Dessert had come and gone while Star was telling her story and now Will Reid cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry to break this up," he apologized to Emma and Reid. "But I really need to get you two back to town. Dave is terribly worried about you and I'd like to put his mind at ease."
"Understood," Emma stood up, smoothing her caftan. "And, as much as I hate to go – "
"I'll go get Donny," Moonlight offered. "I know he will want to say 'Good-by'." She hurried off towards the kitchen.
"Miss Lacy?" Guy was escorting a man wearing the uniform of a local beverage distributor into the dining room. "Frank here wants to talk to you.
"Big Frank!" Krystal greeted him. "Good to see you!"
"Hello Miss Krystal, Miss Lacy, Ladies," the tall man greeted them shyly.
"I just wanted to talk to Miss Lacy for a moment," he explained.
"Of course, Frank! What can I help you with?" Miss Lacy immediately asked.
"Nothing really," was the reply. "I just wanted to let you know that I had to short you a little on your usual delivery of drink mixers. The party store two stops back had a family reunion in the area over the weekend and they got pretty well cleaned out. Your bartender says he has enough stock for the next several days, but I wanted to make sure you know what is going on."
"Thanks, Frank, I appreciate that," Miss Lacy smiled at him. "Our bartender does have your contact information just in case, doesn't he?"
"Of course, Miss Lacy," the man told her. "And, if you need anything, I'll be glad to make a special trip out here." He turned to leave.
"Frank?" Emma spoke up.
"Yes, Miss," he looked over at her.
"Do you deliver bottled water, too?" Emma asked curiously.
"Yes," he replied.
"And you would notice any unusually large deliveries that your customers needed, wouldn't you?" she questioned.
"Well, yes," Frank told her. "Most customers get roughly the same quantities delivered each time. So, any unusually large orders would stand out."
"That's what I thought – Thank you, Frank," Emma replied.
"My pleasure," the deliveryman assured her as he followed Guy out of the dining room.
"What are you thinking?" Reid asked after the two men were gone.
"Just that if a large group of people began regularly frequenting a particular area the local merchants would have to start ordering larger deliveries," Emma explained. "Even if they brought most of their supplies with them, they probably would still be purchasing odds and ends locally."
"And, around Las Vegas, that would most likely include bottled water," Reid understood what she was thinking.
"I'll give Dave a call," Will Reid had his cell phone out.
The good-byes were quickly handled, with Donny and Emma's parting hug receiving intense scrutiny from Reid. Emma also made sure that Star/Laurel had her contact information, and she promised Star that she would start handling her return to the university as soon as she got back to Las Vegas.
"Tell Diana I said 'Hi!'," Miss Lacy told Will as the exchanged hugs. "And, tell her I think that she is one very lucky woman!" The brothel owner nodded towards Reid and Emma as they stood talking with her employees.
Guy helped Mr. Reid pack the bags containing Emma's and Reid's clothing, as well as Emma's backpack, into the trunk of the car and assured him that he was welcome to return to Leather and Lace at any time. Guy also made sure he had several of Mr. Reid's business cards because, as he said, "You never know!"
"Okay, Spencer, you take the back seat," Emma said as they climbed into the car. "That way you will have enough room to stretch out and nap on the way back to town. When we get there, you'll need to be ready to help Dave find the team."
"What about you?" Reid felt compelled to ask. "I don't think you got much sleep last night either."
"I'll have plenty of room here in front," Emma assured him as she adjusted the seat and then fastened her seatbelt.
