Sin City Homicide

10

Leaning against the Cadillac, Stanton waited for Marty out on the curb. He was reading on his iPhone when a valet came up to him.

“Nice car.”

“Thanks. It’s not mine. Just a rental.”

“Still, all a man needs is to drive that around for a little bit.”

“You think so?”

“I don’t know. You seem happy enough.”

“Thanks.”

“Whatcha readin’?”

“Ecclesiastes.”

“Who wrote it?”

“It’s in the Old Testament. It’s my favorite book from the Bible, actually.”

“Oh, you a Christian man? Well, that’s cool. We see a lotta your folk down here. I’m Baptist myself. You?”

“Mormon.”

“No shit? Let me tell you, man, I went down to Park City for that Sundance Film Festival. Ain’t never been treated better by folks in my life. You Mormons is okay with me.”

“See any good movies?”

“Nah, I go for the food and the sight-seein’. Them movies is all messed up. Made by the celebrities I see up in here every day, and them folks is really messed. Like someone said, ‘They walk around like they so fine, but their assholes smell just like mine.’ You know what I’m sayin’?”

He smiled. “Yeah, I do.”

Marty pulled up in a police cruiser. He rolled down his window and shouted, “Should we take your car?”

“Yeah.” Stanton turned to the valet. “Is he okay to park out here?”

“Yeah, just leave it over there. I’ll keep an eye on it.”

Stanton handed him a twenty-dollar bill. “Thanks.”

Marty parked then hopped into the passenger seat of the Cadillac as Stanton adjusted the mirrors and put on his seat belt. He pulled out of the Mirage’s lot and onto the strip. It was beginning to get crowded.

“Where we going, Marty?”

“You ever seen Patton Oswald?”

“No.”

“He’s a comedian. He’s really funny. We can get dinner and watch his show at the Havana. It’s a hotel just up the street by the Luxor.”

They drove past massive screens displaying women in G-strings and leotards dancing on a stage, videos of Jerry Seinfeld making crowds roar with laughter, and magicians making explosions on stage while lions and women ran around behind them. To Stanton, Vegas always felt like a city crafted for sin. There were few places like it. Some cities’ residents focused on the tourist trade to make their living, but Las Vegas was something else entirely. From its very inception, Las Vegas hadn’t had its inhabitants in mind.

“There it is.”

The casino was large and connected to another building by a bridge that went over the street. It lit up the evening sky and had lights that shot straight up from the top of the two buildings, seemingly into space.

“Crazy, huh?”

“That’s incredible. They were still building it when I was last here.”

They pulled up to the valet and got out. The valets, who were dressed all in black, addressed everyone as “sir” or “madam.” Stanton followed Marty through the large doors with gold leaf trim into the building.

Inside, it looked like a carnival. In fact, rides were set up for the children, and arrows pointed to hallways that led to magicians, comedians, dancing shows, and restaurants. Most of the people were with their families. Stanton noticed many of the groups were missing men.

“Is this the casino?” Stanton asked.

“No, that’s the second building. They keep everything separate here.”

He followed Marty up a hallway past a stage. Several men in suits and a couple of uniformed officers were standing by. An older gentleman was shouting and swearing while a younger man tried to calm him down. Stanton couldn’t hear what was said, but he saw the older man throw a drink into the younger man’s face. The younger man wiped it off with a napkin and walked away.

They headed up the hallway to the comedy theater and took their seats near the front. A black-and-white checkerboard served as a curtain, and a spotlight shone down on the microphone.

Marty motioned to a vendor who was standing near their seats and ordered a couple of popcorns and Cokes.

“Diet Coke please,” Stanton said. “Caffeine free.”

“Um, we don’t have that.”

“Water’s fine.”

The popcorn came, and it was drizzled with butter. Stanton took a few bites and could taste sugar on it, as well.

“I know Mindi brought the file to you,” Marty said, his eyes focused on his popcorn.

“I didn’t ask her to.”

“It’s okay. She can do things I can’t do. If we can find the person who did this, it will be better.”

“Marty, I want you to listen to me. You are no different than anybody else, okay? Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you are. We all have our strong points and our weak points. That’s what makes us human.”

“I can remember what I was like before. I was really smart. Now it’s hard to think. My words are good, but I can’t concentrate, and I forget everything.”

“You’re doing just fine.”

“I was married once, you know.”

“Really? What happened?”

“She left me. She said she didn’t want to take care of me and that I wasn’t making her happy. I don’t blame her.”

“I was married, too. And she left me as well.” He held up his water in a toast. “To not finding another wife who’ll leave us.”

Marty tapped his Coke against Stanton’s water bottle and smiled. He turned back to his popcorn with zeal, and he seemed to be in a better mood.

“I gotta use the bathroom,” Stanton said. “I’ll be right back.”

He walked outside and down the hallway toward the restroom, where he heard someone shouting again. He walked out to the main lobby and saw the same older man yelling at another man, who was much older than the man Stanton had seen him shouting at before. This man was dressed impeccably, with his balding hair slicked back and a thick mustache.

Suddenly, the mustachioed man looked around then belted the shouting man in the face. Then he kicked him in the groin and struck him again. Stanton ran over. The two uniformed officers who were standing by immediately blocked his way.

“Back off,” one of them said.

“That guy just hit that old man.”

“I said back off. I’m not gonna ask you again,” he said, pulling out his Taser.

Stanton watched as the old man was dragged from the building. The two men he had seen speaking to him were talking now, and the younger one was taking notes.

The older one ran his hand through his hair and adjusted his suit. He glanced at Stanton then looked away before walking out of the building.

“Nice to meet you, officers,” Stanton said. “Keep us safe tonight.” He turned and walked back to the show.