“I’ll have everything you need delivered to your room by noon.”

“Did Tank tell you about the photos?”

“Yeah. And I heard from Morelli, too. He’s not happy.”

“Did Carl Rosen ever show up?”

“You don’t want to know about Rosen, babe.”

I blew out a sigh and disconnected. Even at seven in the morning, smoke hung in the air on the casino floor. I squinted into the haze and wondered if they were matching the new photos to Rosen. I called Morelli at home. When he didn’t pick up I realized it was ten on the East Coast and I tried his cell.

“Yeah,” Morelli answered. Halfway through the morning and sounding pissed off.

“Guess who?”

Silence.

I grimaced at Lula.

“He should chill,” Lula said, shoveling eggs. “We’re working hard here. We got a job to do.”

“I heard that,” Morelli said. “Tell Lula I’ve got an outstanding arrest from when she was on the street.”

“Tell me about the photos and Carl Rosen.”

“They’re working on the photos now, but at first glance they look like a match. We found Rosen late last night. Someone dumped him at the corner of Laurel Drive and River Road. He had a white carnation stuffed down his pants and you’ve seen the photos, so I don’t have to describe his head.”

“Any suspects?”

“A few. No arrests, if that’s what you’re asking.”

I wasn’t looking forward to returning to Trenton. It felt safer in Vegas. Far away from Carl Rosen and the carnation freak. I could easily stay here and sit by the pool and do a little shopping and tell Vinnie the apprehension was more complicated than expected.

“Connie tells me you have a flight out at seven-thirty tonight,” Morelli said. “Do you already have Singh in custody?”

“No. If I have problems today, Connie will change the flight.”

There was a moment’s pause. “Are you expecting problems?”

“I’m hoping for problems. If there are problems I might get to stay another day. Maybe another week. It feels safer here than it does in Trenton.”

I disconnected and waited while Lula ate the last sausage.

“From the conversation I just heard between you and Ranger, I’m guessing they didn’t deliver my bags yet,” Lula said. “So I’m going shopping. I gotta get some clothes. All that dumb-ass airline gave me was a toothbrush.”

“I thought you gambled all your money away.”

“Yeah, but if I shop here in the hotel it goes on our room bill and Vinnie pays. It’s only right he pays anyway, on account of this is a business disaster.”

I returned to the room and took a shower while Lula went shopping. We were all packed together to save some money. The room had an Egyptian motif and two queen-size beds. Connie was sound asleep with a pillow over her face. She didn’t seem to be bothered by my presence, so I ordered room service coffee and a bakery basket and put a call in to Lou Califonte.