Life is Better Brunette

by Diane Bator

  "I heard you. Did he come on to you when he was questioning you about Miss Claudia the other day?" Gilda walked around the counter and set her cup down, then moved to stand next to Aislin.

  "A little, I guess." Aislin frowned and rubbed her head again. "But I didn't really take him seriously. I thought he was just trying to make me feel more comfortable."

  "Ha. Thayer has no compassion for anyone but himself." Gilda reached out and ran a hand over the back of Aislin's head. "Wow, you have a huge lump on the back of your head. You should put some ice on that and get checked out. You might have a concussion."

  "I'm fine." Aislin waved her off. "I just need some sleep."

  "No." Gilda shook her head. "Get dressed. I'll call Kane and get him to meet us here. Then we'll take you to the hospital."

  Aislin's blue eyes grew huge. "Don't call Kane. Please. I'll get dressed. I'll even go to the hospital, but I'll go alone. I don't know what I'd say to Kane right now anyway. I just need a little time to figure out what happened last night."

  When her phone hummed again, Gilda checked the screen. Kane was being persistent, and she'd rather deal with him than with Aislin. "Okay. I have to go, anyway. Just do me a favor and check in with me after you go to the hospital." On her way out the door, she paused and met Aislin's gaze. "You can call me if you need anything."

  "Really? I will." Aislin's eyes shimmered with tears. "Gilda? Thanks for…just thanks."

  Gilda left the store and texted Kane. Be right there.

  Where are you?

  She ignored his question and took the shortest way home, trying to think of a good excuse to appease Kane and whether to tell him about Aislin. Halfway there, she realized she'd left her coffee on the counter at the store. At least Kane had already brought her a replacement, and she wouldn't have to explain why she already had a cup.

  Gilda glanced around for the police car that was supposed to be parked in front of her house. There was no sign of any officer nearby, just Kane perched on the porch swing with his head in his hands and his shoulders hunched.

  She blew out a breath as she approached her front gate and forgot all about Aislin and rushed up the steps. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

  Kane looked up, his left eye ringed with various shades of purple, black, and blue. A gash yawned on his forehead, the blood already congealed. The absence of a bandage told her no one had tended to his wound yet. "Not much. You?"

  "Oh wow." Before she said another word, Gilda walked past him to unlock her front door and grab her first aid kit and an ice pack. She sat next to him on the swing, handed him the ice pack, and pulled out a handful of sterilizing wipes. As she cleaned the wound on his head, she swallowed hard. "Okay. Now that I'm sitting down, what on earth happened to you?"

  Kane grinned. "I can guarantee the other guy looks worse, love."

  "That's not very comforting," she said. "Was the other guy Thayer?"

  He paled. "Why would you say that?"

  "No reason." She squeezed his cut closed and placed a couple small butterfly bandages across to help seal it, just as she'd seen Mick and Razi do with countless fighters.

  Once she finished dressing his wounds, he handed her a large cup of coffee. He knew her too well.

  "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

  Kane sipped his tea. "I took Aislin out for dinner to the Cove Restaurant last night. We had a nice meal, discussed things to do with the store, then I walked her home, and we said good night. That was it, I swear. When I left her place, I headed back toward the shop to check things out."

  Gilda stiffened. "Wait. You took Aislin home and left her there alone?"

  "Yeah, what was I thinking?" He winked. "With all the weird things going on around Armadillo Street lately, I wasn't about to take her down there after dark. I just wanted to be sure there were no broken windows or spray paint on the doors, like at Miss Claudia's shop. She didn't need to come with me for that. I can handle vandals better when I'm by myself."

  "Obviously." She flashed a saccharin smile. "So how did you get the black eye and the cut on your head?"

  Kane groaned. "I got jumped a couple of blocks away from Aislin's house. Honestly, I didn't see or hear anything. All I know is someone snuck up behind me and bashed me over the head. While I was seeing stars, I turned to see who it was, and they punched me in the face. I woke up lying on the beach with some homeless guy staring at me and asking for change."

  On a hunch, Gilda set her coffee aside and reached around to the back of Kane's head. Sure enough, she found a lump the size of a golf ball. "They got you good."

  "Yeah, I saw double for a while after I woke up." He huffed. "I'm not exactly great advertising for any self-defense courses, am I?"

  "Not in this condition." She patted his arm. "Why didn't you go to the hospital or at least call someone for help?"

  "I will later." He sighed. "I needed to talk to you first. Aislin said something last night when I dropped her off that bothered me. We were sitting in the car, and suddenly she looked at me like she was drunk out of her mind, which I swear she wasn't as far as I know."

  "What did she say?"

  He frowned. "She told me I needed to watch my head."

  "What's so odd about that?" she asked.

  Kane shrugged. "Usually people tell me to watch my back. She said to watch my head. It's weird, but I think she already knew something bad was going to happen to me."

  Gilda forced a smile. "Rumor has it she is a psychic."

  "I know, but actually I think there might be more to it than that." He sipped his tea then met her gaze. "While we were at the restaurant, this man came in. I've never seen him before, but Aislin turned green, then white. I thought she was going to throw up. The whole time we sat there, it seemed like she was keeping one eye on the guy and waiting for something to happen."

  "Do you remember what the guy looked like?" she asked.

  "Yeah. Kind of like Columbo, the old TV detective, only taller. He even had a bad-fitting suit, a stained brown trench coat, and looked like he was having a really bad hair day. The dude kind of looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. You know, dark circles under his eyes and bad posture."

  Gilda was pretty sure she hadn't seen anyone lately who fit that description. "Did he go over to talk to her?"

  "No, he just sat at a table nearby and stared at her like a vulture until we left." Kane closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. "If that was him who hit me, I have to give him kudos, love. I'm not easy to sneak up on, let alone drag unconscious to the beach. I'm a pretty big dude."

  "Did you call Aislin this morning to check on her?"

  "No." He lowered the ice pack and narrowed his eyes. "Should I?"

  Gilda wasn't sure how to answer. "Like you said, if it was the guy from the restaurant who jumped you…"

  Kane paled. "Do you think he could have done something to Aislin too?"

  "No, she's fine. I already spoke to her," Gilda said. "But maybe you should at least talk to her about the strange guy. I have a feeling she might be in trouble."

  Kane flinched. "Did something happen to her after I left?"

  "Yeah, but I'm not sure what." She paused to sip her coffee and catch her breath. "She called early this morning and asked me to meet her at your shop." She hesitated, averting her gaze. "There was a trail of clothes all over the place leading to the shop, and Aislin wasn't exactly alone when I got there."

  He tightened his jaw. "It's none of my business who she messes around with."

  "Yeah, I think it is." Gilda was incensed. "Someone hit her over the back of the head last night, just like they did to you. She has a few scratches and bruises, just like you, and she has no idea what happened to her."

  "Just like me."

  Gilda grimaced. "Exactly."

  Kane met her gaze. "So did you find out who she was messing around with? Maybe he was the same guy who hurt her."

  "She said she woke up in the back room with Thayer, but I never saw him leave. The
coward snuck out the back door and left half his suit behind." Gilda glanced toward her garden. "When you texted me, I told her she needed to go to the hospital to get checked for a concussion, just like you should."

  "I'm fine, love."

  Gilda snorted. "Oh yeah? Well, the fact neither of you remembers much of what happened last night isn't a good sign."

  Kane sat back and huffed. "So I have a concussion. It wouldn't be the first or the last."

  "Then you really do need to get your head checked out," she said. "Let me see your pupils."

  He groaned, batting her hands away. "My pupils are fine. I'm not dizzy, I'm not nauseous, and my ears aren't ringing. Are you done?"

  Gilda ran down her mental checklist. "Do you have a headache?"

  "You're starting to give me one."

  She grimaced. "I'm just trying to look out for you. Promise you'll go to the hospital and get your head examined. Then I'll leave you alone."

  "It's not that I don't want to, love, but if word gets back to the fight promoters, I'll be scratched from fighting later this fall." He cleared his throat then sipped his tea.

  "Is fighting more important than your health?"

  "Yes, some days." Kane glared then shook his head. "No, you're right. I'll go."

  "Good." She met his gaze. "You're my friend, and I worry about you."

  "Thanks." He smiled yet seemed to cringe, probably from the pain.

  "Do you think Thayer could have done something to hurt Aislin? You dated him for a while. Is he abusive?"

  Gilda shook her head. "Thayer's scum, but he's not like that. Well, not that I ever saw anyway. He loves women and seems to like to sleep around, but I don't think he'd ever physically hurt anyone."

  "Then you need to find out what happened to her, because if I run into Thayer, I'll probably swing my fists first and listen later." Kane placed a battered hand on her leg. "I should call her and tell her not to go into the store for a couple days."

  "Wow. Whoever attacked you, they didn't get away without a fight." She took his hand in hers to examine the small cuts and bruises. "I'll bet you were probably still swinging even while you were out on your feet. Is that possible?"

  "Yeah, that's possible. It's happened to me before during a couple matches." His face reddened. "My body goes into automatic pilot, and I just keep moving until either I drop or the ref calls it and someone forces me to sit down."

  "That sounds kind of like having a bad nightmare." She winced. "Do you ever remember anything after those kinds of matches?"

  He bowed his head. "Nope. Hardly ever. Whoever the guy was who attacked me, he looks pretty rough right now too."

  Gilda gave his hand a squeeze then placed it back on his lap. She hugged her cup to her chest and blew out a slow breath. "Then I guess we need to watch out for some guy whose face looks like he ran into a cheese grater."

  "I like that." Kane laughed. "Whoever he is, the poor bugger had better hope you find him before I do. So, what do we do now?"

  "I don't know about you," Gilda said, "but I'm going to take a shower then go to the hospital to check on Gary."

  Kane grinned. He leaned closer then nudged her. "I'd join you for both, love, but you'd have to hold me up in the shower."

  "Are you dizzy?"

  "Yeah, I'm a bit lightheaded, but that's normal. Maybe I'll just have a little nap while you take that long, hot shower."

  "I never said anything about long or hot."

  Kane winked. "It was implied."

  Gilda shoved the ice pack onto his eye. "Maybe I should take you to the hospital. You definitely seem to be hallucinating."

  "Yeah, you could be right, love." He sighed. "Or I could just be crazy."

  "You know, I didn't have any plans before, but I was just thinking I should text Mick and see if he can come examine your head," she said. "At least he can come and drive us both to the hospital."

  Kane pulled her closer and rested his head against hers. "You text, I'll sleep. Wake me when he gets here. After that, I suggest we have a private chat with Thayer and find out what he wanted with Aislin last night."

  She raised her eyebrows. "We?"

  "Okay, you." Kane nudged her. "He probably won't talk to me anyway, love."

  Gilda scowled. "But you think he'll talk to me? You don't know him very well, do you?"

  "The guy did used to date you, love." Kane sighed. "So the way I see it, he's still got a thing for you, even though you two had a little…disagreement."

  "There was no little disagreement." She took a gulp of her coffee. "I caught him fooling around with other women while he was dating me. That was an instant deal breaker. I merely told him we were through."

  "And threw him head first into a fifty-pound bag of coffee beans, according to Mick." He chuckled. "You'd think a guy would remember something that subtle."

  "Ha. Ha." Gilda stood, already tired of his company.

  Kane grabbed her pant leg. "Sit down, love. It looks like we've got a visitor. Should we give him a little show?"

  "What are you talking about?" She glanced toward the street and spotted a dark-colored car parked across the street two doors over. Just as Kane had described, the driver reminded her of Columbo, the old TV detective. He also looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, right down to the dark circles under his eyes and messy hairdo.

  "That's the same guy who was at the restaurant." Kane set his cup aside and leaned forward as if to take a better look. "He didn't have the camera with him last night though."

  "Camera?" She took a second look. "Why would someone want to take pictures of us?"

  "No idea. Probably for the same reason he watched Aislin and me in the restaurant."

  "Which is?"

  Kane shrugged. "How should I know?"

  "Well, if you're not man enough to go find out what he wants, I'll go by myself." Gilda got to her feet, aware Kane lunged to grab her, but he wasn't fast enough. She left him on the front porch and stomped toward the strange man's car. "Hey! Get out of the car. What do you want with us? Why are you following my friend and taking his picture?"

  The man mouthed a few obscenities then dropped the camera on the seat beside him and started his car.

  "Wait, I want to talk to you." Gilda was tempted to run out into the street and jump in front of his car, like people did in the movies, but was afraid she'd actually get hurt. Instead, she memorized the license plate number and texted it to Fabio as she rejoined Kane on the porch.

  "You'd make one pretty lousy Canadian Mountie," Kane teased.

  "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

  "Apparently, they always get their man."

  She scowled. "Yeah? Well, some help you were. Why didn't you help me?"

  "Self-preservation, love." Kane smirked. "You're just lucky the guy didn't pull out a gun."

  She sat next to him to catch her breath. "I hadn't thought about that."

  "There's a surprise."

  Mick arrived moments later, just in time to save Gilda from any more of Kane's bad jokes. While he examined Kane for signs of a concussion, she went inside the house to get a glass of water and take a few breaths.

  Why would someone want to follow Kane around town and take pictures of him? He hadn't done anything wrong. Lately. Not unless hanging out with Aislin was a crime.

  Gilda leaned against the kitchen counter and stared at the fridge. But if Aislin was the real target the frumpy man in the trench coat was after, Kane was in definite trouble.

  She returned to the porch.

  After gulping down a quick cup of coffee, Mick left for the karate school to teach the lunch-hour class. He made Kane all but pinky swear to go to the hospital, regardless of how things looked to any future fight promoters. One more concussion, while it could potentially end Kane's career, needed to be dealt with before he suffered any further brain damage.

  Kane grumbled as he walked next to Gilda on the way to the hospital later. While he saw Doc, she planned to check on Gary to see if he'd remembered anything el
se about his accident.

  For now, Gilda was stuck listening to Kane mutter for several minutes. Finally, she interrupted his one-sided conversation. "What if you're not the person the guy in the trench coat is looking for?"

  "What are you talking about?" He stopped and stared.

  She shuffled her feet. "I was just thinking about how Aislin came into town a few days ago and we don't know anything about her. What if she's actually a wanted felon or if someone's looking for her? She could have had something to do with Miss Claudia long before she ever moved to Sandstone Cove."

  Kane stared. "Are you crazy? Aislin's just some flaky kid who came to town and walked into my shop because she needed some patchouli oil and left with a job. Nothing more than that."

  "Are you sure it was nothing more than that?" she asked. "Did you talk to her?"

  "Yes. We talked for about an hour and a half at the restaurant last night before I dropped her off at home."

  Gilda folded her arms across her stomach and resumed walking. "Did you happen to see the man from the restaurant after that?"

  "No." Kane's nostrils flared as he stormed ahead of her. A few seconds later, he slowed his pace. "Actually, I think I did see him later."

  "When?"

  "I think he drove past while I was on my way to the store." He frowned. "After that, I remember seeing his car, but it was empty."

  Gilda swallowed hard. "It's possible he could have doubled back and hit you from behind, especially if you were distracted. I mean, you were concerned about finding vandalism at the shop, and you might not have paid attention to what was going on around you."

  He snorted. "Did you get a good look at the guy? He had to be in his sixties with bad posture and a worse haircut. Somehow, I don't think someone like him would be able to get the jump on me."

  "It was just a suggestion." She shrugged as they neared the front steps of the hospital.

  Kane patted her back. "I know, love. I'll go see Doc and get checked out. Then I'll go check on Aislin. Maybe we can compare lumps and bumps."

  "Maybe." She headed toward Gary's room, her mind more on the man in the trench coat than on Kane or Aislin. At least she was heading in the right direction. Chances were if there was yet another shady character in town, Gary would know who he was.