Dionne took a deep breath. “When you’re done taking your shots, we have something we need to talk about.”
“OK,” said Freddie. “But I think we’ve lost the deposit on the chapel by now.”
“The Celestial Church of New Hope,” said Dionne.
“Oh,” replied Freddie. “Is that where you went? Well, I’m glad you found some peace.”
“Let’s cut the crap, please. You took my idea. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was you. Even down to the leader being a woman.”
Freddie laughed. “Tell me, did you have yourself slotted in for that Messiah role?”
“No,” answered Dionne truthfully. “Much better to have a true believer.”
Freddie nodded. “Yes, Martha is special. You must come and hear her speak. If you want in, I’ll have to talk to a couple of people. We might have an entry-level position.”
He gave her that smile again. Part of her, upon seeing it, wondered how she’d ever loved this man. Coming back to it now, it was clear to see what had once seemed mischievous for what it really was – a condescending smirk. Even now, having taken her idea, he still thought he could outsmart her.
“I don’t want in. I want it gone.”
“Excuse me?” said Freddie, refilling his glass. “We are a legitimate religion. We have acolytes in town this week from all corners of the country. No – the globe. The time of salvation is at hand.” He raised his glass in a toast. “Rejoice!”
Dionne looked him square in the eyes. “Shut it down, or I will.”
The smile that had never really been there fell away. “Say that again?”
“Consider this visit a courtesy,” said Dionne. “I turned away from that life, and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna sit and watch you use my ideas to screw rubes out of their money.”
“Get off the cross, sweetheart.” He all but spat the final word. “We need the wood. You’ve been gone for a long time, off with your crew of phoney nuns.” He raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, I know a little. You aren’t quite as clever as you think you are. You should never have come here.”
“I wanted to give you a choice.”
“How sweet. I want to give you one, too – either come work for me or get out of town.”
Dionne took a long moment before answering. “No.”
“OK,” said Freddie, picking up the Veuve Clicquot and upending it, letting the remainder spill onto the dusty ground. “To old friends.” Once done, he tossed the bottle onto the table where it spun slowly around, a trickle escaping as it did so. “I’m done being nice. You’ve got something I don’t, honey – a record. You’re a felon with a history of fraud. Two men went to the LVPD yesterday, reported a woman matching your description having worked the old Bo Peep on them. You were always good at that.”
Dionne said nothing. The ground was shifting under her feet.
Freddie sat back. “Your record, added to their testimony, plus some tip-offs linking you to a couple of old crimes that – spoiler alert – you really did commit, and you’ll be tied up in legal knots for years. Good luck getting bail.”
Dionne nodded. “Thank you.”
He laughed. “What for?”
“I really did feel bad about this. Tearing it all down after I disappeared on you, but you’ve made it a lot easier. You’ve also reminded me why I disappeared in the first place, and why I knew I should never see you again.”
“Give me all you got, sweetheart. Hopefully the memory of it will keep you warm on those long, lonely prison nights.” Freddie slipped his phone out of his inside jacket pocket and pressed a button. “I already had the text written. The boys and girls of the LVPD have the place surrounded. They’ll be coming through that door in a moment to talk to you.”
The thing was, once you realised you had made a terrible mistake, there was no time for regret, self-recrimination or pleading.
Action.
Dionne was on her feet in an instant. Freddie had been expecting it and moved to block her path. He was always too cocky for his own good, though. The Champagne bottle in Dionne’s hand swung up and clattered against the side of his pretty face, sending him sprawling to the ground. He grabbed at her legs as she leaped over him, but she had been expecting that too. A stomp on his left hand and she was free.
He screamed something unintelligible in her wake as she ran down the aisle. Signs flashed by on both sides. If the place really was “surrounded” by LVPD, she had to hope that meant two cars at most. One on the main doors. If she could get out and over the wall, she could maybe outrun them. Vegas had an awful lot of cameras, but it was still an easy town to get lost in. First she had to get out of the trap she’d walked herself right into, and then the next step was the next step.
Her legs were pumping now, running full tilt. She’d scoped it on the way in. A sign for the Sands that looked as if she could climb it and, from there, make a leap for the high fence that surrounded the compound.
The thought that she really needed a distraction had just popped into her head when something exploded. She ducked, her instincts telling her that she was being shot at, but that wasn’t it. The noise had come from across the street. Dionne was pretty sure that was a parking lot. No time to think about it now. She leaped at the sign, clambering up the S until she stood precariously on top of it.
Damn. The fence was further than she thought. She could hear feet running
