4 Ghost of a Gamble

by Sue Ann Jaffarian

  “In other words,” said Quinn, piecing together the detective’s meaning, “she either had help in the crime you allege she might have committed or was abducted as we think.”

  Garby sucked his front teeth as he glared at Quinn, then made his way to the front door without another word. The uniform cops had left long before. Just before he followed the surly Garby out the door, John Foster told them, “You folks sit tight. I know that’s difficult at a time like this, but if anything comes up, we’ll be in touch. If you hear from Ms. Meskiel, please give me a call.” He produced a couple of business cards and stepped toward Emma and Quinn. “I’ve already left my number with Mr. Ravenscroft, but I’d like you two to have it, too.”

  After taking the card, Emma dug into her purse to produce her own. On the back she wrote her personal cell number. “And here’s mine. I’m staying at the Venetian and will be there until this is over. Quinn is at Treasure Island if you need to reach him.”

  Quinn stepped forward and handed the detective his card. “If you can’t reach Emma, please call me. Considering the threats made, ghosts or not, I’ll be sticking around to watch her back.”

  “I thought they’d never leave,” groused Tracy after the police had finally left.

  They were all huddled around Dolly’s kitchen table. Tracy and Emma had pulled together a quick lunch from stuff they found in the fridge and pantry, primarily sandwiches of various cold cuts and cheeses, along with some crackers and raw vegetables.

  “They did take forever,” Emma said as she made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

  “A couple of hours,” noted Quinn, pouring glasses of iced tea.

  “Oh, look,” said Tracy, pulling a plastic container out of the fridge. “Hummus. This will go great with those crackers and veggies.”

  Settled around the table, they went over the information shared with the police and made plans of their own while they ate.

  Tracy laughed, remembering what Foster had said. “He told us all to sit tight. Obviously, he doesn’t know us very well, especially you, Emma.”

  “Yeah, I think Foster eventually took a shine to you,” Quinn added. “Did you two bond in the hallway?”

  “Sort of.” She looked around the room. “Milo, are there any spirits around that you can feel?”

  “No, not at the moment,” Milo answered. “Why? Do you feel one?”

  “No, I just want to be careful about what I say and when, considering the particular spirits hanging about. You see, I think there’s something funny about John Foster. Something he revealed to me in the hallway.”

  “His pecker?” asked Tracy, laughing.

  “Maybe he knows where Hoffa’s buried,” suggested Quinn.

  “Nothing like that,” answered Emma, laughing. It felt good to laugh in the middle of all the worry, and even Milo joined in on the joke.

  “That he really believes in ghosts?” asked Milo, adding his own suggestion.

  Emma shook her head and took a drink of her iced tea before speaking. “John Foster went right to the photo of Lenny Speidel. He asked me who it was, but I think he already knew. He told me his grandfather grew up here and told lots of stories about Las Vegas.”

  “That’s probably where he got his interest in that time period,” said Quinn right before taking a bite of his sandwich. “Didn’t Garby say it’s a hobby of Foster’s?”

  “Yes,” admitted Emma, “but I think it’s more than that. I kept getting a vibe that he has a personal interest here. Something he’s not disclosing.”

  The table went silent, going from jovial to hushed as if the volume had been turned off with the flick of a switch.

  “You know,” said Milo, being the first to find his voice. “I thought he looked kind of funny when we first mentioned Lenny’s name. It was kind of surprise mixed with excitement.”

  Emma recounted her private conversation with Foster.

  “Maybe he’s related to Lenny,” suggested Tracy.

  “What’s more,” Emma added, “I think Lenny was Dolly’s boyfriend. He’s in several of the photos hanging on the hallway wall, and they’re not photos with Dolly in costume. And the poses seem too intimate for just being friends.”

  “Are you sure?” Milo asked.

  Emma went to the hallway and retrieved the photo of Dolly and Lenny together. She showed it to Milo. “This is the man whose spirit came to me last night. This is Leonard Speidel aka Lenny the Lightbulb. Do you remember him at all from your childhood?”

  Milo studied the photo closely. “Sorry, but I don’t.”

  “Let me see that,” said Tracy, holding out her hand. Emma passed her the framed photo. Tracy studied it. “Dolly was quite beautiful, wasn’t she?”

  “Yes, and full of piss and vinegar,” said Milo. “I knew that even as a kid.”

  Tracy turned the photo over and started removing the back of the frame. “Sometimes people date the back of the photos.”

  “Good thinking, darling,” said Milo.

  When Tracy took the back off, there was a piece of paper folded in the back of the frame, holding the photo tight against the glass. She put that aside and looked at the back of the photo. “Bingo!” she said, pleased with herself. “There’s a date scribbled here of April 1962.”

  “I would have been not quite two at the time,” noted Milo, “so no wonder I don’t remember him.”

  Emma raised an index finger as a thought crossed her mind. “Do you remember when that Lucky Buck Casino robbery was?”

  “Didn’t the information we found say the early 1960s?” asked Milo.

  “Yes, but when in the sixties?” Emma went to her bag and pulled out her iPad. Quickly she researched the bank robbery. “This information on Nemo just says early sixties.” There weren’t many sites mentioning the robbery, but Emma checked them all. “Oh my God,” she said as she read the information on another site. “This site says it was May of 1962.”

  “Right after this photo was taken,” noted Quinn.

  “Yes. And I’ll bet Lenny was killed shortly after that. It’s no wonder you don’t remember him, Milo. He was killed when you were just a toddler.”

  “Get ready for another shocker,” said Tracy. In her hand she was holding the paper that had been folded and stuck behind the photo. Without another word she held it out to Milo, who took it from her and quickly scanned it.

  “This can’t be right,” he said, his words coming slow and stunned. He read it over several times. “I’ve seen my birth certificate. I even have the original. Dolly gave it to me years ago.”

  “What is it, Milo?” asked Emma. When he didn’t respond, she reached over and took the paper from him and read it for herself. It was a birth certificate. Without a word, she handed it off to Quinn, who also read it.

  “Are you sure you have the original?” Tracy asked Milo.

  “Yes, it looks just like this one,” he answered, staring down at the table in shock. “Exactly like this one—date of birth, date of issuance, official seal. Everything except for the name of the father. When I needed to get a passport, I wrote to the State of Nevada for a certified copy and that one also had no father listed.”

  Quinn looked again at the document in his hand and read, “Name of father, Leonard Joseph Speidel.”

  Tracy reached over and took one of Milo’s hands. “We need to find Dolly for a lot of reasons.”

  Emma shook her head at the latest development. “Didn’t you ever ask about the man in the photos or about your father?”

  “Sure,” Milo answered, “especially when I was young. Dolly just said my father was out of the picture permanently. And wouldn’t discuss it further.” He huffed out a sad chuckle. “Of course, in this case my father was right in the picture.”

  He took the photograph and looked at it again. “Dolly said this guy was one of her friends who left the area a long time ago. I had no reason not to believe her. When Dolly refused to talk about my father, I assumed he was someone who’d passed through Vegas.
Maybe a married man she’d had a fling with, or something like that. Turns out my father was a criminal and a thief.” He sighed deeply. “Maybe I’d been better off not knowing.”

  “Boo!” came from the light fixture above the counter. Milo and Emma jumped in their seats, causing Tracy and Quinn to be startled by their reaction.

  “Darn it, Granny,” Emma scolded in the direction of the light fixture, “that was uncalled for.”

  Granny materialized next to the table. “I should have known you folks would be sitting around jibber jabbering while I was doing all the work.”

  “We’re not jibber jabbering, Granny,” Emma told the ghost. “The police left just a few minutes ago.”

  Granny took in the somber mood blanketing the table. “What’s going on? You all look like someone shot your dog.”

  In response, Milo pushed the photo of Lenny over toward Granny. She looked at it. “Emma, didn’t you say this is Lenny? At least I thought you and that detective were talking about that earlier, right before I left.”

  “Yes, it’s Lenny Speidel,” Emma confirmed. “It also seems to be Milo’s father.”

  Granny studied the photo closely, then looked up at Milo. “Hard to tell if there’s any resemblance from this old photo.”

  “Tracy found a birth certificate hidden behind the photo,” Emma explained. “It says Lenny is Milo’s father of record, even though the birth certificate Milo has doesn’t list a father.”

  “And you had no idea, Milo?” Granny asked.

  “None, Granny, but when I find Dolly, you can be sure I’ll be asking a lot of questions.” He took a deep breath. “Providing we get her back safe and sound.”

  “How is Dolly doing?” asked Emma. All faces turned to where Emma’s eyes were focused and waited.

  “When I left her, she was watching soaps on TV. She seems okay, just very nervous.”

  Emma relayed the information to Quinn and Tracy before asking, “Have you figured out any more about where she’s being kept?”

  “Not really,” answered Granny, still looking at the photo of Dolly and Lenny.

  “The police said they were going to look into all rural areas with a lot of mobile homes,” Milo told the ghost. “And they’re going to look into the disappearance of Laura Crawford.”

  “That’s one of the reasons why I popped in,” Granny told them. “I think they’re using Laura to communicate with that scoundrel Nemo.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Emma while Milo translated for the others.

  “I was hanging around Dolly and floating through the house, trying to figure out its location, when I heard Nemo’s voice.”

  “Did Nemo know you were there?” Milo grew alarmed.

  “I don’t think so.” Granny started moving around the kitchen. “I tried to stay away and just listen. He was trying to communicate with the men holding Dolly through Laura. It wasn’t going well. So far I’ve only seen two men. Both are kind of on the young side and neither seem too bright.” Granny looked a bit puzzled.

  Milo looked at Quinn. “Didn’t you say Laura left her wagon in the company of two men?”

  Quinn nodded. “Yes, one young and one older. Of course, the woman who told me that could have been wrong.” He turned to the space where he believed Granny was located. “Granny, can you describe the men with Dolly and Laura?”

  Granny gave it more thought, screwing up her face in concentration. “One is a bit pudgy and kind of sloppy. The other one is slim and better groomed, but not by much.” Emma conveyed Granny’s description to Quinn and Tracy.

  “The heavy one fits one of the descriptions the woman gave me,” Quinn noted. “Granny, did you see an older man with these guys? Maybe someone in his late forties or early fifties and better dressed?”

  “Granny is shaking her head,” Milo reported.

  “What is it, Granny?” asked Emma, noting Granny’s confusion.

  The ghost shrugged. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think the bigger guy is the same guy who stood behind you in line at Laura’s. You remember, you asked him to hold your place while you went to get something to drink.”

  Emma nodded. “When Quinn first described him to me, I thought the same thing.”

  “Are you talking about the guy reading the comic book?” asked Quinn.

  “Yes,” Emma told him. “Granny recognized him, too. He’s one of the men holding Dolly and Laura.”

  “And,” continued Granny, “there’s something mighty familiar about the other guy, too, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

  Emma went on alert. “So you think you’ve seen him before?”

  “I’m not sure. I keep trying to place him, but can’t. Give me time; I’m sure it will come to me.”

  Milo turned to Emma. “Didn’t you say Laura wasn’t aware of her gift to communicate?”

  “It sure looked that way to me,” Emma said. “She didn’t seem at all aware that Lenny had spoken through her.”

  “Could she have been faking?” asked Quinn.

  “Maybe,” admitted Emma. “But if she was, she was very good at it. Scary good.”

  “I don’t think she was faking,” commented Granny. “From what I saw today, she does have the gift of being a medium, but isn’t fully aware of it or how to control it.”

  In a low voice, Milo conveyed Granny’s words to Tracy and Quinn as she spoke.

  “It seemed,” Granny continued, “that it was hit and miss between her and Nemo, like a bad electrical connection. Sometimes she was able to talk to his goons; other times she just stared into space while Nemo jumped up and down yelling at her.”

  “Was Laura hearing everything Nemo was saying to her?” asked Emma. “Or was that also spotty?”

  “I think she heard him just fine,” said Granny after giving it some thought. “But I’m not sure she knew where it was coming from or what she was supposed to do. Most of the time she sort of cowered in a half-frightened, half-trancelike state. Every now and then she’d say something to the two men that Nemo would tell her, but it was sort of jumbled.”

  “That poor girl,” said Tracy after getting the scoop.

  Granny screwed up her face in thought. “And there’s something else. Something that might be important.” When Emma and Milo turned their attention to her, she continued, “I think Laura knew I was there, or at least another spirit besides Nemo.”

  “But I thought you stayed out of the way,” Milo said.

  “I did and I’m sure Nemo didn’t see me. But every now and then, especially when Laura was in a sort of trance, she’d lift her head and her eyes would scan the place. It was weird. She wouldn’t turn her head, just her eyes, and her chin would come up like she was trying to smell something in the air. It reminded me of when Archie sniffs something on the wind. You know how he lifts his head but doesn’t move.”

  “Yes,” said Emma, “I know that look.”

  “Well, that’s how Laura looked sometimes. Like she was trying to hone in on some sort of scent she was getting.”

  “Laura did know you were with me in the wagon,” Emma noted. “Did the men notice anything? Or did Nemo?”

  “Not that I could see. They seemed really focused on getting her to be the go-between. They probably just thought it was her weird way of doing her thing.”

  Emma got up and started clearing the table, more to have something to do while she gave the situation consideration. “The police said they were going to look into locating the mobile home and will check out Laura Crawford to see if she’s really missing. Of course, all of us know she is.”

  “So what are we going to do about it?” asked Granny, her hands on her narrow hips. “Sit around and drink tea like a bunch of old farts?”

  As soon as Milo translated the words, Quinn nearly shot the iced tea in his mouth across the table. “Good God,” he said, wiping the front of his shirt and his chin with a napkin, “that ghost has an attitude.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” said Emma. “But Granny is
right. We need to get out there and find Dolly and Laura.”

  • CHAPTER NINETEEN •

  “YOU know,” Quinn said, “the police are right. Looking for that mobile home will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. From Granny’s description, it could be in a very small town or settlement. There are lots of those throughout the Southwest, mostly inhabited by people who want to be left alone.”

  Emma knew it was going to be a big task. “I keep hoping Granny will notice something that will give us a clue. I know she’s trying very hard. I told her to snoop around for any mail and see if she could read an address.”

  “Granny can read?”

  “Yes, but not very well. She had limited schooling as a girl. Then there’s the whole ghost distortion thing. Often even words on paper won’t make sense to a ghost, even if they are well educated.” Emma smiled. “Granny actually practices her reading with my mother.”

  Quinn glanced over at Emma. They were in her SUV and he was driving. Emma wanted to be free to concentrate in case any ghosts popped up. “You’re kidding?”

  “Not at all. Sometimes when my mother is reading the paper or a magazine, Granny will ask to read along with her and help her sound out words. My mother can’t see Granny, but she hears her plain as day.”

  “Granny’s pretty amazing.”

  “That she is,” Emma agreed. “According to Milo, it’s very unusual for a ghost to integrate itself into a family’s day-to-day life the way Granny does. He thinks that’s why she’s not as confused as most spirits who interact with the living. Still, she has her limitations. It’s hard to imagine my life without her anymore. Even my father said that recently. He can’t see or hear her, but he knows when she’s around. Sometimes he’ll carry on a conversation with her through my mother.” Emma laughed. “My poor mother had to be the go between when Granny was first learning about football, which she loves dearly.”

  The GPS in the vehicle alerted them that their destination was just ahead on the right. Before leaving Dolly’s, they had decided on a plan of action. Granny would stick with Dolly and try to find more clues to her location. Emma and Quinn would check out the rest home where Nemo was living and anything else they could find to help them piece together the players.