by Diane Bator
“Possibly.” She sipped her coffee.
“Good thing he’s friends with you then since you’re the only one who always knows where Mick is. I don’t think Mick even calls Chloe half as much as he calls you. If I didn’t know better, I’d think there was something going on between you.”
She frowned. “Hardly. I guarantee every phone call is about the school. Besides, keeping track of Mick is like containing steam with one hand. Half the time I don’t even know where he is and what he’s up to.”
Xavier leaned forward, ready to listen.
Gilda finished her coffee, unwilling to divulge more. She managed to lose him later by ducking into Happy Harvey’s Hangover Hut. All she needed was a few minutes of peace and quiet in the air-conditioned store. What she got instead was a head-on collision with Jade in the doorway.
“Oh no. I’m so sorry,” Gilda gushed. “I didn’t watch where I was going. Are you okay?”
Jade hugged a paper bag to her chest. Bottles tinkled. “Fine, thank you.”
“Is the burial over already?” Could she be any more tactless?
“I forgot to pick up wine to toast Walter’s life,” Jade said. “I do hope you will come by the house to join us.”
“Is your friend going to be there?”
She frowned, eyes wide. “My friend? Which friend?”
Too late to turn back now. Gilda had bulldozed into dangerous territory. “The man who was upstairs when I stopped by the other day. Your house guest.”
“You must be mistaken.” Jade’s face paled beneath the fluorescent lights. “There was no man at my house.”
Happy must have sensed the sudden drop in temperature. He moved around the counter and edged closer, straightening bottles on the shelves and casting furtive glances at Gilda and Jade. Hopefully he’d have her back if things got ugly.
“I guess so.” The words slipped out even though her brain screamed for her to shut up and leave. “I thought I saw a man in a yellow bathrobe.”
“You were hallucinating. I would never cheat on my husband. He was my whole world.” Jade shoved past Gilda, knocking her into a stack of beer cases then fled out the front door to a waiting silver sports car.
Happy grabbed Gilda’s arm and steadied her. “You okay, amiga?”
She sighed. “Confused, but aside from that...”
“I have no idea what you said, but she looks guilty of something,” he said. “She comes in here a lot. Is she married?”
“Widowed. Her husband was Walter, the instructor someone murdered at our school Friday.” She nodded and watched the door in case Xavier found her. “I know she’s guilty of something. I just don’t know what.”
Happy walked back to the counter then handed her a bag of ice. “This is not as good as um saco de ervilhas, but it works.”
“Not as good as what?”
“De ervilhas. Little verde vegetable. How you say it?”
Verde. Green. “Peas. A bag of peas. I don’t have any.”
Happy smiled and put the bag of ice and a small bottle of wine in a bag. “Good then you take these. Both numb pain.”
Gilda pushed the bag away. “I’m not in pain.”
“Take it anyway.” He snorted. “You walk like um pinguim and look like Frankenstein monster. You have bad karate class?”
“Is it that obvious?” She took the bag and set it on the counter. “What’s um pinguim?”
Happy pressed his arms along the side of his body and waddled across the floor.
She laughed, despite the cut lip. “A penguin. I didn’t think it was that obvious.”
“It better not be that Sensei Mick man who hurt you.” He wagged a thick, calloused finger. “I never sell him my good scotch again.”
Gilda held up both hands. “No, not Mick. Shihan Yoshida got carried away. Mick buys scotch from you? I didn’t think he drank.”
Happy’s expression darkened. “Watch out for that one. I know him. He is a devil.”
“Mick?” Hadn’t Jade said the same thing?
“No. Yoshida. ” Happy cast a glare out the window toward the school. “If you do not do what he says, he makes your life miserable. He yells at Sensei Mick. Nothing makes that one happy. He is a danger. Go home, heal your body, and stay away from the devils.”
Chapter 17
“What a crazy, stupid week.” Gilda filled another small bag with ice, clutched it to her aching face then sprawled on the couch, eyes closed. As soon as she had relaxed and drifted off to sleep, her phone rang.
“I need you to meet me at the school,” Mick said.
“Right now? Why?” She wiped drool off her cheek.
“Now, Gilda.” He hung up without waiting for an answer.
Unwilling to get off the couch, she groaned. Her whole body hurt. She grumbled about giving up karate and finding a new job. She threw the ice pack in the freezer then grabbed a water bottle and shuffled to the karate school. The door was unlocked and the lights were all on. So far, so good.
“Fine, I’m here.” She called out. “What do you want?”
Around the corner, Mick, Erik, Xavier, and Razi sat in Mick’s office. All four appeared somber, yet anxious and avoided looking her in the eye.
Her stomach did three cartwheels. “This looks like some kind of intervention.”
“In a way, it is.” Mick cleared his throat and motioned to an empty chair. “We’re all worried about you playing Gilda Wright, P.I.”
Her heart sank as she sat. “Did Jade call? I didn’t mean to be rude to her in Happy’s, but she makes me nervous and I say the wrong things.”
Concerned glances darted across the room. They all shook their heads in weird, pre-rehearsed unison.
“Actually, Mrs. Watson called,” Mick said. “Her grandson saw someone lurking around the karate school last night and called the cops. I talked to Thayer.”
“I wasn’t lurking.” She huffed. Skulking maybe. “I wanted to see if there was another way in or out of the school. People saw Mick leave, but no one never saw anyone come or go until I arrived.”
Erik sneered. “Did you find a top secret entrance?”
“No, but the back door looks like someone tried to pry it open. Then a cat jumped out of nowhere.” She hesitated. “Is there an opening to a vent up there?”
“Nothing I know of.” Mick flinched. “The door’s old news. Some kids tried to break in last winter. I fixed the worst of the damage, but the fire door is expensive to fix.”
Xavier took her hand. “Look, honey, no one wants you to get hurt. Do us a favor and leave the detective work to that sorry excuse for a cop.”
“Who?” she asked.
“Thayer.” Mick studied the desk top. “Has he interviewed you guys yet?”
Razi nodded. “Yes.”
“Unfortunately.” Erik rolled his eyes. “The guy has rocks for brains. At least he’s got a solid partner.”
Gilda wasn’t about to argue since she held the same opinion.
“Twice,” Xavier said. “Once about Walter and once about the dent in my bumper.”
She recalled the damage to the pole out back and the chips of silver paint. “Do you always park in back?”
“Hardly ever.” Xavier’s face reddened. “Have you been talking to Thayer? That’s exactly what he asked. I told him Erik parks there more than I do.”
“You told him that?” Erik asked. “Man, he said he had evidence I was guilty. He made it sound like he had a video tape of me smashing into a sign and taking down half the bloody building.”
Gilda tried to sound as innocent as possible. “He and I saw the same scraped post and someone hit it.”
Erik’s nostrils flared. “So you think I killed Walter, ran out the backdoor, then hit the post before I left?”
“It’s possible,” she said.
“Well, I didn’t hit anything.” Erik stood and knocked his chair over backward. “That scrape came from a black car that backed into me at the grocery store. Xavier’s car has a dent an
d scrape in the side too, you know. I know for a fact he hit something in the back lot. I saw it happen.”
Mick blew out a breath. “Then let’s go take a look. You can tell us what you saw.”
“Forget it. I need to go.” Erik groaned. “I have other things to attend to.”
“We all do.” Mick’s nostrils flared. “But first we’re going to check out the post and help Gilda get over this need to solve a murder without serious help.”
“Mental or police?” Erik asked.
Mick pressed his lips together but didn’t answer.
Gilda scowled. “If you mean I should work with Thayer, forget it.” When the others raised eyebrows, her face burned. “It’s no secret he and I used to date. He’s a jerk.”
“You’re not helping yourself here, Sherlock.” He led them all to the alley via the back door. “Show us what you found.”
Gilda crouched in front of the post near the corner of the building. “This one. There’s a gouge and flecks of silver paint in it.”
“Should we call CSI?” Xavier asked. “I’m sure they can prove by the angle of the gouge, the color of the paint, and the phase of the moon that my car hit that sign when I pulled in then hit this post right after I killed Walter Levy.”
“Sounds right,” Erik said.
Gilda didn’t bother to mention the dent in the sign. “Knock it off.”
“Hey,” Xavier went on. “If they weigh my car, I’ll bet they can even prove I lost three pounds training Tuesday night and had Jimmy Hoffa’s body in the trunk. Do you think they can figure out where I buried him?”
Mick stepped between them. “That’s enough, both of you. We’re not here to accuse anyone. Right, Gilda?”
She winced. Not without proof and reinforcements, anyway. “You’re right. It’s all speculation.”
Razi paused to examine the door then seemed to shrug the damage off. He headed back inside without a word.
“I gotta go, kids,” Erik said. “This was fun. Let’s do this again sometime. Maybe next time we can bring booze and dates and make it a party.”
Xavier glared at Gilda then stormed down the alley out of sight.
She closed her eyes. She’d suffered a stomach ache for at least a week before Walter died. Had Xavier tried to poison her more than once in preparation for Walter’s demise? “I know he’s mad, but what if I’m right?”
Mick draped his arm across her shoulders. He smelled like coffee. “Then I think you’d better sleep with one eye open.”
“Great.” She pushed him away then headed back into the school.
Inside, Razi stood next to her desk and shifted his weight from foot to foot.
Marion paced and spun a half turn at each end of the lobby while gnawing on her thumbnail. When she saw Gilda, she caught her in a hug and dragged her halfway across the room. “I should have said something sooner. Now I don’t know what to do.”
Gilda frowned. “About what? What’s going on?”
“Remember the day Walter died?” Marion asked. “I think I saw his killer.”
She stared wide-eyed. “But you were in your office when I called nine-one-one.”
“I mean before that when I was on my way to work.” Marion clutched Gilda’s shoulders. “I drove past the school. When I saw Mick come out, I had to stare. What’s not to like, right?”
“What else did you see?”
Marion blushed. “I followed Mick for two blocks then realized I was going the wrong way so I turned around. That’s when I saw the killer go inside the school.”
Mick lunged toward them. “Who?”
“Walter’s wife.” Marion’s eyes widened.
Gilda gulped. “Jade? That would make her the last person to see her husband alive, but she’s so little. Is she strong enough?”
“Oh yeah,” Mick said then his face reddened.
“I do not speak gossip.” Razi bowed his head.
Gilda pulled out of Marion’s grip. “What do you guys know?”
Mick pressed his lips shut and motioned for Marion to leave.
“Oh no. I want to know what’s going on.” She folded her arms across her ample chest. “If Gilda’s staying, then so am I.”
“There’s enough gossip going around town already,” Mick said. “Go home.”
Taller than Mick, Marion folded her arms across her chest. “Make me.”
When Razi moved toward her, Marion squeaked, threw her hands in the air and left the building. He locked the door behind her.
Gilda scowled at Mick. “Start talking.”
He bowed his head. “Walter told us stories, the locker room kind, but nobody believed him. Then I went to tell Jade about Walter and Chloe and she…She’s a wild cat.”
“Enough to tear the change room apart?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah.” Razi nodded.
“You too? Eww. I need a vat of hand sanitizer.” Gilda sat behind her desk and covered her face with both hands.
“From what I hear, martial artists get her mojo all worked up.” Mick leaned on her desk. “I don’t think Xavier or Erik has ever slept with her though. They’re not really her type. You’re not going to tell anyone about this, are you? Especially not Marion.”
“What would I say that wouldn’t make Jade look bad?” Gilda asked.
He stared at the floor. “If she had wild, crazy monkey sex with Walter first, she could’ve easily skewered him with a katana. The guy wouldn’t be able to move.”
“Way too much information.” Gilda covered her ears.
Razi leaned on the desk. “What if she came to let someone else through the back door?”
“An accomplice?” Her stomach ached. The man in the yellow robe. “It’s possible. Maybe she has a lover.”
“Unless it’s a woman,” Mick said. “Walter had some issues of his own with being faithful. Maybe a jealous wife wanted payback.”
“Then why kill Walter, not Jade?” she asked.
“Maybe they wanted her to suffer.” He sat in the seat beside her. “You heard Walter had been a high school teacher and Jade was his student.”
“I heard.” She stared at her computer screen. “Did you know all along you had a child molester teaching children in your school?”
Mick sighed. “Gilda, he fell in love with her and—”
“I cannot listen to this nonsense,” Razi said.
He frowned. “We’ve been over this. He was never unsupervised.”
Razi snorted. “He was always unsupervised.”
“Gilda was always here,” Mick said.
“Oh, no. Don’t put that on me,” she said. “I had nothing to do with what Walter did. You knew about his past and let him teach. You should have been here.”
Mick’s nostrils flared. “Of course everything’s on me. I didn’t have any control over any of this either, lady. You, Walter, Yoshida, Erik, Chloe, you can all just go jump in the lake.” He stormed out the front door, leaving Razi and Gilda to stare at each other.
“I think our meeting is over.” Razi locked the door then walked her home. When they got to her gate, he frowned. “I hope you will not repeat what you heard. It could be very embarrassing.”
Gilda shook her head. “Students would cancel their memberships if they found out.”
“They would also not like the way Yoshida acted in class the other night,” he said. “Particularly toward you.”
“Mick doesn’t seem too concerned.” She would have to do some serious damage control before things got worse. Maybe it was time to listen to the gossip. “So what happened after I left that night? Did he kick you out too?”
“I went home as well,” Razi said. “All I can say is that things did not go as well as Sensei Mick had hoped.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “Did he tell you what happened?”
“Good night, Miss Wright.” He left her at her front gate, alone in the dark as he walked away without giving her an answer.
Chapter 18
Gilda walked up h
er front sidewalk in the semidarkness with a vague, uneasy feeling. She hadn’t noticed Gary or his car along the street, yet the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as though something was out of place. Ahead on the front porch, someone moved and a flame flared to life.
Chloe lit a cigarette, took a long drag and blew a stream of smoke toward Gilda before she extinguished the lighter. “About time you got home. I’ve been sitting here half an hour. I always thought you could do better than dating Razi.”
Gilda started to apologize then reconsidered. “What do you want?”
“You don’t have to sound so hostile.” She shifted in the warped wicker chair and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “You really need better furniture. Did you get this at a garage sale?”
“It was my grandmother’s.” Gilda climbed the steps and waited.
Chloe took another drag. “You’re a good secretary, but don’t get too cozy. He’s mine. I’m the one with the looks, the brains and the money.” The cigarette glowed before she released a long breath. “I’m a former bikini model. I’m a trophy. You’re nothing.”
Gilda, self-esteem at a new all-time low, pulled out her keys. “I’m going to bed so I’d appreciate it if you left.”
“Oh, I will, honey,” Chloe said. “After I warn you to stay away from my father too.”
“Your father?” Her entire body tensed.
Chloe stood and teetered in her four-inch spike heels. Without the heels, she was Gilda’s height. “People have seen you and my father around town and I want it to stop. I won’t have you ruining his good name.”
“Are you serious?” Gilda gagged as smoke wafted into her face. Gary Del Garda had established his “good name” long before she was ever born. “I am not having, an affair with your dad, nor would I ever. I do have standards.”
“What’s wrong with my dad?” Chloe asked.
He’s twice my age. He’s a criminal. He’s stalking me. Take your pick. Gilda sighed. “Nothing. He’s a nice guy, but he’s not my type.”