Mistletoe and Murder in Las Vegas Read Online Free PDF

Joanne knew differently. Six years ago, Gloria had been working with her dad in the Falco Investigations office when he had suffered a heart attack. She gave him CPR while getting 9-1-1 on the line and following their instructions, but despite her heroic efforts he died in her arms.
    She never hesitated to proudly identify herself as Sal Falco’s daughter, but talking about her dad stopped there. “People write articles and tell stories about the legendary Sal Falco, but I can’t...my dad was bigger than any words,” she once told Joanne.
    Her composure intact, Gloria resettled her gaze on Lenny. “Sounds like you got a friend in trouble.”
    “ Big trouble. Few nights ago a clothing store, Organica Streetwear, burned down.” He held out the bowl of popcorn, and Gloria helped herself to a handful. “Cops arrested my friend—her name’s Dita—and charged her with arson because there’s surveillance footage of her jogging to her car, which happened to be parked near the store.”
    He held the bowl out to Joanne, who waved it off.
    “Other cars were parked in the vicinity,” he continued. “But there’s no footage of anybody else walking or running, so Dita gets the bum rap.”
    “That footage doesn’t even show her, or her car’s, proximity to Organica Streetwear,” chimed in Kimmie. “In fact, the store isn’t visible at all, although a street sign establishes its location. But the cops, based on that surveillance tape, claim she was fleeing the scene.”
    “Then the fuzz tracked Dita to her apartment,” Lenny said, his glassy eyes fixed on a far wall as if watching a replay of the night’s events. “They saw the gasoline container on the floor of her car, end of story.”
    “They arrested her at that point?” Gloria popped several kernels into her mouth.
    “Busted into her car first, without a warrant , then they arrested her.”
    “Sounds like the container in her backseat was in plain view,” Joanne said. “Gave police probable cause to search her car without a warrant.”
    Lenny pressed the air with his palms in a no-need-to-explain motion. “Hey, I’m a Fourth Amendment groupie, too...that container was underneath a bunch of books. Plain view? Only with x-ray vision.”
    Gloria shot a look at Joanne, who arched a questioning eyebrow in response. Lenny obviously cared very much for Dita, but he wasn’t there when the police looked into her car, so were books really piled on the container?
    “So I went to the station to talk to the guy who’d helped Dita when she ran out of gas,” Lenny said. “But he’s since boogied out of town. An employee said his name’s Dave and he has brown hair...which matches the description of five zillion other people on the planet.”
    “Why didn’t they know his last name?” Gloria asked.
    “Dude said he only worked there a few days…got paid under the table.”
    “Reminds me of the Jackson case,” Gloria said to Joanne. “They’re trying to hang everything on a single surveillance tape, just like that prosecutor with the streak of white in her hair...forget her name...”
    “Lucy Gorman. Who wanted desperately to railroad that poor woman into prison.”
    Gloria huffed something about the Bride of Dracula, then said proudly, “But you, my brilliant friend, walked her.”
    “Walked?” Lenny repeated. “You’re a defense lawyer? I thought you were one of us.”
    Which she assumed to be a PI, unless the pod people had taken over their bodies and she was the last to go. More important, she sensed what was coming next and needed to put a stopper on it.
    “Yes, I’m a defense lawyer but—”
    “ Solid .” He pumped his fist. “Dita’s first court appearance is in an hour. I wanted to be there and give her support, but I need to serve a subpoena before three. Judge could set bail as high as forty or fifty, but if he believes that news report about Dita once being a member of the eco-terrorist group Animal Freedom Party, and that she taught