Part 11 (1/2)

”What a nice restaurant!” Lisa smiled happily as a waitress led them to a wooden booth in the rustic-looking dining room. ”Just look at those Indian blankets on the wall. They're gorgeous.”

”Yes, they are.” Hannah glanced at the vividly colored blankets. Though they added coziness to the cavernous wood-paneled room, their woven designs didn't look anything like the Sioux blankets she'd seen on her trip to the museum. Perhaps authenticity didn't really matter to a gambler.

”Do you think we should take Herb's suggestion and try the ribs?” Lisa looked up from her menu. It was printed on a type of plastic that resembled birch bark and there was a stick drawing of a teepee on the front.

”That sounds good to me. If Herb recommended them, they must be good. He always had a knack for ferreting out the best item on a menu when we were cla.s.smates in high school.”

When the ribs came, they were tender and juicy, slathered with a sauce that reminded Hannah of aromatic wood smoke and sweet vine-ripened tomatoes. As they ate, occasionally wiping their hands on the wet napkins the waitress had provided, Hannah thought about the best way to identify the bouncer who'd fought with Ron. If she asked the management, they'd be paranoid about possible lawsuits. She had to think of some nonthreatening excuse to convince them that she needed the bouncer's name.

By the time they'd wiped their hands the final time and shared an excellent cranberry cobbler, Hannah knew exactly how to proceed. She paid their tab, got Lisa settled in front of a quarter slot machine with the change from The Cookie Jar, and set out to find the manager.

After being referred to several employees, Hannah finally found a security guard who agreed to escort her to the manager's office. The guard was tall, broad-shouldered, and perfectly impa.s.sive as he blocked a lighted security panel with his body and punched numbers on a keypad that opened the door to an inside corridor.

Hannah gave him a friendly smile as he motioned her through the door, but he didn't smile back. It was obvious that a stern demeanor topped the list of requirements for casino security guards.

Once she'd arrived at the proper door, the guard knocked twice and then opened it. ”A Miss Swensen to see you. She says it's personal.”

A voice from the interior told Hannah to enter and she stepped into the office. The room was large and beautifully decorated. Three walls were ivory and the fourth was painted an attractive shade of Chinese red. It contained an ivory silk-covered sofa and two matching chairs that flanked a black lacquer coffee table with gold inlay dragons. The decor was an odd choice for an Indian casino, and Hannah was surprised. There wasn't a single Native American blanket or artifact in sight.

An older man with carefully styled gray hair rose from his chair behind a black lacquer desk. ”Miss Swensen? I'm Paul Littletree, the casino manager. Won't you sit down?”

”Thank you,” Hannah replied and took the chair in front of his desk, a lovely black lacquer armchair upholstered in Chinese red silk.

”You can leave us, Dennis.” Paul Littletree waved a dismissal to the security guard.

Hannah waited until the door had closed behind the security guard and then she launched into the speech she'd prepared. ”This is really embarra.s.sing, Mr. Littletree. I'm afraid my brother got a little out of hand the last time he was here. My parents sent me out to apologize and offer to pay for any damage that he did.”

”When was this?”

”On Tuesday night. When he got home, he told my mother that he'd been in a fight with one of your bouncers.” Hannah lowered her eyes and attempted to look embarra.s.sed about her mythical brother's actions. ”We think it's that new girlfriend of his. She's involved in some kind of antigambling movement and she talked him into driving out here to pa.s.s out brochures. My brother just has some scratches and bruises, but my parents asked me to check to make sure that your bouncer's all right.”

”That would be Alfred Redbird. I noticed that he had some bruises and a black eye when he came in from the parking lot.”

”I'm so sorry.” Hannah sighed deeply. ”Of course we'll be glad to pay his medical expenses and make up for any time he lost from work.”

”That's very generous, but it's not necessary. Alfred didn't need more than a couple of Band-Aids.”

”I'm so glad to hear that. My mother's been worried sick about it. Was Mr. Redbird able to finish his s.h.i.+ft on Tuesday night?”

”No,” Paul Littletree chuckled, ”but that had nothing to do with your brother. His wife called at midnight and Alfred left to take her to the hospital. Their first baby was born at eight the next morning.”

Hannah smiled, even though she felt more like frowning. The bouncer was sounding less and less like a viable suspect. ”I'd still like to apologize to him personally. Is he working tonight?”

”No, I gave him the rest of the week off with pay. He'll be back on Monday and he should be used to being a new father by then. Relax, Miss Swensen. Your brother didn't do any real damage, but I'm afraid we'll have to ban him from the casino for a while.”

”I certainly can't blame you for that. You have a very nice place here, Mr. Littletree. My friend and I just finished having the ribs at your restaurant and they were delicious.”

”I'm glad you're enjoying your evening with us.” Paul Littletree rose from his chair and Hannah knew that her interview was over. ”Tell your parents that we appreciate their concern. And come out to see us again soon.”

When Hannah emerged from the office, the security guard was waiting for her. He wore the same unsmiling visage as he escorted her back into the main part of the casino, and Hannah fought the urge to do something to rattle his composure. If he ever decided to move to England, he'd be a shoo-in to replace one of the guards at Buckingham Palace.

Lisa was right where Hannah had left her, sitting in front of the same slot machine. There was a pile of quarters in the tray and Hannah was surprised. ”Are you winning, Lisa?”

”I think I'm a couple of dollars ahead.” Lisa glanced down at her tray. ”Why don't you try it? It's really a lot of fun.”

”All right, but only for a few minutes. I want to get back before nine. Just let me get some change.”

”Take some of these.” Lisa scooped some quarters out of the tray and handed them to her. ”Maybe they'll bring you luck.”

The machine next to Lisa was empty and Hannah sat down. Her last suspect had been eliminated. If the bouncer had been at the hospital with his wife, there was no way he could have shot Ron. As Hannah pulled the handle and lost her first quarter, she wondered what people found so fascinating about slot machines. They weren't really interactive, but the man across the aisle from her was patting his machine with his left hand while he pulled the handle with his right.

It must be superst.i.tious behavior, Hannah decided, and as she glanced at the people around her, she realized that every one of them was doing something to try to change their luck. The lady in the red dress talked to her machine, murmuring endearments as the reels spun around. The older man in the polo s.h.i.+rt held down the handle until the reels stopped moving and then he released it to fly back with a jerk. The young brunette in the pink sweater was cupping her left hand in the coin tray as if she could will the coins to fall. Hannah was amused as she turned back to her machine. Everything was mechanized. Didn't they realize that nothing they could do would change the outcome? Hannah decided, and as she glanced at the people around her, she realized that every one of them was doing something to try to change their luck. The lady in the red dress talked to her machine, murmuring endearments as the reels spun around. The older man in the polo s.h.i.+rt held down the handle until the reels stopped moving and then he released it to fly back with a jerk. The young brunette in the pink sweater was cupping her left hand in the coin tray as if she could will the coins to fall. Hannah was amused as she turned back to her machine. Everything was mechanized. Didn't they realize that nothing they could do would change the outcome?

Prompted by the thought that the sooner they left, the sooner she could get home to Moishe and her comfortable bed, Hannah noticed that it was possible to drop five quarters into the coin slot before she pulled the handle. That was nice. She'd get rid of her money five times faster that way. Hannah concentrated on dropping in multiple coins, pulling the handle, and waiting to drop in more.

”Isn't this fun, Hannah?”

Lisa turned to grin at her and Hannah put on an answering smile. Some fun. As far as she could see, the only benefit that might come from playing the slots was a possible strengthening of the muscles in her right arm.

Hannah dropped in her last five quarters. One more pull of the handle and she'd be finished. She yanked down the lever and turned to Lisa to ask her if she was ready to leave, when a siren wailed, red lights flashed, and quarters began to spew out of her machine.

”You hit a jackpot!” Lisa jumped up from her chair and rushed over to watch the hailstorm of coins bouncing down. ”How many quarters did you put in?”

Hannah just stared at the avalanche of coins clanking noisily into the metal tray. ”As many as it could take. I just wanted to finish so that we could go home.”

”You did it, Hannah!” Lisa's mouth dropped open as she looked up at the flas.h.i.+ng numbers above the machine. ”You just won one thousand nine hundred and forty-two dollars!”

Hannah stared at the flas.h.i.+ng numbers with absolute amazement. Then she looked down at the reels and saw that they were all lined up on the jackpot icons. No wonder people liked to play the slot machines. It was a lot more fun than she'd thought.

Chapter Thirteen.

”Hey, Moishe. How about some grub?” Hannah tossed her purse onto the couch and carried Moishe out to the kitchen. She draped her parka over a chair, set Moishe down next to his food bowl, and poured in a generous serving of Meow Mix. Then she remembered that she'd just won a slot machine jackpot and she opened a can of fancy albacore tuna and dumped that in, too. Moishe meant more to her than any of the other males in her life. He should enjoy the fruits of her good fortune.

She'd already shared her winnings with Lisa. Hannah had given her a bonus of two hundred dollars, making her promise to buy a fancy dress to go with her new shoes. Lisa hadn't wanted to take it, but after Hannah had convinced her that she never would have played the slots if Lisa hadn't urged her, she'd accepted the money.

Hannah had done some mental arithmetic as she'd driven home, taking into account the money she'd spent investigating Ron's murder for Bill. Even after she'd subtracted the cost of the makeup from Luanne, the dress from Claire, and the money they'd spent at Twin Pines, she'd still come out over a thousand dollars to the good.

While Moishe munched and rumbled his contentment, Hannah marched to the kitchen phone to call Bill and tell him that she'd eliminated the bouncer as a suspect. Bill wasn't at his desk at the sheriff's station, but she left a message there and another with Andrea, who promised to prop up a note by the phone. Hannah hung up, her duty done, and went to her bedroom to change into the oversized sweats.h.i.+rt and sweatpants she'd bought when the furnace had gone out last winter.

Ten minutes later, Hannah was sitting in her favorite spot on the couch, sipping her wine and holding Moishe. He was always starved for affection when she'd been gone for hours, and tonight was no exception. She scratched him under his chin until he purred in ecstasy and she sang the silly little song she'd made up for him. She'd never been able to carry a tune, but as long as she kept on scratching, Moishe seemed to enjoy it. Perhaps it was a very good thing that she lived alone. If anyone had heard her singing about how much she adored her ”big strong puss,” she'd be locked up as a nutcase.

The condo complex had free cable and Hannah surfed through the channels. There were fifty, but there was still nothing she wanted to watch. She settled for a doc.u.mentary on forensics. It was possible she might learn something. But all the expert talked about were the new advances in fingerprint technology. Hannah listened to him expound on the use of superglue in subzero temperatures to lift prints from a victim's skin and then she switched to the cla.s.sic movies channel. Klute Klute was playing and she'd seen it before, but she didn't feel like channel-surfing any longer and she left it on. was playing and she'd seen it before, but she didn't feel like channel-surfing any longer and she left it on.

Hannah thought about the crime for a while, but that was depressing. None of her sleuthing had done a particle of good. The cup with the lipstick had been promising at first, and she'd managed to find out that Danielle had been with Ron right before he'd been murdered. But what Danielle had told her really hadn't mattered in the long run. She'd checked out Coach Watson and the jealousy motive, but he'd been with Maryann at his mother's house when Ron had been shot. Norman was no longer a suspect, now that Delores had confirmed his alibi, and the homeless man that Claire had seen had been eating breakfast at the critical time. The bouncer that Ron had fought with at Twin Pines would be in the clear just as soon as Bill checked with the hospital, and Hannah was fresh out of suspects. She had to come up with some other suspects, but she didn't have any idea where to start.

She reached for the notepad she kept by the couch and scrawled a list of names: Coach Watson, Norman, Blaze, and Alfred Redbird. Then she sighed and drew a line through each of them. As an afterthought, Hannah added Danielle to the list, but she really didn't think that Danielle had shot Ron. All the same, she decided to check to see if she had an alibi.