Luck Be a Lady - Cathie Linz [30]
“I heard about Pepper’s Marilyn Monroe impersonation,”
“She never met Marilyn, but she did meet Dean Martin. She has some incredible stories.”
“Incredible being the operative word. As in fiction.”
“You think she’s making everything up?” Megan asked.
“I think she’s making a lot of stuff up. And she’s not the only one. I think her two male sidekicks are guilty of the same fabrications.”
“So maybe they elaborate their stories a little. That’s not a crime.”
Logan made a noncommittal sound.
“What? You think these people are criminals? What? They cheated at bingo? Stole some extra sugar packets from an all-you-can-eat buffet?”
“I don’t know what they’re up to, but they’re up to something,” he said.
“I’ll bet you think everyone is up to something, right?”
“And I’d be right.”
“Were you this suspicious before you became a cop?”
“I come from a long line of law enforcement officers.”
“So the answer is yes.”
“You’ve met Buddy. He isn’t exactly trusting.”
“Granted. But my grandmother has helped him see the silver lining in life.”
Logan didn’t look convinced.
“You don’t think that’s possible?” she said.
“To turn my grandfather into an optimist? Maybe where a slot machine is concerned.”
“I can’t believe he had a quickie marriage in Las Vegas and never had it annulled.”
“He meant to. He’s the first to admit he’s not good with paperwork.”
“Yes, but this was important.”
“Cut the guy a break, would you?” Logan said. “Nobody is perfect. Not even you.”
“What are you insinuating?”
“That you think you’re smarter, better than ...”
“Than Pepper? Than Rowdy or Chuck? You’rethe one who’s been putting them down.”
“You like them because they have good stories,” he said. “You’re a librarian. You like stories. Fiction is your thing.”
“And distrusting people is your thing?”
His expression darkened. “If you’d seen the things I’ve seen . . . Never mind.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you haven’t been exposed to some awful things.”
“Forget it.”
“Can you? Can you forget it?”
Logan didn’t answer her question. “So you and Pepper bonded over a bunch of dresses, huh?”
“I guess you could say that. Anyway, I think I’ll take a shower and change.”
“I thought you were going to take a nap. I thought that’s why you sat on the bed before. I didn’t mean to spook you. Here, you can have it all to yourself.” He climbed out of bed. “I can go sit in the chair.”
“No, that’s okay. I really need to get out of this dress.” Right. That got her thinking of him helping her disrobe. Thankfully he didn’t offer his help. “I got an oversized T-shirt and some other stuff from the gift shop.” She picked up a plastic bag from near the door.
“They have a gift shop?”
She nodded. “There’s not a lot of selection.” She pulled the T-shirt from the bag and held it up.
“I Had Fun in Last Resort,” he read. “I don’t suppose the phones are in working order yet?”
“Not yet. Pepper said sometimes they go out for twenty-four hours at a time.”
“Did she tell you how many people supposedly live in this place?”
“No. The subject didn’t come up.”
“Too busy talking about clothes, huh?”
“And local history.”
“Wow, edge-of-your-seat stuff,” he drawled.
“I thought it was. You probably wouldn’t agree.”
“Try me.”
“Well, Fritz Holzenberger founded the town in the 1880s.”
“And he named it Last Resort because Holzenberger was too long for a town’s name?”
“No. He named it after a silver mine he owned: the Last Resort Silver Mine.”
“It’s a weird name.”
“This area is full of strange names. Things could have been worse. The town could have been called Pickhandle Gulch. That town went belly-up.”
“What a shame.”
She giggled. “Yeah, I thought so.” Her smile faded. “I don’t even know if my mother has a sense of humor.”
“Are mathematicians known for their sense of humor?”
“My dad has one. It’s sort of a Thurber sense of humor. That’s one of his favorite short-story writers.”
“You really do need to sit down with your dad when you get back to Las Vegas and get the whole story.” He held up his hand to