database and disappear that license number.”
She smirked. “Disappear it?”
“You know what I mean,” he said.
I nodded. “Please Birdie, can you help? We can’t have the police showing up here asking why Lou was driving my father-in-law’s SUV.”
She sighed with the kind of frustration that was mostly for show. “I’m sure I can do something. But I’m going to need more fuel. Breakfast wore off a long time ago.”
“Anything,” Sin said. “Name it.”
“Cheesesteak sub, good fries and a chocolate milkshake. And a nice slice of pie. Or cake. Or both. I’m not picky.”
My stomach rumbled. “That sounds good.”
Sin smiled. “I’m not surprised.”
Anson came in through another door. “What aren’t you surprised about?”
“Jayne’s appetite,” Sin answered.
“You know, we should all eat.” Anson looked surprisingly calm for someone who might have the police at his door if Birdie couldn’t work her own kind of magic. “We might not feel like it, but we have to take care of ourselves.”
“You want a cheesesteak too, Dad?”
“Sure.” He nodded. “I bet Jack could go for one, too.”
Jack looked up from the tablet he was using in the other room. He had the news still on. “I could.”
I approached Anson. “I have to say you seem awfully calm.”
“You mean about the car?”
I nodded.
He gave me a short, terse smile. “Let’s just say that while they might track that plate to this address, they’ll never find the car.” He looked at everyone. “If that happens, if the authorities do show up, the story is the car was stolen last night. We didn’t call the cops because we only discovered it this morning.”
Sin crossed his arms. “You hid it?”
Anson nodded. “And it’ll stay that way for as long as necessary. Now, let’s go get some food.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Jayne
Birdie worked through her meal. What she was working on, I wasn’t quite sure, but she had given the rest of us assignments to do when we were done eating. Except for Jack. He’d gone to take a nap. I didn’t blame him. I’d have done the same thing if I could, but the stress of my mother-in-law’s disappearance was too much.
Spider and Sugar had trotted off to the guest room with him. Naps were sort of their thing, and they weren’t about to miss the opportunity to sleep curled up next to a bigger warm body. Also, Jack was a raven shifter, and I knew they could smell the bird on him. I wasn’t sure, but I had a feeling that was a quality the cats really enjoyed.
Sin and I were to search local newspapers, via the internet, for any past articles about Tony or Lou that might give us insight into where they’d taken Lila, if they had taken her. Birdie wasn’t as ready as Anson to let Lou off the hook. Dead or not.
I had Tony. Sin had Lou. We were working year by year, and so far, it was slow going. Most of the articles we found were fluff pieces. Tony at the opening of a business. Tony and Gabrielle at a charity event. Lou giving a one-line quote on the state of show business in town. Boring stuff.
Anson had gone to his office to make the dreaded call to the Oasis about the show being canceled tonight. He’d also have to call everyone involved. Well, maybe not the ushers, but certainly the stagehands, the lighting guys, the makeup people, the… I didn’t really know who else worked on a show like that.
Regardless, I suspected he might be in there a while. It wasn’t a call he wanted to make for a variety of reasons, one of which being that it made Lila’s disappearance real in a brand-new way. He could no longer hope that we’d find her in time for tonight’s show. That things would be back to normal with the rise of the curtain.
My heart ached for him. All I could do was pour myself into my work, as boring as it was.
Then, a new article popped up, and it wasn’t quite as boring as it had been. “Wow, Tony’s wife is beautiful. I can’t believe he was cheating on her. Did you know she was a showgirl?”
Sin looked up from the laptop he was working on. He nodded. “More than just a showgirl, she was the principal dancer in the last review featuring showgirls to ever run in Vegas.”
I did a quick Google search. “A Pussycat in Paris?”
“That was it. Think Aristocats in Paris with half-naked women, and you’ve got the gist of it.”
I snorted. “Sounds wildly entertaining.”
“It was, until it wasn’t. Showgirl reviews couldn’t keep up with the big headlining acts, and they were incredibly expensive. The Oasis held on the longest, but obviously even they ended theirs. Wasn’t long after that they did the remodel and expanded the theater my parents are in. That’s just where the money was.”
“It
’s kind of sad. Las Vegas and showgirls go together like peanut butter and jelly. To me, anyway. They just seem synonymous with each other.”
“To most people. Maybe someday someone will bring them back.”
“So what happened to…what was her name?”
“Gabrielle,” Sin reminded me. “She became Tony’s assistant for a while. A lot of the other showgirls stayed in the game by doing special appearances. Birthday parties, conventions, stuff like that. But Gabrielle never did any of that. I think having her in the show helped Tony a lot. Brought in audiences that might not have come to see him otherwise.”
“That worked out for him.”
“It did, for sure.”
“Was he already successful when they married?”
“No, he was just getting started really. In fact, Gabrielle was a bigger star than he was when she joined his show. She absolutely was a part of his success. Just one more reason I can’t believe he’d cheat on her.”
That raised new questions for me. “Was he cheating back then? Is that why she didn’t stay on as his assistant?”
“I’m not sure about either of those things. Maybe she decided to focus on being a wife? Maybe she got tired of working every night? After all, she’d been at it longer than he had.” Sin shrugged. “Whatever the reason, she retired from show business altogether after that. And Tony’s had a string of different assistants throughout the years. I swear, it seems like he has a new one every time you turn around.”
I thought about everything Sin had just told me. “Maybe they get tired of his advances? If that’s what’s happening. If it is, makes me even sadder for Gabrielle. Why stay with a guy like that? Unless she doesn’t know?”
Sin sighed. “Vegas is very much a small town. Word gets around, so I’d be surprised if she didn’t at least suspect. But maybe she’s just decided to look the other way. And now with a kid on the way? It’s not a good situation, that’s for sure.”
I studied the wedding picture I’d found online. Even in her wedding dress, Gabrielle looked like a showgirl. Tall and beautiful with the kind of sparkling smile that must have been visible from the back rows. “She looks like she’s a good bit younger than Tony.”
“She is. By probably twelve years. Maybe more.”
“Boy,” I said. “He has some nerve running around on her.”
“Agreed.”
I glanced at Birdie, still deep in whatever rabbit hole she’d gone down, then back at Sin. “You know what I think?”
“What’s that?”
“We need to look at Carrie again. The new assistant.”
His brow furrowed. “As a possible suspect for my mom’s abductor?”
I nodded. “Think about it. If she sees her job as disposable, what better way to build job security by proving your loyalty with a little kidnapping of the competition.”
“Except that’s also crazy.”
“No one said she was sane. In fact, that works in her favor. If Tony knows she’s a little bananapants, then he’d probably be worried she’d name him as her accomplice if the kidnapping came to light.”
Sin’s brows bent further. “I could see that.”
I held my finger in the air to punctuate my next sentence. “And just because she bought mulch and plants didn’t mean part of that order wasn’t duct tape and tarps.”
He blinked a few times before he answered. Then he checked the time. “Get your shoes on. If we go now, we can catch her before she leaves for the show.”
“Or,” I said, “should we wait until she leaves and see what we can find out on our own? I mean, is she really going to confess to something just because we’re asking questions?”
“Good point. But I’m not interested in waiting. Let’s speed the process up.”
“How?”
“Follow me.” He led me into his dad’s office, knocking on the open door so we didn’t startle him by just walking in. “Dad?”
Anson turned in his desk chair. He looked miserable. “What can I do for you?”
“I need Carrie to leave early for the show. Jayne and I want to search her house.”
He thought for a moment. “Jimmy?”
Sin nodded. “I think that would work.”
I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about, but it was interesting to watch.
His dad did a quick search on his phone and found Carrie’s number, then dialed. “Carrie, darling, I need you to come in early.”
And that hadn’t been Anson’s voice coming out of his mouth.
Sin grinned. He’d told me his father’s talents weren’t limited to conjuring. He was also a talented mimic, and right now, my best guess was Anson was doing a bang-on impression of someone named Jimmy. At least I assumed it was bang-on. I had no idea who Jimmy was or what he actually sounded like.
Sin leaned over and quietly said, “That’s Jimmy Deville, the Crystal Palace’s show manager.”
That answered that. I couldn’t stop smiling. This was very clever.
Anson went on. “Costuming needs to see you. They think one of your outfits shrunk after being cleaned.” He hesitated. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Another pause. “That would be great. Might take us a bit to work this out, but have patience, my dear.” He nodded. “You are perfection, as always.”
Anson hung up, smiling. “That should do it. She sounded overly concerned about the costume not fitting. I know women are sensitive about their weight, but still.”
Sin shrugged. “Whatever, it worked.”
I nodded. “Anson, that was amazing. Thank you.”
His smile disappeared. “I hope you find her.”
“We’re going to do our best.” Sin squeezed his dad’s shoulder, and we went back to the living room.
Birdie was still at her laptop. She’d probably be there when we got back, too. I spoke to Sin. “I need shoes.”
“And I need keys to a vehicle. Meet you back here in a minute.”
I went to the front door and put my flats on, which was where I’d left them. Then I ran back as I realized Carrie’s address was in the now well-hidden SUV. “Birdie, we’re going out to check on Carrie. I need her address again.”
She looked up like she’d only heard half of what I’d said. “The assistant?”
I nodded. “Yes. Why? Is there something new I should know?”
“I was thinking about checking her financials again. Hang on.” The computer screen lit up Birdie’s glasses as she typed away.
Sin joined me, keys in his hand. “I think I can remember how to get there.”
“Wait, Birdie’s looking at Carrie’s bank accounts again.”
Birdie let out a low whistle. “This is interesting. First Buck, now her. But I don’t think this is from gambling.”
“What?” I felt like I might explode with the not knowing.
Birdie looked over the rims of her glasses at us. “She’s had a little windfall since the last time I looked at her accounts. To the tune of ten thousand dollars.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Sinclair
Death and ruin. If we found out that Carrie was holding my mother, and we’d already been there once, I was going to be a brand-new level of angry. To think that I might have been that close to my mom and not done anything to help her…
“Why are your knuckles so white?” Jayne asked. “You look like you’re afraid the wheel is suddenly going to come loose.”
I did my best to relax, but that was easier said than done. “I can’t stand to think that we missed an opportunity help my mom. We’ve already been to Carrie’s. If my mom was there and we did nothing—”
“How were we to know?”
“You wanted to go in. And I didn’t let you.” I exhaled a hot, hard breath.
“Sin, if your dad hadn’t called about the ransom note, I would have. This isn’t your fault.”
It still felt like it. “Regardless, I will never make that mistake again. You can illegally enter and search any place you want fro
m here on out as far as I’m concerned.”
“Well, I appreciate that, but we’re still acting on a guess. We don’t know for sure your mom is there. Or even that Carrie’s involved.”
“That ten grand looks awfully suspicious.”
“It does. From the amount to the timing, it’s all kinds of suspicious.” Jayne sat back. “I wish Birdie could have figured out where it came from. Or who it came from.”
The thought of possibly being so close to my mom and doing nothing was making me crazy. I needed to talk about something else. At least until we got to Carrie’s house. “What was Birdie working on so diligently this morning?”
“I’m not sure actually. Maybe the license plate? She was pretty focused.”
“Did you ask her?”
“No. I didn’t want to interrupt her workflow. Do you want me to call her and find out now?”
“I am curious. Maybe a quick text wouldn’t hurt.”
Jayne got her phone out and a second later, her fingers were flying over the screen. Then she waited, eyes watching for a return text to pop up.
Didn’t take long.
“Birdie says she took care of the license plate, then she was finding a way into the Las Vegas coroner’s office so she could see the determined cause of death for Lou. It just came in about an hour ago. It was ruled a heart attack. Natural causes.” She looked up. “She says it was noted that he had a history of high blood pressure and coronary artery disease.”
“That jives with the medication that was on his desk.” I frowned. “Did she think it was going to be something else?”
“I’ll ask.” More texting ensued. On both sides. “She says it was just something she wanted to know. She thinks there should have been an autopsy.”
“She does?”
Jayne looked at me. “You know how Birdie is. Also, no stone unturned.”
“True, but I don’t know how to get an autopsy to happen without my dad bringing the cops in and explaining what’s happened. I don’t think Clark County does them without a valid reason. Obviously. But I mean, it’s not standard procedure.”
“That might be, but again, this is Birdie we’re talking about. If there’s a way for her to get an autopsy done, she’ll figure it out.”
Lost in Las Vegas Page 12
