1 Casing the Casinos

 

Sandra Delray went to the Green Room gambling tables at the Splendor and Devon Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her women’s club would be at the hotel for four nights.

Sandra was playing poker in a long black stretch velvet dress. A good-looking man approached.

“Hi, gorgeous, do you mind if I sit next to you?”

Sandra looked at the man.

“This is a free country. I’ll be leaving at the end of this hand.”

The man scrutinized the woman.

“I’ve run into my second female this evening that has been super touchy. There must be a movement happening called hashtag no men. I think that I’m going to try the casino across the street. Their building gets the sun in the morning. Maybe I’ll run into a woman with sunshine in her eyes instead of gloom and doom.”

Sandra looked at her watch. Danielle was late. She wished her dress was not so tight and low cut. Her dress was a magnet for weird men. She was glad the man left their table. Surprised at her cards, she finished playing the game and won.

Another man approached. This one was tall, dark-haired, and very handsome.

“Great hand. You know how to play cards. I’m the manager of the casino, Craig Connor. If anyone bothers you again, please let me know.”

Sandra didn’t want to be noticed by management at this casino. Her group would be staying here in the future. She did need to respond. Her blue eyes looked into his hazel eyes.

“Hi, I’m Sandra Delray from Phoenix. My friends are late in their arrival. I thought that I could keep myself occupied by playing cards.”

“Good. We’re glad you have chosen our hotel and casino. You and your friends should have an excellent time.”

He handed her six tickets to the evening’s performance at his casino and five dollars off lunch at one of their restaurants. Sandra looked at the listed performers. The show was a comedy act.

She stood up and looked in his overly bright eyes inspecting her blonde hair. She never met the man before. The manager acted as if he knew her.

“Thank you very much. I see my friends are at the door.”

Craig nodded to the game table boy who slid her chips to the edge and put them in a bag for her to take to the cashier when she was ready.

The manager watched her walk away and meet two other equally gorgeous women. They were redheads and appeared to be twins. He overheard her say Danielle and Dawn in her greeting.  His casino was looking up with beautiful women arriving.

Sandra approached the two women. She was disappointed to see Danielle talking to the first man she saw at the poker table. The man saw her coming and left the casino. Sandra frowned at Danielle.

“What’s wrong? He only wanted directions to the High Tower Plaza Hotel. The hotel was across the street. I pointed out how close he was to the building.”

Dawn watched Sandra’s expression. She needed to intervene.

“I know, but she’s really good at other things like the electrical stuff. We can trust her to do the job. Also, Darcy will be arriving shortly to again review the plumbing requirements.”

“Keep her away from that man. He scouts out women and is probably out of funds from gambling. We also have a slight problem.”

She motioned for them to go to their rooms where they could talk without any cameras.

Once in their three adjoining rooms on the seventh floor, she told them about her encounter with the manager. Sandra ran her hand through her long hair after untying the back bun. She could think better without the black velvet hair constraint.

Dawn was envious of the woman’s sleek hair. She commented, “I thought we were to play low key at this hotel. We can’t have anyone become suspicious about our business.”

“I know. Candy and Kim should be arriving later. We might as well eat dinner. I’m hungry.”

The three women went to the lunch buffet dining hall and ate. After an hour the other three women joined them and filled their plates. They complained about their flight. There was a thunderstorm that delayed takeoff.

Craig was in the control room of the hotel viewing the screens of the tourists at his hotel. He saw the dining hall and the table of six women. He showed the group to his head security officer.

“I have a feeling about this group. Make sure you watch them.”

His security officer, Kevin, looked at the women. He noticed Dawn.

“I like the woman in the camel coat with black leather boots. She looks classy.”

“Kevin Meadow, we’re not going to bother these women. You are also very married. We only need to watch them for one day. Then I’ll determine if we need any further screening. The woman in black velvet should especially be watched. She seems to be in command.”

Some of the women went to their rooms. Danielle and Sandra went back down to the main floor casino. They were looking for all the security cameras.

Using their cell phone to take selfies and a special compact holding a tiny camera, they captured all but two cameras.

Sandra stood talking with Danielle. She tapped her nose which was their sign to minimize their conversation to simple words.

“We’re missing something. Oh, my earring is gone.”

Danielle found the hoop earring in the fold of Sandra’s top.

“Here let me put the earring back in. There now we have the two. I can see the lock on the earring is set.”

Danielle used her eyes to show Sandra the location of two very tiny cameras. Sandra positioned herself to one side and took a selfie. She took a second selfie opening her mouth and licking her lips.

They walked ten feet and she handed her cell phone to Danielle.

“Let me do something sexy for Henri.”

Sandra turned so her low-cut back was in the picture. She glanced over her shoulder with a wicked smile. There was a pumpkin seed in her mouth. Danielle started whistling a song. Sandra bent over laughing. Danielle took the shot.

“Perfect.”

They went to their hotel room to review their photos.

Craig checked with the hotel’s security control room. He looked at the special computer file. He watched the still shots of the two women.

“Damn, they found our tiny cameras. Will you look at Ms. Sandra Delray! She’s mocking us. Is that a pumpkin seed?”

Kevin, his security man, looked at the still shots.

“She is a female Arabian all right. Do horses like pumpkin seeds?”

Craig looked at Kevin.

“Right, move along, Kevin. Your boss needs input. We are talking a professional is in the building. I haven’t seen the likes of her and her keen ability to find our newly installed cameras. She is very, and I repeat, very good! I’ve been working here for seven years and never saw this type of move. We are so out of step in the cybercrime game.”

“You’re comparing her to my horse at my friend’s ranch? My horse doesn’t know she is a pro. This woman does. We don’t have much cybercrime in Vegas. However, I’m sure she knows how to hack a computer.”

“Yes, your horse is stunning and mischievous when the males are around. This woman knows she is top-notch. Look at the way she walks. Confidence to the maximum. I would say some modeling or other key experience happened besides computers.  I would recognize her again on our screens. She is leading the other female Arabians. That is a dangerous situation.”

“I agree. She and her friends are up to something. All of them may be involved in casing the casino. I don’t think they are looking for wealthy men.”

Kevin looked again at the sexy shots.

“I don’t know if men are their game either. But they most definitely are going to be back. This first run is a check on our casino and the one across the street.”

Craig shut down the computer file.

“Let’s do a background check on Ms. Delray. Find out the rest of their activities while here. I’ve already given her six tickets to the comedy show and our standard discount coupons. When the full background check on her has arrived, I would like to review the document right away.”

Craig Connor left Kevin. The next four days he reviewed the casino floor. Whenever he saw Sandra Delray, he was very cordial. He watched her when she wasn’t looking.

Sandra watched Craig whenever she could avoid their security camera’s range. She noticed he wore expensive suits with an expensive tie and white dress shirt. Mr. Connor was always impeccably well-groomed. She watched him socialize with his guests.

In the evening Craig went to his penthouse room on the top floor. He had a good idea of what the six ladies were up to in the next few weeks. He would need to make some decisions.

He would wait to see if the ladies returned. This trip to Vegas might be a checkoff. Vegas was on many people’s bucket lists. He tried to tell himself his hotel was a perfect place for pleasure.

Craig wondered who the person was named Henri? The last selfie Ms. Delray took set his heart to beat faster. She was surprised by her friend and let down her guard. She dropped her mask. He saw a woman who enjoyed a good joke.

“You are good. Someone has taught you valuable skills. I’ll bet there’s a lot more underneath. Henri’s possibly a boyfriend.”

On the fourth day, Craig was with Kevin in the security room.

“Her background check is excellent. There are no red flags. She looks normal. She attended high school, college, and bought a new car, new condo, etc.”

Kevin handed his boss the report. He continued with his verbal report.

“The first day the women checked into our casino. Sandra didn’t go to the comedy performance. The second day, the women went shopping except Sandra went to the race car track. On the third day, the women went swimming and Sandra went skydiving. On the fourth day, they all went to the High Tower Plaza Hotel. Two of her group took cooking lessons, two went to the spa, one read in the lobby, and Sandra played cards.”

“What about the evenings on days two through four?”

Kevin looked at his notes. “The women went out to eat. Sandra stayed in her hotel room.”

Craig wondered why Sandra stayed in her room. People usually didn’t stay in their rooms in this town.

“Fast cars and skydiving are her interests. Ms. Delray likes to live near the edge. She is not afraid.”

“I’d say fearless is my guess.”

Kevin continued his report. “Five of the women have checked out of the hotel. We are waiting for Ms. Delray.”

Sandra looked around her hotel rooms. Without her friends, there was quiet. She packed her papers and soon would follow. She was leaving Mr. Craig Connor’s elegant and expensive hotel.

Stopping by the lobby front door, she turned. Sandra felt brave and couldn’t resist. Mr. Connor wasn’t in control. She was.

Sandra looked directly at the security camera for a full minute before she smiled and left the hotel. She dared him to follow.

Craig was going to speak with her before she left when he saw on the screen a van pull beside the lobby door.

“The Australian band has arrived. I’ll go down and greet them.”