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  Carolyn smiled. “That’s your big crime wave?”

  “When I was in junior high, I would take cigarettes without her permission. She and her boyfriend smoked. I thought it was pretty cool. I only did it for about three weeks. Then I got all involved with a guy who said that he hated smoking, and I quit.”

  Adeline pressed again. “Is that the extent of your criminal history?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Dear, please stop calling us ma’am.”

  “Yes, Mrs. Cooper.”

  “How about you call us by our first names? I am Carolyn, this is Adeline, and you know Anna.”

  “Thank you, Miss Carolyn.”

  Adeline seemed much more interested now that she’d heard the whole story. “Let me make a phone call. Please do not leave until I return.” She walked into her room.

  Amy didn’t seem concerned knowing that Adeline was making calls. The unspoken warning was that she might be checking up on Amy’s story. It added a great deal to her credibility that Amy seemed okay with that.

  Amy shared pictures of her adorable son, her phone number, and her desire to create a good life for her boy.

  When Anna asked why she wasn’t getting more help from her ex-husband, the father of her child, she cried for the first time.

  “I can’t do that to him. He’s had such a hard time since he’s gotten back.”

  “You’re in this mess because you’re trying to support your son all alone, and you feel sorry for him? He needs to step up and take care of his child.”

  Amy said quietly, “You can’t take care of a child when you can’t take care of yourself. His deployments really messed him up.”

  Carolyn reached out. “Just what does that mean?”

  “He’s kinda stuck. It isn’t like you hear about on the history channels. The guys that came back from the old wars, like Vietnam, they were messed up in a different way. I know lots of guys are coming back with stress disorders and drug problems and stuff like that, but that isn’t the way it is for my ex-husband. For him, he just can’t get going. It’s more than depression. He’s even tried to get help. They tell him to join a support group or take this pill or that pill. He can’t. He hasn’t gotten it back together, and he hasn’t lost it; he’s just stuck in the middle.”

  Anna wasn’t buying it. “But if everyone gives him a pass, how is that helping him?”

  “It isn’t giving him a pass. Putting more pressure on him would be like throwing a heavy weight to a drowning man. He’s just barely able to keep himself a little bit afloat. If I add more pressure, he’s gonna sink. If I don’t add more pressure, maybe he can make it back to the edge. I feel terrible, especially since he is the father of my only child, but I can’t jump in and save him. I have my son to take care of, and I can’t afford for him to pull me down.”

  Carolyn spoke quietly. “You’re smart to put your son’s needs first.”

  “I feel really guilty. I loved my ex-husband so much. I still do. But I can’t deal with all of that and my mother and take proper care of my son. He made the choice to leave me. If he hadn’t, things would be very different. For all of us.”

  Anna reached out for Amy’s hand. “I haven’t learned all that much in this life Amy, but I have learned that you can’t take on the weight of the world without crumbling. You can only take responsibility for what you are responsible for. That would be you and your son. If you have anything left over, you can help your mother when you can. If you think you have more left after that, then someone is missing out, and my guess would be that it is you. You need to take care of yourself. If not for yourself, then for your son.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I would love to have a dollar for every time I knew something — just like you know you need to put yourself first — but did something else to try to be nice or to take care of someone or for some other reason that upon retrospect was less than beneficial to me. Things like that always seem like a good idea at the time.”

  “I know.”

  Carolyn asked, “Do you think that your supervisor is having anyone else do this? Go through guests’ things?”

  “If he is, he has them as freaked out as he has me. No one has said a word.”

  “Do you spend any time with anyone you work with outside of work?”

  “No. I’m pretty busy. Between my second job and my online classes and my son and my mom being sick, I don’t have time to socialize with anyone.”

  Anna gave it a moment’s thought. “That is understandable. Do you know if the other employees spend time together? Maybe your supervisor focused on you because you are the only one who doesn’t talk to everyone else.”

  “I know that some of the staff spend time together. Some of them have second jobs within the industry. One of the girls was talking in the changing area the other day, and she said that since the economy has taken a dump — sorry for that characterization — that we’ve become like a cruise ship. Everyone has secondary responsibilities, and some have three and four things they do. Bartenders are working the tables. Dancers are serving drinks. It’s rough right now. That doesn’t happen so much in the really big casinos, but it isn’t unheard of, and it seems to be happening more.”

  Anna shook her head. “If this has been going on for a while, unless he isn’t having anyone else do it, somebody is talking about it. You told a perfect stranger. Surely friends would be talking to each other about this type of problem.”

  “True.” Amy looked more bewildered than ever.

  Adeline walked in the room. “Amy, please write down the name of your supervisor and any dates you might remember for specific requests.”

  “I can do that. I wrote them down at home. Just in case he blamed me for doing something that he did.” Amy looked her straight in the eye. Hopeful. “Do you have a plan?”

  “Not so much a plan as a few thoughts. I’ve spoken to a friend of mine who assures me that if you have been honest with me, there is nothing that this supervisor can do to harm you.”

  “He can get me fired!”

  “He wouldn’t dare.”

  “Why not? I can’t prove anything I’ve said. He can claim that I’m a lousy housekeeper or that I screwed something up. He can let himself into a room after I’ve been there and mess something up. Then the guest will call the front desk, and it is my name on that room, not his.” Amy started to bite at the skin next to her thumbnail. “Even with the doors time stamped he can make it look bad for me.”

  Carolyn questioned Amy. “I would think that a supervisor has to check your work. I’ve seen that in other facilities. Is this man your direct supervisor, or is he the manager?”

  “He’s the manager, and they do have your supervisor check your work, but it’s like any other job in the world — if your boss wants you gone, they’re going to find a way to get rid of you. There are a million little things he could do, and a few really big ones, and there are a million people willing to step in and do my job with a smile on their face. They don’t need me. I need them.”

  “We won’t let that happen.” Adeline radiated confidence. “Go home, get your documentation, and bring it back.”

  “I never come back here once my shift is done. They’ll see me. They’ll wonder what is going on.”

  “Fine, go home and get your documentation and meet us down the street.” Adeline corrected herself. “Actually, we will meet on Fremont Street.”

  “I can be there in thirty-five minutes.”

  “We’ll meet you there.” Anna tried to put a positive spin on it. “We are told there is a lot to see there at night.”

  “You were told right. See you in about half an hour. And, ladies?”

  “Hmm?” Carolyn stood.

  “Thank you.”

  The door had just closed when Anna turned to Adeline. “What changed your mind?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “When I told you about Amy you seemed so opposed to helping her, but now you are
the one leading the charge. What happened?”

  “I believe her.”

  “And?”

  “She touched me. She reminds me of my youngest daughter.”

  “Genevieve? I thought she was the oldest.”

  “Yes. I sometimes find myself describing her in a way that any normal person would assume just that. She is by far the most responsible. Genevieve doesn’t slow down. She doesn’t give up. She doesn’t complain. She takes life on full force and keeps going. That is what Amy has done. I respect that.”

  Anna smiled. “I respect that as well. Reminds me of my Morgan.”

  Carolyn nodded. “Exactly.”

  They sat down in the beautifully arranged seating area, and Anna asked, “Who did you call?”

  “I called my attorney. I thanked him for the arrangements he made here.”

  Carolyn grabbed a pillow and held it to her chest. “I have to remember to write him a thank you note myself. I was going to wait until we arrived back in Florida.”

  “I’m sure he will appreciate that.”

  Anna couldn’t wait any longer. “So, what did he say?”

  “He said if she is telling the truth, that what the supervisor is doing is akin to grooming a victim. Sometimes it is a pedophile grooming a child. Sometimes it is a spouse or an abusive parent. The news carries an alarming number of stories of teachers having inappropriate relationships with their students. According to Gaston, although the approaches are somewhat different, the concept and application is similar. Start with something small, and work your way to the boundary. The boundary is different for each individual. He found Amy’s boundary, God willing, without her knowledge, which gives us a short period of time in which to catch him.”

  Carolyn asked, “Our window of opportunity?”

  “So says Gaston.”

  Anna’s eyes were alight. “So, what do you want to do?”

  “I suggest we put on our walking shoes and head down to Fremont Street. We can wander around as tourists do and collect the documents from Amy. Once that is accomplished, I intend to find a way to get those documents to Gaston for his review. I’m uncertain how to do that without the hotel being aware. Obviously we can’t have them sent by the concierge or the front desk personnel.”

  “No problem. I’ll take pictures of the documents with my phone and send them in an email to your attorney.”

  “Splendid. Once that is accomplished, I suggest we retire for the evening. By the time we awaken, Gaston should have some information for us.”

  “Really?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Carolyn wanted to make sure that Adeline got enough rest. “That sounds like a great plan. I am a little tired.”

  Anna agreed. “I should think so. We’ve been up since very early this morning. We’ve traveled halfway across the country.”

  “More than half.”

  Anna continued, “And we’ve wandered around quite a bit of the strip. We were planning on a late evening nap, but we have engaged in this mystery with Amy instead.”

  Anna suddenly sounded down. “Sorry about that. And you not out of the hospital but a few days. How are you feeling?”

  “Better than I’ve felt in years. Don’t you worry about me at all.”

  Carolyn looked for any sign of tiredness. “You will tell us if you start to feel poorly?”

  “I will.”

  Anna decided not to fight Adeline. “I’m going to go in and change my clothes and freshen up my lipstick. I’ll be ready in five minutes.”

  Adeline smiled. “I’ll powder my nose and be ready by then as well.”

  Carolyn stood. “I can do that. Are we dressing casually?”

  “Evening casual.”

  “Perfect.”

  As the girls walked down Fremont Street, the sun was just beginning its decline to the west. Every few feet there was a street performer of some kind. A man dressed as cupid, his diaper much too high in the back. Nobody wants to see the baby-pink cheeks of an out of shape middle-aged man. A woman dressed as a vampire, showing as much cleavage as any showgirl. There were also people playing musical instruments or displaying other talents.

  Carolyn looked around and took it all in. “That must be a hard life.”

  Anna whispered. “It’s a better way to make a living than the girls that have those guys handing out cards on the strip. They even have mobile billboards for escorts in this town. I have no particular issue with whatever choices a girl makes about what she wants to do with her own body. I just pray that the choice is hers to make. And that it isn’t due to mental illness or as the result of some trauma in her life.” Anna looked around. “I saw a young woman on television the other night. I was flipping through channels. Seems I do that a lot lately. I don’t sleep well anymore.”

  Adeline agreed, “Nor do I.”

  “Me either.” Carolyn laughed. “Insomnia might work to our advantage. If none of us requires copious amounts of sleep, we can get much more done on our little vacation.”

  Adeline waved the comment away. “There has to be an advantage to aging every now and again. There are so many disadvantages.”

  Anna shook her head. “I can live with most of them. I don’t mind the wrinkles.”

  Adeline laughed. “That’s because you have so few.”

  “One of the advantages of being a black woman. You know the old saying black don’t crack.”

  Adeline raised an eyebrow. “Actually, I didn’t know that saying, but when I think of all the truly beautiful women of color that are our age or older, I have to agree. Although I would not phrase it so crudely, I fully agree.”

  Carolyn was busy scanning the growing crowd. “We should have arranged a specific place to meet with Amy. This is a large area.”

  “I’m not worried. Oh, look.” Anna pointed toward one of the artists who set up shop on Fremont Street every night. The man was carving a blob of clay into an astoundingly accurate bust of a tourist. The dimensions were small, but the workmanship was stunning.

  The girls stood watching.

  When Amy still hadn’t arrived when the crowd had gathered enough to make spotting the girls difficult — they happened to be up toward the front of the pack — the girls moved on to a young artist who was painting cityscapes with spray paint.

  Being a painter herself, Adeline was intrigued to see what the artist was able to create.

  Moments into the process Anna looked up to see a beautiful little boy walking toward the group. Holding his hand was Amy.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late. My babysitter called as I was driving up to my place. She had an emergency. I either had to pick Austin up, or she was going to bring him with her, and I couldn’t go get him later because I babysit later and I don’t have enough car seats to drive all the kids around.”

  Anna addressed Amy as if there wasn’t another person on the street. “No problem at all. We’re going to be here for a while anyway. This place is so interesting.”

  “Here’s the stuff you asked for.”

  Amy handed Anna a black and white composition notebook. It looked just like the ones junior high kids carry to school every day. It made her seem all the more innocent and vulnerable. If there had been any part of the girls that wanted to vacation instead of to help this girl, that composition notebook melted it away.

  “Can we keep this for a day?”

  “It’s the only thing I have to defend myself if he comes after me.”

  “I promise I’ll take very good care of it.”

  Amy took a couple of very deep breaths. “Okay. Please be careful.”

  “Can we take you and your son to dinner? We thought about finding a buffet.”

  “It’s very kind of you to offer Miss Adeline, but I need to get home. I have a paper to finish, and I have my extra kids coming over in just a little while. Thank you for the offer.” Amy started to turn but stopped. “Call me when you want me to pick up my notebook. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to get it from you
at work.”

  Anna put a hand on Amy’s thin arm. “Whatever you’re comfortable with, dear. We have your numbers. We’ll be in touch.”

  “Thank you.”

  Anna asked Amy, “One more question. When I was walking down the hall I saw a man obviously in the housekeeping department. He was about six foot tall. He had curly dark hair. Very handsome. Bit of a glad-hander. Carrying a clipboard and acting as if he runs the world. Is that your supervisor?”

  “That’s him. Please don’t put yourself in the middle of all this. If you can help from a distance, I will be very grateful. I’m grateful that you even took the time to listen to me and that you believe my story. It gives me hope that others would too. But I would feel terrible if I got you in some kind of trouble.”

  Adeline’s demeanor went a little haughty. “What on earth could the supervisor of housekeeping in an establishment halfway across the country do to trouble me?”

  “I don’t know. That’s the problem. If I knew what he wanted or what he was capable of, it would be a lot easier to figure out what to do.”

  Carolyn’s eyes were kind. “We will make that our goal. We might not be able to actually fix the problem, but we will try to figure out what this man is up to.”

  “Please be careful.”

  Anna twisted up her face. “I know because of your situation, Amy, this seems like an insurmountable problem, but for us it is nothing more than a nuisance. Three older women are not going to be suspected of any clandestine involvement with a young woman working hard to support her little family. Worst case we will look like bumbling old farts trying to liven up our boring lives.”

  Amy giggled. “I don’t think that’s true.”

  Anna winked. “Oh, believe me, if we get caught, that is exactly what they will be thinking by the time we’re through with them. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  The girls laughed. Anna shoved the notebook into her purse. Carolyn winked at Amy’s little boy, and they parted ways.

  The girls wandered down Fremont Street, looking at the little tourist-trap stores and at the other tourists wandering around the area.

  They stood and watched a Russian Bar team, the girl being hurled toward the big screen ceiling, a curved superstructure that dazzled even the sober members of the crowd.