Rocky Mountain Mayhem (15 page)

“Oh yeah, it’s my turn!” Lucy walked toward
the hot tub. “And then I’m ready for some Mexican.”

Lucy got in place and promptly showed the
ladies her ladies. Kate snapped away as Wendy and Vivian kept
laughing and poured themselves another glass of wine.

Vivian held up her glass. “Shake ’em,
hooker!”

“My, what large breasts you have,” Wendy
said.

“Not for long,” Lucy said and smiled into the
camera. Click click!

Kate wrapped it up and Lucy put the girls
back in place right before Suri walked in with fresh towels. “You
girls sound like you’re having a good time.”

“That we are,” Vivian said and got back into
the hot tub.

“Can I get you anything? A menu perhaps?”

“No, thank you,” Kate said. “We’re going out
for Mexican food tonight.”

Suri smiled, tidied up the beverage station
and left.

“I think it’s officially time to get ready
for dinner,” Wendy said. “Kate’s hungry.”

“Maybe she’s feeding two,” Vivian said and
gave Kate an inquisitive glance.

“We’ll know soon enough, compliments of
Trey!” Lucy said.

Vivian’s phone chimed and she got out to
check it. “I have a voicemail. I didn’t even hear it ring.”

“We’re in the basement, so I doubt you get
service down here,” Kate said.

“It was probably Agent Nelson. Let’s go up
and get ready for dinner,” Vivian said.

They went up the elevator, without incident
this time, to their room. Vivian checked her voicemail.

“It was him. He said to call him back.”

Wendy looked at her, worried and wide eyed.
“Oh shit.”

VIVIAN called Agent Nelson back, taking care
to hit the right buttons, which wasn’t the easiest after the
margaritas and wine.

He answered on the first ring. “Nelson.”

“Hey, it’s Vivian. I got your message.”

“We’ve completed the inspection on Mrs.
McGuire’s car.” He paused for a moment. “I’m afraid we did not
obtain any evidence. There were no fingerprints or any other
forensic evidence we could find.”

Vivian wanted to scream but contained
herself. “Well, thanks for checking.” She started to lower the
phone.

“Ms. Taylor, what are your plans for the
evening? Are you leaving the premises?”

“We were talking about getting some Mexican
food to celebrate
Cinco de Mayo
.”

Nelson cleared his throat. “Where are you
going and when?”

“Don’t know exactly, but probably in about an
hour. You and Agent Cervantes heading back?”

“Soon, but let me know where you go. You can
text me.”

Click.

Vivian threw the phone on the bed.

“What’d he say?” Wendy asked.

“They didn’t find anything on the car that
tied to Craig.”

“Not a big shocker there,” Lucy said.

The girls took turns getting ready, then
headed down to the concierge for a Mexican food recommendation. He
suggested El Sombrero, in the town of Avon.

The valet brought Lucy’s SUV around, they
piled in and Lucy drove down the mountain, through the security
post, past the colorful row of flags and the roundabout and to the
other side of I-70.

Vivian texted Nelson.

El Sombrero for dinner. On our way.

Lucy came to a stop in front of a tacky, pink
and teal stucco restaurant. “Are y’all sure you want to do
this?”

Kate opened her door. “Absolutely.”

“This is gonna be bad,” Wendy said, sniffing
the air. “No hint of greasy chip aroma. Not good. I hope the salsa
doesn’t suck. That’s always the telltale sign.”

The girls walked in and were greeted by a guy
wearing an enormous sombrero. Vivian elbowed Lucy in the ribs.
“Bring back any memories?”

Lucy narrowed her eyes at Vivian and shook
her head. “Zip it.”

They were seated at a table by the front
windows, overlooking the parking lot. The host put down their menus
and whipped maracas out of his back pocket. He shook them as he
sang the specials to the tune of happy birthday.

“Hot tamales for you. And a chimichanga, too.
Chili con queso, fried ice cream, shrimp fajitas for two. Ole!”

The girls clapped at the performance.

“That was fun!” Vivian said after he walked
away, still shaking his maracas.

A server approached carrying chips and
salsa.

“Do y’all have any
Cinco de Mayo
drink
specials?” Wendy asked.

“
Cinco de
what?” he asked.

She sighed. “Never mind, we’ll have a pitcher
of margaritas.”

He ran off to get the goods, delivered them
and the girls toasted to “
Cinco de Drinko
.”

Kate dug into the chips and salsa. “Oh, this
is good.”

Vivian took a bite and made a face.

Wendy looked at her. “
No bueno
?”

“Too tomato-y.”

Wendy dipped a chip and tasted, then shook
her head. “No spice. I need about half a bottle of Cholula to make
this edible.”

“I feel like I’m eating ketchup,” Vivian
said.

“I told you,” Lucy said. “This is
not
Tex-Mex.”

Wendy tried another bite. “I could use some
of Casa Ole’s green sauce right about now, and some of the
Don’Key’s red sauce.”

“Mmmm, that would be good,” Kate said,
munching on chip number seven or eight.

“Let’s just roll with it,” Vivian said. “It’s
Cinco de Mayo
, for god’s sake, and as Texans, what other
options do we have?”

“Not any good ones,” Lucy said.

The waiter arrived and they ordered a variety
of food, none too complex. They stuck with Mexican basics, hoping
for the best.

The food arrived two pitchers in, which
helped to mask the blandness.

“I need some fresh jalapeño,” Wendy said,
peeking inside a triangle of quesadilla. “That’s the only thing
that’s going to save this meal.”

“Holy crap, you’re going to fry your taste
buds,” Kate said.

“I can take it.”

Mid-burrito, Vivian looked up and saw Agent
Nelson at the bar. “Look who’s here.”

“Who?” Kate asked, finishing off her
chimichanga special.

Vivian indicated to the bar with her fork.
“Him.”

Wendy, who was mid-sip, spewed margarita
across the table and coughed.

Nelson looked over at them and nodded.

“Jesus, when is he going back to Denver?”
Wendy asked. “I can’t handle seeing him after my indecent
exposure.”

“Flasher,” Lucy teased.

“You were supposed to be my lookout!”

Lucy picked at her plate. “I failed. If it’s
any consolation, the door did knock me out of the way.”

“No consolation.”

Lucy shrugged and pushed her half-eaten tacos
away.

The girls finished their half-ass Co-Mex
dinner and pitcher and paid the tab.

On the way out, Vivian stopped in the bar to
talk to Nelson. Wendy steered off to the front door.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Grabbing dinner while Cervantes wraps up at
the hotel.”

Vivian glanced at his to go order sitting in
front of him — three Styrofoam containers and a bag of chips. “So
we’re keeping you informed, we need to stop at a liquor or grocery
store before heading back to The Ridge.”

Lucy stood next to Vivian. “We can’t afford
the drinks at The Ridge.”

The bartender overheard the conversation and
offered, “There’s a liquor store a couple of blocks down on the
left.”

“Thanks,” Vivian replied, then said to
Nelson, “We’ll hit that before going back.”

Nelson pushed his barstool back. “You have my
number if you need it.”

Nelson looked past them at Wendy and adjusted
his shirt collar.

Vivian smiled.
He’s got a crush. How
cute
.

“Bye,” Kate said and walked toward the door
to meet Wendy.

They piled into the car and Lucy pulled onto
the street. “Women on a mission. We need refreshments.”

A few blocks later, Wendy, in the back seat,
leaned forward and pointed across Lucy. “There’s Beaver
Liquors.”

“With a name like that, we gotta stop,”
Vivian said and laughed.

Lucy flipped that bitch around the roundabout
and pulled into the parking lot, screeching to a stop.

Kate grabbed her camera. “We’ve got to
document.” She instructed the girls into place under the green neon
sign, put the camera on the back of a sedan parked beside them and
set the automatic timer. She ran into place just in time.

The girls took several more goofy shots and
were still laughing as Lucy held the door open.

A young guy sat behind the counter. “I was
beginning to wonder if you were going to make it inside.”

“We had a few pictures to take first,” Kate
said. “Are you even old enough to drink?”

“We get that a lot, and I am.”

The kid seriously looked maybe 18. Mohawk,
nose ring, eyeliner but a big, friendly smile and he knew his way
around the goods. After helping them select a couple of bottles of
wine, Baileys and butterscotch schnapps, he insisted on taking
their picture with the Beaver Liquor mascot, Woodchuck. Judging by
his yellowed front teeth, brittle eyes and a thick layer of dust,
he looked to be an old,
old
taxidermied beaver. Backwards
baseball cap and Mardi Gras beads completed his ensemble.*

“Hands down, that is the ugliest thing I have
ever seen,” Wendy said. “And it kinda freaks me out a little.”

Lucy took a step back. “Ugh, he’s nasty. Good
grief.”

“Poor little beaver snatch,” Vivian said,
taking a step forward and leaning in close to his beady eyes.
“Bless his poor little dead, removed heart.”

“Did you just call him a beaver snatch?” Kate
asked just as Young’un said, “Say Woody” and snapped the
picture.

They were all caught with different
expressions of beaver admiration, which made the picture an instant
classic.

They paid, then Young’un pointed them to the
Beaver Liquor souvenir shop with its T-shirts, hats, koozies,
bottle openers, magnets, stickers, flip-flops, sweatshirts, boxer
shorts, edible panties and everyone’s favorite, Beaver Balm.

“It says ‘for soft and supple beaver lips,’ ”
Lucy read off the label.

“We all need that,” Kate said and then
grabbed a handful of Beaver Balm and a pair of boxer shorts for
Shaun that said “I’m a beaver liquor.”

Everyone else loaded up on stickers, magnets
and “I
beaver liquors” T-shirts and a few more
Beaver Balms.

Young'un helped them out to the car with
their plethora of beaver goods.

I hope he makes a commission off all the
beaver crap we bought
, Vivian thought.

They gave him a high-five and got their
beaverness in the car.

“That was a beaver-lickin’ good time,” Lucy
said and expertly steered them onto the road, headed back to The
Ridge.