stuttered, looking at his partner. “ Do you think Mr. Grant would mind? ”
The partner shook his head. “ Nah, he ’ s okayed it before, plus he made the appointment so he is expecting him. ”
Gus still looked uncertain when Calvin jumped in. “ If you don ’ t get me to an elevator in the next thirty seconds, I ’ m leaving. And when Grant calls to ask why I miss ed such an important meeting, I ’ ll tell him that Gus wouldn ’ t let me go up. ”
“ Fred, ” Gus called to another guard w ho ’ d just joined him . He explained the issue to the man.
“ Right this way, Mr. Coburn . ”
They took Calvin through the metal detector and used the manual detector to scan his bo dy as fast as they could , without a word . He was probably the only collector in Vegas who had never carried a weapon.
T hey escorted him to the nearest open elevator.
“ Please don ’ t say anything about the delay to Mr. Grant , ” Fred mumbled . “ We could lose our jobs. ”
“ I ’ ll think about it. ” Calvin stepped into the elevator. “ Penthouse , ” he said to the elevator operator. “ Doug Grant ’ s office. ”
He was pleased with how he ’ d gotten in. He might be only a bill collector , but he knew how to act with the arrogance of the very wealthy .
Ace was parked in a modest rental car. He ’ d been waiting for half an hour in a distant corner of the parking lot where no one would recognize him, but where he could see everyone leaving or entering the building.
He ’ d called Pitt twenty minutes before and had confirmed that Watters was on his way and that he ’ d agreed to wear the hat, sunglasses and coat before he went into the lobby.
Ace had spotted Watters as soon as he walked down the sidewalk to the front entrance and entered the building. He was impossible to miss and would not be forgotten.
Killing Grant in his office or transporting him there after his death would have been too risky and probably impossible with the state of the art security system in the complex. Watters was the perfect fall guy, but Ace had to link Watters and Grant somehow and that was the challenge. A guy like Grant wouldn ’ t be caught a hundred yards from Watters. This was the only way Ace could see connecting Watters and Grant and it could also potentially implicate Pitt. There was no other way to associate Watters with Grant and still lead the cops to connect the dots.
Earlier, Ace had an informant get him all the information he needed on the LVMPD, because once the Grant homicide investigation began, he ’ d be following it with interest. He could have dialed the Homicide Division directly, but he wanted to play the concerned, frightened, innocent citizen, one who only knew to call 911 in case of an emergency.
He waited ten minutes after Watters had entered the building before picking up his untraceable cell phone and dialing the three digits.
“ Hello, 911 emergency. ”
“ I need to speak to someone right away, ” he said. “ A murder is about to occur and the police need to stop it. ”
Ace could tell by the sound of the police officer ’ s voice that the man was concerned, but the officer remained composed. “ Would you repeat that, please? ”
He did.
“ I ’ m going to transfer you to Homicide. Please hold. ”
The call was picked up in ten seconds. “ Detective Hartford, Homicide. You ’ re claiming someone ’ s about to be murdered. Who? And where? ”
Ace grinned. “ I have reason to believe that Doug Grant is going to be murdered. ”
“ Doug Grant, the casino owner? When and by whom? ”
Hartford sounded shocked. That was the reaction Ace wanted. It would make the detective more likely to act than stop to think about the credibility of the call.
“ Just listen, ” he said, forcing his voice to sound scared. “ I ’ m risking my life by making this call. If people involved find out I ’ ve reported this information to the police, I ’ ll be the next dead man. ” He didn
The partner shook his head. “ Nah, he ’ s okayed it before, plus he made the appointment so he is expecting him. ”
Gus still looked uncertain when Calvin jumped in. “ If you don ’ t get me to an elevator in the next thirty seconds, I ’ m leaving. And when Grant calls to ask why I miss ed such an important meeting, I ’ ll tell him that Gus wouldn ’ t let me go up. ”
“ Fred, ” Gus called to another guard w ho ’ d just joined him . He explained the issue to the man.
“ Right this way, Mr. Coburn . ”
They took Calvin through the metal detector and used the manual detector to scan his bo dy as fast as they could , without a word . He was probably the only collector in Vegas who had never carried a weapon.
T hey escorted him to the nearest open elevator.
“ Please don ’ t say anything about the delay to Mr. Grant , ” Fred mumbled . “ We could lose our jobs. ”
“ I ’ ll think about it. ” Calvin stepped into the elevator. “ Penthouse , ” he said to the elevator operator. “ Doug Grant ’ s office. ”
He was pleased with how he ’ d gotten in. He might be only a bill collector , but he knew how to act with the arrogance of the very wealthy .
Ace was parked in a modest rental car. He ’ d been waiting for half an hour in a distant corner of the parking lot where no one would recognize him, but where he could see everyone leaving or entering the building.
He ’ d called Pitt twenty minutes before and had confirmed that Watters was on his way and that he ’ d agreed to wear the hat, sunglasses and coat before he went into the lobby.
Ace had spotted Watters as soon as he walked down the sidewalk to the front entrance and entered the building. He was impossible to miss and would not be forgotten.
Killing Grant in his office or transporting him there after his death would have been too risky and probably impossible with the state of the art security system in the complex. Watters was the perfect fall guy, but Ace had to link Watters and Grant somehow and that was the challenge. A guy like Grant wouldn ’ t be caught a hundred yards from Watters. This was the only way Ace could see connecting Watters and Grant and it could also potentially implicate Pitt. There was no other way to associate Watters with Grant and still lead the cops to connect the dots.
Earlier, Ace had an informant get him all the information he needed on the LVMPD, because once the Grant homicide investigation began, he ’ d be following it with interest. He could have dialed the Homicide Division directly, but he wanted to play the concerned, frightened, innocent citizen, one who only knew to call 911 in case of an emergency.
He waited ten minutes after Watters had entered the building before picking up his untraceable cell phone and dialing the three digits.
“ Hello, 911 emergency. ”
“ I need to speak to someone right away, ” he said. “ A murder is about to occur and the police need to stop it. ”
Ace could tell by the sound of the police officer ’ s voice that the man was concerned, but the officer remained composed. “ Would you repeat that, please? ”
He did.
“ I ’ m going to transfer you to Homicide. Please hold. ”
The call was picked up in ten seconds. “ Detective Hartford, Homicide. You ’ re claiming someone ’ s about to be murdered. Who? And where? ”
Ace grinned. “ I have reason to believe that Doug Grant is going to be murdered. ”
“ Doug Grant, the casino owner? When and by whom? ”
Hartford sounded shocked. That was the reaction Ace wanted. It would make the detective more likely to act than stop to think about the credibility of the call.
“ Just listen, ” he said, forcing his voice to sound scared. “ I ’ m risking my life by making this call. If people involved find out I ’ ve reported this information to the police, I ’ ll be the next dead man. ” He didn
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