From Violence in Vegas
Chapter 1:
Welcome to Sin City
Grateful to be off the plane and finally have her luggage, Megan Luchek stretched and turned her attention to the issue of finding her ride. Her friend had said somebody would meet her near the luggage claim area for her flight from Honolulu to McCarran International Airport. She’d never had the pleasure of being in this particular airport before, but she wasn’t a stranger to traveling.
“There she is!” The loud cry shot through the crowd surrounding Megan and snagged her attention.
Every head whipped toward a kid jumping up and down and pointing frantically.
“I see her. Calm down. We’re in public,” hissed the lovely lady standing behind the child.
Megan couldn’t hear the words so much as read them on the woman’s lips. Amusement and relief rushed through her as she recognized the tall, dark-skinned woman. Gathering up her giant suitcase, Megan started to press toward the woman and child.
“Wait, Jaden, you don’t—”
The woman cut herself off as the child darted through the crowd and stepped directly into Megan’s path.
“Hi! I’m Jaden.” The boy glanced back at his mother before facing Megan again. “I’m supposed to ask you how you’d like to be addressed.” He thrust out a hand for her to shake.
Amused, Megan released the luggage handle and met the firm handshake.
“Hello, Jaden. I’m Megan.” She shrugged. “That works well enough for me.”
“Can I call you ‘Agent M.’? Please. Please. Please.” The kid beamed her a thousand-watt smile to seal the deal. “That’d sound so much cooler!”
“Sure.” Megan thought the title sounded more like an MI-6 title than Federal Bureau of Investigation, but if it made the kid happy, she could live with it for a few days. She leaned away to avoid the boy’s wildly swinging arms. The boy did more hand talking than her Great Aunt Celia.
“Jaden, quit bothering the lady. She just got off an airplane.” Angela Melkin-Pierce gently nudged the boy a step left and leaned down to wrap Megan in a huge hug.
When the embrace ended, Megan grasped her friend’s hands and took a half-step back to look her up and down. Angela had always been taller than Megan and had a lot of energy, but now, instead of overflowing, the energy brimmed from somewhere deep inside her.
“You look good,” Megan commented.
And she did. Angela’s jet-black hair barely brushed her shoulders. Neatly trimmed eyebrows nicely emphasized long black lashes which framed coal-colored eyes that glittered with mischief. High, broad cheekbones balanced the nose and wide smile. A simple, silver necklace hung around her neck.
“So do you!”
Formal introductions went around. The fact that Jaden still had the last name Melkin surprised Megan because she thought Anthony Pierce was going to adopt the boy.
“We’ll talk later,” Angela promised, seeing the surprise on Megan’s face.
Just then, Megan’s fingers brushed the ring on her friend’s hands, so she flipped the left hand around to inspect the goods.
“I must see this ring.” She forced more cheer into her voice than she felt. The tension in her friend’s short statement tugged at her heart.
“You already saw it,” Angela said. “Remember the zillion pictures I sent you?”
“I do,” Megan replied, “but it’s so much nicer to see in person.”
The thin, white-gold band was studded with tiny diamonds leading up to a large stone in the center. Megan would have studied the ring closer if she wasn’t acutely aware of the child bouncing on the balls of his feet next to them.
Letting Angela retrieve her hands, Megan waited, sure the boy was dying to ask something. She suppressed a comment about the apple landing directly at the foot of the tree.
“All right. You can ask her now.” Angela shot Megan a half-apologetic grin.
“Can I see your badge? Do you have your gun?” The questions flew out so close together they almost merged.
“I don’t have my gun,” Megan admitted. It truly felt weird to not have a weapon, but she’d left it behind to solidify her self-promise to relax at least a little on this vacation. “But you can see the badge.” Reaching into her purse, Megan pulled out her ID wallet and flipped it open to display the badge.
Angela had warned Megan her son would probably bombard her with questions. Since learning of her visit, Jaden had changed his life goal from becoming a firefighter to joining the FBI.
“We should get on the road. We’ve got a half-hour drive ahead of us,” said Angela.
Jaden didn’t react to the words. He stood transfixed, gently tracing the badge with his fingers.
“I think you just became his hero,” Angela whispered.
Megan nodded. The glow of working for the FBI had slowly worn off, but she understood the awe the agency could inspire in young hearts and minds.
The moment stretched almost to an awkward point. Angela suggested Jaden give the badge back, and he bargained for a few more minutes. Megan didn’t particularly like leaving the badge in another’s hands for more than five seconds, but since Jaden was practically glued to her side, she doubted he’d lose the badge between the luggage area and the car.
As promised, he had prepared dozens of questions. Megan felt like she was being interviewed by a crack investigative reporter. After fielding most of the standard questions, they finally reached the one she’d anticipated first.
“Have you ever shot anybody?”
“No comment.” She had, but Megan wasn’t about to give a ten-year-old boy the details. Her mama had taught her better than that.
“Aww, man!” Jaden said.
“I think that’s enough questions for now,” said Angela. She leveled a look that turned the suggestion into an order.
They had reached the car. As Megan prepared to wrestle her suitcase into the trunk, her friend reached down and hauled it up and into the space with ease.
The ride from Paradise to Las Vegas, Nevada passed swiftly. The sun had set long before Megan’s plane landed. As they neared the outskirts, many bright lights gave the city a magical glow.
“Welcome to Sin City,” said Angela.
“What happens here, stays here!” pipped up Jaden. “I wonder what that means.”
The women were spared the need to answer because Jaden launched into a dozen other topics over the course of the next ten minutes. Megan half-listened to the chatter and silently wondered where the boy found that many words to fill the air.
Finally, they pulled up in front of a modest-sized building fashioned to look like a Greek palace. A uniformed valet and a bellboy rushed over to help them. Angela greeted both by name, but Megan missed the information because Jaden asked yet another question.
“What made you want to become an FBI agent?”
“I wanted to do some good in the world,” Megan answered, falling back on the reflex answer. In truth, she’d escaped a dark time in her life by fleeing to the far side of the world for a short stint in a CIA training program. There, a series of fateful meetings showed her a better path, which led to the FBI.
“Jaden, help George take Megan’s bag up to her room, please,” said Angela.
“Do I get a tip?” asked Jaden.
The question made everybody laugh.
“George gets a tip,” said Angela. “I’ll slip it into your locker,” she added.
“Thank you, ma’am,” said the bellboy. He hustled around behind the car and dug out Megan’s bag.
“What about me?” asked Jaden.
“How about a piece of chocolate after dinner?” Angela countered.
“Two pieces,” said Jaden.
Megan looked to her friend to see how she would respond.
“He drives a hard bargain,” she commented.
“Two pieces, if you clear the plate of everything green.” Angela held her hand out to her son. “Deal?”
The boy contemplated the hand before shaking it.
“Deal.” He didn’t sound very enthusiastic, but he rushed to open the door for the bellboy bearing the luggage.
“I almost forgot. An Amazon package came for you, ma’am,” said the bellboy, pausing outside the hotel door.
“Thanks, George. That’s probably for Jaden.”
The boy cheered.
“He wanted some flashlights,” Angela explained in response to Megan’s questioning glance. “I swear the boy goes through those things like toilet paper.”
The valet cleared his throat nervously, capturing both Megan’s and Angela’s attention. His body language said he had an urgent message and that Angela probably wouldn’t like it.
Angela gazed at the door to make sure her son and the bellboy had gone before turning back to the valet. Her shoulders slumped a little.
“Say what you need to say, Phil.”
The man’s gaze flickered over to Megan.
“She’s here to help,” said Angela.
Megan didn’t think it wise to go announcing that around. She made a mental note to clarify that with her friend later, but the statement put the valet at ease enough to deliver the bad news.
“It happened again.”
Angela groaned.
“Room or tires? And to whom?”
“Tires. And it’s the Ellisons in room 605.”
“Do they know?” asked Angela.
“Not yet. Mr. O’Brien said to keep a lid on it until you could handle it,” replied the valet.
Anger caused Angela’s posture to stiffen, but she merely gritted her teeth and nodded curtly.
“All right. Have Nancy comp their room for their two-night stay and go with you when you tell the Ellisons about their car,” Angela instructed. “Give them vouchers for the restaurant and get written permission to have the car taken to Killian’s Autocare to get the tires changed. Assure them we’ll pay for the tires.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” inquired a new male voice. “We oughtn’t admit guilt here. It’ll open us up to a world of legal problems later.”
“If we take care of it now, they won’t have reason to sue us later,” Angela argued. Her tone implied that the debate was a rehash of older exchanges. Wearily, she waved from Megan to the newcomer. “Megan, this is our General Manager, Ardan O’Brien. Ardan, this is my good friend Megan Luchek. She’ll be a guest here for a week or so.”
The portly man gave Megan a minute nod of acknowledgement before opening his mouth to resume his arguments.
Angela held up a hand to stop him.
“Get the details sorted first. Run it by legal if it’ll make you feel better. I’ll stop by the Ellisons’ room in an hour, and I expect to hear good things from them.”
The General Manager bristled but spun away to carry out the orders.
“What should I do?” wondered the valet.
“Park the car, then see if Mr. O’Brien needs help,” said Angela.
When they were finally alone, Megan let silence reign. Angela took the time to rub her temples wearily.
“This is why I called you,” said Angela.
“What’s going on?” Megan was too tired for anything but the direct approach right now.
“I honestly don’t know,” Angela admitted. “Somebody’s been causing trouble for about two weeks now.”
“What kind of trouble?” Megan pressed.
“At first, it was just odd phone calls—hang ups and the like. But yesterday and today, people’s tires have been slashed and a room was ransacked last week.”
Megan fired off the usual questions about motive, but she could tell her friend was too upset to give the matter much genuine thought. She halted the interview when tears pooled in Angela’s eyes.
“Go throw some cold water on your face. I’ll crash in your office until you’re ready to talk about it,” said Megan.
Her friend was too dazed to argue much. Megan couldn’t imagine being able to do much in a case like this, but if her presence helped comfort Angela, she’d count the effort worth it.
Why would somebody sabotage a hotel?
The screech of tires drove the thought from Megan’s head. She whirled in time to see a black-clad figure light something and raise his arm to throw the thing.
“Down!” she ordered Angela.
Ignoring her own advice, Megan spared a split-second to regret not having her gun with her. Then, she charged the motorcyclist, screaming her head off like a maniac.
We hope you are enjoying the book so far. To continue reading...
Copyright © 2024 All Rights Reserved
Please log in to recommend or discuss...
