The Case of the Sin City Sister

by Lynne Hinton

  “Speaking of ’splaining, you got some to do,” he said.

  “I’ve got some explaining to do?” she replied. “You’re the one who doesn’t seem to know how to work his phone.”

  He shook his head. “Okay, you got me on that one.”

  She turned back to look at the hospital parking lot as they passed, just to see if the motorcycle she had seen before might be parked somewhere nearby. There was one near the side of the hospital, but it was not the Harley she remembered.

  “Did you call him and tell him you found me?” she was asking about the Captain. After hanging up on him, she was concerned he might have gotten upset. She knew stress was not good for a diabetic.

  “He called me again before I could dial his number. He was pretty anxious, said your call got disconnected and then you didn’t pick up when he tried to call you back. He was worried about you.”

  Daniel stopped at a light and looked at Eve.

  “Are you all right?” He seemed to be studying her.

  She nodded. “Just a close call,” she replied. She thought about the events of the evening and realized how lucky she was to be out of the hospital and in Daniel’s car. She leaned back against her seat.

  “I can’t believe Dorisanne was there,” he said.

  “I know. I was so close to her.”

  “Did she ever see you?”

  Eve shook her head, recalling how the stairwell exit door had closed before she shouted out her sister’s name. She thought about her assisting Pauline down the stairs and wondered where the two of them had gone. She turned to Daniel, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

  “We can stop and check out the apartment, but that seems way too easy.” He glanced in his rearview mirror.

  “I know. I can’t imagine them going back there either, but I don’t know where else they could have gone.”

  “Back to the hiding place where she’s been, I guess. Must be a good one.”

  The light turned green and Daniel hit the gas. Eve could see he was heading in the direction of Dorisanne’s apartment. She closed her eyes, feeling the lack of sleep and coffee.

  Daniel had noticed. “You know, why don’t we go back to the hotel and you can get a nap? I’ll check out the apartments myself. There’s no need for both of us to go over there. Look at you, you’re exhausted.”

  She turned to him. “Last I heard, you hadn’t gotten any sleep last night either.” She could see that he appeared to be as tired as she felt.

  “I’m used to this,” he said with a wink. “Police officers are built to run without sleep.”

  “Well, so are nuns,” she responded with a wink of her own.

  “Yeah, but sometimes praying can look a whole lot like nodding off.” He leaned over and elbowed Eve in the side.

  “Yeah, well, sometimes so can police work.” She grinned.

  He made a turn, and Eve recognized the street as the one where Dorisanne’s apartment was located. They quit talking as he made his way into the parking lot.

  FORTY-SEVEN

  It turned out that no one was at the complex. Both Dorisanne’s and Pauline’s apartments were without tenants present. The manager, a different guy from the one they had met earlier, let Eve and Daniel into both places after Daniel flashed his badge. Once they got in, they both saw that nothing had changed since they were last there. Neither of the women had returned.

  While Daniel took a look around the back of the building, Eve called the Captain to explain what had happened. He sounded relieved, and when he asked when she was getting home, she didn’t have an answer. “Soon,” was all she could tell him, and she hung up after she promised to call later in the day.

  Daniel returned to the car shaking his head. “Nothing,” he said as he got in and started the engine. “I don’t think they came back here,” he added. He sat back and scratched his chin. “I didn’t expect that we’d find anything, but I don’t know . . .”

  Eve waited. “What?”

  “I just hoped I would walk up there and she’d answer the door. It sure would make things a lot easier.” He gripped the steering wheel.

  “We could go to the Rio,” Eve suggested. “See if anybody there might know a friend she has or where she might go to get away.”

  She felt like they were starting back at ground zero, and there was a heaviness inside her. They’d figured out that Dorisanne was working with the FBI, and Eve had even seen her and knew that she was okay at that moment, but she was still missing, and because the guy on the motorcycle was still out there, she was still in danger.

  Daniel looked at his watch and shook his head. “Too early,” he said. “There wouldn’t be anything going on there now. The night crew, the people she worked with, are all likely to be gone and won’t be back until later.”

  Eve didn’t respond. She knew he was right. They sat in the car in silence.

  “Doesn’t the FBI know anything?” she asked. She suddenly realized she hadn’t had a chance to hear what Daniel’s conversation had been about the previous night. He hadn’t reported much about what the FBI told him.

  “No,” he replied as he put the engine in Drive and headed toward the exit out of the lot. “They were waiting to see what we found out.”

  “They have no idea of a place she might hide?” She was surprised that the law enforcement team placed on Dorisanne’s case wouldn’t have any clue as to where she might go with Robbie.

  He shook his head. “Her departure was as big a surprise to them as it was to us,” he answered.

  “What about the motorcycle guy?” she asked.

  “What about him?”

  “Do they know who he is?”

  Daniel thought about the question. “He didn’t come up,” he replied. “But I’m sure he’s with the theft ring. That only makes sense.”

  Eve nodded. That’s what she thought too. She watched as Daniel stopped at the apartment exit. He seemed unsure of what direction to take.

  “Are they worried about her?” She had to ask. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know everything they knew, all the details of her brother-in-law’s involvement in illegal activities, all of Dorisanne’s engagements, but she at least wanted to know if they were as concerned about where her sister was as she and Daniel were.

  Daniel didn’t answer, and after a few moments she understood that his silence meant they probably weren’t worried. It seemed likely that her sister was just an informant to them and that was all. Any danger Dorisanne found herself in was danger she was likely going to have to get herself out of, without any help from the FBI.

  Even though Eve knew now that Dorisanne was not a fugitive and was not involved in the theft ring, the search for her was just as urgent as it had been when they first arrived in Las Vegas.

  “What else is in the book?” Daniel wanted to know, breaking the silence.

  For a moment, Eve didn’t follow.

  “The address book, the one you found the FBI code in, is there any other clue in there? We have the customer’s name, right?” He turned with the traffic onto the Strip.

  Eve pulled the book from her back pocket and flipped through the pages again. Nothing stood out to her. She dropped it in her lap and shrugged. “Yeah, we have that one, and now that we know she was leaving clues, we could just go through every listing,” she said, thinking that might be the best option.

  “Call and just ask if Dorisanne is there?”

  She paused. “It’s all I can think of to do.”

  “I could go back and see Pauline’s boyfriend,” Daniel suggested. “I’m pretty sure that he’s still in the same place. Maybe he knows more than he has let on.”

  Eve considered the idea of Daniel going back to the jail and interviewing Steve again. “It doesn’t look like he’s the bad guy after all,” she noted.

  “He’ll probably find out from one of the officers that she’s out of the hospital,” Daniel noted. “Not that I guess that matters,” he added.

  “You think they’ll
keep him in much longer?” Eve wanted to know. She wasn’t sure what evidence would be necessary to keep him locked up.

  “I don’t know,” Daniel replied. “If they figure out what happened at the hospital, that somebody was looking for her and she escaped, somebody on the force might put two and two together and decide he might be innocent and let him out. But I don’t expect that to be the case,” he said. He turned to Eve. “We sort of like to keep abusers behind bars for as long as we can.”

  “Well, then I think we should go and talk to him. Maybe you can make him a deal. Maybe he’ll give you something new.”

  Daniel acted surprised. “I’m in no position to make a deal. If you recall, I don’t have any power in the state of Nevada.”

  “No, but he doesn’t really know that. If you use your persuasion powers, he might truly see that you are likely the only official person who believes he didn’t do this to Pauline. I would imagine that counts for something. You can promise that you will at least plead his case to someone who can make a deal.”

  Daniel seemed to be thinking it through. “I guess it’s worth a try.” He made a quick turn. “But I don’t want you in there,” he said. “I’ll drop you off at the hotel and then I’ll go. You can take a nap.”

  “I’ll just take a taxi and meet you there,” Eve replied. “I’m not sleepy, and I’m starting to learn my way around the city.”

  Daniel shook his head. “You can stay out in the car and start making some calls from that address book.”

  Eve smiled. “Yes, sir,” she replied.

  Daniel headed away from the Strip and onto Highway 10 toward the city jail. He was just making the exit off the thoroughfare when an ambulance came flying up behind him. He quickly pulled the car off to the shoulder of the road and they both watched it pass.

  FORTY-EIGHT

  The new inmate had been stabbed while standing in line for breakfast. He did not survive. This information was given to Daniel by one of the guards who had been called to the cafeteria after the stabbing occurred. The officers had separated all the other inmates and were still trying to find out who had killed Steven Albright and how a weapon had gotten inside the jail. The interviews were expected to last all day. So far, no one was saying anything, and the video recording of the incident had just been witnessed by the jail staff. There were so many men in the breakfast line and standing around the victim that the perpetrator couldn’t be identified.

  Eve stayed in the car and watched as they wheeled the victim out on a gurney and placed him in the back of the ambulance. Even before Daniel came out and confirmed it, she knew it was Steve. She didn’t really know what Pauline’s boyfriend looked like, and she never even got a clear look at the victim’s face, but she just knew. She had just finishing saying her prayers when Daniel returned. The look on his face told her everything she wanted to know about the man’s identity and his condition.

  “It went straight through his carotid,” Daniel explained as he took his seat and shut the car door. “His neck,” he added, not sure Eve knew where the carotid artery was. He just shook his head.

  “Was it a fight?” she asked.

  “No one’s talking,” he answered. “But I don’t think this was the result of a common disagreement between cell mates.”

  “Why? What makes you say that?”

  “It happened too quickly, too methodically, and the guard said the guy has been in lockdown since he got here. He wasn’t on his best behavior when he arrived, so they kept him in isolation. He’s not had time to make enemies. This was his first time actually out in an area with the other inmates.”

  There was a pause in the conversation.

  “You think it had to do with Pauline?” Eve asked, trying to understand what had just happened.

  He nodded. “I think so.”

  “But what makes you think that? What happened exactly?”

  Daniel turned to Eve. “Whoever did this knew what he was doing.”

  Eve closed her eyes and said another prayer. She was praying for Steve and Dorisanne and Pauline and for herself; she wasn’t even sure who or what she should be praying for anymore. When she finished, Daniel was looking at her. “What?” she asked.

  He shook his head, and she knew the news was not good.

  “Daniel, what is it?”

  “The guard said he had a visitor this morning, about an hour ago.”

  Eve wanted to stop him from telling her anything else, but she also wanted to hear the truth.

  “The man stayed just a few minutes and then took off. The guy I talked to said Steve seemed pretty upset after he left, wanted to make a phone call, kept saying his girlfriend was in trouble.”

  “Did the guard let him make the call?”

  Daniel shook his head. “He just thought it was a ploy for Steve to call and threaten his victim, and he had already made his calls last night.” He waited. “He was right to think that. Lots of guys do anything they can to call their wives or girlfriends and try to talk them out of making a statement or going through with the charges.”

  “So what happened?” Eve asked.

  “He sent him to the cafeteria for breakfast, told him he couldn’t make any calls. That was the last time he saw him.”

  Eve ran through everything Daniel was telling her.

  “This guy that came to visit him, did the guard have a description?” She had a very sick feeling she knew who the visitor was.

  “Better than that, he had a photo.” Daniel handed the picture to Eve.

  She didn’t have to study it for long. She recognized the man in only a second. She had already gotten more chances than she needed to retain that image in her memory. He was the same guy from the casino, the guy on the motorcycle, and the guy she had just encountered at the hospital who had chloroformed the nurse and chased her. It was as if she and Daniel were on the exact same path as he was, only in regard to Steve and getting to the jail, they had arrived too late.

  “Do you think Steve told him something about where Pauline and Dorisanne might be?” She dreaded hearing Daniel’s answer.

  “I do,” came more quickly than she was prepared.

  She felt the tears gather. She reached up to wipe them away and Daniel took her by the arm.

  “But I don’t think he’s gotten to Dorisanne and Pauline. I think they’re safe.”

  “Yeah, but for how long?”

  Daniel didn’t have an answer to that question. “Where’s the book?” he asked, pulling his hand away. “That’s all we have, and we need to pay attention to it. If Dorisanne kept a code in there for how to reach the FBI, she must have information in there about where she and Robbie might hide.”

  Eve dried her tears and handed the address book to Daniel. “There’s nothing in there,” she said. “I looked at all of the listings while you were in the jail. It’s just names of friends and business places she would go.”

  “But that’s all we need, one name, one place,” Daniel reminded her. “Let’s go through them again. Maybe if I read them aloud to you, something will jump out.”

  Eve didn’t respond, but she saw little hope in figuring out a clue that way. She had gone over every contact. Nothing stood out, and she knew that to try to call every number would take way too long. The man on the motorcycle would have gotten to her sister well before they could get through the first couple of letters.

  “A,” Daniel began.

  Eve shook her head. “Don’t start there,” she said. “Start at the back.”

  “Okay.”

  Eve waited.

  “How about the W’s?”

  She nodded, and just as he was calling out the listings, she remembered something very important. “Marcus Winters,” she shouted, remembering the name of the man whose receipt she’d kept. “Call Marcus Winters.”

  The look on Daniel’s face told her that it was a name he recognized. “Who did you say?” he asked.

  She repeated it, and before she could say anything else, he had his phone out
and was placing a call.

  FORTY-NINE

  Daniel dialed the number while Eve leaned in to listen. She could hear the phone ringing. After the fourth ring, a sleepy voice answered.

  “Hello.”

  “Is this Mr. Winters?”

  There wasn’t an answer.

  “My name is Daniel Hively. I’m a friend of Dorisanne Divine.”

  Eve could hear the man clearing his throat.

  “Divine,” he said, pronouncing it correctly, just as Daniel had done. “Not Divine.”

  “Yes,” Daniel responded.

  “It’s 2245 Lone Star Place,” was what he said next.

  “I’m sorry,” Daniel replied.

  “It’s 2245 Lone Star Place,” he said, repeating himself, “89048.”

  There was a brief pause where neither of them spoke, and then Mr. Marcus Winters ended the call.

  Daniel hit Redial three times, but the man whose name and number were listed in Dorisanne’s address and phone book never picked up again.

  Daniel and Eve turned to each other.

  Eve spoke first. “Could it be that easy?” she asked.

  Daniel didn’t answer, but he seemed convinced. He reached into a small drawer hidden under a drink holder and pulled out a small electronic device. Eve recognized it from earlier in their trip. It was a GPS. She watched as he plugged it in, turned on the engine, and typed in the address that had just been given to them. Immediately, a map was displayed.

  “Okay, 2245 Lone Star Place,” Daniel said as directions started to be given. He looked at Eve. “We’re going to find her.” He put the engine in Drive and left the city jail parking lot. He followed the instructions and headed south out of the city.

  Eve pulled away from Daniel and glanced out the window. She couldn’t believe it might be so easy. She couldn’t believe Dorisanne would just give out an address to a man Eve had never heard of. And how did he know to give it to Daniel? Had Dorisanne expected the family friend to show up and look for her? It just didn’t make sense, and she was worried that this was actually some setup, some trap that she and Daniel were about to walk, or drive, right straight into. She reached over and touched Daniel on the arm.