Nick grinned. “You can afford it, and the idea’s intriguing enough that everyone on the guest list will be there.”
“Need a room?”
“I thought I’d stay at the Copper Star, leave your fancy rooms for the people you’re trying to impress.”
Cain grunted. “Make sure you don’t stay in room ten.”
“That the murder room?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t say more. It was embarrassing to realize he believed Jenny’s theory about a ghost being responsible for Brian Santana’s death. But whatever he’d felt in that room had been murderous, at the very least.
Nick sipped his drink. “About your list . . .”
“What have you got so far?”
Nick pulled out a sheet of paper and began to read. “Roger Duffy, Alvin Cline, and Maryann Whelan, your former employees, all landed on their feet after you let them go. They’re employed and making good money. That moves them down the list.”
“Down but not off.”
Nick shrugged. “We’ll see.” He glanced back at the information on the paper. “Barton Harwell, your old partner? Last known address is a boarding house in San Cristobal, Bolivia.”
“Lithium. That’s what they mine there.”
“He moved out, but I haven’t found out where he landed.”
“Good bet he’s still there somewhere, trying to strike it rich.”
Nick nodded. “Decker, Rosen, and Steel, guys you used to run with when you were a kid?”
“Troublemakers. Thank God, I wised up before it was too late.”
“Decker’s in prison for attempted murder. Rosen has a rap sheet a mile long, but he’s currently not wanted for anything. He’s in the wind, which means he’s still on the list.”
“And Steel?”
Nick smiled. “Michael ‘Butch’ Steel is married, the father of two kids, a boy, six, and a girl, four. He’s gainfully employed, a district manager for Ace Hardware. Sources say it’s a happy marriage.”
Cain grinned. “Good for Butch. I guess that takes him off our list.”
“He’s off—unless something changes.”
“What’s Ryder Vance up to these days?”
“His trial date’s been postponed. He’s out on bail and in the wind. That moves him up the list. The problem is, Sun King was already missing when you two butted heads.”
“Butted heads. That’s putting it mildly. At the time, I was trying to kill him. But that’s just between you and me.”
Nick sat back and took a sip of his drink. “It’s a good thing you didn’t succeed. You’d need an attorney a lot more than a detective.”
“I still might if the bastard comes near Jenny again.”
One of Nick’s black eyebrows went up, but he made no comment. He looked back down at the paper.
“Ray Aldridge, the guy you beat out of a deal, lives in Phoenix. I went to see him. He’s working a couple of new moly claims, still trying to hit the jackpot. Since he’s making barely enough to survive, he’s up at the top of the list.”
Cain just nodded.
“Last but not least, your lady friends, women who might want revenge against you for dumping them.”
