Reel looked away. “I guess that would be pretty screwed up. But then so is everything we’re in the middle of here. Screwed up.”
“Some of it is our own doing.”
“No argument there.” Reel put down her cup. “We need to do something.”
“What?”
“If I knew that I’d be doing it,” she snapped.
“If we can get to Drango things might clear up.”
“Might. We need more than that.”
“I think she lied to us. She must know something.”
“So it could be Lambert and/or Randall and prisoners for some reason,” noted Reel.
“But prisoners for what purpose?”
“We answer that, we answer everything.”
“Drango could give us that answer,” Robie pointed out.
“But she’s on the run. We put the info on her out there and got zip. So how do we get any answers from her?” Reel retorted.
In answer Robie made a call. Into the phone he said, “Yes, we spoke yesterday about Beverly Drango? Right. Have you heard from her? Will she be showing up for work tonight?” Robie stiffened and glanced at Reel. “So she will be coming to work tonight. That’s great. I’m so relieved. I’d love to surprise her. Could you give me the address and time?”
He clicked off and stared at her. “How does that make sense? Drango clearly was on the run. But she’s pulling her gig tonight?”
“Where?”
“Same place. Lancaster Hotel in Denver.”
“I guess that’s where we’ll be tonight, then.”
“Guess so.”
Robie and Reel walked into the lobby of the Lancaster at six o’clock that night. The event Drango would be working was posted on a marquee board next to the check-in desk. It said it would start at six thirty. It was a retirement party for someone named Jorge Schindler in the lower-level ballroom.
“She’s probably already here doing setup,” noted Reel.
“Probably.”
“How do you want to do this?”
“With as little fuss as possible. I don’t want to drag her out of here, but I will if I have to.”
“The stairs to the lower level are over there,” said Reel.
They walked down them and hit the main corridor on the lower level. People were rushing around, obviously finishing up last-minute tasks to get the event ready for the guests.
Robie poked his head inside the ballroom and noted the casino set-up. Craps table, blackjack, a roulette wheel, and a row of slot machines.
Robie turned to Reel. “Drango works the craps table.”
“You see anyone there?”
“No one who looks like her.”
Reel checked her watch. “I see other people dressed up like they’re working in a casino.”
“Let’s ask.”
They approached one man who was fiddling with one of the slot machines. He was in his fifties and paunchy with a pinched face.
Robie said, “We’re looking for Beverly Drango. We’re old friends from out of town. Your office said she was working here tonight.”
The man looked irritably at them. “I’m the owner. She should be working tonight. She called and said she was on her way. That was two hours ago. But I haven’t seen her yet. She was supposed to be here for setup an hour ago. I’ve called her cell phone five times. Nothing.”
“Can you give me her cell phone number?”
The man did so. “If you find her tell her she’s persona non grata with me.”
He left them to continue prepping for the night’s event.
Robie took out his phone and made the call. He gave the Agency person the cell phone number. “We need a fix on her location ASAP. I’ll hold.”
Two minutes went by and then the voice came back on. Robie listened and said, “Thanks.” He clicked off.
“He’s sending me her coordinates.”
A beep on his phone came and he looked at the screen.
“Shit, she’s right nearby. Come on.”
Following the map on his phone, Robie and Reel left the hotel and turned left. Robie spotted the alleyway about fifty feet down from the hotel entrance.
“It says she’s right down there.”
“This isn’t looking good, Robie.”
She pulled her gun. Robie did the same.
They walked to the alley and turned down it. “This is the right side of the hotel,” noted Robie.
They approached the truck parked there. Its back roll-up door was still open. A door to the building was standing open.
Inside the truck was a slot machine. “This must be where they were unloading their stuff for the event,” said Reel.
“There are two other cars here, neither of them Drango’s.”
“Maybe she came in another car,” suggested Reel.
“It’s possible.” He looked at his phone. “The signal from her phone shows it’s farther down the alley.”
They walked past the truck and the two parked cars after peering into them to make sure they were empty. They continued on until they were very near the end of the alley.
“Robie!” said Reel.
He had already spotted what she had.
The Dumpster against the wall. There was a phone lying in front of it.
Robie raced forward and picked it up. “I’m guessing this is hers. But where is Drango?” He glanced at the Dumpster.
Reel had joined him by then and took a peek inside the Dumpster. She moved aside some trash and took a closer look.
“Well, Beverly Drango won’t be working any more casino gigs.”
And that was when the bullet hit the Dumpster an inch from her face.
CHAPTER
50
Robie pushed Reel down right before another round struck directly where she had been standing.
They slid along the asphalt, then Robie gained traction with his feet and pulled Reel behind the Dumpster.
“Shot came two clicks to the left,” said Robie, as Reel righted herself and peered around the corner of the metal container.
“Thanks for the assist.” She paused. “I can’t seem to get out of my own way lately.”
Robie realized how hard this was for her to admit, but now was not the time to discuss the point with his partner.
“You think they’re still out there?” she said.
“If they are, we can take care of that.”
He pulled his phone, punched in 911, and reported shots fired and a body in a Dumpster at their location.
Only a minute passed before they heard the sirens.
That was followed by feet rushing away.
“More than one,” noted Reel.
“Go, go,” urged Robie.
They leapt up and ran down the alley after the sounds of the retreating shooters.
They emerged from the alley and looked around.
“There,” said Reel.
A van was accelerating down the street away from them.
“Shit,” exclaimed Robie as the van turned a corner and disappeared from sight.
“Move it,” said Reel as the sirens grew closer.
They turned in the other direction and were soon back at their SUV.
“License plate on the van?” said Robie.
“It didn’t have one. At least on the rear.”
Robie started the vehicle and they pulled out onto the street as a police car flashed past to stop next to another cruiser that was parked at the opening of the alley. He turned in the opposite direction and sped up. They were soon on their way out of Denver and back to Grand.
“So there goes Beverly Drango,” said Robie. “You sure it was her?”
Reel hiked her eyebrows and Robie said, “Okay. So there goes our last lead.”
“Well, somebody keeps killing them,” replied Reel.
“And they tried to kill us too. And now I’m thinking this whole thing was a setup.”