Death in the Casino: Target Practice Mysteries 5 Read Online Free Page A

as a fellow woman, I know you'll appreciate the points I've put together about pay inequality in the industry." She rifled through a backpack and handed me a pamphlet.
    I took it on instinct but shook my head. "I'm not the pro-staff coordinator. The video was mistaken. I don't have any control over pay for men or women."
    Her face fell. "Rats. You don't work for Westmound?"
    "No. I mean I don't not work for Westmound." I blew out a breath. "Let me start over. I...I mean, we both work at the Westmound Training Center for Competitive Shooting Sports in Wyoming. I, along with Liam, gave a speech to some visiting archers about getting sponsorship--"
    "You know Liam?"
    Mary snorted next to me. "Does she know him? They're rather close."
    I blushed and elbowed Mary.
    "You are? When you can talk to him, tell him about this." She pointed at a black piece of fabric tied around her arm. "It's disgraceful that the women's pro division is paid so little. The tournament raised the men's payout to one hundred thousand for the winner, in part by contributions from Westmound, and do you know how much the women get for first place? Do you?" She jabbed a finger at me while her face turned an unhealthy purple hue.
    I took a half step back. "Less than that?"
    "Five thousand."
    I grimaced and sucked air through my teeth. "That's a lot less than the men." I looked at the pamphlet that she had handed to me. There were charts and graphs detailing the payout, entry fees, and participation numbers. I'd need to dig in more later. "That can't be right."
    "It's right and Westmound is responsible, in part, for the discrepancy. You say that you're devoted to women in the industry, but you don't put your money where your mouth is. So you'll talk to Liam about it? Mark!" she yelled beyond me at someone passing by. "I'll catch you guys later. Read that, then do something." She jogged away.
    "Is this right?" I turned to Mary.
    "Let's walk and talk. I don't want to get cornered again."
    We headed across the casino floor at a brisk pace, and I followed Mary when she veered left, past an open air restaurant and down a huge corridor. "Yes, I'm sure that information Pinkie gave you was correct. The difference in pay between the genders has been a hot topic for a while. We've talked about it before."
    "Yeah, but this is a difference of twenty to one. There's Tiger. Tiger!"
    His head swiveled around until he spotted us. He had two girls on each side of him. "Hey, Mary, Di, let me introduce you to my new friends. This is Daphne, Bethany, Abigail, and Carissa."
    "Nice to meet you all. Tiger, do you know anything about this?" I turned the pamphlet toward him.
    The smile fell from his face. "Gals, I'll catch up with you at the bar."
    They implored him to hurry up then left, casting glances over their shoulders. They put an extra wiggle in their walks, and one of them blew a kiss over her shoulder.
    He grinned after them, watching them go, before turning back to grab the pamphlet from my hand and flip it over. "This is Pinkie's doing, isn't it?"
    "Easy, Tiger. Why are you all worked up?" I wouldn't have asked if I'd known it was such a tender topic.
    "They want to increase the payout in the women's divisions. Where do you think that money would come from?"
    "Are you talking about those black armband chicks?"
    I jumped at the male voice in my ear and turned around. Uncle Mike was standing behind me. "Don't sneak up on me like that."
    "Sorry. I'm Mike Uncalous. Hi, Mary. It's nice to see you, again." He swept his worn Andersson Archery cap off his head and smoothed his hair.
    The tips of her ears turned pink. "Nice to see you, too, Uncle Mike."
    He waved his hands and winked at her. "You can call me Unc or Mike, but not Uncle Mike. It sounds wrong coming from you."
    I shook my head. "Anyways. We were talking--"
    Tiger held up the pamphlet to Unc. "About this. Tell them. Tell them."
    Mary turned to Tiger and quirked an eyebrow. "Leaping lizards, Tiger, it was just a