Bob Moats - Jim Richards 01-03- 3 for Murder Box Set (31 page)

“I don’t think Frankie and that woman even stayed for the whole show. I was watching them through the curtain before I went on, and she was just all over him. It was disgusting.”

I reminded her, “I thought we agreed that Deacon, I mean Frankie, needed a little romance in his life.”

“Yeah, well, she just seems too aggressive for him.”

“Maria, he’s aggressive enough himself, he can handle it.”

Maria told Buck to sit next to her. He did, and she put her head on his shoulder. I knew it was time to leave them to other ventures, so I told Penny we should be leaving and before she could say anything I turned her and pushed her to the car.

“You don’t have to push. I wanted to talk to Maria a minute,” she protested in the car.

“I don’t think Maria wants to talk now. She’s going to keep Buck happy for a while, if what Deacon said comes true.” I smiled.

“What?” she asked. I explained what Deacon said earlier and how he felt, that Maria might use Buck to get back at him.

I said, “I don’t care what they do as long as I stay out of the feud that’s going to start, and I hope it comes out all right.”

Penny said people are crazy.

“Speaking of crazy, we need to have a talk when we get back to the room, about your little assignation with that stripper.”

She grinned. “While you were gone, Tiffany came out again and was real friendly with me. She asked if I wanted a lap dance. I was polite and said no. I asked if she liked women, and she said she was bisexual. I said I wasn’t, but if I were, she would be someone I’d be interested in.”

“Damn, there goes my three-way.” I grinned at her.

“You’d really do that?” she demanded, gently grabbing my balls. “If you answer wrong, you may lose these.”

“I was kidding. You’re the only person I want in my bed.” I was sweating again.

“Good, don’t forget that.” She released her grip. “Although it might be interesting to see what that would be like.”

“Please, stop toying with me,” I begged, as we pulled into the MGM Grand valet parking.

I think the excitement of the strip club got the better of Penny. She did a little strip for me on the bed, and I had to admit later, that was the best sex we’ve had in a while. Not that sex was mediocre with Penny, but this was especially good. I might have to take her to strip clubs more often. We fell asleep together after that.

The next morning we both felt a bit sore from the Olympic treatment we gave to our sex life. We took a quick dip in the whirlpool spa and toweled each other off, then after dressing, shot down to get breakfast. I called Deacon, and he didn’t answer. I looked at Penny and said I was worried, that Deacon didn’t pick up his phone. She giggled and said, good one for Sergeant Carter. I called Buck and also got no answer. I hoped they didn’t kill each other.

We finished our meal, drove out to Maria’s house, and pulled into the drive. There was no car around. I was getting a little worried. We found a note on the door saying Deacon, Buck, Maria and Lynn had all gone to get breakfast and would meet us at the convention center. I was really worried now. What were they up to? Penny and I drove to the convention center and found the four of them hanging around Maria’s car, looking very friendly.

“OK, what’s going on?” I asked.

Deacon spoke first. “Nothing. We just had a good breakfast and now are waiting to go into the convention to wander for a while.”

Lynn Carter looked at me and gave a big smile. “I took the day off to spend some time with Frankie.”

“Frankie? Are we on friendly terms now?” I asked.

Deacon offered, “We’re enjoying each other’s company, yes.”

“OK, go enjoy your day. I have some snooping to do. Lynn, I may have a few more things to tell you after my snooping.” I gave up on trying to figure out their game.

“Oh, Jim, I found out from the case files that Lisa James was indeed pregnant at the time of her death,” Lynn offered.

“That’s what I hear. Nick should have used birth control instead of Viagra. Are you going to the show with us tonight?”

She said she was. I said great, kissed Penny good-bye and drove away from the bunch of nuts as fast as I could.

I headed over to the boulevard and up to the Stratosphere. I parked and took the elevator to the restaurant at the top. I asked where I could find Ralph Morse, and was told he was waiting tables in the next room.

I went there and sat. After a while a waiter came up, and I asked if he was Ralph. He said he was. I told him my name, that I was a private investigator, and that I was a friend of Aaron Goldman’s who had given me Ralph’s name. He asked how Aaron was doing, and I told him. I asked if he could take a break to talk. He said he had one coming in about a half hour, so I ordered a Pepsi and waited. He came by a bit later and asked me to follow him out to the observation deck. I looked at the height of it all. It seemed like miles down.  I asked if we could stay in the lobby. He agreed, sensing my fear of heights. He said many people won’t go out to look at the city because of that phobia.

I asked him if he remembered the night when Nick North and Lisa James came in to eat, the night before she turned up dead. He said he was tired of telling the story. He’d been accused of lying about it by the police and wasn’t going to involve himself in it again. He started to turn away. I grabbed his arm.

“There’s a sister who’s hurting over Lisa’s death, and I want to bring someone to justice, even if it’s Nick North. I just want to know if you saw them here that night.”

He looked at me for a minute and said, “Yes. I told the police he was here, but they insisted he was in L.A. and maybe I was trying to frame him for the murder. I told them I didn’t even know him personally. Why would I frame him? I spent too many days going over it. North paid by cash so there was no record he was here, and the place was fairly deserted that night, just me and a few busboys that didn’t pay any attention. No one else remembers him being here. So I got fucked.”

I said I was sorry for that. I asked about the security cameras. He said that North avoided using areas with them. I was really puzzled now. Why would he bother to go out that night with her when he pretended to be in L.A. that weekend? Maybe he hadn’t planned on killing her that night, and it just came to a head so he had to cover his tracks. I thanked Ralph and apologized for bringing it up. I gave him a ten-dollar tip for the Pepsi, and he went off to work. I stood looking out at the sight of the city I loved. I felt like trying to see how far I could get, opened the door and went onto the deck.

The roar of the roller coaster zipping by scared the crap out of me. I took my time going towards the edge, stopping just before the mesh screen wall that prevented jumpers. I looked over and saw an open gate in the mesh. I presumed it was so workers could go out to check the tracks for the coaster. I went over to see if anyone was there. Suddenly I felt some one grab me from behind and push me towards the opening. I was frozen looking down at the drop as the person pushed me through the opening.

I was dropping but managed to grab a thin rail under the opening and held on for dear life. Then I did something stupid. I looked down. It seemed hundreds of miles down to me, and I grabbed on tightly with both hands and started yelling for help. My arms ached from holding my weight, but terror kept my hand gripped tightly. What seemed like hours went by when I heard a voice above me screaming to hold on. I looked up. It was Ralph. He was trying to reach my hands. He grabbed on to my wrist, pulled up, and then with his other hand he grabbed my arm. I heard another voice overhead, and another person reached for me. They both pulled me up and back onto the deck. I just lay there, sweating and trying to catch my breath.

“I came back out to tell you something and heard you yelling. Glad I did.” Ralph was gasping for air, too. The other person was a tourist who came out to see the sights. I thanked both of them, took out my phone and dialed Weber. When he came on I told him someone just tried to kill me. He was upset and asked me if I needed help. I said I was all right and told him what happened.

As I was talking to him hotel security came rushing out. I told them to wait, and told Weber I would be in to file a report on the incident to put it on record. I finished with Weber and told security what had happened. They examined the gate, and after checking with maintenance, said it was open for repairs being made on the tracks. They called to find out where the repairperson was. No one knew. I got up, wobbly on my feet, thanked everyone again, and wanted to get back on the ground. Security said they’d look into the incident. I gave them my card and left.

I sat in the car, still in the Stratosphere parking, for about a half hour, trying to get my heart rate and blood pressure down. I took deep breaths and tried not to go into shock. Someone knew I was there to nose around about the case, but who? Aaron knew I was going to check it out, I’d told Penny and that was it. Was someone following me?

I thought about the person who tried to do me in. I couldn’t see him, but he was about my height, didn’t feel fat, and, judging from contact with his body, he seemed fit. His one arm that came around my front showed a white shirtsleeve and a strange ring on the pinkie finger. I would know it if I saw it again. Damn. I began to wonder if this was all worth it after seeing the drop I almost took, looking up above me to where I had been hanging off the side. I realized I had been at death’s door on the tallest structure west of the Mississippi, and I could have been a spot on the asphalt. I had to get my mind off that. I headed back to the convention center.

I parked in the exhibitor parking and went in. I got to Penny’s booth, and she smiled at me but backed away from the table. I said I wasn’t going to embarrass her. I went around the side of the booth where Deacon and Lynn were standing. I took them both to the back of the booth and told them of my experience at the Stratosphere. Deacon looked seriously worried and said, that’s it, he was going to be my shadow for the rest of the trip. Lynn said maybe I should back off from investigating. I said that was not an option, I knew it was a danger going in. I said Deacon knew the danger when he jumped in front of that bullet meant for Penny. We do what we have to and take the risks. I asked them not to say anything to Penny about it until I could talk to her. They both agreed. I asked where Buck and Maria were off to.

Deacon frowned and said, “They’ve been playing kissy face all morning. Damn sister of mine took advantage of Buck, and I think they spent the night together.”

I asked, “Where did you spend the night?” He blushed for the first time since I knew him. He said it was none of my business. I looked at Lynn, and I could see a blush through her tanned face.

I said, “OK, it’s none of my business,” and laughed my head off as I walked back around the booth.

Penny caught me by the side of the booth and planted a big wet one on me.

She said, “Hi, sailor, in town for the night? I work at a very private strip club, and you are invited.”

I created a monster. Deacon and Lynn came over by us.

I asked if Maria got us the tickets for tonight’s show, and Deacon said she did, that we needed to be there by 9:30 to get them. The show started at 10:00, and we didn’t want to miss it. I said I remembered what a pain in the ass Nick was to get him to start his show on time, after his opening act would perform. I said we wouldn’t miss much.

Buck and Maria came back, and I said I should go find that make-up table. I asked Buck to hang around and keep an eye on Penny. He said he would.

Penny said, “I arranged with them to disguise you so I wouldn’t even recognize you, which might be interesting for later tonight.”

“Oh, I can’t get a three way, but you can go to bed with a stranger? Ha!” I snorted and went off to find the booth. Deacon and Lynn followed. 

After a bit of searching I found the booth and introduced myself. One girl, Pam, said she was a fan of Penny’s since she used to live in Detroit. It would be a pleasure to make me up. They had me sit in a stylist type chair and proceeded to spend about an hour changing my face and adding hair. Deacon and Lynn were amazed by the transformation. I thanked the girls and headed back to Penny’s booth. I told Deacon and Lynn to hang back a bit as we approached. There was a small crowd, and I walked through, standing for a minute to see if she recognized me. She didn’t.