Vanishing Act in Vegas: A Silver Sisters Mystery (Silver Sisters Mysteries Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  ~Chapter 1~

  ~Chapter 2~

  ~Chapter 3~

  ~Chapter 4~

  ~Chapter 5~

  ~Chapter 6~

  ~Chapter 7~

  ~Chapter 8~

  ~Chapter 9~

  ~Chapter 10~

  ~Chapter 11~

  ~Chapter 12~

  ~Chapter 13~

  ~Chapter 14~

  ~Chapter 15~

  ~Chapter 16~

  ~Chapter 17~

  ~Chapter 18~

  ~Chapter 19~

  ~Chapter 20~

  ~Chapter 21~

  ~Chapter 22 ~

  ~Chapter 23~

  ~Chapter 24~

  ~Chapter 25~

  ~Chapter 26~

  ~Chapter 27~

  ~Chapter 28~

  ~Chapter 29~

  ~Chapter 30~

  ~Chapter 31~

  ~Chapter 32~

  ~Chapter 33~

  ~Chapter 34~

  ~Chapter 35~

  ~Chapter 36~

  ~Chapter 37~

  ~Chapter 38~

  ~Chapter 39~

  ~Chapter 40~

  ~Chapter 41~

  ~Chapter 42~

  ~Chapter 43~

  ~Chapter 44~

  ~Chapter 45~

  ~Chapter 46~

  ~Chapter 47~

  About The Authors

  Vanishing Act in Vegas

  A Silver Sisters Mystery

  Morgan St. James

  Phyllice Bradner

  Marina Publishing Group

  Las Vegas NV 89141

  www.marinapublishinggroup.com

  Vanishing Act in Vegas

  A fun-filled Silver Sisters escapade in "Sin City."

  After Godiva's son Torch buys a condo in Las Vegas, his grandmother Flossie and great uncle Sterling decide to pay him a visit. When the old vaudeville magicians drag him to the Pageant of Peacocks starring sexy Mara the Magnificent, it's love at first sight. The romance blossoms but when Torch returns from a meeting in L.A., Mara seems cold and distant. Torch turns to his mother, the advice columnist, for a helping hand.

  Godiva agrees to check things out during her upcoming trip to Vegas, when she joins her twin sister Goldie at a big antique expo. Flossie and Sterling tag along for a second trip to Sin City. The family gets a shock while attending Mara's show, where a stagehand dies during the performance. Police call it accidental, but Mara is convinced its murder. Torch told her about his family's uncanny ability to solve mysteries, so she begs them to investigate the death of her friend. They start to poke around in their clever but kooky fashion and uncover an even bigger mystery. This time Flossie and Sterling take the lead and when they uncover a diabolical plot they come close to doing a disappearing act of their own!

  Copyright © 2015 by

  Morgan St. James and Phyllice Bradner

  All rights reserved. This story is a work of fiction produced from the authors’ imagination. People, places and things in this novel are used in a fictional manner. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any retrieval system without permission from the author and/or publisher except as part of a review or media article. No part of this publication may be sold or hired without written permission from the author or publisher.

  Special paperback edition pricing for quantity purchases by book clubs. Authors are available to speak to book clubs or organizations by Skype.

  Email request to [email protected]

  Library of Congress Control No: 2015901998

  Cover and interior design: Joan Hudson

  Cover female image: arturkurjan

  Marina Publishing Group

  Las Vegas NV 89141

  http://marinapublishinggroup.com

  [email protected]

  Dedication

  Although they are closed now, to the wonderful Liberace Museum (which closed in October 2010), and Tivoli Gardens Restaurant to give the oldsters somewhere they could reminisce about their friend Liberace.

  To the other authentic Las Vegas area locations that appear in this story.

  And, as always, to our beloved mother who would have been so proud of her girls.

  Reviews

  MORE PLEASE

  More Please. I wish these two ladies would write more Silver Sister books. I can hear the characters speaking as I'm reading, I recently purchased an audio book of theirs to have for our car trips. Their mother and uncle in these books could fit so many different ethnic groups. An Italian mother, or a Greek uncle. I can see so many different folks in these two characters. The twins are so funny. Please keep them coming.

  ~Judy Lake

  Sister Sleuths are at it again. The characters in this book are a riot. They are well developed and a fun read. It is great to see seniors that are full of life and ready for adventure.

  ~Dutor

  More fun and trouble for the Silver Sisters. Poor Torch. He finally lands a great contract as a special effects director in Las Vegas, bought a condo with a view of the strip and his grandmother and great uncle are planning on paying him a visit to help him `settle in.' He loves them both but he also knows them very well. Both are retired magicians and trouble seems to be what they conjure up the most.

  ~Martha A. Cheves,

  Laugh out loud. What happens when two eighty year old semi-retired magicians and two middle aged twins travel to Las Vegas to invade Godiva Olivia DuBois's pyrotechnic son's condo? Only three murders that the group can't help but solve as they think themselves as semi-detectives!!

  ~Hotcha

  ~Chapter 1~

  A stocky woman walked across the room, carefully avoiding the pool of blood. She craned her neck to get a better look at the crumpled body lying face down in the middle of an Oriental carpet. Her tweed jacket, calf-length skirt and sensible shoes were in sharp contrast to the elegant fashions worn by the other guests. Lights flickered ominously, then went out, plunging the drawing room into complete darkness.

  The woman rummaged around in her plain black handbag and produced a flashlight. As soon as she clicked it on, everyone gasped. The body was gone!

  Flossie Silver snorted. “Looks like this one’s going to be a load of hogwash, Godiva. Who thinks up such goofy plots?”

  Godiva Olivia DuBois threw her hands in the air. “Oh calm down, Mom, give her a chance. You know they always open with something dramatic. They need a real zinger so they can wind up to that ‘aha’ moment when Mabel figures it all out. That’s what makes it so much fun.”

  Flossie clicked her tongue. “Fun, schmun, I don’t buy it. The lights were out for less than a minute. Are we supposed to believe someone got in there and hauled the body away that quick?”

  “Making that body disappear in a minute isn’t such a big deal.” Sterling Silver grumbled, “When we did our magic act, my brother Harry made you disappear every night.”

  “Yeah, but I was alive! Dead people don’t cooperate that well, Smarty Pants.”

  Sterling grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. “Pipe down old girl. How are we supposed to see if this thing is worth watching if you keep yapping? Isn’t that right, Godiva?”

  Whenever they watched Mabel McBride’s Murder and Mayhem, Godiva’s eighty-one year-old mother and uncle bickered and badgered each other as they tried to analyze the plots and unmask the villains. Even Godiva, who wrote a
syndicated advice column, couldn’t come up with a good suggestion for harmony in her own family.

  While Mabel McBride poked around the drawing room looking for clues, Flossie, Sterling and Godiva settled back in their cushy leather armchairs, eyes focused on the big screen TV in one corner of the massive family room. Just as the British detective located a scrap of torn fabric, Godiva’s son Torch blasted in.

  “Whoa! Are you three still watching that show? I thought it was only on for an hour. I swear, you guys are addicted to those stuffy British mysteries.”

  “It’s a Murder Marathon, honey. Four in a row. This is the last one. Grandma and Uncle Sterling are having a hot debate about whether this one has any merit.”

  Torch shrugged. “I know the answer to that one.”

  The commercial came on, and Sterling turned off the sound. “Torch, you have no appreciation for good old-fashioned acting. If things don’t crash or burn or blow up, then they’re just not worth anything to you.”

  “You got that right, Unk. Face it, I’m an FX man. That’s how I make my living. You, of all people, should appreciate that. After all, you gave me my nickname.”

  “Damn near burned the garage down when you were a kid. It’s hard to believe they pay you to do that now.”

  “Yeah, if you told me when I was a kid that setting fires would earn me big bucks, I wouldn’t have believed you. Now I’ve got this great contract with Las Vegas Blowout and I’ve made enough money to actually buy my own place there. Imagine, a ritzy condo in the High Rollers Plaza—fantastic views of the Strip and most of my neighbors are hipsters from Hollywood. Add that to being the Special Effects Director on a hit TV show, and I’m floatin’ on cloud nine.”

  “Oh, boy,” Flossie sighed, “with all that excitement, you’ll probably never come home to see your boring old family.”

  “Actually Grammy, I’m gonna miss living here on the ‘old homestead’ with you guys, but you’ve gotta go where the job is. I promise to come back here to visit when I can.”

  Before heading out, he looked around lovingly at the Beverly Hills mansion built by his late father, self-made millionaire Max DuBois.

  He winked at Godiva. “Well, Mom, the last of my stuff is loaded and I just wanted to say goodbye before I take off.”

  She kissed him on the cheek, sensing that her son couldn’t wait to hotfoot it out the door and begin his life as a swinging bachelor.

  Sterling turned the sound back on, but Flossie grabbed the remote and turned it off again. She looked at her grandson and smiled sweetly. “So, tottelah, your Uncle Sterling and I will be there in two, maybe three days. You know your uncle is afraid to fly so we’ll just tune up the Caddy tomorrow and be on our way.”

  “Whaa–?” Torch stared at her blankly.

  “Torch, honey, you’ll need help getting things in order, and no one does that better than your Uncle Sterling and me. I’ll set up your closets and kitchen and cook some good Jewish meals for your freezer and Uncle Sterling can putter around and help you hang pictures and do little odd jobs.”

  Torch looked to his mother in desperation.

  Flossie jumped up and tweaked him on the cheek. “Look, Sterling, he’s so happy we’re coming, he’s speechless. Good thing you bought a three bedroom. I guess we’ll stay for three or four days. Who knows, maybe longer if we get lucky. Magic acts are big in Vegas again.”

  Sterling punched the remote and turned up the sound on Mabel McBride.

  Torch choked out, “Mom-m-m—”

  ~Chapter 2~

  Godiva watched with a mixture of compassion and curiosity as Torch tried to wiggle out of the sticky situation. “Grammy” he ventured, “it’s no picnic driving through the desert, you know. It would be too much of a trip for you and Uncle Sterling in that ’59 Caddy. I mean, it’s even older than you guys, if you count it in car years.”

  “That old Cadillac is stronger than your fancy sports car any day,” Flossie pouted. “Besides, those big fins are—what do you call it—aerodynamic! Old Betsy can zip through the desert just like a rocket ship.”

  Godiva recognized her mother’s look of fierce determination immediately, but Torch gave it one more try before he surrendered. “Aw, c’mon Grams, wouldn’t it be better to wait until I’m settled? Maybe Mom would consider driving you there in a couple of months.”

  Godiva bristled. “Now Torch, you know there’s no way I’m going to make that boring five hour drive through the desert when I can fly first-class and be there in under an hour. I know Uncle Sterling hates to fly, so maybe you can drive him there next time you visit.”

  Flossie threw her hands in the air and spoke to her grandson as though he were still a kid. “Torch, darling, you’re talking such nonsense. This is your first big move. You don’t know a thing about setting up a household and I want to make sure you have a few tsotchkes spread around to make you feel like you really live there.”

  Torch rolled his eyes in defeat, “No tsotchkes, Grams! Except, of course, for this,” he held up the Oscar he won for special effects in the sci-fi film The Legend of Zork. “I’m just taking this out to the car with the last load of stuff, then I’m off.”

  “Well, that’s settled. So, we’ll see you in a few days.” The old woman patted her brother-in-law’s arm and said, “Don’t worry about Sterling, he’s a fine driver and we’ll get Betsy in tip-top condition before we head your way.”

  Sterling harrumphed as Godiva and Flossie dragged him out to the pillared front portico to wave goodbye. They watched Torch tuck the last few things in the rented SUV. His Porsche was already in Vegas, and this rental vehicle was crammed with items he hadn’t trusted to the movers.

  Torch turned the key in the ignition and they all waved goodbye. It was hard for them to accept the reality that the little boy who once played with fire was a man now and would be on his own in Sin City.

  As they turned back to the house, Godiva tried to talk them out of making the long drive and invading Torch’s new bachelor pad. This time Flossie said, “Quit worrying, Godiva. We’ll stop along the way. It’s been a long time since we had a fun road trip, hasn’t it Sterling?”

  “Listen, old girl, it’s been a while since I’ve had fun at anything,” Sterling replied.

  Godiva cringed when her mother said, “C’mon, old Grumpy, where’s your sense of adventure? We could take Route 66 and stop off in Barstow or Laughlin. They say Laughlin’s like the old Las Vegas, before they built all the schmaltzy hotels.”

  Godiva watched as Uncle Sterling perked up and actually looked interested. He rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully, “That’s really quite an idea, Flossie. We could stay overnight in Barstow and maybe Laughlin, too. You know, split up the drive. We’ll take two, or even three days. Torch can wait that long for his shelves to be lined. I heard there’s a dandy Route 66 museum around Victorville somewhere. You know, I’m really starting to like this idea.”

  They made a few more plans while Mable McBride searched for more clues. When she solved the mystery, they flicked off the TV and the oldsters decided it was time for a late afternoon nap. Excited about their upcoming trip, the old troupers locked arms and did a rickety “shuffle off to Buffalo” while singing a line from an old song about getting kicks on Route 66. Flossie gave an extra little kick as they danced through the door and headed back to their cottages on the grounds of the estate.

  As Godiva slumped into one of the comfortable chairs she felt the weight of a shaggy head in her lap followed by Waldo the Wonder Dog’s soft doggie snuffling. He gazed up at her with questioning eyes and murmured, Torrrchhh?

  “Oh, Waldo, you’re going to miss him, aren’t you? Don’t worry, tomorrow is Thursday and you get to go to the Home for Hollywood Has-Beens with Mom and Unk. The old folks there love you so much. They think you really know how to talk—well, maybe you do.”

  Godiva felt the need to touch base with her twin sister Goldie. After all, Goldie was the sensible one. Maybe she could talk Flossie and Sterling out
of this foolish road trip before they found themselves broken down in Barstow. She lifted the phone while Waldo settled at her feet.

  ~Chapter 3~

  Godiva had a mental image of her sister answering the clunky black rotary telephone at the rear of her antique shop in Juneau. Fluffing her shiny silver hair she would say sweetly, “Hi Godiva. What’s up? I had a feeling you’d be calling soon. The Moon is in Mars and your horoscope spelled trouble today.”

  When Goldie answered the phone with almost those exact words, her twin was prepared with a reply. “Glad you were on my wave length, Sis. Torch just stuffed the last of his things in the car and headed out to Vegas. Guess what brilliant idea Mom came up with?”

  “I can’t imagine. What is it this time? Better spit it out.”

  “Well, Mom convinced Uncle Sterling to drive the Caddy to Las Vegas so she can help Torch set up his new condo. Oh God, Goldie, she’ll try to turn his avant garde bachelor pad into a stage set from Arsenic and Old Lace. She wants to fill his freezer with chicken soup and noodle kugel, so he won’t starve–”

  “Well, you must admit, Torch could stand to put a little meat on his bones.”

  Godiva ignored the comment, “That’s not all. She’s convinced Unk that he has to hang pictures and stuff. You know what a klutz Uncle Sterling is. He’ll probably hit his thumb with a hammer and wind up in the emergency room.”

  “Wait a minute,” Goldie said, “Did you say they were going to drive the Caddy to Vegas?”

  “Bingo! You’ve finally got the message. Oh, Goldie, what am I going to do?”

  She could hear Goldie’s deep breath on the other end. Then her sister said in a calm voice, “Maybe nothing, Sis. Maybe the car will break down before they get out of L.A.”

  “Not a chance. You know Uncle Sterling keeps it in tip-top condition. They’re going to take it into Moishe’s Motors and get it tuned up tomorrow.”

  “And just how do our eighty-year-old adventurers plan to handle a drive like that?”