by Sibel Hodge
‘Is he up to talking to me?’
‘He’s resting, but he’s OK.’
‘I just need to ask a couple of routine questions – the kind we ask for any insurance claim. Is that alright?’
She stepped backwards and swept an arm behind her, swaying as she did so. ‘Be my guest.’ She led me through a bright and airy hallway into a long living room that was sparsely furnished. ‘You can wait here.’
As the sound of her footsteps disappeared up the stairs, I surveyed my surroundings.
Not a gadget in sight – the TV was probably as old as mine – Circa 1980 – and the only sign of gym activity was a Yoga DVD left on top of the TV. The furniture was plain and functional. A couple of three-seater brown suede sofas, a glass dining room table with wrought iron chairs, and a wooden bookshelf in the corner of the room.
Hmm, interesting.
Photos of Levi and Leitita adorned a mantelpiece above an open fireplace. I bent forward, studying the photos. Levi at several title fights, holding various boxing belts, Levi and Letitia on their wedding day, a young Levi with an older black man who had a protective arm around him – probably EJ.
‘You can go up and see him,’ Letitia said, suddenly behind me. The tumbler was now empty and she had a small bottle of brandy in the other hand. ‘Up the stairs and first door on the right.’ She placed her tumbler on the dining room table, sloshed in a hefty refill and ignored me.
I left her to it and climbed the pale blue-carpeted stairs. I knocked on the bedroom door and it was opened by a stocky black man of around forty-five. He had salt and pepper short hair and the face of an ex-boxer with a nose that had obviously been broken several times.
‘Hi, I’m Levi’s trainer.’ He smiled at me, then glanced over his shoulder at Levi, lying on a king size bed. ‘I’ll leave you to it. Make sure you rest up, Levi.’ And with that he closed the door behind him.
‘Hi, Levi, I’m Amber. Your wife probably told you I’m from Hi-Tec Insurance.’ I smiled and quickly scanned the bedroom. Tidy, clean, but nothing particularly modern in it. Pretty bare, too. Nothing but a bed, a small black dressing table and matching stool, and two double pine wardrobes. The swags and tails on the curtains looked dated, as if they’d been in situ a long time. He was the heavyweight champion of the world and a huge crowd puller, so I would have expected a lavish house with state of the art gadgets and ultra modern furniture. And while his house was probably worth about a million quid, it was hardly what you’d expect for someone who could potentially earn up to twenty million in one night. So where was all the money going from his title fights? I thought back to what Brad had said before about boxers who ended up broke. Is that what was going on with Levi? Was he being ripped off by Vinnie or someone else who wanted a piece of him?
Levi, dressed in a faded towelling dressing gown, tried to sit up. He had a patch over his left eye, and the other eye was watery and slightly closed as if he were having trouble opening it.
‘There’s no need to sit up if you’re uncomfortable, Levi. I just need to ask you a few quick questions.’
Levi repositioned an untouched tray of cooked breakfast to the other side of the bed and struggled to a sitting position anyway, leaning his head back against the headboard. The swelling and bruising from the fight the night before was more pronounced now and his face was a kaleidoscope of reds and purples.
‘Sure, no problem,’ Levi said.
‘How’s the eye?’
He sighed. ‘Not too bad.’ He pointed to the patch. ‘I had laser surgery last night to repair the torn retina. The doctor said it went well, but I have to wait a few months until it heals before I can train again.’ He fidgeted with the belt on his robe.
‘I’m really sorry to hear that. I expect you wanted to get in training as soon as possible so you could try and win back your belt.’
Levi shrugged. ‘It goes with the territory of being a boxer, I guess.’ He tried to make light of the situation, but I could hear emotion filtering through his voice. I couldn’t tell if it was anger or hurt, though.
‘What happened at the fight?’
‘Did you see it?’
‘No,’ I fibbed. I wanted to hear it first hand from Levi.
‘It was going well. I was winning on points. Then somehow, in the sixth round, Ricky got the better of me and caught me with a right hook. I went down in a daze. I could feel blood streaming from a gash above my eye, but I didn’t want the referee to stop the fight. I had a lot more in me to go.’
‘But he stopped the fight, anyway?’
Levi gave a slight nod. ‘He thought the cut was too bad for me to continue, and declared Ricky the winner.’ He glanced down at his hands, seemingly surprised that they’d curled into fists. He unclenched them and gazed out of the bedroom window.
Although technically that was what had happened, since Levi didn’t mention anything about the distraction from Carl Thomas shouting at him, I guessed he didn’t want me to know that snippet of information. Too late, though. I had it and I was going to use it.
‘So what about the guy who was shouting at you from the side of the ring?’ I kept my tone deliberately light and friendly.
A quick flash of something in Levi’s good eye told me he knew exactly what I was talking about. I had to hand it to him, though, he disguised it well. ‘I thought you didn’t see the fight?’
‘My boss told me what happened. He was watching it on pay per view.’
Levi stayed silent for so long that I had to ask him again.
‘So, the guy?’ I prompted.
‘Sorry? I don’t know what you mean.’ Wrinkles appeared on his forehead.
I rolled my eyes. ‘Oh, come on, Levi. You know exactly what I’m talking about. What did Carl Thomas shout that distracted you?’
Levi paused for a moment, staring straight at me. I could see he was weighing up how much to tell me.
I folded my arms and waited for an answer. I could wait all day if need be. Well, until I got thrown out, anyway.
‘Oh! You mean that shouting? Yeah…yeah…I heard something.’ He fidgeted with his belt again and shook his head. ‘I didn’t hear what the guy was saying, though. Some of the fans can get a bit rowdy at the fights, you know.’ He let out a nervous laugh. ‘I don’t know who he was, though.’ His strong features seemed to droop before my eyes, making him look like he’d aged ten years in a few seconds. ‘Carl Thomas, you say? I’ve never heard of any Carl Thomas.’
‘Well, whatever he said distracted you from the fight. What was it?’
‘I told you, I don’t know. I couldn’t hear what he was saying over the noise of the crowd.’
I thought back to the scene I’d witnessed from the fight. There was no question that when Carl Thomas was shouting, Levi looked scared. Dead scared, in fact. Either Levi knew what Carl was shouting or he recognized him from somewhere.
Levi rubbed his forehead. ‘Look, why are you here? I haven’t even made a claim on my medical insurance yet.’
‘It’s just routine,’ I said, thinking back to Brad’s interest in this. It wasn’t routine in the slightest to carry out an investigation into a claim that hadn’t even been made yet, but Brad was the boss, and what he wanted, he got. Well, within reason.
‘Can we do this another time? I’ve got a monster headache coming on.’ The forehead rubbing got more pronounced.
OK, Levi, we can play it your way, but don’t think I’m not going to find out why you just lied to me.
‘Sure.’ I smiled and stood up, pulling a form and a pen from my rucksack. ‘I need you to sign this authorization request to get copies of your medical records. It’s standard practice for any insurance claims.’ I handed them to him.
He took the form, squinting at it. After giving it a cursory glance, he signed it and handed it back to me.
‘Get well soon.’ I headed back downstairs with more questions buzzing around in my brain than answers. Still, it was early days yet, and I wasn’t giving up that easily.
I wandered silently up the hallway. At the end of the hall, a door to a large but dated kitchen was open. Levi’s trainer stood with his back to me, hands on hips, looking out the window into a huge garden. I coughed and he swung around. In the garden beyond, I could see Letitia on a metal bench on some decking by a pond, sipping a full glass of brandy and staring at the ground with blank eyes.
‘So, you’re Levi’s trainer?’ I asked.
He nodded.
I held out my hand to shake his. ‘Nice to meet you properly. I’m Amber.’
‘Terry. Likewise.’ He shook my hand with a firm grasp. ‘You want coffee?’
‘That would be great, thanks.’ I watched his back as he fumbled around in cupboards, heaping coffee into mugs and filling the kettle.
‘How do you think Levi’s doing?’ I asked.
Terry sighed. ‘He’s the best boxer I’ve ever trained. He’s dedicated, talented, and on top of that, he’s a really decent young man. Obviously he’s devastated that he lost his title fight and it’s going to be a few months before he’s back in training again.’
‘How long have you worked with him?’
His eyes lit up like a spaniel who’s excited to see his owner after a long separation. ‘Since he was a kid. He used to come to my boxing gym when he was just a skinny little thing.’ He gazed off into the distance, a bright smile on his face. ‘Every day after school he’d turn up, begging me to let him box. I lost count of the amount of times I turned him away because he was too young, and he still didn’t take no for an answer. Every week he turned up to see if he was old enough. Determined.’ He chuckled. ‘Even then he was as determined as hell. All he kept saying was that he wanted to be the heavyweight champion of the world one day just like Ali. I gave up telling him in the end and let him do some training.’ Terry handed me a mug of steaming coffee. ‘He was a poor, urban street kid who thought that boxing would be the way out for him. He’s worked very hard to get where he is. I’m so proud of him.’
I glanced around the tired kitchen, wondering again where all the money was from Levi’s title fights. The way Terry spoke, it seemed like he loved and respected Levi, but could it be a front? Could Terry be involved in skimming from the hand that feeds him? Anything was possible.
‘Are you employed by Vinnie or Levi?’ I asked him.
I thought I saw a flash of disgust in Terry’s eyes at the mention of Vinnie. ‘I work for Levi. When Vinnie first agreed to be Levi’s promoter and manager, Levi insisted that I stay on as his trainer. Vinnie wasn’t too happy about it, even though I’m considered one of the best trainers in the country. Vinnie likes to have all-round control of his fighters, if you know what I mean.’ Terry gave a disapproving shake of his head. ‘It helps keep them in line.’
That figured. Vinnie always was a bit of a control freak.
I took a sip of strong coffee and felt grateful for the kick of caffeine. I had a feeling this was going to be a long day. ‘Do you know Carl Thomas?’
Terry ran the name over his lips a few times, thinking. ‘I don’t think so. Why?’
‘He was the guy who turned up at the fight, shouting at Levi. Did you notice that?’
He shook his head. ‘My eyes were on Levi the whole time. I’m oblivious to what goes on in the crowd when one of my fighters is in the ring. I saw it when I replayed the fight late last night, though. It happened just before the round was finishing so I was by Levi’s corner on the opposite side from Vinnie and this Carl Thomas, waiting to jump into the ring when the bell went.’
‘I watched the fight, Terry, and something’s not right. Surely Levi’s trained to not let anything going on outside the ring distract him? It just doesn’t make sense.’
‘You’re right.’ His voice dropped to a whisper. ‘I don’t know what that was all about, but I’m worried about Levi. He hasn’t been his usual self lately. He’s been…agitated, coming out with strange things.’
‘What kind of strange things?’ My curiosity cranked up a notch.
‘He keeps saying that he needs to face up to his responsibilities and make things right.’
‘And what do you think he meant by that?’ I asked.
Terry glanced out the window at Letitia, who swirled the brandy in her glass. ‘I don’t know, he wouldn’t tell me, but Letitia thinks he’s having an affair.’
‘Do you?’
He shook his head. ‘I’ve seen all sorts of things go on with my fighters over the years, but I’d lay money on it that Levi’s not playing around. He’s a family man. He loves Letitia to bits. But he…’ Terry trailed off.
I waited for him to carry on. When he didn’t, I said, ‘What?’
Terry’s voice dropped to barely a whisper. ‘Look, you didn’t get this from me, and I can’t believe I’m telling you this. But like I said, I’m worried about Levi and I just want to help him out of whatever mess he’s got into. I’ve tried to talk to him about things, but he won’t tell me what’s going on. And with what happened last night at the fight, his explanation doesn’t really make sense.’
‘Go on.’ I gave him an encouraging smile. ‘I want to help, too.’
‘I overheard an argument between Vinnie and Levi recently in the changing room at the gym. It was something to do with their contract.’ Terry shook his head. ‘You have to understand something. When Levi was a kid, Vinnie was like a god to him. He’s the number one boxing promoter in the country and has a string of heavyweight fighters in his corner. A guy like Vinnie could make or break Levi’s future career. Levi was young and impressionable. At the time, he didn’t have many male role models in his life. His dad was in the army and was hardly ever around to give him any guidance, and his mum was a drinker.’ Terry shrugged. ‘I suppose that was why he was easily manipulated by Vinnie and his flash ways. I’ve always tried to be there for Levi. I love him like he was my own son, but he’s got a stubborn streak, too. When he sets his mind on something, he’s got tunnel vision.’
Maybe Levi and I were similar. I knew all about tunnel vision. I would never let up until I’d solved a case.
‘So what was this argument about?’ I asked.
‘I don’t know exactly. At first I thought I’d made a mistake, but now I don’t think so.’ He took a deep breath before continuing. ‘I arrived at the gym one morning to get some equipment sorted out for the boxers. It was still really early so I assumed no one would be there, but when I went in, I could hear Vinnie and Levi arguing in the locker room. I heard the word “contract” mentioned a few times.’ Terry frowned. ‘I think they were arguing about Levi’s contract with Vinnie.’
‘Do you know the terms of the contract Vinnie and Levi agreed on?’
‘No. It was signed a long time ago when Levi was twenty, and he would never tell me. Levi was always secretive about what was in it.’ Terry took a sip of coffee. ‘Anyway, after I heard Levi mention the contract, curiosity got the better of me and I listened outside. The thing is…’ Terry paused and bit his lip. ‘The thing is…I’m pretty sure Vinnie told Levi to throw the fight.’ Terry gave me a sheepish look.
I let this sink in for a minute. ‘What do you mean, “pretty sure”? What did Vinnie say exactly?’
‘Well I heard Vinnie say, “You’re still under contract with me – you do what I fucking tell you. You will take the hit.”’ Terry gave me a knowing look. ‘Later on, when Vinnie had left, I tried to ask Levi if Vinnie was ordering him to throw the fight, but Levi dismissed it. Levi told me he was the world champ, why would he need to take a dive?’ Terry looked up at me with worried eyes. ‘I tried again to get out of Levi what was going on, but Levi just said they were arguing about a personal matter. I didn’t really believe him at the time, and now…with what happened last night, I think Levi really did throw the fight.’
‘OK, so you’re saying Vinnie wanted Levi to deliberately go out in the sixth round?’
Terry was about to say something else when Letitia appeared in the kitchen. She was even more unsteady o
n her feet now, and her cheeks were stained with streaks of mascara.
‘Can you see if Levi needs anything?’ she asked Terry, her words beginning to slur.
Terry squeezed her shoulder and smiled. ‘Of course.’ He disappeared up the hallway.
Letitia was obviously distressed, which made me feel pretty bad about asking my next question. ‘This might sound horrible, but I’m trying to get a picture of what’s going on with Levi at the moment. Terry says you’re under the impression Levi is having an affair. What makes you think that?’
Letitia gasped and turned angry eyes on me. ‘What kind of a question is that? How can you come into my home and ask me to tell you why I think my husband is having an affair?’ Her features twisted with pain.
‘I’m sorry, Letitia, but I need to find out exactly what happened with the fight and whether it was a deliberate injury or not. Now, I know that you may not like some of my questions, but it could have a bearing on what happened last night.’
‘Yeah?’ she snarled, resting a hand on her hip. ‘And how could Levi having an affair have anything to do with a boxing injury?’
I shrugged. ‘I don’t know yet. But I have to investigate every angle.’
‘Well, I’m not answering your questions.’ She folded her arms in a defiant stance. ‘You’re not investigating me!’
It didn’t matter, though. Terry had already told me Letitia thought that Levi was, and her demeanour confirmed the rest. Poor Letitia. I guess that could account for the brandy at ten-thirty in the morning.
The doorbell rang then, making Letitia jump. She glared at me as she stormed past to open it.
When I saw who was standing on the doorstep my scalp started tingling and an icy chill slid from my head to my feet. My brain did a silent shriek. At least I hoped it was silent.
Vinnie Dawson stepped into the hallway with his thuggy mate from the boxing match. Vinnie wore a very expensive looking charcoal suit and a beige cashmere coat. His chubby fingers, resembling chipolata sausages, were encased in lots of thick gold rings. He shrugged out of the coat and Thuggy took it, draping it over his arm. Apart from the fact that Vinnie was older than Thuggy by about twenty years, they looked pretty much the same. Same big belly, same bald head, same evil eyes. The only differences were that Thuggy wore a pair of jeans that were so tight he looked like he’d been vacuum-packed into them, and he had a gap in his front teeth big enough to fit a bus through. OK, I take back all I said about owners not really looking like their pets.