Vegas or Bust: An Aggie Underhill Mystery Read Free

Vegas and what she wanted to wear to the wedding.  She’d been too busy getting the house prepared for her guests.  She remembered just nodding a lot and saying uh, huh, uh, huh, and not really paying attention to what Betty was going on and on about.
    A thought suddenly occurred to Aggie.  If Anita was the one who had given out her information to Jack Osgood and Miriam Smith, then Anita was probably on their guest list as well.  “Anita isn’t going to be there, is she?”
    Betty shook her head.  “Anita sent out an email on My Corner apologizing to everyone who’d be missing her at the wedding.  I guess her husband doesn’t want her gallivanting around in Las Vegas without him.”
    Aggie remembered receiving an email on her My Corner account from Anita and had deleted it without reading it.  “Surely, her husband was invited to go with her.”
    Betty shrugged.  “He probably just doesn’t want to go.”
    “Las Vegas?” Linda asked, pushing her way into the conversation while reaching across the table for the tin of biscuits.  “We’ve never been to Las Vegas.  That sounds wonderful!  We love weddings!  Right, sweetie pie?”
    “Yeah, sure.  Whatever.”
    “You wouldn’t like it,” Roger said quickly, shaking his head.  “Las Vegas is in the Nevada desert and even dryer than here.  You think it is bad here…man, you’d shrivel up in no time there.  And at this time of year it’s bitter cold.  Between the cold and dryness of the air, all the moisture will immediately be sucked up out of your skin.”
    “Oh, no!” Linda gasped.  “I can’t let that happen.  I need to look my best until I catch a wealthy man.” 
    “Oh, yes!  It’s awful there,” Roger said.  “If you go, I know you’ll regret it.  No amount of moisturizer will be able to save you.  And all your dreams of getting re-hitched would be for nothing.  But of course, I guess you could resort to plastic surgery if need be.  That’s always an option.  Plastic surgery can do wonders.”
    “No.  I like natural beauty.”  Linda smoothed her face with her fingertips. 
    Aggie suddenly perked up.  Maybe attending the Las Vegas wedding wouldn’t be so bad after all.  Maybe it was a miracle in disguise.  If she could ditch Linda and Elvira for a few days it would be totally worth it.
    “But…wait a minute…if you’re going to Las Vegas, what about the beach?” Linda asked, her voice squeaked a little, and her smile suddenly faded.  Her eyebrows knitted closely together and tears formed in her eyes.  “You promised the beach this weekend.  And I had my heart set on it.”
    Oh my God, Aggie thought.  The woman is going to cry.   Quickly, she began to babble incoherently.  She couldn’t stand seeing a grown woman cry.  “Um, well, dear, you can go ahead without me and… and… spend some time with Sarah.  I’m sure she’d love to have you visit.  And we’ll catch up with you after the wedding.  It’ll work out perfectly!”  Aggie hated to dump her burden on her daughter, especially with her being six months pregnant.  Sarah had been extremely moody lately with her hormones running rampant.  But desperate situations deserved desperate measures and she was sure Sarah would be able to handle Linda and Jill.  She was always very level headed and could handle anything.  Even during pregnancy.  “I’ll get everything all situated, dear.  Don’t you worry your pretty little head about a thing.  You’re going to have a great time.  All you’ll need to do is go pack.”
    A large beaming smile lit up Linda’s face.  Her tears were now tears of joy.  “Oh, that’ll be just lovely!  Don’t you think so, sweetheart?”
    “Yeah, sure,” Jill said with a shrug.  “Whatever.” 
    “Sarah’s going to be so excited to see us!” Linda squealed.  “And I’ll help her shop for the baby!  Oh, I love babies!  Do they know if it’s a boy or a girl?”
    “A girl,” Aggie