Hardheaded Brunette (5 page)

Gilda glanced at the red-faced fighters surrounding him and hoped he was right.

Uneasiness formed a knot in her stomach as Gilda unlocked the front door of the karate school at eight the next morning. After all the action at the meet and greet, her stomach churned with anticipation of what would happen when everyone arrived for the main events. She hoped Mick was right and last night was just everyone letting off steam.

Mick arrived five minutes later with two trays of full coffee cups and a box of doughnuts. A cut above his right eye peeked out from beneath a small skin-toned bandage. "Hey, babe, I brought your favorite—vanilla latte with chocolate curls. I thought you might need the extra sugar and caffeine today."

"Definitely." She winced. What she could use was a good run to shake off the nervous energy. "What happened after Marion and I left last night? It looks like things got a little out of hand. Are you okay?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle." He kissed her cheek. "I'm fine. Don't worry. You look a little on edge though, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I guess I'm just nervous. I hope everything goes smoothly today." Gilda sipped her latte. "How'd you get the cut?"

"That's hard to say. It was either from Sanchez going psycho on Charlie, Kane losing it on Gomes, or Mena flipping out on everyone and trying to scratch out eyeballs."

She stared. "What? Are you serious? What happened?"

"I'll fill you in later when things settle down." Mick kissed her forehead then sauntered into the school to take care of last minute preparations. "Let me know when Charlie gets here. I need to go over a couple things with him."

Henry and Marion both showed up by quarter after eight. Mick tossed them event staff T-shirts then took Henry and disappeared behind the octagon.

"Gorgeous day out, isn't it?" Kane was one of the first fighters to arrive that morning. He tried to hide his face from Gilda, but there was no mistaking the pale blue bruise on his jaw from Sanchez's foot, as well as a white gauze bandage that covered his left hand. He winked in Gilda's direction on his way to the changing rooms. For the first time since she'd met him on the beach, Gilda had actually wanted to talk to Kane, but he walked past her without a word or second glance.

Gilda set Marion up near the front door to take tickets and stamp the backs of the fighters' hands. Marion oohed and aahed over the muscular men who'd come to compete and flirted shamelessly while Gilda handed out swag bags filled with T-shirts, coupons from local businesses, and other assorted donations to each fighter.

Before long, the air in the martial arts school hung thick and humid with sweat. Thirty people warming up in the school for their big fight debuts was a challenge for any air freshener on the market. To get rid of the stench, the entire staff would have to mop and disinfect every surface later. The entire staff meaning Gilda, and possibly Henry, if he had time before work, since she was pretty sure the others would disappear to one of the local restaurants once the last fight ended.

After having to duck Kane's leers and hands for the past couple days, Gilda was glad to see his attention diverted elsewhere. He warmed up in the far corner, preparing for his bout against Gomes, while some guy sporting a Mohawk haircut and wearing lime green shorts got into the ring. A small part of her longed for Kane to fill her in on the events of the meet and greet. Another part of her didn't really want him near her or to know what had happened.

By quarter to nine, everyone scheduled to fight had registered except one. Gomes, along with his trainer Sanchez, had yet to make an appearance.

Charlie Hunt still hadn't shown up yet either. Nor had Mena.

"I'm so glad I took the day off work to see this." Marion leaned in the doorway. "These guys are even better looking in their skivvies than they were in their suits last night. You know, it's days like this when I like your job way better than mine."

"Yeah, I'll bet." Gilda surveyed the audience and caught a worried glance from Mick.

"Any word why Mick actually kicked us out of the party last night?" Marion asked. "Aside from me eating half the watermelon, that is."

Gilda frowned. "No. I know things were getting a little tense before we went home. I'm guessing something must have happened. Both Mick and Kane have cuts and bruises that weren't there when we left Razi's."

"Huh." Marion folded her arms across her ample chest. "Figures they'd send us home before all the fun started."

"Mick's starting to panic." Henry stopped next to them. "Charlie Hunt hasn't shown up yet."

Gilda nodded. "Yeah, I noticed. I hope he didn't leave town after all the nonsense at the party last night."

"Nah," Henry said, waving his hand. "Most of those guys have thicker skin than that. I doubt any of them took it personally. I heard a few of the guys talking. They said there were a few punches thrown, but then everyone had a couple drinks and things settled down."

"Who threw the punches?" Gilda asked.

"No idea."

Gilda and Henry stepped aside as Gomes and Sanchez entered the school. Both wore dark sunglasses and suits and strutted into the dojo as if expecting a fanfare. Instead, they were greeted by the final decision of the fight that had just ended.

They spoke in low tones before Gomes glanced back at Gilda and nodded. A dark bruise circled his eyebrow overtop his sunglasses. "You're name's Gilda, isn't it? Is our ref here yet?"

"Not yet. I think he—"

"What? Why not? Where's our infamous referee?" Sanchez glowered, a deep scratch running down his cheek. "If he doesn't show up, we're withdrawing from the exhibition match and will expect to be compensated for our expenses, among other things."

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," she said. "Just be patient."

Sanchez snorted. "You'd better call him and make sure, or else."

"I'll talk to Mick." Henry wandered back into the dojo.

Mick appeared antsy, especially since the main event was only a few matches away. Many of the competitors had driven several hours to have the privilege of having Charlie Hunt referee one of their fights. Thankfully, most were just as happy when Razi graciously filled in until Charlie showed up.

The instant Mick's back turned, Kane flashed a smile in Gilda's direction that sent her pulse through the roof, and her cheeks grew warm. As much as Kane annoyed her, his charm always seemed to win her over. She couldn't stay mad, even with the bright orange mouthguard covering his teeth while he adjusted his rash guard shirt and shorts. When it was his turn to fight, he'd take the shirt off and Gilda would have a hard time tearing her gaze away from his sculpted torso. No matter how hard she tried.

Marion sighed. "That Kane is such a flirt. You know he was teasing about sending me off with that Charlie guy last night, right? How am I ever going to choose between him and Razi? They're both stud calendar material."

Gilda stifled a grin. "You're right. That would be a hard choice for any woman to have to make."

"I might have to make them fight over me. Wouldn't that be something to watch?" Marion winked. "I'm going to take a seat. Why don't you sit and watch for a while?"

"I'll come to sit in a minute. I just need a little fresh air. I'll be right there." Gilda spun around on her toes and headed for the front door.

The sunshine and light breeze did little to ease her mood. A deep sense of foreboding followed her out the door and across the street toward the beach. One of the best cures for her unease was always to walk barefoot in the sand. No one would miss her if she was only gone for five or ten minutes, would they?

Gilda slipped off her shoes and shuffled through the cool sand, watching the grains fall around her toes. She let out a long, slow breath and eased the tension from her shoulders then glanced up toward Lake Erie.

Up ahead, a man lay sunbathing near the shore. How odd. The sun was barely warm enough to take the dew off the grass.

Curious, she shuffled closer. The guy was probably someone just sleeping off a rough night. Someone like Charlie Hunt.

Gilda's heart raced. Would he be furious if she woke him up?

Mick would be furious if she didn't get Charlie to the event.

Self-preservation won out. Gilda walked over to the man lying on the sand. "Good morning. Charlie? I think you're a bit late for the MMA fights. You might want to come with me and grab a shower before you…"

If she hadn't remembered what clothes Charlie wore last night, she never would have recognized him. Half his face had been bashed in. Aside from the few punches he'd taken and meted out at the party, someone had given Charlie Hunt a vicious beating.

Gilda patted her pockets looking for her cell phone. Cripes, finding bodies was becoming a morbid pastime she really longed to give up. She found the phone and dialed Fabio's number.

"Gilda? What's going on?" Fabio answered on the first ring.

"There's a body on the beach near the Phoenix school. It's Charlie Hunt."

Within five minutes, Thayer ran across the sand toward her and a cruiser appeared around the corner and barreled across the beach. "What the hell are you doing here?" Thayer hesitated then grabbed Gilda in a bear hug. "How come you're not in the gym play-fighting with the other kids?"

Gilda sucked in a deep breath. "I needed some air and stepped outside for a few minutes. Charlie still hadn't shown up. I saw this guy on the beach and…"

"Is it him?" He peered around her. "He looks like he's been worked over."

She pulled away from him and hugged her arms around her stomach. "Yeah. It's him. It looks like someone beat the crap out of him. A lot of people seemed to have issues with him last night. I'm not sure if it was just nerves about the fights today or what, but—"

"What are you doing out here, Gilda?" Fabio limped across the sand.

Thayer moved in front of Gilda. "Gilda found a body. It looks like blunt force trauma to the head."

Fabio waved a hand. "Yeah, Charlie Hunt. She told me on the phone. The M.E. will be here soon so we'll get a probable cause from him. Any ideas who would want him dead?"

Gilda met Fabio's gaze. "Pretty much everyone at the party last night. He didn't seem to have many friends. Just some tall guy Sanchez said was his bodyguard."

Thayer's gaze flicked toward the dojo then back to her. "I need to talk to Mick and some of your students. I have a feeling a few of them knew him very well."

Her stomach fluttered. "If someone Mick knows killed Charlie, chances are I—"

"What's going on, Thayer?" Mick, sweaty and smelling like a barnyard goose, strode across the beach. "Why are you harassing my girlfriend again?"

"Gilda found Charlie Hunt's body on the beach a short time ago," Thayer blurted out. "We need to take her for questioning."

"Charlie?" Mick paled. His breath seemed to slow. "No wonder he hadn't shown up yet. I need to let the others know."

Fabio reached out to stop him. "Why don't you let us handle that part? Just make sure to keep everyone in the building for a few minutes while we secure the scene. Thayer and I will come over to talk to everyone personally."

Mick met Gilda's gaze. "Are you okay?"

She rubbed her hands up and down her upper arms, unable to warm up. "Yeah."

"I'll take her back to the school so she can sit down and—" Mick started.

Fabio patted Mick's shoulder. "I'll escort her to the school when we're done here. Don't worry. I'll take good care of her."

Mick shook his head. "I should be with her. She needs me."

"She'll be fine," Thayer said. "We just need to ask her a few more questions. You need to worry about all those people in your school and keep them there. We'll figure out who would have had good reason to want Charlie Hunt dead."

Gilda glanced back at Charlie as someone began taking crime scene photos. Something was missing that she couldn't put her finger on. She closed her eyes and tried to picture how he'd looked at the party. "The necklace."

Fabio raised his eyebrows. "He's not wearing a necklace."

"I know." She moved around the body in a wide circle, careful not to interfere with the investigators. "He was wearing one last night. A gold ingot the size of my finger. I don't see it now."

Fabio gave orders to search the entire beach for clues then took Gilda by the arm. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. It stood out and I was going to ask him about it, but things got a little weird." She paused. "There were a lot of disagreements."

Thayer crouched near Charlie's body and took a few notes before he joined Fabio and Gilda. "There's nothing in his clothes or under him. If he had a necklace, either someone took it or it got buried in the sand in the fight."

"You think he was able to fight back?" Gilda asked.

"His knuckles are bruised and cut up, probably from somebody's teeth."

"So whoever attacked him might have a fat lip." Fabio took Gilda's arm and limped toward the school. "I think we should get in there before Mick breaks the news to everyone. I thought it would be best if he knew before we made a formal announcement to everyone, but now I'm not so sure."

Thayer raised his eyebrows. "Good thinking. We don't want a stampede of people looking for the crime scene. There are already enough people coming over to see what's going on."

Gilda's face burned. As usual, she was right in the middle of everything.

Mick waited for them in the front lobby.

They'd barely reached the front desk when Kane emerged from the dojo
and frowned as if he had a premonition something was amiss. "Looks like I'm missing another party, mates. Is something going on out here I should know about?"

"That depends." Fabio limped into the school and shot a glare at his partner. "How well did you know Charlie Hunt?"

"What do you mean how well
did
I know him, mate?" Kane flinched, the expression on his face unreadable—by Gilda anyway. "What's happened to Charlie?"

"What do you mean what's happened to Charlie?" Mena paused in the front entrance of the school. "What's going on? Why are there police all over the place?"