Page 57 of Family Ties and Alibis

“I have no idea. All I know is she gets weird about it.”

“I know what’s in it,” Louisa said.

“What?”

“You gotta guess.”

“Stacks of cash.”

“Nope.”

“Weapons,” Mercedes guessed.

“I hope not,” Louisa replied. “It’s food.”

“Food?” Gina blinked rapidly.

“Snacks. She tries to be sneaky, but if you pay attention you’ll notice her reach inside and grab a snack. She’s almost always eating.”

“I wonder what this Sal guy saw in her if she’s that mean and unpleasant.”

“Ione is as devious and conniving as Sal was.” The woman who seemed to have a particular distaste for the pit boss curled her lip. “She must have some dirt on Jimmy. Otherwise, he would have fired her sorry butt a long time ago.”

A lively discussion ensued, with several of the women sharing stories of how they had inadvertently found themselves on the receiving end of Ione’s wrath. It became increasingly clear, at least to Mercedes, that several issues bubbled under the surface at Quick Cash Casino, including Jimmy turning a blind eye to Sal’s and Ione’s questionable behavior.

Clearly, Treasure Cove wasn’t Sal’s only target. The casino that employed him had also been subjected to his alleged bad behavior.

Mercedes and Gina exchanged an uneasy glance. The pit boss was no one to mess with, yet she was the reason they were there.

“What’s Ione’s last name?” Mercedes asked.

“Lee.”

“Lee?” she repeated.

“Yeah. It seems like it should be darker, more ominous,” Louisa said. “Maybe Andretti, a mafia family like the group who runs Treasure Cove and Royal Flush casinos.”

Mercedes felt a heat creep up her neck. “A mafia family owns casinos around here?”

“The Castellini family.”

“Tommy Castellini runs Royal Flush. He’s not a bad-looking guy,” a woman said.

“He’s not a hottie like Vinnie, what’s-his-name.”

Gina coughed loudly.

Mercedes patted her on the back. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she gasped. “I swallowed wrong.”

“So the other casino manager, Vinnie something, is good-looking?”

Louisa wiggled her eyebrows. “Honey, if he wasn’t married to that blonde bombshell, I would be knocking on his door.”

Uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking about her older brother, Mercedes pointedly guided it back to the previous topic. “Gina and I appreciate the warning and will try to steer clear of Ione Lee.”

The meal ended, and after cleaning up, the roommates all turned in for the night.