CHAPTER TEN
Liz stood tapping her foot when I drove up to get her. She hopped in before I’d even come to a complete stop.
“Good morning to you,” I greeted her.
“I’ve already entered Chris’s info into Google Maps. Just follow her instructions,” she responded. “He’s in Aliante,” she added and I groaned. “Yeah, I know, but if I know my guy, it’ll be worth it.”
Aliante was at least a thirty minute drive from the television station. I stifled a response and simply hoped she was right about him being worth it.
“You caught the show.” A statement, not a question.
“I did. How did you get the video so quickly? The murder was just last night.”
“I have my sources.”
Rolling my eyes, I stayed quiet. She jumped in to fill the silence.
“Okay, okay. Since the second murder, people have started taping when actors do Facebook Live videos. Quite a few people emailed me the video after the murder.”
It was creepy how she sounded so cheerful. Another man died. Good grief.
“But, we really need new information. Chris is a genius online, so if he says he’s got something, it’s going to be good. I promise.”
Her excitement was infectious and I smiled at her enthusiasm. “He didn’t give you even the tiniest hint?”
“Nope, but that’s Chris. He loves his drama,” she laughed. I joined her; that was probably why they got along so well.
She scrolled through her cellphone. I drove in the silence while she checked whatever it was she was checking and soon we were pulling up to a two-story beige stucco house. It was virtually indistinguishable from half the homes in Vegas but appeared well-kept.
*****
A young man with smooth dark skin and dreadlocks opened the door with a wide smile.
“Hello, Liz and friend.” He gave Liz a quick hug.
“Mia,” I offered as we shook hands.
“Chris.” He winked at me. “I can see by your expression that I do not fit your stereotype.”
I reddened but acknowledged the remark.
“Unless you happen to live in the basement and this is really your mother’s house,” I quipped back and he belly laughed.
“Ah, but Mia, you know there are no basements in Vegas.”
“Guest room?”
He laughed again. “No on both counts.” He stepped aside to grant us entry. “Welcome to my humble abode. Although I will admit that I had interior decorating assistance.”
“It clearly paid off,” I responded and looked around. His home was beautifully appointed with matching earth-toned neutrals everywhere, a splash of red on throw pillows, and abstract art pieces on the walls.
“Thank you very much. Please, please, have a seat at the dining table.” We gathered around a laptop on the table, chairs already thoughtfully arranged in a semicircle.
“Okay, let me show you what I found.” Chris was all business once we were seated. “I don’t know your technical background, so I’ll go through all the steps,” he said to me.
“Here’s the picture that Liz gave me to start with,” and the familiar image of Juni filled the screen. “As you know, image-detecting software doesn’t work very well on partial images.” He closed the image and opened up a new one. I gasped. “I know, right? I took your image and worked my magic to fill in what the other two thirds of her face looked like. I can’t guarantee it, but I suspect this is pretty close.”
Looking at the image of a front-facing Juni, I had to agree with him. If I saw the partial and this whole image side-by-side, I would be certain they were the same woman. Long brown hair. Dark, almost black eyes.
As if reading my mind, Chris hit a few keys and the partial popped up beside the full image rendering. I could see Liz nodding beside me.
“Dang, Chris. You are a genius.”
“Thank you, Liz, but if that’s all I could do, that wouldn’t be as helpful, no?”
“True,” she agreed with a chuckle.
“Good thing I did more.” He closed those images and brought up a video, clearly showing the inside of a casino. “I ran a search for my new image. Nothing popped in criminal databases.”
I opened my mouth to ask how he had access to those and closed it quickly. Not really my business.
“When I ran it against general photos and videos posted on the internet, well, that’s when things got interesting.” Without another word, he clicked start for the video. A cute couple, clearly inebriated, were talking to each other and the person holding the phone. Since they were obviously not Juni, I correctly assumed what I was looking for was in the background.
“Wait for it,” Chris intoned and I leaned forward.
There! He hit the pause for the video just as a woman walked into frame behind the happy couple. Holy cow, it was definitely Juni. Chris waited for our reactions.
“Where is this, Chris?” Liz asked, her eyes squinting as she tried to see details that would disclose the location.
I realized why Chris was waiting. “When is this?” I asked instead and Chris nodded his approval.
“Exactly, Mia. The where is important, Liz, and it’s at the Golden Nugget at Freemont. But, Mia hit the nail on the head. When I checked the time stamp for this video, it’s a week ago.”
To her credit, Liz instantly understood. “This is right before the murder. Well after Juni died,” she exclaimed.
Chris nodded. “Yep, which makes things interesting. Either your girl Juni isn’t dead, or this is the twin sister you’re looking for.”
My head was spinning. If I was wrong about Juni being a djinn, then this very well could be Juni and she likely was our murderer. If I was right about Juni being a djinn, then this was likely her twin sister who was our murderer. But, if this was Juni, what was her motive for murder? Angry at Roger for some reason. But why kill the others? And if it was the twin sister, I was still back to my question of her motive for the murders of Chad and Bradley…too many ifs. I realized Liz and Chris were staring at me.
“What are you thinking?” Liz asked.
“Did you find her on any of the security footage at the Golden Nugget?”
“I may have access to certain private databases,” he coyly answered, “but even I cannot access casino security footage. And I don’t know anybody who would give me access. Do you?” This last directed at Liz.
She frowned while she thought. “Not at the Golden Nugget.”
“No other videos popped with her image?” I asked Chris.
“I’m afraid not.”
I winked at them both. “Then it looks like we’re heading to Freemont!”