Hot Shot, page 8
Maggie popped up off the couch like her legs were spring-loaded. She had a bag packed in ten minutes, her backpack replenished, and notified her cat sitter that she was going out of town and to take over Hero’s care. “Suddenly, I feel like a million bucks,” she mumbled to herself as she made her way to the family room.
While she wasn’t a bona fide sister or a bona fide member of the guy team, she fit in right down the middle, which meant she helped out both sides whenever her help was needed. They all jokingly called her Miz Switzerland, meaning she was neutral and didn’t favor the sisters over the boys or vice versa. The only thing any of them cared about was that Maggie could be trusted.
Maggie chewed her nails down to the nub while she waited for the call to leave for the airport. She hated waiting for anything. Patience was simply not in her DNA.
Eight hours later, Maggie ran across the tarmac at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, straight into Ted Robinson’s waiting arms. He hugged her fiercely, and she hugged him back just as fiercely.
“I’m glad you’re here, Maggie,” Ted whispered in her ear. “You sure you feel okay and are up to whatever is going to go down here?” he continued to whisper.
“I slept the whole trip. I’m hydrated, and I finished the last of my medicine. I’m good to go, Ted. This is just what I need. One more day cooped up in the house and they would be locking me up somewhere.”
“As long as you’re sure. Dennis has your schedule all mapped out for you. That kid is so generous, he blows my mind. Who do you know besides Annie who would send his Gulfstream to fly cross-country for one passenger? No one, that’s who. But like he said, he inherited the money, and he still has trouble thinking of it as his. But he’s willing to treat it as his if it can be used to do good for other people. My kind of guy. And he’s a hell of a good reporter in the bargain.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re his idol,” Maggie teased. “Now, tell me what happened here. Tell me everything and don’t leave out anything. I want to hear it all, every last word. Is everyone okay with my being here?” Maggie asked, her tone anxious, which surprised Ted.
“Everyone is more than okay with your being here. We’ve all been worried about you. We need your female input and viewpoint. We know very little because Lizzie knows nothing and is so consumed with Cosmo’s condition that even if she did know something, she can’t remember it. She refuses to leave Cosmo’s bedside. Jack and Harry and Dr. Wylie the surgeon literally forced her home to shower, sleep, and eat. The last thing I heard was via Charles, who said the surgeon—a personal friend of Cosmo’s, by the way—was also at his side. Cosmo had to be taken back to surgery a second time. I think he’s out of the ICU, but I’m not sure. Jack said Cosmo was trying to talk about Little Jack. That, to me, is a good sign.”
“Speaking of Little Jack, where is he? Who’s taking care of him?”
“Summer sleepaway camp. He doesn’t know anything, and Lizzie wants to keep it that way. Jack has been in daily contact with the boy.”
Maggie closed her eyes and listened to Ted’s reporter voice. Just the facts, ma’am. She was taking in and storing away all of Ted’s words so she could piece together her own version to make it work for her.
“I’m having a hard time believing Cosmo has enemies. That someone would try to kill him. Whoever it was must be a novice if they had to shoot four or five times and not kill him. Or Cosmo is the luckiest man walking the planet. Does he have enemies? I don’t know why I thought this, but I thought guys like Cosmo traveled with security. This is Vegas, after all. I must have heard that somewhere,” Maggie fretted.
“We don’t know. Lizzie doesn’t really know much about the inner workings of her husband’s job, and she knows zip about Happy Village. She did say that if she had to guess, she would say no, he did not have enemies. No one that we’ve talked to said anything about Cosmo’s having security. Think about it, Maggie. A big guy like Cosmo would scare the hell out of anyone. At least the kind of enemy who does not kill people. We’re talking gangs here. Then there’s Happy Village. Add Zack Meadows, his fellow gaming regulator and coinvestor, who will not call us back, and that’s where we are at the moment.”
“Who’s doing what?”
“The usual drill. Abner drove because of his ear problems with flying. Cyrus made the trip with him. He’s doing what he does best, hacking wherever he can to find out whatever he can. I think he’s hitting some stone walls. Remember, this is Vegas—better security than the White House. It’s Vegas, baby, land of secrets,” Ted said, his tone sour. “Just so you know, they hate reporters out here, especially reporters from back East.”
Maggie hated the word secrets. She wanted—no, she needed—to know everything. That word simply was not in her vocabulary. “Well, we’ll just see about that,” she huffed. “What else?”
“Charles and Fergus set up headquarters in Annie’s penthouse. We’re all staying at Babylon. Dennis booked you a room. Charles called in Avery Snowden. He’s here, I’m told, but I haven’t seen him myself. When I left to pick you up, Jack and Espinosa were up at the penthouse, but I have no clue what they’re doing.”
“That leaves Harry. What is he doing? How did the martial arts trials in Reno go? Did he win?”
“Does the pope pray? Of course he won, and so did his guys. He’s giving his five pals a tour of Vegas. They love gambling. Great guys. Those trials were something else. We were all mesmerized. If I told you those five guys with Harry and Jack leading the pack could take on an army, would you believe me?”
“Well, yeah, Ted. This is Harry and Jack we’re talking about here. What’s not to believe?”
“Okay, we’re here. I’ll drop you off at the front, park, and meet you up at the penthouse. You look tired, Maggie, and it’s getting late your time. Say your hellos and go to bed. Don’t overdo your first day here. We’ll hit the ground running in the morning. You okay with that?”
Maggie was more than okay with it. She said so, to Ted’s relief.
Once she reached the penthouse, she could feel herself starting to wilt, and if there was one thing she didn’t need, it was a setback. Even though she’d slept the entire flight, she did feel tired. Maybe she’d had the flu and not just a summer cold. Maybe a lot of things. She was on the mend now, and there was no reason for her to slack off. She closed her eyes for a moment as she remembered Myra once telling her to pay attention to what your body is trying to tell you, and in this case, her body was telling her it was time to call it a day.
The meet and greet over, Maggie looked around and announced she would see them all in the morning, but right now she needed to go to sleep. Hugs, well wishes, and a few jokes later, Cyrus escorted her to the door but not before her eagle eye zeroed in on Abner Tookus. Something is off, she thought the moment Abner’s eyes met hers. She wrestled with the strange expression on Abner’s face, one she’d never seen there in all the years she’d known him, and they went way, way back. Maggie felt she knew Abner better than his wife, Isabelle, knew him.
Damn it, what was that strange expression? It came to her only when she stepped out of the elevator onto the floor where her room was located. Fear, that’s what it is. Pure, unadulterated fear. She started to shake and whirled around to step back into the elevator, but it was already going down. Abner didn’t know the meaning of the word fear as far as his hacking abilities went. Plus, he had his backup guru in Philonias Needlemeyer. So where was the fear coming from? No answer found its way to her tired brain. Tomorrow was another day.
Maggie dumped her bags, stripped down, then crawled into the king-size bed without washing her face or brushing her teeth. She was asleep within seconds.
* * *
Maggie cracked one eyelid, saw the blood-red numbers 4:00 on her travel clock, and groaned. She could sleep for three more hours if she wanted to. She quickly calculated that she’d fallen asleep around nine-thirty Vegas time, which means twelve-thirty back East. Not enough sleep. Or was it? She squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly as she willed herself back to sleep. When she next opened her eyes the little clock said that it was nine o’clock.
It was definitely time to get up.
An hour later, with a robust room service breakfast and a shower under her belt, Maggie was ready to go. As in go. With that thought in mind, Maggie barreled out of the room and hit the penthouse apartment in record time.
Maggie blinked, then blinked again at what she was seeing. The penthouse could have passed for the war room back in the dungeons of Pinewood. The gang waved absentmindedly, but it was Cyrus who gave her the warmest welcome. He woofed softly and nuzzled her hand. Maggie fluffed his ears and dropped to her knees to whisper in his ear, telling him she had missed him and was sorry that she didn’t have any treats. Cyrus stared at her for a long minute before he trotted back to where Jack was sitting.
Maggie threw her hands high in the air. She hated being ignored. “What can I do?” she bellowed. And then she remembered what had disturbed her the night before. “Where’s Abner?” she bellowed again.
“When I got here at seven o’clock, he wasn’t here,” Dennis volunteered.
“I think he worked all night. Said he was onto something, so I would imagine he either found whatever he was looking for or just fizzled out and went to get some sleep. Why?” Ted mumbled, never taking his eyes off his keyboard.
As far as she was concerned, Maggie felt she was still being ignored. She puckered her lips and let loose with a whistle so sharp it drowned out Cyrus’s loud bark of stunned surprise.
“Good! Good! Now that I have your attention, I’d like to say something.”
“So say it already,” Jack said.
“It’s about Abner.” The room went totally silent.
“What about him?” Charles asked, his face a mask of sudden concern.
“That’s just it, Charles. I don’t know.” Maggie quickly related what she’d seen, sensed, and felt as she’d locked eyes with Abner before leaving the penthouse to go to her room the previous night.
“That’s it! You think you saw fear on Abner’s face. You were tired, Maggie. Maybe you—” Jack started to say.
“Don’t even go there, Jack,” Maggie snapped. “I’ve known Abner Tookus forever, and I know what I saw, so don’t try to placate me.” She looked around, her facial expression one of frustration. “Dennis said Avery Snowden was here. Where is he?”
“I do believe he left either with Abner or shortly afterward. That would be around two this morning. I’m not sure of the exact time,” Charles said with a baffled look. “What are you reading into this, Maggie?” His tone was neither unkind nor accusing, and Maggie accepted it for what it was—genuine concern.
“Like I said, I’ve known Abner for a very long time. We all know he has no fear, no equal except for that guy Phil he hacks with, so why would he suddenly be fearful? I think he found out something and maybe shared it with Snowden, and Abner is waiting for his buddy Phil to get back to him. Whatever it is, it must be pretty terrible. Let’s all remember where we are and how much money changes hands in this town every single day of the year.”
Fergus Duffy leaned forward. “What would you like us to do, Maggie?”
Maggie’s arms flapped in the air. “I don’t know. I just got here. Send someone to wake him up. If he left at two, then he’s had enough sleep. Someone call Snowden and see what he’s up to or what he can tell us. I know he just got here too, but usually he has people everywhere and has a bead on things while we’re still just thinking about it. Something. Anything. I know I’m not wrong. I know it!” she hissed.
Espinosa volunteered to head out to find Abner, while Charles could be seen pressing the digits on his special phone.
Maggie sucked in her breath and waited, watching Charles grimace as his call went to voice mail. She listened as he left a message for the old spy to return his call as soon as possible.
The room went silent.
Dennis broke the silence. “I could be wrong, and this is little more than a guess on my part, but I think Abner was on the dark web last night. I think he found out something that scared the bejesus out of him. Maggie’s right when she says she saw fear in his expression. I noticed it too, but at the time it simply didn’t register, and I haven’t known Abner as long as the rest of you. I think he found out something, and he’s reaching out to his friend Phil and maybe some other people he knows who . . . who are perhaps more proficient in dealing with the dark web. When you travel the dark web, you need to know what you’re doing, and if you just dabble in it, you can suddenly find yourself in a whole boatload of deep trouble. If he somehow managed to get to the underbelly of the dark side, then we all need to be concerned. That much I do know because I’ve heard the horror stories. This is just my opinion, so treat it as such.”
Maggie patted the young reporter’s arm to show she totally understood what he’d said.
Cyrus ran to the door just as Espinosa opened it. “Abner is not in his room. I had one of the maids working the hall check in the room, and he’s not there. The bed was slept in, all his gear is still there, but he’s gone.”
“Where does that leave us?” Ted demanded.
“Right where we were before Maggie arrived. Nowhere, that’s where,” Jack said.
Maggie flapped her arms again. “What? We’re just going to sit here and wait till Snowden calls back or Abner decides to honor us with his company? We need to do something. What was the plan before I got here? Jeez, do I have to do everything?”
Charles rustled the papers in front of him. He cleared his throat and looked around the table at everyone. “This is the plan for now. With Maggie here, I think she and Dennis should go to Happy Village and interview the residents. Don’t take no for an answer. Be as persuasive as possible. Jack and Ted will also be going to Happy Village to talk to Mr. Gentry Lomax and Mrs. Love. With Harry temporarily out of the picture, Fergus and I will head on out to see if we can arrange an interview with Mr. Meadows and try to find out why he hasn’t returned our calls or if he’s avoiding us. We need an answer to that. Espinosa is going to hold down the fort, so to speak, in case Avery or Abner returns. He will be checking in with Dr. Wylie and Lizzie on the hour to see if there are any changes in Cosmo’s condition. If so, he will inform us ASAP, and we’ll do whatever we have to do. Any questions?”
There were no questions.
“Then let’s get to it,” Charles said, smacking his hands together. “Everyone check in with Espinosa at one o’clock.”
Cyrus was the first one at the door. His lean body quivered with excitement. At last, action.
Chapter 6
Lizzie Fox gently brushed at her husband’s dark hair tinged with gray. Only God knew how much she loved this man. Tears rested on her lashes before rolling down her cheeks as she prayed, the same words over and over and over again. Please, God. Don’t let my husband die, please, God. She brushed at her wet cheeks, aware of how quiet the room was except for the machines that beeped, pinged, and purred. She didn’t mind the noise and had tuned it out days ago. Right now she was aware only of a presence in the corner of the room—Joe Wylie, aka Cowboy, her husband’s doctor and personal friend. Like her, Wylie had not left the room since Cosmo’s second surgery. Such a kind man. Like Cosmo.
Tears continued to spill down Lizzie’s cheeks and sparkled like diamonds in the dim light overhead. She reached for her husband’s hand and felt it tighten against her own. Lizzie gasped when she saw Cosmo open his eyes.
“Angel.”
At least, that’s what she thought he said. Joe Wylie was at his bedside in the time it took her to take a deep breath, checking his vitals and then making a joke. “Hey, big guy, you ready for some racquetball?”
Lizzie was beside herself. “Joe, does this mean . . .”
“Shhh. Let’s see where this goes, Lizzie. Easy, slow and easy. Don’t do or say anything to alarm him.”
“Water.” The sound was strangled, but Joe understood.
“Ha! Figured you for a scotch-on-the-rocks guy,” Joe said as he poured water into a glass and added a flexible straw.
Water dribbled down Cricket’s chin. He didn’t seem to notice as he tried to suck on the straw. “Okay, that’s enough for now. Don’t want you throwing up.”
Another strangled, mangled sound. “Cowboy?”
“Yep, it’s me in the flesh. I’m taking care of you. We can talk more later, but right now I want you to sleep. It’s the best medicine in the world.”
Lizzie felt her hand being squeezed. She smiled through her tears. “I’m here too. Do what Joe said. Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Another squeeze, this one lighter. Her husband’s hand, which was as big as a catcher’s mitt, felt dry and papery while her own was damp and clammy. She used both hands to squeeze back.
“Okay, he’s out. And so are you, Lizzie. I want you to go home and get some rest. I’m going to take a shower and catch a few winks myself. Don’t say it. There will be a doctor and a nurse in this room at all times. We’re both going on pure adrenaline right now. Neither one of us will be any good to Cosmo if we can’t function.”
Lizzie looked up at the tall, gangly doctor, tears still shimmering in her eyes. “Does that mean he’s out of the woods?”
“Let’s just say he’s at the edge and getting closer to the clearing. I wouldn’t leave him if I thought otherwise. You need to do your part now and do what I tell you. Tell me you understand, Lizzie.”
Lizzie brushed the silvery hair back from her forehead. “I hear you, and I understand you. I have to find a way to get home. I think Jack has my car. When can I come back?”
“Tomorrow.”
Lizzie squealed her displeasure. Joe remained adamant until Lizzie simply nodded to show she would obey his orders.
“I don’t think you need to worry about a ride home. There are two . . . ah . . . portly gentlemen waiting right outside this door. Friends of yours, I assume. I think I saw them yesterday.”
