“Does he have a permit for the gun?” asked the second officer.
“He does, and we didn’t find a criminal record for him, so there isn’t any reason not to believe his story. The guys are taking him down to the station for processing.” The officer turned to all of us and said, “Ok folks, I need the four of you to fill out these forms, giving us your statements as to what you saw and heard.” He handed a form to each of us.
I noticed the patrol car with the gun owner was pulling away from the curb. As they passed by the front of the shop, I tried to get a look at the man in the backseat. I couldn’t see clearly, and he was facing toward the front of the car, but he wasn’t completely unlike the man I had seen with the crowbar last night. I turned to the officer and asked, “Did that man have tattoos?”
Darby shot a startled look my way, and I knew he wanted me to shut up. The officer asked warily, “Why? Have you seen him before?”
I could have kicked myself for asking. “I caught a glimpse of him as the cruiser pulled away, and I thought I might have seen him earlier in the day. Must be my mistake,” I said sitting down in a chair and looking at my form.
The officer frowned as he watched me take my seat, but said, “He had tattoos on both arms. If you saw a man like that today, put it in your statement.”
I sat motionless for a few moments. I kept my head down and closed my eyes tight willing the tears back. There was no doubt in my mind now the bullet was meant for me. The accidental discharge was the story they were going to go with, so I assumed the man only had one shot to take, and he almost made it. My stomach was churning even more. I tried to fill out my form.
There was little any of us could write. We hadn’t seen or heard anything prior to the gunshot. I was able to give a little more information only because I was aware of the bullet whizzing past my head. I didn’t mention the man with the tattoos. If they asked me outright, I would say the man I thought I had seen only had tattoos on one arm. I didn’t want to lie, so I was hoping it wouldn’t come up again.
When we left the shop, I gave the keys to Darby and said, “You’ll have to drive. I can’t do it.” My head was pounding, and I just wanted to get back to the hotel room.
“What a lot of excitement!” Mom said from the backseat. “We’re all fortunate the bullet missed us. And poor Diane! She was standing right by the mannequin when the bullet went through the window and knocked it down. That was a $3,000 dress, and it’s ruined!” Mom was clucking and shaking her head is dismay.
We were quiet for the rest of the short ride back to the strip. Darby valet parked the car, and we made our way into the hotel. It was shortly after 6:00. The shooting and the police had added nearly two hours to the time we had already spent at the bridal shop.
“Susan, you don’t feel good do you?” Mom asked me sympathetically.
“I’m sorry, Mom, I don’t,” I told her. “And I have to be at work in the morning, so that’s weighing on my mind, too. I’m going to spend the evening in my room. You guys find something fun to do without me.”
“Well,” she said looking around, “I’ll need to find your father and see what he wants to do. I’m sure he’s ready for dinner.”
“Lilah, you and Earl go on without me this evening, too,” Darby said to Mom. “I’m going to take Susan back to the room, and then I’ll probably check out some of the nightclubs.” He gave Mom a kiss on the cheek, and then put his arm around me.
“Ok, kids,” she said. “Get some rest, Susan. I’ll see you after work tomorrow.” She gave us a little wave as she turned toward the casino to look for Dad.
As Darby and I made our way to the elevator, I saw Dudley leaning against the wall. He had on a ridiculous plaid suit today. He certainly wasn’t being inconspicuous. He had a view of the front door, the front desk, and part of the walkway leading to the elevators. He was obviously watching again, but he didn’t make eye contact as we passed.
Safely in the room, I kicked off my shoes and plopped facedown onto the bed. Darby sat down beside me and asked, “You think the bullet was meant for you, don’t you?”
I rolled over and nodded my head. I was absolutely drained, and tears started to slide down the sides of my cheeks. “Yes, and you know it,” I told him. “I think they planned the accidental-shooting-while-cleaning story ahead of time, and the guy had one shot to pull it off and then stick with the story no matter what the outcome. If I hadn’t tripped when I did, he would have made the shot.” I rolled back over onto the pillow and mumbled, “I can’t believe this is happening.”
There was nothing Darby could say to make this better. If only I hadn’t opened that door. It had been the distracting thought all day long – if only I hadn’t opened that door.
“Susan, honey, I’m sorry,” he said while rubbing my back with one hand. “It’s obvious you need to stay out of open areas. I think working during the day the rest of this week will be helpful. You’ll at least be out of harm’s way at the offices.”
I rolled back over and sat up in a cross-legged position on the bed. I nodded my head again in agreement. He handed a tissue to me, and I blew my nose.
“Do you want me to order room service? Are you hungry?” he asked.
“No,” I told him. “I want to stay here and rest. I’ll be fine. Maybe I can find a movie on television to distract me; plus, I want to go over some of my notes for work.”
He nodded his head, smiled at me, and headed off to the bathroom. After taking a shower and changing for the evening, he asked again, “Are you sure you’ll be ok here by yourself?”
He was standing by his bed, and he looked adorable. He was wearing a light brown pair of jeans with a gray pullover shirt left open at the neck. A long, brown, sweater scarf had been looped around his neck and was hanging in front under a beautiful chocolate brown leather jacket. The leather was soft and enabled him to push the sleeves up. It was a great look, and I wondered how he would keep the girls away all night long. Then again, maybe he wasn’t going where the girls were. I smiled and said, “I’m fine. You go ahead and have fun.”
He walked over, kissed me on the nose, and left the room.
I turned the television on. A rerun of Two and a Half Men was on. I didn’t have the strength to turn the channel. I lie back on the pillows and closed my eyes.
Several hours later, I was awakened to my phone ringing. I struggled to shake off the fuzzy feeling while searching in my purse for my phone. It was Mick.
“Mick, hi,” I said softly.
“Susan, sweetheart, are you ok?” he asked with concern.
“I am,” I said as I emitted a happy sigh at the sound of his voice. “I was napping, and the phone woke me.” I leaned back and rested my head on the pillows again.
“I’m sorry I woke you, but I must say, your voice is sexy right now, and I like it. Talk to me some more,” he said with a laugh.
I had to laugh with him. My voice was always a little deeper when I first woke up. “I can tell you I miss you desperately, and Friday seems so far away. Are you still on track to be here then?” I asked.
“I miss you, too, Susan,” he said. “And yes, I’ll be there early Friday evening, about 7:00, I think.”
“Good, I can’t wait. I bought a new dress for when we go out Saturday night. You’ll love it,” I said playfully.
“I’m sure I will,” he said with obvious enjoyment at my teasing. “Are your mom and dad having fun?” he asked.
“They’re having a blast, and we’re all winning money,” I told him. I still didn’t want to tell him exactly how much I had won until I could see him. I hesitated for a moment and decided I really should fill him in at least a little bit about what had happened. “We went to a magic show tonight, and the magician pulled me up on stage. He put me in a box, and I fell through a trapdoor.”
He laughed and said, “I always wondered if there were trapdoors in the floor for those kinds of tricks. Now I know. Was it fun?”
“Not really,” I told him.
“But Mick, something happened after I fell through the floor. There wasn’t anyone around, so I opened a door. It led outside, and I think I saw someone who had just beaten a man with a crowbar. The man on the ground was either unconscious or dead. I shut the door right away, but I’m worried about what I saw.”
“Susan, listen to me,” Mick said intently. “I mean this. Please don’t get involved in anything while you’re there. If you think you’re in danger, or someone approaches you about what you might have seen, please go to the police right away, ok?”
“I will, Mick,” I said. “I won’t get involved. I only wanted to tell you because it was upsetting, and I’m worried about it.”
“Sweetheart, I love you, and I don’t ever want to have to go through almost losing you again. Never. You take care of yourself until I get there, and then I’ll take care of you. I promise.” The passion in his voice warmed me clear through, and I would have given anything to have him with me right then.
“Ok,” I told him. “I will gladly put myself into your hands when you get here.” He chuckled at the comment. “Did you and Alex have fun skiing?” I asked.
“We sure did,” he said, and he proceeded to tell me about their trip. We hung up roughly thirty minutes later. I was feeling much better - and I was starving. Once again, I had made it through another day with almost no food at all.
I looked over the room service menu, but nothing appealed to me. I wanted another Reuben sandwich from Wolfgang Puck. I slipped on my shoes and decided to run down to ask the bartender in the restaurant to round up another one for me. I knew I was supposed to wait for Darby or my mom or dad, but I felt so much better after talking with Mick, and a quick trip downstairs would surely be ok.
I looked out into the hallway; no one was around. I walked to the elevator and pushed the down button. The doors opened, and I gasped as I nearly fell down taking a few quick steps backward. A disturbed Carl stepped out of the elevator toward me.
“Susan,” he said dryly, “just the person I wanted to see.” He took another step toward me, and I backed up a couple more steps toward my room.
I quickly scanned the hallway, but it was still empty. The fear on my face was evident, and I was angry I had let him catch me off-guard. “What do you want, Carl?” I tried to snap at him.
“I hear you dodged a bullet today,” he said without emotion.
I had to stifle a gasp. He was essentially admitting he was behind the shot taken at me today. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told him.
“Susan, I’m going to cut right to the chase with you,” he said. “You didn’t see anything yesterday. You might think you did, but you didn’t. The janitor was helping us take some things out to the dumpsters, and he had a seizure. We drove him to the hospital, and he’s fine. Do you understand me?”
I was confused. Was he telling the truth? Was he telling the story he wanted me to tell if I was asked about it by anyone? Was he telling me I would be left alone if I pretended I didn’t see anything? I felt as though a small window had opened for me to get out of this.
I tried to sound confident as I told him, “It was dark outside, Carl, and the door was only open for a few seconds. You’re right. I don’t know what I saw, so I didn’t tell anyone about it. Thank you for clearing it up for me.”
He reached out and grabbed my elbow. It was a huge effort not to recoil. “Just so long as we understand each other, Susan,” he said.
I nodded my head and said in a small voice, “We do.”
He let go of my arm, seemed to be pleased with himself, and said, “How about a nightcap? Join me for a drink?”
I could only hope he wouldn’t make a scene when I declined. “Not tonight,” I said. “I’m not feeling well, and I’ve been in my room all evening. I was going to run down to tell my parents goodnight, but I think I’ll give them a call instead.”
He stared at me, and I could see he was giving thought as to how to handle the moment. “Another time then,” he said. “Goodnight.” He turned to push the button for the elevator.
“Goodnight,” I said. I rushed to my room and let myself in. I leaned against the door and realized my heart was pounding against my chest. It was hard to breathe, and my legs felt rubbery. I didn’t know if I should feel relief that I may no longer be in danger, or terror at knowing what the man was capable of. The gun was fired with intent to kill, and I was more certain than ever the man outside the door had been murdered.**
Chapter Eight
“You look really pretty, honey. Do you need a ride back to the hotel tonight?”
Dad and I were sitting at a table in front of Starbucks, and he was making sure I was ready for my big day. Darby was still asleep when I left the room, so I had gently knocked on my parents’ door to see if they were up. Dad was, and he slipped out with me to have breakfast before the driver from Slimmers came to pick me up.
“Nope,” I told him. “The driver will take me back and forth all week, so I don’t have to worry about transportation.”
We were having coffee and breakfast sandwiches while we shared the local newspaper. I finished the sports section and was delighted to see the Blue Ball Blades won both of their games over the weekend. I was able to talk with Dell for a minute yesterday, and he had four tickets set aside for us for tonight’s game. We were planning a late dinner atop the Stratosphere afterward, and Dell would be joining us.
I passed the sports section to Dad, and he passed the local section to me. Two pages in, a shudder ran the length of my body, and my stomach did a cartwheel. The headline Slain Janitor Found in Desert was screaming at me. I couldn’t contain the shocked “oh no” which passed my lips for Dad to hear.
“What is it, Susan?” he asked.
It was obvious I was upset, and there was no pulling it back. “Dad, a janitor was recently killed. They found him in the desert.”
“That’s horrible, honey,” he said, “but why would it upset you?”
“His wife filed a missing person’s report,” I said, “and they identified his body through dental records.” I continued to scan the article becoming more horrified with each passing sentence. “His body was placed on railroad tracks which is why they had to use dental records.” I looked at my dad with wide eyes and said, “Dad, his name was Gilbert Torres, and he was a janitor at Slimmers Corporate Offices.”
I knew in my heart this was the man I had seen outside the hotel door by the dumpsters. It had to be. Carl had even referred to him as a janitor.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” dad was saying as I finished reading the article. “Hopefully, you’ll still be able to get some work done, but the atmosphere will probably be somber today.”
I hated the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I no longer had an appetite to finish my breakfast. I stood up, grabbed my briefcase, gave Dad a kiss on the cheek, and headed for the front door. The car would likely be waiting for me already.
As I neared the front desk, I ducked into the restroom. I wanted to double-check my makeup and take a minute to compose myself. I couldn’t stop my mind from racing. There wasn’t any reason to tie a Slimmers janitor in the desert to the hotel, so I could only hope the police wouldn’t have any reason to talk with me. My face was pale. I touched it up with a little blush, and reapplied my lipstick. My hair was the way I liked it, simple but with a soft, slightly full look.
Betsy Ann had told me suits weren’t necessary in the office and business casual attire would be fine. I had chosen to wear a short sleeve, black wool dress. It had a low, square neckline showing a hint of cleavage, and the length was to the top of the knee. It was beautifully sewn and created a lovely, lean, fitted silhouette. It was actually quite sexy without being revealing. I slipped into a soft, black cardigan for the ride over to the offices. Pleased with my look, and feeling more in control of my emotions, I headed out the front door and into the waiting car.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Gregory, take Susan to her office so she knows where s
he’ll be working. You can then take her on a tour of the main floor. She’ll be with me upstairs after lunch.”
Betsy Ann looked at her watch, reached out to touch me on the arm, and said, “It’s good to see you again, Susan. I know you’ll enjoy being here at Corporate for the rest of the week. I’ll meet you here again at 2:50. A meeting has been scheduled this afternoon at 3:00 with our new Operations Manager, Mr. Waltham, and you’ll get to meet most of the executive staff then. Gregory will help you with anything you need.”
Gregory was grinning from ear to ear. He was tall and lanky with spiky white hair which had a vein of blue running through it in a random pattern. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of him. He was young, probably about 21 or 22. He was dressed in well-fitted khakis paired with a blue plaid, button-down shirt. Rather than dress shoes, he was wearing expensive Ektelon shoes I had only ever seen on the racquetball court. Most people wouldn’t wear them for general wear. They stood out because they were black with bright red trim. My first impression was he was unique and personable.
“Thank you, Betsy Ann,” I told her. I turned to Gregory and said cheerfully, “I’m ready when you are.”
“Gregory, you behave with Susan,” Betsy Ann said. “She doesn’t need to know everything you know.” She shook her finger at him in a scolding manner, but she was smiling.
“Not to worry, B.A.,” he said with the ear-to-ear grin still plastered on his face. He turned to me and said, “This way, Susan. I’ll take you to your office first, so you can put your things down.”
It had only taken about fifteen minutes to make the drive from the hotel to the Slimmers Corporate Offices. I was surprised to see such a large structure with two floors. The building was of southwestern adobe style architecture, and I could see care had been given to the landscaping. The reception area was large and airy with red, orange, and bright yellow colors popping from abstract art and furnishings. The colors were certainly more exciting than the current mauve and blue of the centers. I hoped these were the new colors to be used in the remodeling to come.
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