I had alot of things running through my mind, I would be lying if I said it was not becoming stressful. I was trying to take things slow, do one thing at a time.

So there I was at my establishment in LV, The old country inn thinking of my next move, when suddenly I hear a knock on my office door. "Who is it?" its Steve Eddie". Steve was a manager, I appointed him that position after about a month of opening because of his hard work.

"Come in Steve".

He walks through the door into my office, "I just wanted to let you know you have a phone call, its Jordan from NY". "Thanks I'll pick it up in here.

I talked briefly with Jordan, she informed me that she was on the next flight to LV to meet me. It was good to see the memory was coming back a little bit, although i was hoping it made a full recovery. From there i decided to put everything on hold and focus on what Jordan had to say, I knew if she was flying all the way down to see me it had to be important.

Next day, 9am...I was sitting in the restaurant area of the inn with John, another friend of mine, when Steve comes to me and tells me that Jordan is standing at the counter up front waiting for me.

I excuse myself and head straight for the counter to speak with her.

The bright lights of Vegas were a welcoming sight for Jordan. It was a fun place to visit and a profitable city for business. She wondered if it was one of her favorite cities before the amnesia she suffered from as a result of a car accident. Every day she wondered about the memories she lost. It was frustrating, but she continued on with business as usual thanks to guidance from a few friends.

While trying to put together the pieces of who she was Jordan discovered she was married. When her friends told her she mentioned an estranged husband long before the amnesia Jordan was shocked. She had no memories of getting married or of her husband. After investigating it further Jordan discovered the wedding was in Las Vegas when she was very young. Young and dumb, she thought critically.

“Hi Eddie.” Jordan greeted her friend at the counter of the establishment he owned in Las Vegas. Unlike most of the other people in her life Eddie-Scarpa was someone she met after the amnesia. Jordan felt comfortable talking to him because he didn’t mention a lot of things she had no memory of. “Have you had time to check out what I told you about on the phone?”

Eddie nodded and suggested they go to the bar for a drink.

The day before when Jordan called Eddie she hoped he would be able to use his connections in Las Vegas to find out information about her estranged husband. After they sat down and Eddie ordered drinks for them Jordan didn’t waste time with small talk. “So, did you find out anything about the loser I married?”  

I did actually, in fact found out that I was alot closer to him then I thought.

His name was Anthony Martino, he owned the casino down the street called lucky 7s, you must of seen it on the way over here. "I could see the confusion in her face" Maybe you didn't because it is hard to notice being burnt to a crisp. Here's were things get interesting, you may want to get comfortable.

He had connections to a small time mafia family here in las vegas, the Fratello family. From what I understand he did a few small jobs for them and that was it...he was never one of them, the boss of that family...Paulie would have never alowed it. As i said before, they were small time, and after a few years they started to crumble...got into a power struggle with one of the bigger family's here in Vegas and over time I noticed they started to disappear...that included your husband.

Now i dont want you to think im saying he's dead beacuse that i dont know for sure, I do know before the war started Paulie wanted in on the profits from your husband's casino...which he refused, he was always stubborn.

Me and your husband spoke only a few times but he never told me much, he kept to himself.

"The waiter places the drinks on the counter, I down my shot and tap the counter for another and continue". As of right now i don't know the where abouts of Anthony, I do know one thing i can tell you...not to shock you or anything. The accident you had was not an accident...you didn't crash the car...you were shot. So that makes me wonder what your husband got himself into, or if he is to blame for what happend.

"I sit back and wait for Jordan's response".

Jordan was eager to hear everything Eddie found out. As she listened to what he said several questions popped into her head, but she remained quiet until her friend was finished. The last part of information he had about the shooting before the car accident surprised Jordan because she only told the family she worked for about the attempt on her life.

“I guess news travels fast in our circles.” Jordan commented when Eddie was finished talking. “I know I was shot before the accident. I killed the bastard who did it, but never found out if he was rogue or hired to take me out. I wonder if it had something to do with…” Jordan paused for a moment then said her husband’s name. “Anthony.” The name didn’t bring back any memories for her. Nothing seemed to work. It was disappointing, but she wouldn’t stop digging into her past until she got her memory back.

“Maybe we can find out what happened to Anthony if we talk to people connected to his casino or to the Fratellos.” Jordan suggested and wondered if her estranged husband was dead or alive. With no memory of him she didn’t know how she felt about him, but he was obviously an important part of her life years ago. She wanted to find him or at least find out what happened to him. “Do you know anyone close to him before he disappeared?”

There is only one person who would know where Anthony is...his friend Tommy. He told Tommy everything and he also helped him out in lucky 7s.

I figure if you are ever going to find the truth about your husband he would be the one to see. He lives about 10 minutes from here, on Grand Ave...you can go do this alone, or i could go with you...it's your choice "I take another shot and slide the glass forward, that's enough...have to stay clear headed".

I wait for Jordan's answer.

The offer Eddie made to go with her was welcomed by Jordan. As he drove them to Tommy’s house Jordan wondered if she met her husband’s friend before. It was nerve-wracking not to recognize someone who knew her.

The neighborhood Eddie drove them to was lined with small houses. A few of them had lights on, but not the house Eddie parked in front of. When he got out of the car Jordan followed his lead towards the front door of the house. In front of her he stopped abruptly causing Jordan to bump into him.

The reason for the sudden stop was soon apparent to Jordan. There was a rotten smell coming from the house. The smell of death. The mobsters took out their guns and cautiously approached the front door. Eddie kicked it in and coughed from the strong stench. As soon as they walked inside they found the rotting corpse of Tommy tied to a chair.

“Jesus Christ!” Jordan said in shock and stepped back towards the door. “Who in the hell leaves a guy to rot like garbage?” Eddie shrugged in response and walked across the room to open a widow. He said something, but Jordan didn’t hear him. A wall full of photos had her full attention. The shock she felt over discovering the dead body was nothing compared to what she felt as she stared at dozens of photos of herself.

Im sorry things are turning out this way Jordan, I didn't know this guy had pictures of you...must be a real good friend of your husband's. "I hesitate for a few moments before responding...I dont think this guy smelled like this before, if he did I think your husband would have kept his distance...i know I would".

Before leaving I thought of something, so I turned to Jordan and replied, "as i said before if anyone knew where Anthony was this guy would know, and I dont think he is in any shape to tell us, but all kidding aside, what if Anthony left without telling this guy?...maybe he left a note or letter or some kind of clue on where he would go. We should look around.

“Yeah… yeah… okay.” Jordan mumbled as Eddie talked. Her eyes were still locked on the photos. When she realized what her friend said she shook her head. “No, wait a minute.” She pointed at the wall and continued, “My pictures aren’t here because this guy was a friend of my husband. If you had this many pictures of your best friend’s wife I’d guess you’re either obsessed with her and she’s a target.”

One by one Jordan took the photos off the wall and examined them. In the background of a few of the photos she recognized buildings and other landmarks in New York. A photo fell out of her hand and landed face down on the floor. As Jordan picked it up she noticed writing on the back of it.

“My schedule.” She commented as she read the list of times and places she was known to do business in New York. On the back of a different photo was another list. “This fucker was following me.” Jordan told Eddie and showed him the list. “It was probably groundwork for the hit on me. It must’ve been him or Anthony who hired the fucker who tried to kill me.” She glanced over at the dead body tied to the chair and cursed, “Bastard.”  

My guess is that your husband got pissed, pissed off about the fact that you became a well known gangster...something he would never be. I am not one to blame until i find enough evidence that he is behind all of this. Tell you what before we leave I'm going to check this assholes room.

"I return a few minutes later, I look at Jordan with a face as if i had no words to describe what I just seen, i reply...ok no i have no doubts, I think you need to read this".

I hand the letter to Jordan and take a seat at the table in the kitchen.

The letter was a smoking gun. It was instructions for Tommy to follow Jordan around New York and hire a hitter to take her out. The amount of money paid for the hit made Jordan smirk. It was more than she expected. At the bottom of the paper was the letter A.

“Anthony.” Jordan said with contempt. “That fucking bastard.” After folding the letter and putting it in her pocket she looked over at Eddie. “When we find the schmuck I’m going to make him regret this.”

They left Tommy’s house and drove to the nearest phone booth where Jordan made a quick call home to New York. When she got back in Eddie’s car she lit and cigarette and said, “That call was to my boss. She just put a big fucking price on Anthony’s head. Help me find him before anyone else does and you can have the money. My reward will be killing the bastard.”

I look at Jordan and reply "I'm not in this for the money, I'm doing this to help you. Let me just think for a second on how we can find this asshole...do you have a picture of him by any chance?"

I see Jordan trying to locate a photo of her husband.

"Because if you have one it will be alot easier, I have a feeling you're husband being the greedy bastard he is would have possibly opened a new business by now...I have a friend here in Vegas who knows about all the businesses that open. Reason for that is because he helps with the construction."

“Yes, I have an old picture of him.” Jordan answered and opened her purse. “My boss gave it to me so I’ll recognize the bastard. We did a job a long time ago and Anthony was in one of the surveillance pictures. He didn’t work for anyone connected to the job. He was only in the picture because he was rubbing elbows with more important people.”

When Jordan found the photo she looked at Anthony’s face and shook her head. “I don’t know why I married a loser.” She gave the photo to Eddie and said, “Give this to your friend. Other than businesses we should try to find someone who knew that small time family you mentioned, The Fratellos. There’s gotta be someone still around who worked with them. Maybe a dealer or cop they had on their payroll.”

Ok I have an idea, lets go.

I head out to my car with jordan, and once we get inside I reply "I'm going to go see my friend...show him the photo, maybe he can tell me something".

Jordan nods in agreement and we take off. After about a 10 minute drive we approach my friend's apartment building, I look over at Jordan "you should let me go in alone, it wont take long but he gets paranoid, he's not a fan of meeting new faces, I'll be right out."

I head inside to find out some information. I return to the car after several minutes, "I have some good news." I hand Jordan a card with an address on it, this is an establishment owned by the wife of the late Paulie Fratello. Now all we have to do is get some info out of her...what do you say? should we head there now?.