by Diane Capri
“Okay,” Kim replied as she opened the door and stepped outside.
The muggy warm evening was worse than when they’d left Brannan’s. It engulfed her from head to toe in a wet blanket of moisture. She could only imagine what it must be like here in mid-August when the air would be so saturated. It would be difficult simply to breathe.
They left the SUV, walked side by side toward the front entrance and up the stairs to the big doors, which were propped open without concern for the escaping air-conditioning. Kim threaded her way through hordes of people moving in and out like bees to a hive as Perry followed.
Inside, Kim glanced around the cavernous open space filled with clanging, beeping, chiming, and chirping slot machines. The visual noise was as deafening as the cacophony of sounds.
The cashier windows were off to one side in the back. A small line of people waited to buy credits or cash them in, she assumed.
“Looking for someone in particular?” Perry asked, glancing around.
“Not really,” she replied. But as she said the words, she realized they weren’t true. She was looking for Reacher. Always. Was he here?
The local gamblers looked like gamblers everywhere. No fancy cars in the parking lot or sparkling diamonds on beauties in evening gowns. The glitz and glamor images she’d seen on billboards along the roadway were pure fiction. Gamblers didn’t dress like that, not even in Las Vegas.
At these Native American casinos in mostly rural communities, the patrons were mostly ordinary people looking for a few hours of entertainment. More than a few gamblers seemed to be desperately seeking grocery money, which sadly, she’d seen in casinos before. Too many people who couldn’t afford the losses gambled away their paychecks in places like this.
As the crowd grew, the noise became overwhelming. So was the hanging wall of cigarette smoke. Perry tapped her on the shoulder and pointed toward the bar on the other side of the gaming floor. “I’m meeting Hammer in there.”
She nodded and walked alongside him. “What does Hammer look like?”
Perry grinned. “Like three hundred pounds of ferocious meanness. But looks are deceptive.”
Kim nodded, saving her voice for a conversation that mattered. She’d see Hammer for herself soon enough.
Once they passed through the gambling floor and moved into the bar, the noise abated slightly. This Western-themed décor flowed into this room, which was also more than half full of customers. The tables were occupied, but there were a few empty stools left at the bar.
She looked down its length and spied a huge man dwarfing everyone else around him. He was focused intently, talking with a smaller man.
Kim smirked and poked Perry in the shoulder. “I take it that’s our guy?”
“Yep. The one and only. Major Eugene Hulk Hammer.” Perry met the man’s gaze and nodded, threading through the crowd in that direction with Kim following close behind.
By the time they reached Hammer, the smaller man had moved on. Hammer bent down to hear when Perry said, “Major Hammer, this is FBI Special Agent Kim Otto.”
“Good to meet you, Hammer,” Kim extended her small hand and he engulfed it in one big paw. She felt like David shaking hands with Goliath. The mental image made her grin. “Who was that guy you were talking to just now?”
“Randy Cloud. One of the managers here. The other manager is his sister, Nina. She’s around here somewhere, too. I met her earlier,” Hammer replied. His voice was low and rumbly and hard to hear over the crowd. “They both knew Bonnie Nightingale well. They’re pretty upset about her death. Especially the sister.”
“Did he give you the CCTV footage for the night Bonnie Nightingale died?” Kim asked. “Was she here at a poker tournament?”
Hammer frowned. “Not sure why you’re asking. But yes.”
“Anything interesting on the video?” Perry wanted to know.
“Whaddaya, writin’ a book?” Hammer grumped as he yanked his cell phone out of his pocket and pulled up the CCTV footage. He pushed the play button and handed the phone to Perry.
Kim watched the clips Hammer had transferred to his phone. Each was only a few seconds long. Maybe twenty seconds, total.
The first batch showed four men and two women entering and leaving the casino from the CCTV at the valet stand. There was a time stamp on each clip. Kim recognized one of the women as Bonnie Nightingale. She didn’t know the others.
All six were inside the casino from just after eight o’clock that night until just before eleven o’clock.
Hammer had also copied clips of all six inside the casino at various times during the evening. The four men had played poker. The women had waited in the bar. Every frame showed a martini in the women’s hands. The men were drinking brown liquor straight out of crystal glasses.
Perry moved to return Hammer’s phone. Kim reached out to grab it first. Quickly, she sent the video clips to herself and Gaspar. Then she backed up to the first set of clips and moved closer to Hammer.
“Who are these people?” she asked.
He pointed, naming them one at a time. “Redmond, Hern, Jasper, Nightingale.” He indicated a set of two males and then a man and woman together, all entering the casino. The next clip was a single image of the last two, a man and a woman. “Murphy and Cloud.”
“Thanks.” Kim looked at them each closely and then returned his phone. She thought she recognized the woman he identified as Nina Cloud.
She looked different. She must have been wearing a wig, and her makeup was heavier.
But Kim’s gut said it was the same woman.
She’d seen her on video before. Several times. On television news clips of that North Korean diplomat who was poisoned in New York.
Nina Cloud looked like the woman standing next to Hana Pak at the dog fight.
She asked, “What did you conclude from these clips?”
“Just because I’m big doesn’t make me stupid.” Hammer rolled his big shoulders in what might have been a shrug for a reasonably-sized man.
“And vice versa for us little people,” Kim said cheekily. “So what’d you learn here?”
“Same thing you did, I imagine.” Hammer finally cracked a grin and seemed to ease up a bit on the attitude. “The six of them were all together here for a while, earlier in the evening. But none had a solid alibi for the midnight train.”
Kim wrapped it up. “Which means they don’t have solid alibis. Any one of them could have lured Nightingale out there. And, I suppose, killed her. Just in time to dump her on the tracks so the train could dispose of the body.”
Perry looked down at the floor as if he might find all the answers in the swirling pattern on the carpet. “So everybody else out at Kelham has a solid alibi for Nightingale’s time of death, I take it? Meaning you’ve narrowed it down to four soldiers and one female civilian.”
Hammer pushed away from the bar. “Pretty much. But it’s not just any four soldiers.”
“What do you mean?” Kim asked.
“The big guy with the brown hair in those clips? That’s General Alec Murphy. Kelham’s CO,” Hammer said. “And he led me to believe he didn’t even know who Bonnie Nightingale was.”
“Sounds like your work’s not quite done out at Kelham, then,” Perry said.
“And I don’t have a lot of time left to wrap this thing up. I need to find Redmond and Hern tonight.” Hammer flexed his arms absently, like a wrestler preparing to enter a big match. “Whoever is left out there is shoving off at dawn tomorrow. Murphy is the guy who’ll certify that the base is officially closed. They’ll all be gone. And I, for one, don’t feel like chasing them around the globe when they’re dispersed.”
“Can I help?” Perry asked as Hammer turned to leave.
“I’ll let you know,” he said, a brief moment before his eyes widened. “Looks like my job just got a little easier.”
“What do you mean?” Kim asked.
Hammer nodded his head toward the other end of the bar. “General Murp
hy just walked in.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Thursday, May 12
Carter’s Crossing, Mississippi
9:10 p.m.
He’d parked in the back of the casino lot and hustled inside to find Nina. The last place to look was the management office. He didn’t want to waste time. She rarely hid out in there when the casino was busy.
Methodically, he’d combed through the crowds on the gambling floor and stopped to check the cashier’s cage. He’d hung around outside the women’s restroom, just in case. No luck.
He finally made his way to the bar.
Nina didn’t often drink when she was working, but he’d known it to happen. She didn’t seem to limit her exposure to the smoky casino or her alcohol intake lately, either. Which was another thing that made him question this alleged pregnancy. If she was pregnant, wouldn’t she want to be more careful, for the baby’s sake?
Customers were lined up three deep at the bar to get a drink during a break in the poker tournament. His gaze scanned the crowd but didn’t locate Nina.
He moved along the length of the bar until he found a less crowded opening near the center.
“Hey, Joe,” he called out to the bartender on duty. “Have you seen Nina?”
Joe looked up briefly from the cash register and shook his head. “About half an hour ago, maybe.”
He waved his open hand by way of thanks and turned to scan the busy room more closely. Nina was a striking woman. She stood out in a crowd. If she’d been here, he’d have spied her.
He didn’t notice Major Hammer standing at the far end of the bar with two others until it was too late to take evasive measures.
“Crap,” he whispered under his breath. He’d been confined to base like everyone else. Hammer would be pissed to see him wandering around.
And Hammer wasn’t alone.
He didn’t recognize Hammer’s companions. A tiny Asian-looking woman. And an average guy who carried himself like a soldier. But if the man had been on active duty at Kelham, he would have known him. So maybe this guy was a veteran.
The place was full of vets most nights. Guys who had been posted at Kelham once upon a time and for various reasons had become attached to Carter’s Crossing. He could spot them instinctively. They had a certain way about them. The army had made sure of it. Training like that was impossible to shed, even if they’d tried. Most of them didn’t.
He’d seen several veterans like that while he was looking throughout the casino for Nina. A couple of guys on the main floor were almost as big as Hammer, but older.
He did a double-take when he glimpsed a guy leaning against the wall near the poker tables. Something about the man reminded him of Reacher, his long-ago nemesis. When he blinked and looked back, the guy wasn’t standing there anymore.
He shook it off and kept going.
The idea was preposterous anyway.
He inhaled deeply. Now, to deal with Hammer.
He was a solid poker player. And this was the right time for a bluff. He widened his eyes and nodded toward Hammer and strode purposefully forward toward the group.
“Major,” he said as he approached, “I’m glad I finally found you.”
Hammer frowned. “I don’t have any calls showing on my phone from you, General.”
He ignored the rebuke. He outranked Hammer, and he wasn’t taking any guff on his last night, regardless. “Redmond and Hern have returned to base. I ordered them to stay put until you could interview them. They’re handling last-minute details now.”
The statement was a lie, but Hammer wouldn’t know that.
Before Hammer had a chance to reply, Nina Cloud walked up behind him. She put her arm around his waist and rose up on her toes to kiss his cheek.
“I hear you’ve been looking for me,” she said and then flashed a bright smile toward the three others. “I’m Nina Cloud.”
He scowled and pushed her arm away. “Nina, this is Major Hammer. And…I didn’t catch your names.”
The guy said, “Sir, I’m Major Lincoln Perry. And this is FBI Special Agent Kim Otto.”
Murphy cringed when Nina’s years of experience in the hospitality industry overwhelmed whatever good sense she’d once possessed. She smiled and shook hands all around like she was hosting a cocktail party. Then she jumped into chatting about the casino and how she hoped they were enjoying themselves until he itched to backhand her across the room.
He pursed his lips and barely held back his anger. “Nina! These people are working.”
“Pleased to meet you, General Murphy. Ms. Cloud,” Agent Otto seemed to sense the volatile situation and stepped forward to take Nina’s hand.
Otto held on just a bit too long while gazing intently at Nina’s face. “I think we’ve met before, haven’t we?”
Murphy’s anger clicked up about ten notches. He could feel the heat rising from his chest to his face.
Nina cocked her head. She seemed puzzled. “I don’t think so.”
“In New York. Weren’t you in the city a few days ago?” Otto asked casually.
What did the bitch know? And how did she know it?
Nina’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “No. No. No, you’re mistaken. It wasn’t me. I wasn’t there.”
Otto adopted a puzzled expression he knew in his gut was totally fake. She said, “Well, anyway, I understand you were friends with Bonnie Nightingale. I’d like to ask you a few questions about her. Is there somewhere we can talk?”
Nina’s composure faltered. She crumpled like a used cigarette pack.
“Bonnie?” she whimpered as her eyes filled with tears. She covered her face with both palms.
Murphy couldn’t allow Nina to answer anything more. She was already on the verge of collapse. If she talked, she’d say too much. He wouldn’t let her take them both down. He’d come too far.
He inhaled sharply. Murphy had been commanding men and women more than half his life. He would not allow his plans to be derailed by a tiny little firecracker with a gun and a badge.
“Now is not the time, Agent Otto,” Murphy said more sharply than he’d intended.
“Is that so, General?” she said, standing her ground, which only served to infuriate him. She didn’t seem to care.
“It is. We’re leaving. I’ve got work to do, and I assume you can make more productive use of your time as well.” He put his arm around Nina’s shoulders, looked at Major Hammer and replied, “I’ll see Ms. Cloud home and meet you back at Kelham.”
Before they could attempt to stop him, Murphy turned and led Nina stumbling forward.
“Straighten up,” he snarled under his breath into her ear, squeezing her cruelly. “You want to go to prison? Walk out of here like you’ve got nothing to hide.”
Nina sniveled and gasped, but she managed to pull herself together after half a dozen steps.
Now, if they could just make it past the crowds to the exit. He kept his arm around her waist and dragged her forward.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Thursday, May 12
Carter’s Crossing, Mississippi
9:45 p.m.
Kim watched Murphy and Nina wend through the crowd toward the gaming room floor while Perry filled Hammer in on what he’d learned about Bonnie Nightingale, and they formulated a quick plan.
Hammer would return to Kelham to interview Redmond and Hern. Then he’d catch up with Murphy and try to get the truth out of him.
Perry would go back to Brannan’s, and then follow up with Sheriff Greyson and Mayor Deveraux.
Kim pulled her phone out of her pocket and reviewed the video clip of the woman standing beside Hana Pak at the dog fight in New York. The video was grainy, and the image wasn’t sharp, either. But still.
“Perry. Hammer. Look at this. Is the woman Nina Cloud?” She handed the phone to Perry, and the two men watched the clip twice.
“Send it to your office,” Hammer replied. “The FBI has all sorts of software that should answer the question
pretty quickly.”
“Already sent. I should be getting an answer here shortly,” she said, squinting up to see the big man’s face. “But I’m not crazy, right? Ignore the hair and the makeup. Look at the eyes.”
Perry squinted through both the New York video and the clips from the casino’s CCTV a few times before he said, “Could be her.”
“Walt McKinney said Bonnie argued with Murphy the night she died. Something about a trip to New York. Remember that?” she asked Perry. “Walt said Murphy was angry and knocked Bonnie to the floor when she mentioned it.”
Perry handed back her phone. “So you think what, exactly?”
“I think Nina Cloud might have murdered Hana Pak. And General Murphy helped her do it. Or maybe she did it for him. She seemed pretty clingy to me,” Kim said. “Hammer, are there any bioweapons stored or developed at Kelham? Poisons? Things like that?”
Hammer frowned down at her. “That would be classified intel. But since there were two companies of Rangers there who regularly deployed out of the country, I’d guess it’s possible. Depending on what the poison was, and why the army had possession of it.”
“Any way either of you can find out?”
Perry said, “I can make a call. See if I can get some answers.”
Kim nodded. “I need to make a call, too. But I don’t want to do it here. I’m going outside where it’s a bit quieter, and I’ll get a better signal.”
She glanced toward the exit. The bottleneck at the archway between the gambling floor and the bar was still mobbed while the tournament’s break continued. She swiveled her neck to look behind her, seeking another way out. She noticed Sheriff Greyson talking with Randy Cloud.
“I’ll be right back,” Kim told Perry and Hammer. She threaded through the crowd toward Greyson.
When she walked up, Greyson noticed her and nodded, but kept his attention on Randy Cloud. Kim didn’t interrupt.
Greyson handed a piece of burned paper to Cloud as he said, “We found partially destroyed bills like this in the fire out at the Gordon farm. It looks like a fifty-dollar bill. Since people don’t generally go around burning up money, I’m thinking it might be counterfeit. We’ll test it to be sure. Has anybody reported any counterfeit fifties in the casino lately?”