My cell phone rang. It was Lou Califonte. He was calling to tell me that he hadn’t been able to get in touch with Singh. He’d spoken to Susan Lu and Lu told him Singh went out early this morning and hadn’t yet returned. Lu expected Singh back by lunchtime. Califonte set up a tentative meeting for two o’clock.

“Don’t you hate that?” Lula said. “Right in the middle of our time here. How are we supposed to have any fun like that? I hear Siegfried and Roy got their tigers on display. How many chances you think we’re gonna get to see Siegfried’s tiger?”

“Just help me get Singh back to the hotel room and you can go off for a couple hours. We don’t have to leave for the airport until six-thirty.”

“Yeah, it’s not like I gotta check luggage.”

We returned to the room a little after one. Connie was still asleep with the pillow over her face. There was a small sealed cardboard box on the coffee table. The delivery from Ranger. And there was a small floral arrangement next to it. Red roses and white carnations. The card with the flowers read: You’re one step behind me again. Singh’s been eliminated. The game continues.

I was totally dumbstruck.

“Hey,” Lula said. “Are you okay?”

I took a step back, bumped into a chair, and sat down hard. I went lightheaded for a moment. I hadn’t been expecting this. I’d been caught totally off guard. The killer knew I was in Vegas. Even worse, he had to be here, too. I was pretty sure he was telling me he’d killed Singh and, according to Susan Lu, Singh was alive this morning.

“I think he’s dead,” I said.

“Who’s dead?”

“Singh.”

I’d dropped the card on the floor. Lula picked it up and read it. “I don’t get it,” she said.

“Just give me a second and I’ll explain it to you.” I found my way to the bathroom and I stood there until I was sure I wasn’t going to throw up. Lula was at the bathroom door, watching. I put a hand up. “I’m getting there,” I said. “I was just caught by surprise and it knocked the air out of me.” I left the bathroom, walked to the desk, and reread the card. The card was standard hotel stock. The flowers had been sent through the hotel.

I called the concierge and waited on hold while he traced the flowers down. He returned to tell me the order had been phoned in and placed on Carl Rosen’s credit card. The hotel wasn’t able to access the call origination number.

TEN

LULA WAS STANDING over Connie. “Do you think she’s dead? She’s not moving under the pillow.”

“Take the pillow off her.”

“Not me. I hate dead. If she’s dead, I don’t want to see.”

I walked over and took the pillow off Connie’s face.

Connie opened an eye and looked up at me. “Did you bring Singh in?”