Vegas or Bust: An Aggie Underhill Mystery by Michelle Ann Hollstein, Laura Martinez Page A

still wringing his baseball cap in his hands.  He stared at the television set which was on, but muted.  There was a little girl with a Golden Retriever running along the beach leaving footprints in the sand.  Then a picture of a box of tissue popped up on the screen.
    “What’s your name?” Miriam asked.
    The guy pulled his attention away from the TV and looked at her.  He seemed troubled, as if he wasn’t sure whether or not he was allowed to speak with the prisoner.
    “My name’s Miriam.”
    “Yeah, I know.”  There was silence for a few seconds and then he said, “Mike…um, Mikey.”
    “Do you want a donut, Mikey?” Miriam asked and nodded to the box on the small table.
    “Um, yeah…sure,” he said, getting up and taking a jelly filled one from the pink box.  “I haven’t had a chance to eat today.”
    “Yeah, me neither,” Miriam said.  “Funny thing is I don’t even know why I’m here.”
    Mikey sat back down on the foot of the bed and took a bite of his donut.  He didn’t answer Miriam.  She’d been hoping to get some sort of reaction out of him.  Out of the three kidnappers, she figured he’d be the one that would crack.  He looked as if he had a decent streak in him.  Maybe it was his obvious nervousness that led her to this conclusion.
    “It’s my wedding day,” Miriam continued.  “Well, it was…I missed it.  I was supposed to get married this morning.”
    The guy suddenly snorted with laughter and white powder blew out of his mouth in a great big cloud.  “Yeah, I know,” he chuckled.  “Guess we did you a favor, huh?  Marriage sucks.  Just ask my uncle.”
    Miriam frowned.  Her gentle prodding wasn’t going quite as planned.  Just then the door flew open and the tall burly man charged into the room with the short guy right behind him.  Mikey jumped up from the bed and dropped his jelly donut on the floor.  He stood there trembling.
    “I can’t believe this!” the man bellowed.
    “Uncle Joe, I swear it ain’t my fault,” Mikey said.  “I didn’t know.”
    “Don’t call me that!” Joe growled and then glared at Miriam.  She wanted to ask him what it was he wanted.  She could give him whatever it was if it meant he’d let her go.  But she couldn’t seem to move.  It was as if his horrible glare had turned her to stone.  She was frightened that he’d hurt her.  Her jaw was beginning to ache from clenching her teeth so hard.  And she realized her hands were gripping the arms of the chair.
    “I’ve got an idea,” he snarled and turned his back to Miriam.  Both Mikey and the short guy stood together waiting for Joe to explain.  “Lucky for you two we can use this mishap to our advantage.  Mikey…”
    “Yeah, um…uncle…um, I mean, boss.”
    “You stay here.”
    “Anything, boss.”
    “Stanley, you come with me.  Let’s nab this son of a…!”  The door slammed shut leaving Miriam alone with Mikey.  The room became eerily silent.
    ***
    “Are you sure Tom believes something happened to Miriam?” Betty asked, as she and Aggie walked around the casino together.  A few moments prior, the group split up.  Anita excused herself to do some souvenir shopping in the mall, Roger went to go check on Jack, and Aggie and Betty stayed in the Planet Hollywood casino.  Once they were alone, Aggie explained that she wanted to have a look around for the man she’d seen this morning who resembled Harold Smith.
    “Positive,” Aggie said, as they passed the poker tables.  “You could hear it in Tom’s voice.”
    “So, he didn’t actually say that Miriam was kidnapped?” Betty pried. 
    “He didn’t have to.  It was implied.” 
    Betty mulled this information over for a bit.  “And you really believe that you saw Miriam’s ex-husband?”
    “I’m not sure, but it’s the only lead I have to go on.  Besides, it wasn’t just me.  Anita thought she saw him, too.”
    Betty frowned as she tried to keep up with Aggie who was