Tahoe Blues

by Lane, Aubree

  ~~~**~~~

  Lisa’s spiked heel slid into a crevice on the floor of the dank, dark tunnels below the Cascade Bay Casino. She caught herself from falling by reaching out and steadying herself on the wall. Her fingers touched a web and she felt a spider scurry up her arm. Lisa swallowed a scream and brushed every single one of its hairy eight legs back onto the ground where it belonged.

  Mrs. Grimes looked at Lisa and rolled her eyes.

  Tanner rubbed his brow. The two women had been bickering with each other for hours, and the Triple H threat was turning into the Battle of the Hellions. Both women expected to have things their way, and Tanner had spent most of the day playing referee. He hoped Lisa would give in soon, he knew from experience that Mrs. Grimes would come out on top and all this arguing was a waste of time.

  “What are we doing down here anyway?” Lisa spat with disgust. “It’s scary.”

  Mrs. Grimes planted her hands on her hips and stared the ex-Blackjack dealer down. “I doubt the police would think of searching down here. The tunnels have been officially closed for about twenty years. If the Alexanders wanted to hide something, this is where it would be.” Mrs. Grimes’ eyes turned sad and her voice softened. “There are a lot of skeletons buried in these walls.”

  Lisa shot the older woman a dubious glare. “You mean that figuratively, right?”

  Mrs. Grimes ran a respectful hand over the cold stone and sighed. “I wish.”

  The loud clicking of Lisa’s stilettoes stormed past both Tanner and Mrs. Grimes. “Oh for goodness sake, let’s get this over with. I don’t think I could stand another ghost story from our resident raconteur.”

  “Slow down, girly.” Mrs. Grimes grabbed the back of Lisa’s blouse. “Just because you know a few big words doesn’t mean you won’t be swimming with the fishes if we get caught.” When Lisa turned to face Mrs. Grimes, she quickly discovered that the elder was ready for her. “And for the love of God, will you please explain to me why you felt it necessary to wear that fancy get up down here?”

  “You said we were going to the casino. I had no idea you meant the belly of the beast.” Lisa went nose to nose with Mrs. Grimes. “And how did you know about that secret entrance? I worked here for three years, and I only heard rumors about these tunnels. I thought they were a myth.”

  Surprisingly Mrs. Grimes laughed. “Girly, when this is over, you and I will sit down and have ourselves a little pow-wow. My husband was one of Viggo’s goons. He wasn’t as bad as most, but he had a dark side.” She waved her arms out across the area. “During prohibition this was one hopping place, it slowed down a bit during my time, but it was still a major hub of illegal activity.”

  Tanner stepped in before Mrs. Grimes’ ruminations became any more potent. “Ladies, don’t you think we should complete our mission before we go walking down memory lane. Swimming with the fishes holds little appeal to me.”

  Mrs. Grimes nodded her agreement. “He’s right. Let’s get a move on.”

  Tanner continued slowly down the corridor with Mrs. Grimes close on his heels. Lisa glowered after them. “Who the hell is Viggo?”

  Mrs. Grimes clasped her hands to her chest. She looked up at Tanner and said in a low voice, “I can’t believe you hired that woman.”

  Tanner raised his hand in surrender. “Right now I’m not sure either, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “Answer me, you old bat!” Lisa bellowed.

  Mrs. Grimes’ crooked arthritic fingers left her chest and grabbed her short gray hair. No longer able to contain her frustration, her voice echoed through the tunnels. “He’s Duncan Alexander’s mobster grandfather!”

  With dirt in their nails and grunge in their hair, Tanner, Lisa, and Mrs. Grimes emerged from the secret entrance empty handed. Tanner adjusted the shrubbery back into place and hoped their trespass had gone undetected. Looking out over the lake, he could imagine skiffs laden with bootleg liquor being pulled ashore at the sandy beach located no more than fifty yards away from the tunnels. Mrs. Grimes and her husband had been caught up in the hay-day of hooch and moonshine. Prohibition would have been over but Tanner found it hard to believe that Viggo, with his cheap illegal trade routes in place, would bother to go legit.

  He tried to envision Mrs. Grimes as she looked back in the nineteen-sixties wearing a tight cashmere sweater with the arms scrunched up to the elbows and form fitting pedal pushers. Her hair perfectly styled in trendy, voluminous, complicated dos of the day, and her Betty Davis eyes smoky and mysterious.

  Mrs. Grimes would have been glamorous and cagey. Tanner had no doubt the woman would have turned heads. He also had no doubt about who actually wore the pants in her family. Nicky Grimes would have had his hands full with both Viggo and Mrs. G. pulling his strings.

  “What did you hope to find in there?” Tanner asked as he plucked a twig off her shoulder, which was now rounded with age.

  Mrs. Grimes took his hand and eased herself down on a rock. Closing her eyes and lifting her face to the sun she said, “The past, TJ. I think I was looking for the past.”

  He sat down beside her. “What was it like back then?”

  A mischievous glint shined bright in her eye. “We had a wild time that’s for sure. Some days we would be on top of the world.” She patted Tanner’s knee, and with a forlorn shake of her head said, “And other days I’d just as soon forget.”

  Lisa Hill stood off to the side with her arms crossed over her chest, tapping an impatient foot. “That was a complete waste of time, and I ruined a great pair of shoes.” She stomped a few steps closer to her employer’s irritating gray haired tenant. “I thought you were going to ask me to sleep with Duncan and weasel some information out of him, instead you take me spelunking.”

  Mrs. Grimes cocked her head to the side and nodded slightly. “So that’s why you came dressed like that.” She closed her eyes again, and Tanner knew the adventure had worn her out. An air of acceptance flowed through her tired body, and she tried to explain the way of the world to the younger woman. “You were going to allow us to use you in that manner? Dear girl, we would never ask such a thing. Don’t ever let someone else decide your destiny.” She pointed a crooked finger in Lisa’s direction. “You call the shots in your own life. Some of them will work out all right, I think you made a good decision when you started working for TJ, and others will suck eggs. Just make sure no one ever takes advantage of you.”

  Lisa drew in a deep breath and bit her lip. She took a moment and considered Mrs. Grimes’ advice. “Don’t start being nice to me when I still have at least six or seven zingers left to throw at you.”

  Tanner leaned his head back and rested against a tree trunk. All day long he knew if he was able to keep his mouth shut, the two women would be able to work out their differences. His jaws hurt with the exertion. He opened his mouth wide to relieve some of the tension. Every inch of his body was wound tight, and he knew he would never make it as a covert operator. There had been times in the caves when he felt nauseous and light headed.

  He was not cut out for the life of deceit and deception. Always striving to do the right thing, he found a good woman and married young. He built a life for them and his little sister. Being a trustworthy and responsible person, trespassing and snooping around in places he shouldn’t be snooping left a sour taste in his mouth.

  Tanner shook his head. “I can’t believe we actually got away with that.”

  A deep voice behind him disturbed his emerging relief. “Actually, I’ve had my eye on you the entire time.”

  Lisa was the first to speak. “Hello, Mark.” She stepped forward and made the appropriate introductions. “This gray haired pain in the ass is, Mrs. Grimes, and the hunk next to her is my new boss, Tanner Reed.”

  Mrs. Grimes struggled to her feet and turned on the redheaded Benedict Arnold. “You ratted us out!” She balled her hand into a fist. “Why I ought to―”

  Tanner stood up and reigned in the elderly spitfire. “Slow down, Mr
s. Grimes. Give them a chance to explain.”

  Lisa took Mrs. Grimes by the arm and smiled warmly. “I didn’t call Mark, but I think he’s here to help. He might be Duncan’s brother-in-law, and the head of security at Cascade Bay Casino, but he is also Cara’s friend. He doesn’t want to see her get hurt.”

  The barreled-chested, dark haired man stepped all six and a half feet of him forward. He reached out a calloused hand, whose knuckles had seen better days, and gripped Tanner’s hand in his. “I’m glad to meet the man who was able to put a smile back on Cara’s face.”

  Tanner saw the bruises on Mark’s hand and frowned. He had taken Duncan easily, but the man standing before him was an entirely different story. Tanner had little doubt of the outcome if he engaged in a fight with him. Mark was built like a brick.

  Mrs. Grimes must have had the same notion because before Tanner had a chance to speak she broke in, “He’s one of the Alexander goons. I recognize the look.”

  “He’s not a goon,” Lisa chimed in, then she quickly recanted. “Well, at least he’s a nice goon.”

  Mrs. Grimes planted her hands on her hips and shot the redhead a vicious glare. “He’s part of the family. We cannot trust him.”

  Lisa mimicked Mrs. Grimes’ stance and bellowed, “I think we can. He was kind to me when I worked at the Bay. He’s a real standup kind of guy.”

  Mrs. Grimes stepped forward ready for battle. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “Of course not, Mark is a friend.”

  “I’m sure Cara thinks he’s her friend too, but he’s the cleaner. His hands are dirtier than a pig’s wallow.”

  Mark turned in close to Tanner’s ear and whispered, “Are they always like this?”

  Tanner couldn’t help but chuckle. “Most of the time, but every once in a while I see a tiny inkling of kinship brewing between them.”

  Mark shook his head. “My hat is off to you. I don’t possess that kind of patience.”

  “I don’t either.” Tanner admitted. “I just didn’t know how to stop it.”

  The cleaner gave Tanner a friendly pat on the back. “I understand you are the man who knocked out my brother-in-law.” He smiled in appreciation. “I’ve known Duncan for most of my life, and I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to do that.” Mark took Tanner’s hand in his, and squeezed. “Take care of Cara,” he warned. “You, I can take out.”

  Tanner tried to match Mark’s overly-tight grip, but his fingers wanted to collapse under the pressure. He refused to flinch in pain. Somehow he managed to maintain a blank expression and replied, “I wish I could, but she broke things off with me until her case is settled. She wasn’t totally sure she could trust me.”

  “She is a smart girl.” Mark released Tanner’s hand and thumped his back. “You might want to ice that when you get home.”

  Lisa chimed in a little too loudly, “Did you hear that, Grimy? He’s not here to kill us.”

  Mrs. Grimes looked at Lisa, glanced over at Tanner, smiled, then looked back at Lisa. “That’s what my friends used to call me. It was a term of endearment.”

  Lisa wrapped a kindly arm around Mrs. Grimes’ shoulders. “That’s how I meant it.”

  Mark’s eye brows rose in surprise. He cocked his head in Tanner’s direction and said, “Okay, I see what you mean.”

  Mrs. Grimes shrugged Lisa’s arm off. “On second thought, I think you need to earn the right to call me that. I would appreciate it if you would refer to me as Mrs. Grimes until further notice.”

  “And it’s gone.” Tanner rotated his back towards the women and faced Mark Porter. He needed to know how much hot water the Triple H Threat was in. “How did you know we were here, and how do you know who I am?”

  “We have security cameras all over the property. I ran you through our facial recognition software.” Mark snickered at the horrified look on Tanner’s face. “We run a casino. People try to cheat us all the time. Typically we upload all the known cheats into the system, and the program notifies us when they enter the building. When I saw the three of you snooping around out here, I reversed the process. The system scoured all the local public records for a picture of you and Grimy over there.” He pointed a recently manicured finger at Tanner. “You were easy. You were a guest at the gala and have been arrested recently. It took a little longer for Grimy, but in about ten minutes a photo of her and her husband at one of the company picnics popped up as a possibility. Five minutes later, the aging software confirmed it was a match.”

  Mrs. Grimes let out a sardonic chuckle. “Back in the day, a couple of thugs would have beaten us to a pulp by now.” She narrowed her eyes and pointed her crooked index finger at him. “I’m still not sure about you, but for the moment, I’m willing to give you the benefit of a doubt.”

  Mark nodded his head. “Thank you. I appreciate you withholding judgment.”

  “So what gives, Mark? Why are you out here?” Lisa asked. Her voice held an edge that Tanner hadn’t heard before.

  “If my suspicions are correct, the three of you are out here trying to find something that will help Cara and her case. I’m here to offer my assistance.” A snide smile curled at the corners of his lips as his eyes gave each of their filthy bodies a once over. “If you had called me, I could have saved you a lot of trouble. Those tunnels haven’t been used in a long time.”

  “Not so fast, buckaroo,” Mrs. Grimes cut in. “Why do you have security cameras out here if the tunnels aren’t in use? It seems to me like you are keeping a pretty close eye on the place.”

  “Valid question,” Mark agreed. “Right now the tunnels are a hazard. You’re lucky they didn’t cave in while you were in there. The family is thinking about turning them into a tourist attraction and cashing in on their shady history. The cameras are there to inform us of any trespassers, but in the near future they will be used to keep an eye on the restoration project.”

  Mrs. Grimes crossed her arms over her chest and humphed, “Just how do you intend on helping us?”

  “For starters, I thought I would get you out of here before a couple of thugs show up and beat you to a pulp.”

  Lisa’s eyes opened wide with fear. “They still do that?”

  “Only in special circumstances. If Duncan is behind Cara’s arrest, he won’t take kindly to the three of you snooping around.” He raised his hand to stop the barrage of questions he was about to be hit with. “To be clear, I seriously doubt Duncan is capable of pulling something like that off without my help or without me hearing about it. That being said, I am certain Cara is innocent and that someone is framing her. It stands to reason that someone in the Alexander family is behind it, and I need to find out who that is as much as you.”

  “Because it might be your wife.” Lisa interjected.

  Mark nodded. “I love her, but if she’s capable of something like this, then I don’t want her raising our future children. I want to keep them away from the dark side of the family business. You might find this hard to believe coming from the likes of me, but I want my kids to have a different kind of life. Drew says she does, too. My wife says all the right things, but she is hesitant to leave the family.” Mark’s eyes darted back and forth across the terrain. “I would feel more comfortable if we continued this conversation off casino land. I disabled the camera feed, but it is only a matter of time before it’s discovered and turned back on. We’re lucky Morty is on duty today, he’s probably asleep up in the control center.”

  “Morty?” Mrs. Grimes asked. “Are you talking about Morty Severanceson? That man has to be old as dirt by now.”

  Mark grinned. “He is, but his naptime is almost over.” He gestured for the team to make their way up the trail. “Shall we? My SUV is parked up on the ridge. The windows are tinted. If someone happens to notice my car, they won’t be able to see you.”

  Mrs. Grimes took one look at the steep upgrade and shook her head. “Our car is parked at the lake side trailhead. Why don’t we meet you at Rookies later?”


  Mark stepped in and swept Mrs. Grimes off her feet.

  Her eyes flew wide with shock and she gasped.

  “You’ll still be in our camera’s sightline for most of the way.” Mark smiled and planted a quick kiss on her wrinkled cheek. “Come on, darlin’, even with Morty at the helm, we’re pushing our luck.” Mark began powering up the incline. “Let’s move out people!”

  Chapter Eleven

  The bell that hung over the door of Leah Jefferson Baily’s specialty dress shop tinkled when Brett walked in. Brett looked around. He’d been in the shop at least twenty times before, but he had never taken notice. Knowing his time in Tahoe was coming to an end he took a moment to relish every tiny detail.

  Baily’s Boutique had a bohemian feel to it. A clutter of mannequins in all shapes and sizes displayed her unique designs. The items carried on consignment by other local designers were situated well in the back or acted as accessories to her couture line. Leah was the star in her own shop, and Brett knew that here in her own domain, she would never take a backseat to anyone.

  Leah walked out from behind a curtain. “Hey, Boden. I’m surprised to see you. Cara’s been freaking out because you haven’t called her.” Then she smiled brightly. “I hope you brought me lunch.”

  Brett took a step back and held up his hand to halt her progress. “I don’t have a lot of time. I just stopped by to ask you to give Cara a message for me.”

  Leah furrowed her brow. Brett was acting strange. The forty-something year old man was looking a bit haggard and more aged than usual. She had never thought of Brett as a mature older man before. He was still trim and fit, and rarely acted his age, but today his graying temples seemed more prominent and the crow’s feet at the corner of his eyes were more deeply embedded. “Why don’t you call her yourself? I know she would love to hear from you.”

  She stepped forward, but Brett recoiled and shook his head vigorously. “No, I can’t do that. I just need you to give her a message.”