Handbags & Hooligans

by Laina Turner

  “It’s in my handwriting, Darlene said. “She told me what to say.”

  “What are you waiting for? Open it,” Jared said anxiously.

  I unfolded the paper. The letter wasn’t very long.

  “Don’t keep us in suspense. What does it say?” Jared said again.

  “Okay, okay,” I said and started reading:

  Jesse,

  I hope you are the one getting this message, and first I want to apologize for not telling you the truth about some of the things I was doing in my life. I never meant to hurt you, and I hope you can bring yourself to forgive me. Or at least give me the chance to explain. For now, know that I’m safe, but only for as long at Benigni can’t find the tape. You need to get the tape before they do. And please don’t forget to feed the cat. My life depends on it.

  Love,

  Ashley

  I stopped reading.

  “Is that it?” asked Jared.

  “That’s it,” I said flipping the paper over, hoping more concrete information would appear somewhere. To no avail. “She didn’t say anything else?” I asked Darlene.

  “Nope. Listen, I got to get back to work. Anything else you need?”

  “No. Thanks Darlene. Here’s my number. Could you please let us know if she contacts you again?”

  “Sure. Just do me a favor and don’t tell anyone I’m helping you. It’s not smart to cross Benigni, and I don’t need that kind of trouble.” She walked away.

  “This doesn’t tell us anything,” Anna said, sounding dejected.

  “She mentions the cat again,” I said. “I don’t get it.”

  “It’s got to mean something,” Anna said. “We just aren’t figuring it out.”

  Chapter 19

  Anna and I heard a knocking at the door. “Who could that be?” Anna asked, getting up to answer it. We were sitting in my room waiting for Jesse to get there, determined to figure out what Ashley meant by her repeated comments about feeding the cat. We knew we were overlooking something obvious. We had to be.

  Anna opened the door, and the two police detectives were standing there. What the hell were they doing here? I stood and walked to the door to greet them.

  “Can we come in?” said Detective Eaton.

  “Sure,” Anna replied.

  “To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?” I said.

  “Have you been at The Pink Pony lately?” Detective Eaton said without answering my question—something I was used to from Cooper, but it didn’t make it any less annoying.

  “Yes. Why is that a problem?” I was a little on edge that he was questioning us like this. It just felt accusatory, and as far as I knew we hadn’t done anything wrong by working there.

  “Why have you been there?” He ignored me again.

  “If you tell me why it seems to be a problem, I will be more than happy to tell you why I have been there. Anna, too.”

  Detective Eaton gave a big sigh. I sensed he didn’t want to tell me, but also that he didn’t have a choice in the matter. I had been involved in enough police stuff that I knew I didn’t have to answer his questions unless he read me my rights and arrested me, and although I didn’t know his motive at that moment, I didn’t think that was his plan. These guys were looking for some kind of information. “Have you found anything out about Ashley?” I added. The answer to that question was more important to me than any other.

  “No, but we have some leads,” said Detective Grady, and Detective Eaton gave him a dirty look. “We are just wondering why you are interfering. It makes our job that much more difficult.”

  “How are we interfering just by hanging out there?”

  “Be honest, ladies. We know you’re not just hanging out there to pass the time. You’re snooping around and asking questions.”

  “I put my hands on my hips, feeling a little defensive. “How else are we supposed to find out what happened to her if we don’t ask around?”

  “By leaving the detective work up to the detectives. Your asking questions isn’t going to go unnoticed, and that is going to make finding Ashley that much harder.”

  I begrudgingly realized he had a point. Especially our trip to Benigni’s bars yesterday probably didn’t go unnoticed, and if Benigni really had Ashley, well, I didn’t want to think about all the possibilities.

  “We fully understand you want to find Ashley,” Detective Eaton said in a much nicer tone. “But you don’t realize who you are dealing with, and you could be putting yourself in danger.”

  Detective Eaton lectured us for a few more minutes without giving us any useful information about Ashley. Maybe he didn’t have any, but I figured it was more likely that he just wasn’t going to share what they knew.

  Anna and I had been talking, and we were pretty much over working at The Pink Pony, anyway, because it wasn’t getting us any closer to finding Ashley. I planned to call Sweetie that day and let him know. Even though working there hadn’t really helped us to find Ashley, it had been a great experience, and Anna and I had met some really interesting people.

  “What are you wearing to the casino?” Anna said, interrupting my thoughts. We were getting ready to head over to the casino to watch Jesse again.

  “Casual. My Diesel jeans and gray T–shirt.

  “Jeans? In this weather? I don’t even know why you packed them.”

  “It’s freezing in the casino with the air conditioning.”

  “True. It’s just hard to find something that isn’t dirty. I need to take advantage of the hotel’s laundry service.”

  We already had stayed three days past our original return date. Anna had the entire week off, as she should have been on her honeymoon, and I had called James, my boss, and requested the same. He hadn’t been thrilled, but he didn’t really have a choice. Right now I was his only option.

  After freshening up we walked down to the casino floor and were just walking around people watching.

  “So we meet up again?”

  I whirled around at the familiar voice and came face–to–face with Benigni, not someone I wanted to run into, especially by myself. Granted I was in the casino with a lot of people, but Jared and Anna had gone off to play some slots, and not really being my thing, I thought I would just walk around and take in the atmosphere. People watching never got old.

  “Hi,” I said. Not very eloquent, but I had no idea what to say to him and just wanted him to go away.

  “Here to watch the tournament, I assume?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your brother is a good dealer.”

  “He’s good at a lot of things.”

  “So I’ve heard.” Benigni looked at me. “I hear you’ve been frequenting some of my clubs.”

  I shrugged, not wanting to give him any answer either way.

  “Why so interested in me?” he asked.

  I was sure he didn’t mean that and was playing games. “You find it odd I would enjoy your clubs?”

  “I know you’ve been working at The Pink Pony. Why, I still don’t think I totally understand, but you’re not the typical type that hangs out at my clubs.”

  “What type is that?” I asked. I didn’t really want to have a conversation with him, but I wanted to see what he was thinking.

  “I think you know. Now, why are you asking questions about Ashley Griffith?” His voice dropped some of the friendliness it had a few seconds ago.

  I looked around, hoping to see Jared or Anna. Not that they were a match for Benigni, but he couldn’t do anything to all of us in a busy casino.

  He stepped a little closer and grabbed my arm. “Answer me. Why are you asking about Ashley Griffiths?”

  “Why are you asking me? You know she is my brother’s girlfriend, and you should know as her employer that she hasn’t been around in a few days. Jesse is worried, and we’re trying to find out where she is.” I thought the truth couldn’t hurt, and it sounded innocent enough. I just wasn’t going to tell him we also thought he might be behind her disappearance
.

  Simon walked up. “What’s going on here?”

  I felt a sense of relief wash over me. Good timing on his part.

  “Presley and I were just having a little chat. Seems that we have a few things in common.”

  “I doubt that, Benigni. I meant what I said. You need to stay away from my casino unless you are here to play the slots or take in a show.”

  “Simon, Simon, Simon. What makes you think that’s not what I’m doing? Presley and I were just having a friendly conversation here.”

  “Somehow I don’t believe you. Don’t push your luck with me.” Simon looked menacing, but Benigni seemed to take it in stride.

  “Okay, Simon, have it your way. For now” He looked at me and grabbed my hand and kissed it. “Until we meet again, my dear Presley.”

  I shuddered. I hoped that was never. Benigni walked away, and I turned to Simon. “Good timing.”

  “What were you doing talking to him, anyway?” he said, scowling.

  “Get real, Simon. It’s not like I wanted to have some big conversation with him. He just spotted me and took it upon himself.”

  “What did he want?”

  “He asked me why I was asking questions about Ashley. I told him the truth—that she was Jesse’s girlfriend and had been missing for a few days, and we were worried.”

  “That’s fine, I guess. Just try to stay away from him and his people.”

  “Trust me, I have no desire to run into him again.”

  Chapter 20

  This is kind of exciting.” I said to Jared and Cooper as we watched Jesse deal. The Texas Hold’em tournament had started officially, and there was a whole different feel in the air than the previous night. I liked watching the guys and gals. And yes, there were gals, which was one of the first things that surprised me, as I had incorrectly assumed poker was more of a guy thing. When I thought of poker, old men smoking cigars and admiring the velvet painting of dogs on the wall came to mind. It wasn’t that at all. The eight people sitting at the table were anywhere from twenty–five to sixty years in age, if I were to guess, and there were five guys and three ladies of all different nationalities.

  Four of the guys wore mirrored shades. When I questioned why they were wearing their sunglasses indoors, Jared said he had been watching a show about gambling and the shades were to prevent players from giving away their tells. He went on to explain that tells were giveaways such as an excited look on a player’s face if he had a good hand. Jared also explained to me that the game was much about knowing how the other player would play and anticipating the other players’ moves. We were close enough to the ropes surrounding the tables that I was able to hear Jesse and the other players. It was almost like listening to another language. “But I don’t really get it.”

  “The game starts by the dealer, Jesse, dealing out two cards,” said Cooper. “Out of those two cards, the players can bet or fold.”

  “How in the heck are they supposed to know what to do based on two measly cards?”

  “I think that’s probably the whole point of the game, Presley,” Jared said dryly. “It’s not supposed to be easy.”

  “Exactly,” Cooper said. “Poker is largely a game of chance. So once the first round of betting is complete, the next step is called the flop. That’s where Jesse will deal another round of three cards, and then there is another round of betting. Jesse, the dealer, deals another card followed by another round of betting, then a fifth card and the last round of betting, which is, either folding or calling. Those left after that round show their hands and the best hand wins.”

  “It sounds easy and complicated all at the same time,” I said.

  “It is,” Cooper said. “I’ve played a few times for fun with the guys, and because I know them I can often tell who’s bluffing and who’s not. After all, my job is to read people. These professionals are like rocks. No expression.”

  You could see the intense concentration on the players’ faces. I couldn’t believe with so many tables of players and people watching, it was easy for them to block out the activity around them.

  The pit boss called for a dealer change, and Jesse walked off the floor, putting a hand to his mouth like he was drinking something, which I knew meant coffee. He was as big of an addict as I was. I nodded that I got his message.

  “C’mon, guys. Jesse wants us to meet him at the coffee place.”

  The three of us threaded our way through the crowd to meet Jesse. When we got there, he already had a cup and looked visibly shaken. I was concerned. He had been perfectly fine two minutes ago and I was excited to tell him about the note.

  “Jesse, what’s wrong?”

  “She left me another message. It said she would call back in one hour and to do whatever I had to in order to take the call. It was urgent.”

  “That’s great, Jess. That means she’s still okay and somehow able to make calls. She also left a note with Darlene saying she was ok. We can figure this out.”

  “But, Presley, I have to go back on the floor in thirty minutes and pretending to be sick or something won’t work, because Simon said to pretend like I was following the orders given by Benigni’s guys, and to not show up at my assigned table would screw that all up. How has this all happened?” He sat down and put his head in his hands.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “One of us can take the call. I’m sure she’ll understand. It’s better than nothing.”

  “I guess you’re right. I just really want to talk to her.” His voice broke.

  “I know, Jesse, but we will find her and soon you can talk with her,” I said, rubbing his back. I hated to see my baby brother this upset. He really liked this girl.

  “It’s good that you weren’t able to answer that phone call and she has to call back,” Cooper said.

  “How’s that?”

  “Because now I have time to put a trace on your phone that will be able to triangulate where any phone that calls in to yours is located. I’m going to set that up right now.” Cooper took out his phone to place a call to his guys.

  “See, Jesse, this is going to be a good thing.”

  “That does make me feel a little better. I need to get back to the game. Are you guys going to come back and watch?”

  “Cooper walked up and answered, “No. I think we should go back to your apartment and wait for the call. It will be quieter there, plus if we can pinpoint where her phone is, we can decide our next steps.”

  “Okay,” Jesse said. “Here, take this number down: 702–403–6568. This is the cell number for Bart, one of the other guys. You can leave a message on his phone if you need me, and I can call back.”

  “We will,” I said.

  “And, Presley?”

  “Yes?”

  “Tell her I really miss her, and I don’t care what secrets she had.”

  “I will, Jesse.” I gave him a quick hug. “Now go back to work. We will handle this.”

  We were all sitting restlessly at Jesse’s apartment waiting for Ashley’s call, when I finally got up and went into the kitchen and started rifling through the drawers.

  “What are you looking for?” Jared said. “The wine in on the table.”

  “Funny. I’m bored. I thought Jesse might have some playing cards here somewhere. Thought we could play euchre or crazy eights. Something to take our minds off the waiting. Here we go.” Finally, in the third junk drawer I found an old deck of cards held together by a rubber band. Hopefully, they were all here. I walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch to sort the cards really quick. I didn’t want to start a game just to find out we weren’t playing with a full deck. Though, maybe we weren’t. I laughed at my own private joke.

  “What’s funny?” asked Anna.

  “Oh, nothing. Looks like they’re all here. You guys up for a game?”

  “Sure,” they all chorused.

  We played for a couple hours, no one mentioning the elephant in the room that was no call from Ashley.

 
Jared finally threw his cards down. “I keep losing, and why are we sitting here? It’s obvious she isn’t going to call. We can’t stay out here indefinitely; we need to get out and find her.”

  “If only we could figure out the cat thing,” Anna said.

  I had been mulling over the whole cat thing, trying to figure out what she meant. I felt it was right on the edge of my mind; it just wouldn’t come out. She didn’t actually have a cat and neither did Jesse. He didn’t think any of her friends did either. What could it be? “Oh my God, that’s it!” Everyone looked at me.

  “What’s it?” asked Cooper.

  “I know what Ashley meant by feed the cat. Or at least I think I do. C’mon, we need to get to her house.”

  Chapter 21

  We all piled into Jesse’s car, Cooper driving, and headed over to Ashley’s apartment complex.

  “So, what is it, Pres?” Jared said. “Don’t keep us in suspense.”

  “Ashley kept mentioning feed the cat, and we all assumed she meant a real cat, which she doesn’t have. I just remembered seeing a black stuffed cat in her room. I can’t believe it just occurred to me, because when I saw it the other day, the character Shirley, from the sitcom Laverne & Shirley, and her stuffed cat Boo–Boo Kitty popped into my head.”

  “So you’re thinking she hid something in the stuffed cat?” Cooper asked.

  “Yes. What else could it be?”

  “That’s as good of an idea as any, and you might just be right,” said Cooper.

  “Good thinking, Pres,” said Jared.

  “There is just one minor problem,” said Cooper.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Ashley’s apartment is a crime scene, and it’s going to be locked down.”

  “I grabbed her key from Jesse’s.”

  Cooper chuckled. “Well, that helps, but I meant we aren’t allowed on a crime scene.”