Can't Keep a Brunette Down (28 page)

Fabio scratched the back of his neck. "I made that call from his condo. Chloe said someone broke in. At first, she thought it was Mick. I tried to calm her down. Now he's convinced I'm her latest fling."

"She's no good for him anyway." The breeze blew her hair across her face. "Why would Mick break into his own condo?"

"Because she'd changed the locks that day and told him to take a hike." Fabio frowned. "Mick insisted it wasn't him. When I looked around, it looked like someone wanted to plant evidence, which probably would've netted us a killer if Chloe hadn't contaminated it first."

"Contaminated what?"

"Evidence." He rubbed his hand across his face and smeared a bead of sweat. "A fabric scroll written in Japanese with some pieces cut out. You might know where it came from. Mick had one just like it at one time. Chloe found it and threw it in the trash."

"A scroll?" She sat up straighter. "Was the fabric rust colored with Japanese writing?"

He raised both eyebrows. "Yeah."

Gilda grew lightheaded. "The Four Possessions of the Samurai. It went missing from the school the day Walter died. Mick and I…" She trailed off, aware she and Mick had compromised both pieces they'd found.

"The Four Possessions? Of course. HILT. Honor. Integrity. Loyalty… I don't remember the last one. Why didn't anyone mention the missing scroll earlier, and what does it have to do with you and Mick?"

"The last one is Time," she said. "The scroll didn't seem important until Walter's funeral. Mick and I kind of found them."

"Where did you kind of find them?"

Gilda winced. "At the funerals. Honor was in Walter's breast pocket. Erik had Integrity in his hands. We guessed the killer used them as reasons to eliminate people at the school. The scary part is there are only three black belts left and two kanji."

"Which means time is running out." Fabio crumpled his muffin wrapper and dropped it into the paper bag. "We have to keep an eye on all three black belts."

"How many suspects do you have aside from the black belts?" she asked.

"A couple."

"You're a bad liar," she said. "If it helps, I didn't notice the scroll was missing until after the police were gone. It usually hung in the changing room."

"The truth is, Thayer and I are spinning our wheels. We've been checking out alibis and backgrounds, but until we get stuff from the lab, we have no proof." He paused. "Do you have any suspects?"

Gilda finished the last of her protein shake and hoped her surprise wasn't too obvious. "The murderer whittled down my suspect list. Do you think Xavier, Mick, or Razi did it?"

"You forgot one." Fabio studied her like he was waiting for a reaction. "Yoshida's a black belt too. Don't you think anyone would want to kill him?"

"I'm sure there's a long line."

"Which tells me there are some issues we haven't heard about yet. I'm going to do some research. Yoshida has access to the school and to Mick and the others. To you, too, Sherlock, so watch your back." He patted her knee.

Sherlock. Fabio had spoken to Mick. Apparently, he and Mick had either made up or called a truce until the murders were solved.

 

Gilda's head pounded with a dull ache from the time she left Fabio on the beach. Neither breakfast, meditation, nor a morning run under threatening skies eased the pain. She arrived at the school that afternoon in time to see the first splatters of rain slap the front door.

"Gilda?" Mick, his voice scratchy and tired, called out. "Is that you?"

"Yeah." She turned the lights on and sat behind her desk. "Why are you in the dark?"

When her question was met by silence, she shrugged. He hadn't called out for help, nor had he asked for an ambulance. She stared at the monitor. What if he'd only had enough strength to shout once? His voice had sounded weak and harsh.

"Mick?" With her heart beating faster by the second, she pushed back her chair and walked toward his office. "Mick? Are you okay?"

No reply.

She reached around the corner to the light switch, expecting to find Mick sprawled dead in his chair. When she flicked the switch, she shrieked. No bodies littered the room, just fast food containers, half empty coffee cups, and rotting fruit. Where was the police cleanup crew now? Even they wouldn't have touched these biohazards.

"Hey, what's up?" Mick asked from behind her.

"Don't do that." Gilda spun around and shoved him away. "Where were you?"

"The dojo." He wiped a trace of blood off his lip. Fresh cuts crossed his face, and he wore the first blush of a black eye.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

He hesitated. "Chloe got mad at me. What are you doing here?"

"Cleaning up your filth. We have classes today, remember?" She folded her arms across her stomach. "What happened with Chloe?"

"She stopped by and demanded I sign over the deed to my condo." He slipped past her and sat in his office chair. "When I refused, she punched me and tried to claw my eyes out."

That explained the papers she saw Chloe with in front of the school several days ago. Gilda frowned. "I thought once you repaid Gary you'd get your condo back and move out of your office." She frowned and leaned in the doorway. "You still haven't paid him, have you?"

He said nothing but stared at the floor for several seconds. "It hadn't seemed like a priority until now. I was so wound up after she left, I locked the door and meditated. I promise I'll get matters settled before Chloe comes back with some muscle."

"She must really like your condo," Gilda said.

"No, she just really hates me." He smirked. "She's pulling every stunt she can to get me out of her life, as well as out of town."

"Including killing people?" she asked.

Mick's eyes widened. "No way. She'd never be able to pull all that off. Both she and Gary's goons take a more direct approach."

"I guess we'd better do some serious cleaning. Hopefully we'll have some students in about an hour." Gilda turned away to return to her desk, a thousand things on her mind. As she passed by the dojo, she thought she saw light from the doorway, but it was there and gone so fast she decided it was a byproduct of her nagging headache.

Mick bolted from his office and ran past her. He opened the back door and peered outside. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" She bowed and walked into the dojo.

He ran around and flipped on every light in the building then peered into the back room. "I thought I heard the back door close."

"That's weird. I thought I saw a light. Why didn't I hear the door?" she asked. Distracted, more than likely.

"A flashlight or daylight?" He returned to where she stood riveted to the floor.

Lightheaded, Gilda stumbled behind her desk and sat in her chair. "Daylight."

"Somebody else must have been in the school while I was meditating. I didn't even hear anything until now." Mick sat next to her, beads of sweat on his forehead. "I was a sitting duck. They could've taken me out any time they wanted."

She reached for the phone. "I'll call Fabio."

He shook his head. "I don't want him here."

"We need him here," she said. "He and Thayer need to know someone was in here. At least they can keep an eye on everything while you focus on classes and feel safe."

"They won't make me feel safe." He scrubbed his face with both hands and growled. After a long minute, he nodded. "Fine. Call Fabio. We have to protect our students."

"Well, I know I'll feel better." Gilda's hands shook. "I'll call Razi to come in early."

"You're the best. Thanks." He smiled, but fear haunted his eyes when he hugged her.

She called the police station, not surprised when Fabio and Thayer arrived five minutes later. Together, they searched the school then directed a two-man forensics team to dust for fingerprints near the vent and back door. After asking a dozen questions, Thayer disappeared out the back door with the forensics team.

"Are you sure you didn't see anything?" Fabio asked.

"Just a flash of light," she said. "Mick was in his office and heard the door."

"Why didn't you hear the door?"

"I was distracted." Gilda frowned. "I have a headache and a thousand things to worry about before classes start this afternoon. I guess I wasn't paying attention until I saw the flash of light."

"Have you noticed anyone else sneaking around in here before?" Fabio asked.

She hesitated long enough for him to raise both eyebrows. "The day after Walter died, I came in to send out e-mails and make signs to say we were closed for a few days. A man with bare feet ran out the back door. By the time I got outside, he was gone."

Fabio slapped his forehead. "You didn't think that was important enough to mention?"

"Mick knew," Gilda said.

"Mick's not a cop."

"I thought he'd tell you." She left him at the desk and focused her energy on cleaning toilets and floors to keep busy. Before long, the first students arrived.

"Gilda, are you here?" Marion strolled into the school and handed her a cup of tea. "Oh, honey, you look dreadful. What are the cops doing here? Did something else happen? Why didn't you call me?"

Fabio smiled. "We're just making sure things don't get out of hand, considering all that's happened lately."

Marion looked doubtful, even more so when Gilda flashed a worried smile then pressed her hands into her armpits and glanced around the corner. Mick's office door was closed. She hoped he'd found an ice pack and wouldn't scare the kids. Before she could move away, the door opened and Mick strolled out and forced a weak grin.

"Whoa." Marion stepped back, her eyebrows raised. "That's quite the shiner. Makes you look even tougher than usual. The kids will be well behaved tonight."

"Yeah? You should see the other guy," Mick said.

Gilda hunched her shoulders and returned to her desk without comment. There was no point trying to talk to him with everyone else eavesdropping to hear the latest.

"Miss me, honey?" Thayer strolled through the door with a cardboard tray. "I got some tea to calm your nerves. You seem a little stressed."

"Thanks, but Marion already brought me tea. Herbal. No caffeine." She wasn't about to give him brownie points for consideration, no matter what he did.

"You're here to observe and keep the peace, not bother my receptionist." Mick scowled. "Maybe Fabio should investigate you. You've wanted me out of town since the day Gilda started to work here. I wouldn't put it past you to hire somebody to put me out of business permanently."

"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't bother hiring anyone else to do it," Thayer said. When the room fell silent, he reddened then bowed his head and skulked to the seating area.

Gilda glanced at Mick. "Thanks."

"Let me know if he bugs you anymore." He opened his cup and took a sip. "I'll convince him to come into adult class later. If he's really annoying, I'll let you spar with him. That'll teach him."

Unconvinced that was a good idea, Gilda logged onto the computer and mentally ran down the list of tasks she needed to perform. The phone rang before she could carry out the first item on her list. She hesitated for three rings, afraid to get one more caller asking about the murders. "Yoshida Martial Arts."

"Hey, Gilda. It's Gary. Meet me out front."

She shook her head. "No way. It's raining."

"I never took you for a wimp," he said.

"What do you want?" Her question prompted Thayer to stand and peer over the counter. She waved him off and lowered her voice. "What's going on?"

"I hear Chloe stopped by to see Mick earlier," Gary said. "He tried to beat her up then kicked her out of the school."

Gilda blew out a long breath. "I wasn't here. All I know is, he looks like he tangled with a big cat who tried to gouge out his eyes."

"Sounds right." He chuckled. "Mick would never tell me anyway. What did my spoiled little princess do to him this time? Did she provoke him?"

"That was my impression."

"Oh, crap." Gary groaned. "Thanks for your honesty, Gilda. I'm busy tonight. Let Mick know I'll come by tomorrow so we can finally settle things."

When he hung up, Gilda frowned. Getting back into a regular routine wasn't going to be easy. Not with people breaking into the school and bookies making threats on Mick's life.

 

Gilda longed to sleep in Thursday morning, but her head still pounded. Wednesday night's adult class had drained every ounce of energy she'd managed to retain from dealing with curious parents, both in person and on the phone, and nosy bookies. She'd had to answer a barrage of questions: Why are the police here? Who gave Sensei Mick a black eye? Who was the guy in the dark car parked out front earlier? Do you think there'll be another murder?

By the last class, she was ready to snap.

Things only got worse when Mick invited—lured actually—Thayer into class.

She pulled the blankets over her head to block out the memory, but the thumps persisted. The pounding wasn't in her head after all. It was at her front door. No sleeping in today. Someone had other ideas.

"Coming." Gilda's throat ached, and her voice rasped like she'd done nothing except scream all night, which was close enough. She swung her legs out of bed and sighed. Clad in nothing more than her long T-shirt and pajama shorts, she opened the front door.

Marion stood on the porch with two gigantic paper cups of coffee. "You look like hell. I figured you could use this after that crazy class last night. Things got a little intense. I was sure glad I stayed to watch. You know, I'm seriously thinking about signing up after watching you in action."

Gilda frowned. Thayer, dared by Mick, had accepted the invitation to join them in class.

Marion handed her one of the cups. "You're one scary little lady. I'll bet Thayer had nightmares after that sparring match. He'll never cross you again."

Which was exactly why Mick had paired them in the first place. Payback.

Gilda motioned her inside and flopped onto the far end of the couch. "Probably. You know he deserved every shot I gave him."