Death in the Casino: Target Practice Mysteries 5 (14 page)

Loggin shifted in his bed and adjusted the back up higher. "I don't understand why Big Bobby tried to kill me."

I shook my head. "Money. He had announced there was a hundred-thousand-dollar pay out six months ago and figured he could get sponsors to cover it. They didn't."

Liam sat on a small couch under a window. "I double-checked with some friends at other companies and compared it with the numbers Big Bobby had reported to the office. He only raised an extra eight thousand dollars."

I nodded along. "I talked to Jess, and she shared some dirt with me. The casino had figured that someone was trying to rig how many guys made it into the shoot-off. Big Bobby had taken the extra money and placed a bet that five or fewer guys would make it into the shoot-off. It paid ten to one, so that would have covered the seventy-five thousand he was raising above the standard twenty-five thousand payout every other year. That's why your friends' drinks were doped, the van almost ran you over, the fire alarm went off--all that was to rattle you guys so you'd drop points and the shoot-off would have so few men that he won the bet." Mary and I had run my cell phone batteries almost dead gathering facts and confirming suspicions all afternoon while we waited in the hospital.

Loggin scrubbed his face. "But Mike Champ was killed, and so was Lucky."

"We think Mike Champ was an accident, that Big Bobby had only meant to scare them, but Mike got one of the doped drinks and fell in front of the van. Lucky is a different story. After the casino pulled all the gambling, Big Bobby got desperate. There was no way to get the money he needed, so he had to make sure that the shoot-off was canceled completely by making sure that no more than one person shot clean. If that happened, he didn't have to pay out the hundred thousand that he didn't have. He loosened the hubs on the chariots, hoping that you guys got either hurt or scared enough not to shoot clean. Then he tried to get the committee to call off the tournament. But you and Unc insisted on shooting, even though you promised us you wouldn't." I glared at him, mad all over again that he had broken his word.

Loggin stared ahead at the opposite wall.

Liam caught my eyes and shook his head.

I continued, "So Big Bobby put you in the room to wait and cranked up the gas heater that had a huge warning sign on the side not to use it in enclosed spaces. It filled the room with carbon monoxide." I threw myself onto him and hugged him tight. "You big idiot, you could have died."

He patted my back. "Aw, Di. I had you and Mary to protect me. You were my Angels."

I stood up and wiped away a tear. "We're a family, all of us."

Liam got up and put an arm around my shoulder. "Try to stay out of danger in the future, Loggin. You'd be tough to replace."

Loggin blushed. He looked exhausted and pale. "One last thing. Why didn't Big Bobby just say that he didn't have the money?"

Mary spoke from the doorway. "He couldn't. He had everything riding on this tournament."

I turned to look at her and Orion as they joined us. "What?"

Mary patted Loggin's hand. "Unc spilled the beans that Big Bobby had everything hinged on this tournament. The board had tried to replace him two years ago, but Big Bobby convinced them that he should stay because he had big plans for this year. They agreed based on him being able to pull it off. If he had said that he hadn't gotten the money after all, they were going to fire him."

"So he killed two people and almost killed two more for a job?" Loggin laid his head back on his pillow.

Mary shook her head. "It was his whole world. All of his pride, meaning, and social circle were connected to the job that he'd had for decades. I don't think he planned on killing anyone, but after Mike Champ died, there was no turning back. How are you feeling, Loggin?"

Liam grabbed my arm and pulled me to the door. "Hey, Loggin, sleep well. Mary, Orion, we'll wait for you in the hall."

The hallway was empty. We walked to the elevators, where two chairs were arranged.

Liam sat next to me and held my hand. "You said that next time you would find me instead of running away."

"I know. I'm sorry."

He squeezed my hand, not realizing how hard he was already holding it.

"Can I ask for a favor?" I didn't want to have this conversation, but I needed to ask.

"Sure."

"Can we not tell anyone about... um?"

"Us? Why?"

"I don't like the idea of everyone watching."

"Are you dating anyone else?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Do you want to?"

"Definitely not."

A small smile played across his face, and he gave me a quick kiss as footsteps came down the hall. "Good enough for now."

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The first book in a new mystery series will be released Summer 2016, Reality TV Cozy Mysteries 1. Blurb below.

Anything can happen on a reality show though finding a body on set--and live on air--is new.

Melissa McCallister is young, rich, and beautiful but frustrated. She wants nothing more than to be a famous literary author like her mother. When the opportunity to be on a new reality TV show comes her way, she grabs the chance hoping to find some inspiration. When a castmate is murdered during a live broadcast and her blood is literally on Melissa's hands, the young writer gets more than she bargained for--reality TV is way stranger than fiction. Can Melissa prove that she's innocent?

Ryan Sethi prefers to produce TV commercials. They're boring and safe but he can't pass up the opportunity to produce a show about Socialites in Fishcreek Falls, an exclusive ski town high in the Rocky Mountains. But can he keep the show, cast, crew and especially Melissa safe while a killer is on the loose? Or will a reality TV show gone bad ruin both of their lives?

Nikki Haverstock lives with her husband and dogs on a cattle ranch high in the Rocky Mountains.

Before escaping the city, Nikki taught collegiate archery for ten years. She has competed on and off for fifteen years in the USA Archery women's recurve division.

Nikki has more college degrees than she has sense, and hopefully one day, she will put one to work.

© 2015 by Ranch Dog Entertainment, LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.