Hardheaded Brunette (32 page)

Mena. Gilda frowned. "So Kane was in a holding cell when Giorgio died. That's convenient. Did Mena or Nigel have alibis?"

"For killing their father?" Marion gasped. "Gilda, that's crazy. What would they have to gain from his death?"

"I've heard worse, especially when huge amounts of money are involved," Fabio said. "Yes and no. Mena said she locked the doors after the police left and was home alone for the rest of the night. No one could verify her alibi."

He rifled through the papers once more. "Nigel was at an event in New York City with Charlie. While Charlie's picture was splashed all over the sports pages the next morning, there's no sign of Nigel ever being there."

"He was just a lowly bodyguard." Marion shrugged. "Who'd want pictures of him? Even if he is a hunk."

Gilda glanced over at the papers as Fabio sorted through them and saw an image that made her heart seem to leap into her throat. "Wait, that's him."

"Him who?" Fabio backed up a page.

She pulled out a photograph of Charlie posing with a few prominent politicians and ignored the close-up figures. In the background, just behind Charlie, stood an older gentleman with salt and pepper hair wearing a dark suit and a younger, bald man with a scowl and narrowed eyes. Nigel Trava.

"Who's that he's talking to?" Marion squinted.

When Fabio met Gilda's gaze, he grunted. "Gary del Garda."

Gilda covered her face with both hands. "So that leaves three surviving members on the Board. Gomes, Mena, and Gary, which is why both men have gone to Mena's store lately. Either they were asking her the same kinds of questions or they're all in on it together."

"What if someone got greedy and both murders were actually hits?" Marion asked.

"Then Gary is the guy in the best position to hire a hit man," Fabio said.

"Or at least be a link to one. We need to find Mick." Gilda jumped to her feet. "Wherever he is, Gary either is or soon will be."

Fabio tucked the folder beneath his arm. "They weren't at Café Beanz when I bought our coffees."

"Then they must be at the Phoenix. We'd better get over there before another one of the board members bites the dust." Marion led the way across the beach.

"I'll call Thayer." Fabio took out his phone while he and Gilda followed.

*  *  *

Despite Marion's exuberance, Gilda was the first one through the front doors of the school. When Fabio waved for her to go on ahead, she glanced into Mick's office, then stormed down the hallway, then stood in the doorway of the staff lounge.

Mick sat on the couch, alone. "Gilda? You're supposed to be at your house with Marion."

She put her hands on her hips and glared. "You knew what Gary was up to all along, didn't you? You knew he was the one who'd hired a hit man to kill Charlie and hired Kane to search my house."

His mouth fell open. "What? No. Kane acted on his own stupidity. He wanted to clear his name. I told him to make sure you were never there when he went inside and to not leave a mess. Gary had nothing to do with that at all."

"Did you give Kane my house key so he wouldn't need to break anything?" When he winced, she shook her head. "Do I need to recite the long list of offenses he's racked up besides breaking and entering since he's been in Sandstone Cove?"

"No, you don't." He stood with his hands raised out to his sides, moving toward her like he wanted to hug her. "But it was all for a good reason. There are things you don't—"

She huffed. "Mick, the guy dug up half my backyard and killed a bunch of my plants."

Mick dropped his arms and hung his head. "I know that. He'll replace them, but—"

"Do I need to remind you he tried to take advantage of me?"

"What?" His head bobbed up and eyebrows rose as his gaze met hers. "You never told me that part. When did that happen?"

Gilda winced. She'd forgotten he hadn't actually seen anything incriminating last night. Her face burned. "Forget it. It's not important."

"Did he try to kiss you? I'll strangle him!"

"It doesn't matter." She turned to leave. "Nothing happened."

"If it doesn't matter, why are you avoiding me?" Mick followed her from the staff lounge to the front desk where Fabio and Marion waited. He grabbed her arm. "Gilda, this isn't a game."

"Well, everyone else around here seems to think everything's a game." She stopped to face him. "You know so much more than you've been telling me, and I'm the one who's been in danger this whole time. Someone's been looking for that strongbox we found. I could've been hurt or even killed for it and no one even warned me."

Fabio nodded. "She's right. I think you owe both of us a solid explanation."

"All of us." Marion scowled. "Considering I was with her a lot of the times she was in danger, I was in danger too."

Mick clapped a hand over his eyes. "Gilda, why do you think we were trying to get you out of your house to somewhere safe? Marion's house, or my apartment, or even Gary's safe house would have been far safer, but you're too damned stubborn."

"Were you trying to keep me safe?" Gilda fought back tears. "Or just trying to get me out of the way so Kane could find that box and get out of town?"

"Whoa." Mick held up both hands and took a step back. "Do you seriously think I wanted to help them more than I wanted to keep you safe?"

She took several shallow breaths. "Right now, I don't know what to think."

"That's understandable." He bowed his head, still keeping his distance. "It seems a lot of things have happened lately. We need to sit down and sort them out."

Gilda met his gaze. "Well, then, let's start with the most obvious one. Who killed Charlie?"

Mick shook his head. "I don't know."

She believed him. "What about who killed Giorgio Trava?"

"I don't know who killed him either." His cheek twitched. "But I do think we've turned over all the evidence the police will need to track him or her down."

"Her?" Gilda gasped. "You think Mena was involved."

"I'm sure we all think there's a good chance of that, love." Kane stood behind her, his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "What do we do about it?"

"Throw her sorry backside in jail." Thayer appeared behind Kane. "We can tell her there's a package that arrived at the Phoenix school from Detroit that's addressed to Charlie Hunt and—"

Gilda stopped him. "That sounds like a setup. We all know those things have a way of going horribly wrong."

"Fine, it's a setup." Thayer rolled his eyes. "Are you okay with that? Now that we have the strongbox, we're going through it with a fine-toothed comb. The problem is finding that one key piece of information everyone involved wants to get their hands on."

"You need to find the video," Kane said.

Everyone turned to face him.

Thayer raised his eyebrows. "What video?"

Kane's mouth twitched. "Supposedly there was a video in the box. I'm not sure if it was on a flash drive or what, but I do know what's on it and who'd really want it back at any cost."

"Who?" Mick moved toward him. "And what's on it?"

"If I'm right, it's one of those things you have to watch but you'll never be able to unsee." Kane shifted his weight. "They'd want it more than the money, the drugs, or even the contracts."

Marion groaned. "Please don't tell me Mena made a sex tape."

Kane snorted. "I'm sure she's done worse than that, love, but you're close."

"I want details," Fabio said. "If you won't talk in front of everyone else, we can go down to sit in a little room at the station."

"The match between me and Nigel." Kane slumped his shoulders.

"The fight you won before that picture on the Internet was found." Gilda stared. "What happened?"

Mick leaned against the wall. "Kane beat Nigel easily, but Nigel insisted Kane cheated and said he had proof. He took Charlie and Giorgio to his house and showed them a video one of his friends had taken. After that both Nigel and the video had disappeared until recently."

Kane flared his nostrils. "Then suddenly Nigel has a cushy job as Charlie's bodyguard and tells everyone he's been away at New York State Police Academy."

Gilda sat behind her desk.
"So, whatever is on that tape he used to blackmail both Charlie and Giorgio. Now they're both dead."

Fabio turned to Thayer. "Was there anything in that strongbox like a flash drive or a disc? Anything that could have a video on it?"

Thayer shook his head. "Nothing but cash, drugs, and papers."

"What if the murderer already had the video?" Gilda asked. "What if they'd arranged a meeting with Charlie that night then killed him when he wouldn't pay to get it back?"

Marion's jaw dropped. "That would mean the person who searched your house, aside from Kane, isn't the person who killed Charlie, unless there's still something they haven't found."

Fabio nodded. "Then maybe it's time we let our suspects know we found what they're looking for."

"Create a setup?" Thayer raised both eyebrows.

"Yes, Thayer." Fabio smiled. "We create a setup."

Thayer stiffened, his attention on something outside the door. "Someone's here."

When Mick met Gilda's gaze, he frowned. "Let's move back into the staff lounge."

"You guys go ahead." She got up and flashed a smile. "Whoever it is will be expecting me to be here anyway. Why don't you guys go in to train or do something less suspicious?"

Thayer turned to Fabio. "Should we leave?"

"No way." Marion hugged her latte as Kane propelled her down the hallway. "I'm not leaving my best friend as a sitting duck."

The others followed close behind. They'd barely left the front lobby when Sanchez and Gomes strolled into the school.

Gilda put her hands on her hips. "I thought you two had left town."

Sanchez snorted. "The police have requested our presence for a wee bit longer. Since the hotel 'gym' is the size of a toilet stall, we thought we'd come train here."

"If that's okay with Mick." Gomes flashed an easy smile that made her cringe.

Suddenly Gilda regretted telling Mick to remain in the back room. "I'll call and ask."

"He's already here." Gomes tapped her chin. "His Ferrari's parked outside."

"Hey, I thought I heard voices." Mick sauntered around the corner. "I thought you two were on your way back to Detroit. Don't you have that big fight coming up?"

"Cops won't let us leave." Sanchez scowled. "We thought we'd come and train here."

"Sure." Mick winked at Gilda then stood with his arms across his chest. "A hundred bucks an hour for the use of my gym. Another hundred if you want a sparring partner."

Gomes gave a nervous chuckle. "That's robbery, Mick."

"That's business, Gomes." Mick shrugged. "And I learned the ropes from the best, right, Sanchez?"

Sanchez growled as he reached into his pocket and peeled three bills off a roll the size of Gilda's fist. "Three hundred bucks. The gym, a sparring partner, and your lady friend video records the whole session for me."

Gilda's stomach clenched.

"Sure. No problem" Mick grabbed the bills and stuck them in his pocket. "Give me a minute to change. I'd gladly beat Gomes' face in."

"Not you." Gomes grinned. "The wannabe Aussie. I know he's here, I can smell his fear."

Gilda closed her eyes and hoped Kane hadn't heard the remark.

Mick chuckled. "If you want Kane Garrick, that'll cost you an extra hundred, and I get to referee the match."

"What?" Gilda hoped he knew what he was doing.

Gomes raised both eyebrows. "Interesting bargain."

"I have to pay for the new place somehow," Mick said.

"Forget it," Sanchez huffed. "I'm not taking the bait. Next you'll want to lay a wager on your fighter versus mine."

Mick shrugged. "Why not? Are you afraid Gomes isn't in top condition? Is that why he and Kane never fought at the grand opening?"

Sanchez pushed his face into Mick's, in spite of their height difference. "In case you've forgotten, they didn't fight because Charlie was murdered. No referee, no match."

"Razi could have refereed." Gilda regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

Sanchez shoved Gomes toward the changing rooms then stormed into the dojo
,
cursing beneath his breath. He paused only to kick at a foam blocker someone left leaning against the wall.

"Interesting reaction," Mick mused. "Well done, babe."

When Gomes didn't speak to anyone, Gilda assumed the others had either scooted out the back door or were hidden. She waited until Gomes had changed into his workout clothes then entered the dojo before she ducked into the staff lounge. Kane, Thayer, and Fabio were gone.

Marion sat on the couch sipping a juice box. "That didn't sound good."

"Where did they all go?" she asked.

"Out the back." Marion waved a hand. "Kane said something about getting the last pieces of the puzzle in place."

Gilda frowned then groaned and dropped her chin to her chest. "Mena and Nigel."

"That would be my guess."

Leaving Marion alone to amuse herself, Gilda peered inside the dojo and met Mick's gaze. He smiled then stuck in his mouthguard. She walked toward the front desk, glad Kane hadn't returned, but dismayed to see Nigel standing in the middle of the lobby watching Mick and Gomes prepare to spar.

She cleared her throat. "Can I help you?"

"Um. Yeah." He turned and scratched his chin. "I came to talk to Mick and settle a few things, but I guess I'm too late. What did Gomes tell him?"

"Nothing. As far as I know, he and Sanchez just came to train." Gilda itched to put a little more distance, or at least a large piece of furniture, between them, but stood her ground. "Why do you think Gomes came to tell Mick something?"

Nigel fidgeted. "Just a hunch. You mind if I stick around to watch them?"

Butterflies swarmed her stomach. Was he armed? Was he the one who killed Charlie, and now he was about to take out Mick or Gomes? "I don't think that's a good idea."

Nigel shrugged, slipped off his shoes, then walked into the dojo.