I didn’t like Sophia much but she was convincing in her declarations of innocence. Part of the reason I’d chosen to try to be a PI was so I could help people, and Sophia was desperately in need of help. Plus, I knew she’d be willing to pay me an exorbitant amount of money to do the investigating.
All through the night I watched people wager on games biased in the house’s favor. And yet, players frequently walked away with much more than they lost. The Vegas adage, “You gotta play to win,” was true.
By the time my shift ended, I’d managed to convince myself that I needed to take on Sophia’s case. It was a gamble that had the potential to pay off well, so I sent Sophia a quick text.
If I had known at that time I would be risking my life for the case, I would have talked myself out of taking it. In retrospect, I wonder why I didn’t realize that a person who had already committed one murder would stop at nothing to prevent further evidence from being unearthed.
Chapter Three
The next morning I found myself back at Sophia’s mansion. She looked pleased to see me; there was a hopefulness in her eyes that was heartbreaking and made me want to drop the case just so I wouldn’t have to disappoint her.
But I didn’t. Instead, I handed her a standard retainer agreement and watched her initial it and sign on the dotted line. As soon as she’d finished with the contract, Sophia brought out some tea for herself and some chocolate cupcakes for me. For a few long minutes, all I could think about was how chocolate cupcakes make life so much better.
I paused my cupcake demolishing long enough to say, “What do I need to know? Who do I talk to?”
Sophia sipped her tea gracefully. “Neil Durant. My brother-in-law. He was the chief suspect before they found that gun; he’s probably the one who killed Ethan.”
I recalled what I’d learned in my pre-meeting online research. Ethan Becker had been driving home on a Saturday night at around one a.m. and had pulled over to the side of the road. At that hour, on a deserted suburban street, nobody was around. Someone had shot him and the crime was only discovered by an early-morning jogger at five a.m.
“Whaffuzzushayet?” I asked.
Sophia gave me a funny look and I swallowed quickly. “What makes you say that?”
“Night of the murder, Ethan and Neil went to dinner at a restaurant near the Strip. Neil lives nearby and he would’ve taken the same route home. But even though he and Ethan left at the same time, Neil got home two hours later and has no alibi for those two hours. He says he took a winding road home—yeah, right!”
I stopped my feral gobbling for a moment. “So what you’re saying is, Neil should’ve discovered the car and called the police?”
“Doesn’t that make sense? He claims he took a roundabout byroad, but why would you do that when you’re going home, tired after a dinner?”
“That’s a little suspicious, but it’s not really proof.”
“His wife, Thelma—Ethan’s sister—claims Neil got home at three and they spent the rest of the night together.”
“But why would he kill Ethan? Did they have a problem or something?”
Sophia looked at the floor. For the first time, I noticed the sadness in her eyes. “I’m not sure, but I know they argued a lot. A few days before the murder, they had a big fight about something. Ethan wasn’t happy with some of Neil’s ideas for the casino. I mean, it’s not like Neil had any casino background or anything—he used to be an underwear model.”
“You didn’t do any work for the casino?”
“I didn’t bother. Ethan, his sister Thelma, and Neil were all board members, but not me. People already thought I was a gold digger.”
“But weren’t you?”
Sophia laughed, refusing to take offense. I’d only asked her what most people thought but never said aloud. “I was a stripper,” she said, “and Ethan Becker asked me to marry him. How could I not say yes?”
I loved the way her mouth formed words but didn’t really answer the question. “Did Ethan leave you much in the will?”
“It’s split between me and his son, Leo. Of course, Thelma is going after me with a civil case. And if I lose that, Leo and Thelma divvy up my share.”
“Who owns the casino?”
“After their dad passed away, Thelma got forty percent of the casino shares and Ethan got fifty-five percent. The other five percent are owned by family friends and early investors. At this stage, Leo gets half of his dad’s casino shares and some cash. I get the other half of Ethan’s shares, and some other assets. If Thelma wins her case, Leo probably gets the casino shares I have, and Thelma gets the other assets Ethan left me.”
“Thelma and Ethan—were they close?”
“I guess, in a way.” Sophia shrugged. “She wasn’t too fond of me, which I understand, but it still hurt and I was hoping we’d become friends. But now, none of the family will talk to me.”
“And Leo? He’s got motive, with all that inheritance money.”
“Maybe my judgment’s been compromised, but I don’t think Leo could do that to his dad. I just can’t see him…” She shook her head. “Anyway, he has an excellent alibi. Night of the murder, he was partying till dawn with fifty of his friends.”
“How old is Leo?”
“Twenty-one. He’s a student at UNLV. Here.” She handed me a piece of paper. “It’s a list of names, relationships and contact details for everyone you should talk to.”
I ran my eyes down the list. Thelma Durant, sister. Neil Durant, brother-in-law. Leo Becker, son. I paused. “Vanessa Conigliani, ex-wife?”
“Ethan’s first wife. They split ten years ago. Leo’s mom.”
I nodded. “Is there anyone else I should talk to, other than family? Who else is on the casino board? This might be related to Ethan’s work.”
Sophia looked up a contact on her phone and wrote down a name. Steven Macarthur, manager. “He’s on the board,” she said, “but he was on the casino floor the entire night, watching a group of blackjack players. He’s recorded on camera for literally every second of that night. And besides, he and Ethan got along really well. Ethan adored him, thought he could do no wrong.”
“Four people on the board?”
“The fifth was Laura Schumaker, but she’s the corporate lawyer and isn’t involved in the business.”
“Anything else I should know?”
Sophia shook her head. “Not that I can think of. But I should tell you, Neil never liked me and we never got along. He was always saying unkind things about me behind my back, and I’ve always thought he’s one of those good-looking bullshitters that’s faking their way into places.”
It takes one to know one. I finished my cupcake slowly, savoring the rich chocolaty goodness, and wondered if Sophia was judging Neil too harshly through the lens of her own prejudice. I was sure his arriving home late on the night of the murder was just a coincidence, and I wondered where else I could begin my investigation.
Chapter Four
By the time I left Sophia’s house, I’d decided to talk to Neil another day. I was going to talk to Leo Becker first. Motivewise, he had the most to gain, and people had committed crimes for far less than the millions of dollars Ethan had left his son. Leo did have a great alibi, but still…
I glanced at the address Sophia had given me and headed west.
* * *
Click here to continue reading…
Calmer Cruises Page 18