by Diane Capri
Cloud examined the charred paper, front and back, and returned it to Greyson. “Maybe. I don’t handle the cash. You’d need to ask Nina.”
“She hasn’t mentioned any problem with people trying to pass counterfeit bills in the past, oh, six weeks or so?” Greyson pushed.
Cloud shook his head, but his expression grew troubled.
“Is that the sort of thing she’d tell you if it was happening?” Greyson asked.
“We get a lot of cash coming through here, Scott. Some of it is counterfeit. It’s really easy to print money these days and a lot of desperate people will try to pass the bills in a casino. You know that. Sometimes, the people don’t even know the bill is fake. Someone else gave it to them and they just assume it’s real,” Cloud said. “But we make a note of it. If the person tries to pass off fake money more than once, we kick them out for a while. We usually just figure handling fake bills is a part of running a casino business.”
Kim said, “So you’re saying what? Nina would have told you if she’d seen a significant number of counterfeits, but if it was just a few here and there, she wouldn’t have mentioned it?”
Randy Cloud turned to look at her. “I didn’t catch your name.”
“FBI Special Agent Kim Otto,” she replied evenly, reaching into her pocket to pull out a business card and hand it to him. “We’re working with Sheriff Greyson on this.”
“I thought counterfeit money was handled by the Secret Service,” Cloud replied as he read the card, frowning.
“I’m just helping out here,” Kim said.
“I see. Well, federal agents have been in here from time to time, following up on counterfeits. But we’ve never had any serious issues,” Cloud said, and the troubled expression on his face deepened. “Are you involved in this because of Bonnie Nightingale?”
Kim arched her eyebrows. “Why would Bonnie Nightingale be connected with counterfeit money?”
“I don’t know that she would. And I hope she wasn’t.” Cloud shook his head sorrowfully. “But she worked here part-time as a cashier. She and Nina were close friends, too. I just wondered if she’d been taking counterfeits and that’s why she killed herself. You know. Feeling like she’d let Nina down or something.”
Greyson said, “Where is Nina now, Randy? I’d like to talk to her and get this cleared up.”
“I haven’t seen her for a while. I’ve been busy with the tournament. I’m not sure exactly where she is.” Cloud shrugged as he glanced around the crowd, and the bartender caught his attention. “I need to get back to work. Come by tomorrow and we can talk more. When we’re not so busy.”
Cloud rushed off, and when he was out of earshot, Kim said, “Nina Cloud left a little while ago with General Murphy. They probably haven’t made it out of the parking lot yet, if you want to go after them.”
“I’ll catch up with her later. I know where she lives. First, I need to bring you three up to speed.” Greyson looked up, caught Perry’s gaze, and waved him over. Greyson led them all to a quieter corner.
“What’s up, Sheriff?” Perry asked after he introduced Hammer.
“We’re still working the Gordon farm fire. There’s enough evidence out there to keep a big city crime scene team busy for days. And we’re a small department,” Greyson said. “We’ve called in the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation help us out. We’ll know more after the autopsy reports come back.”
Kim asked, “Did you find another body?”
“Just the two.” He shook his head. “We ran the VINs and plates on the three trucks. One of the trucks had been reported stolen a few days ago. The plate on that one was also stolen. Off a hearse that went missing in Memphis last week.”
“A hearse?” Hammer asked. “Why would anyone steal a hearse?”
“Dunno. But we think the third man killed the two and used the hearse to get away. Could have something to do with the burned counterfeit bills we found. Still working on that.” Greyson shrugged. “But for now, working theory is it’s most likely that the two dead men are Anthony Redland and Eddie Hern.”
Kim stared at him. “Redland and Hern?”
“Yeah. Registered owners of the other two trucks. We connected them to the plates and VINs. Vitals on the public records loosely match up with them, too,” Greyson said. “So it’s a guess, but it makes sense at the moment. Unless something better comes up.”
Kim shook her head. “Except that Murphy said Redland and Hern were alive and well and back at Kelham tonight, didn’t he?”
Hammer swiped one of his big mitts over his head. “Yeah. That’s what he said. I was headed back to Kelham to interview them both.”
Perry said, “Can you call out there? Find out if Redland and Hern are waiting, or not?”
Hammer nodded, reaching into his pocket for his phone. He walked a few steps away for privacy. Or maybe to hear the conversation, given the rising noise levels.
The pack of people between the gaming room and the bar was now at least six deep and all the way across the archway. All of them seemed to be yelling at each other at the same time, raising the decibel levels to the point of pain for Kim’s ears.
“So we need to go find Murphy,” Kim looked at Perry. “Nina’s with him, too. If we hurry, we might catch them in the parking lot.” She turned toward Greyson. “Maybe you want to come along.”
Greyson sighed. Deep lines had etched into his face since the morning. He had to be exhausted. “Yeah, guess I’d better. We’ll never make it through that mob. The back exit is this way. Follow me.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Thursday, May 12
Carter’s Crossing, Mississippi
9:55 p.m.
The crowd was so thick, he could barely move. Grasping Nina tightly around the waist, Murphy glanced over his shoulder. Hammer was still standing at the far end of the room with Perry and Otto.
He spied Sheriff Greyson talking with Randy Cloud, and his stomach clenched. Greyson had plenty of time to work out that Redmond and Hern were the bodies in the barn.
Murphy had to get out of here before Greyson told Hammer what he knew.
He needed to get Nina outside to the Jaguar and get away.
Before Hammer came looking for him.
Murphy turned his attention to forging a path ahead. The archway between the bar and the gaming room was effectively blocked by a mob of customers waiting to be served.
There was a back exit, but to get there, he’d have to walk past Hammer and his posse again. Unwise.
He needed a better way. So he did the first thing that came to mind.
He reached down and swiftly gathered Nina into his arms like an old-fashioned husband sweeping his wife across the threshold of their first home as if she’d fainted. People in the immediate vicinity gasped.
“Can I get through here? She needs some air,” Murphy said, pushing forward with Nina’s head resting on his shoulder. She was too heavy to carry like this for a long distance. But maybe he could get through the crowd.
Patrons moved aside, separating as much as possible, given they were packed into the archway like bullets in a box. The thought would have made him grin under different circumstances. As it was, he didn’t have the luxury.
“Coming through. Please step aside.” Murphy pushed and twisted and forged ahead, making slow progress between bodies pressed too close together, but moving in the right direction.
After a solid five minutes, at least, he broke through to the gaming room floor, staggering under Nina’s full body weight. He set her down but kept a tight arm around her waist.
“Come on. Let’s get outside,” he said, leading the way.
Nina resisted. “I need to get my purse. I can’t leave without it.”
“Where is it?”
“In the cashier’s office. I can run over there and come right back. Only take a minute,” she said, squirming against his restraining arm.
He relaxed his hold and grasped her hand instead. “I’ll come with you.”
>
She shook her head. “You don’t need to. It’ll be faster if I go alone.”
He ignored her pleading. “I’m coming with you. Or we can leave without your damn purse. Your choice.”
Nina seemed to deflate a little, but she said, “Okay.”
Murphy glanced toward the cashier cages. They were on the opposite side of the gaming floor from the exit. He estimated a full minute to walk over there, another minute to walk back. Maybe she could grab her purse in another minute. Three-minute delay. Tops.
“Let’s go.” He’d seen an open pathway between the slot machines and set off at a brisk pace, practically dragging Nina along with him. She stumbled and then stepped quickly to match his long strides, like a child being towed behind by an angry father.
Murphy moved as quickly as he could without drawing undue attention. Walking between the slot machines shielded him from Hammer’s gaze, should Hammer try to come after him.
They reached the locked entrance to the cashier’s cages without difficulty. He rapped hard on the door. One of the cashiers Murphy didn’t know called from inside, “I’m coming! Keep your shirt on!”
He glanced swiftly in all directions, tapping an impatient foot on the carpet, while he waited.
Nina said, “Mellie! It’s Nina. Open up.”
“I’m not allowed to let you in here, Nina. You gave me orders. Nobody comes in while we’re handling the money during a tournament,” the woman said.
“Oh for crap’s sake,” Murphy said under his breath, running a palm over his face in frustration. He gave Nina’s arm a jerk and shot a sharp frown toward her. “Get the damn purse now or we’re leaving without it.”
Nina said, “I forgot my purse, Mellie. Can you just hand it out to me?”
A few seconds later, Mellie slid the deadbolt, opened the door slightly, and peered through the crack. When she saw Nina, she thrust an arm through the opening, holding out Nina’s purse.
“Thanks, Mellie,” she said as she grabbed her bag and Mellie pulled the door closed.
Murphy heard Mellie slam the deadbolt home again. “Let’s go. We’ve got to hurry.”
He grabbed her hand and hurried back through the slot machines on the gaming floor.
Nina held the purse close to her body and stumbled along behind him.
He strode quickly toward the exit, Nina in tow, while scanning the room to be sure Hammer was not close by.
They reached the front exit just as a busload of tourists stumbled through. He stood to one side, still grasping Nina’s hand until the throng thinned. Then he pushed his way past the stragglers, dragging Nina with him.
When he reached the outside, he kept going. The quiet was almost deafening outside the overwhelming noise of the casino.
Nina was breathing hard, struggling to keep pace.
“I can’t do it. I can’t go now. Go without me. Pick me up in the morning, like we planned,” she whined, pulling him back.
“Come on, Nina. Hurry up. I can’t carry you. We’ve got to make it to the car before Hammer sees us,” Murphy said, yanking her forward.
She stumbled and fell forward down the stairs. She landed face-first on Murphy’s back, pushing him off-balance.
To right himself, he was forced to release her hand.
She snatched her arm back, regained her balance, and ran wildly into the night, still clutching that damn purse.
Which was the first time he wondered what the hell she had inside the purse that was so damned important.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Thursday, May 12
Carter’s Crossing, Mississippi
10:05 p.m.
Greyson led the way, around the end of the bar, toward the restrooms into a narrow hallway in the very back of the building. Opposite the restrooms was an emergency exit door. Signs posted around it warned that the door would lock automatically when it closed behind them.
Kim pushed the bar across the door, causing it to unlatch and open into the night air. On the other side were a small platform and three steps that led to a stained and cracked sidewalk nestled deep in the mud. A surprising number of weeds struggled to grow up through the cracks.
She turned her head for a quick scan in all directions. The area around the back exit was brightly lit by floodlights on tall poles. On the left side of the platform, the sidewalk led to a row of dumpsters across the back of the property. On the right, the broken concrete pavers led around the building.
Kim hustled down the steps and headed toward the parking lot.
The others caught up quickly. They were halfway to the corner of the building when she heard the heavy door close solidly behind Greyson, the last man out.
“Where are we going?” Hammer asked, striding beside Perry, and already puffing hard. It took a lot of energy to move such a bulky man at a swift pace. Kim marveled at his lung capacity.
Briefly, she wondered how much surface he’d need to stop his momentum.
“There’s only one big parking lot that runs all the way across the front,” Greyson said, trotting up from behind to catch them. He gestured as he explained. “Employees have reserved spots on the other end of the building. If Murphy and Nina are still here, we’ll find them out there.”
Kim came around the corner of the building first. The massive expanse of black pavement stretched ahead in all directions, greater than a football field. She paused until all four men caught up with her, sweeping her gaze across the rows and rows of vehicles in all shapes and sizes.
A wide driveway ran along the front of the building. The ribbon of asphalt flowed beneath a broad portico that covered the valet stand and the steps leading to the front entrance. Vehicles drove through, stopping briefly to collect or drop off passengers.
More vehicles were arriving from the road out front, driving along the rows, stopping at the valet stand, or simply moving through.
People who had parked in the lot were walking along the drive lanes between vehicles, headed into or out of the casino.
Here and there, she caught a quick glimpse of a golf cart, running guests to and from their vehicles.
Kim twisted her head and, finally, her body, to scan the entire lot. She didn’t see Murphy and Nina from this vantage point. Her view was obstructed by pedestrians, the portico, and the rows of parked vehicles.
She was tall enough to see over the tops of the small sedans, but SUVs, trucks, campers, and buses blocked her view. Looking across the lot from here was a waste of time.
“I’ll run over to the valet stand and ask if anyone saw Murphy and Nina leave. If not, I’ll search the center lanes,” Kim said. “You guys want to split up and take the rest of the lot?”
“Be careful,” Hammer said. “Everybody’s armed, right? Situations like this can get real ugly, real fast.”
Perry was the youngest and fittest of the three men. “I’ll take the far right end, and check out the employee section, too. It’s possible they’re headed for Nina’s vehicle instead of Murphy’s,” he said and ran off in that direction before the others could argue.
Hammer said, “I’ll take the middle left quadrant and then move on to help Perry. Greyson, if you’ll take the far left.”
While they sorted themselves out, Kim ran toward the valet stand. Following two dozen steps behind Perry, she watched for Murphy and Nina, peering down the parking lanes as she crossed.
She was barely winded when she reached the valet stand. She slid in between groups waiting to drop off and pick up vehicles. A woman was collecting claim checks and money and punching tickets to give the runners. Kim waited for a break in her line of customers before she approached.
The woman looked up, smiled, and reached out an empty palm. “Do you have your claim ticket?”
Kim shook her head and replied, “I’m looking for Nina Cloud. Have you seen her in the last few minutes?”
“Nina?” The woman frowned, crinkling her brown eyes as if she wasn’t sure how she should reply.
“Randy sent me
to find her,” Kim said, making it up as she went along because the last thing she needed to do was start a panic by flashing her badge. “She was headed this way. Did you see her?”
The mention of Randy Cloud’s name seemed to solve the woman’s problem. “Oh, sure. Well, I think I saw Nina leaving with General Murphy.”
“Which way did they go?” Kim asked, glancing around the lot again. She had no idea what kind of vehicle Nina drove, so she said, “Did they head for Nina’s car?”
The guy Kim had stepped in front of had lost his patience. “Lady. For cripe’s sake. We need to get home. Can’t you just call your friend on her cell phone, like a normal person?”
“I’ll be right with you, sir,” the cashier said before she looked at Kim again and pointed two aisles over. “I think I saw General Murphy walking up aisle four when he came in. You might try that one.”
“Thank you,” Kim said, turning toward the scowling impatient patron. “She’s all yours.”
She trotted toward aisle four while fishing her cell phone out of her pocket. She pressed the redial button on her last call to Greyson. He picked up right away. “The valet says Nina and Murphy might be headed down aisle four. I’m on my way there now. Tell the others,” Kim said. “I’ll call you back if I find them.”
“Same here,” he said and disconnected.
Kim dropped her cell phone into her pocket and picked up her pace, dodging people and weaving between vehicles as they came and went.
The parking lot was well lit except for the shadows cast by the vehicles and the people. Visibility was good enough to identify her prey from about a hundred feet.
Kim jogged past two more aisles, turning her head to look down them quickly. She didn’t see Murphy or Nina immediately, so she kept going.
When she reached aisle four, she turned to jog toward the opposite end, looking at each vehicle as she passed. Parked SUVs and trucks were pulling in and out on each side of the aisle. A few times, she’d seen couples in the front seats, but none were Murphy and Nina.