“Yes, Mom,” Maggie drawled. “Say hi to the girls for me.”

“Well, that was a bust, Hero,” Maggie said, as the tawny cat leaped onto her lap and started to purr. “I guess I can call the guys. Maybe they’re up to something. You never know where they’re concerned. I think I’ll call Ted first.”

Maggie hit the number 7 on her speed dial and was stunned when Ted picked up on the first ring. “Good Lord, where are you? It sounds like an amusement park.”

“Vegas, baby,” Ted said flippantly.

“Las Vegas! And you didn’t tell me! What are you doing there?” Maggie screeched so loud that Hero flew off her lap.

“Give me five minutes to find a place that’s a little more quiet and I’ll call you back. Are you okay?”

“If I wasn’t okay, I wouldn’t be calling you,” Maggie snapped. “This better be good, Ted.”

“What? What? You specifically said not to call you or show up, and if any of us did, you would shoot us. Those are your exact words, Maggie. I just did what you insisted that everyone do. Now, give me five minutes and I’ll call you right back.”

Maggie had the good grace to wince at Ted’s words. Yes, she did say that, and at the time she sort of, kind of, meant it, but Ted knew her. He should have at least tried to call her after three days. She seethed, then started to chew on her thumbnail, a terrible habit she’d had since childhood.

Five minutes went by, then ten, and finally fifteen before Maggie’s cell pinged. She clicked it on bullet fast. “So what are you doing in Vegas?”

Maggie could hear Ted suck in a deep breath. “Well, you know we all went to Reno for the martial arts competition with Harry. We talked about that before we left, so don’t go saying you didn’t know about it,” Ted said testily.

“Okay, okay, yes, you did, but Reno is not Las Vegas.”

“Of course it isn’t. Jack heard on the radio that some big VIP in Vegas got gunned down, and he said from what he heard he thought it was Cosmo Cricket. So on that alone we came here to see if Jack was right, and he was. This is Vegas, and they didn’t mention names. Someone shot up Cosmo pretty bad. He’s had two operations and is in the ICU. He almost died, Maggie, that’s how bad it was. Is, actually. Lizzie is with him. They weren’t sure whether he’d make it. The surgeon is cautiously optimistic. That’s all I know, Maggie.”