I whipped my phone out and I called Morelli. 'Reporting in,' I told him. 'Anything new?'
'I was just going to call you,' Morelli said. 'I know a guy on the Vegas police force. I gave him a call when I got off the phone with you and asked him to keep his eyes open for Singh. I just got a call back from him. They found Singh in his car in the airport parking lot about an hour ago. Shot twice in the back of the head, close range. We're checking the passenger lists on all Vegas flights in and out of LaGuardia, Newark, and Philadelphia.'
I had a moment's pause where I didn't know what I felt. There was an emotion struggling around inside me. Relief that there was closure on the Singh hunt. Disappointment that I hadn't been able to save him. And dread. The killer's constant presence was wearing me down.
'The Cones?' I asked.
'All present and accounted for.'
'Too bad. That would have been so easy. At least I can leave Vegas now. And I'm bringing something home with me that might be helpful… Singh's laptop.'
Silence at the other end. 'Susan Lu gave it to you?'
'I found it on the sidewalk. I think there might have been a break-in and the laptop got dropped and left behind somehow. And I found it.'
I wasn't sure what was going on at the other end of the connection. Either Morelli was smiling or else he was banging his head against his desk. I was going to go with smiling.
'I'll pick you up at the airport,' Morelli said. 'Try to stay out of trouble. Do you need a police escort when you leave your hotel?'
'No. I've had enough police escorts for one day. Thanks anyway.' I disconnected and relayed the information about Singh. 'The Vegas police found Singh at the airport an hour ago. Two bullet holes in the back of his head,' I told Connie and Lula.
'I was sort of hoping it was a bluff,' Lula said. 'That the killer wasn't really here and he sent you the flowers to get you to go home. Not that I'm scared or anything.'
We all did some mental knuckle cracking and tried not to look nervous.
'We should go back to the hotel,' I said. 'If we're going to make the plane we need to pack.'
Everyone agreed, so we flagged down a cab and we all piled in. I called Ranger on the way. I told him about Singh and then I told him about Salvatora.
'I already talked to Salvatora,' Ranger said. 'His hand is okay, but he said he needs a chiropractor for his back.' Ranger paused and when he continued I could hear the laughter in his voice. 'Salvatora said a fat woman in pink spandex and silver sequins fell on him.'
'That would be Lula. And she didn't fall on him. She tackled him.'
'She did a good job,' Ranger said. 'I'm sorry I missed it. Salvatora's partner will take you to the airport.'
'How will I know him?'
'He looks like Salvatora… but more.'
Five minutes later we were walking through the hotel to the elevators and we were being very vigilant. We didn't know what the killer looked like. It didn't seem likely that he would strike in a public place, but there was no guarantee.
We took the elevator to the eighteenth floor, walked halfway down the hall, and Connie unlocked our room door. She stepped in and muffled a scream. Lula and I were directly behind her and we had the same reaction.
The dog had destroyed the room. Pillows were chewed. The blanket was shredded. A corner of the mattress was missing. Toilet paper was everywhere.
Connie closed and locked the door behind us. 'Don't anybody panic. Its probably not as bad as it looks. Cheap mattress, cheap blanket, right? How much could a pillow cost?'
'Uh-oh,' Lula said. 'I think he pissed on the cable wire and shorted the television. This here's like traveling with a metal band,' Lula said.
Boo was on the bed, tail wagging.
'But look at him,' I said. 'He's so cute. And he looks sorry. Don't you think he looks sorry?'
'I think he looks happy,' Lula said. 'I think he's smiling. I'm glad we saved this little guy. That bag of monkey doody Mrs. Apusenja deserves him.'
'We weren't gone that long,' Connie said. 'How could such a little dog do all this damage?'
'Guess he was feeling anxiety,' Lula said. 'Poor things been through a lot, what with getting dognapped and everything. And look at him, he's just a puppy. He might even be teething. At least he didn't eat the flowers. It's nice to come back to fresh flowers in the room.'
'They were sent by a serial killer! They're death flowers' I said.
'Well, yeah, but they're still nice,' Lula said.
I looked at my watch. I had to pack. 'Not a lot of time to take care of this mess,' I said.
'Here's the plan,' Connie said. 'We check out and it all goes on Vinnie's bill.'
'See that,' Lula said. 'This dog's nothing but good luck. We get to stick it to Vinnie all because this dog was smart enough to eat the room. I think this here's been a positive experience. That's my new philosophy anyway. Nothing but positive experiences. That's why I'm driving home from here.'
'You've got to be kidding,' Connie said. 'It'll take you days.'
'Don't matter. I'm not getting back on a plane. I'm done with planes. They aren't any fun. All that searching
