Death at the Lake Page 2

  CHAPTER 2

  It was just 8 o’clock when the girls came downstairs, dressed for the day, packed and ready to go. After each of us had a quick cup of coffee, a piece of fruit, and a freshly-baked croissant, we loaded up and piled into my SUV to drive out to Loews. Brian had made special arrangements for us to check in early, and we were ready for fun, sun, and water.

  It had been quite a while since my last visit to Lake Las Vegas, and the area had changed, particularly because the main casino in the village had sold and now stood empty. For all its beauty and glorious houses with Italian flair, Lake Las Vegas was suffering lack of traffic and economic support. But it was on its way back, and I’d always believed it would become more economically sound in the near future. With the hotels already there and more and more visitors coming to the Las Vegas area looking for places beyond the Strip, Lake Las Vegas would certainly become the place to visit, or even live.

  We drove through the main entrance with its tall palm trees and passed the waterfalls, where many brides have their photos taken, and traveled along the curving road that cut through the gorgeous golf course, with manicured grass on both sides of the road. As we reached an incline near the clubhouse, we had a full view of the Strip down in the valley below. I loved Las Vegas and its vast valley with all its different aspects, especially its wide-open space, where you can see for miles. We continued driving past the village, which still held several wonderful restaurants and a few shops. Then we drove to the end of the road, and there was Loews with its fancy driveway and welcoming large pots of tropical plants.

  As we were slowed down, Sweet Pea stood on Nancy’s lap and looked out in anticipation of what lay ahead. We all stretched toward the windows, and I felt the girls’ excitement build. This was going to be a wonderful break for all of us, I thought with pleasure.

  After checking in and receiving the dog dish and mat they were famous for handing out to their canine visitors, we headed to the suite. It was large, with two adjoining rooms, each with a bathroom and bedroom area and two queen beds. In between the two bedroom areas were the kitchen/dining area and a rather small but comfortable living room, great for reading or watching television. Perfect.

  We hurriedly unpacked, and then we all raced down to the front of the resort and out onto the large outdoor patio, where couches and comfy chairs were scattered about a large fire pit and a decorative fountain area in the center. The patio had tiers of steps leading down onto a path that meandered around the lake. Just being there at Lake Las Vegas made us feel as if we were in a different country. I knew being there would be renewing for all of us.

  “Look,” shouted Karen, “paddle boats. Let’s go.”

  I grabbed Sweet Pea and ran down to hop into one of them with Nancy. “Come on, Sweet Pea,” Nancy shouted, “c’mon with me. There’s space for you right here beside me.”

  Luckily, it was one of those perfect days—warm but not too warm—so we didn’t need to worry about the sun burning us just yet.

  Afterward, we changed into our swimsuits, plopped on our new hats, and carried our gift bags to the small beach by the pool. Later we’d take our swim in the pool; the lake wasn’t clean enough. Sweet Pea wasn’t a worry because she was content back in the room, snuggled on my bed.

  We lounged in the beach chairs for a while until Nancy suddenly jumped up, saying “I can’t wait any longer. It’s time to eat.” It was always fun to watch Nancy eat, for she enthused over everything and could really pack it away. She was the smallest of us but always ate the most.

  Susannah looked at her watch and said, “You’ve got to be kidding—it’s only 11 o’clock.” She was not as flexible as the rest of us and was used to doing things on a tight schedule. Suddenly, she sprang up from her chair and laughingly said, “What the hell, why not? We’re on vacation.”

  Karen and I looked at each other and smiled. We were all so predictable. Karen and I first met the day we literally bumped into each other as we lugged our things into the room the college had assigned us as roommates. We hit it off from the very beginning and remained close friends ever since. As our freshmen year progressed, we met Nancy and Susannah, who lived on the same floor, just down the hall. We began to hang out together, and by our sophomore year, we requested a four-person suite, where we lived for the rest of our time at Cornell.

  In reality, it was sometimes hard to believe that we could be such close friends, because we couldn’t be more different. Yet, just like close siblings, we were always there for each other and truly loved each other in wonderful, healthy ways.

  I tended to be very private, wrapped up in my own thoughts, just as I had been as a little girl. My friends helped me come to value who I was and what I offered as an intuitive and a writer, which gave me the freedom to enjoy life as I saw it. Gram always said the girls gave me wings, and I believed that’s true.

  As I began to open up more to the enjoyment of friends and things outside myself, I fell madly in love with Jeff. He was the policeman who stopped me for speeding one night as I was driving home after an evening with the girls. Soon he was the topic of conversation each time we had a group telephone call. It was they who encouraged me to step outside my shell and embrace the good fortune of Jeff and my finding each other. It was also the girls who were there to help me pick up the pieces after the devastating ordeal of Jeff’s death and all the things he had been falsely accused of doing, and had become the fall guy for the drug dealing that happened in his department. Gram had passed by then, and I didn’t know what I would’ve done without my three beautiful friends. That was three years ago, but it seemed more like three lifetimes ago.

  “C’mon, Rosie, stop daydreaming. Let’s eat,” called Nancy, who led us through the resort to the little outside restaurant beside a small garden. We sat on the patio for lunch and listened to the palm trees rustle each time a warm breeze blew. It was heavenly. We each ordered their special sandwich—their “slim” choice, made with tomatoes, avocado, sprouts, and a mayonnaise/mustard sauce on multigrain bread. It was delicious, but then we spoiled all that slimness by eating their specialty—key lime pie. This was part of the being “naughty” that Karen referred to each time the four of us gathered, for it was she who was always watching her weight.

  Before long, the warm weather and food got the best of us. “Let’s go back to the suite and regroup for an hour or so,” suggested Susannah.

  We headed back to our suite to lie down, relax, or read, though I decided to take Sweet Pea for a walk around the lake instead. I was too keyed up thinking about all that’d happened during the previous weeks, as I knew it wasn’t over yet. Although Brian, Mike, and I were determined to discover who’d caused both Melissa’s and Sally’s deaths, we hadn’t yet addressed Sam’s murder, which had been reported as a robbery. We knew it wasn’t, though, because his wallet was found by his side with all his money intact. I believed all three murders were connected to one person, although the guys weren’t convinced of that yet. There definitely was more trouble headed our way, and I needed to remain calm and open to any psychic messages coming to me. Other than meditating, the best way for me to do that was to take a walk.

  As Sweet Pea and I began to start down the path around the lake, a feeling of foreboding overcame me, and I felt a little sick. Refusing to move farther down the path, I pulled Sweet Pea off the path and let her do her thing where we were. I immediately relaxed when a breeze ruffled my hair because I knew it was Gram visiting me. “Hi, Sweetheart. Glad the girls are with you. Enjoy them, but be careful. Love you.”

  Afterward, I headed back to the suite and was greeted by Karen, who was waiting for me. “Time to do the cards, Rosie. I need some answers.”

  Because of all that’d happened recently, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what was likely to happen to any of us, but I relented. “Okay, give me a few minutes to quiet my mind, and then I’ll get them.”

  The reading
was very accurate with regard to what I knew to be true for Karen in the past. The present was filled with cards expressing friendship, hardships overturned, and travel ahead for her. The future was filled with a lover (maybe two), more travel, and the marriage card, which made her a bit nervous. The last card, the outcome, was the World card—the best card in the deck as far as I was concerned—representing success. It was a wonderful reading for her, and I was glad. She deserved happiness and true love in her life at last.

  Susannah and Nancy rolled out of bed. “We want readings too.”

  I wasn’t in the mood for full readings because my mind was still wandering, filled with worry, so instead, we sat in a circle, and everyone picked a card for the day. Karen’s was the Five of Cups, meaning “Don’t run away from your feelings. You have been waiting for this new beginning for a long time.”

  Nancy’s was the Ace of Pentacles, with its meaning “Get your talents rolling. Do your own thing.”

  Susannah’s was the Three of Cups—“Don’t be afraid of emotional reactions. Open up to others, or make your limits plain.”

  Mine was the Eight of Wands, which told me “Great tasks require great efforts—in this case, more intuition and awareness.”

  Then it was game on, for as we had always done in the past, we took the meaning of our card and told the others something that was going on in our life that related to it. That was our philosophical time, and it usually was extremely interesting and thought-provoking.

  Karen, of course, wanted to go first, for she was excited about sharing her news, and rightfully so. “Okay, here it goes. You know how I’ve not been interested in a man for a long time, right? Well, guess what? I’ve just met someone. I swear he’s the love of my life, maybe even my soul mate.”

  The rest of us paused and remained silent for a long time before we showed any excitement, and she responded, “I know what you’re thinking; you’re remembering my time in college with that weirdo. It’s nothing like that. He’s the brother of one of the teachers I work with, and he’s also a teacher. You’ll like him, believe me. Before you even ask, here’s his name so you can Google him for yourself,” she added smugly, knowing we’d definitely do that. We laughed and asked more questions about this new person in her life until it was time for Nancy to share.

  Nancy was also enthused about taking her turn. “The meaning of my card couldn’t be more perfect either. As you know, I’ve been working for the same nonprofit for years, bringing in funds to help save some of the endangered animals around the world. It has become increasingly frustrating because I know that I’m their top person responsible for bringing in the largest share of donations, yet they aren’t even addressing some of the causes I’ve championed, so I’ve been talking to some of my donors from the past to see whether they’d support me if I set up my own nonprofit. That way, I can specialize in saving the elephants and the South African penguins. And guess what? They are encouraging me to do it, and they’ve promised me financial support.”

  We all agreed that Nancy would be the perfect person to take this on. We all loved animals, so we were excited to discuss some of the ways she could market her nonprofit. Of course, Susannah volunteered to be Nancy’s attorney, even though that was not her field of expertise; Karen said she’d have her kids paint pictures of the animals for advertising purposes; and I volunteered readings to guide her along the way.

  Susannah sat quietly, but a smile was tucked in the corner of her mouth. It was her turn, and we looked at her expectantly. She sat there silently until we pushed her to take the opportunity to talk about her card. “You all are going to think I’m just a silly woman with no real meaningful priorities in life,” she said.

  “What are you talking about, Susannah?” I exclaimed. “That’s not you.”

  “I agree,” chimed in Karen.

  “Just let her talk,” encouraged Nancy. “Go ahead, Susannah.”

  “All right. Most women our age are looking forward to having children and eventually grandchildren. You already know that Henry and I decided not to become parents, right?” Then, with her smile spreading across her brown face, she continued. “However, we’ve decided to become a more complete family by purchasing two Silky terrier puppies from a breeder in Connecticut. We’re going to pick them up in a week or so.” She asked excitedly, “Do you want to see their pictures?”

  We all clamored around to see pictures of her babies and shouted and yelled different suggestions for names—one male and one female. Chanel seemed to be the winner for the girl and Brut for the boy. But any suggestions had to be approved by Hank, so nothing definite could be decided right now. “Okay, Rosie, it’s your turn now,” Susannah prompted me.

  I was nervous about sharing. I didn’t exactly know how much to divulge although the message—“Great tasks require great efforts – in this case, more intuition and awareness” seemed appropriate in more ways than one. I already knew I seriously needed to step up my awareness and use my intuition more, and the message from this card only confirmed it, so I began my story.

  Of course, I left out some of the grittier details of my experiences. I didn’t want to cause the girls to worry about me. Still, there was much to share. I began telling my story at such a fast pace and tried to get it over with in such a hurry that Susannah exclaimed, “Whoa, hold on. You mean to tell us that you’re involved in two murders?”

  “Well, not exactly,” I stalled. “I’m just collecting information for my new column at Women Living Well on “What’s Hip in Las Vegas,” and I’m helping Brian so that he can apprehend the killer and …”

  “Just who is this Brian?” asked Nancy, cutting in.

  “What do you really know about him?” asked Susannah, wearing her lawyer frown.

  “I’m going to Google him,” Nancy threw into the conversation, as she rose to grab her iPad.

  “Hold on, let’s finish this conversation first,” ordered Susannah. “You’ve been working at the Purple Passion Lounge as an undercover agent? And you’re still involved with the murders? I don’t like this one bit, Rosie.”

  “I agree,” chimed in both Nancy and Karen.

  I was very aware they didn’t approve of my involvement, and there also was Brian’s demand that I opt out. Even if the Purple Passion Lounge closed after all that had happened and I no longer worked there, I still intended—with or without Brian and Mike—to find out who murdered Melissa and Sally. “Now, my dear friends,” I said in a calm, determined voice, “You are just going to have to trust me on this. I promise that if things begin to get out of line, I will end it and step away from all of it.”

  “That might not be as easy as you think; I wish you would step away right now,” Susannah said, with disapproval written all over her face.

  Karen piped up in a soothing voice. “Although we may not like it, we need to allow Rosie to do what she wants. She’ll know when the time is right time for her to step away and end it.”

  “You’re right,” Nancy agreed, reluctantly. “It’s not like Rosie can’t handle herself. But you have to promise us, Rosie, that if you need our help, you’ll let us know, okay?”

  Relief flooded through me as they let me off the hook, but it didn’t stop the worry building inside me. I knew at this point I needed to be more alert than ever, as it would be important for me to be able to pick out anything the least bit out of the ordinary happening around me. Things weren’t right, and I needed to be extra careful. In addition, I now had the worry of keeping my friends safe as well.

  CHAPTER 3

  “What time is it?” asked Nancy.

  “If you say it’s time to eat, I’m going to scream,” teased Susannah.

  “Not eat,” responded Nancy with a grin. “Time for a mojito on the patio.”

  “Sounds great,” we all cried in unison. As we got to our feet, I was glad to be moving on to something more carefree. I gathered
up the tarot cards and saw the Death card sticking out. I shoved it back into the middle of the deck and joined the girls, who had already grabbed their bags to go to the patio. I reached for mine and called to Sweet Pea to join us.

  Once outside, I could tell that I needed to walk Sweet Pea again, so I called to the girls, “Save me a seat, and order a mojito for me.”

  As I followed the path along the lake, I could sense rather than hear someone coming down the path behind us. I didn’t want to be found there alone, so I picked up Sweet Pea and tucked her under my arm. Then I stepped off the trail behind a clump of beautiful purple-flowered bushes that were thick enough to hide us, and I bent low. Sensing my worry, Sweet Pea stayed quiet and remained so as a man walked by. After he had taken a few steps away from where we stood, I peeked out to see if it was someone I recognized. My breath caught, and my heart fell. He looked like the second man who had broken into my house. I’d already had a confrontation with his sidekick a few days ago, and I didn’t want a repeat performance. It definitely was time to call Brian. After all, he was the lead on the murder cases, the person I was supposed to call for anything related to the investigation.

  When I punched in his number, his phone rang and rang with no response, which left me no choice but to leave a message. “Hey, Cowboy, give me a call, please.”

  I expected him to call me back right away, but my phone remained silent for the rest of the day. Something was up, for sure, something bigger than my incident, or he’d have certainly called me by now, wouldn’t he?

  Later, as I changed into my evening clothes and got ready to drive the girls into the village for dinner, Sweet Pea sat on the bed and watched my every move. I mumbled to her, “What’s going on, Sweet Pea?” She just stared at me intently.

  We were looking forward to going to the small village on the other side of the lake. It had narrow, cobbled streets winding around the few stores, galleries, restaurants, and two hotels. It’s quite charming and would make a nice evening away from Loews.