The Extinguished Guest (A Lexie Starr Mystery, Book 2) by Jeanne Glidewell

favor. On many occasions, even I had been known to donate more money than
     I'd intended at the casinos. I had an unrequited love for the triple diamond slot
     machines for several years. I finally got tired of losing all the money I took with
     me.
    "Hmm. I wonder what he's doing here," Stone said, bringing me out of my reverie on
     the pitfalls of the area's casinos. "I'm going to go in there and see if I can learn
     anything without being seen by Boris. If he spots me, I'll just walk up to the betting
     cage and place a twenty dollar bet on the number three horse to win, nod at Boris
     if I catch his eye, and leave. You stay in the car, out of the cold wind. I won't
     be long. I'll leave the motor running and the heater on for you."
    I would have liked to go with him, but I didn't really feel all that strong yet, so
     I nodded and said, "Okay, take your time. And make it horse number one. I think having
     the inside rail is a definite advantage in any horse race."
    Stone looked at me in amazement and nodded. Then he reached into the back seat and
     picked up a red K.C. Chiefs ball cap belonging to Tony, and put on a pair of sporty,
     wrap-around, sunglasses lying on the dash. Stone never wore a hat, and I had to admit
     just the addition of a ball cap and glasses made him difficult to recognize. The cap
     hid his attractive silver hair and made him look a bit goofy.
    I suppose it was no more than fifteen to twenty minutes later when Stone returned
     to the car, although it seemed much longer. I'd almost dozed off when I heard Stone's
     key in the door. He hopped in the car and flung the ball cap to the back seat. He
     kept the sunglasses on as he shifted the car into reverse. He was unusually animated
     and expectant. I knew he was becoming more and more intrigued with our sleuthing mission.
     I was, too. It was more involved than I would've guessed at the beginning.
    "What did you find out?" I asked, anxious to share in his excitement.
    "Well, it appears that Boris has a gambling problem, and some significant unpaid gambling
     debts. I was standing behind a concrete pillar when Boris walked out of the men's
     restroom. A large, muscular guy who looked as if he could easily bend crowbars in
     half with his bare hands immediately approached him. Neither one had a clue I was
     standing behind the pillar and could hear their entire conversation. The big, burly
     guy asked Boris if he had 'the money,' and Boris told him he didn't, but he would
     have it within the week. Then the guy told him if he didn't have the money his boss
     was owed by Saturday, Boris could look forward to having his face rearranged."
    "Oh, my! I take it this big, muscular guy is a loan shark?"
    "Well, he's a goon for the loan shark, anyway. Boris promised to have the money because
     he had an inside tip on a bet he was about to make. He said Willie's White Lightning
     was a shoe-in. The goon didn't look too impressed, but Boris was so emphatic about
     it, I was almost tempted to bet a hundred bucks on Willie's White Lightning, myself.
     After the goon walked away, Boris made a call on his cell phone and practically hissed
     when he spoke into it. 'Where are those damn birds? I need the money, now!' I heard
     him say into the phone."
    "Damn birds?" I asked.
    "That's what he said. Damn birds. I'm sure of it. Then Boris told Shorty, the caller,
     he'd be in his room at the inn at six o'clock this evening awaiting a call, and if
     Shorty didn't come through with some positive news about the birds, his ass was going
     to be grass."
    "And Boris would be the lawnmower, no doubt?"
    "No doubt."
    "I wonder who this Shorty guy is and what Boris meant by the 'damn birds.' What can
     birds have to do with anything?" I asked.
    "No way to tell."
    "Maybe there is, Stone. If we can somehow get Boris's cell phone, we can check his
     log of outgoing calls. See what phone number he called at about one o'clock today
     and call it ourselves to see who answers. Or, if that