Ashes to Dust (Las Vegas Mystery)

happened that day.”
    “From the time I left work?”
    Snow nodded. “Yes.”
    Crystal straightened in her chair, crossed her arms, and gazed at the floor. “I left the casino just before three p.m., an hour ahead of the shift change. I had a really bad headache, and the floor supervisor had shut down most of the table games in my section. So another waitress agreed to cover my area for the last hour of our shift.
    “I got home around three twenty, and I found Laura in the living room watching television. We talked for a few minutes. Then I looked through my mail, changed clothes, and left the house to go shopping.”
    “The headache was better, I take it?” Alice asked.
    Crystal brought her gaze up to Alice. “Just getting out of the casino helps most of the time. And getting out and doing something fun always helps me get rid of the tension.”
    Alice smiled and nodded.
    Crystal returned a nervous smile and continued. “Anyway, as I was leaving home, I encountered Kevin Miller walking toward the front door from his truck, which was parked on the street in front of the house. Knowing that Laura wouldn’t want to see him, I told Kevin that Laura wasn’t home. I told him I didn’t know where she was, and I didn’t know what time she would be home.
    “My car was parked in the driveway. I got in it and left, noticing as I drove away that Kevin Miller hadn’t moved. He just stood near the front door, watching me leave.”
    “What time did you return from shopping?” Alice asked.
    Crystal wet her lips and swallowed. She took in a shallow breath and continued. “It was around eight thirty. I parked in the driveway—”
    “You always park in the driveway?” Snow asked.
    “Yes,” Crystal said. “There’s a lot of stuff in the garage—only enough room for one car. Laura’s car is fairly new, so I let her park in the garage. Plus she usually worked the swing shift; I work during the day. It’s safer…for her.” She looked down at the floor, pressing her lips together. Her mother reached over and put her hand on Crystal’s arm.
    “It’s okay,” Alice said. “Take your time. You can continue when you feel ready.”
    Crystal nodded, still staring at the floor. After a moment, her eyes wet, she looked up at Alice. “Alright. So I parked in the driveway. Came in through the front door. I walked into the living room, saw the lamp on the floor, the end table tipped over—right away I knew something was wrong.
    “I ran upstairs and looked in Laura’s room. I searched the entire house. I checked the garage and found her car parked there. Then I called the police.”
    Snow studied Crystal’s face for a moment. “The police found the remnants of a baseball bat on top of the body. They believe it was the murder weapon.”
    Crystal nodded. “That’s my bat. I play in a softball league. I always leave it next to the front door—for protection. You never know when you might need something like that.”

Kevin Miller was still up. They had called ahead of time to arrange an interview for the following morning. He would still be awake, he insisted, if they wanted to stop by anytime before midnight.
    It was a few minutes after eleven p.m. when Alice and Snow arrived at his home in Henderson. As they pulled into Miller’s driveway, their heads turned to the left, taking note of an older model Ford Thunderbird parked a half block away on the street. Framed in the glow through the rear window from the streetlight behind it, they could make out the silhouette of a man’s head on the driver’s side.
    “Is that Roberts?” Snow asked.
    “I never got a look at his car,” Alice said, “but I would guess that’s him.”
    Snow nodded. He cut the engine and set the brake. “I guess we should say hello.”
    They got out of the car and walked over to the Ford. The driver’s side window was down. Roberts was sitting upright, his head leaning back against the headrest, his mouth agape. He was snoring softly.
    “Mr. Roberts,” Snow said as he approached the car.
    Startled, Roberts jerked his head forward, then toward Snow. He closed his mouth and widened his eyes. His gaze shifted quickly from Snow to Alice and then back to Snow.
    “Oh,” he said. “It’s about time.”
    Snow stuck his hand through the open window, shook Roberts’s hand, and introduced himself.
    “Now that we’re here,” Snow said, “why don’t you get back to your motel and get some sleep?” Snow noted the bags under the