Dead Man's Hand (14 page)

“
Dale, stop jumping to conclusions. We need to do real
investigating
, not chase theories.
”

“
I know
,
you
’
re right. But let
’
s at least look around.
”

“
Is the warrant good for that?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
Okay then, but let
’
s be respectful and professional.
”

They returned to find that Linda had moved from the couch
and
was standing by the window
. She
gazed
into the backyard at the
Grecian-style
,
in-ground swimming pool
.
A
separate spa
was nestled into
a large deck that
allowed an expansive view of
the grounds.

“
Mrs. Grant,
we need to search the house for anything that could help us identify your husband
’
s killer. There might be something significant here.
”

She turned and hesitated,
“
Detective
s, I don
’
t think that would be appropriate. I―
”

Dale showed her the search warrant
.
Linda grabbed the paper and read.

“
I think I
’
ll call my attorney now.
”

Chapter 1
1

“
Rudy, Danny, please escort Mrs. Grant outside.
”
Dale acknowledged his officers.

“
I
’
m no
t going anywhere!
”
Linda snapped.

“
Please, Mrs. Grant. It would be a lot easier on everyone if you just cooperated. We might
discover
something
vital to hel
p catch your husband
’
s killer.
”

“
Fine.
”
Linda grabbed the phone and started dialing as she was led outside.

Without hesitation, the detectives went in separate directions,
search
ing
each room
before Dale discovered a small business office.
“
Down here, Jimmy
.
”

Grant
’
s home workplace was twice the size of the lieutenant
’
s office at the precinct. A large white bookcase filled with hardbacks covered the back wall.
A dustless
,
new-edition laptop sat on top of a small, gleaming desk. The room smelled of fresh varnish. The desk was cluttered with equipment
needed
for any businessman to work at home.
A beige fi
ling cabinet
had been
pushed into the corner
and
a print copy of Rembrandt
’
s
“
The Abduction of Europa
”
hung on the wall behind the desk.

Dale looked down at the two-inch-thick carpet
,
which
was stain-free and dustless.
“
Does this room look recently cleaned to you, Jimmy?
”

Jimmy
nodded.
“
I
’
d say. To a tee.
”

But forensics could still find something.

“
Okay, I
’
ll take the desk. You check the rest of the room
,
”
Dale said.

First, he
checked the call list on the phone, but
it showed
mostly calls to the casino. Then he
read each item on the papers
stacked
on t
op.
“
Hey,
the
se pages are out of order, like
someone ri
f
led them and hurried to
straighten them.
”

“
What are they?
”

He
shrugged.
“
Bills and accounts. We
’
ll just take it all in.
”
He opened the desk drawers and thumbed through the contents. There was very little.

“
Something
’
s not right, Jimmy.
”

“
What do you mean?
”

“
You
’
ve heard about Grant. He was obsessive with his work and a conscientious man to the point that he didn
’
t even have a CFO or business manager. He only trusted himself and his son.
There s
hould be box
es
ful
l
of bills, receipts or documents from the casino around here. This was swept clean.
”

“
Maybe he does all that somewhere
else?
”

“
Like the office where Watters was supposed to have been this morning. You find anything?
”

Jimmy removed the Rembrandt painting.
“
There
’
s a safe back here.
”

He
pulled out his cell
phone and flipped it open.
“
Glen, it
’
s Dale. Send a forensics team over to the Grant home. I need a full sweep of the office plus a safe cracked. Pull it all into the station.
The search warrant we have covers repeat searches.
Hurry!
”
Dale hung up.
“
Let
’
s go
.
”

The detectives walked outside and joined Linda Grant and the two officers, who were standing near the edge of the flower garden.

Linda had the phone pressed to her ear
and
dropped it when the detectives arrived.
“
Find anything?
”

“
I don
’
t know. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Grant.
S
ome people
will be coming
over
. P
lease cooperate with them. Again, our deepest sympathies for your loss.
”

When Linda had entered the house, Dale turned to his
patrol officers
.
“
You guys wait here until Glen arrives. I don
’
t want our number
-
one suspect to destroy any evidence.
”

The cops nodded.

Jimmy
backed out of the driveway and through the gate opening. They drove thirty feet before stopping next to a car parked across the street. Dale rolled down his window and spoke to the man sitting in the driver
’
s seat.
“
All right, Johnny, you and Stan are up. Don
’
t let that woman out of your sight and report anything unusual.
You have your thick soles on just in case the pursuit
ends up
on foot?
”

“
You got it, Dale.
”

He
handed his colleague a GPS unit. He was hoping that Linda Grant was not as cool as she looked
and
would contact whoever killed Doug Grant.
That was all he could do for now.

As they headed back to the station, Jimmy was silent.
Finally he said,
“
Ace Sanders
and Doug Grant weren
’
t best friends
.
”

Dale nodded.
“
For more reason
s
than one.
We know he kept bugging Grant to buy the casino. But
do you think the rumors are true that he slept
with his wife too?
”

Jimmy smiled.
“
This is Vegas, right?
”

“
I
deliberately
didn
’
t mention Sanders to see how Mrs. Grant would respond to my line of questioning, what there was. We know that Sanders and Grant have been feuding over the years. The hatred between the two is well documented and we also have heard rumors
about
Sanders and Linda.
”

“
How did she do?
”

They traded a look
, but Dale didn
’
t answer. He only smiled. Linda had acted exactly as he had thought she would. Linda Grant was at the top of his current suspect list, but Ace Sanders was a very close second.

Linda slipped into the master bedroom with her cell.

“
That son of a bitch! The nerve of that man to keep me on hold for this long. I
’
ll have him disbarred before he can even say the word
lawsuit
.
”
She s
lammed the phone down. Her first order of business was to fire her attorney.

She opene
d the entertainment unit, which was just
a TV monitor feed from the hidden camera at the front of the property. A parked car sat across the street from the gate.

She turned off the screen and got down on her knees, reaching under the bed. Opening up a trap door, she removed a cell
phone box and carried it into the separate dressing area of the master
suite
. She
locked the door.
U
nwrapp
ing
the box
, she
dialed a number.

“
What?
”

“
It
’
s me.
”

“
I know who it is. You better be using the phone I bought you.
”

“
I am.
”

“
What do you want?
”

“
The cops were just here.
”

“
So?
”

“
So? You told me I
’
d be protected. You said nothing would happen to me as long as I followed the plan. Now I have cops here asking me where I was when Doug was killed.
”

“
Is this the Linda I know? Take a deep breath and calm down. This is like a cop show. Suspect the wife, immediate family, blah, blah, blah. As long as you don
’
t do anything stupid, they have nothing.
The LVMPD is on a fishing expedition.
”

“
What should I do?
”

“
Call Ace.
”

“
What?
”

“
Call Ace and tell him you
’
r
e
worried because the cops were
t
here. Go hysterical. And Linda?
”

“
What?
”

“
Make sure to call him from your landline.
”

She disconnected the call
when there was a rap on the door.
“
Mrs. Grant, we need you to come out.
”

“
Hold on, I
’
m not dressed,
”
she called back.

She
picked up the portable phone. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath
and
thought about what she would say. She punched the number to the direct private phone line in
his
office at the
Golden Horseshoe
Hotel and Casino
.

“
Ace, it
’
s me. Two homicide detectives were just here. They questioned me for half an hour before searching the entire house. But I don
’
t think they found anything. The lead detective grilled me. He thinks I killed Doug.
C
ops
are
sitting outside now watching the house. They…
”
Her words were fast
and her breathing rapid
.

He
cut her off before she could say more.
“
Listen, Linda. I can
’
t talk now. I will contact you when I can. Don
’
t call me. Hang up now and wait for my call.
”

The call was disconnected and a
nother
knock came on the bathroom door.

“
Mrs. Grant, we
’
re supposed
to
keep you in sight at all times.
”

She
a
pplied lipstick and mascara, rolled the top of her dress down
,
exposing just enough cleavage to draw attention, then whirled and opened the door.

“
Here I am, boys.
”