Death of a Six-Foot Teddy Bear (13 page)

The man thanked her in broken English.

The car drove away, the only one on the road. Red taillights glared at the two women standing alone by the high-rise. Panic invaded Ginger’s senses. Her throat constricted, and her rib cage felt like it had been wrapped tightly in bandages. She had no plan. No money. She cleared her throat. “How about I help you haul your vacuum in?”

“Much obliged,” Ida Mae said. “I clean a dentist office on the third floor. The man is real nice, always pays me on time. He goes to my church. It’s not easy for an eighty-year-old to get hired on. I do so appreciate his kindness.”

They stood in front of the glowing doors. A young woman walked by holding a cleaning canister.

“I can’t let you use the office phone. That wouldn’t be fair to Mr. Fredricks. There’s a cleaning crew on almost every floor. I bet we can find someone with a cell phone who has some free minutes at this hour.”

They tracked down a young man with bleached hair who said, “No prob,” when they asked to borrow his phone. Ginger left messages with Kindra and Suzanne. Arleta didn’t own a cell. She pressed in Earl’s number. He wasn’t answering, either. “Hi, Earl.” Saying his name felt strange, like trying to remember the name of a distant relative. “I’m okay, I guess. Long story. There’s no way you can get hold of me. I’m in Las Vegas. I’m going to get back to the hotel, and I’ll try to call back.” She pushed the End button. Unable to formulate the next step she needed to take, she looked at Ida Mae. “Maybe I could help you clean.”

Ida waved the idea away with her hand. “I work better alone. There’s a little all-night wedding chapel about three blocks up. The owner is real nice. She lets me sleep on her couch when my ride can’t pick me up right away.” Ida touched the side of Ginger’s head. “You get some sleep, and then you can try calling again. You can always find someone with a cell.”

“Thank you. For all you’ve done for me.”

Ida pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear. “You’re going to be all right.”

She left Ida on the third floor stacking magazines and humming another made-up tune. Ginger took the stairs down to the first floor and wandered out into the empty street.

Kindra didn’t like the way the old man cut his gaze in her direction. His eyes held a lusty smolder that made her uncomfortable. She stared down at her silverware and reread the note that had been left for her at the hotel desk. “Meet me at Little Italy restaurant at 10:30. Ask for a table on the balcony. Xabier.”

Kindra arranged her sweater around her shoulders and took a sip of her Diet Coke. She’d been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes. Maybe Xabier wasn’t going to show … again.

The old man rose from the table where he had been seated and sat down at an empty bistro table closer to her. Being at the restaurant alone at this hour was maybe not such a good idea. She’d been so excited to hear from Xabier that she hadn’t even told anyone about the note.

With all the people checking out and leaving, they had managed to get another room. Suzanne and Arleta had crashed. She hadn’t seen Ginger since they’d gone looking for Phoebe. She touched the note, tracing the outline of his rounded signature.
This is what warm gazes from good-looking guys make you do
. She should have exercised more caution. The police were looking for Xabier. She didn’t think he was guilty of anything. Then again, feelings of attraction messed with your ability to think clearly.

The old man got up a second time and positioned himself two tables away from her. Kindra pushed her chair back. They were the only two people on the veranda at this hour. Inside, a single male waiter dealt with the smattering of customers. He was the same waiter who had brought her Diet Coke fifteen minutes ago. Kindra checked her watch. Now she’d been waiting twenty minutes.

Lots of foliage surrounded two sides of the veranda. The side that looked out on the water was kept greenery free to provide a better view of the lake. Strings of white Christmas lights hung from the veranda canopy, contrasting with the night sky.

The old man slipped into the table next to her and leaned toward her. She pushed her chair back and jumped to her feet. Her sweater fell off her shoulders.

“Had enough of the view?” said the old man.

Kindra’s heart pounded. She could deal with the likes of him. “Why don’t you just pick a table and stay there?”
Creep
.

“’Cause I wanted to sit by the pretty lady.” His voice had a vague familiarity to it. “Why don’t you have a seat?” He patted the chair she’d been sitting in.

Ooh, this guy was forward. “I know some people come to places like this, at this hour, for that kind of thing.” She leaned over and snatched up her sweater. “But I am not one of those women.”

The old man chuckled. “I know you’re not one of those women. That’s why I like you.” He shifted in his chair and then spoke out of the side of his mouth in a low whisper. “Kindra, it’s me.”

She leaned toward him. “Xabier?”

He pulled her down with a swiftness that took her breath away. She clattered into the chair.

“Don’t say my name.”

“Have you gone off the deep end? What’s with the disguise?”

He leaned close so he was only inches from her ear. “People are after me. Two guys in suits with guns.”

She clasped a hand onto his arm. “We saw them in the outlet corridor. They were chasing you in your bear costume.”

“That wasn’t me,” he whispered. “It was Dustin, my dad.”

“Why didn’t you tell me he was your father?” He did have a lot to explain.

“Because sometimes I don’t want to believe that he is … was my father.”

“What was he doing in
your
bear costume?” Kindra stirred her soda with the straw.

“After I saw you down in the outlet place, I went to Dustin, and we had a big fight. Dressing up in the stupid costume was humiliating. It wasn’t what he promised. I told him I wasn’t going to do it anymore. So he ran out onto the floor as the bear and then was going to slip out of the costume backstage and come out to do the speech. He cut out the elevator entrance. I watched the convention floor. He never came back out to give his big speech. I think those guys caught up with him and he was on the run.”

“Why are the men after you now? Who are they?”

“I don’t know. After my big blowup with Dad, I just needed to be alone. I took a long drive out to the desert. I’m sorry I missed our date. I was just upset and needed to clear my head.”

“It’s okay … I guess.” The disguise was convincing even close up. He must have put some sort of fake skin on.

“When I got back to the hotel, all you-know-what had broken lose.” He gathered a section of tablecloth into his hand. His knuckles paled. “Dad was dead,” he whispered. He stared at the table for a long moment. “I guess I inherited the hotel. The two guys started chasing me down, saying Dad owed them money, lots of it, and that I’d better pay up.”

“Who are they?”

“I don’t know. They showed me this agreement that Dad had signed.”

“What was the agreement for?”

He rubbed the fake skin on his cheek. “I just glanced at it. I can’t remember.”

“Sometimes if you close your eyes and picture the moment, details will come back to you. That’s how I study for a test. I try to visualize the information on the page.”

“I’ll have to try that.” He took a sip of her drink then tapped the side of the glass with his fingers. “Their threats scared me. They have guns.”

Men with guns
. “You need to go to the police. They’ll help you.”

Xabier’s eyes iced over. He moved away from her. “I don’t like the police.” He jerked as though he had been poked at the base of his spine. “It’s a long story. But I don’t trust them.” His voice etched with bitterness.

Kindra chewed on her straw, uncertain of how to respond to such strong emotion.

Xabier cocked his head and slumped down in his chair. “Besides, I’m afraid if I surface, those guys will come after me again.” The hard edge had left his voice.

Maybe someday she would hear the story of why he didn’t like the police. For now, she chose to follow his lead and keep the conversation light. “So dressing up like a creepy old man keeps them from finding you?”

Xabier sat up a little straighter and turned side to side. “It’s a pretty good disguise, don’t you think? I fooled you.”

“You changed your voice and everything, even the way you moved.”

“Four years of theater school.” Xabier patted his cheek. “Who would have thought it would have practical application?”

“So why did you get in touch with me?”

“’Cause I missed you.” He leaned even closer so their shoulders were touching. “I knew I could trust you. You remind me of my mom that way.”

His words made her stomach warm and her skin tingle. “You got to go to the police, Xabier.”

Xabier made a shushing sound, putting his fingers to his lips. “Don’t say my name.”

In the main part of the restaurant, a man sitting close to the veranda shifted, causing the chair legs to scrape across the floor. The man rose to his feet. Her memory was dimmed by time, but the guy didn’t look like one of the men she’d seen chasing Dustin, a.k.a. Cute Teddy Bear, in the underground mall.

Xabier’s attention was drawn to the interior of the restaurant as well. He slammed his back against the chair, eyes widening. “Gotta go.” He kissed her cheek, leaped over the railing of the veranda, and then disappeared into foliage.

The Southern Belle
wedding chapel stood on a corner next to a convenience store. Pink and yellow neon twisted around the Roman columns on either side of the doors, which were wide open. A warm glow spilled out from within. Ginger stepped into a lobby that featured a mannequin in a dress that was a flourish of lace and taffeta. Baskets of silk flowers rested on columns and were hung on the wall. Lilting instrumental music played somewhere deeper in the chapel.

When she stepped across the threshold, a bell chimed. A woman came through a side door, holding a manila folder in one hand. Her half glasses hung from the neckline of her blue T-shirt.

“Yes, may I help you?”

Nothing in her tone of voice indicated that this late hour was an inconvenient time. The woman didn’t even have the hint of a southern accent. She had achieved four shades of blond, from light brown, to golden, to blond, to almost white, in her long, wavy hair. Narrow face, high cheek bones, and crows feet gave the impression of an aging beauty queen.

Ginger shuffled her feet. Asking for help was harder than giving it. “Ida Mae sent me.”

Shifting the folder to under her arm, the woman grabbed Ginger’s hand and shook it. “You’re a friend of Ida’s. Come on in.”

Despite the warm welcome, Ginger’s feet remain planted. “I just need to use your phone in a bit. My friends and husband aren’t answering their phones at this hour. If I can get hold of someone, they can come and get me.”

“Are you from the tent city?”

“Actually, I am staying at a hotel in Calamity.” Ginger touched the back of her head, still feeling some pain there. “It’s a long story. I don’t want to be any trouble. Ida just said that I should come here.”

“A friend of Ida’s is not a burden.” The woman held out her hand. “My name is Ann Jannette Williams. I run the Southern Belle even though I’m from Eugene, Oregon. Las Vegas is all about themes. Southern was the one my husband and I could live with. Follow me, I’ll show you the room where you can wait to make your phone call.” She inclined her head to one side, probably assessing Ginger’s appearance. “Maybe you can catch a nap.”

“How do you know Ida?”

“We go to the same church.”

Ginger slowed. “Oh.”

“I know what you’re thinking.” Ann Jannette walked down a hallway, talking over her shoulder. “Why would a Christian lady be doing quickie weddings?”

“It’s not the profession you would expect a believer to gravitate towards.”

“My husband has been to seminary. He does the ceremonies. A lot of these chapels turn matrimony into a joke or a costume party.” She stopped outside a closed door and turned to face Ginger. “Do you want to know a secret? You can take the most hard-hearted dancer off the Strip and when you push her to an honest place, you know what she wants more than anything? To wear a pretty dress and to be made to feel special.” Ann rested her hand on the doorknob.

“Guess I hadn’t ever thought of it that way.” She didn’t know any women who were exotic dancers. Everyone she knew was pretty much like her, middle-class suburbanites. Until tonight, she had never met people like Ann or Ida Mae.
I need to leave my hometown more often
.

“My husband finds a way to get the gospel into the ceremony.” Ann pushed the door open, revealing a long, narrow room with a couch, coffee table, and television. “I find a way to let the bride know she is beautiful and valued by God while she picks from our wedding dresses. After the ceremony, we eat with them. People from the church sometimes join us for the ceremony and reception. They bring gifts and casseroles.” Ann cupped Ginger’s shoulder. “In Vegas, you got to live outside the box if you want to reach people.”

“It sounds like a good thing that you do.”

Ann nodded, stepped inside the room, and clicked on the light. A portable clothing rack with wedding dresses hung on it stood in a corner of the room.

“Some of them have had too much to drink.” Ann laughed and shook her head. The laugh was more to herself, and she stared at the carpet while she talked, probably seeing some memory playing in her mind. “You can speak a lot of the gospel into a drunk woman’s ear without meeting much resistance. You never know when your seeds will sprout. The reason why some of these people are here is because no one has ever made them feel valued. They want a special day, but they don’t think they deserve it. Not all of them, some just want to get married without all the fuss and money. They sure aren’t the people who would come into a church, so church has to come to them.”

Ginger followed Ann into the room.

A box heaping with mesh and satin rested by the wedding dresses. The coffee table contained brides magazines, a candy dish, and two devotional books.

“This room is sort of extra storage and a place for people to wait; the fitting room is through that door. The couch is pretty comfortable. I’ll wake you in a couple hours, and you can make your phone call.”

“Thank you, thank you for everything.” She had been saying that a lot tonight. Help had come from such unexpected places and unexpected people. All her assumptions about what a Christian was had been turned on their heads. Life outside of suburbia sure wasn’t boring.

Ann Jannette nodded. “Should be pretty quiet for the next couple of hours. Since they changed the law about us not marrying between midnight and eight, business has slowed a bit. I’m just doing the books. Jon, that’s my husband, is praying.”

“I’m not usually the person who has to ask for help.” Ginger plunked down on the couch and picked up one of the devotional magazines. “I’m usually the person giving it.”

“Sometimes God does that.” Ann leaned against the doorway, crossing her legs at the ankle. “He turns things upside down, so we can see them better. Have a good rest.”

Ann Jannette closed the door. Ginger curled up on the couch. Her sense of urgency, of needing to get back to Calamity and tell the detectives what she had found had been replaced by a peace that everything would work out okay. She’d call in a few hours, and someone would come and get her. Worrying about it wouldn’t make it happen any faster. She closed her eyes and drifted off …

The buzz of a television jerked Ginger awake. The male commentator said, “I am standing here outside of the Wind-Up Hotel on this Saturday morning.

She sat up.
Not another murder
. The television commentator stood beside a hand-painted sign that said Garage Sale. An aerial-camera shot showed several parking lots and fields filled with garage sales. They cut back to the news commentator. “… where the Worlds Biggest Garage Sale is about to be kicked off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. We have two celebrities who are going to do the ribbon cutting and the countdown to 7:00 a.m.: Fiona Truman from the Shopping Channel and Victoria Stone, child star well-known for the song ‘My Heart Belongs to You.’ Fiona, how does it feel to be here?”

Ginger watched the festivities feeling far removed from the excitement. She had forgotten about the garage sales starting today.

Fiona looked very pulled together in her navy shirt and brown slacks despite her hair being tossed by the wind. She leaned toward the microphone. “I’m used to buying stuff new and at full price, so this hunting-for-treasure thing should be fun. I’m delighted to be here.”

The door opened, and Ann Jannette’s eyes went to the television. “Sorry, one of my kids must have come in and turned that on. Oh hey, that’s Little Vicky.”

“You remember her?”

“Vaguely. Jon performed the ceremony for her and her third husband a few years back.”

Hadn’t Vicky said she never had a husband? “Do you get that many celebrities in here?”

“We get a few. Las Vegas is a place where former celebrities come to live out their last days quietly. It keeps them close enough to the spotlight for the occasional photo op.” Ann clicked off the television.

Ginger stretched. “Someone should be up and answering their phone by now.”

“Listen, the reason I came in here is that we have a couple who are on their way back to Calamity. They’re not flaky. It would save you having to wait for someone to come and get you. You can still call and let them know you’re coming home.”

Ginger wasn’t so sure about getting a ride from strangers. Then again, she’d been relying on strangers for the whole night.

Ann read her mind or picked up on some signal in her expression or body language. “Why don’t you meet this couple and then decide?”

“Okay.”

Candace and Barry Sheldon turned out to be a very normal twosome. She was a nurse and he was an insurance salesman. They had done the quick wedding so they could put the money toward a honeymoon. Smart and practical.

Ginger tried calling Earl from Ann’s office where the sun shone in from a high window, washing the office in an early-morning golden glow. Earl still wasn’t answering. She tried Kindra.

“Hello?”

“Hey.”

“Ginger, where are you?”

The sound of Kindra’s voice made Ginger want to cry.

“It’s a long story, kiddo. But I’ll be back soon.”

“So much has happened here.”

“Did those detectives find the bear suit with jewels?”

“Ah … no. Xabier found me.” She said Xabier’s name with nuances of affection. “Some guys are after him. I haven’t talked to the detectives.”

“I need to talk to them.” Ginger flipped through a magazine while she talked. “We’ll get this straightened out when I get back. Kindra, it sure is good to hear your voice.”

“You sound different.”

Her eyes rested on a picture in the magazine of a meadow of wildflowers. The detail in the photograph, the separation of each petal on the flowers, the greenness of the grass made her chest feel tight. “I feel different.” Something had changed. She flipped the page to a picture of an older couple standing at an altar. “Have you seen Earl?”

There was a long pause. “Oh sorry, I was shaking my head,” Kindra laughed. “Like you could see that. I haven’t seen Earl. Do you want me to meet you when you get back?”

“Sure, kid, it should take me an hour to get to the hotel. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

“Sounds good. See ya.”

Ginger held the phone to her ear for a long moment after Kindra hung up.

A few minutes later, she stepped out of the chapel. Sun warmed her face. Ann hugged her good-bye. Barry and Candace waited in their Honda Accord. When she crawled into the backseat, Barry turned around and asked, “Would you like us to stop for a coffee or anything before we hit the highway?”

Ginger relaxed into the plush backseat. “Whatever you want to do is fine with me.”

Candace craned her neck and smiled.

An hour later, after fighting the traffic created by the World’s Biggest Garage Sale, the newly married couple dropped Ginger off several blocks from the Wind-Up.

“Ever notice how roses don’t have a smell anymore, Jacobson?” Detective Mallory pressed her back against the wooden bench. The rooftop gardens of the Little Italy Hotel were nearly va can’t in the morning. In the cool postdinner hours, couples looking for that just-right romantic spot took to this place like a rookie on night shift took to espresso. At this time of day, though, it was the perfect place to have a private conference.