"House Rules"

Published in the Murder in Vegas IACW Anthology, Forge, 2005
Nominated for the Agatha and Anthony Awards

Excerpt

If Marge Farley had known what was in store during her vacation to Las Vegas, she might have gone to the Wisconsin Dells instead. At the very least, she might not have taken the side trip into the desert. But she'd been craving something new and different, which was why they'd come to Vegas in the first place. And she'd surprised her husband Larry with a trip to Red Rock Canyon to cheer him up.

But Larry ignored the petrified sand dunes, the waterfalls cascading into the canyons, and the red-tailed hawks soaring high above the Mojave. Polishing off both bottles of water, he stomped back to the car. "This isn't fun. It's too hot. And dusty. Let's go back." He swiped beads of sweat off his forehead. Wet bands ringed the back of his shirt.

Marge tried to focus on the craggy rock formations in the distance. The desk clerk at the hotel concierge said this was the place to visit. And Dr. Phil said there were times you had to decide what was important in a relationship. Lord knows, she was trying. But Larry'd had what you might call a setback last night. A fifteen thousand dollar setback.

"It's not fair." He moaned when they'd stumbled out of the casino. "Why couldn't we have Benny Morrison's luck?"

She'd heard the story a thousand times. How their friend Benny took his wife to Vegas and won fifty grand at the tables before they even unpacked. How he flew up to their room, grabbed their bags, and told Frances they were going home—that very minute—to build a swimming pool in their back yard. Larry still did a slow burn every time the Morrisons invited them over.

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All content © Libby Fischer Hellmann.