Just Deserts in Las Vegas Read online

  Just Deserts in Las Vegas

  A.R. Winters

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Blurb

  Untitled

  Sneak Peak: Killer Cruise

  Chapter Two

  Just Deserts in Las Vegas

  Copyright 2020 by A. R. Winters

  www.arwinters.com

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental.

  Thank you for downloading this book!

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  Chapter One

  When I arrived at Ian’s apartment that Saturday morning, I had to force myself not to laugh at his outfit.

  It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with what he was wearing—bold fashion choices are a common sight in Vegas—but it just wasn’t him.

  Ian was clad in a pair of jeans but he was wearing them with a giant brass belt buckle that read “NEVADA” and was embossed with a map of the state. To go along with the jeans, he was wearing boots with actual spurs on them. As far as I knew, Ian had never been near a horse, let alone ridden one.

  Hanging around his neck by a string was a Stetson hat, and he was wearing a white button-up shirt with a turquoise bolo tie.

  “Getting into the spirit of things?” I asked him.

  “Oh, yeah.” He patted his oversized Nevada belt buckle. “Sally says it’s like the real Wild West out there. She took me shopping. How do I look?”

  “You look like a real cowboy, Ian. You just need a pair of six-shooters to finish the look.”

  “Can I borrow your gun?”

  I nearly choked.

  “No. Absolutely not. And anyway, it wouldn’t match your outfit. It’s not exactly a cowboy’s revolver.”

  Behind Ian, his apartment looked the same as it always did. Simply decorated with few knickknacks or ornaments other than his collection of Star Wars memorabilia. Despite now having access to his considerable fortune, he hadn’t been splurging on anything. As far as I knew, Sally hadn’t been after his wealth either, which was a relief.

  Meow.

  I grinned down at his little white cat, Snowflake, and picked her up as she rubbed against my legs. The cat wasn’t technically allowed in our apartment building—no pets were—but she hadn’t been caught yet. Well, my eighty-year-old neighbor Mrs. Weebly knew, but we were able to come to an understanding with her.

  “Where’s Bridget?” Ian asked.

  “I haven’t picked her up yet. I’m going to get her on the way.”

  Ian and I were going on a trip with his girlfriend, Sally. It wasn’t just the three of us, of course. That would be weird. No, it was a big group thing. Sally had invited Ian to meet a bunch of her friends, and I was coming along for moral support. And because I deserved a trip out of the city for once.

  We were still standing by the front door, thinking about the trip, when we heard someone outside followed by the doorbell ringing.

  “That must be them!”

  Ian pulled the door open. It was not them.

  “Nanna!” I said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  My grandmother was standing in the doorway, a happy smile on her face. In her hands, she was clutching a square cardboard box with a little handle at the top. I thought I could guess what it might contain, but I didn’t want to jinx it yet.

  “I came to see you, but before I got there I heard your voice coming from Ian’s apartment. So here I am.”

  “You’re too good to me.” I looked down at the box again. “We’re about to head out. What have you got there?”

  “A new bakery opened, Take-a-Cake, and they had a sign in the window claiming they have the best cupcakes in town. It was a bold statement, so I thought we needed to do a little investigation and check them out.” Nanna lifted up the box. “What do you say, detective?”

  “Sounds like a case I can really get my teeth into. And I’ll do this one pro bono.”

  We took the box of cupcakes into Ian’s kitchen, and I poured us all a cup of coffee and handed out the cupcakes. Nanna had bought a half dozen, enough for two each. She really was the best Nanna in the world.

  Not that I’d ever eat two cupcakes in a single sitting, of course. Ahem.

  “Where are you going?” she asked when we were all sitting.

  “Sally invited Ian to visit her best friend’s grandmother’s new ghost town resort.”

  “A ghost town resort? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  “Resort might be too fancy a word,” Ian said. “But it is a real ghost town. Pepper’s grandmother built some cabins on the edge of the town for tourists to stay in. She bought the whole thing. It’s not open to the public yet. We’re kind of a trial run.”

  “Just the two of you and Tiffany?” Nanna asked with a slightly accusatory look my way.

  “Oh, no, Sally’s bringing a bunch of her friendsIt’s going to be tons of fun.” He paused. “At least she said it would be. I don’t know most of her friends. But she says they’re nice.”

  Nanna squeezed Ian’s shoulder, sensing his anxiety.

  “I’m sure they’ll all be fine people. How many of you are going?”

  “I think about eight of us?” Ian said with his face scrunched up. “And of course Pepper’s grandmother who is running it will be there too.”

  “Her name’s Pepper? That’s fun,” Nanna said.

  “Yes. Pepper Loveslife.”

  “Pepper Loveslife? That’s her name? I take it it’s not a real name.”

  “I think it’s a name she chose. Sally told me she has an interesting job, but I don’t know what it is.”

  “Sounds like a stage name to me.”

  “Do you think she’s an actress?” Ian asked.

  I tried to keep a straight face.

  “She certainly sounds like, uh, some kind of actress,” Nanna said, keeping her mouth shut tight.

  “Neat. I don’t know any actresses.”

  Nanna and I both tried not to laugh. I had a rough idea what kind of actress Nanna meant.

  “I’ve never stayed in a ghost town,” Nanna announced, changing the topic back. She picked up a beautifully frosted chocolate cupcake from and held it in front of her mouth.

  Ian perked up.

  “Then why don’t you come with us? I’m sure they can fit in one more. You can stay with Tiffany. She’s all alone.”

  Gee, thanks. Just straight up call me forever alone.

  I quirked one eyebrow at Ian. “Don’t you think you should get permission from Pepper or her grandmother first?”

  “Yes, you must,” Nanna said. “But if they’ve got room, I won’t say no. Now let’s try these cupcakes…”

  I was standing by Ian’s front door again when they finally arrived. I had been on my way back to my apartment to finish packing when the ding-dong sounded. Quick as a flash, I pulled the door op
en.

  “How rude! Opening a door that quickly is dangerous!”

  I took a step back. On the other side of the door stood a woman about Nanna’s age wearing a scowl.

  “Sorry if I scared you.” I stuck out a hand. “I’m Tiffany, a friend of Ian’s. This is his apartment.”

  “And I’m Nanna.” She grabbed my hand and then squeezed it too tightly.

  You are not! She was most certainly not Nanna. There’s only enough room for one Nanna in the world as far as I was concerned.

  The fake Nanna standing before me was a stocky lady with an overly-sensible manner about her. She was wearing dark jeans and a checkered shirt, along with a pair of boots that were more functional than stylish. She had a sturdiness about her that would have been reassuring if not for the mean look in her eyes.

  “Hello! I’m Ian.” He squeezed in to stand beside me. He was joined by the other current occupant of his apartment.

  “And I’m another Nanna.”

  “That’s school,” someone said from behind the new Nanna. Sturdy Nanna, as I began to think of her.

  The new speaker squeezed past Sturdy Nanna and thrust a phone in my direction like she was trying to film me, because she was.

  “I’m Pepper Loveslife, and I’m so blessed to meet you.” She looked to be in her early twenties. Pepper was wearing denim jean shorts with some artful tears, a checkered shirt tied just above her belly button, and brown suede boots. Between her clothes and a full face of makeup, complete with bright red lipstick, she looked like a music video cowgirl.

  “Nice to meet you too.”

  “Don’t say that. You’ve got to say that’s school.”

  “That’s… school?” I gave her a quizzical look.

  “Yeah. It’s my new catchphrase. It’s like, you know, that’s so cool, but all pushed together. That’s s’cool. Cool huh? I mean, s’cool, huh?”

  “Oh… Oh.” I wasn’t too sure what she’d just said.

  “She’s an influencer,” Sally said as she appeared, slipping between Sturdy Nanna and Pepper.

  “What’s an influencer?” Real Nanna asked from behind.

  “Lord only knows,” said her counterpart standing in front of me, a hard edge to her tone. Being an influencer was clearly not something she approved of.

  “It’s someone who makes videos and takes photos and puts them online and gets a lot of people following them,” Ian said, trying to couch the explanation in Nanna-friendly terms. “If enough people follow them, they’re considered an influencer. When they recommend something, their followers pay attention. They sell their influence to make money.”

  “But it’s much more than that,” Pepper said in a deliberately airy tone. “I inspire, I teach, and I open up the world and show it to people in a new light. Like an oyster. That’s another one of my catchphrases. The world is an unopened oyster, and you’ve got to pry it open. S’cool, huh?”

  “How wonderful, dear,” Nanna said. She turned her gaze to the other Nanna. “I hear you have a ghost town?”

  “That’s right I do.” A little smile began to play on her lips and some of her stern demeanor softened. “Silver Bend. Are you interested in ghost towns?”

  “Oh, yes. You know, some of them weren’t even fully ghost towns yet when I was young. I would so love to stay at one…” Nanna let her words float in the air, the perfect bait for her hugely unsubtle fishing expedition. Sturdy Nanna had no choice but to offer an invitation.

  “Then you’re more than welcome to come and visit any time—”

  “Oh, great! That’s so kind. I’ll come with Tiffany.” I could sense Nanna’s hundred-watt smile without even needing to look at it as she nudged me.

  “The more the merrier,” Sturdy Nanna said drily. “The youngsters will have to put up with two of us Nannas, won’t they?”

  Nanna didn’t answer that, because I knew she saw herself as being one of the youngsters rather than a contemporary of Sturdy Nanna.

  “Are you ready, Ian?” Sally pulled at his hand to hurry him outside.

  “All set.” Ian lifted the canvas duffel bag in which he had packed all of his belongings for the short trip. “Let’s get this show on the road. See you there, Tiffany, Nanna.”

  With a wave, we sent Pepper and her grandmother off with Ian and Sally after confirming that we did indeed know the location of Silver Bend. Sturdy Nanna had told us that she wouldn’t be there for a few more hours, as they had to make several more stops to pick up more of Sally’s friends.

  “They seem nice,” Nanna said happily. She always could see the best in people.

  “Do they?”

  “I thought they did.”

  I nodded. “We’ll find out, since we’re going to spend the whole weekend with them. Time for us to get going. I’ll take you back to the house so you can pack a couple of things, and—”

  “No need to bother. I’ll just take my go bag.”

  “Your what?” I asked suspiciously.

  “My go bag. Stone taught me about them.”

  Stone. The mention of his name caused an uncomfortable knot to form in my stomach. The ex-CIA operative had gone missing while trying to rescue my erstwhile boyfriend, Ryan. Neither of them had been seen or heard from in over a month and it was getting harder and harder to hold on to hope. I put on a brave face.

  “What’s a go bag?”

  “A bag full of all the essentials, in case I need to get out in a hurry. You know, a couple of changes of clothes, a washbag, some supplies, emergency rations, baby formula. That kind of thing. In case there’s an earthquake, or an invasion.”

  “An invasion? And baby formula?”

  “You never know what’s going to happen, dear.” She gave me a meaningful look that I did not want to get into. I didn’t even have a boyfriend, let alone a baby.

  “So we’ll get your go bag then. Where is it?”

  “I’ll show you.”

  Nanna happily pushed past me into the hall and then proceeded to let herself into my apartment using the spare key she kept in her bag.

  “Nanna?”

  “Come on, dear. We don’t have all day.”

  I followed Nanna inside my apartment where she made an immediate beeline for my bedroom.

  “Nanna?” I called again

  She disappeared inside. When I reached the room, I saw Nanna on her hands and knees, pulling at something under the bed which had been up against the wall.

  “Ta-da!” Nanna stood up and held up a gym bag, which looked to be stuffed to the brim with presumably what she thought were the essentials.

  “You had that under my bed?”

  “Yep! Just in case of emergencies, like today. I’ve got one here, one at your Mom’s, and I’ve got one at my place.” She glanced down. “Stone taught me about go bags when you were late for lunch one day.”

  “He always knew what to do, didn’t he?”

  “He did. He does,” Nanna said with finality. As far as she was concerned, Stone was very much alive and merely missing. I felt the same. At least most of the time. But sometimes, late at night, when I couldn’t sleep, I started thinking, What if? What if he’s not all right? What if— But then I would stop myself.

  He has to be all right. He has to be.

  “Come on. Let’s go and get Bridget.”

  Nanna came with me to Jack’s office, high up in the Tremonte Hotel and Casino tower. Since my apartment building didn’t allow dogs, I’d reluctantly handed Bridget over to Jack and Emily to look after. Of course I went to visit her all the time, and she had a wonderful life with Jack, but I missed her.

  “Did Wes say why he didn’t want to come?” I asked Nanna while we soared up one of the Tremonte’s express elevators to the floor containing the executive suites. I had caught Nanna’s end of the conversation with her husband in the car, but not the other end.

  “I’m afraid he likes his home comforts too much. He said he wants running water and access to the internet, not rattlesnakes and campfires.”<
br />
  “Rattlesnakes? Do you think there will be any?”

  One of the good things about living in the city was that you didn’t have to worry about things like coyotes, rattlesnakes, or any other vicious wildlife. Unless you included the citizens of Las Vegas or the tourists among the term wildlife. Not exactly unreasonable, since I’d sure seen enough wild behavior in my time.

  “I expect so. Especially in an old abandoned town like that.”

  I shuddered just as the bell dinged to indicate we had arrived on the correct floor. Nanna and I walked out of the elevator, me showing her where to go. When we got to Jack’s office, he greeted us both with a warm smile that flashed almost as white as his tailored shirt. He was the owner of the entire place, and a good friend.

  “No rattlesnakes in here?” was the first thing that Nanna said to him.

  He looked at me, startled. “No. Should there be?”

  “Definitely not.”

  There was a bark, and then Bridget appeared from behind Jack’s desk, bounding across the room and jumping up into my arms. After a brief snuggle, she was bouncing around Nanna, and then back to me, and then back to Nanna again, unable to decide where she wanted to dispense her affection and trying to divide it between us instead.

  “Has she been good?”

  “Of course she’s been good. She’s perfect, aren’t you, Bridget?”

  She barked confirmation in Jack’s direction but kept bounding around Nanna and me.

  Nanna crouched down. “Are you ready for a little vacation? You must’ve been working very hard at the hospital.”

  Bridget seemed ready for a vacation, though I suspected she would be ready anytime, no matter how hard she had been working. Bridget was the new mascot and face of a hospital wing that was being built to treat sick children and speed their recovery by providing them with support animals.