I looked and felt ridiculous, and I didn’t see how the performers endured these costumes day after day during their eight-hour shifts. I’d only had the dress on for ten minutes and I already wanted to tear it off, starting with the corset. It was too bad Finn wasn’t here. He would have been cackling with glee at my misery.

   The thought of him, Bria, and Owen made my stomach tighten with worry again. Time to get on with things. So I left the bedroom and stepped back out into the main part of the cabin where Ira was sitting in his rocking chair by the fireplace again.

   I twirled around for his inspection. “Well? What do you think?”

   Ira looked over at me and did a double take. He blinked and blinked, then frowned, studying me carefully.

   “What? Did I get lipstick on my teeth or something?”

   Ira shook his head. “Nothing like that. You just . . . look like a lady that I remember photographing a long time ago.”

   “I thought you couldn’t remember the names of everyone you photographed.”

   He shrugged. “Not their names, but I never forget a face.”

   He got up out of his rocking chair and wandered around the cabin, staring at all the pictures on the walls, searching for the one he wanted. He stopped and shook his head a minute later. “I’m not sure where that photo is. It might be in my office in the hotel.”

   “Well, maybe I’ll duck in there and try to find it,” I joked. “If I don’t get killed before then.”

   A distinct possibility since it was just little ole me against Tucker, Roxy, Brody, and all their men.

   “You get up to the hotel and get those stones,” Ira said. “I’ll mosey around the park and see what information I can pick up about Tucker and his plans. Then, when it’s time, I’ll head over to the main entrance and keep a watch out for that annoying Silvio fella.”

   I nodded. I’d told Ira that this was my fight, not his, but the dwarf had insisted that this was his home, and if he could help boot Roxy and Brody out of it for good, then he’d do whatever he could to help. So this was the plan we’d come up with. I didn’t want Ira around if Tucker and the others did get their hooks in me, and having the dwarf watch out for Silvio would hopefully help my assistant and whomever else he’d managed to round up in Ashland slip into the park unnoticed.

   “All right, then.” I headed for the front door. “Wish me luck.”

   Ira gave me a knowing look. “Oh, I think you’re the type who makes her own luck.”

   “Nah.” I grinned. “I just make people dead.”

19

   Ira’s cabin stood off by itself in a patch of woods that overlooked the lake. He followed me out of the cabin, locking it up behind him, and we went our separate ways. He headed for the main theme-park entrance to see what he could find out from the other workers, while I took a trail that led back out to the staging area, staying hidden behind a screen of trees.

   It must have been time for some late-afternoon show because the staging area was full of folks changing into cowboy and gambler costumes, slapping on wigs and makeup, and making sure that their fake weapons were full of blanks. I looked around, but I didn’t see Roxy or Brody anywhere, although I did spot several of their ­outlaw-gang giants, getting ready along with everyone else. But the performers had this down to a science, and the staging area emptied out about five minutes later, as everyone rushed to take their places for the show.

   When I was sure that the area was deserted, I slid out from behind a tree and hurried through the wooden pavilions, wanting to get back out to the relative safety of the Main Street crowds as fast as possible. I’d just passed the back door of the Good Tyme Saloon when something unexpected on a nearby bulletin board caught my eye.

   A Wanted poster with my picture on it.

   I stopped and went over for a closer look, wondering if my eyes were playing tricks on me. But they weren’t. A grainy black-and-white photo of me that looked like it had been taken from a security camera inside the hotel took up most of the poster, while the word Wanted arched across the top in that old-timey Western font that was on everything around here. Gin Blanco was also done in the same type, curving under my glamour shot, along with the promise of a thousand-dollar reward for any confirmed sightings of me in the hotel or the theme park. Well, that was a bit insulting. You’d think that I’d be worth at least five grand—dead or alive.

   My own poster. I grinned. Just what I’d always wanted.

   I couldn’t help myself. I carefully took the poster down off the bulletin board, rolled it up, and stuck it into one of my dress pockets.

   * * *

   I left the staging area behind and made it through the alley and back out to Main Street. At the far end of the street, down in front of the visitor bleachers, cowboys, gamblers, saloon girls, and other costumed characters were dancing to some old-timey, upbeat country-western music and putting on what looked like an elaborate square dance. I didn’t see Roxy or Brody among the performers, though. They were probably still combing the park for me or were maybe even stationed up at the hotel, waiting for me to try to rescue my friends.

   The music rose to a roaring crescendo for the big finale, with all the performers yelling, whooping, and throwing their hats up into the air. The crowd surged to its feet, cheering and clapping, and all the performers took a bow. The crowd streamed down the bleachers, and all the costumed characters stepped up to meet them, sign autographs, and pose for pictures. Well, that show had certainly gone a lot smoother than the other two that I’d loused up this weekend.

   It was now or never, so I drew in a breath and stepped out onto the wooden sidewalk. I smiled at the people I passed, just another worker playing her part, even as every step took me closer and closer to the hotel and the ­jewels—

   “Hey! You there!” a loud voice called out behind me. “You in the red dress!”

   I tensed. Well, that was definitely me. Damn. I’d hoped to at least get away from the saloon and closer to the hotel before someone stopped and questioned me. But it would look more suspicious if I ran, so I slowly turned around and plastered a smile on my face.