As promised, I do have a couple of travel stories.

The usual injury: I stayed with my son and daughter-in-law two nights. They have two young dogs, including a hefty one-year-old German Shepherd named Jaxie and a two-year-old, slightly smaller, mixed German Shepherd and something else named Robbie. They are nice, playful, happy dogs, occasionally rowdy. As I walked into the room where they were bounding about, Jaxie spun around and charged straight at me with Robbie racing after her. I think when Jaxie realized I was there, she tried to aim for the space between me and a nearby easy chair. Unfortunately, that space was about six inches wide. Somehow, I stayed on my feet. Forty-pounds of dog weight slammed into my left knee. Jaxie didn’t even get a bloody nose. And, happily, it appears my knee survived. A few dozen ice packs later, and I’m almost back to normal.

The usual change of plans: The second floor of the Oatman Hotel is getting a makeover so it was closed to the public. I did not try to commune with the ghost. Maybe next time. I assume a little renovation never chased a perfectly good ghost from his chosen haunts.

The usual fascinating people: In that part of the country, especially around the gambling towns, you always meet interesting people. There was a comic on the shuttle ride from Laughlin to Las Vegas. He’d finished a gig at one of the casinos and was headed home to Wisconsin where he owns a sign-making business. On one of my flights, I sat next to Leslie of www.FightFraudAmerica.com and the John Cooke Fraud Report. I listened to some of her amazing experiences and story ideas began popping like popcorn kernels. If you’re looking for information on frauds and scams for your mystery or thriller, you might want to drop by these two websites.

The usual story idea: Yesterday morning I was up very early because I had an 8:00 AM flight home. About 5:15 AM, I left my room in search of coffee. I was one floor up from the casino level, so I walked down the long empty hallway toward the elevator. I noticed the receiver of the house phone, which hung on the wall by the elevator, was off the hook and dangling by its cord. The door of the elevator opened immediately after I pushed the call button. I stepped inside and rode down one floor to the casino level. I entered another empty hallway, very close to the casino entrance. I walked through the door toward the lighted machines. Nothing was flashing, clanging, whirring, or clicking. Even at 5:00 in the morning, I expected the casino to be alive, full of energy. Not this one. It was quiet. Dead quiet.

Here’s where you ask, what if…?