The Confession

By Rue Doolin

Exhausted from her first year on a new job, Capri Olindo (Pree) returns to Laughlin, Nevada, to spend the holidays with family and old friends and to become better acquainted with Bonnie Hall, her son Jimmy’s fiancé, a young woman who grew up on the streets of Las Vegas, whose mother had been killed during a drug buy. Despite her complicated past, Bonnie has established herself as a respected officer in the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, where she is currently assigned to the Henderson precinct.

Pree’s effort to bond with her future daughter-in-law includes hosting a weekend getaway for Bonnie and the bridesmaids in a luxury hotel suite in Las Vegas, where they will shop for gowns, flowers, and wedding cake, then take in the show of Bonnie’s choice. Initially impressed with Bonnie’s gracious and thoughtful behavior, Pree inadvertently discovers that her future daughter-in-law isn’t the trustworthy person her son believes her to be.

Dreading having to inform her son of Bonnie’s mysterious absences in Las Vegas and especially the lies she had told to cover for them, Pree is spared from doing so when Jimmy, devastated, informs her that Bonnie has disappeared. When a body pulled from under the Cottonwood Cove pier is identified as Bonnie, Jimmy becomes inconsolable.

As the last person known to have been with Bonnie before her disappearance, Pree becomes a material witness in an investigation that involves extortion, fraud, coercion, and murder. She soon finds it impossible to distinguish the good people from the bad, as she discovers that few things are as they seem.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662408526

Book preview

Chapter 1

Chicago, Illinois, 1977

(Twenty years before the killing)

Bon-Bon, sweetie, you can come out now, Lorraine Heller called to her daughter. The closet door sprang open, and Bonnie burst out, smiles and giggles, and hugged her mother. They were playing her favorite game.

Each time the big black car drove up, Bonnie ran into the closet and shut the door. She stayed there in the dark until she heard the car drive away. After that Yon-Yon, a little girl who looked like Bonnie that Bonnie thought was her sister but might just be her friend and playmate, would be gone, and Mommy would tell Bonnie what a special girl she was and take her to a movie and buy her ice cream and a new dress or new shoes.

One day Bonnie sneaked out of the closet and peeked through the window and saw the man from the car. When he looked at the window, Bonnie got frightened and ran back into the closet. All she could remember about the man was that his neck looked very red, so she named him Mr. Redneck.

Yon-Yon usually came back the same day she disappeared, but sometimes she would be gone for an extra day, or even two. Bonnie missed Yon-Yon when she was gone because she didn’t have anyone to talk to or play dress-up with or have tea parties with.

One day, Bonnie got very bored waiting for Yon-Yon and started to ask Mommy when Yon-Yon would be back when the phone rang. Mommy answered it but hung up very quickly. Then, when Bonnie asked about Yon-Yon, Mommy got very upset. She started crying and shouted to Bonnie to be quiet. Then she said that Yon-Yon wasn’t real. She said Yon-Yon was Bonnie’s imaginary friend and that children had to stop having imaginary friends when they got to be four years old. Then Mommy started throwing things into boxes and suitcases.

Bonnie went to her room and tried very hard to imagine that Yon-Yon was having a tea party with her, but it didn’t work. Mommy was right, Yon-Yon wasn’t there. Bonnie was very sad but didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to make Mommy cry again. After a while Mommy brought cookies into Bonnie’s bedroom and hugged her really hard and sat down at her little table and had a tea party with her. Mommy said she was sorry she shouted at Bonnie then told her they were going away on a really fun adventure together.

The next morning Mommy woke Bonnie while it was still dark and told her to get dressed and brush her teeth and her hair. Then Mommy took her by the hand and led her to their station wagon that was almost full to the top with boxes and suitcases and other stuff.

Mommy drove for three days, to a faraway place called Las Vegas.

Chapter 2

Laughlin, Nevada, 1997

Eight days before the killing

The minute the bellman was gone, Pree Olindo filled a glass with ice, poured in some of the Diet Pepsi she had gotten from the machine, collapsed onto the chair by the window overlooking the Colorado River, pulled her feet up onto the matching ottoman, and closed her eyes. Christmas was only two days away, and she needed to get a grip.

Pree knew she shouldn’t be so exhausted. Her boss, Cal Hall, chief financial officer at World View Productions, a movie studio famous for its superb documentaries, had arranged a ride for her on the studio plane, from Burbank to Laughlin. It was a luxury flight complete with champagne and caviar, amenities that, unfortunately, were out of sync with Pree’s needs at the moment. In an effort to boost her sagging energy level, she had settled for three glasses of Diet Pepsi during the short flight.

Pree knew it wasn’t the flight that had exhausted her. It was the thought of spending the holidays with Jimmy, her son, and that girl, his fiancée, Bonnie Hall. Several months before, at her friend Lu’s insistence, Pree had mended fences with her son by issuing a semisincere apology for the way she’d been acting toward him and by extending an even less sincere olive branch to the girl. Bonnie’s mother had been killed on the streets several years before Jimmy met her, so Pree had insisted that Bonnie call her Mom and tacked on an offer to take her shopping for the cake, flowers, gown, and all the other accoutrements associated with a wedding.

In truth, Pree knew the breech in her relationship with her son wasn’t the girl’s fault. Pree had been reeling from the craziness that had ensued after her husband, Greg Crenski, and his friend, Mape Belata, had been murdered in a remote cabin in Cottonwood Cove. Greg had been a naïve, though somewhat odd, man who had made her surprisingly happy. Until she discovered that he was actually a fortune hunter who, abetted by his sheriff friend, Mape Belata, had married her with the intention of defrauding her of her assets.

The crime scene had been so desecrated the medical examiner had to rule the cause of death as undetermined: suspected murder/suicide. But a satchel belonging to Greg had been placed on her doorstep the night of the killings. The satchel had been full of cash, Greg’s cash, and could only have come from the murder scene, which blew the murder/suicide theory to pieces.

The appearance of the satchel on her doorstep had thrown Pree’s life into turmoil. She knew the satchel and its contents were important evidence that could help apprehend a killer and that she should turn the satchel over to the authorities right away, which she’d had every intention of doing. Unfortunately, before she was able to turn over the satchel, she had uncovered signs that Jimmy himself might have been involved in the killings, although she refused to believe that Jimmy could ever kill anyone, not even Greg.

The satchel had contained nearly half a million dollars in the form of a hodge-podge of bills of all denominations as well as a substantial number of coins. During her long and bitter divorce battle with Greg, Pree’s attorney discovered that Greg had converted all his stock to cash, although he claimed that he had lost it all, over a million dollars, gambling. Since the cash in the satchel represented less than half that amount, Pree assumed the killer had kept the remaining share for himself. While there were undoubtedly many people who had rejoiced over Mape Belata’s early demise, Jimmy was the only person Pree could think of who might have been motivated to kill Greg and was also strong enough to have carried the weighty satchel to her doorstep.

Initially Pree had dismissed the idea, but while doing her son’s laundry, she had discovered a book of matches in his jacket pocket that placed him within twelve miles of the murder scene on New Year’s Eve, the night of the bizarre killings. Then he had lied when she questioned him regarding his whereabouts that night.

It had been nearly a year since the killings, a year in which Pree was well aware she had turned into a shrew of a mother, partly from guilt for bringing Greg into their family in the first place, but also because she had begun questioning nearly everything her son did. When Jimmy bought something that seemed to be beyond his means, she would instantly wonder if he paid for it with the money from the cabin. She found herself having to struggle to hold down the anger that welled up inside of her each time he exhibited even remotely questionable behavior. She continually looked for anything that might establish his innocence.

Pree had been encouraged when, out of the blue, Jimmy had introduced Bonnie Hall, a young woman with a questionable past, who was not only his fiancée but, if she could be believed, also provided him with an alibi for the night in question. But on the same day he introduced Bonnie to Pree, Jimmy also announced that he had quit his job, sold his truck, rented an apartment in Henderson, and bought the girl a carat and a half diamond ring, leaving Pree to wonder if Bonnie might have been a co-conspirator in the crime. The way the girl had Jimmy wrapped around her little diamond-studded finger, it wasn’t much of a stretch to believe she might even have been the instigator. But admittedly, those thoughts were pure speculation.

And even if Pree was ever able to convince herself that Jimmy was innocent of the crimes, convincing the police would be an entirely different matter. Reporting the satchel of cash and the mysterious circumstances under which she received it was sure to bring on a full-scale investigation with her son as a suspect. Sometimes innocent people did get convicted. In the end, Pree had given in to her maternal instincts and stashed the money away. But only while she searched for irrefutable proof of her son’s innocence, she frequently assured herself.

Concerned about having such a large amount of cash around, Pree began laundering it by buying valuable gold coins for cash then selling them and depositing the checks she received in payment. Although, as Greg’s wife, she was probably entitled to the money from the satchel, she hadn’t inherited it legally through the courts, nor had she paid taxes on it. She had, however, paid taxes on the small amount of profit she had made buying and selling the coins.

Pree was currently just four months into a challenging and high-pressure job that she should be in California taking care of. Instead, she was here in Laughlin waiting for her son and the girl to pick her up and take her across the river to a dinner party with friends, where she would be forced to smile and pretend everything was dandy. And that would just be the beginning of an entire week of partying, bridal shopping, and celebrating. Whoopee.

Bah, humbug! No wonder she was exhausted.

Chapter 3

Las Vegas, Nevada, 1987

Ten years before the killing

Lulu? The voice was vaguely familiar.

Lu stopped walking and turned around. But for his height, she wasn’t sure she would have recognized the handsome dark-skinned man. He was older now, had filled out a bit, and looked quite distinguished in a beautifully tailored Armani suit.

Sammy Starr! she cried. What are you doing here?

I’m in Vegas on business, he replied, and I heard they have some good restaurants here at the mall. Also, I forgot to pack socks. What brings you here?

My studio is here in the Meadows complex, she replied. Luaki Designs. I specialize in hotel interiors.

So I’ve heard. In fact, I was planning to call you later, to talk a little business. How about lunch? he asked. It’ll give us a chance to catch up.

She almost reminded him not to call her Lulu before she realized it didn’t matter anymore. Ah, maturity!

When they were seated at a window table in a nearby bistro, Lu asked Sammy if he ever heard from Crush Elliott. Sadly, he told her about escorting Crush to Kansas after the incident and about his futile efforts to locate their friend.

It’s been eight years. He seems to have just fallen off the planet, Sammy told her. How long have you lived here in Vegas?

Technically, I don’t live here. I sleep here three nights a week in a makeshift apartment in back of my studio. Believe it or not, my real home is the Lazy River Mobile Home Park in Bullhead City, Arizona.

Somehow, I can’t picture you living in a trailer.

I do though, she assured him, although trailer might not be the right word. It’s a triple-wide four-bedroom, split-level with a temperature-controlled wine vault and a Jacuzzi in the master bath. My parents kept a smaller trailer there while I was in college, and we used to go there during my school breaks. My father loved to fish in Lake Mohave. His electronics business was doing pretty well by then, so he leased the lot next door, had both trailers removed, and installed the one I live in now, which almost fills both spaces. Two years ago, when my folks retired and moved back to Japan, they left the trailer and boat for me. I love it there, and over the years the people at the park have become like a second family to me. Especially Louie, the owner.

Sammy performed the tasting and sniffing ritual and the server poured their wine. They toasted old times and Crush.

Did you locate here when you graduated? Sammy asked.

No. I worked for a designer in New York after college, Lu said. "I did mostly hotel work, won a few awards, nothing major, and decided to open my own studio. Locating here was a good decision, with all the new hotels that are being built and existing ones that are constantly being refurbished. What’s going on with you since you retired from basketball?

My businesses are headquartered in Seattle, but I travel quite a bit. This morning I signed the final papers to buy the Sweet Dreams Hotel and Casino, out at the end of the strip, near the freeway.

The old place that’s been boarded up for so long? Lu asked and took a sip of her wine.

Sammy waited for the server to set their lobster salads down and said, That’s the one. I got an unbelievably good deal on it. I’m going to demolish it and build a brand-new hotel and casino on the property, with a sports theme, of course. I’m immodestly going to call it the Shooting Starr. There are a lot of very wealthy sports fans in this world, and I’m hoping to snag them as my client base. That’s where you would come in, Lulu.

Me? Lu asked, surprised. I’m not a sports fan, no offense, and I have no idea what would appeal to those who are.

Sammy leaned across the table toward her. Look, Lulu, I know how bright you are and creative and reliable. And I’ve had you checked out. You’ve established a solid reputation in this town, and I want you to do the interior design for my hotel.

Lu was caught completely off guard by the offer. But mine is just a one-person operation. I’ve never done an entire hotel from scratch, and I don’t know much about sports at all.

Then maybe it’s my turn to be the tutor, Sammy insisted. Just promise me you’ll think about it.

I certainly will, she replied.

The rest of the luncheon was spent discussing their families and mutual acquaintances. To Lu’s surprise, Sammy told her he had a five-year-old son who lived in Seattle with his mother. Samuel Alexander—Alex. The Alexander was after Crush. Sammy said he was on good terms with Jane Bunnett, the boy’s mother, and spent as much time as possible with his son.

Before leaving, they wrote their cell numbers on back of their business cards and exchanged them across the table.

I’ll be back here in two months, Sammy told her as they left the restaurant. He planted a goodbye kiss on her forehead. Let’s continue this conversation then over dinner, okay? Meanwhile, promise me you’ll consider my offer. Seriously.

She promised.

Chapter 4

Las Vegas, Nevada, 1985

Twelve years before the killing

The trip to Las Vegas had been tiresome and boring for Bonnie. She missed Yon-Yon.

In Las Vegas, Lorraine got a job at the reservation desk at the Mirage Hotel. She rented a small but reasonably nice apartment, and she and Bonnie saw shows and ate at the buffets. Occasionally Lorraine got passes to Mystere, a show at the Mirage that featured amazing circus acts. Bonnie never ceased to be awed by the performances or by the pirate show they often watched for free in front of the hotel.

Bonnie was delighted when her mother enrolled her in preschool. She didn’t understand why, but her name was Bonnie Hawkins now instead of Bonnie Heller. She liked playing with the kids at the school but especially liked learning to write in cursive and to do numbers and read words. The next year she started to kindergarten.

The job at the Mirage lasted almost three years, then Lorraine suddenly took a job managing a second-rate motel a few blocks off the strip, where she and Bonnie lived in two rooms behind the office. She changed their name to Hathaway and began drinking out of bottles she would stash in the closet and in the bathroom hamper. She started accusing Bonnie of hiding her bottles and moving things to confuse her and make her crazy. Eventually she stopped drinking and started taking pills. At first Bonnie was worried that her mother was taking the pills because she was sick, but while sitting in the car one night in a seedy part of town while Lorraine bought a bag of pills from a man under a streetlight, she figured it out.

In less than a year, Lorraine moved to still a different job at an even seedier motel in North Las Vegas, where they were given one of the smaller guest rooms to live in. This time she changed their name to Hall, the name they kept even after Lorraine lost that job, and they moved out of the motel and into their station wagon, which Lorraine kept parked on the streets of Henderson. Lorraine had had the windows of the vehicle darkened and was turning tricks in it in an alley off Charleston Boulevard.

Late one night while on patrol, Officer Nicole Grimmer saw twelve-year-old Bonnie eating french fries and sipping a root beer in an all-night diner and gave Lorraine the choice of going to jail or to a women’s shelter.

Bonnie liked living at the shelter. Not only could she shower and wear clean clothes, but she got to go to school every day. At two- or three-month intervals, Lorraine would leave the shelter and go back out on the street, but instead of sending Bonnie to Child Protective Services, Patti Turner, the manager of the shelter, bent the rules and let Bonnie move into the double-wide mobile home in back of the shelter in which she and her daughter Julie, short for Juliet, lived. Julie was only one month younger than Bonnie and, like Bonnie, was an honor student. The girls became friends and talked about boys and went to football games and movies and concerts together and shared laughs and tears and told each other everything, even their most intimate thoughts. Bonnie, however, was too embarrassed to tell Julie about her imaginary friend Yon-Yon or about Mr. Redneck, who at one time she had thought were real but now was pretty sure they weren’t.

Patti started paying the girls minimum wage for working in the kitchen after school. They started out as dishwashers, but Bonnie voluntarily helped the cooks prepare the food as well. Her skill in the kitchen earned her a position as a cook’s assistant within a few months. After dinner each night, she and Julie were usually available to tutor the shelter children who needed help with their homework. Officer Nicole, who volunteered at the shelter on one of her days off each week, kept a special eye on the girls, bringing them pretty sweaters on their birthdays and matching ones on Christmas.

Every summer, Officer Nicole organized and operated a series of week-long camps for shelter and street children at the Pine Cone Campground on Mt. Charleston. Bonnie and Julie were ecstatic the first time they were selected to be camp counselors. The camps were sponsored by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department and staffed primarily with volunteer off-duty police officers like Nicole and by off-duty firemen.

Bonnie, although born and raised in the city, turned out to be a nature lover at heart. Working as a counselor at the camp was one of the happiest experiences of her life. She was able to swim, hike, and go canoeing every day. She took to the outdoors like a forest animal. She loved the smell of the pine trees. She even checked out books from the library and became somewhat of an expert on the various flora and fauna of the forest. During Bonnie’s second year as a counselor, Officer Nicole assigned her to conduct nature hikes for the campers.

One of the women at the shelter had been a music teacher and taught Bonnie to play chords on a guitar. She was a quick study and bought herself a second-hand guitar. Soon she was playing for the nightly campfire s’mores parties and sing-alongs.

As a counselor, Bonnie slept in the bunkhouse with the girls who were assigned to her care. Each year during the off-season, Officer Nicole would spend an occasional weekend checking out the campground and doing minor repairs and cleanup. She also assisted the forestry service people when they came each spring to clear away the dead trees and underbrush so they wouldn’t create a fire hazard. Aware of Bonnie’s passion for nature and the outdoors, Officer Nicole would often take Bonnie and Julie with her to help with the clean-up. They would stay in the main lodge, and after chores were done the girls would hike, swim, canoe, and enjoy the fresh air. Bonnie couldn’t get enough of it. However, late one night, Officer Nicole caught Julie and a young forestry volunteer having sex in one of the empty bunkhouses, and both of them were sent home. Bonnie was able to intervene on behalf of her friend and convinced Officer Nicole to allow Julie to tell her mother that she was sent home because she wasn’t feeling well and that she might be allergic to the vegetation in the forest and wouldn’t be able to help out at the campground anymore.

Occasionally, when her welfare money ran out, Lorraine would come to the shelter to ask Bonnie for a loan. She knew Bonnie would refuse to give her money but also knew that Patti would insist that she stay for the dinner meal and that Bonnie would do her laundry while she showered and talk her into staying the night on