clearly in fact. He didn’t want us to know what he was doing. “Are you going to share what kind of trouble Lyda Sue was in?” I asked.
“She didn’t say, and I didn’t have time to find out before she was pushed out of the helicopter.”
“Pushed?” Mother asked, her voice hushed.
“It’s just Dane’s theory right now.” I patted her knee. “And just for the record, Dane, taking a job under false pretenses and snooping around behind people’s backs isn’t the best strategy if you want to get them on your side.”
“How did I know I could trust you?”
“Oh, like the higher-ups at a multibillion dollar casino conspired to kill a lowly hooker.”
“Ex-hooker.” Mother’s words landed with a thud, then their meaning exploded through my consciousness.
“She wasn’t hooking?” I’d given her a part-time job as a cocktail waitress for the high rollers, but I’d thought that was just supplementalincome for her. I had no idea she was trying to put her past behind her.
Mother shook her head. “The last she’d told me, she was in the running for a very prestigious, high-profile job at one of the big hotels—her chance at a real life, she said.”
“Then why meet someone here?”
Tears sprang to my mother’s eyes. She dabbed at them with the corner of her napkin. “It was a cry for help, and I didn’t hear. It’s all my fault; I killed her.”
“Trust me, it’s not your fault,” Dane said, a vicious undertone to his voice. “You weren’t in the helicopter, were you?”
Mother shook her head.
“Then you didn’t kill her.” He leaned back in his chair surveying both of us. “And we need to figure out who did. Tell us everything you can remember.”
Mother took a deep breath, collecting herself. “Once a week or so, Lyda Sue would show up, generally unannounced. She’d go to the back building and wait for the Babylon helicopter. I never saw who came to see her. They’d meet briefly—no sex was involved—the room was still clean when she left.”
“Did you quiz the girls?” I asked.
“Tamara helped me and between the two of us, we’ve talked to all but a half dozen. We’ll get to them today. So far nothing. However, I do know someone you need to talk to.”
“Willie the Weasel,” I said, stealing her thunder. This was rapidly becoming another one of those days.
“How did you know?”
“Somebody had to fly them here and this has the Weasel’s fingerprints all over it.”
My mother nodded, her brows crinkled in thought—apparently she was due for her regular Botox injection.
“After what he did to you, you should know.”
DURING the rest of our visit as well as the ride back to Vegas, I succeeded in steering the conversation to more pleasant topics.Thankfully, Dane hadn’t pressed me about Willie. The memory of past humiliation was tough enough without being dragged through it all over again.
Lunch, if you could call it that, had consisted of finger sandwiches—cream cheese and watercress I think, but I wasn’t sure—a cup of vichyssoise, and one tiny lemon bar for dessert. Mother was really taking the whole Southern-belle thing to heart. Next thing I’d know, she’d want to join the Junior League. The thought made me smile. I’d pay good money for a ticket to watch Mona and the Junior Leaguers.
Dane had prevailed upon me to swing through McDonald’s for fortification. I was a willing accomplice. Nothing was quite as much fun as driving a fast car across the desert while stuffing my face with a quarter-pounder. I have to admit though, having a handsome male sharing the fun made it that much better.
UNDAUNTED by the summer heat, the Babylon had awakened and was in full swing as we pulled up the long circular drive to the front entrance. A horde of photographers materialized and swarmed around the car. Flashbulbs popped as they took pictures on the off chance that we were somebody. Ignoring the paparazzi, I hopped out of the car and tossed the keys to
“She didn’t say, and I didn’t have time to find out before she was pushed out of the helicopter.”
“Pushed?” Mother asked, her voice hushed.
“It’s just Dane’s theory right now.” I patted her knee. “And just for the record, Dane, taking a job under false pretenses and snooping around behind people’s backs isn’t the best strategy if you want to get them on your side.”
“How did I know I could trust you?”
“Oh, like the higher-ups at a multibillion dollar casino conspired to kill a lowly hooker.”
“Ex-hooker.” Mother’s words landed with a thud, then their meaning exploded through my consciousness.
“She wasn’t hooking?” I’d given her a part-time job as a cocktail waitress for the high rollers, but I’d thought that was just supplementalincome for her. I had no idea she was trying to put her past behind her.
Mother shook her head. “The last she’d told me, she was in the running for a very prestigious, high-profile job at one of the big hotels—her chance at a real life, she said.”
“Then why meet someone here?”
Tears sprang to my mother’s eyes. She dabbed at them with the corner of her napkin. “It was a cry for help, and I didn’t hear. It’s all my fault; I killed her.”
“Trust me, it’s not your fault,” Dane said, a vicious undertone to his voice. “You weren’t in the helicopter, were you?”
Mother shook her head.
“Then you didn’t kill her.” He leaned back in his chair surveying both of us. “And we need to figure out who did. Tell us everything you can remember.”
Mother took a deep breath, collecting herself. “Once a week or so, Lyda Sue would show up, generally unannounced. She’d go to the back building and wait for the Babylon helicopter. I never saw who came to see her. They’d meet briefly—no sex was involved—the room was still clean when she left.”
“Did you quiz the girls?” I asked.
“Tamara helped me and between the two of us, we’ve talked to all but a half dozen. We’ll get to them today. So far nothing. However, I do know someone you need to talk to.”
“Willie the Weasel,” I said, stealing her thunder. This was rapidly becoming another one of those days.
“How did you know?”
“Somebody had to fly them here and this has the Weasel’s fingerprints all over it.”
My mother nodded, her brows crinkled in thought—apparently she was due for her regular Botox injection.
“After what he did to you, you should know.”
DURING the rest of our visit as well as the ride back to Vegas, I succeeded in steering the conversation to more pleasant topics.Thankfully, Dane hadn’t pressed me about Willie. The memory of past humiliation was tough enough without being dragged through it all over again.
Lunch, if you could call it that, had consisted of finger sandwiches—cream cheese and watercress I think, but I wasn’t sure—a cup of vichyssoise, and one tiny lemon bar for dessert. Mother was really taking the whole Southern-belle thing to heart. Next thing I’d know, she’d want to join the Junior League. The thought made me smile. I’d pay good money for a ticket to watch Mona and the Junior Leaguers.
Dane had prevailed upon me to swing through McDonald’s for fortification. I was a willing accomplice. Nothing was quite as much fun as driving a fast car across the desert while stuffing my face with a quarter-pounder. I have to admit though, having a handsome male sharing the fun made it that much better.
UNDAUNTED by the summer heat, the Babylon had awakened and was in full swing as we pulled up the long circular drive to the front entrance. A horde of photographers materialized and swarmed around the car. Flashbulbs popped as they took pictures on the off chance that we were somebody. Ignoring the paparazzi, I hopped out of the car and tossed the keys to
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