by Diane Bator
"I know either one of us could be next," Mick said.
Gilda craned her head for a better view. Several rolls of paper towels were stacked in the same pattern behind the bleach bottles. All it would take was for someone to toss a match on the paper towels to melt the plastic enough so the school and the consignment shop next door would explode. Her knees weakened, and she struggled to catch her breath.
Mick nudged her arm. "Can Gilda grab one last thing from my office before we go?"
"Quickly," Thayer said. "We have to get out of here."
"My wallet. It's on the shelf with the candles," Mick said, then leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Call Razi. I'll text you when I'm done with the cops, and then we can meet at Café Beanz."
She half-ran to Mick's office. On the shelf above his desk stood the tower of candles Yoshida had built. Three on the bottom with a ruler supporting the remaining two. Everything stacked so there was an object between the two layers. Just like the bleach and the paper towels. Was Mick trying to tell her he'd figured it out too?
She returned with his wallet, her hand shaking. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be much better when this is over." He gave her a one-armed hug, hard enough for the papers in her shirt to crackle between them, then flashed a weak smile. "Give Fabio your key, and then go home. I'll call you when they let me go."
Gilda grabbed her purse and scurried out the door, armed with the lease documents. Now she needed to fill in the blanks and put it all together.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Despite having quit her job twice and no longer wanting any involvement with the school, the murders, or Mick, Gilda called Razi when she got home. "Sensei Mick is at the police station for questioning. You should pick him up."
"That is not what Sensei Mick told me when he called a minute ago."
"What did he tell you?" Her heart sank. Busted. So much for quitting and not being involved. She should have walked, actually run, away from it all. What was wrong with her?
A long pause. Razi must have been trying to choose his words carefully. "He will meet us at Café Beanz once Thayer releases him."
She sighed. "That could be hours from now."
"That is true," he said. "Sensei Mick also asked me to make sure you are well. He wanted to know if you are upset with him."
"Upset with him?" Her anger burst through her carefully constructed dam. "How could I not be upset with him? He never mentioned the missing merchandise. Never told me about Walter's past or the whole mess with Chloe and Gary until I was smack in the middle of things. I could've been killed just for being anywhere near him." She sucked in a sorely needed breath. "How in heaven's name could I not be upset?"
Razi remained silent for a long minute. "Miss Wright, I will meet you at Café Beanz at four. We will sit in a booth near the window, and you can try to convince me you do not care what happens to Sensei Mick. Okay?"
"Huh?"
"I will see you at four," he said. "Please try to think of something constructive to assist us in stopping the murderer."
When he hung up, she stared at the phone with her mouth agape. Razi was right. Even after everything that had happened—the murders, the whack to her head, she and Mick's misguided kisses—the three of them were still a team. Both Razi and Mick needed her to set her anger aside to help them catch the murderer.
Unable to relax, she cleaned house. Her hands wiped away dust while her mind went over evidence and occurrences. Had she missed anything? Was there a suspect she hadn't even considered, someone who had grievances with the school? All her thoughts came back to Yoshida and Mick.
The phone rang, jolting Gilda away from her mental checklist. Her stomach slithered in and out of knots as she let it ring until the answering machine picked up.
"Oh, brother." Marion groaned over the speaker. "Gilda, don't you ever answer the phone? You're not at the school. You're not at home. Where on Earth are you?"
She grabbed the phone. "Cleaning. I didn't hear the phone over the vacuum cleaner."
"You're a bad liar, honey. I'm standing outside your front door. I haven't heard any vacuum cleaner since I got here five minutes ago."
Gilda froze. More slithering knots. She really needed to give up trying to lie to people. It rarely seemed to work. She hung up and let Marion inside. "I should've called when I got home, but I was too wound up. Coffee or tea?"
"Water's fine. I walked here from work. Maybe you're right. I do need to work out with you. Walking six blocks knocks me out of breath." Marion followed her to the kitchen. "I saw Thayer drag Mick into the police station. Do the police think he killed Xavier?"
Gilda poured two glasses of water. "As far as I know, he's the closest thing to a witness they have. They're interrogating him then letting him go." I hope.
"You don't think he killed anyone, do you?" Marion asked.
She leaned against the cupboard then blew out a long breath. The only viable suspects she'd come up with, aside from Mick, were Razi and Yoshida. They each had keys to enter the school. Yoshida definitely had motives and the ability to sneak in undetected. Razi fell short. He had no motive she knew of, and there was no way he could sneak in anywhere without being seen. He did, however, have a military background and was a trained killer.
Marion tilted her head. "Are you okay, honey? You look a little pale."
She glanced at the clock. Almost time to meet Mick and the trained killer at Café Beanz. Right on time, her phone chimed. A text from Razi, who was at the café. Mick was on his way. "Sorry, I have to go."
"Oh." Marion's face fell. "Where are you off to? I'll walk with you."
"That's not necessary. I'm fine."
"I'm going with you." She stood and set her glass in the sink. "I might not be a karate master, but I am intimidating. You have to be worried that you or Mick are next."
The thought had crossed her mind several times since Walter's death, but Mick had managed to convince her otherwise. Until now. Her hand shook when she reached for her house key and purse. "I'm not that worried."
"You're a bad liar, you know." Marion caught her in a hug. "You're scared to death and don't know who to trust, what to think, or what to do next. I'm the only real friend you've got right now. At least let me come and watch your back."
Gilda swallowed back the tears. "I don't want you to get hurt too."
"Me neither, but I'd never forgive myself if I handed you off to a murderer." Marion stood her ground. "Stalemate. What do we do now?"
She never thought she would be forced to think of her friends and coworkers as possible murderers. "We go together and hope for the best."
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Seated in a corner booth in Café Beanz, Razi flinched when both Gilda and Marion walked in. Darkness passed over his face before he flashed a weak smile. "Miss Wright. Miss Yearly, I do not believe you were on the guest list."
Marion glowered at Razi while Gilda sat near the window. "Look, buddy. I'm the 9-1-1 operator who's taken all the calls about your friends at the school. Gilda's my best friend, and I don't trust you or Sensei Mick anymore."
Razi's eyebrows jumped as he glanced to Gilda. "Why have you brought this woman?"
Marion ordered her coffee then flashed a saccharin smile. "I'm her bodyguard."
"You are?" Gilda asked.
"You do know Miss Wright is a green belt in karate and perfectly capable of taking care of her own body," he said, a small grin touching one corner of his mouth.
Marion sat back and lowered her chin to her chest. Her gaze never left his face. "Look, tough guy, she's my friend. I'm here to look out for her, so get over it."
Gilda's jaw tightened. "We want some answers."
"As do we all," Razi said.
She opened her purse and handed Razi the papers from Mick's desk. "Mick had these. You need to look them over before he gets here."
"Do I get to read them?" Marion asked. "I didn't kill anyone, but I do have a vested interest in everything that's happening
. My bestie's life is in danger."
Razi's mouth twitched. "I will read them then decide if that is appropriate."
"Muscle-head." Marion frowned. "You think you're all that just because you have a black belt in karate. Boy, do I have news for you."
When the waitress brought their coffees, Gilda reached for her cup. "I wouldn't mouth off to him if I were you. He's trained in Krav Maga, and has black belts in jiujitsu and karate."
Marion sucked in a sharp breath and raised her eyebrows, her gaze on Razi. "Are you single? I could use a bodyguard."
Razi's eyes widened. His face reddened, and then he rifled through the papers and frowned. "I would understand if Shihan Yoshida wanted to open a school in Detroit, but why destroy the school here? We are doing well, are we not?"
"I would have thought so," Marion said. "The school's busy, and you have half the town on your roster. Unless he wanted to do something to this school to get the insurance money."
Gilda filled them in on the bottles of gasoline and the kanji she and Mick had found on each body. "If the murderer is following the pattern, Xavier will have Loyalty in his casket, but why? What made him disloyal to Yoshida?"
"I do not think things are that simple." Razi stirred his tea slowly like a form of meditation.
"Well, what do you think?" Marion asked. "Stop leaving us in suspense."
"Keep your voice down and listen." Gilda placed a hand on her friend's arm.
Razi cleared his throat. "The Four Possessions of the Samurai are not merely suggestions. For the samurai, they were requirements every man lived by or they would dishonor their fellow samurai and shame their families."
"What happened if they did something to dishonor themselves?" Gilda asked.
"They would commit suicide." Razi stabbed at his stomach with his teaspoon, then trailed it across his torso. "Seppuku."
"They'd gut themselves? Eww! That's nasty." Marion winced.
Gilda bit the inside of her cheek. "If Yoshida thought the black belts had dishonored him, then it makes sense, on some warped level, he'd take matters into his own hands. Why not just reprimand them though? Why couldn't he expand the business and give everyone what they wanted rather than try to torch the place?"
Razi rubbed his eyes. "Like Miss Yearly said, money. Insurance money, to be precise."
Gilda shook her head. "But the school's doing well. Although, I'm sure we'll lose students after everything that's happened lately. It's creepy to train in a school where people have been murdered. Not everyone will be comfortable there anymore."
"Greed?" Marion asked.
"Yoshida gets a cut of all earnings for being the namesake, plus he gets paid for teaching seminars," Gilda said.
"Lust?" Razi asked.
Intrigued, Gilda sat back. "How do you figure that one?"
"Easy." Mick joined them and slid into the booth next to Razi and indicated Marion. "What's she doing here?"
Marion scowled. "She is here to protect Gilda and let your students know what the hell's going on, so start talking, Sensei."
Mick grimaced then glanced to Gilda and Razi. Gilda shrugged, but Razi's face turned strawberry red. Finally, Mick blew out a sigh. "It all comes back to Jade Levy. She's the one who started this whole mess."
Marion gasped. "Walter's wife?"
"I figured she had. But how?" Gilda asked.
"Jade's a flirt. She likes having guys fawn over her, which drove Walter crazy. For her, Yoshida was a challenge," Mick said. "He wouldn't so much as look at her the first few times she flirted with him."
"What changed?" Razi asked.
Mick hesitated, then pointed a finger at Marion. "Don't you dare tell anyone what I'm about to say, or I'll drag you into class by your bottom lip and spar you myself."
"Are you kidding me? You could kill me with your pinky finger. My lips are sealed. I won't say another word." She pretended to zip her lips shut.
"I'll hold you to it." Mick ordered coffee and pie. "Yoshida's wife went back to Japan for six months last year. He thought it was the best time to invite us all to train at his school in Erie. Afterward, we all went to dinner with our wives and girlfriends. He and Jade spent a lot of time talking side by side and pouring Walter sake."
"They did much more than that, as I recall," Razi said. "I had to drag Walter home, since he was drunk. Jade stayed behind with you and Shihan Yoshida."
When Marion opened her mouth, Mick shot her a glare. She clapped one hand over her mouth before she met Gilda's gaze. "This is going to be torture."
Gilda turned back to Mick. "So I guess Jade spent the rest of the evening alone with Yoshida. It wasn't a one-time thing, was it?"
"No," Mick said. "They saw each other a lot after that. Mostly in hotel rooms I rented for him."
"Hotel rooms with king-sized beds and Jacuzzi tubs. The same thing he asked for when he was here for the workshop." She dropped her head against the back of the bench. "How could I be so stupid? You covered for them, didn't you?"
"What?" Marion seemed to forget all about her vow of silence. "How could you do that to Walter? I thought he was your friend."
"Keep it down." Mick scowled. When the waitress set his coffee in front of him, he added cream and sugar then sighed. "Walter knew how much we relied on him. He wanted more money, more classes, and either a share of the school or his own school. Yoshida wouldn't budge. Not as long as Jade did everything he wanted."
"Assuming he's the killer, why do you think he got rid of Walter?" Gilda asked.
"When Yoshida's wife returned, Walter told her about Jade. She took his money and went back to Japan. My guess is, Yoshida got greedy. He wanted Walter gone and Jade for his wife, without another messy divorce."
"But why kill the other black belts?" Gilda asked. "They had nothing to do with it, did they?"
"For such a quiet lady, you have many questions," Razi said.
"Yeah, you're good at this interrogation thing." Marion nudged her arm. "You should've been the cop, not Thayer."
"Partly to clean house. Partly because greed's a great motivator." Mick lowered his voice so Gilda and Marion had to lean forward. "The government came after Yoshida for back taxes. If he files for bankruptcy, it'll follow him for years. If the school burns down, there's an insurance payoff. He has as many legitimate reasons for his prints to be in the school as the rest of us."
"Did the police check the bleach bottles for fingerprints?" Gilda asked.
"They will, but he'll have some long-winded story, and somehow he'll be able to prove he was in Erie. Unofficially, though, he's a butterfly in the breeze," Mick said. "My guess is he's hiding out with Jade."
Gilda thought about the man in the yellow robe she'd seen upstairs in the Levy home. "So how do we prove he's a killer?"
Mick sipped his coffee. "We set him up and make him confess."
"I'm in," Marion said.
Razi didn't look happy. "If he kills me, Mick is the only one left. If he kills Mick, the school closes. I will not be happy to be the only black belt to remain."
"What do we have to do?" Gilda asked.
"We have to make a plan and talk to Thayer," Mick said.
"No way. I'm not talking to Thayer." She shook her head. "I already quit working at the school. I don't know why I'm even here."
"I do." Marion stood then glanced at Razi and Mick. "Come on, Gilda. Let's go back to your place and figure out career options."
Gilda followed her out of the booth. Marion was right. No matter how charming Mick could be, she needed to move on and get out of harm's way. "First, I'm going to bring Happy my resume. Maybe he'll let me start work next week."
"Please stay." Mick got up and wrapped his arms around her. When he kissed her, Marion let out a whoop, and Razi chuckled. "I need you."
Breathless, she pulled out of his grasp. "No, you don't. You need therapy."
"You're so easy to fluster," he said.
"It's about time." Marion nudged Gilda. "Definitely call me later, unless he'
s still at your house, in which case, I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Gilda turned, ready to call Marion back until she noticed Chloe at the counter. Chloe lowered her chin and flared her nostrils. Her gaze bored right through to Mick.
"I'll come with you." Unable to face anyone as heat continued to surge through her body from Mick's kiss, Gilda bowed her head and followed Marion to the door. She kept her gaze averted from Chloe. Could this day get any worse?
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
"Are we going to your house first?" Marion asked as they left the café. "I can't imagine you carry around an extra resume just for times like this."
"Yes. Just you and me and a big bottle of wine." Gilda folded her arms across her chest. "Maybe Happy has some application forms handy."
"Not yet. First, we're going to the police station." Mick grabbed Gilda's hand. "We need help."
"No, you need help." Gilda peered over Mick's shoulder to Razi and mouthed, "Help."
"Do not worry," Razi said. "I will not make you go alone."
"Me neither. I'm not about to miss a second of this." Marion grinned.
Gilda would have preferred they rip her away from Mick and walk her home so she could lock herself—and Marion—away from the world. Instead, Mick gripped her hand so tight her fingers turned white, and he marched her across the street to the police station.
"Oh look." Fabio glanced up from behind his desk. "It's Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys."
"Oh, brother. Now what?" Thayer snorted and slammed his coffee cup onto his desk. Splatters of brown liquid dotted the paperwork scattered around the surface. "Who do you people think you are? I thought we all agreed you'd step aside and let Fabio and me solve the murders, and you guys would look after the karate school. Gilda, do you really think you've solved the murders and can catch the bad guys? Oh, good. Now I can take a vacation and sleep at night. Hallelujah!"
"Bad guy," Marion corrected. "Gilda thinks there's only one killer."
Mick sat in the chair across the desk from Thayer and stared him down. "And we think she's right. There may only be one killer, but he might have an accomplice."