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

quickly dodging people, tables, and slot machines.  Aggie was determined to scan every inch of the casino in search of the Harold look alike.
    “And if it was Harold,” Betty said, catching up to Aggie at the Roulette table, “why would he still be in the same casino?  Wouldn’t he just take Miriam and leave?  I mean, that’s what I’d do.  I wouldn’t stick around.”
    “I don’t think Harold took Miriam,” she said.  “He’s not strong enough to man handle her.  Whoever she had an altercation with was strong enough to force her out of the room without thrashing the place in the process.  I’d say it was more than one man.”
    “Then why are we looking for Harold?”
    “To find out why he’s here.”
    “He might be a wedding guest,” Betty suggested.  “I know before I said I doubt he’s invited, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.  Maybe Miriam invited him out of spite.  Maybe she wanted to rub his nose in her new marriage.  After all, he did cheat on her.  I could see her wanting to get even.” 
    “Maybe,” Aggie said, scanning the room one more time.  There was no sign of the Harold Smith look alike.  “You know what?”
    “What?”
    “I think I want to drop in on Jack and ask him a few questions.  Where did Roger say his room was, dear?”
    “I don’t recall,” Betty said.  “Let me try calling his mobile.  Hopefully he’s got service.”
    Just then, Aggie’s phone buzzed and danced about in her pocketbook while Betty gave Roger a call.  Rummaging through her bag, Aggie frowned when she found it and saw a picture of her grandson Shawn lighting up the screen.  That meant the call was from Sarah.  “I wish I had no service,” she muttered.  Against her better judgment, she answered it. 
    “Cheers, dear,” she said, trying her hardest to make her voice sound cheerful.
    “Mum?”  Sarah’s voice came through loud and clear.  Aggie wished there was at least a little bit of static so if the phone call went sourly she had an excuse for hanging up.
    “Yes, dear.”
    “Mum, I wasn’t sure if you’d have service.”
    “Me neither,” Aggie said, then thinking on her toes she added, “you know how it is.  It comes and goes depending on where I am in the building.”  She smiled at her ingenious fib.  And she didn’t feel bad because it wasn’t an outright lie.  There very well could be pockets of no cell phone service within the building.  “What do you need, dear?”
    “Linda and I were talking about Thanksgiving dinner and I told her we’d make it all gluten free so that you’d be able to eat it, too.  My only problem is I don’t know what to buy or not to buy.”
    “Oh, all right,” Aggie said.  “That’s very sweet of you to think of me, but we have plenty of time to plan the dinner.  Does it have to be right now?”
    “Mum, Thanksgiving is this Thursday.  I need to buy the fixings today or else I’ll be shopping with hordes of people.  Besides, all of the good turkeys will be gone if I wait.”
    “Um, okay,” Aggie said.  “What exactly do you need to know?”
    “What to buy…” 
    “Well, just buy a plain, natural turkey and don’t stuff it with stuffing and I’ll be fine.”
    “What about side dishes?” Sarah asked.  “I don’t know what side dishes to make.”
    “I can make the gluten free stuffing and my Jell-O salad.  I’ll bring the ingredients with me.  Make everything else the way you usually would.  Oh, and how’s Linda?  Did Jill come back yet?  You haven’t said.”
    Aggie could hear Sarah take in a sharp breath and a door close shut in the background.  “I’m in the laundry room,” Sarah said, her voice soft. 
    Aggie could barely hear her over the sound of the slot machines.  She didn’t realize how noisy they were until now that Sarah was speaking softly.  “I can barely hear you, dear.”
    “Jill came home this morning,” Sarah continued her voice still soft.  “She