Murder by Chance (Betty Chance Mystery)

by Dennis, Pat

  Betty shook her head, “Just that the two million in Farsi’s luggage was real, and not counterfeit.”

  “Still no idea why the money was in his luggage?” Lori asked. “Or why he was killed?”

  A baritone voice behind them said, “Farsi was planning on escaping to Canada with the dough.” Tom Songbird had walked up without any of them noticing. He slid into a seat next to Lori. “He’d arranged for a car rental through the casino host. He even pre-paid for it.”

  “Was it Ogawa’s money he stole?” Betty asked.

  Tom nodded. “Severson told me it was the—quote, unquote—family money. Farsi stole it from their jointly owned safety box. He probably thought no one would miss it because there was another twelve million inside the box.”

  “So I’m guessing he took what he thought was his share?” Betty asked.

  Tom said, “Ogawa didn’t look at it that way, although both Farsi and Slevitch probably did. Slevitch was furious that Farsi was killed. Slevitch threatened to turn Ogawa in unless he was given the two million dollars to keep quiet. Ogawa killed him, instead.”

  Betty asked, “How did Severson find all of this out?”

  Tom reached and grabbed a grape from Lori’s plate and tossed it in air. He caught it in his mouth, swallowed and answered, “Rose.”

  “Rose sang to the cops?” Tillie asked, her mouth dropping open in shock.

  “Like an off-key canary.” Tom grinned.

  “Why?” Betty asked.

  “She’s basically trying to cut a deal for herself,” Tom explained. “She knows Ogawa will spend the rest of his life behind bars so she’s trying to save herself a little time by telling everything she knows.”

  Betty sat back to digest the information from Songbird. There were still a few questions she needed answered.

  Songbird must have read her mind. “Remember the bathroom scene? The one that looked like an episode of CSI Moose Bay?” he asked.

  “Yes?” Betty said, encouraging him to carry on.

  “The showgirls are Rose’s nieces. Heather’s the one who broke into the penthouse dressed like Tillie, and scattered blood around the bathroom.”

  Betty asked, “Did Rose give any reason why the gang tried to frame one of us?”

  Tom shook his head. “She just said the two of you were easy targets. I do know they were able to hack into your company’s database even before they broke into your office and stole your computer.”

  “So they already knew that Tillie would be our driver for this trip?” Betty asked.

  Tom said, “Looks like it.”

  Betty continued, “Then why did they have someone steal our computer and the junket file?”

  Tom answered, “Rose said Ogawa was paranoid about Farsi. He was afraid Farsi had given you his real name and address.”

  Lori asked, “But why wait to kill him on our tour bus? Why not before?”

  Tom answered, “Rose said that Ogawa had made a phone call at the truck stop on his cell phone. That’s when he learned about the money taken. One of his family members in Chicago tipped him off.”

  Betty asked, “You’re certain that Ogawa killed Slevitch as well?”

  Tom nodded. “Rose claims he did. Should take too long to confirm if true.”

  Lori asked, “Has Boris been apprehended?”

  Tom shook his head. “No, and the two girls have disappeared along with him.”

  Tillie added, “Rose and Ogawa’s kids never had a chance at a straight life, did they? I guess the apple just doesn’t fall far from the tree, it hits you in the friggin’ head if you’re standing too damn close.”

  Betty noticed that Lori was quiet and looked pensive.

  “What’s the matter, Lori?” Betty asked.

  Lori pushed her plate away and said quietly, “Tony Gillette wasn’t involved in any of this, was he?”

  Tom looked confused.

  “Your men led him away from the high-stakes table …” Lori began.

  “Oh, you’re referring to the poker room incident last night?” Tom interjected. “I read my men the riot act over that. Tony’s done a few favors for me from time to time. He’s great at identifying card counting. I wanted him to view a security tape. I forgot to tell my men to say pretty please with sugar on it.”

  Betty asked, “What about the thirteen million dollar win? Did Ogawa tamper with it?”

  Tom answered, “There’s good news and bad news about that you’ll want to know about. The good news is that the headquarters in Nevada validated the win. I thought there was a system error that happened at the same time as the win, but it had nothing to do with the winning spin itself.”

  “What’s the bad news?” Betty asked.

  “It concerns someone on your tour,” Tom said a half grin.

  Betty’s brow furrowed quizzically until Tom explained, “Hannah found out the progressive is being awarded right before your bus leaves.”

  Betty groaned in exaggerated pain. “I bet she’ll be standing in the front row, claiming the money should have been hers.”

  “It gets worse,” Tom added.

  “How?” Betty asked, not knowing if she really wanted to hear.

  “Hannah heard me say the media will be present when we hand the winner the check. She made a point of telling me that during the ceremony she will let the media know the truth.”

  “What truth?” Betty asked.

  “The truth about Take A Chance Tours.”

  **

  Three hours later, Betty scrambled down the hotel sidewalk wheeling her luggage behind her. Fortunately, Lori had volunteered to welcome the passengers as they boarded the bus. Tillie stood at the side of the bus steps as well, assuring the riders that the new driver was more than qualified to take them back to Chicago. From Betty’s viewpoint, it looked as if the bus was almost filled.

  “Everyone show up?” Betty asked, as she watched the bellmen jam bag after bag into the luggage compartment.

  “Everyone but Hannah—and here she comes,” Tillie said, pointing down the sidewalk.

  Hannah was moving slowly, her cane cracking angrily against the concrete with every step. Betty could tell Hannah was still embarrassed by her performance at the news conference only minutes earlier.

  Hannah had shown up at the event as promised. She bullied her way to the front of the crowd. All during the ceremony she kept raising her hand like a schoolgirl begging to be called on. Once the oversized check was presented to the winner, a television camera panned over to her. A budding reporter asked, “Is there something you’d like to say about the multi-million dollar win at Moose Bay?”

  Hannah, seeing her face on the monitor of the camera, and probably realizing millions of people would hear what she was going to say, lost her bravado. Instead she said, “It’s wonderful,” and scurried off.

  For Betty, the best thing about the nationally aired sound bite was that Hannah was wearing a Take A Chance Tours t-shirt at the time.

  Tillie tapped Betty on the shoulder, and said, “I’m going inside. Maybe I’ll use the microphone to tell a few jokes before Road Bingo begins. Who knows? Maybe I’ll decide to become a tour host.”

  “You’d be a great one,” Betty replied, watching Tillie walk up the steps.

  Betty looked back at her niece, who appeared to be lost in thought as she stared back toward the casino. Betty said, “The sheriff was looking for you earlier. Did he get ahold of you?”

  Lori nodded. “He wanted to know if he could give me a call when this entire thing was over.”

  Betty scoffed, “That could take years.”

  “Exactly,” she smiled. “That’s why I told him he could.”

  “What about Tony Gillette?” Betty questioned, knowing his interest in Lori rivaled the sheriff’s.

  “Tony’s flying into Chicago to take me to dinner on Sunday,” Lori smiled before a serious expression took hold. “Aunt Betty, there’s something I need to tell you.”

  “What?” Betty asked, hoping Hanna
h’s slow moving assault toward the bus would give Lori enough time to share what was on her mind.

  “This weekend turned out to be pretty good for me, at the tables. I did really well at poker. I mean, I love playing poker, maybe too much in fact,” Lori admitted, her eyes shifting downward.

  Betty waited for Lori to continue, thankful that Hannah who was still a few yards away was hard of hearing.

  Lori continued, “I’m thinking about taking a shot at becoming a professional poker player. That’s one of the reasons Tony is flying in to see me. He wants to become my mentor.”

  “Lori, that’s great,” Betty answered. “Remember what I always say? Do what you love and the money will follow?”

  Lori nodded, but the worried look on her face told her aunt that for whatever reason, the change in careers frightened her. Maybe her niece didn’t want to burden Betty with Take A Chance accounting. Betty decided to add, “Besides, what could possibly go wrong? If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out for you. It’s no big deal.”

  The look on Lori’s face didn’t change. Betty thought her offer to help would have comforted her niece. She said, “Lori, I really don’t mind helping you with handling the company’s finances. You’re overworked as it is, and I’ve been thinking for a while about hiring a professional accounting firm. That way you could help me with promotions.”

  Lori gulped. “A professional accounting firm? It’s really no problem for me to handle the money.”

  Betty smiled warmly. “No really. When we get back I insist on hiring a firm to handle the money. It’s time we did an audit anyway.”

  Lori lifted her tear-filled eyes. “Sure, it’s time we did that. We should have been doing it all along. But, once we do, I hope you’ll always let me be a part of Take A Chance.”

  “You better be,” Hannah called from nearby. “You’re the only good thing about the company.”

  Lori said, “Thanks, Hannah. I needed that.” But she added diplomatically, “But Aunt Betty and Tillie are just as good as I am, if not better.”

  “Humph!” Hannah sputtered and turned her attention to Betty. She said, “Lucky for you, I still have enough money left in my bank account after this crummy trip to go on your next tour!”

  “Lucky for me,” Betty responded, her fingers crossed behind her back.

  Hannah spun on her heels to climb the steps into the bus. She hesitated as she placed her foot on the first step. Betty realized she needed help, and gently place her hand on Hannah’s elbow to give her a lift up. Without uttering a word of rebuke, Hannah accepted Betty’s help like she always did at the end of their journey.

  Betty looked around at the bustling atmosphere of tour bus departures just as multitudes of new guests were arriving. Over the milling of the crowd, she heard a “Woo-hoo!” from another tour operator. It made her chuckle. It was always exciting to arrive at a casino with a busload of gamblers. For Betty’s group, she could feel the contentment of a job well done. The tour had, against all odds, ended smoothly and she could tell that her passengers were pleased.

  She watched as a hotel staffer finished placing bags into the luggage compartment and closed the door. He gave the driver a thumbs-up. The tour was officially over and a new one would soon begin.

  She buttoned up her coat and thought, “Lucky for all of us.”

  Chapter 31

  Buffet Betty’s Blog

  www.buffetbetty.com

  Hungry Moose Buffet: Five Popped Buttons!

  In only one hour, our tour bus will leave the Moose Bay Casino. I can tell by your posted comments that most of you are aware of what’s happened on this trip. News about murder and mayhem certainly travels at lightning speed across the Internet! And if you’re wondering if what you’ve read—a murder in a locked bathroom, a murderous passenger disguised as an elderly man, and a gang of international counterfeiters at Moose Bay—is true? Well, yes it is. But, pretty much when you run a tour company that specializes in casino junkets, anything can, and usually does happen. It’s not all jackpots and buffets!

  But if you don’t mind, I want to be fair to Moose Bay. Forget about the murders and the phony money for a while. Moose Bay is wonderful and I want to you visit as soon as possible. So, let’s concentrate on the Hungry Moose Buffet and not the horrible events of the last few days. Plus, I want all of you to drive to Moose Bay! Don’t worry about driving when there’s six feet of snow on the ground, or that a real Moose might cross the highway at any given point. Moose Bay is worth the trip. For one thing, the loose slots that they advertise really are loose. I put ten bucks in a multi-progressive and walked away with a crisp twenty-dollar bill an hour later. Woo-hoo! Ten bucks profit for hour of fun! Life doesn’t get any better than that!

  And the food? Fantastic! From locally grown ingredients to international cuisine expertly prepared, I gladly give five popped buttons to the Hungry Moose Buffet at Moose Bay Casino. Following are three recipes I wheedled from their chef for you to enjoy!

  END

  The Recipes

  PECAN CRUSTED WALLEYE

  2 walleye fillets (1/2 lb. each)

  Flour seasoned with salt and pepper

  1 large egg, slightly beaten

  ¾ cup finely chopped pecans

  2 tablespoons butter

  2 tablespoons minced scallion

  3 cups all-purpose flour

  1 ripe pear, peeled and cut into slices

  ¼ cup white wine

  juice of ½ lemon

  1/4 cup heavy cream

  2 tablespoons bleu cheese

  Dredge walleye in flour, shake off excess, dip in egg and coat in pecans. Melt butter and sauté walleye 6 minutes on each side. Transfer fillets to a plate and cover to keep warm.

  Drain excess grease. Add scallions and pear. Cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine, and cook a few more minutes. Add cream, season with salt and pepper. Add lemon juice. At the last minute, add the bleu cheese and spoon over the fish.

  NEW ORLEANS BREAD PUDDING

  Bourbon Sauce:

  ½ cup bread melted butter

  1 cup sugar

  1 egg

  1 cup Kentucky bourbon whiskey

  Bread Pudding:

  1 loaf of stale French bread, cut into 1-inch squares (6 -7 cups)

  1 quart milk.

  3 eggs, lightly beaten

  2 cups sugar

  2 tablespoons vanilla

  1 cup raisins (soaked overnight in ¼ cup bourbon)

  ½ teaspoon allspice

  1/3 to ½ teaspoon cinnamon

  3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

  Instructions:

  Bourbon Sauce:

  In a saucepan, melt butter; add sugar and egg, whisking it together. Stir constantly over low heat until the mixture thickens. (Do not allow to simmer because it could curdle.) Whisk in bourbon to taste. Remove from heat. Whisk again before serving. The sauce should be creamy and smooth.

  The Pudding

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Soak the bread in milk in a large mixing bowl. Press with hands until well mixed and all the milk absorbed. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and spices together. Gently stir into the bread mixture. Stir the raisins into the mixture.

  Pour butter into the bottom of a 9”x13” baking pan. Coat the bottom and the sides of the pan with butter. Pour in the bread mix and bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until set. The pudding is done when the edges start browning and pulling away from the edge of the pan. Serve with bourbon whiskey sauce on the side; pour on to taste. Best fresh and eaten the day it is made. Makes 8-10 servings.

  MAPLE WALNUT PUMPKIN PIE

  Ingredients:

  1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

  1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

  2 eggs

  1 teaspoon maple flavoring

  ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  ½ teaspoon salt

  ½ teaspoon ginger

  ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

  Walnut Topping:

  1
(9 inch) Graham cracker pie crust

  ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

  1/2 cup all-purpose flour

  ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  3 tablespoons butter

  ½ cup chopped walnuts

  Directions

  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, cinnamon, maple flavoring, ginger, nutmeg and salt; mix well. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees F; continue baking 30 minutes. In medium mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon; cut-in butter until crumbly. Stir in nuts. Remove pie from oven; top evenly with crumb mixture. Return to oven 10 minutes. Cool. Garnish with chopped walnuts as desired. Store covered in refrigerator.

  Killed by Chance

  Killed by Chance is the second book in the Betty Chance Mystery series by Pat Dennis.

  Take a Chance Tours is on the road again – this time to the casinos and mouth-watering buffets of Biloxi, Mississippi. Betty Chance hosts the tour, along with perky effervescent bus driver Tillie McFinn. Riding along are the original fan club members for Bradford and the Beekeepers, a popular rock and roll group of the 50s and 60s. The chance to see their idol perform live once again in concert is priceless to Bradford’s ardent followers.

  Only problem is, the itinerary includes a bit of kidnapping, murder, and alligators. Betty puts her amateur sleuth ability to work and, with the help of Tillie and her niece Lori, they search for the killer. CLICK TO BUY NOW ON AMAZON

  About the Author

  Pat Dennis is the award-winning author of Hotdish To Die For, a collection of six mystery short stories where the weapon of choice is hotdish, deadly recipes included. Readers demanding more were rewarded with Hotdish Haiku, featuring 50 haiku and recipes from her and other writers. Murder by Chance is the first of her Betty Chance Mysteries series. Killed by Chance, will be published in November, 2015.