Free Innocent in Las Vegas by A. R. Winters, Amazon.com (firm) Page B

to relocate.”
    “Wait here.”
    Stone left me standing in the hallway and walked into my place. He had his gun drawn and I could see now how it might be useful to have some firearm training. I heard him move about, opening doors and windows, probably checking under my bed. I thought back to whether I had any dirty underwear lying around or not and decided I didn’t. It was the usual mess that a single person makes, but I didn’t think it was too bad.
    “All clear,” he called, and I walked in and locked the door behind me.
    Stone was standing in the middle of the room, looking around. “They trashed the whole place,” he said, “But I’ve seen worse.”
    My face turned red and I scowled. “The living room’s fine. It’s always like this.”
    He looked at me in surprise. “But you look so neat.” His eyes drifted from my head to my toes and then back up again. “Clean clothes and all.”
    “A few dirty dishes and scattered cushions don’t make a mess.”
    He shrugged. “But they were looking for something. The bedroom’s definitely been trashed. All the stuff in your drawers is pushed to one side.”
    “You looked through my drawers?”
    “It’s my job.”
    I stared at him, aghast, and then went into my bedroom and looked around. The laptop was lying on the floor, the screen smashed and wires sticking out from behind the keyboard. Stone had closed my dresser and nightstand drawers, and I opened them. He was right. Everything was pushed to one side. Several things had been tossed on the floor.
    My knees suddenly felt like they were made of jelly, and I sat down on the bed. Stone watched me from the bedroom doorway and I said, “You’re right. The place was trashed. Just not the living room.”
    “My faith in your sanity has been restored.”
    His voice was dry and I cracked a smile. “Was that a joke?”
    “I don’t make jokes.”
    But the corner of his lips had curled up a little and he came and sat beside me on the bed. I tried very hard not to fall back in exhaustion. All I wanted to do was to huddle into a ball and quit this stupid case, but apparently if I did that, Sophia would be doomed. Just yesterday, I’d made up my mind to be a successful PI who solved her cases, not some loser who gave up when things got tough. More importantly, giving up at this stage wouldn’t deter whoever had been painting in my living room.
    The thought flashed through my mind that Sophia might be behind all this. Maybe this was all an elaborate ruse to make her look good during her trial. I got off the bed and picked up my laptop. It was a slow old thing and there were times when it frustrated me and made me want to throw it on the floor, but now someone else had taken that fantasy away from me.
    I sighed. “How well do you know Sophia?”
    A few long seconds passed and I thought maybe Stone hadn’t heard me. But then he answered. “I worked for Ethan when he got a few death threats. He seemed to think Sophia was beautiful and smart. That’s all I know of her.”
    “Who sent him the death threats?”
    “Some crazy dude who thought Ethan was causing his bad luck in Vegas. Few months later, he was arrested for stalking a movie star. He’s in an LA prison now.”
    I found an empty shoebox and stashed the laptop in it as best as I could. I’d drop it off tomorrow at Electronics Zone and they could send it to their battery recycling program.
    Stone stood up. “Did you go to the Krav Maga class?”
    “I didn’t have time.”
    “What’re your plans for tomorrow?”
    “Uh…”
    “I know Carla’s free in the morning. I’ll make an appointment for you at eight.”
    “Eight?! That’s not when people should be up i– ”
    “And then we’ll go get your gun license.”
    I shook my head. “I’m not doing any of that.”
    “Sophia’s paying me to keep you alive and I intend to make my life easier. What are you doing for the rest of the night?”
    I frowned and then remembered. “I’m having dinner at