It wasn’t illegal to carry a chunk of cash on a domestic flight, but if it was discovered, he’d probably have to answer some questions. Being on probation and using a suspended driver’s license as a picture ID might be enough to have him detained. He’d read online the x-rays could detect a stack of organic matter, i.e., paper money, so he’d spread it out. If he was lucky, he’d look like the average college student traveling to Vegas for a little fun and breeze right through.
“Hello, Wesley.”
Wes looked up to see Jack Terry standing nearby with a duffel bag. He swallowed a foul word. “Hey, Detective. Didn’t take you for a jet-setter.”
“Yeah, well, duty calls. Where are you headed?”
“Vegas.”
Jack gave a little laugh. “Me, too. Carlotta didn’t mention you were coming out.”
Wes squinted. “You know she’s out there with Peter, right?”
“Yep.”
“You two planning to roll the dice to see who gets Carlotta?”
Jack’s mouth tightened. “No. A dead man turned up in her hotel room.”
“Ah. The two of you figured out a way to off Peter altogether?”
Jack wasn’t amused. “I guess you haven’t talked to your sister?”
“Not since she left. I was trying to give the lovebirds some privacy.” He enjoyed seeing the vein bulge in Jack’s neck.
“Carlotta opened her room safe and a guy rolled out.”
Wes might’ve been surprised except they were talking about Carlotta. “Bummer. And Vegas doesn’t have police officers?”
“The dead guy is the man who was renting the house next to yours.”
Wes felt his jaw go slack. “The photographer?”
“Yeah, he said his name was Johnson?”
“I only met him once.” Wes’s neck burned as he remembered convincing himself their parents had been hiding out next door all these years. He’d dragged Carlotta over there to ring the doorbell and instead of their mother answering the door, some half-dressed Abercrombie-looking guy said they’d gotten him out of bed.
“Carlotta seemed spooked by the guy,” Jack said. “She made me listen to their conversation once when he came to the door.”
“What did he want?”
“To return a vase…and he asked her out.”
Wes snorted. “Just another lovesick guy obsessed with Carlotta, following her around and trying to get in her pants.”
“Mind if I join this party?”
Wes turned his head to see Cooper Craft walking up wearing a fedora and a black messenger bag. “And here’s another one.”
Coop looked confused. “Come again?”
“So Carlotta crooks her finger from the other side of the country and you two come running?”
Coop smiled. “Personally, I’m going to Vegas for the buffets.”
“Uh-huh,” Wes said.
“Hey, thanks for this,” Jack said to Coop and extended his hand for a shake.
“Glad to help, Jack. And it’s a good time to squeeze in a little hiking. Things are slow at the morgue.”
“That’s because Carlotta is out of town,” Jack said with a grin. Coop gave a hearty laugh.
Wes shook his head. “Both of you are pathetic.”
Coop clapped him on the back. “Come on—we’d better get in the security line if we’re going to make this flight.”
Wes flinched, wondering if Coop could feel the layers of money.
“Expecting it to be cold in Vegas?” Coop asked, patting the jacket.
“Air conditioning,” Wes said, wiping at a bead of sweat dripping down his temple. The movement produced the sound of rustling paper. “I heard they keep it cranked up in the casinos.”
Coop surveyed him quizzically, goosing Wes’s anxiety. He glanced toward the exit and wondered if he should make a run for it.
“You heard right,” Coop said. “But you’re not old enough to go near the gambling tables, so you should be fine to lose the jacket once we get there.” He let his hand drop. “There are plenty of things to do in Vegas besides gamble.
“Yeah, I heard the Hoover Dam is nice,” Wes offered in a blatant attempt to suck up.
“That sounds safe,” Coop agreed, giving him a pointed look.
Jack moved forward, and Coop fell in step next to the detective. The two men found the end of the security line, talking between themselves. Wes brought up the rear. Great—he was already worried about getting through security with the money undetected, and now he had an audience. He was tempted to wait for Chance, but his buddy hadn’t texted back his whereabouts and for all he knew, Chance could be sitting at the boarding gate.