Vegas Nerve — Susan Rogers Cooper

Milt Kovak and his wife Jean have chosen Las Vegas for a second honeymoon. Milt looks forward not so much to gambling as to have a break from the duties of a small-town sheriff and for a rare pleasure of a feast on usually forbidden food. Alas, a call from Milts cousin Maida puts another face on the trip. Arriving in Las Vegas with her husband Burl to visit their pregnant daughter, Maida was horrified to find her lying beaten on the floor, her drunken husband standing over her. Burl punched his son-in-law in the nose and is in jail, the daughter is in the hospital, and Cousin Maida is distraught. Milt, youre a police officer; please get Burl out of jail! Milt manages to get Burl freed under his care, but nothing else goes well. Maida summons her four sons to Vegas, but they are so busy battling one another they are little help. Burl takes off while Milt is looking the other way, the son-in-law is found dead, and Milt and Jean begin to wish theyd never left home.