Green Eyes in Las Vegas (12 page)

Early to bed and early to rise was not something I did very often. But when I do, I feel like a million bucks – not least because I didn’t have to spend the previous night dealing with drunk, aggressive gamblers in a too-bright, too-loud casino pit.

So the next morning, I woke up feeling all bright and cheery. I smiled as I remembered the delicious hors d’oeuvres of the previous night, and the way Jack had reminded me to call him. And then I remembered the box of apple-cinnamon cupcakes sitting in my fridge, and I felt even happier. This would be a perfect day. Well, ok, I’d promised my parents that I’d have lunch at their place today
; but other than that, it would be a perfect day.

I changed into clean jeans and a white blouse, and started on my breakfast. I’d just finished my first cupcake and half a mug of coffee when my phone rang. I recognized the LVMPD number, and answered, thinking it was Emily.

“This is Elwood,” said Detective Elwood’s voice. “How are you?”

I stifled a sigh when I heard his voice, and reminded myself that today would be a perfect day.

“Good,” I said warily, not bothering to ask how he was. I knew how he was – chugging away on coffee-flavored cream and sugar, pining for his ex-wife.

“Can you come into the precinct?” he asked, and I nodded.

See? I told myself. The perfect day. I’d been meaning to go to the precinct anyway.

“How about in a few minutes from now?” I asked.

“Of course,” he said, his voice ridiculously polite. “It’s not like I have anything else to do.”

I chose to ignore his sarcasm. “Thanks, I’ll see you soon.”

“Hunh,” he said, and hung up.

I shrugged and put the phone away. If he was busy, he’d have said something. Getting this out of the way first thing meant I could spend the rest of the day investigating Crystal’s death.

I heard raised voices outside my door, and peered out through the peephole. I couldn’t see anything, so I opened the door a crack, and peered around to my left.

Stone was standing in the hallway, typing into his phone and studiously trying to avoid Mrs. Weebly.

“You can’t just loiter here,” she said. “Visitors can’t just loiter.”

“I’m wa
iting for my friend to come out,” Stone said, sounding as though he’d been repeating this line quite a few times. He caught my eye and I made a face. Before Mrs. Weebly could step forward, Stone slipped inside my condo and closed the door behind us.

“You can’t just leave like that
!” Mrs. Weebly yelled, her voice shrill and piercing. “Where are your manners?”

Stone and I looked at each other.

“Did she remember you’re my friend?” I asked. “Does she know you’re here to visit me?”

Stone
rolled his eyes and nodded.

I groaned. “Great. Now she’ll bring this up at the HOA meeting. Why couldn’t you just knock on my door like a regular guy?”

“Didn’t want to wake you.”

“Then wait in your car! You don’t even have to be here!”

Stone looked at me seriously, and I looked away. I was worried he could see through me, and truth be told, after last night, I was actually looking forward to a bit of company.

“I’ve got a few hours to be around you,” Stone told me. “But after that, you’re on your own.”

I nodded, not quite sure what to say, and we headed down to the station, Stone driving close behind me.

Elwood was slumped over some papers in front of him, and he only glanced up when I was a few inches from his desk. Stone had gone off to talk to some detective he knew, and I wondered briefly why Elwood seemed to hate him.

“Hard at work?” I asked
, smiling, but Elwood refused to smile back.

There was a half a mug of coffee sitting on his desk, and judging from the strange white sheen on top, I guessed it had been sitting there for almost a day now. Elwood looked as grumpy as usual, and his skin looked blotchy with dark circles under his eyes. And then I noticed he was wearing a white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, and a dark jacket hung over his chair.

“Are you still wearing last night’s clothes?” I said. “Don’t they let you go home for the night?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “I happen to be busy.”

I nodded. “Lots of big cases?”

He grunted, and I glanced at the mess of papers scattered before him. A brief, flickering thought entered my mind – was he trying to avoid going back home because his wife was no longer there? But I pushed the thought away impatiently. I’d be a typical Vegas sucker if I felt sorry for every loser I met.

“What’d you want to talk about?” I said, trying to move things along.

Elwood stared at me through hooded eyes and I wondered how he functioned as a cop if he was sleep-deprived.

Finally, he said, “Interesting seeing you at the party last night.”

I smiled and waited for him to get to the point. He rubbed one eye and said, “I feel like you know something about this theft.”

“I think I might. I was going to come here to tell you.” Elwood raised one eyebrow and leaned back and I said, “The results of Ferrari license plates. Jack Weber was one of the owners. I think it’s him.”

“And why’s that?”

“I just…” I thought back to his eyes, and the strong “feeling in my soul” about this.

But saying that out loud would make me look like an idiot, so I said, “He’s the same height and eye color as the man I saw jump out that building. You
have
to investigate this.”

Elwood sighed. “How do you know he’s the same height?”

“They look the same.”

“Height’s a tough thing to guess. Eyes look different colors in different lights, and lots of people have green or blue eyes. Got anything else?”

I looked at him in disbelief. “Don’t you think it’s at least worth looking into?”

Elwood shook his head. “Do I think it’s worth looking into a man who’s got a decent alibi and is one of the biggest donors
of the LVMPD Foundation? You’ve got to be nuts.”

I crossed my arms. Donating to the LVMPD Foundation was a nice thing to do, but it just made me all the more suspicious of Jack. Nobody donated to the cops unless they had an ulterior motive.

“Any other suspects you want to talk about?” Elwood said. “Maybe the mayor, or the state senator?”

I looked at him, not smiling. “So you’re really not going to look into Jack?”

The left side of Elwood’s mouth went up in a crooked smile. “I’m not an idiot.”

I didn’t believe that, but I didn’t say anything.

“So,” Elwood went on, “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

“Like what?”

He shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. You’re a big-shot PI, you’ve got lots of contacts and meet people at fancy parties, you tell me.”

“Are you asking me to share notes about what I learnt at last night’s party?”

He leaned forward. “No. I’m asking you to tell me why you really went to the party. Are you trying to pawn off the Van Gogh? Do you have a buyer in mind?”

I stared at him for a few seconds, and then I shook my head. “Why would I have a buyer?” He continued to look at me intently and my eyes widened. “Oh my God. You don’t think I stole it, do you?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t think you’re smart enough to steal a Van Gogh. But I think you might know who did it, and you might be helping them sell it off.”

I raised my hands, exasperated. “I already told you. Look into Jack
Weber.”

“Nice try. I’m not falling for that and wasting my time.”

I stared at him for a few seconds and sighed. “Why would I even know who stole it?”

“I don’t know… seems like you know people. Women like you, getting into private parties, going around escorted by that thug, Stone – first you say you’re a dealer, then you tell me you’re a PI. I think you really are a dealer, just not a casino dealer.”

I stared at him, as though I was seeing his pudgy face for the first time.

“That’s crazy,” I said softly.

“Is it? Because I don’t think it is. I think you’re hiding something and I think we’d be better off if you admitted to it.”

The sleep deprivation must’ve addled his brain.

“I’ve told you everything I know,” I said stiffly. “And now I need to get to my appointments.”

I stood up and walked out, feeling a bit rattled by the whole thing.
Stone joined me silently at the door, walking with me across the car park.

“How’d it go?” he asked me as we walked. “You look funny.”

I sighed. “People are nuts.”

“That’s a generalization,” he said. “Different people are different kinds of nuts.”

I got into my car and sat there with the engine idling for a few seconds. I didn’t like the fact that Elwood thought I knew something or, worse, was an accessory to the crime.

Maybe he’d been bluffing and was trying to get me to tell him something, but I didn’t think so.
Perhaps he was sleep deprived, and it was making him think crazy thoughts. Or maybe he’d given up on discovering the thief, and was more intent on covering his ass by accusing the only witness—me—of obstruction of justice.

I called Stacey from the car, and told her I was coming over. As I drove toward her office,
with Stone following behind me in his Porsche, I hoped Elwood wouldn’t try to make my life any more difficult than it already was. 

By the time I got to Stacey’s office, I’d accepted that my day had not been perfect so far. Stone walked me from the car park to the lobby, and as we walked, I looked back over my shoulder, searching for an anonymous photographer.

The parking lot was half-empty, and the street behind us was semi-deserted. I didn’t think anyone had tailed us on the drive here, but I couldn’t see behind the car windows. Theoretically, someone might be sitting in one of the cars, watching me.

Stone escorted me up to the AAI reception, and then he said, “This is where I take off. Duty calls. I’ll be at the casino tonight.”

“You don’t have to be.”

He rolled his eyes. “You could just tell me when your shift ends. Hang on – aren’t you having lunch with your parents today?”

“Ye-es,” I said warily.

“Great. I’ll join you then.” I sighed and Stone said, “Hey, I like your mom’s cooking.”

I looked at him grimly, but I didn’t say anything as he walked off.

Stacey’s office seemed very quiet when I walked in, and it took me only a second to pin down the reason.

“Where’s Sarah?” I asked her, and she sighed.

“At school.”

“Oh, it must be nice to –” I was going to say ‘have her out of your hair’ but I stopped myself just in time and finished with, “
work uninterrupted.”

“It’s not uninterrupted. I just got a call from Detective Elwood a few minutes ago, saying you might be trying to mislead the investigation.”

I narrowed my eyes and clenched my jaw.

“Don’t worry,” Stacey told me, “
the guy’s clueless.”

I breathed out and felt the tension leave my body. At least Stacey trusted me.

“Thanks,” I said. “I came over to talk to you before handing over the report. I think we’ve got a suspect.” Stacey raised one eyebrow silently, and I went on, “I think Jack Weber has something to do with this theft. His car’s license plate is a partial match, and I think he looks a bit like the guy I saw jumping from the building.”

“Hmm.”

Stacey looked at me contemplatively, and I was a bit disappointed that she wasn’t jumping up and down in excitement.

“What do you mean, ‘hmm
?’”

“Well…” She looked down and toyed with her pen, before continuing. “It’s just a bit flimsy, seems a bit… forced.” She looked at me again and said, “The guy’s a big deal,
a major player in the business community here. I don’t think we should mess with him.”

“So no-one’s going to investigate him?”

“Oh, no, I’ll ask someone to look into him. Discreetly, of course.”

I nodded, not sure if I was pleased. “Do you want me to help out?”

Stacey shook her head. “It’s not a priority. We’re not likely to find anything on him, and short of finding the painting in his house – well, there’s not much we can do about it.”

“What about testing for DNA and fingerprints, that kind of stuff?”

Stacey gave me a funny look. “Hmm.”

Realization dawned, and I almost said, “D’oh!” out loud. Of course – AAI wasn’t interested in finding out who committed the crime, they were only interested in recovering the painting itself, so they wouldn’t have to pay out the insurance premiums. For all I knew, they
wouldn’t even investigate Jack, especially now that they didn’t have a PI on staff.

“Did you learn anything from Jeremy?” Stacey asked, and I shook my head.

“He didn’t say much. I’ll type up the report and email it to you.”

“Thanks. We’ll get in touch if we need any more work done.”

We said our goodbyes, and I walked out feeling slightly dejected. Neither of the people I’d talked to about Jack had been interested in him, and I wondered if maybe I was wrong about him. That was impossible though – I had no doubt that the man I’d seen leaping from the building was Jack Weber. All I needed to do was to prove it, and then…

And then
what
, exactly? I hadn’t been hired to look into the theft, and it wasn’t any of my business. I’d stop caring about it, I told myself, and I’d stop wondering how Jack was involved.

***

As I drove away from the AAI office, I found myself checking over my shoulder, once in a while, wondering if anyone was following me. I felt safer in the stark daylight, and I was annoyed at myself for becoming so used to having Stone follow me around. I’m a PI. I need to take care of myself, even if it means learning to poke a guy’s eyes out in self-defense. Stone was right – I needed to go back to my KravMaga lessons. By the time I walked into The Peacock Club, my mental resolve to take up KravMaga again was making me feel a lot better, even though I hate all the kicking and poking that it involved.

The Peacock Club is one of the more “boutique” strip clubs in Vegas, which means it’s very slightly off-Strip, and has only a couple dozen exquisite-looking girls working there at a time, instead of a couple of hundred. The rates are also higher, and the clientele are mostly wealthy locals.

At this time of day, the club was practically empty. It wasn’t very well-lit, with only a few strange, bluish lights glowing here and there, and when I stepped inside, I found myself blinking as I adjusted to the darkness. Bass thumped loudly from hidden speakers, and a lingerie-clad woman twirled around a pole on the big stage at the front of the room.

There was a bar along one wall, and the rest of the room was occupied by around fifty small, round tables. Darkly upholstered tub chairs surrounded each table, but only a few tables were occupied at this hour, mostly by single men chugging beers and glancing at the dancers on stage.
Strippers hovered around them and every so often one of them would get up and follow a girl into one of the private lap-dance rooms.

I nodded to Greg, the DJ, and went over to say hello. We’d met during my last investigation, and he was a friendly guy who always seemed oblivious to the half-naked women around him. While
Greg and I were catching up on our lives, Samantha popped up beside me. She was wearing white lace lingerie with silver high-heels, and she looked like something out of a Victoria’s Secret catalogue. Maybe that’s what I’d look like if I stopped eating so many cupcakes and bought myself some nice underwear.

“I saw you come in,” she told me. “And I’ve got a ten minute break now. What’s up?”

“I’d like to talk to some of Crystal’s friends at the club,” I said. “Do you know who they are?”

Samantha and Greg exchanged a glance.

“Crystal didn’t have many friends here,” Samantha said. “She liked to keep to herself.”

Greg nodded. “Yeah. I’d talk to her once in a while, but I never saw her chatting with any
one else.”

“Huh.” I couldn’t help being surprised. “Everyone on the movie set said she was friendly.”

Samantha nodded. “She was, but she worried that the more people she made friends with here, the quicker her secret would get out. She was convinced she’d be a big Hollywood celebrity, and she didn’t want anyone knowing she used to be a stripper.”

I turned to Greg. “But she was friends with you?”

He grinned. “All the girls like me. How can you hate the only gay guy in a strip club?”

I smiled back. That explained how he was so oblivious to all the bare breasts surrounding him.

“What did you talk about?” I asked him.

“Just the usual. She’d get leads for parts, but usually they didn’t work out. And then she got a serious lead for the part in Casino Kings, and she was real excited about that.”

“Did she have any enemies? Anyone who might want to harm her?”

He shook his head. “She didn’t try to make friends here, but that’s normal. Lots of girls keep to themselves.”

“Was she acting different before she died? Worried about anything?”

Greg frowned. “Not really. But she did mention that some guy was
constantly bugging her and she wasn’t interested. She said she’d have to deal with it.”

I turned to Samantha. “Did she tell you anything about that?”

Samantha shrugged. “Guys come on to women like us all the time. We
do
work in a strip club. Crystal might’ve said something, but I don’t remember.”

“Was he someone she met here?” I asked Greg.

He shook his head, and sat quietly, trying to remember. “Some hotshot,” he said finally. “I think he had something to do with Casino Kings.”

I pulled out the list of names Tony had given me, and showed it to Greg. He read through the list and handed it back. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember any names, but I think she said it was someone on the set.”

Samantha looked somber. “I should’ve paid attention. I should’ve realized it was serious, not just some random creep.”

“It’s ok,” I told her. “You had no way of knowing. Besides, we don’t even know if this guy had anything to do with her death.”

Samantha shook her head, and I knew that my words sounded hollow.

“Anyway,” I said. “Do you know a Cheryl
Czekanski?”

Greg and Samantha both made puzzled faces.

“A lot of girls here don’t go by their real names,” Samantha told me. “What’s her stripper name?”

“I’ve got no idea.
She might not even be a stripper.”

“I know a Cheryl,” Greg said. “See that red-head walking up to those two men? That’s Cheryl Adams.”

We all watched the red-head. She had a mass of long curls, and was wearing a tiny string bikini. Even from this distance, we could see the star tattooed on her lower back, and she glanced at us before sashaying off toward one of the private lap-dance rooms with a man following her.

We’d all looked away when Cheryl had glanced at us, looking obviously guilty.

“I don’t think that’s the Cheryl I’m after,” I said, “But it’s worth a shot.”

“Why’re you after Cheryl?” Samantha asked.

“Crystal made bank transfers to her… lots of money at a time. Do you know anything about that?”

Samantha shook her head. “Maybe it was someone in LA. Maybe a casting agent.”

“Hmm,” I said. “How long do these lap-dances last?”

“Longer than my break,” Samantha said. “I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”

I watched as she walked away, swishing her hips as she approached a man sitting by himself in a booth. His face lit up immediately, and he stood up automatically and trotted after her like a dazed puppy.

I watched them disappear into a private room, feeling a bit awkward. Greg had his headphones on again, and was busy with his music. I noticed a bouncer glancing at me, and I didn’t want to get kicked out for looking like a social worker, so I headed over to the b
ar, ordered myself a juice, and tried to chat with the sullen bartender.

My phone rang and
I looked at the caller ID and sighed. I was tempted to let it just go on ringing, but that would just worry her even more. “Hi, Mom.”

“Tiffany! Your Nanna just got a call from her friend Nancy who saw you walking into
The Peacock Club.”

“Yes, Mom. I’m just here to talk to someone.”

She made a disapproving noise and said, “I don’t want everyone to think my daughter’s a stripper.”

I
rolled my eyes. Suburban moms are the same everywhere. “Maybe you shouldn’t have named me ‘Tiffany Black’ then,” I told her.

She made another d
isapproving noise and said, “When are you going to come over? It’s almost lunch-time.”

“Soon,” I said, wondering if it was too late to make some excuse and not go. Free home-cooking was nice, but I didn’t want Stone showing up with me at my parents
’ place again. I just knew they’d get the wrong idea. “But I’m a bit busy with work, maybe I could just–”

My mother interrupted me before I could finish. “Your
nanna’s invited some man over.”

I groaned. “Nathan. I can’t believe this.”

“How do you know him?” my mom asked sharply. “Is he a friend of yours?”

I couldn’t tell her that I’d met him during one of Nanna’s poker games, so I muttered something about meeting him when I ran into Nanna and her friends at a buffet.

I didn’t think I sounded convincing, but my mom seemed to buy the story. “How long ago was this?”

“Umm.
Yesterday.”

“Well. You should’ve told me.”

“About what?”

“Your
nanna says this man’s her boyfriend, can you believe that? I want you to come meet him. Maybe she’ll listen to you.”

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll be there
.”

“Is Stone coming?”

She sounded hopeful and I frowned. A few weeks back she’d thought that we were dating, and no matter how often I told her we weren’t, she kept hoping for a relationship between us. “No, he’s not,” I told her, sounding more annoyed than I’d meant to. Now I’d definitely have to talk him out of coming with me.

“Hmm,” she said. “Don’t worry. There are lots of men out there. Even if you broke up, you’ll find someone new.”