'Day or night?'
'Day.'
The cafe was located on the perimeter of the casino floor. That's the way it always is in a casino. Everything opens to the floor. The casino was business as usual, but the attendance was light. The tables were populated mostly by bedraggled men in shirtsleeves. Leftovers from the night. The slots had a more alert crowd. Early risers, getting a jump on the day. I wasn't much of a gambler. But I liked the flash and color of the casino. I liked the neon lights, the bells and whistles, and the ka-ching of money being won and lost.
'Las Vegas never closes,' Lula said. 'Can you believe it? And I haven't been out of the hotel yet, but there's supposed to be an Eiffel Tower out there and the Brooklyn Bridge and all kinds of shit.'
'What did you do all night?'
'I started with the slots,' Lula said, 'but I wasn't having any luck there, so I went over to the blackjack tables. I did pretty good and then I did really bad. And here I am… broke. Good thing Vinnie's buying me breakfast.'
Connie had her head down on the table. 'I lost all my money. I drank too much. And I lost my shoes.'
We all looked under the table. Sure enough, Connie didn't have any shoes.
'I left them someplace,' Connie said. 'I don't know where.'
'That's not even the best part,' Lula said to me. 'Ask Connie about the photograph.'
Connie pulled a cardboard framed photo out of her big leather shoulder bag. It was a picture of Connie and a short guy in a powder blue tuxedo. The short guy had sideburns and an Elvis hairdo. Connie was holding a bouquet of flowers. 'I think I might have gotten married to an Elvis impersonator,' Connie said, dragging herself to her feet. 'I'm going to bed. Wake me up when you get Singh and I'll do the paperwork for the locals.'
Lula watched Connie stagger away. 'I wouldn't hardly recognize her without lipstick,' Lula said. 'She sat down and I didn't know who she was at first.'
'We have to snatch Singh today,' I said to Lula. 'Are you going to be up for it?'
'Damn straight I'm up for it. I'm just getting started. I'm like that Energizer Rabbit dude. How we gonna get this guy?'
'Singh applied for a job at a small casino downtown. My contacts name is Louis Califonte. He's the casino manager. Cone said I should call Califonte at nine o'clock. I'm hoping we can get Singh to come into the casino. It'll be easier to apprehend him there.'
'Get Singh to come in tonight so I can have the day to go shopping. I gotta see the talking statues at Caesars. And we gotta stay to see the fountains at the Bellagio. It wouldn't be right if we left before we saw the fountains.'
Shopping would be fun, but there were other things on my mind. Photos of dead people. Carl Rosen missing. Red roses and white carnations. Plus I've never made an out-of-state apprehension and I was counting on Tank's help.
I ate a second sausage and I punched Ranger's number into my phone.
'Have you heard from Tank?' I asked Ranger.
'Tank's here. By the time he got security straight he couldn't get a flight out. The earliest flight we could get him on is today's four o'clock.'
'Probably we don't need him. Connie has me on a seven-thirty out of Vegas. I don't expect problems. Connie will get me the paperwork necessary to bring Singh back restrained and she'll make the arrangements with the local police.' Now if I just felt half as confident as I sounded, I'd be in good shape. 'Unfortunately the hardwares packed in Lula's suitcase. And the airlines lost both her bags.'
'I'll have everything you need delivered to your room by noon.'
'Did Tank tell you about the photos?'
'Yeah. And I heard from Morelli, too. He's not happy.'
'Did Carl Rosen ever show up?'
'You don't want to know about Rosen, babe.'
I blew out a sigh and disconnected. Even at seven in the morning, smoke hung in the air on the casino floor. I squinted into the haze and wondered if they were matching the new photos to Rosen. I called Morelli at home. When he didn't pick up I realized it was ten on the East Coast and I tried his cell.
'Yeah,' Morelli answered. Halfway through the morning and sounding pissed off.
'Guess who?'
Silence.
I grimaced at Lula.
'He should chill,' Lula said, shoveling eggs. 'We're working hard here. We got a job to do.'
'I heard that,' Morelli said. 'Tell Lula I've got an outstanding arrest from when she was on the street.'
'Tell me about the photos and Carl Rosen.'
'They're working on the photos now, but at first glance they look like a match. We found Rosen late last night. Someone dumped him at the corner of Laurel Drive and River Road. He had a white carnation stuffed down his pants and you've seen the photos, so I don't have to describe his head.'
'Any suspects?'
'A few. No arrests, if that's what you're asking.'
