With one yank, Viv pulled the comforter off of her bed. Convinced there was a connection between Carmine and Joey that went beyond the HOA, she'd decided to return to Carmine's Fluff and Fold. There's something going on with that place besides laundry. She dropped the comforter into a plastic basket and headed toward the garage.
At the laundromat, one glance told Viv that all three of the oversized washing machines were in use. But this time a young woman stood behind the counter folding sheets. Viv walked to the smart card machine. As predicted, her first card had gotten lost. She sighed when she saw an Out of Order paper pasted over the machine.
Viv walked to the counter. "Is there another way I can pay for a load?" she asked. The girl looked up from her folding, causing Viv to flinch. I know her. She's the one who walks the baby in the neighborhood.
"You live at the Desert Tortoise Estates," the girl said. "I've seen you walking with that silver-haired guy. The mentalist."
Viv did her best not to laugh. Everybody knows Rex. Give a man a big smile and a stack of perfect gray hair and he becomes the immediate center of attention.
"That's us," Viv said. "And Kevin, Rex's dog," she added.
"So the silver fox owns the dog." She pushed the folded sheet aside to start on a pillowcase.
"How do I pay for a load of wash with the machine out of service?" Viv changed the subject.
"New management," the girl explained. "We only deal in cash now. You pay me. I start the washer. If you need the money, you can step across the street to the bank."
Viv looked out the plate glass storefront window to the building across the street. To her surprise there was a freshly painted sign over the door: D&M Savings and Loan. "Is that a new bank—a private one? I've never heard of it."
"Yep." The girl nodded. "Changed hands just this week." Her tone was clipped. "The guy who bought out the Fluff and Fold also owns the bank. There are branches up north." She pointed to the sign behind the counter: D&M Fluff and Fold. “Named after the owner."
“Not very original," Viv said dryly. "Naming a bank and a laundry with your own initials." She paused a moment to think. Remembering the list of members on the HOA letterhead, she made a connection. "Does that mean Dean Marcella owns both?"
"My uncle Deano," the girl said with a grin. "He got me this job." She folded another pillowcase. "Just step over and wait. I'll be there in a minute to get things going."
Viv walked away from the counter. So now a guy on our HOA board of directors, aka the crooner at Three Bunch, has taken over Carmine's business. And if that isn't bad enough, he's opened a bank across the street. A private bank. That has to be a sign for something really bad going on.
She stood in front of the washer, wondering what to do with what she learned. Maybe we're barking up the wrong tree. It's not Beverly or Pete or Joey. Maybe the real killer is the boozy Dean Marcella. His half-smashed persona aside, he owns his very own bank. And now a Fluff and Fold. Not bad for a guy who sells knockoff Nikes out of the back of his truck.
Maybe he bumped off Carmine to get the business. Maybe the others are covering for him, trying to pin it on Joey Baker for their own reasons.
“I’ll have to come back another time,” Viv said, making an excuse to the girl behind the counter. “I just remembered I have an appointment.”
Digging into the washing machine, she lifted her unwashed comforter. Then she turned to drop it inside the laundry basket. Instead of going across the street to the bank for more cash, she headed toward the car. Once there, she tossed the basket in the back seat of her Tesla, her mind still whirling. I have to tell Rex.
When she looked at her cell she found a text from him, sent five minutes earlier.
Viv quickly drove down Judy Garland Drive, past Barbara Streisand Way, directly into the casino parking lot. It was early, not yet four in the afternoon. She parked at the very back of the lot.
Once inside Pair-a-Dice, she hesitated, giving her eyes a chance to adjust to the semi darkness. There he is! She spotted his gray hair first. He stood at the blackjack table.
She walked toward him. A woman wearing a black sheath, cut very low on top and high up on her thigh, made Viv wary. Especially when she leaned into Rex, batting her eyelashes.
I thought this was an emergency! Her stomach tightened with irritation. Before she could spin around and leave the casino, a tinkling laugh wafting over the hubbub of other voices made her stop.
"Oh, Rex. You're such a devil. How about we go back to your place for a drink?" the woman said.
Viv knew her neighbor well enough by now to see that he was uncomfortable. Even she could see that he kept trying to inch away as the woman clung to his arm, tottering on her stiletto heels, bumping against his body suggestively.
Rex looked up and caught sight of Viv. The relief on his face made her smile. "Hey, honey. Thanks for picking me up. Come closer. I want you to meet Darcy." He shouted so that she could hear over the din of the casino.
Viv scowled. I don't want to meet his casino floozy. I get it. Women like him.
Rex nodded to the dealer. Then he put his arm around the woman's shoulder, guiding her toward Viv. Once they stood in front of her, Darcy barely glanced at Viv before returning her gaze to Rex's face. She ran her hand up his neck, her finger along the back of his collar. Then the finger snaked down his chest, where she poked at the pocket on the front of his shirt.
Rex's eyes were focused on Viv. "Honey, how about a drink before you go?" His voice pleaded and his neck had flushed red as Darcy's wandering hand traveled down his chest heading toward his belt.
Viv reconsidered. Maybe Rex really needed her help. She watched as he plucked the hand of the woman off of his belt, dropping it to her side. "Gotta go now, Darcy. The old ball and chain has come to take me away," he said.
Before Darcy could protest, he took Viv's arm, reestablishing his allegiance. Then he pulled Viv closer. "Thanks," he said in her ear as they walked away from Darcy toward the exit.
In the parking lot he continued to explain. "She was on me the minute I walked into the casino. I know most of the women who work the floor, but I didn't recognize her. I guess I looked like a ripe piece of fruit, a guy who would pay for her evening. I've been trying to say no for the past hour. That was a setup."
His earnest expression convinced Viv. Honestly, I never thought of what it would be like for men to be sexually harassed.
"No problem, happy to help," she told him.
Rex opened her car door. Sitting behind the wheel, she pointed to his pocket. "I think Darcy put something in there."
He reached in and pulled out a business card. A low whistle came from his lips. He turned the card over. "Now this I didn't expect. It seems Darcy was the messenger." He handed the card to Viv for her inspection.
She read aloud, "You're invited to Frank Salucci's house."
"Read the business name," he said.
"F&S Real Estate Development." First D&M Bank and D&M Fluff and Fold, and now this? Does everyone have to have a business with their initials in the title?
She turned the card over. A handwritten scrawl read: Tonight. Bring cash. Call me if you're in.
Viv handed the card back to Rex. "What does it mean exactly?"
"That our HOA director just invited me to his high-stakes poker game. I've heard about these invitations. Always in person. Never online because they don't want to be traced." Rex smiled.
"But you don't like gambling," Viv said.
"But I do like detecting. And that's what I'll do. I bet the rest of the HOA will be there, just like when they played at Three Bunch."
Viv was perplexed. "So is this high-roller behavior. I mean, they send an overzealous female to pick you out of a crowd and drop a number in your pocket? That seems so extreme.”
“Maybe to you and me. But to Frank Salucci? Sending a potential hooker is his style. At least that's the rumor. He works deals under the table and behind the scenes."
"You sound convinced," Viv said.
"Salucci has his ways. Now I have an invite to the hottest poker game in town." He looked pleased with himself as he adjusted his shirt collar and slipped the card back in his pocket.
Viv didn't feel that pleased. All she felt was concern. She had confidence in Rex, but just watching him with that woman had shown her another side of his personality. Her neighbor was a bit shy when he wasn't in charge. The woman pushed him off balance. He called me for help for a reason.
And then that other incident, when Joey Baker had walked in because he forgot to lock the door. Rex didn't see it coming. All of this made her wonder. Can Rex handle a high-stakes poker game with a bunch of men who most likely suspect he was nosing into their business?
She leaned out her open window. "Why don't you come by after dinner. We can swim and talk this over. Plus I want to tell you what I found out today at the Fluff and Fold."
"I'll bring Kevin," he said and then turned away.