Lights of Life, Love, and Perfidy

Vegas is never where I intended to be after my years of study, but this is the best I could get. My family lost everything during the depression, and we still haven't made our way back up 20 years later. I was just a kid when it ended but I still remember what my father went through, taking care of me and my sister while my mother did anything she could to keep the baby alive. Sadly neither her nor the baby made 2 years after the chaos. Enough of the sadness. I put down the picture of my family and I when I heard a knock on my door and I opened it to reveal a tall young woman, short peach curly hair and crystal green eyes. Wrapped around her hands were beads with a cross dangling off them.

"May I help you?" I asked the woman.

"Yes... bye- I mean hi. I'm Candy, Candy Bloom, I saw your sign out front." she said stumbling through the splintering wooden doorframe. "You must be Edith Creyton, detective?"

"Yes that's me." I said to her, my face twisting up and my eyes drooping. No one comes to me for help, I get about one case every few months. Plus what pretty young doll would come outside the strip to a rinky dink broken down casino to get help from someone who can barely support herself? I continued to her nonetheless. "What can I help you with?" I watched her sit on the couch and cross her legs.

"My husband, I suspect he is having an affair, I've tried other detectives but none would take the case, they all have big jobs on the strip and no time for little old me. This town is booming and growing rapidly, people always come in and out and the chances of him cheating just sky rocket."

I looked down at her hands to see her twiddling the cross. "Have you always been religious miss?" I told her.

"As long as I can remember, even since I was a child I always looked up to Christ. He has helped me, and I'm sure many other throughout hards times, I just hope he will spare some time for me." She said, grasping the cross in her hands and looking up.

I walked over to the bar to pour myself a drink, I offered her one but she refused so I put my drink back. I spoke. "Well, you did come to me at sort of a stray time. I'll look into this for 20 washingtons. I still want to talk to you, come by tomorrow and we will discuss this more."

"20?" She said looking a little shocked. "I can offer you a little more, 30 even."

"No thank you, 20 is fine, I have my reasons. It really was a pleasure talking to you. I am going to get dinner, may I walk you out?"

"Of course." Candy said.

I opened the door and let her out first, I followed her from my room down to the casino, the smell of smoke and ice water overwhelmed me. All the ringing and dinging from cheap slots made the place a little more sad. The paint was peeling, there weren't many people. The two of us walked out of the building and she walked away in an opposite direction crying loudly. I shrugged and looked up at the building, the moon was visible and I could almost feel its frost. The neon sign at the top read "The Tempest Hotel and Casino"

"I cannot believe I live here." I sighed and kicked a dirty rusted can into a shadow nearby.

"Doing better than me miss." A person emerged from the shadow, he was dirty, tattered fedora and a raggy suit and torn tie. "At least you have a place to stay.

I put my head down in shame and started to walk away. I was interrupted by a hand grabbing my arm, it was the man.

"You don't know what you have until you have lost it, please, help me." He said, his grip getting tighter.

"You let go of me." I yelled and yanked my arm down and out of his grip, he fell

over and I walked back into the casino, the desk of the lobby had a big mirror behind it, covered the whole wall. I saw my reflection, I had definitely lost weight, my blonde hair in a messy bun had started to get dark from being in the sun too much. My eyes started to fade and I fainted, hitting the granite floor.