Page 17 of Black Ice
“You’re crazy if you think she’s capable of murder.” He could walk away, he’d done it before and landed on his feet. So what if he was a little lame on one side. There were better ways to get his business off the ground. “You’re looking at this all wrong.”
“Again, I’m open to clarification and insight.”
She wasn’t. Cordell was Pickering’s blind spot and now, with Evie, the federal agent was a junkyard dog with a fresh bone. “You trust me?”
“Within reason,” she allowed.
“Then trust me vouching for her. Evelyn is not a killer. She is not a criminal of any sort. Her interactions with Cordell are all onhim.” Wyatt stalked over and drilled a finger to the tabletop. “She is the most honest, reliable, and genuine personI’ve ever known. And I can guarantee if she gave her word to be somewhere, she wouldn’t let weather stop her.”
Pickering flinched. “Noted.”
“I want your word that if I get Cordell to the rendezvous and you’re not there, I still get paid.”
Her lip curled. “You’ll get paid when he’s in custody.”
It was clearly the best he’d get from her right now. “If he comes to his senses and delays his plan, I’ll let you know.”
Pickering walked out of his room, leaving him antsy and frustrated. Evie was in the casino and a guard was dead. Wyatt scrubbed at his face. Please let that be an accident of some sort. According to Cordell’s schedule all of the people and pieces should’ve been in place by last night and taking out a guard wasn’t on the agenda.
And Evie had gone home for chains and returned to the casino.
No, that had to be a coincidence. He didnotwant Pickering to be right about her. Or about his blind spot. But there was no reason for her to help Cordell commit this robbery. The diamonds, on display in the jewelry store, weren’t even close to the poker room. No reason for Cordell to need Evie’s car, with or without chains on the tires. Baker and Karl were the trusted members of Cordell’s team. Baker would drive the getaway car. Wyatt was the navigator.
He would focus. He’d stay alert. And, as much as he wanted to, he absolutely wouldnottrack her down and ask her outright about Cordell.
That kind of mistake would be mission suicide on all fronts. He checked his watch. Next up for him was one last casino walk in a few hours. Pickering’s coffee chat was an effective reminder that the FBI would be watching him even more closely, along with Karl, if not Cordell himself.
Once that was complete, the twenty-four countdown to the robbery would begin.
Evelyn opened the curtains, a little stunned by the amount of snow that had fallen in the few hours she’d slept. It was still coming down, though the wind didn’t look so bad right now.
Thank goodness she’d been smart and come back last night. Not even chains would’ve gotten her out of her driveway today. If the clouds were any indication, conditions would worsen all day long. She used the in-room coffee pot for her first kick of caffeine and turned on the television for an update on road conditions while it brewed. A news reporter was outside, snow gathering along her shoulder and hood as she urged people to stay home.
Evelyn picked up her phone, her thumb hovering over the icon to call her dad. She just couldn’t do it. He was safe at home, with all the supplies he needed to ride out the storm. They could pick up their argument where they left off when the storm was over.
“Wyatt,” she muttered to the empty room. Her father would have to adjust his fantasy and learn to trust her judgment. Wyatt was not going to miraculously bail them out.
It stung, like wind-driven icy rain against her cheeks, the way her father resisted good ideas. He wouldn’t be impressed about her finalizing the sledding day for the hospitality team-builder. Maybe she should talk to Tate about a private loan to buy her father out of the business. Then Dale could retire and she could expand, intelligently, until Cottonwood Adventures was as much a destination in Deadwood as the Silver Aces.
None of her problems would be solved today. Her shift started in a few hours and she planned to do some yoga before breakfast. She needed the mental and physical reset before turning on the tip-magnet charm at the poker table. Especially on a day when the weather would drastically reduce their business.
Half-way through the warm-up her phone buzzed. She ignored it at first, assuming it was the normal report on guests, gambling volume, and players to watch. When the buzzing kept up, she paused to check. There were text messages from her manager and another general broadcast from casino security, along with responses from a few friends on staff.
She stared at the messages, switching back and forth, reading and rereading them. One of the guards had been found dead a few hours ago. The victim’s name wasn’t provided, but she counted several people on that team as her friends. The entire staff was being asked to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies investigating the situation.
She couldn’t wrap her head around it. Things like this didn’t happen here. The casinos in Deadwood dealt with their fair share of crime, but finding bodies wasn’t common. Fights. Petty theft, shoplifting, grifters. Those were the things the casino trained them to watch out for.
Giving up on yoga and forgetting breakfast, Evie showered and dressed for her upcoming shift. Taking only her cell phone and room key, she headed downstairs to figure out how she could help. If she could help.
The typical calm in the employee area had shifted to a solemn quiet this morning. Everyone was subdued. She stepped aside as a team of detectives passed her, escorted by Sheriff Russell.
The sheriff paused and urged the detectives to go on without him. “Evelyn.”
“Yes, sir?” She looked up into the tall man’s weathered face and suddenly felt better. He had a calming, confident effect, which was one reason why he kept getting re-elected.
“Is your dad all right?” he asked. “I didn’t expect to see you here today.”
She smiled. “Dad’s fine. I went home last night to get the tire chains and came back rather than take a chance that I couldn’t get here for my shift today. He told me about the break in.”
