The Tessa Randolph Collection, Books 1-3 by Paula Lester (best ereader for comics .txt) 📗

Tessa bristled. Who did this woman think she was? Not a cop. Definitely not her mother. Her tone reminded Tessa of her fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Gatlin.

But Tessa wasn’t a child anymore. She opened her mouth to put Melinda Chino in her place but caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Maddox was shaking his head, clearly counseling her from a distance to keep her mouth shut.

Tessa stabbed a finger toward the two men. “Why were your thugs at my apartment, banging on my door and bothering my sweet old neighbor?”

Restraint was never her strong suit.

The corners of Melinda’s mouth twitched downward, and Tessa got the distinct feeling she wasn’t used to being challenged. The casino boss rounded the desk and leaned on its edge, crossing her ankles. She studied Tessa’s face for a moment and came to a decision.

“Sanborn owed this casino money,” she said.

“You can owe a casino money?”

Melinda raised one too-thin eyebrow. “If you spend enough money in this establishment, you may qualify for a line of credit. And he spent a lot of money here.”

Horner snorted. “He spent a lot of money gambling anywhere he could. Not just the legal stuff either. He’s known in all the illegal circles around town.”

Melinda glared at Horner, who didn’t seem to catch her point at first.

“What? I heard he knew nothing about sports. And yet . . .”

Horner finally caught on to what Melinda’s hard look meant and stammered to a halt.

Melinda shifted her gaze back to Tessa. “Unfortunately, Mr. Sanborn abused his privileges with us. Ultimately, we had to cut him off. And he was delinquent in his payments.” She narrowed her eyes. “Something I understand you’re familiar with. Yes, we did our research on you as well.”

“How much did he owe?” Tessa found herself asking.

“Something to the tune of forty thousand dollars.”

Tessa let out a low whistle. She couldn’t imagine gambling away that much money.

Melinda nodded toward the men. “My associates went to Sanborn’s apartment to pick up a payment. He’d promised us half the money. Swore that he had it on him. Then they saw you exit the apartment and get arrested. “Now, where’s the money?”

Briefly, Tessa wondered where in the world Maddox and Horner had been hiding to see all that go down.

She shrugged. “I don’t know anything about any money.” That part was true, but how was she going to get out of this confrontation? “I work for Mr. Sanborn’s life insurance company,” she said, thinking of the lie Cheryl told the police. “I was there to go over some paperwork on a new rider we’re offering. He was already dead when I got there. I swear.”

“And who’s the beneficiary on this policy?” Melinda leaned forward.

Tessa shook her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t have access to that part of his account. I’m kinda new.”

The casino manager didn’t look like she believed Tessa. She pursed her lips, thinking. Finally, Melinda pushed away from the desk and rounded it to sit down again. She shuffled papers. “So, why are you here today? Did you come to play the slots? Blackjack? I’m not sure poker would suit you.”

“No.” Tessa shook her head. “I saw your guys pounding on my apartment door and followed them here. I don’t gamble.”

She didn’t add that the main reason she didn’t frequent the casino was she didn’t have the money for it. The idea of playing a hand of poker and winning enough to pay her rent for six months was actually pretty appealing, no matter what Melinda thought of her abilities. “Now that we’ve had a chance to talk,” she said, drawing up her courage. “And you know I don’t have any information about the money Mr. Sanborn owed you, I look forward to never seeing your men at my door again.”

Melinda didn’t even look up. “I won’t guarantee that.”

Maddox moved forward and took Tessa by the elbow, giving it a pull. She yanked it out of his grasp and glared at him. He jerked his chin toward the door, making it clear the boss was finished with her and it was time to go.

Keeping her spine as straight as possible and holding her head high, Tessa left the office. She was seething inside. Melinda’s holier than thou attitude had gotten to her. Just because she had like a bazillion dollars didn’t mean she could treat Tessa like trash.

The two men marched Tessa back to the main floor and left her there without a word. She glowered at their retreating backs before heading toward the door.

Once again, she tried holding her breath to avoid the smoke, but it didn’t work for long. She lamented her inability to go more than ten seconds without taking a breath. She really should have focused more on singing or swimming or something. You never knew when you may need to refrain from breathing for a minute or two.

As Tessa passed the blackjack table, she glanced over again, hoping the annoying guy from the restaurant, Ricardo, would be gone.

But he was still there. And now he had a visitor. Hovering just over the creepy guy’s shoulder as he slammed a card on the table and shouted, “Twenty-one,” was the ghost of Chet Sanborn.

Tessa stopped in her tracks, staring at the spirit. He looked much the same as the last time she’d seen him—dressed in gray polyester shorts and an ill-fitting green tank top. She could even see the ratty flip-flops on his feet. They appeared to defy gravity to stay on his feet as he hovered in the air, partly transparent.

After hesitating for a second, Tessa decided the best way to handle the situation would be to take the bull by the horns and confront the spirit head-on. As she strode toward him, wishing she’d learned how to do that force-hold thing Gloria had done on her mark, Sanborn saw her. He shook his head and then darted away.

Tessa jogged around the blackjack table, drawing the attention of the dealer,