Death Perception

by Victoria Laurie

  I stepped out from behind the curtain dressed head to toe in rhinestones, a black puffy wig, thick round sunglasses, and a belt buckle as big as Iowa. ‘‘Sorry, the title for ridiculous has already been taken.’’

  Candice giggled from behind her own curtain. And when she stepped out, I realized I might have spoken too soon. ‘‘My dahlings,’’ she said, casting her hands wide to show off the electric blue cape studded with its own series of rhinestones and feathers, a white puffy shirt with elaborate collar and cuffs, and in her hand a plastic candelabra. ‘‘To my piano!’’ she said.

  ‘‘I should have gone with Liberace,’’ Cat said, eyeing Candice. ‘‘Priscilla seems so dull next to him.’’

  ‘‘There’s not much available in your size,’’ I said, reminding her of that fact. My sister is tiny, like, five-feet-nothing, and she weighs less than a hundred pounds.

  ‘‘Prince,’’ Cat said, already taking off her wig. ‘‘He’s small. I’ll bet there’s something in my size back in his section,’’ and with that she was off.

  Candice and I waited while Cat traded Priscilla for Prince, and I had to admit, as she spun around in the mirror and did a little, ‘‘Who-ah-whoo!’’ she did a pretty good impression.

  ‘‘Can we get this show on the road?’’ I said, impatient to get this thing over with.

  We paid for our costume rental, which took up half of the rest of our available funds, and made our way back to the Strip.

  By now it was full dark out and the traffic along Las Vegas Boulevard had slowed to a crawl. ‘‘Where do you think we should start?’’ Candice asked me.

  I sighed as my insides felt like jelly. We had to turn $250 into close to $4,000 and we didn’t have a lot of time to do it. Jabba had already called to tell us that the intel was ready for pickup as soon as we had the money.

  I closed my eyes and tried to settle my nerves. Calling out to the crew, I thought, Gang, I really need your help here. Please assist with this however you can. Tell me where to go, please.

  My mind’s eye filled with a desert scene. Great. I’m already in the desert. Where to after that? I said to them as I thought that my crew might be a little slow on the uptake. From the desert in my mind rose a sphinx, and then around the sphinx a glass pyramid formed, encasing the great statue and pointing me in the right direction. My eyes flashed open. They hadn’t been slow at all; I’d just misunderstood—as usual. ‘‘We start at the Luxor,’’ I said confidently.

  Candice flashed me a grin and pushed up her Liberace wig, which was slightly too big for her head. ‘‘We’re there,’’ she said, and wove through traffic in the direction of the big black pyramid.

  We parked the K-car and hurried into the casino. ‘‘I feel so tall!’’ Cat said as we went through the doors. ‘‘Prince really has something with this platform-shoe thing.’’

  ‘‘Whoa,’’ I said, coming up short as I walked into the gigantic space with a ceiling that seemed to touch the sky. ‘‘This is cool!’’

  We all twirled in a circle and stared up. The Luxor is built in the shape of an enormous pyramid and the rooms line the walls of the structure. Inside such a wide-open space it felt like we were tiny—even Cat shrunk back down to size.

  In the center of the massive structure was the casino, and it resembled every other casino I’d seen so far with lots of pinball-sounding dings and electric neon lights and dim lighting. The air was also filled with smoke and the chatter of hundreds of people. ‘‘Where should we go now?’’ Cat asked as we stood at the edge of the casino and looked around at all the neon lights.

  I waited for my radar to direct me, but with all the other sensory input surrounding me, it was hard to feel the subtlety of my intuition. ‘‘I’m not sure,’’ I said. ‘‘Let’s walk around and see if I feel pulled in any direction.’’

  We entered the casino and began to roam around. About half the patrons we saw were dressed as their favorite Vegas celebrity. I saw dozens of Elvises, and about an equal number of Chers, Celine Dions, Siegfried & Roys, and of course Liberaces. Cat was lucky— there weren’t a whole lotta Princes.

  ‘‘You feeling anything calling out to you?’’ Candice said as we cruised the rows of slot machines.

  I shook my head no. ‘‘Nothing,’’ I said, then paused in front of one machine. ‘‘This one feels good,’’ I said, sitting down and shoving in a five-dollar bill. Candice stood to my side and looked down at me skeptically, but she didn’t say anything.

  I read the directions and selected the highest odds. Then I pressed the button and the little wheels began to turn inside the machine. Suddenly an eruption of noise sounded from the machine. ‘‘Whoo-hoo!’’ I said. ‘‘We won!’’

  Candice looked at the display. ‘‘We won a hundred dollars,’’ she said. ‘‘That’s great, Abs. Now can you do that thirty-four more times?’’

  I moved my finger over the button but hesitated. My radar said the good luck had run out on this machine. I cashed out and took the paper receipt with our winnings as I got up off the stool. ‘‘Come on,’’ I said. ‘‘We’ll need to find more machines like this one.’’

  A very long time later, when Cat was now complaining about her aching feet, we were up a thousand dollars, bringing our grand cash total to about twelve hundred dollars. The winnings had come slowly, here a hit, there a hit, but my radar also failed me several times. It was just too hard to focus in this type of atmosphere.

  By eleven forty-five I was exhausted and I had a headache and I realized I’d had little more to eat that day than breakfast and a bag of chips. ‘‘This is no use,’’ I finally said. ‘‘Candice, I can’t do this anymore.’’

  ‘‘Okay, Abs,’’ she said easily. ‘‘We tried. Maybe Jabba will give us a partial delivery for the twelve hundred dollars.’’

  Feeling dejected, tired, and hungry, we began making our way out of the casino. Over the loudspeaker a woman’s breathy voice said, ‘‘The lucky-sphinx jackpot drawing will be in fifteen minutes! You still have time to purchase your ticket to win! Don’t miss it, folks! Come on over and get in on the fun!’’

  I paused as my radar went ding! inside my head and again my crew flashed me the image they had before of the sphinx being encased in the pyramid of glass. ‘‘Stop!’’ I said to Cat and Candice as they walked on ahead.

  They both turned to look at me curiously. ‘‘What’s up?’’

  ‘‘We need to get a raffle ticket,’’ I said excitedly. ‘‘Where do they sell them?’’

  ‘‘At the other end,’’ Candice said. ‘‘But they’re, like, five hundred dollars a pop, Abs.’’

  ‘‘Then we’ll buy two,’’ I said.

  We hurried over to the counter where a line of people waited to purchase tickets for the raffle drawing. ‘‘What’s being given away?’’ Cat wondered while we inched forward.

  ‘‘I’m not sure,’’ Candice said, trying to see over the crowd of people gathering for the drawing. ‘‘I think it’s a car or something.’’

  ‘‘Ooo!’’ Cat squealed. ‘‘Does that mean we could lose the K-car?’’

  Candice smiled. ‘‘Probably not. We’d have to trade it in for some quick cash and pay Jabba.’’

  ‘‘If there’s money left over, can we buy another less-smelly car?’’ Cat asked.

  ‘‘Maybe,’’ Candice said with a giggle.

  It was our turn at the counter and I shoved one thousand dollars of our hard-earned winnings through the window. ‘‘Two tickets, please,’’ I said as my heart thudded in my chest. If this didn’t work, I had no idea what we were going to do.

  The woman behind the glass tore off two tickets and handed them to me. ‘‘Good luck,’’ she said.

  After purchasing the tickets, we moved over to the gathering crowd and waited the last few minutes until midnight for the drawing. ‘‘I’m so nervous I could pee!’’ said Cat. ‘‘No, wait. That’s really my bladder calling. I’ll be back in a flash,’’ she said, and zipped off to the ladies’ ro
om.

  ‘‘How’re you holding up?’’ Candice asked, eyeing me critically.

  ‘‘God, I hope I’m right,’’ I said as I gripped the two tickets in my now-sweaty fingers.

  ‘‘Even if we don’t win, Abby, we’ll figure something out, okay?’’

  I gave her a short nod, but all my focus and concentration went to the small stage in front of a black curtain that hid the grand prize. ‘‘Hello, folks!’’ said a busty brunette as she got up on stage and waved at the crowd. There was a small bit of applause, and a gentleman joined her holding a large fishbowl partially filled with little gray tickets. ‘‘Welcome to the Luxor Hotel and Casino!’’ she said. ‘‘Tonight’s grand-prize winner will be walking away with quite a catch!’’ With that, the black curtain dropped and two beautifully shiny Mini Coopers glistened in the spotlight. A grin began to form on my lips. ‘‘Mini Coopers,’’ I said. ‘‘My crew has one hell of a sense of humor.’’

  ‘‘What do you mean?’’ Candice asked.

  ‘‘When the Mini Cooper first came on the market, Cat wanted to buy us one each. She said it would be cute to drive around in a car named after us.’’

  ‘‘Really?’’ Candice said, her focus going back to the cars. ‘‘That’s freaky!’’

  ‘‘Not for me,’’ I said, and let out a long breath. ‘‘We’re going to win them, Candice,’’ I added confidently, knowing it in my heart.

  ‘‘Coopers!’’ I heard Cat squeal from behind me. ‘‘Ohmigod! Abby, remember how I wanted to buy us one each?’’

  ‘‘I do,’’ I said with a smile.

  ‘‘And they’re even the colors we wanted. One blue, one red. I get the red one!’’ she said quickly like she was calling shotgun.

  ‘‘And to go with your matching Mini Coopers, we’re also giving away a little cash!’’ said the announcer. ‘‘Tonight’s cash jackpot will be twenty thousand dollars!’’

  Candice draped an arm over my shoulders. ‘‘You are freaking amazing,’’ she whispered, shaking her head in admiration.

  ‘‘It’s the crew,’’ I said happily as the announcer reached into the fishbowl and pulled out the ticket. As she called off the numbers, my smile broadened and I knew for certain even before she called off the last digit on my second ticket that it was really true—we’d actually won the jackpot. Cat began to jump up and down with happiness, hugging me, hugging Candice, hugging people next to us.... She was a Princely bundle of joy.

  ‘‘Come on, ladies,’’ I said after the last digit was called. ‘‘Let’s go claim our prize.’’

  It was a good thing we had Candice along, because the prize people wanted to see a valid ID before they would sign off on the paperwork. Candice placed a hand on my arm and said, ‘‘I know you left your wallet back in the car. Why don’t you let me give them the ID?’’

  I nodded absently as I realized with the FBI looking for me, my claiming a huge raffle drawing might send off smoke signals. Candice handed over a Las Vegas ID with her picture, and the man filling out the paperwork said, ‘‘Thank you, Miss Dubois.’’

  Candice winked at me. ‘‘Oh, please,’’ she said to the man, ‘‘Call me Samantha.’’

  I looked sharply at Candice when I realized that the older sister she’d lost in a car accident was named Samantha. Candice’s eyes told me to keep a lid on it for now, however, so I didn’t comment.

  The man filling in the paperwork handed her back her ID and said, ‘‘We place a twelve-hour hold on the delivery of all our raffle prizes.’’

  ‘‘What?’’ yelled Cat, balling her fists and getting hot under the collar in a fabulous impression of Candice at her negotiating best. ‘‘That’s insane! We need our prizes tonight!’’

  The prize representative blanched in the face of such fury. ‘‘I’m so sorry, ma’am, but those are the rules.’’

  ‘‘Rules, schmules!’’ Cat hollered. ‘‘This is ridiculous!’’

  Another man dressed in a beautiful sleek black suit and metallic lavender tie hurried over to us and spoke into the prize guy’s ear. Prize guy turned pink, gave a nod to the man who walked away, and said to Cat, ‘‘As a consolation it would be our honor to add a three-day voucher to the Luxor Hotel and Casino, including meals and a day at the spa.’’

  Cat eyed him critically. ‘‘What kind of accommodations does that include?’’ she said. ‘‘I only stay in the best rooms available.’’

  ‘‘Of course,’’ said the man, scribbling on a pad of paper. ‘‘Take this to the lobby, ladies, and we’ll put you in the best suite available.’’

  ‘‘Man,’’ I said as we turned and walked away toward the lobby. ‘‘You two really know how to strike a deal.’’

  ‘‘Great job,’’ Candice said to Cat.

  ‘‘By the way,’’ I said, curious about Candice’s ID, ‘‘when did you steal your sister’s identity?’’

  Candice’s face reddened a little. ‘‘I know,’’ she said quickly, ‘‘it’s a pretty lame thing to do, but when I was in school out here, I got some speeding tickets and I couldn’t afford the insurance, and my mother had given me Sam’s birth certificate because she knew we were close, so I used it to get a license.’’

  ‘‘How is it even still valid?’’ I asked.

  ‘‘I’ve kept it up,’’ she admitted.

  ‘‘You’ve kept up your fake Nevada’s driver’s license?’’ Cat said.

  Candice nodded. ‘‘Sam was killed out here,’’ she said. ‘‘I know it sounds crazy, but it makes me feel more connected to her to carry it around and keep it up. By having her as my alias, it makes me feel like I still have a sister, and trust me, she’s the one with the spotless driving record and perfect credit. My cell is even in her name.’’

  ‘‘That’s cool that you want to feel close to your sister, Candice,’’ I offered, knowing Candice probably felt embarrassed about having to admit that she’d stolen her sister’s identity. ‘‘And now I know how the Feds haven’t been able to track us through you.’’

  ‘‘I like to think it’s my sister’s way of helping me stay out of trouble,’’ Candice added, and I noticed she was still a little embarrassed by the pink in her cheeks.

  ‘‘If you died, I’d totally take your ID,’’ Cat said earnestly.

  I smiled. ‘‘That’s okay, honey,’’ I said, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. ‘‘I don’t think using my name would get you very far these days.’’

  We checked into a suite with two double beds in one room and a gorgeous king-sized bed in the other. ‘‘Now, this is what I’m talking about!’’ I said as I rolled around on the king bed.

  ‘‘Let’s order some food!’’ Cat said, coming into the room carrying a menu.

  Candice eyed her watch. ‘‘We need to get these costumes back, ladies,’’ she reminded us. We’d rented them for only six hours.

  ‘‘Oh, pah!’’ said Cat. ‘‘So we don’t return these ridiculous outfits. What are they going to do, report us to the costume police?’’

  ‘‘That’s exactly what they’ll do,’’ Candice said. ‘‘These things are actually worth a fortune. Come on, we’ll return these and come back here before one, I promise.’’

  With a tired sigh I pushed off the bed and we made our way out of the room and downstairs. ‘‘It’s probably a good idea anyway,’’ Cat said. ‘‘They have our clothes, after all.’’

  I’d forgotten that the costume company liked to keep your clothes until you returned with theirs. As I was the only one with a change of clothes because mine were in my backpack, while Candice and Cat had unfortunately left their things back at the motel, I could see how Candice was anxious to get back to the rental company.

  Things did not go smoothly, however, because when we got to our car, it refused to start. ‘‘It’s like it knows that we’ve dumped it,’’ Cat said from the backseat as Candice tried again to get the engine to turn over.

  ‘‘Stupid Fats!’’ Candice yelled as she pounded on the dashboard. ‘‘I
should have known better than to trust that guy!’’

  ‘‘We still have about two hundred and fifty dollars,’’ I said, referring to the leftover cash I had after I’d purchased the raffle tickets. ‘‘Maybe we should get a cab?’’

  ‘‘Public transportation will be cheaper,’’ Candice said. ‘‘I’m thinking that until we claim our prize money and the cars, we should try to be as frugal as possible.’’

  * * *

  Candice led us to a bus stop and Cat sat down on the bench with a groan. ‘‘Oh, my aching feet!’’ she said.

  ‘‘How late do the buses run?’’ I asked as I stood next to Candice, who was studying the bus route posted on the side of the building that was the bus stop.

  ‘‘Till two,’’ Candice said, glancing at her watch. ‘‘We’ll have enough time if we hustle.’’

  Two African-American men came down the street, wearing big long chains, lots of gold, baggy pants, and baseball caps turned to the side, and sat down next to Cat on the bench.

  Cat eyed them, apparently fascinated. One of the men caught her staring and turned to look at her. She smiled, held up two fingers in a peace sign, and said, ‘‘Word.’’

  The young man nudged his buddy and laughed. ‘‘Waz up, baby Prince?’’ he said.

  ‘‘Ain’t no thing,’’ she said. ‘‘Nice bling,’’ she added, referring to the gold around his neck.

  ‘‘Yeah, you know it,’’ he said, hooking a thumb through his necklace. ‘‘What brings you to Vegas?’’

  ‘‘Just hangin’ with my homies,’’ she said, pointing to us.

  ‘‘Abby,’’ Candice whispered. ‘‘Can you do something about her?’’

  ‘‘Yo homies?’’ said the man, and he nudged his partner again and began laughing in earnest.

  ‘‘Yes,’’ said Cat in all seriousness. ‘‘You know, they’re shizzel and fizzle and all dat.’’

  ‘‘Cat!’’ I said, casting a warning glance her way. The last thing we needed was to start offending total strangers.

  ‘‘What?’’ she said innocently. ‘‘I’m just talking to these dogs.’’