Bob Moats - Jim Richards 01-03- 3 for Murder Box Set (25 page)

“I hope to hell Trapper’s not planning on coming back here!” He grinned, coming up to me.

“No, Captain, he’s quite happy back in Michigan.” I introduced Penny and then myself.

We all shook hands, and he studied Penny for a couple of seconds. “You that TV show woman that was stalked by the psychos back in Michigan?”

She blushed and said she was. He looked at me. “You the guy who stopped them?”

I said I was one of them. “It was a group effort. Trapper was involved and saved my life by shooting the ring leader of the killers.”

“Damn, Trapper must have straightened out his act. He was a real pain in the ass when he was a rookie. He used to smuggle hookers into the precinct and have little orgies in the back cells.” He grinned wide.

“I’ll have to call him on that when we get back.”

“Come on into my office and we’ll talk.” He led the way. We had a good talk about everything Trapper had done in his reckless youth. I had some great stories for Buck. I explained my being there to let them know of my intentions to carry a weapon and be a bodyguard for Penny. He handed me a couple of his cards and said if I had any problems to show this and have them call him. He did have me write down the serial number of the gun, just for the record. I did.

I put the gun in the holster I had on under my jacket and relaxed. We talked a little more about the classmate murders. Penny was really talking up a storm about it. I figured she must be over it now. The captain was enjoying our talk and asked us to stop back and visit again. He had business to attend to, and we had to get Penny to the convention center. We all shook hands and went out. An officer in bicycle uniform stopped us and said when we saw Trapper to tell him Marko says hey. Word spread fast.

We drove out. I swung back around to Tropicana Avenue and headed to Paradise Road, to where the Las Vegas Convention Center was located. On the way over I pulled out my cell phone and hit speed dial for Trapper.

He answered, “Richards, you in trouble already?”

“No, I just wanted to know if you have any hookers in your jail cells.”

He was quiet for a moment. “They just had to mention that, eh?”

I said, “Weber told me a whole lot about you. I have a new respect for you now, and a whole lot to tell Buck.”

“Oh, you do that and I’ll never speak to you again.”

“Well, I have to share something with him. Just to balance the scales. He feels less than you for the stuff he did. I’ll go easy, just enough to make him happy. Oh, someone named Marko said hey.” I chuckled.

“That jerk was just that, a jerk. I only pretended to like him. Did you get things settled with Weber, with your gun, I mean?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’re square. He seems like a decent guy.”

He agreed, “Weber was a tight ass, but fair. I trusted him. You should, too.”

“OK, Penny and I are going to get her checked in at the convention center, so I’ll keep in touch.”

He said, do that, and hung up.

We got to the convention center, and Penny located her booth. It was a nice set-up, big picture of Penny looking beautiful and signs touting her accomplishments and guests on the show. There were banks of televisions all running clips from her various shows, giving a selection of different styles. I noticed a stack of pamphlets that featured the classmate murders incident and Penny’s involvement, complete with forensic pictures of the killers. Must have gotten the photos from someone in the police department. Trapper might be interested in seeing one of these. Her producer saw us and came over, hugged Penny and shook my hand.

“Penny, we have good vibes from two networks interested in your show. Nothing definite yet, but plenty of interest, and the convention hasn’t even started yet. Lots of done deals go on even before the show, so keep your head up.” He waved to someone down the aisle, excused himself and went to schmooze.

We sat down on a couple of chairs at her booth and relaxed a bit. I looked at the decorations and props and asked her what she thought of it all. She was impressed with the work they put into it. I asked how she felt about going nationwide with her show. She said it would be a big responsibility, having to entertain people across the country, trying to please everyone from small towns in Maine to big cities like this one. She wondered if she could pull it off.

I said I had every faith in her abilities to pull it off. I had been at most of her shows since she returned to work, and I could see the usefulness of the information and discussions from her guests as well as the entertainment of it all. She was a great host, had personality and humor. She was easy-going with the big stars that appeared on her show and asked well thought out questions. She would do well in Metro Detroit or across the country. Her producer came back by and said the CW network had just approached him about the show. They wanted to see the stats and numbers on the ratings in our market. He was really happy and scooted off.

I smiled at my girl and said things were looking up. The convention officially started at noon, so we had time to go back to get Penny dressed appropriately so she could play star. We had a quick brunch before heading back to the center. I called Buck and Deacon to see if they were playing nice. They were exploring Neonopolis up in the Fremont Street Experience with Maria leading the charge. I said I hoped they wouldn’t break anything and told them I’d call them later when the convention ended for the day. When I told Penny what our little family was up to, she smiled.

The show started, and I sat off to one side where I could watch Penny doing her thing. She smiled and shook hands and signed autographs for just about everyone who came by. Around 5 p.m. I was getting hungry and asked Penny if she needed food. She said a hot dog or something simple would be nice, didn’t want to overstuff herself during the show.  I ambled off, found the food court and got us a couple of hotdogs and Pepsis, then returned. She ate when she could. Her booth was popular.

While I sat there watching Penny, around 7 p.m. my cell phone rang. I could tell from the caller ID it was Buck.

I answered. Buck sounded distressed. “Jimmy, got a problem. Maria took the night off to be with us but just now got called back. It seems the girl who took her place for tonight’s show was found murdered. Deacon is having fits thinking it could have been her.”

*

 
Chapter Four

I told Penny about Buck’s call. She said she knew my becoming a P.I. would attract murder. I had to smile even though the situation was grim. Penny told me to go see if Deacon was all right, that she would get a cab back to the hotel. I said I didn’t want to leave her, but she insisted I go help our friends. She said she would be all right. I kissed her cheek and went to the car. I called Buck and asked where they were. He said at Maria’s house but getting ready to go to the Tropicana Hotel.

I asked where the murder happened, and he said in the backstage dressing room. Maria’s substitute had been there, along with a friend, getting Maria’s costumes ready for her to wear. There was an energy drink can in Maria’s locker and the sub decided she was going to drink it. The can was tampered with and poisoned. That’s why Deacon thought it was aimed at Maria. I told Buck I’d meet them there and hung up.

I arrived, parked along the side and went in. I liked the Tropicana. It still had the old Vegas feel to it. The casino had lots of wood and gaudy wallpaper to make you feel like you were back when Bugsy Siegel still roamed Vegas. I had worked there a couple of times, doing my magic pitch for the small magic booth that sat out near the entrance.

I went in and headed to the showroom, flashing my investigator’s I.D. and hoping the usher didn’t get a good look at it. I asked where the dressing rooms were. He gave me directions. I went through a small maze into the room. There was a bit of confusion going on, performers getting ready and showgirls flying feathers around. Off to the side I saw Deacon and Buck talking to some guy in a tailored suit. I approached and listened.

“Officer DeAngelo, I understand your concern for your sister, but we will be watching her carefully now. You can relax,” the strange man was saying.

Buck saw me and came over. I asked, “Who’s the suit?”

Buck smiled and said, “Hotel security. You’d think with all the cameras in this place, they’d have some playback on who put the poisoned drink in Maria’s locker.”

“They can’t have cameras in a dressing area. It’s some law. Women don’t want their private parts shown on YouTube,” I answered.

“Dumb. These women parade their boobies around every night, but don’t want them to be seen online?” He smirked.

“Same law that says no cameras in restrooms. You wouldn’t want your dick on some video.”

“Hey, I’m proud of my dick.” He grinned.

Deacon left the man and came over to us. Deacon was still a cop even though he was now on medical leave, which is why the suit called him officer.

“These people are idiots. When the vic started to convulse from the drink, her friend called security, but she was dead by the time they got there. They called in Metro PD, and Metro did a cursory investigation then removed the body. Hotel security is being tight lipped about all of it.” Deacon was fuming.

I told him I knew someone in Metro who might help us. I was thinking of Weber.

“I grilled Maria as to why anyone would want to harm her. She has no idea,” Deacon said.

“We’ll wait till after the show, and we can all sit down and do some thinking. We can go back to the suite at the MGM Grand. You’ve got to see this place.” I grinned.

Deacon smiled briefly then looked worried again. I called Penny and told her what was going on and to expect guests in our room. She said that was fine with her, she needed better company anyway then she quickly hung up before I could protest. We went out of the dressing area to stand at the back of the showroom just as the show started. One usher came up and asked if we had seats. Deacon pulled out his badge and said we were investigating. The usher accepted that and toddled off. Deacon grinned at me and said, it’s nice having a badge. I agreed.

We watched the show, and after it ended we went out to where we arranged to meet with Maria. Buck and I babbled about enjoying the chorus line of boobs. Deacon told us to shut up. After a while Maria popped up, and we departed the Tropicana. The MGM Grand was just across the road from us, so the trip didn’t take long.

We all piled into the elevator and up to the floor. Penny opened the door just as we got to it. I said she shouldn’t open so quickly until she knew who it was. She laughed and said she could hear Buck’s distinctive voice from a long way off and knew it was us. Everyone came in to the main area of the room, amazed at the beauty of it all and the great view of the strip. Buck said he wasn’t leaving when he saw the whirlpool spa. I told him to stay out of it.

I called room service and asked for a twelve pack of Milwaukee’s Best beer, a couple of bottles of some decent wine and a two-liter bottle of Diet Sprite. They had it up in record time. I popped open a beer and Penny joined me. We offered wine or beer for our guests. Buck took the whole bottle of Sprite and sat back. Penny said to me it was as if we were having a little party. Unfortunately, it was time to talk murder.

“Maria, explain to me the dressing room set-up and procedure for the girls getting ready for a show.” I directed the question to her.

“Well, the whole place is empty during the day. Anyone could slip in unnoticed. The lockers aren’t locked up because management doesn’t want them to be. I guess they want to be able to look for drugs or something. That energy drink wasn’t mine. I don’t drink that crap. I make my own energy drinks from good stuff. The girl in the next locker to me drinks that brand. Her name’s Lori Davis.” She looked at Deacon and continued, “I told the police and Deacon that maybe the killer put the can in the wrong locker. We all come in an hour before a show to get ready, and it would be then that Lori would gulp down her drink.”

“Tonight, did Lori say anything to you about the murder? Did you say anything to her?”