by Vivien Chien
There was a knock at the door and Kikko flipped over, hopped off the bed, and gave the crack under the door a long sniff.
“Are you up in there?” Megan’s voice mumbled through the door.
“No, go away,” I said, putting a pillow over my face.
The door opened. “It’s Saturday, we should do something fun. We could go shopping or get breakfast … or get breakfast and then go shopping. Oooh, maybe we could catch a movie, too. You can’t sleep all day.”
“Says who?”
I felt Megan jump onto the bed, Kikko following suit. Megan lay next to me and tugged the pillow away from my face. “Did your date with Detective Hottie Pants not go well?”
“Would you stop calling him that?” I jerked my pillow away from her.
“No. It irritates you and that amuses me. I have to do something with my time.”
“It was awful,” I admitted, hugging the pillow to my chest. “We got into a disagreement about the case, and that put a funk in the air all night. I tried, but I couldn’t shake it. Then on the way home, I asked him about being a cop and he clammed up like he did the last time I asked.”
“Maybe it’s a sore subject?” Megan offered.
“And the worst part … the worst part is that he kissed me on the cheek … like a grandma kiss.” I hugged my pillow tighter remembering the feeling of his lips hitting my cheek like a bird peck.
Megan scrunched up her face. “Really? He doesn’t seem like the timid type. And he’s kissed you before, right?”
“Maybe he’s not into me anymore. He said he can’t worry about saving my life every five minutes. He probably thinks I’m some busybody and doesn’t want to put up with it.”
“No way,” she said with resolution, hoisting herself up on her elbows. “Detective Hottie Pants is way into you. I can tell by the way he looks at you. And…”
“And what?” I asked.
“Well, I wasn’t going to tell you, but he’s been coming into the bar more often. I sorta think it’s because he’s trying to casually run into you.”
“Really?” I didn’t want to get hopeful, but a glimmer of excitement found its way in.
“Swear on my life,” she replied with a nod. “Just give it some time. You’re always so impatient with these things. You know all this stuff takes time to develop and grow. Before you know it, you won’t be able to get rid of the guy.”
Before long Megan convinced me to get out of bed, then lured me into the kitchen with promises of coffee. She’d also run out and grabbed half a dozen doughnuts, which now sat waiting for me at the table. If she’d led with that, I probably would have gotten up a lot sooner.
While I savored my Boston crème doughnut, Rina’s number popped up on my cell phone screen. When I’d told her to call me if she found out anything useful, I didn’t really think I’d get that lucky.
“Hi Rina,” I said, answering the phone.
“Lana! It’s Rina,” she said in a panicked voice. She hesitated. “Oh, you already said that…”
I laughed. “It’s okay, what—”
“Someone broke into the apartment. The whole place is trashed!”
“What?” The doughnut I was holding dropped onto the table.
“I showed up around ten this morning to meet Constance and pick up Izzy’s things. When we got here and she opened the door…” She paused, huffing into the phone. “When we got here, the whole place was trashed.”
“You’re kidding? When did this happen?”
“I’m not sure. Constance went over to the neighbors and asked them if they heard anything, and they said they thought they heard something going on last night, but they weren’t sure. The door wasn’t broken, but the window by the fire escape was wide open. I don’t think Brandon or Isabelle kept them locked.”
“Have you called the cops?”
“Yeah, they’re on their way now. We don’t even know what to tell them is missing. It’s not like either one of us has ever been here before.”
“Well, it’s okay, they’ll do whatever it is they do, and then … well, I don’t know. Maybe the person left fingerprints behind or something.”
There was silence on the phone. I had no idea what else to say to her.
Rina gasped. “The apartment buzzer just went off. The cops are here, I better go, okay?”
“Okay, call me later if you need to,” I said, feeling helpless.
“I probably will,” she said. “Oh, and Lana…”
“Yeah?”
“I think you were right after all.” And she hung up.
I sat staring at my phone. What the heck was going on?
Megan came and sat across the table from me, grabbing a glazed doughnut from the box. “What was all that about?”
“Someone broke into Brandon and Isabelle’s apartment.” I picked up my dropped doughnut and set it on a napkin. Since I’d dropped it, Kikko had been circling my feet like a shark hunting its prey.
She paused mid-bite. “What? Just now?”
“According to the neighbors, potentially last night. One of them told Constance they might have heard something.”
“Wow,” Megan said, biting into her doughnut. “That’s insane.”
“I know, talk about timing.” I scrolled through my phone, searching my address book.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just a coincidence that their apartment gets broken into after we talk to Carmen?”
“You think it was her?” Megan got up, bringing the coffeepot to the table and filling both of our mugs.
“Yeah, I do. She’s probably still searching for her money. And since we told her that there wasn’t any money found on him when he was killed, she probably assumed he stashed it in his apartment somewhere.” I found Carmen’s number and typed a text message asking when she would be available to talk. I didn’t say anything about the broken-in apartment just yet. “Who else would it be? The ex-wives are out of the picture. Marcia’s in New York, and if Constance has an all-access pass to get in on her own, why would she bother breaking in?”
“True. So what are you going to do now?”
I hit SEND and looked up at Megan. “We’re going to call Carmen out on it.”
* * *
Within the hour, Carmen texted back that she would be at work and I could meet her at the casino before her shift started. Megan agreed to come with me, and I hurried to get dressed so we’d make it in time.
Carmen told me I could find her in the food court area near where we’d met last time. Sure enough, when we showed up an hour and a half later, she was sitting at one of the tables with a plate full of food and a jumbo pop.
I sat across from her without greeting. Megan sat in the chair next to me.
She eyeballed me dumbfounded, lettuce hanging from the corner of her mouth. “You’re an intense person, aren’t you?”
“If I’m passionate about something…”
“And what’s her deal?” Carmen asked, nodding toward Megan. “She your bodyguard or something?”
Megan leaned forward. “Maybe I am.”
“Okay … so what’s this about?” she asked, chomping on her burger and ignoring Megan’s response. “More questions for me?”
“Just one,” I replied. “Do anything interesting last night?”
“You mean besides work my dream job?” She held up a hand as if to display the casino. “No, I don’t tend to do much after work these days. You know, money trouble and all.”
“So you weren’t at Brandon’s last night looking for your money?”
“What?” She dropped her burger on the plate and gawked at me, her eyes shifting to Megan. “Are you flippin’ kidding me? You guys came here to ask if I was rummaging around in some dead guy’s apartment?”
A few people sitting around us turned to see what was going on.
“Shhhh, lower your voice,” I rasped at her. “Someone’s going to hear you.”
She grunted. “I don’t care. We would never do
something like that.”
“‘We’?” Megan asked.
She stared at her plate. “I mean, I … I would never do that.” She said this last part as a half mumble that did not sound convincing in the least.
“Too late, Carmen, you screwed up,” I said, pointing a finger at her. “I knew you were hiding something from us the other day. Whatever it is … out with it.”
“I don’t know what it matters, the money is gone. You don’t need to know anything more from me.” She picked her burger back up and took a bite.
“Yes, I do. Two people are dead; it has something to do with that money … it has to.”
“And why is that my problem?”
“Because the person you were working with could be the killer and if they can’t find the money, either, they might think you have it.”
She seemed to contemplate this for a minute, taking extra time to chew. “No way, he would never do that.”
I felt like I was talking to a broken record. “Just tell me who it is. If you and he are so innocent, then it doesn’t matter who he is, right?”
“I suppose.” She mulled it over for another minute, chomping on a fry. “My boyfriend is a blackjack dealer at one of the high-stakes tables. Brandon would win lots of games at his table … matter of fact, he was playing at Ryan’s table the night he won his huge payout.”
A creaky wheel started to turn in my brain. “Your boyfriend is a blackjack dealer?”
“Yeah,” she said, watching my reaction.
“So this all ties together how exactly?”
She huffed, leaning toward me over the table. “Ryan came up with a plan to double our money, but we needed someone that could play the game who had no ties to us whatsoever … you know, just in case the casino started to get suspicious.”
“Let me guess. That’s how you met Brandon?”
“Yeah. My job was to scout the casino and find someone who won a lot. I noticed Brandon because he came in so often. He’d come in here and spend tons of money, and most of the time he’d win. But lately, he wasn’t having very much luck. You could tell by the look on his face that he was hurtin’. So one night, I followed him out and proposed this deal to him. At first, he turned me down and called me crazy. But then, about a week later, he shows up outta nowhere and tells me that he wants to take me up on my offer after all.”
“What changed his mind?” Megan asked.
She shrugged. “The hell if I know. I wasn’t about to ask questions. I just introduced him to Ryan and they went through the rest of the details from there.”
“Okay, then what?” I urged her to continue.
“With our plan, Ryan would make sure Brandon won every time. He came to the casino at designated times with his own money, plus mine and Ryan’s. Then he wins, doubling our original pot. We wait a little while and then we meet up to split the money. We even let Brandon take a larger chunk since he had to claim the winnings on his taxes.”
“How thoughtful of you.”
She scowled at me. “Do you want to hear the rest or not?”
“Yeah, go on.”
“Well, in the past few weeks, there’d been another regular at the table when Ryan and Brandon were running the scam. Some rich, old guy who would put down more than I make in a year. He lost quite a bit to Brandon, and I think he was starting to get suspicious. He tried asking Ryan for his name, but he would just say he didn’t know him. Then we saw that same guy harassing Brandon outside the guys’ bathroom. He seemed really pissed about something. We figured it had to do with his losses, but Brandon told us it was no big deal. But now he’s dead, so it might have been more than he was letting on.”
I took a minute to think over the prospect of this other blackjack player, and what the implications might be had this man figured out what Brandon and Ryan were doing. I also took the time to assess Carmen. I didn’t know her well enough to tell if she was lying, but she appeared to be telling the truth. “And how do you know that Ryan didn’t go behind your back and go to Brandon’s apartment last night?” I asked her.
“Because he was with me all night,” she said plainly. “And I’m telling you, we wouldn’t do that.”
I studied her face. She looked at me head-on and kept eye contact. “Oddly enough, I believe you.”
“Well, you should,” she said, wiping her hands with a napkin. “I wouldn’t be sitting here eating fast food if I had my damn money.”
“Good point,” I said, looking at the empty greasy plate. “But I’d like to meet this boyfriend of yours. See if his story checks out.”
“Why? He’s just going to tell you what I did. It’s better if you leave him out of it.”
“It’s better us than the cops, right?” I was hoping that the mention of police getting involved would be enough to get her to agree.
Carmen drummed her fingers on the table, staring at her empty plate.
Megan shifted in her seat, turning to face me. “Cops, good point, Lana. Or if she’s not willing to introduce us, I’m sure we can find a way to meet him on our own. Name is Ryan … blackjack dealer. Shouldn’t be hard to find.”
Carmen rolled her eyes. “Calm down, princess.” She groaned, pushing the food tray away from her. “Give me a little time to figure out how to approach him about it. He’s going to be mad that I told you guys anything at all.”
“Are you afraid of your boyfriend?” I asked. “I thought you said he was harmless.”
“He is. But we’re not exactly running a fund-raiser here, ladies. I’m not supposed to be sharing all our secrets.”
“Fine … figure it out. You have my number.”
“Right.” She stood up. “This has been fun and all, but I gotta get to work. Okay if I go now, Detectives?”
“Just one more question,” I said, holding up a finger.
“What?”
“Do you happen to know the name of the older man who comes in every week? The one who you think might be a problem?”
“No, but I can find out and let you know.” She started to walk away, but stopped herself and turned around. “Funny thing, though. Now that I think about it, we haven’t seen him since the night before Brandon died.”
CHAPTER
21
By the time we got back from the casino, it was nearly five o’clock, and I had no Saturday-night plans to speak of. Part of me wanted to change that. Megan had to work until close, and before leaving the house she suggested I visit her at the Zodiac, so I did have that option. But there was still a part of me that didn’t want to deal with this day anymore. And that part won the inner battle. After a short walk with Kikko, I rummaged around my room for my pajamas instead. I decided tonight was going to be another Gilmore Girls marathon. It was just the thing to get me out of this funk that had followed me around since my date.
I needed popcorn or something. I dug around in the kitchen cupboards for something suitable to snack on. All that I found were old cookies and a jar of peanuts. We really had to go shopping.
A half-full bag of tortilla chips sat on top of the freezer. And as luck would have it, there was salsa in the fridge. Good enough.
I plopped down on the couch and opened the bag of chips, sending Kikko into a fit of spins and mini jumps.
About half an hour into the first episode, I must have passed out. When I woke up again, Kikko was barking furiously at the door, and the TV’s screensaver danced around in square formation.
I checked my cell phone. It was already eleven thirty. How had I slept so long?
While sleeping, I had five missed messages. All from Megan.
Come to the bar, I’m here and it’s dead. I’m bored.
Where are you? Come hang out with me.
Hello?
Lana.
Hey pay attention to me, your boyfriend is here and I’m going to steal him for myself.
I rolled my eyes. With a sigh, I got up from the couch. Kikko had stopped barking and watched me expectantly. Her food dish was empty.
>
“Is that why you’re so grumpy?” I got the dog food out of the cupboard and filled her bowl.
After that, I paced the length of the apartment and thought about starting my marathon over again.
I wasn’t feeling it.
It was early enough and I was too restless to sit around. I could still visit Megan at the bar … not that Adam being there sparked my interest at all.
Nope.
I texted Megan back, letting her know I had been napping and was getting ready to head up there. I dug through my closet for a clean pair of jeans and found a teal sweater with a low neckline.
I let Kikko out for a quick tinkle and said my goodbyes. Thankfully my car wasn’t covered in snow, just a little ice on the windshield. I’d sit it out in the warm car.
There was a piece of paper under my windshield wiper blade. Great. More flyers for Avon, I’m sure.
But when I picked it up, I realized it was most certainly not from Avon. Scrawled in sloppy writing, it read: Stop snooping around. Mind your own business. Or else!
A prickly sensation trickled down my spine and I whipped around, feeling as if I were being watched. The parking lot was quiet except for the sound of my engine fighting against the cold. As far as I could tell, no one was in the parking lot with me. I rushed into the car and locked the door, peering out the window in search of any sudden movements. The note rattled in my hand as I double-checked for moving shadows between the cars directly behind me. Nothing.
I turned the heat on full blast and waited for the ice to thaw. My eyes were pinned to the note. Was this a message from Carmen? Or from her boyfriend? Had she told him we wanted to meet with him and this was his way of saying no? Did someone follow us home from the casino? Was that what Kikko had been barking at earlier?
My mind went in circles. If I were a smoker, I would have smoked a whole pack of cigarettes right then and there.
Five minutes later, the car was warmed up and I put the gearshift in reverse. My car struggled to back up, and the movement I made felt like I was stuck on something. I put the car back in park and got out to see what the problem was.