“Sorry, I often go on and on and make people uncomfortable. I’m a little different, as you probably figured out, but I was born that way. I’m sure you know the type,” I told her in a rush.
“No, no, not really,” she said and then took the phone from Becca and swiped something on the screen and handed it back to her. “Don’t get my screen sticky. I don’t want to replace the screen again, kiddo!”
A lightbulb went off, and I was about to ask when that had happened when the doors opened across from me. At the same time, a woman approached the benches from the left of me.
“Mommy!” Becca shouted, tossing Rita the phone before taking off.
The kid ran all out, her little feet almost kicking herself in the butt as she launched herself at a woman who looked shockingly like Rita. I thought they might be twins for a moment before I saw the crow’s feet around her eyes. Nothing distracting, just a small mark of age that I hadn’t noticed on Rita. An older sister then.
“Hey Jarek,” Skye said, looking at me warily and then to the woman next to me.
“Miss Erickson, Miss Nash, this is Rita,” I told them in way of introduction.
Jo looked at me, and her eyebrow raised theatrically.
“These are the friends you were waiting for?” Rita asked, standing and getting her things ready to leave.
“Yes,” I told her.
She held her hand out, as if to shake, but I could tell she was uncomfortable. Skye kept looking back and forth, but it was Jo who shook first.
“Hi, I’m Jo. Jarek didn’t do anything weird did he?” Jo asked, realizing that something was off here, and she didn’t want to tip her hand.
“He’s different, but he was very polite. And a little bit funny,” Rita said, wrinkling her nose as she smiled.
Dimples. The woman had blonde hair and dimples in a yellow sundress. An idea struck, probably the dumbest one I’d ever had.
“Jo?” I nodded to the side a moment and Jo moved so we could talk privately.
“What?” she asked as we all watched Rita wave a little goodbye and start walking.
“Get me her number, so I have an excuse to call her,” I told her.
“My God Jarek, here? Now? Really?”
“It’s not what you think. I think somebody cloned her cell phone and is using it as a repeater,” I explained.
Skye’s face lit up, and she took off in a fast walk, leaving us all behind. “Miss?” Skye called, and Rita turned.
They were a good twenty feet away when Skye stopped them. She had a quick conversation, and the three ladies if you counted Becca, looked my way.
“She’s checking you out,” Johanna whispered to me. “You sure she isn’t Mephisto?”
“She isn’t, but she said it’s possible the kid is,” I told her. “But I think she was making a joke.”
“You think? I think Skye has this in the bag for you…Yes!” Johanna said.
I felt a wave of relief as I saw Skye produce a pen and Rita start writing something down. Probably her number, a number I already had but couldn’t use without an excuse. After a few moments, Skye walked back and handed me a slip of paper. It had a phone number on it that I’d already memorized.
“She thinks it’s sweet that you’re so shy and had your little sister ask her out. I explained to her how shy you were, and how you often blurt out things that don’t seem to make sense when you’re around somebody who makes you...she was flattered and said you must really like her, because you were definitely weird,” Skye finished. Johanna snickered.
“The software says that’s her, or at least that’s her phone,” I told Skye, who just nodded.
“That was my take as well. Cloned phone, repeater?” she asked me, and I nodded.
She hadn’t heard my entire conversation with Jo, but luckily she’d heard enough to spring into action.
“Ok, let’s talk as we head upstairs and see my brother. Susan said he’s on the third floor.”
* * *
I knew I would have to wait to run down the lead we’d found, so I didn’t object as we headed upstairs.
“I don’t understand why we couldn’t take the elevators. We were on the basement level!” Johanna said. “That’s like, four flights of stairs.”
“You should spend some more time on the Stairmaster then,” I told her, knowing I spent at least a couple hours a week on mine on days I wasn’t on the elliptical and treadmill. “It tones and firms your butt.”
“You saying I have a flabby ass?” Jo asked acidly, turning on me.
“No, I’m just saying it tones and firms. I wasn’t suggesting that you—”
“Don’t ever, and I mean ever…tell me I need to shape and tone my ass!” she said, her finger coming out to point at me. “And quit staring at my butt. Here, you go first!”
I hadn’t been staring at it, but since she was so prickly about my statement, I gave it a quick glance and took the stairs two at a time, almost in a jog. It was over in a ridiculously short amount of time, and I stood at the doorway to the hall, waiting on the ladies to catch up.
“Why couldn’t we just take the elevators?” Skye asked, sweat forming at her temples.
“Because I once got stuck on them here when I was younger. I’m ok with the elevators at my building, but this building is over a hundred years old, and most of the infrastructure is crumbling in the area. I don’t imagine that they keep an elevator maintenance guy on staff, so as long as the inspections are up to date, the hospital is allowed to keep everything going for the masses, when in reality things are probably not as right and as cozy as they seem to be. Another thing—”
“Jarek,” Skye said in a whining voice. “Just go.”
I held the door open for the ladies, Johanna flipping me off as she walked past, mumbling threats that had to do with butts and Stairmasters. Then I followed. Skye had stopped at some point and found out the room her brother was in, and we headed that way. We were stopped short by two uniformed police officers. I stayed back and leaned against the hallway’s wall and let the ladies do the talking, trying to observe body language and not stare at Johanna’s butt to see why she was so picky about it.
I mostly succeeded. Mostly. After a moment, Skye slipped into the room, followed by one of the cops, and Johanna came back to stand next to me.
“What’s with the armed guard?” I asked her.
“Susan never mentioned the cocaine, did she?”
That stopped me dead. No. No she hadn’t.
“There was cocaine in there?” I asked. “Actually, I thought he was strung out on heroin. Strung out, is that how you use that phrase?”
“Yeah, that’s how you use it. I guess there was about a kilo worth of cocaine under the bed in a flat tote. CSI found it when going through the apartment. It was mostly broken up into smaller bags.”
“So her brother was dealing as well as using?” I asked.
“Looks that way,” Skye told me.
“Do you think Mephisto is involved with her brother?” I asked, knowing we’d been hashing this out all…day…long.
“We can’t solve every case in a day’s time,” Jo said. “Hey, are you ok? That thing with Skye…”
“That totally caught me off guard,” I admitted. “I never saw it coming. Just when I was getting used to her,” I told Jo.
“Don’t act weird around her, she’ll think you want to fire her. You don’t want to fire her, do you?” Johanna asked.
“No, no I don’t. It surprised me, shocked me. I guess if I felt the way everyone else does, I’d understand why she snapped. I’m just having a hard time. Today has been so crazy…”
“We could watch Orange is the New Black when we get back—”
“I’m actually thinking of having a drink and turning in early,” I told her truthfully.
Today had been too much, and it was catching up to me. I think I had enough time to get something reheated and a tumbler of good scotch before I needed a longer-than-normal sleep cycle.
&
nbsp; “Ouch, sorry,” Jo said. Something in her voice made me look up.
She was frowning, but not in an angry way.
“Ouch? Did you hurt yourself? Did I step on your foot? I must admit, these new shoes I’m wearing—”
“Here she comes,” Jo told me as the door across from us opened up and Skye exited.
She looked paler than normal and walked to us slowly.
“I need a hug, and don’t be creepy about it,” she said softly and stepped into my arms.
I stood there stiffly until Jo got on the other side, pulling the three of us close and squeezing for me. She broke off, and I stepped back quickly, feeling my ear.
“Sorry about that,” Skye said, noticing what I was doing.
“It’s fine, I’ll heal,” I told her.
“It takes a manly man to walk around the hospital in a Hello Kitty Band-Aid. I honestly didn’t think you’d keep it on the whole time,” Skye said and started to walk off.
Johanna busted up, and I followed.
“What’s Hello Kitty?” I asked them.
Of course, they didn’t answer.
8
I was overwhelmed with the day’s events, but I managed to heat up the lasagna that had been pre-prepared for me. I rinsed the dishes and poured myself a scotch. I don’t actually remember having any of it, but I woke up to my alarm clock on my phone going off. I sat up from the couch and stretched. My entire body was wracked with pain. It felt almost as bad as the beating I took from those drunks not too long ago, and I had to wonder what it was I had done. Then I remembered.
The bouncing, jolting ride in the truck as we fled from the bikers. The big log we crossed with ease, and then the shallow brook that Johanna charged down—the brush barely missing the paint job on the truck—until she found another field to exit. All that bouncing must have taken a toll on my body, or I had tensed up enough yesterday that it’d be the same thing as a serious workout. I stood, feeling everything pop and crackle, and walked to the bathroom half hunched over.
Following my schedule, I’d have a short breakfast and then work out for an hour depending on the day. I was so sore though that I actually considered skipping my routine. Instead, I went about my day, though I was a bit slower than normal. I started on the elliptical slowly so I could loosen the muscles up some, and after about ten minutes, I decided to call it off. I was hurting too much. I’d have to call a masseuse or a doctor if I was going to survive.
Instead of the showers, I headed towards the small sauna that had been my father’s favorite. I never really understood the need for one until today. I’d always preferred to use a hot shower to loosen up sore muscles. It wouldn’t be enough though, not today. I turned the dial on the timer for 45 minutes and got two towels by the shower before stepping in. Opening the door, I could already feel the heat building up.
It was a dry sauna for the most part, but water could be added to a central rock pile that was artfully displayed in the center of the small ten-by-ten room. A bench ran along two walls, with the rock feature taking up the bulk of the floor that wasn’t walkway. That was it. A soft red light was the only illumination in the room. I kicked off my shorts and boxers, rolled up a towel for my head, and laid the other one down on the bench and stretched out, feeling the wooden slats of the bench press into my sore muscles. Within a few minutes, I began to sweat as the heat increased with the program and I moved my legs.
First one, then another, feeling the tension moving out. What was really hurting me was my lower back, or perhaps my kidneys. I started to stretch when I heard a knock on the outside of the door.
“Jarek?” I heard a muffled voice ask.
Must be Johanna. I pulled a towel across my lap.
“Yeah,” I said and sat down, stretching my right shoulder as the door opened up.
Johanna wasn’t alone, and she stepped in with Skye. I remembered that I had left my phone on the elliptical. Not seeing me, nor having me answer my phone, they must have gone looking for me.
“God it’s hot in here,” Skye said, moving in and sitting on a bench on the far side of me.
“It’s supposed to be. I’ve been trying to get Jarek to use this forever. What changed your mind today of all days?” she asked me.
“I woke up half crippled. I think the bounce over the river and through the woods left me sore. Worse than I could have ever imagined actually,” I admitted.
“We going to work out today?” Skye asked from the end.
She was wearing basketball shorts and a tank top thankfully. I think having me see her practically naked on the big screen made her a little more self-conscious than she was comfortable with, so now she was putting on about twice the amount of cloth to cover herself.
“I don’t know if I can,” I admitted.
“I don’t see how you’re all that sore,” Jo said. “Unless yesterday had you all tensed up.”
“I thought about that too, but I don’t know. I just hurt,” I admitted.
“Turn around, let me work on your neck,” Jo told me.
I did, almost losing the towel in the process, but I kept it on for Skye’s sake. Johanna was used to my quirks on most days, but I didn’t want to press it, especially after yesterday. Maybe she was right, maybe I had tensed up too much—
A bolt of agony shot through me as her hands worked the muscles on either side of my shoulders. A white-hot bolt of pain hit me between the eyes, and I could feel the throbbing of a headache begin.
“You’re all knotted up, no wonder it hurts,” Jo said, pressing hard on a knot, almost making me cry out, but suddenly the pressure released, and the pain in my head lessened.
“Who taught you how to give a massage?” I asked her.
“Something I just picked up, why?”
Her voice was soft, and I felt myself relaxing. “Because for a second there it felt like you were trying to rip a chunk out of my neck and shoulder.”
“Does it feel better?”
It did, at least there.
“This isn’t weird or anything,” Skye said.
I heard a rustling and saw her stand and head out of the sauna, the cold air almost shocking me enough to wake me up for half a second.
“It’s my fault you’re feeling this way,” Jo said, patting my back. “I’m heading out so Skye doesn’t think something…”
“Thank you,” I said, moving my neck around and feeling it pop, relieving even more tension.
* * *
The ladies were working on grips and floor work when I left the sauna. Without the timer, I would have slept through it. I was hot, and parched. I walked over to the ledge by where the showers were and grabbed a bottle off the top edge. I usually kept them there or by the machines, stocked up so they could be quick and convenient. Today I needed the convenient.
I skipped the rest of the workout, and instead sat under the hot water of the shower until my skin felt red and raw, and then I turned down the heat. The nice thing about these shower heads was that they were customizable. I had it set on massage and had my arms draped over the divider, letting it pound on my lower back.
“Scoot over,” Jo said, startling me.
I thought she was getting into the shower stall where I was and I spun, not seeing her. I looked over the divider to see the top of her head walking into the stall next to mine. She loved the showerheads in here, so it didn’t surprise me much.
“Skye headed back to her apartment to shower. I brought my stuff with me. I figured we’d figure out a way to track down Mephisto, even if that lady from yesterday is no help.”
“Oh, ok. I was thinking about that,” I admitted.
“Oh?” Jo asked.
I could see a towel fly up and over the door of the stall and then the rush of steam. I closed my eyes and leaned against the divider, deep in thought.
“It came up in conversation that she had her screen recently replaced. Since her phone has been cloned and is probably being used as a repeater, it would make sense that Mephisto
could have had access to her phone there. It could be a Sprint Store, or a repair shop. It would also make sense that that’s how he stole Skye’s picture or pictures off of her phone,” I said, my eyes still closed.
“That does make sense. I talked to her again by the way, she feels horrible about yesterday. I think she’s more upset with what happened to you than her own brother,” Jo told me.
“I don’t understand that,” I said after a moment’s hesitation. “Can you…”
“Yeah, uh…I mean, you’re the one she looks up to. Her brother is a junkie, and apparently a dealer. With no dad in her life, I guess it makes sense that she’s seeking attention or approval form you. She really does look up to you, so having you see that picture and the misunderstanding about the hug…”
“I am starting to understand that. It came out differently than I intended. I forget that even people who know me have this preconceived notion of who I am, and I think I work too hard sometimes to change who I am. It throws everyone off and causes a lot of problems when I try too hard,” I told her.
“Why do you want to change who you are?” she asked, her voice so close I opened my eyes.
Eight inches of waterproofed cinder block separated our bodies, but I could see her face clearly over the divider. Her hair was wet and plastered to her head, but the lack of makeup and hair style didn’t mask the fact that she looked confused.
“Because I make people uncomfortable, because I want to be normal,” I admitted.
Something inside of me agreed, and I could feel it in my stomach. It wasn’t butterflies, but something that started in my chest, wanting to explode out.
“Maybe you’re trying too hard to be normal. Maybe normal people should be more like you,” Jo said, and then looked away and walked to the other side of the stall.
The move gave me a quick glimpse of her bare back and buttocks over the divider, and I looked away.
“Yeah, about changes?” I said.
“Yeah?”
“You don’t have to worry about the Stairmaster.”
Framed: A Jarek Grayson Private Detective Novel (Grayson Investigative Services Book 2) Page 10