A Winter Moon

by S. J. Smith

  “That was interesting, I wonder what prompted that,” Jack said, almost as a challenge.

  Laura smiled and glanced around the room. She realized many of the other diners had been watching the exchange.

  “Public relations, I am thinking. I like how he had us remain seated so he could look down on us. It is strange though, from everything I have heard of him it is out of character,” she said thoughtfully.

  They both nodded.

  “It is,” Brock said. “I would wager there has been some news coverage so the need for PR might be higher than we know. It would look bad if one of his employees was assaulted and he did nothing for her,” Brock finished.

  That made sense to Laura.

  “We, however, believe you deserve the time off with pay. You are a lovely person Miss Ranger and we were glad to be of service, even if we hadn’t got the week on the house,” Jack said with a twinkle in his eyes.

  Brock laughed easily.

  “Off course. In fact, if you have nothing else you would want to do with your time off, perhaps you would like to join us this week. We are just taking it easy and seeing some art exhibits that are in town. I would be glad of your company; don’t you think Jack?”

  Jack nodded, giving her a wink.

  “Indeed Brock. We are like three of a kind, and it would be a shame if we did not get to know each other better. What do you say Laura, would you like to knock about with a couple of bachelors? I can promise nothing will happen without your approval, it is not our style,” he promised her.

  Laura’s heart fluttered a little. Her two gallant rescuers wanted to spend their time with her! That alone would have been enticing, but there was something else about them that she could not put her finger on and she wanted to.

  “That would be lovely gentlemen. First you save me, then you wine and dine me, now this. I would be foolish to turn down such an invitation,” she told them, trying to sound formal. “Honestly you have both been wonderful and helped me relax after those idiots in the private rooms. You don’t have to do this you know?” She wanted to let them know it was not expected of them.

  “We know,” Brock told her and reached over to squeeze her hand. “You are excellent company and we could use someone to hang out with. It was a scary, if fortuitous event, that allowed us to meet. I felt it right away and would like to get to know you better. You are a courageous and smart woman Laura Ranger, don’t let anyone tell you differently,” he said to her and she felt a blush come on. She usually had better control than that but he surprised her and the look in his eyes was entrancing.

  She glanced over at Jack and saw a similar look. Life just got interesting, she thought to herself. Then as they finished their meal Brock paid for the gay couple’s dinner as well. Interesting indeed.

  *****

  Games Are Afoot

  Laura awoke and slowly opened her eyes. Daylight streamed through the shabby curtains of her run down little apartment. She sighed and smiled slightly. It had been an amazing night. First assaulted, then treated like a princess by those two men who were not quite what they seemed. It was going to be an interesting day she decided as she got up, sitting on the edge of her little twin bed.

  She stood up and stretched her hands above her head breathing deeply. Laura held that position for five deep breaths and then slowly lowered them for five more. Shaking out her arms she felt awake and ready for the day. Her morning routine that never failed to have her alert and in a good frame of mind. Drinking some water, she headed for the shower.

  Laura had been talked into having a drink after leaving Brock and Jack by her friend and fellow waitress Mandy. She had wanted to know all the details of what happened. Word had spread so Laura had downplayed it. Mandy had been envious of her time with the two rich men, and had gotten the scoop on them.

  Brock Wainright was known as a generous billionaire who had inherited his father’s European airplane company. He spent little time actually running the company, opting instead to let others do that while he traveled the world and pursued philanthropic endeavors.

  Jack Norton was his best friend since childhood and they were known to do everything together. It matched the little bit they had talked about at dinner so Laura had been pleased to hear it confirmed. Mandy always got her gossip right on the money.

  Laura finished her shower, and wrapped in a towel she dried her hair. She then picked out clothes for the day. Since it was summer in Vegas it would be hot so she dressed accordingly. It had not sounded like they would be spending much time in the Casino. Art galleries and local sightseeing had been what Jack and Brock had spoken about.

  Laura dressed in one of the few sets of good casual clothes she had and thought it would look fine for a day “knocking about”. She did not want to appear as a complete bum in front of the wealthy men. She hoped, someday, to be able to shop to her hearts content, but that day was a long ways off.

  A loose, blue, silk blouse went over her white silk camisole with a knee length red skirt and low heeled sandals. She turned in the mirror to make sure everything looked right and smiled. She was proud of her voluptuous figure and did not mind showing it off from time to time. She did try to not be too over the top about it though.

  She went into the little kitchen, poured a glass of juice and decided to switch to her bigger purse. She dumped out the smaller one and saw a little plastic box. She had forgot about her tip box. Jason from security had given it to her when she was leaving. It was her box from the VIP room.

  She opened it with a grin and saw the guys who tried to assault her had tipped her before they got so drunk. Two twenties and a handful of change. Change? She thought to herself. Paying for a VIP room and tipping with change. Who does that?

  Drunk idiots she answered herself with a chuckle as she pushed the change around the bottom of the box. She frowned and pulled out something that she had first thought was a penny. It was about the same size as a penny, but after holding it under the light she thought it was brass. There was some kind of European writing on it. One of those guys had drunkenly given her a keepsake. She knew a lot of people kept old coins and things in their pocket for good luck and figured that is what it was. She put it in her own pocket for luck and then she dumped the rest into her savings jar, putting it up on the high shelf. Her plan was to keep her tips as a savings until she had enough for a car. She figured she was halfway there. It was the fourth jar she was filling up.

  Turning on the television she drank her juice. She was meeting the gentlemen for lunch and planned on going to the police station first. Watching the news, she was surprised to see her problem in the VIP room mentioned. Brock had been right about Mr. Lander and PR. It was chilling news to hear the crime mentioned on the news. Especially the ending.

  “As we reported last night three men assaulted a waitress at the Casino Florence. According to hotel staff they became drunk and disorderly, but were apprehended immediately due to the security cameras the hotel has in place. They were stopped in time to prevent any physical harm to the young woman and were handed over to the police. At least that was as of last night. A report just came in that the three suspects have escaped the police and are at large.

  “Martin O’Malley, the Las Vegas Police spokeperson, stated that the local police and Nevada State Patrol have spent the night searching for them to no avail. They are asking the public to keep an eyes out for these men.”

  Laura saw the photos of the three men flash up on the screen with a phone number on the bottom. She quickly grabbed a pen and wrote it down.

  “If you see them call this number, but do not approach as they are considered dangerous. The speculation now is why was there no word of this last night? They waited until this morning to alert the public, these suspects could be anywhere by now. We will keep you updated as more news comes to us,” the woman finished.

  Laura felt herself tremble slightly. There was no reason for the bad guys to come after her, but she felt scared none the less. She picked u
p her phone and dialed the police department. She told the desk sergeant who she was and was asked to hold. Within a minute she heard a woman’s voice.

  “Hello, Miss Ranger. I am Detective Avery. Is everything okay?” She asked. Her voice sounded concerned.

  “I am fine but I just saw on the news that the men who attacked me are out, what is going on?” she asked. Trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. There was a heavy sigh on the other end.

  “I had been informed that you were already contacted. I just came in and was handed your case when it hit the news. The previous detective is no longer on the case. Do you think you are in danger? I can send someone over if you want?” she asked.

  Laura was not sure.

  “Well I don’t know why they would come after me. I just cut them off and they got mad about it. Do you think I need protection? I was supposed to head down to the station to fill out some report about the incident,” she told the detective.

  “You haven’t filled out a report?” Laura could hear a muttered curse on the other side of the line. “I was not informed of that either. Why don’t you come on in, fill out the report? I will try and gather everything I can on what is going on to be able to judge better what needs to be done next. You have my deepest apologies for what occurred last night and for not being told when they escaped. I honestly don’t see them doing anything but getting as far away as they can, so you should be safe,” the woman told her.

  Laura was calming down from the initial fear and realized she was being stupid. Of course those guys were long gone by now. Staying behind would be stupid, even for idiots like them. Laura thanked her and told her she would be in. After hanging up she put her things back in her bigger purse and quickly left to go to the station. It was not too far from her house so it did not take long, and she did not see any sign of the three men.

  Once there she talked to the detective and found out there had been a mix up in booking and the three men had not been processed. They discovered it and went looking for them immediately, but somehow they were no longer in the building. They could not even be found on the security footage of the precinct after the time they first arrived. The detective still thought they would have left town as fast as they could, but she was going to continue to investigate and discover how they got away, and more importantly where they went. Laura was even more convinced that the guys took off, although she did not think they were quite the idiots she thought they were before. They had to be pretty sneaky to just slip out of the precinct after being arrested.

  Laura left the precinct and was surprised to find Brock waiting for her out front. He looked devastatingly handsome in light slacks and a tank top with a loose open shirt over it. The day was getting hot outside.

  “Are you okay?” he asked her taking her hands. She felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the sunshine and smiled at him.

  “I am fine Brock. You are very kind to come all the way down here to check on me,” she told him, and then filled him in on the basics of what was going on. He was more concerned than before but did not come out and say it. She could tell by the way he was glancing around.

  “I agree with the detective. There is no reason for them to stay in town,” she said confidently. He shrugged.

  “That depends why they were here in the first place. You are probably right though. Ready for lunch?” he asked and she realized what time it was and that she was starving.

  “I am, is Jack coming?” she asked as he escorted her to a town car waiting by the curb for him.

  “Yes, he will meet us there,” he said.

  They got into the car and she realized it was the first time she had ever been in a high end car. It was more comfortable than most of the furniture in her home. They arrived at the restaurant on the strip and the car door was opened for them and she was helped out by the valet. As they walked forward Brock cursed softly under his breath and turned to her with a smile.

  “I need a favor. Someone is about to come up to us and I need you to just go along with whatever conversation takes place. I promise to explain afterwards, alright?” he asked.

  He was smiling but she could see in his eyes that something serious was about to happen. She nodded seeing a dark complexioned man coming out the door of the restaurant looking right at Brock. Her companion put his arm around her comfortably.

  “Victor! It is good to see you. What could possibly bring you to sunny Las Vegas?” he asked the man.

  Victor was a European man wearing a nice three-thousand-dollar suit. Victor smiled and eyed Laura briefly before turning his attention back to Brock.

  “I imagine I am in town for the same thing you are Brock. The gang is all here you know. It should be a good time,” he said cheerfully, glancing at Laura again.

  “Where are my manners,” Brock said. “Let me introduce you to my friend from southern California, Misty Eddlebrock. Misty, this is Victor Dimitri,” Brock said.

  Laura smiled wide, trying to appear a little vacuous. She spoke in her best valley girl tones.

  “Oh, hello Mr. Victor, I am like, so glad to meet you. You must be really important to, like, know Brock,” she said, holding her stupid smile.

  Victor smiled and shook her hand briefly and then immediately dismissed her as no threat. She could clearly see that and was proud of her ruse.

  “She is charming, to be sure. Did you hear about the Tortelli brothers?” he asked Brock as they moved to under the awning out of the sun.

  “I have heard of them, but never had the pleasure,” he responded.

  “It is not a pleasure I assure you. They do allow for some amusement at their own expense though. The three of them got arrested last night at the Florence. I am guessing they are out of the running which narrows the field don’t you think?” he asked in what sounded like a rhetorical question.

  “That is too bad. You know me, the more the merrier. Oh well, it was good to see you Victor. I look forward to seeing you when the bidding starts, but if you would excuse us, we have reservations,” Brock told the man.

  They said their goodbyes and Laura received a kiss on both cheeks in goodbye from Victor and they went into the restaurant. Jack was waiting looking concerned. None of them said anything until they were seated at a private table Jack had arranged.

  “That was awkward,” Jack said when the hostess left.

  “It could have been if it wasn’t for Misty here, right Misty?” Brock asked with a grin and an encouraging look in his eyes.

  “Victor was so nice. It was, like, a neat thing to meet him,” Laura told Jack with her stupid smile. He stared at her blankly a moment before busting out laughing. Laura and Brock joined him for a moment but then it had to asked.

  “So what the hell is going on guys? I played along like you asked Brock,” she told him.

  He nodded, turning to Jack.

  “We have to let her in on it, the games are truly afoot,” he told him. Jack’s eyebrows went up.

  *****

  Lust Intrudes

  At this point Laura was not surprised she was in the middle of a con of some sort. It was bigger than she could have imagined. Finding out she was dealing with a billionaire conman was something of a shock, but she rolled with it. She also tried to not let their compliments on her abilities in the people department go to her head.

  “So anyway,” Brock said as they made their way through a sumptuous lunch with champagne, for appearances she was told. “After running games as a kid I inherited dad’s business and realized I should not be doing what I was doing. By then this guy,” he pointed at Jack, “was already hanging around and I decided to put my enjoyment of the con to better uses. So these days we hunt down stolen artifacts and artwork. Sometimes the best way to get them returned, is to steal them back. In this case we know who the thieves are and what they are in town to sell. This week in Las Vegas is their biggest art displays and auctions. It is when every thief and conman is in town for the possible pickings. That is why Victor is here. Oh a
nd Jack, you know how the Tortelli brothers are rumored to be the thieves of the piece we are looking for?”

  Jack nodded sopping up the alfredo sauce with some bread.

  “They are also the three who assaulted our friend here,” he told him. Jack swallowed and shook his head.

  “Of course. It can’t be easy can it,” he said with a comic dismay.

  “Come on my friend, how much fun would that be,” he told him and got a grin in reply.

  It was obvious to Laura that whatever the end results in doing what they do, they enjoyed the game. She was also discovering she did too. The little taste she had got pretending to be Misty had been exhilarating. She was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  “So how would you like to help us out on this Laura? We would be willing to pay you handsomely for your services.” Jack nodded at Brock’s words.

  “Indeed. Las Vegas always requires extra help and we never seem to have any. I don’t know yet how we are going to play it, but your help would widen our options,” he added.

  Laura felt an exciting thrill that was almost sexual. This was a high stakes game she had never imagined she would be involved in, and she had an invitation. She knew she was probably being too quick with her answer but she really could give no other.

  “I’m in. I will need to know more about, well, everything,” she said then tossed off the rest of the champagne.

  Brock grinned, but was interrupted from speaking when Laura’s phone rang. Then Jack’s rang as well. They both glanced at each other and Laura answered hers.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Hello Miss Ranger. This is Detective Avery. I have some bad news for you,” the woman said.

  “Ok, what is it?” she asked in a flat voice.

  Brock looked over quickly at her lack of tone. Jack had got up from the table and walked away for his conversation.