Lost in Las Vegas

by Kristen Painter

  “Tell her to go for it, then.”

  “Not sure I need to, but okay.” Jayne sent another text.

  I pulled into Carrie’s neighborhood and followed the directions back to her house. I parked a few houses away since her car was still in the drive. I’d have thought she’d be gone by now, but apparently Jimmy’s call hadn’t motivated her as much as we’d anticipated. I turned the engine off, and we settled in to wait.

  Jayne slouched in her seat. “Do you think she’d really leave if she had your mom?”

  “What choice would she have? If she doesn’t show up for work without a stellar excuse, she’ll be in trouble. Especially now that she thinks she’s talked to Jimmy and already said she’d come in early. And don’t forget, we’re working on the assumption that she’s done this to impress Tony with her loyalty. If she was willing to kidnap my mom to keep her job—”

  “And Tony,” Jayne added.

  “Right. Then she’s not operating under the oppression of logic. She’s nuts and is just doing what seems the best for her. So yes, she’d definitely leave my mom alone. Probably tied up and gagged and—”

  “Sin, don’t go there. You’re going to make yourself miserable.”

  “I already am.”

  Her eyes held great sympathy. “I know. I am too. I’m trying not to let it make me irrational though.”

  “You think it’s affecting me that much?”

  “No. Not yet.”

  I sat up. “She’s getting in her car.”

  Jayne straightened, too. We both watched until Carrie pulled away. Then my hand went to the car door handle.

  “Wait,” Jayne said. “What if she forgot something? Give her five more minutes. After that, she’ll probably think it’s too far to turn back.”

  “Okay.” I was itching to get inside, but being interrupted could cause us big problems. I twisted my wedding ring in nervous anticipation. The minutes went by like hours.

  Finally, the time was up.

  “Let’s go,” Jayne said.

  I didn’t need to be told twice. I was a little concerned that we were doing this in the middle of the day, when neighbors could very easily be watching, but I was more concerned that my mom was inside being held against her will.

  I hoped she knew we were doing everything in our power to find her.

  All of a sudden, Jayne started calling out. “Charlie! Here, boy. Come to mama.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “The same thing you are because of that neighbor over there getting her mail.” Jayne kept a happy smile plastered on her face. “Looking for our lost dog who was headed into the back of Carrie’s yard.”

  My wife. Amazing. I waved at the neighbor eyeballing us. “Charlie boy, come on,” I said. “Come to Daddy.”

  Jayne went as far as to peek behind shrubs and make kissy noises.

  The neighbor went inside, and we strolled into Carrie’s backyard like we belonged there. Nothing had changed since our last visit. Everything was torn up and in the process of being redone. I supposed that was a good thing. If it had looked like something had been hastily buried, my concern would have skyrocketed.

  “We’d better watch where we walk,” I said. “Tracking dirt into the house is going to give us away.”

  “Good point.”

  We chose our path carefully as we made our way to the back patio and the sliding doors.

  “Can you get in through these?”

  She looked at me. “Sliding doors? They are notorious for letting air in. Might as well be an open window. Just give me a sec.” She looked around. Then she disappeared into a trail of icy vapor that vanished between the doors like smoke being sucked into a vacuum. Knowing she’d inherited the same magic that her uncle, Santa Claus, had only made it that much cooler.

  No pun intended.

  She materialized on the other side, leaning against the door to brace herself. I knew that particular bit of magic left her lightheaded for a few moments.

  After a second, she turned and gave me a thumbs-up, then she unlocked the slider and let me in.

  “You okay?”

  “Yep. A little dizzy, but it’ll pass. You know how it is.”

  “I do. Should we split up? I’ll take upstairs. You look around down here.”

  “Sounds good,” she said. “No basements in Vegas, huh?”

  “There are some, but the bedrock here is so hard they’re nearly impossible to dig in most places. Or very expensive to dig.” Which was how my parents had a garage under their house. “Still, I guess it’s worth checking for.”

  “Okay. Holler if you find anything.”

  “You too.” I went through the house to the foyer, where a set of steps took me upstairs. The house was much splashier than Lou’s had been. Very feminine and very Vegas. There were a couple of showgirl headdresses on display as well as a picture of Marilyn Monroe made entirely of colored sequins.

  I searched each room. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a room with a treadmill, a set of hand weights and some other workout gear. I spent extra time in Carrie’s bedroom, looking for clues as to where the money might have come from or any hint that she was involved in my mother’s disappearance.

  Nothing. Just a bunch of clothes on the bed like she’d gone through a lot of things before deciding what to wear into work. Jayne did the same thing.

  Physically and metaphorically empty-handed, I went back downstairs. No sign of my wife. “Babe?”

  “In here,” she called.

  “Find anything?”

  “Nothing to indicate your mom’s been here, but look at this.” She came out of the bathroom that was off the living room holding a little white stick.

  “What’s that?”

  “The answer to two questions. As in I now know why Carrie was so concerned about her costume fitting, and I know what her surprise was.” She turned the stick around so I could see the display window. “Tony’s wife isn’t the only one who’s pregnant.”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Sinclair

  “That might explain the money,” I said. “After all, if she told Tony about the baby, that could be his way of paying her to keep quiet.”

  Jayne nodded as she put the pregnancy test on the counter and took out her phone. “That could be the first of many payments. After all, Carrie could sue him for child support.”

  She took a picture of the stick, then picked it up and went back to the bathroom, presumably to throw it into the trash again.

  “You are going to wash your hands, right?” I called after her. “Didn’t Carrie pee on that?”

  She stuck her head out, clearly amused. “So you do know how those work.” She leaned back in, and I heard the water come on.

  While I waited, I looked through the mail and stacks of paper on the counter. Jayne had probably done that already, but I wanted to look anyway. Carrie didn’t keep the neatest house.

  Jayne came out. With clean hands, I presumed. She nodded at the mail. “Find anything?”

  I shook my head. “No. You probably already looked through this stuff, didn’t you?”

  “I did, but a second glance never hurt. Guess we should head back since we know what Carrie’s deal is now.”

  That made me think. “Could you get DNA off that pregnancy test?”

  “You mean to prove it’s Carrie’s? I don’t see why not. Like you said, she did pee on it. Why? What are you thinking?”

  “That we need to find a baggie and take that thing with us.” I started opening cabinets. “If Tony’s willing to pay her ten grand to keep quiet about it, he might be willing to tell us where my mom is. If he’s involved.”

  “Wow, yes, that’s a great idea. And at this point, we’re running out of suspects, so if he doesn’t know anything…forget I said that.”

  I knew what she’d been going to say. I couldn’t dwell on that. Instead, I focused on finding the plastic bags. Cabinet over the stove. I grabbed one, then turned around. But Jayne had been right. �
��I was thinking the same thing. If Tony can’t tell us anything, we’re out of luck.”

  And in this town, that was never a good thing.

  I handed Jayne the baggie.

  She frowned at me. “I just washed my hands.”

  “I realize that, but just use the bag like a glove. Don’t touch it again.”

  She took the bag. “Only because I love you. And your mom.”

  “Thanks.”

  She went off to retrieve the test, and I tried not to think about us running out of suspects. If it wasn’t Lou and it wasn’t Carrie and it wasn’t Tony, who could it be?

  A new name came to me. Why hadn’t we thought of him before? Frank Chiarillo. He had motive. He’d been trying to get my parents to come to the Crystal Palace for years. A breach of contract would give him the opening he’d been waiting for.

  And he’d been at the show. He’d even come to my dad’s dressing room right after. He could have been checking to see how my father was handling my mother’s sudden disappearance.

  It was completely plausible that he’d kidnapped my mom, stuffed her in a car, then come back in to check on my dad before taking off with her.

  New excitement coursed through me. I texted Birdie immediately. Frank Chiarillo. Owns the Crystal Palace. Find out everything. Please.

  Her reply came fast and short. On it.

  Jayne returned with the bagged-up test. “You look happier than when I left. What happened?”

  “I figured out who might have my mom if it’s not Tony. Frank Chiarillo.”

  She squinted at me. “Remind me who he is? He owns something, right?”

  “The Crystal Palace. He’s the guy who came to see my dad right after the show, supposedly to congratulate him on the new trick.”

  Her eyes went wide. “But he could have been there to check up on how your dad was taking your mom’s disappearance. Maybe to see if he’d called the police. I bet if we hadn’t been there, Frank might have even offered your dad help. Of course. If Frank helped your dad find your mom, he’d probably think your dad would feel indebted to him. Or something like that.”

  “Only if my dad had told him my mom was missing. That’s the thing. Frank can’t act like he knows my mom is missing because my dad covered with an illusion.” I nodded toward the door. “Come on, let’s walk and talk. I want to get out of here.”

  “Okay.”

  We headed for the sliders.

  “How are we going to work this?” she asked.

  “I already have Birdie looking into him. But first, I want to go confront Tony with this pregnancy test.” I opened the slider and went out.

  She closed it behind me, locking it and holding up her finger to indicate she needed a second.

  Then she slipped through the space between them like she had the first time, materializing next to me. I held on to her, giving her time to regain her equilibrium.

  “Let’s go,” she said. “Hang on to me so I don’t fall over but start walking.”

  I slipped my arm around her waist and got us going. She leaned into me. “You okay?”

  “I will be in a minute,” she said. “You realize by talking to Tony, you’re going to confirm that Lila is missing. If he really doesn’t know, he soon will.”

  “I don’t see any way around it.”

  “I don’t either. Maybe your dad should come with us for that conversation. He knows the man better than we do. He might be able to tell if Tony’s lying.”

  “Good idea. I think we should have Birdie and Jack waiting for Tony outside, too. Just in case he is lying, chances are he’ll go to wherever he’s hidden my mom. If they follow him, we can find her that way.”

  She straightened as we hit the sidewalk, obviously recovered. “Then that’s our plan. And if Tony’s not our guy, Frank is up next.”

  “I’ll call my dad on the way and give him a heads-up so he can be ready.”

  She looked up at me, smiling softly. “I love you.”

  I didn’t know what had brought that on, but I smiled back. “I love you too.”

  “Let’s bring your mom home. Today.”

  I nodded, a knot in my throat I couldn’t swallow. “Yes.”

  I got us back to the house quickly, calling my dad as promised. We picked him up outside and headed to Tony’s. Jack and Birdie followed us, already in on the plan. It had to be weird for my dad to be headed into the home of his rival, but then again, I was sure all he was focused on was my mom.

  Didn’t help, though, that we had to drive by the Oasis to get there. He didn’t say anything about it, just let us know that he’d told Jack and Birdie where to park and what kind of car Tony drove.

  We parked, but they continued on, probably to the employee parking lot. We got out and went into the casino. And straight to the theater where Impastable Magic showed.

  The doors weren’t locked. They never were when something was going on, whether it be a rehearsal or an actual show. Fire laws. We followed behind my dad as he walked down the aisle.

  Tony was on stage. So was Carrie. Tony stopped mid-flourish. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Amazing Anson. What brings you here?”

  “First of all, my deepest condolences about Lou.”

  “Thank you.” There was grief in his eyes but a coldness too. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a show to get on.”

  Then my father turned to the matter at hand. “We need to talk. Alone.”

  “Anything you can say to me, you can say right here.”

  “No,” my father said. “I’m not interested in having this conversation with you and your fifty stagehands. Alone.”

  With a sigh, Tony looked at Carrie. “Take five.” Then he hopped off the stage to meet us on the theater level. “How about the lobby?”

  “Dressing room would be better.”

  Looking curious but also a little put out, he rolled his eyes. “Fine. This way.”

  We wound through the backstage until we got settled into his dressing room. I enjoyed it being smaller and less luxuriously appointed than my parents’.

  He closed the door. “All right. What’s this about?”

  We’d already decided to let my father start the conversation, so Jayne and I stayed behind him. Jayne was actually behind me. Looking hard at Tony’s makeup table.

  “Is there anything you want to tell me?” My father was taller by about three inches and slightly broader than Tony.

  Tony stared at my dad like he was crazy. “About what? You’re the one who wanted to talk. Why should I have something to tell you?”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes. Positive. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, Crowe, but I have a show to get ready for. So do you. Which does make me wonder why you’re not at your own theater.”

  I could see my father’s pulse beating in the vein in his neck. “My show is dark tonight. Do you know why?”

  Tony still looked miffed. “Because you’re over here, bothering me? Like I don’t have enough to deal with.”

  “Because someone kidnapped Lila.”

  Tony’s annoyance drained off his face, replaced by what seemed to be genuine surprise. “What? When? Wait, Lou said something about that, but I thought it was just a rumor.” His eyes widened. “Are you telling me Lila got kidnapped, then the next day, Lou has a heart attack and dies? What’s going on?”

  My father looked like he was having doubts about Tony’s involvement. So was I, frankly. He seemed to be honest in his responses.

  My dad took a breath. “We know about Carrie. That you’re paying her off to keep the news about the baby quiet. If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll make sure everyone knows. Including Gabrielle.”

  Panic overtook Tony’s face. “Wait. You can’t do that. Gabi and I are trying to make things right. Well, I am. She doesn’t know about Carrie, and I’d like to keep it that way. It’s one of the reasons I’ve been encouraging her to spend so much time at the ranch. It keeps her away from all of this.”


  He took a moment and managed to get most of the panic off his face. “What do you want me to tell you the truth about? You think I had something to do with Lila? I would never do anything like that. I swear on my unborn children.”

  A beat went by where no one said a word. Then my father crossed his arms. “Then let’s call Frank and see what he knows about my missing wife.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Jayne

  Anson was impressive. It was easy to see where Sin got a lot of his swagger. And in some ways, Anson reminded me of my dad. Anson was, after all, kind of the king of this crazy kingdom called Las Vegas.

  Tony nodded. “Yeah, okay, I can do that.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Anson. About Lila. That’s just… I can’t imagine.”

  “And I’m sorry about Lou. I really am.”

  “I appreciate that, but Lou and I had been on different tracks recently. In fact, we were about to part ways.” Tony put his hand on the back of his neck. “He didn’t know it, but obviously that doesn’t matter now. In a way, I’m sort of glad we never had to have that conversation. Believe it or not, I was supposed to see him earlier today. I was going to take him to lunch. Thank him for helping me see the light about Gabrielle and getting back with her. Then let him down easy.”

  I looked at Sin. Was that the contract Jack had seen on the bed? A new management deal? Maybe. But did it mean something? I wasn’t sure it did. My hand slid down to my purse and the little item I’d helped myself to from Tony’s dressing table. But I wasn’t about to put it back.

  Tony picked up the phone and punched a single button. “Tony calling for Frank. He’s not? All right. Thanks.” Tony hung up. “Frank’s not in his office, but his admin said she’d ping him for me. He’s probably out on the floor. Usually he calls back within a couple of minutes.”

  “Good,” Anson said. “We’ll wait.”

  “Sure,” Tony answered. He shook his head. “You really think Frank could be involved in this?”

  “He’s been after Lila and me for years to come to the Crystal Palace. Doing something to break our contract would give him an opportunity. At least in his mind.”