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"Who books a suite with three bedrooms for a second honeymoon?" Matt whispered to Sady. "Unless they are into something they don't want to admit. Ouch!"
"Shame on you. You deserved that, and you know it! Harry told me they moved to this suite so we could work together without playing tag. Now get your mind out of the gutter, or I'm going to tell CJ. She's hopping mad that someone has messed with Harry. I wouldn't want to be that person when she finds them." Sady tapped her foot impatiently.
"I guess this wouldn't be the right time to tell her it was me all along, and I just wanted a free trip to Vegas?" Matt asked.
"Is it my imagination, or do you have some kind of death wish?" Sady replied. "I think for your sake I'd better intervene and go tell CJ your confession."
Matt grabbed her arm. "Don't you dare," he breathed in her ear. "I'm not that desperate for a trip to Vegas. You know I'm just kidding... right?" Sady let him sweat for a minute before she relented with a smile.
"Without Amanda here someone's got to keep you in line. Maybe I should have got a phone number from the woman with the yellow teeth," Sady suggested.
"You win," he said with a shudder. "Just for that I get to pick which bedroom I want." He opened the doors to the available rooms and picked the nicer one. "Better view," he told her, pulling back the curtains to show her the street view with signs advertising showgirls.
"Have you learned nothing from poor Harry?" Sady asked with a shake of her head. "For your own sake you get the other bedroom. The view is much safer."
She picked up his bag and took it to the other room, dropping it on the bed. Pulling back the curtains she showed him the view- another high-rise hotel casino. "You'll thank me later," she promised.
"When you are done admiring the view, I thought it would be nice if we could review the current situation. If you don't mind," CJ said sarcastically from the doorway. Sady gave her a hug which CJ accepted with a roll of her eyes. She wasn't a demonstrative woman, and right now she had someone to hunt down and hurt.
"Is this group hug therapy?" Matt asked. "Because if so, there's a woman down in the lobby..." CJ gave him a smile as Sady released her and turned on Matt.
"What's wrong with you? I really am sorry I didn't get that woman's phone number," she stated. "The one with the yellow teeth on the plane. She had the hots for Matt," Sady explained CJ. "If he keeps this up I'm calling Amanda for reinforcement."
"I think we've jumped the track," Matt reminded Sady, grabbing her arm and pulling her to the common room of the suite. Harry sat with a folder and papers spread out across the table.
"They were deciding on rooms," CJ said in a snippy voice. No one took offense. They all knew CJ's anger was directed at the person blackmailing her husband.
Sady slipped into a chair with a smile of apology at Harry. He winked and passed around the papers he and CJ collected since the previous day's conference.
"Since you're going to ask anyway, I'll tell you my side. What I can remember, anyway. The day before yesterday CJ went to bed early with a headache."
Sady kicked Matt under the table when she saw his grin.
Harry ignored them and continued, "I went to the show here at the hotel and sat with a guy who came in on the same flight. He wanted to go to another club for a drink. Let me tell you this is one of those times it doesn't pay to be the nice guy. We went to the Can-Can Club. The last thing I remember before waking up in a strange room was taking a drink of whatever that guy ordered for me."
"Was the, uh, young woman still there when you woke up?" Matt asked. At the looks he got from Sady and CJ he said, "What? It's a guy thing... Well, was she?"
"Yeah," CJ thundered. "We all went out and had a nice breakfast after the blackmail photo session was over."
"Here's where you apologize," Sady suggested to Matt.
"For being an investigator? I don't think so," he told her. A growl from CJ brought them back to the present.
Harry continued his story before the conversation went astray. "I grabbed a cab and came back here. I knew something wasn't right, but I wasn't robbed or assaulted. It wasn't until you let us know about the pictures that we realized what had happened. So then we checked the club. The security tape from that night had been accidentally erased, and no one knows the woman in the photos... they claim. It's obvious someone knows something, but they aren't talking to us... now. CJ may have been a little overzealous in her quest for answers," Harry said.
“Aren't the police able to help?” Sady asked.
Matt patted her on the head. “She's cute, but naïve.” He explained to Sady, “This doesn't even register on the crime scale in a city like this. Filing a police report would have been a waste of time and a dead end. The LVPD doesn't have the time or resources to pursue cases like this.”
Sady frowned and asked, "So, where's the room?"
"Next door to the club. It's the kind of place that rents by the hour. Their cameras were broken that night," Harry said with a sigh. "I can't track down the guy I was with either. We called in a few favors to check on him. The name he gave isn't showing up on the airline or hotel records. CJ and I have been reviewing possible motives. The only one that makes sense is that someone feels I wronged them. The threat isn't directed at the business or CJ."
"Do you think it has anything to do with any work you did for Uncle John in the past?" Sady wondered.
"Not likely. That was all a long time ago. If it was from that angle I'd have expected it years ago. I have Morrow checking a few things, just in case. But this seems more personal. The set up and photos suggest someone wants me to suffer."
Sady shivered. She'd been in that position not so long ago. When she felt Matt's hand on the back of her neck, gently massaging, she jumped. They all looked at her skittish reaction. "Are you okay?" Matt asked.
She smiled. "As long as no one sends blackmail pictures of me in bed with a strange woman." Matt's hand stilled, and she elbowed him. "That's not hot, Matt. It's sick." He grinned and continued the massage.
"And here are the blackmail pictures of the woman," Harry said. "Again, no one seems to know who she is. She doesn't have a record, at least here in Vegas."
"Are you sure?" Sady asked. "It looks like she has rug burn on her knees. I bet she's been around the block a time or ten. She's a lot older than she's pretending to be. Look at the bags under her eyes. And the lines around her mouth. Of course, she could be a heavy smoker, but that skin on her neck looks like it came off a chicken. Notice her sagging jawline. And that bra she's wearing is working overtime to hold up those droopy boobs. See how she keeps her thighs under the sheet? I bet she has varicose veins and cellulite that could get her arrested for ugly." She stopped and peeked up when the room got unusually quiet. "Sorry, occupational hazard," she smiled. "Shall I continue?"
"As long as you don't critique my husband," CJ quipped.
"There's nothing bad there, CJ, I assure you." Matt glared daggers, and Sady said hastily, "But, back to the subject at hand. I'm not seeing any pale skin where a wedding ring would be, so she's not currently married- no surprise there. Oops, did I say that out loud? Perhaps I should have mentioned occupational cattiness as well. But continuing on. The necklace she's wearing is expensive. From the looks of it, I'd say it's real and very new. Skin oils, makeup, and perfume can dull a piece of jewelry quickly. Those stones are blinding, and I doubt she took the time to shine her necklace for the picture."
"Her overworked bra is from Victoria's Secret- don't ask how I know. Her hair roots are showing which means she probably has her hair done professionally. If she dyed her own she wouldn't go out of the house with roots like that. Same with the nails. That's a nice set of acrylics she's got, but they're chipping which means she probably can't afford to get them done regularly. I'd bet the necklace is her payment for this job."
She turned to them and finished with, "She'll pawn that necklace. A woman who needs her hair and nails done isn't going to keep a pricey necklace at the expense of her personal looks. She won't be using a reputable place either. Not with the job she just pulled. The fewer questions, the better, even if it means less cash."
They gazed at her in awe and admiration. Sady grinned. "And here you thought being a former beauty queen had no practical value. Oh, one other thing. See that stamp on her hand? I bet that came from the Can-Can Club. Harry has one as well- see? And if you put that woman in a lineup dressed as a man I could still identify her."
"Give the lady a raise," Harry said appreciatively. "That gives us two angles to work. The pawn shops and the club. Since CJ got us banned from the club, we'll let you two work that angle. We'll look into the necklace/pawn shop connection."
Harry and CJ got busy on the computer while Matt stared at Sady with a suspicious look. "What?" she asked.
"Do you assess everyone you meet like that?" he asked.
"Nope. Only potential rivals or threats. But, if you want a professional assessment I'd be happy to give you one," she offered.
"I don't think my ego would survive," he muttered.
She leaned close and whispered in his ear, "And you would be so wrong. But I guess your ego doesn't need any inflating, so it's a good thing you turned me down."
"Can I change my mind?" he asked eagerly.
"No. It's a once-in-a-lifetime offer," she teased. "Now, we have work to do. Get busy and find something we can use to get answers at that club."