Bob Moats - Jim Richards 01-03- 3 for Murder Box Set (32 page)

I walked up to the table and said loudly, “May I kiss you?” and grabbed her, planting a big one on her lips. She broke free and slapped my face, and then she looked in shock when she realized it was me. Deacon came through and told everyone to stand back. He held his badge up and said loudly that I was under arrest for assault. Lynn came up and flashed her badge, too, and proceeded to handcuff me. Penny was laughing her ass off. Buck and Maria had no idea what was going on.

They hustled me around back, then Lynn let me out of the cuffs. I asked where she hid the things on her body. She said she had ways. Penny came back followed by Buck and Maria, and she studied my face for a bit.

Then she said, “Not bad, sailor, you’ll do. I’ll see you later tonight.”  

*

Chapter Nine

“Wait a minute. If you want me in this tonight, I get to bring Tiffany,” I protested.

“Well, I hope you and Tiffany have a good time, because I won’t be there,” she rebuffed.

“All right, I’ll leave Tiffany out of it, but you’re not getting any of this,” I said, motioning around my new face.

“My loss. I guess I can put up with your old face.” She grinned.

“OK, I can leave it on, but you have to go over and get made up as a blonde bomb shell. Fair trade.”

She laughed and said, “OK, it’s a deal, but I get you tonight, and tomorrow you get Lola.” She pulled her long brown hair up on her head and mimicked sexily, “You like Lola, big boy?”

I tried not to laugh so I didn’t mess up all the rubber glued to my face. “OK, deal.”

Our happy couples were enjoying our little theatrics, and then I announced we should get our butts in gear to be on time for the show. We packed up and everyone headed to their respective domiciles to dress up. We agreed to meet back at the MGM Grand and headed out together in the SUV.

Back in our suite, Penny kept looking at me as she got ready. “What?” I asked finally.

“I don’t know. It’s just weirding me out. I’m so used to your adorable face, and now I see this stranger. I’m not sure about you.” She continued getting ready.

“I can be very friendly,” I said in an evil sort of way.

She said, “Stop that.”

We were ready and got a call from Deacon that they were on the way. Penny and I went down to valet. They brought the car around, and we waited. Deacon pulled in, had the valet check the car, and they piled in. We drove up the strip toward Fremont Street again. This time we were going inside the Golden Nugget where Nicky was performing.

We parked, went around to the front entrance and asked where the showroom was. We had to go up a flight of stairs to find the entrance to the theatre. Maria went to the ticket booth, gave them her name, showed I.D. to verify the tickets were for her, and we went in. The usher said to follow him. I stopped him and asked where he was putting us. He pointed out a table by the stage. I asked him if it was possible to be seated back in the seats. He looked at the seating chart, said he had a block of seats open and took us there. We were close enough, but not so close that Nick would take notice.

We sat and chatted till about 10 p.m. when the lights dimmed. A voice came from above announcing that we would be entertained by the magical couple, The Fredericks, David and Shana. I was stunned. I leaned over to Penny and whispered, Nicky had an affair with Shana back when I was around. I guess it never came out to David. Penny just mumbled about Nick being a horndog.

The Fredericks came out and did their feats of magic. It was the same as I remembered from when they opened for Nick at the Flamingo. They performed longer than the usual 15-20 minutes an opening act got, so I presumed Nicky either wasn’t ready or he was shortening his act. Finally the couple finished and went off to good applause. The music swelled, and the lights all dimmed again. The announcer introduced the “star” of the show, Nick North!

I hadn’t seen Nick in almost six years, and he looked bad when he waddled out. He’d gained a lot more weight, and he looked tired. Probably from juggling too many women or doing too many drugs. Nothing had changed, including his act. It was like I never left, same tired jokes and silly moves with vulgar language peppered throughout his act. I knew the jokes were funny to people who might never have seen him before, plus he had good delivery, so people laughed.

He liked to pick out one guy in the front row to make fun of for most of his act. I was surprised no one ever punched him out for it. He found his patsy and proceeded to put the guy down, blasting him with everything from having a small penis to being bald, making the guy squirm in his seat. That was really funny, because Nick was bald and wore a hairpiece. Nick now had a stool on the stage to sit on. He never had that before. Every so often a babe in a sexy outfit would bring him a short glass of what probably was water. For all his other vices, Nick didn’t drink alcohol. He’d make a couple of jokes about the girl and her sexual prowess, down the drink and send her off. 

This all went on for around 70 minutes, about 20 minutes shorter than he used to do. He announced that he’d be up at the theatre entrance to sign autographs, he had photos available for only $20, and fifty percent went to charity. The audience politely applauded his magnificence, and he ran off to the front of the theatre. When I worked for him, it was lucky if he gave five percent to charity. The IRS should have looked into his extra income.

The audience was slowly filing out, and we went past the table he had for autographs. There was a guy standing next to the table taking the cash for the photos and keeping everyone lined up. I remember when I used to do that. I stopped my troops and walked back around to the side of the table, leaned over, and whispered into Nick’s ear, “I’m watching you, North.” Then I turned and walked away.

I went past my friends, so if he was watching, he didn’t see them with me. Deacon told me after they caught up that Nick looked panicked after I did that. Penny said that was evil. I said, I know. We left the Golden Nugget and wandered around Fremont Street, caught the overhead show again, then went back to our vehicle.

As we headed back down the strip I asked, “OK, let’s hear some opinions.”

Lynn spoke first. “I saw a very insecure man, health not good, possibly from drugs, judging by his eyes. He didn’t seem to have much of a desire to entertain, just mouthing words he knew by heart. He kept rubbing his left arm, maybe a health problem. Something was bothering him there. He was constantly looking around the room like he was expecting trouble, which is why Jim’s little stunt may have really given him something to worry about.” She smiled and looked to Deacon.

“I concur, I thought he was funny, but most the jokes were old and well used. He used vulgarity and gay bashing a bit too much. Didn’t need that, but I think he wouldn’t be as funny without it. I’m glad we didn’t pay the $70 per person to see the show,” he said, offering his opinion.

Penny just said, “He sucked.”

“Would you care to elaborate?” I questioned her silence.

“I just didn’t like him or his show. Not because I know what a bastard he is, but just my first time impression on seeing him. He looked pathetic, and as Lynn said, mouthed his lines with no energy. If he was a guest on my show, I would have asked him to leave and had the engineers erase the tape.”

“OK, well, that’s a ringing endorsement for abortion,” I joked. Penny said, you got it.

Buck said he thought the guy was a stoner and loved the jokes. I said that Buck would love that humor and had no taste at all. He gave me a Bronx cheer with his tongue. “Hey, I liked Cheech and Chong and Richard Pryor. They were stoners and angry comedians,” he defended. I said he was right. I apologized for saying he had no taste, he did.

Maria said she agreed with Penny. She didn’t like him. He was too macho acting, too male. He was not as good as Richard Pryor, because Pryor was edgy, to the point and topical. This putz was old school.

“OK, votes in from all precincts, he loses the race. Now we have to find out if he kills in real life like he does on stage.” I thought about my next move. I had an idea that needed Lynn’s cooperation. I would talk to her later.

We got back to the MGM Grand, and Penny invited everyone up. She said she didn’t want to be alone with the stranger next to her. I grinned and laughed evilly. She said, “Stop that,” and whacked me.

We got to the room, and everyone made themselves comfortable. I called room service and ordered the same as last time, but added some snacks. The refreshments and food came fast, and everyone helped themselves. Penny insisted I remove the make-up. It was too weird for her. I took some time and lots of cold cream to get the gunk off. I came out, and we sat and discussed the show. I filled everyone in on Nick’s affair with Shana Frederick.

“I came by Nick’s house one day to pick up mail and his bills. He was in his work room playing with a video editing program. He had video of a girl getting undressed from a swim suit. The video was pretty crappy, but I looked closer and discovered it was Shana. Nick had taken video of her through a two-way mirror in the bathroom by the pool. He was editing the thing to take individual pictures from the video. Later, I heard him bragging to a friend about having a fling with her.” I shook my head in disgust. “For years I felt like emailing David Fredericks about his wife being violated and unfaithful.”

Lynn said if I had proof of that video taking, we could at least put him behind bars for a while.

Everyone was quiet. I looked at Lynn and asked if I could talk to her. She said sure, and we went to the kitchen.

“I have an idea. If you agree, great, if not, well, I’ll think of something else,” I said.

“Shoot, I can only say no.” She smiled.

“Well, you’re already investigating Lori Davis’ murder, and now you have information that she was involved with Nicky. Let’s go visit him so you can question him about his relationship. I can watch his reactions and maybe pick up something he might lie about.”

“How you going to do that, be there while I question him?” she asked.

I held up my Fujifilm camera and showed her the picture I took of my disguise before I removed it. “If Penny didn’t recognize me, how would he after six years?”

She said she was planning to check him out, just wasn’t involving me. I said Deacon could go with us, introduce himself as Officer DeAngelo, didn’t have to say from where, and I could be a civilian advisor assigned to the case. Nick isn’t very smart. We could trip him up easily. I gave her my biggest smile.

“You really want this S.O.B., don’t you?”

“I have a commitment to a nice girl to find out what happened to her sister.” I smiled wider.

“OK, but only if your make-up looks really good. I don’t want him to yell entrapment, knowing you’re a witness to his past crimes.”

“You got it, Dick Tracy.” I smiled.

“Does that make you Fearless Fosdick?” She smiled back.

“I don’t think the Swiss cheese bullet holes would look good on me. Does that make Penny my Prudence Pimpleton?” I joked.

She burst out laughing at my knowledge of the comic strip characters. “OK, Fearless, you get made up to my approval, and we will go interrogate your arch enemy, Evil-Eye Fleegle.” She laughed and gave me a hug just as Penny walked into the room.

“I knew I couldn’t trust either of you to be alone with each other. Now I’m going to have to run off with Deacon.”

Lynn laughed and said, “You do and I’ll have to shoot you.”

Lynn went out to the main room, and I told Penny I would need another makeover by her friends tomorrow. She asked why, and I told her, reassuring her that Lynn would be there with her big gun along with Deacon and his smaller but potent gun. She asked if I would have my gun. I said yes, but I doubted I would have to fire it. She gave her blessing and said she would take me personally to the make-up wizards. She said she was going to have them make me look like Brad Pitt. I said, that’s wishful thinking and damn near impossible.