CHAPTER 32

Danny walked briskly across the casino floor. He and Mary had been married almost a week and life was good. They'd only had time for a short overnight trip to LA, but Danny had promised that once things died down a bit at the Montecito he would take his bride on a proper honeymoon. For the time-being they both were perfectly content to spend their free time getting settled into their new home. The movers had delivered all the furniture on Monday and little by little the newlyweds were making progress with the sea of boxes that held their belongings. Mary had done an amazing job so far of integrating their possessions and creating a cohesive style so Danny had been more than happy to turn over the decorating tasks to her. There was no doubt in his mind that his wife would create a stunning home that they could both be comfortable in.

Despite Danny's best efforts to keep her naked and in bed, Mary had left the house early that morning to get started on preparations for the grand opening of the new tower. There were quite a few celebrities coming in for the event and staffing and scheduling decisions still needed to be made. Danny winced inwardly as he again thought about Mary's to-do list he'd seen on the kitchen counter last night. He worried a bit that she was over-exerting herself, but Mary had promised to take breaks and try to stay off her feet as much as possible. He made a mental note to check in on her to make sure she was keeping that promise.

Nodding his hellos to different employees, Danny headed towards his boss' office. Mike had called earlier and was confident he knew the identity of at least two members of the Masquerade Group, but he needed to verify a few more things. Once he had all the information he needed, they agreed to meet in Ed's office to discuss their next course of action.
---

Danny was the last one to join the meeting and Ed gave him an annoyed glare as he took a seat on the sofa next to the window.

"Alright, now that Mr. McCoy has finally graced us with his presence--whatcha got, Mike?"

"It took me awhile, but I isolated the IP's of two of the regular players--Fred Hinojosa and Eric Myers. They both work for the same software company in Denver."

"I thought you said there were hundreds of players? How do you know these are two of our guys?"

"Well, their frequency of play was a big factor in bringing them to my attention and I made some calls. Both of them just happened to be on vacation during the week Mary was abducted. Also, Hinojosa is a licensed pilot and a jet matching the description Danny gave was chartered out of Denver by him that week as well."

"What about Myers?"

"Myers was a bit trickier, but after my research this morning I'm positive he's one of our guys."

Mike reached into the folder on the table and pulled out a photograph. It was a black and white yearbook photo of a group of high school kids. "This is the Granbury High School Computer Club – 1995. And this," Mike pointed to a boy's picture he had circled with black marker, "is Eric Myers."

Ed and Danny both looked at the photo and noticed at the same time there was another photo circled. "Is this Hinojosa?" Danny asked as he picked up the photo for a closer look.

Ed broke in before Mike could answer, "You know, we can probably link Hinojosa through the plane, but just because Myers has known him since high school and they work together…it could just be a coincidence."

"That's not Hinojosa. That's Chester Ford."

"You're telling me we've got a link between Myers and Ford? Mike, that's incredible!" Danny was so excited he actually had to stop himself from jumping up and embracing his friend.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm awesome."

They both smiled as Ed continued to stare at the photo. "Why the hell didn't the FBI find this," he grumbled to himself and then turned to look at Danny and Mike, "They've had Chester Ford's name for over a week. We've given them all the info on the game and its players… something's not right here."

Danny nodded his head in agreement. He'd been so excited about the discovery that he hadn't processed the fact that Mike had once again been able to easily access information that the FBI had seemingly missed.

"What do you think is going on, Ed?"

"I don't know. But I'm done dealing with the feds. Mike—keep digging into all three of their backgrounds. See if you can find any other links and maybe we can figure out who else is involved."

"You got it."

"And Danny, you and I are going to head to Denver this afternoon; pay these guys a visit and see what they have to say."

---
"So what do you say we head up to my suite and you show me what the real Vegas is all about."

Mary tried not to laugh at the latest in a long line of ridiculous pick-up lines. Growing up in Vegas and working in the resort industry had brought her in contact with all kinds of people, but this guy was a piece of work. It was in her nature to be friendly, but the slimeball had been hitting on her for over ten minutes and she'd just about had enough. All she wanted to do was sit here in peace, eat her lunch and finish the schedules for the weekend, but this guy obviously could not take a hint. She'd gone from politely refusing his advances, to telling him flat out she was married to now just plain ignoring him, but nothing had worked. And now the sickening smell of his cologne—which he'd obviously bathed in—was starting to give her a headache.

Finally, she decided to pull out the big guns. "Look, you do realize I'm pregnant, right?" If nothing else worked, that little piece of information should send him running.

"Doesn't bother me. In fact, I kinda like it," Mary recoiled as he leaned in close to whisper the last part into her ear and slowly ran his finger up her bare arm. Her hand unconsciously gripped her pen and she briefly considered the consequences of stabbing the guy in the neck when he was startled out of his action by a firm jerk from behind. Mary was stunned for a moment, but smiled when she caught sight of her husband.

"Hey, watch it, buddy. I'm trying to get a little action here," the guy protested, trying to shake loose from Danny's grasp.

Mary shook her head in disbelief. There really was no end to this guy's stupidity.

"I'm sorry I can't let you do that. You see, this woman right here is my wife and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want you touching her. In fact, I'm pretty sure she asked you to leave her alone. Now, I'm going to chalk this whole incident up to the fact that you're an idiot and you've obviously had too much to drink so these nice gentlemen right here are going to escort you off the premises. If I see you back on Montecito property again I won't be so polite."

Danny handed the guy off to the security guards and watched them lead him out of the casino before turning back to Mary. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him, rubbing her hand up and down her arm, trying to ward off the creepy chill that had settled there. "Can you believe the nerve of that guy?

Danny replaced her hand with his own and softly caressed her arm. "You should have called someone sooner, Mary. That could have gotten out of hand."

"I thought he was harmless," Mary shrugged.

"You're too trusting, baby. What if he'd slipped something in your drink? What if I hadn't walked by? What if…"

"Danny, honey, I'm okay. I was sitting here minding my own business and he sat down. I can't just immediately brush off any guy who speaks to me. Besides, I'm in the middle of the casino with hundreds of cameras watching. Everyone knows me—do you really think anyone is going to let some random guy walk out with me slung unconscious over his shoulder. Please don't worry, okay--at least not when I'm at work." Mary reached up and caressed the side of Danny's face as he touched his forehead to hers.

"I need you to stay here tonight."

"What? Why?" Mary leaned back, a questioning look on her face.

"I have to go to Denver with Ed and I want you to stay in the hotel while I'm gone."

"Why are you going to Denver?"

"The opening will be going late tonight anyway and I would just feel better…," Danny went on, trying to skirt her question, but Mary wasn't going to let it go.

"You didn't answer my question," she told him pointedly. "Why are you going to Denver?"

"Mike found a lead--two guys that we think were involved in the kidnappings. Ed and I are going to check it out."

"Danny, no! You need to let the FBI handle this." Mary knew they had been doing their own investigation into the Masquerade Group, but she assumed that once they had a lead they would turn it over to the proper authorities.

"Mary, the FBI has messed this thing up from the beginning and Ed doesn't trust them anymore. We're just going to talk to these guys, I promise." Danny softly ran his hands up and down her arms, trying to soothe her with his touch.

"I don't like this, Danny. I don't like you running off to confront these guys. They're dangerous. What if…"

"I'm going to be fine, I promise, and Ed's going to be with me. You know he won't let anything happen to either one of us, okay?"

"Promise you'll call me," she whispered, blinking back worried tears.

"I promise," Danny kissed the tip of her nose. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay."