Death in the Casino: Target Practice Mysteries 5 (3 page)

Moo jumped off the bed at the sound of Liam's voice and padded over to the door.

I knocked on the shared door to Minx's room before opening it. "Loggin, Liam needs you."

Liam explained the problem to Loggin. It was regarding inventory and some issues with how the booths had been packaged after the last trade show. Before they left, Liam turned to me. "Sorry about this. Do you want me to take Moo?"

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. Work's work. Dragging around an awesome dog will be a distraction. Moo can stay with me."

Moo sat down and offered Liam his paw. Moo and I had been working on how to shake, and now he offered his paw when he wanted attention. When Liam didn't immediately shake Moo's paw, Moo dragged the paw down Liam's thigh, causing him to jump. "Easy, buddy. We'll hang out soon. All three of us." I smiled as Liam shook Moo's paw.

Once Moo finished his trick, he felt satisfied to come back to my side to lean heavily on my hip. "Mary, Minx, and I are about to head downstairs. I'll have my phone with me."

"I'll let you know when we're done." He smiled at me before they left.

I shut the door, and Mary's head popped out of the bathroom. "They're gone?"

"Yes. Are you going to avoid Orion all weekend?"

"No, not at all, but a bit of absence isn't a bad idea either. Let him miss me. What do you think of this outfit?" She gave a twirl. She had on yellow ballet flats, skinny jeans, and a flowing shirt.

"Adorable."

"Hot stuff, Mary." Minx had fluffed up and curled her red hair. "Let's get this party started."

I slipped Moo's backpack on him and moved his essentials into the pocket. I checked that I had my I.D., money, and the room key as we closed the hotel door behind us.

Two gentlemen walked by with rolling bow cases and gave us a nod. The man in back with an impressive beard flowing down his chest cut his eyes to Moo and inched close to the wall. "Afternoon, ladies. That's a mighty big dog."

I smiled and replied over my shoulder as we continued down toward the elevators, "Yes, he is."

I hadn't quite figured out to reply to those types of statements. It wasn't a question to answer, but it seemed rude not to reply. It was like a compulsion for people to comment on Moo's size. It was often followed by a series of questions: how big was he, how much did he eat, did I ever ride him like a horse, et cetera. I was putting together a small list of witty retorts, but usually a quick smile and acknowledgement was enough.

Minx stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. "I'm going to have a strawberry daiquiri then gin and tonics then a mudslide then finish it up with a beer or three."

I crinkled my eyebrows in disbelief. "We have to shoot tomorrow."

She waved a hand in the air. "They say that a hangover is better than beta blockers for calming nerves. Plus this tournament doesn't count toward our rankings."

"But you can win money. And if you drink all that this evening, you'll be more than hung over."

Mary quirked an eyebrow at Minx. "You really want to do less than your best?"

The elevator doors opened, and Minx sighed dramatically as she exited. "Fine. I'll have to figure out a different vice to entertain me this weekend." She muttered under her breath, "Bunch of sticks in my mud."

"I heard that." I followed her out of the elevator and hugged her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. "You love us." I was here with my friends, my dog, and the man I was crazy about at a tournament to shoot archery. I couldn't imagine a more perfect weekend.

"If I say that I love you, will you let me go?" Minx laughed as she said it. "I love you."

Mary hopped in front of us. "What about me?"

"I love you, too. Let's get me a drink."

We laughed as we went up to one of the many bars. Minx ordered a drink while Mary and I asked for water. I stepped back to the walkway designated by yellow carpeting. Moo was technically only allowed on the walkway.

A large group of men was at the other side of the circular bar. This style of bar was spread throughout the casino floor; at least three were visible from where we stood. The men were adorned with hats and shirts that proclaimed their sponsorship from various bow companies.

A man called out his greetings to Minx and Mary, and I followed them over to say hi. A tall guy lifted his hand to offer a high five. Minx stepped forward, but Moo leaped in front of her, and Minx's hand sailed off to the side as she caught herself from falling.

A tall man with a beaklike nose laughed. "Nice job, Minx. Hope you have better aim this weekend." The group chuckled and he continued, "But that's what I'd expected from a
girl
. Women don't know how to do something complicated like a high five, right guys?"

The men around him chuckled again.

Minx's face grew bright red. "Shut up, Uncle Mike. You only think that because women keep slapping you across the face when you try to high five them."

The chuckles turned to guffaws while one guys in back called out, "Burn."

I leaned over to Mary. "Uncle Mike?"

"His full name is Mike Uncalous, but they call him Uncle Mike or The Uncle."

Uncle Mike narrowed his eyes at Minx then raised his glass. "You got me there. The ladies are heartbroken that they can't tie me down. Unless you want to try?" He drained his glass and placed it on the bar.

Minx crossed her arms. "No thank you."

Uncle Mike pushed off the bar. "I'm going to go check the target assignments." He passed us, giving Mary and me a once-over and a wink. A majority of the men followed, but one stayed behind to talk to Minx.

The male that remained was just taller than me and average in looks. In fact, most archers started to blend together after a whiles and I doubted I could pick this camouflage-swathed one from a lineup. But he didn't have eyes for me as he approached Minx and shook her hand.

"Nice to see someone give Uncle Mike a hard time. I'm Lucky."

"Glad to see someone appreciates my big mouth." She looked him over top to bottom then smiled at him.

"I think it's a nice mouth. Can I get you another drink?" His eyes rested on her lips as she licked them.

She nodded. "I'm Minx, and this is Mary, Di, and Moo. They were just leaving."

He gave us a passing glance and nod then turned back to Minx. He placed a hand on her lower back and steered her to the bar.

I shrugged. "So much for the three Loggin's Angels."

Mary looked at Lucky and shook her head. "I hope this vice doesn't leave her hung over like drinking does. What now?"

The bartender held our water aloft. I slid a tip onto the bar. "Can I see where we're going to shoot? Then maybe check out the animal area for Moo."

At the sound of his name, Moo danced at my side then lifted his head and let out a long "Woo woo."

Heads around the casino lifted and peered around slot machines for the source of the noise.

"Moo, don't get yourself uninvited." I started walking, and he fell in stride with me.

"Sounds like a plan. I'm pretty sure everything is in the same place as always." Mary chugged her water and handed it to a casino waitress as she walked by in a colorful outfit that looked like a one-piece swimsuit with high heels and black stockings.

A woman in her twenties thundered down the walkway directly toward us. She had reddish hair with thick pink highlights. I stepped aside to let her by but she veered to intersect me.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie, and I need to talk to you, Di." She nodded at Mary then turned back to me. She had lovely blue eyes that were staring at me with a frightening intensity.

"Uh, me? I think you might have me mistaken--"

"No, I saw the video about you being the new pro-staff coordinator for Westmound-Andersson Industries, and as a fellow woman, I know you'll appreciate the points I've put together about pay inequality in the industry." She rifled through a backpack and handed me a pamphlet.

I took it on instinct but shook my head. "I'm not the pro-staff coordinator. The video was mistaken. I don't have any control over pay for men
or
women."

Her face fell. "Rats. You don't work for Westmound?"

"No. I mean I don't not work for Westmound." I blew out a breath. "Let me start over. I...I mean, we both work at the Westmound Training Center for Competitive Shooting Sports in Wyoming. I, along with Liam, gave a speech to some visiting archers about getting sponsorship--"

"You know Liam?"

Mary snorted next to me. "Does she know him? They're rather close."

I blushed and elbowed Mary.

"You are? When you can talk to him, tell him about this." She pointed at a black piece of fabric tied around her arm. "It's disgraceful that the women's pro division is paid so little. The tournament raised the men's payout to one hundred thousand for the winner, in part by contributions from Westmound, and do you know how much the women get for first place? Do you?" She jabbed a finger at me while her face turned an unhealthy purple hue.

I took a half step back. "Less than that?"

"Five thousand."

I grimaced and sucked air through my teeth. "That's a lot less than the men." I looked at the pamphlet that she had handed to me. There were charts and graphs detailing the payout, entry fees, and participation numbers. I'd need to dig in more later. "That can't be right."

"It's right and Westmound is responsible, in part, for the discrepancy. You say that you're devoted to women in the industry, but you don't put your money where your mouth is. So you'll talk to Liam about it? Mark!" she yelled beyond me at someone passing by. "I'll catch you guys later. Read that, then do something." She jogged away.

"Is this right?" I turned to Mary.

"Let's walk and talk. I don't want to get cornered again."

We headed across the casino floor at a brisk pace, and I followed Mary when she veered left, past an open air restaurant and down a huge corridor. "Yes, I'm sure that information Pinkie gave you was correct. The difference in pay between the genders has been a hot topic for a while. We've talked about it before."

"Yeah, but this is a difference of twenty to one. There's Tiger. Tiger!"

His head swiveled around until he spotted us. He had two girls on each side of him. "Hey, Mary, Di, let me introduce you to my new friends. This is Daphne, Bethany, Abigail, and Carissa."

"Nice to meet you all. Tiger, do you know anything about this?" I turned the pamphlet toward him.

The smile fell from his face. "Gals, I'll catch up with you at the bar."

They implored him to hurry up then left, casting glances over their shoulders. They put an extra wiggle in their walks, and one of them blew a kiss over her shoulder.

He grinned after them, watching them go, before turning back to grab the pamphlet from my hand and flip it over. "This is Pinkie's doing, isn't it?"

"Easy, Tiger. Why are you all worked up?" I wouldn't have asked if I'd known it was such a tender topic.

"They want to increase the payout in the women's divisions. Where do you think that money would come from?"

"Are you talking about those black armband chicks?"

I jumped at the male voice in my ear and turned around. Uncle Mike was standing behind me. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry. I'm Mike Uncalous. Hi, Mary. It's nice to see you, again." He swept his worn Andersson Archery cap off his head and smoothed his hair.

The tips of her ears turned pink. "Nice to see you, too, Uncle Mike."

He waved his hands and winked at her. "You can call me Unc or Mike, but not Uncle Mike. It sounds wrong coming from you."

I shook my head. "Anyways. We were talking--"

Tiger held up the pamphlet to Unc. "About this. Tell them. Tell them."

Mary turned to Tiger and quirked an eyebrow. "Leaping lizards, Tiger, it was just a question."

He spun around on her. "But it's not a fair question. If I argue that things are fine the way they are, then it looks like I'm a sexist pig. But it isn't only a matter of equal pay for equal work."

Unc held up a hand. Gone was the laughing, loud-mouthed guy who had gotten into it with Minx. He had done a one-eighty. Though he was still a jokester, he'd added a professional and steady demeanor to the mix. Judging by the expression on Mary's face as she watched him, she was a fan of the combination. "Here, let me explain something. We would love to be able to pay the women the same amount as the men. Nothing would make us happier, and as soon as purchasing power and entry numbers are the same, the pay-outs will be the same."

I stepped back and took a deep breath. "So the payout is strictly based on entry numbers? There are twenty times more men than women that enter?"

"Significantly fewer women in the division, for sure."

"By significantly fewer, do you mean one-twentieth?"

"Entrance numbers aren't the only factor we're talking about. There's also buying power. People look to the men when they are picking out equipment."