Authors: C D Ledbetter
Glen allowed himself a tiny smile. “I almost missed it. If she hadn’t cocked her head the right way, I wouldn’t have seen it.” He moved away from the monitors. “You should think about getting one or two of the specialized movement cameras so you can catch that kind of thing from different angles. Every casino in Vegas uses them.”
Hoyland glanced at the monitor showing the woman being escorted into a conference room. “Wait here.”
Once her machine finished paying off, Emily carried her plastic buckets to the pay out window. Grinning, she pocketed the thousand dollars the teller handed her and handed the woman a ten-dollar tip. Part of her wanted to find another winning machine, but she resisted the urge and strolled toward the nearest exit. It was time to go home. She was halfway to the door when two security guards stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
One officer fingered a set of handcuffs while the other placed a restraining hand on her arm. The officer tightened his grip as he spoke. “The security chief would like a few words with you. Come with us, please.”
Emily nervously agreed. Damn. Somebody must have figured out she’d won too many jackpots. No one spoke as the guards led her down a narrow hallway and into a conference room. Motioning for her to take a seat, the taller guard released her arm and left.
Bits and pieces of conversation drifted in from the hallway, and Emily realized that the two guards stood outside the door. She wondered what would have happened if she’d refused to go with them. If the shows she’d seen on television about casino security procedures were correct, they probably would’ve cuffed her and dragged her into the room. At least she’d been spared that indignity.
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. It was silly to be afraid. She'd done nothing wrong. Surely they wouldn’t arrest her for winning at the slots.
A cough behind her alerted her that someone entered the room, and she wondered how he’d gotten in. It certainly wasn’t through the door. There must be a hidden panel in one of the walls.
Well, she fumed, two could play this childish game. She refused to be intimidated. If the man wanted to talk to her face-to-face, he’d have to come to her. She willed herself to relax, to not turn around.
Her visitor finally appeared, and she studied him as he circled the conference table. Tall, muscular, between forty and forty-five, he had deep blue eyes and silver-white hair. She struggled to keep her lips from twitching as she wondered how long casinos had been using movie-star material for their security chiefs.
"You certainly seem to be lucky today,” he began in a velvet soft voice. “Congratulations, Ms…" His voice trailed off, and he raised his eyebrows.
She deliberately waited a few moments before replying. "Emily Sane. Why am I here? Is something wrong?”
"You appear to be one of our luckier customers, Ms. Sane. Seems like you’ve had quite a streak of luck, hitting jackpots the last couple of times you've been in." He leaned closer. "Your luck wouldn't have anything to do with the objects in your ears, would it?”
Emily reached up to touch her ears, fingering her hearing aides. “You mean my hearing aides?” She tried to look incredulous. “They muffle sounds, but that’s all.”
Damn. She'd always realized this moment would come, but why did it have to happen so soon? He obviously thought she had some sort of cheating device built into her hearing aids. Her lips twitched, and she struggled to keep a straight face. Boy, was he in for a surprise when he examined them!
"Oh.” She expelled the breath she’d been holding. This was not going to be fun. “In spite of what you think, I’m not a crook and I haven’t been cheating.” She studied him for a few moments, wondering if he was smart enough to figure out what was going on. He didn’t look dim-witted, but she’d bet her life he wasn’t genius material. Better to say as little as possible first. Then, if it looked like she was going to get carted off to jail, she’d tell him about her “talent.” She cleared her throat one last time and plunged into her practiced explanation. “You might not believe this, but your slot machines talk to me."
"You’re right, I don’t. That’s the oldest excuse in the book." His velvety tone disappeared, and he spoke in measured words. "Hand over the hearing aids. Now."
She pushed them across the table. "Fine. You're welcome to look at them. However, if you put one scratch on them, you’re buying me new ones. And they are not cheap."
Hoyland fingered the hearing aids nestled in his palm, glanced toward Emily, then back at his hand.
Emily’s heartbeat quickened. Was he having second thoughts? Good. Maybe he’d return them and she could get out of here before he figured out how she knew which machine was going to pay out. She lifted her chin defiantly.
He turned to the other guard. “Stay here. Make sure she doesn’t leave.” Turning on his heel, he walked to the technical lab and placed the hearing aids in the center of a small worktable equipped with a microscope and bright light. A few moments later Kurt Strauber, the chief technician, joined him at the table.
“I’ll wait.” Hoyland selected a chair near the door and watched as Kurt meticulously tested each hearing aid, then sliced it lengthwise. An acrid smell wafted toward him when Kurt used drops of acid to create holes in the center of each piece.
“Well?” he asked impatiently when Kurt removed his goggles and swept the remains into a small dish. “What did you find?”
Kurt shook his head. “Nothing. Whoever made this did a hell of a job. I’ve never seen so many layers of plastic melded together. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but they’re clean.”
“No, you can go back to the floor.” Hoyland scooped up the pieces, followed Kurt out of the lab, and slowly walked to the security platform. “Craigone, take a look at this,” he requested, extending his hand.
“Then it has to be something else,” Glen announced, returning the piece. “Tell you what. Give me all the information you’ve got on her, and I’ll check our database when I get back to Vegas. I don’t recognize the face, but you never know. Maybe I’ll get a hit.”
Hoyland motioned to one of the technicians. “Bring me everything we have on a woman named Emily Sane. If we’re lucky, she’s got a slot machine bonus point card on file.” He sighed, then rolled the pieces of plastic in his fist. “Damn it, I know she’s cheating. I hate to let her walk.”
“Well, at least you have her on tape,” Glen said. “Once you figure out how she does it, you can always prosecute later.”
“If I can figure it out. I’ll join you after I’ve taken care of Ms. Sane,” the security chief announced as he strode from the room.
As Glen waited for the security guard to escort him back to the conference room, he thought about the woman’s actions. She was good; he’d have to give her that. He made a mental note to ask for a copy of the security tape to take back to Vegas. It might be interesting to see what further investigation would reveal.
Emily sat quietly, staring at the cream-colored walls and wondered if the security chief watched from a remote location, waiting for her to become so nervous she’d confess. If so, he had a long wait coming. Everything she’d told him was the truth, whether he chose to believe it or not.
She breathed a sigh of relief when Hoyland returned and chose a seat across the table. At least he hadn’t brought the cops. Pinned to her chair by the man’s powerful stare, she felt as if she were being dissected, inch by miserable inch. She tore her gaze from his and glanced at the pile of shredded plastic he placed on the table. “What the hell did you do to my hearing aids?”
“Be glad we didn’t find a transmitter built into them,” Hoyland replied. “We’ll pay to have them replaced.” He walked over to her chair and curled his fingers around the armrests. “However, that doesn’t mean I believe your story,” he whispered in a cold, icy voice. “I’ve been in this business too long to be gullible. I don’t know how you do it, Ms. Sane, but I can assure you, I will figure it out.”
Emily’s mouth dropped open, and she quickly clamped it shut. Her irritation rose as she stared at the man towering over her. “Believe what you want, but I’m not cheating,” she said in her firmest tone. “Take me into the casino and I’ll prove it.”
Hoyland released his grip. “No. You’re leaving. Send the bill for the replacement hearing aids to my attention.” He fished a card out of his pocked and slid it toward her.
Emily’s temper flared. He wasn’t going to apologize? That bastard! Who the heck did he think he was? She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a warning finger.
“Don’t come back. Ever. You might not be so lucky next time.”
Furious, she jumped to her feet. “Don’t worry. After the way you’ve treated me, you couldn’t pay me to come back. In fact, I think I’ll call my lawyer the minute I get home.”
“Call whoever you like,” he interrupted. “This is private property, and you’re no longer welcome. If you ever come here again, I’ll have you arrested the moment you walk through the door.” He motioned for the guards. “Escort Ms. Sane to her car. Make sure she leaves.”
Fuming, Emily jerked her arm out of the guard’s grasp and, head held high, stomped out of the room. Without the protection of her hearing aids, the onslaught of sound from the casino floor almost brought her to her knees, but she managed to keep one foot in front of the other until she reached the car. Blinded by the pounding in her temples, she fumbled for the bottle of painkillers in her purse, shoved two into her mouth, and started the engine.
The pain inside her head increased, and spots danced in front of her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder. The guard’s ominous expression convinced her it was time to leave, headache or not. Praying that her tablets kicked in swiftly, she eased her car out of its parking space and rolled forward, hoping that nothing crossed her path before her vision cleared. The moment her back tires crossed onto the county access road, she pulled over.
What an awful experience. She knew from the start that the security people would eventually get wise to her talent, but this was nothing like what she imagined would happen. That odious man made her feel like slime.
Emily massaged her temples and tried to calm her frazzled nerves. It was obvious she needed to rethink her plan—quickly. Thank God it wouldn’t be from the inside a jail cell.
Chapter Four
“How much did you say the rent was?” Emily asked.
“Eight hundred a month, plus utilities. We pay the trash,” the manager responded. “You won’t find a better deal anywhere in Vegas.”
Emily glanced around the spacious living room. The apartment was roomy. It was, in fact, larger than two she’d already visited. “I’ll take it.”
The woman’s smile widened, and she patted Emily’s shoulder. “Would you like to take a look at the two-bedroom that’s available?”
“No, thanks.”
“Okay, let’s go back to the office. You know,” the woman added, “you remind me of my granddaughter. She’s about your age, but she has blonde hair…”
One hour later, Emily excused herself and returned to her new apartment. For once, things were going according to plan. She gazed out the living room window. This complex even had a decently landscaped pool area, located in the center of the interior courtyard. At one end, tall trees gave the illusion of privacy, and at the opposite end, a row of short hedges separated the pool from the manager’s office.
She stepped into the bedroom and stood next to the double set of windows. Moving through the apartment, she noted the creamy yellow walls in both the living room and bedroom. The light color blended well with the reddish brown carpet. Moving thru the bathroom, she noted the oversized tub surrounded by a pleasing miniature floral wallpaper pattern.
The kitchen was small but functional, with honey hued oak cabinets that radiated a feeling of warmth and earthiness. Yes, this apartment would do nicely. Satisfied that she’d made the right choice, Emily locked the door and returned to the parking lot.
Sitting at one of the tables by the far end of the pool, the tall man dressed in a light green shirt and khaki pants tilted the edge of his newspaper so he could follow Emily’s movements. Once she turned toward the parking lot, he strolled over to the manager’s office. “Hello,” he began. “I’m looking for an apartment.”
The manager closed the filing cabinet drawer and stared at the stranger. “All I have is a two-bedroom.”
He flashed a toothy smile. “That’s exactly what I’m looking for. Must be my lucky day.”