Shadow of Death (3 page)

Troy finished the elliptical around the same time Charlie called it quits for the day. Fudago had left about twenty minutes earlier for a private session with a trainer and the old man apparently didn't appreciate the evil stares he was getting from Ted.
Drama…,
Troy thought as he went to the weight room, noticing how Charlie stopped to flirt with Shay before leaving. Troy shook his head. Though Will and Shay were “free” to date other people, Shay didn't give Charlie the time of day. Troy wondered what his neighbor would think about Charlie's actions seeing how the two of them had been dating for several months. Charlie was a frequent visitor at his neighbor's and though disgusted by Charlie's flirtatious behavior, Troy ultimately decided not to get involved.

The music, plus pleasant thoughts of Natalie, caused time to fly. Concentrating on Natalie's tall, semi-slender frame could work miracles in his mind. His wife had always had curves in all the right places. Those places had been further enhanced after the birth of the twins. Though she'd lost most of the weight she'd gained during the pregnancy, she was a little thicker than she'd been previously. Nothing diet-worthy in his opinion. He knew many women who would kill to have her post-pregnancy body and yet, she complained about her butt being “too big.”
I don't hav
e any complaints,
he thought smiling as the severely overplayed “Happy” song soared through his iPod.

When Troy rested after a set of reps, he saw a guy on a machine across from him staring at him before quickly looking away. The dude was young, likely in his early twenties, with a height and build that seemed somewhat similar to Troy's own six-one, one hundred seventy-three-pound frame. The hard lines in the dude's face, combined with his many tattoos, indicated a life experience, and maybe even a criminal background, well beyond his years. Dude had an Uzi tatted on one arm and the words “Naughty by Nature” etched on the other. It seemed like everyone in the place had tattoos. Troy, the oddball in that respect, continued to stare at Naughty to see if he would look his way again. He did and, when Troy caught him, Naughty did something on his cell phone and then went back to doing reps.

The guy was a newbie to the gym. Troy had only seen him a few times over the last several months though the two had never spoken. It felt as if Naughty by Nature had been staring at him those times as well. If all was indeed true, Troy wondered if it was because the guy had finally been told that he was a cop. Will had told Troy once that he was bad for business after a few guys stopped coming when they learned that Troy worked for the Columbus PD.

Troy didn't take Will's comments to heart. He knew his longtime acquaintance had a tendency to embellish. The two of them had attended the police academy together, but Will got kicked out for falsifying information on his application and for testing positive for marijuana. Troy was certain that Will still had a little bit of wannabe cop in him. He was constantly coming up with theories about unsolved crimes and sharing them with Troy, who indulged him merely for the entertainment of it all. The only reason that most people around the gym knew of Troy's occupational status was because Will always referred to him as “Detective.” It was much better than the “Southie” nickname that Shay sometimes tried to put on him because she liked his accent, or “Country Bumpkin” that some of his colleagues were known to say behind his back. “Detective” was a term of endearment and, if Troy didn't know any better, he'd think it gave Will a sense of security to have an officer on the premises, but Troy knew that Will wasn't always walking a straight path. Will still got high and Troy also suspected that he might engage in the distribution of weed, though he had no concrete evidence to prove his hunch. It was a feeling he got sometimes by Will's mannerisms, especially when people would ask if they could see the gym manager in private. Troy partly believed that the “Detective” nickname Will gave him was likely a warning to others that law enforcement was in their presence and they should straighten up and fly right.

Nothing ever went down in Troy's presence and he didn't break his neck to look for activity. Overall, Troy thought Will was a decent guy. The extent of their interaction was at the gym, except for a few occasions when they would run into each other at special preschool events where both Nate and Will's nephew attended. If Will was at the gym today, Troy would ask him about Naughty to get a better understanding since the dude rubbed him the wrong way.
Why wait for Will?
Troy would be able to figure out for himself by striking up a conversation with the guy and he'd intended to do just that. Unfortunately, by the time Troy finished his next set of reps, Naughty was gone.

Maybe next time.
Troy could ask Shay, but learning more about Naughty wasn't so serious that he'd initiate a conversation with her. He still couldn't fathom how Will and Shay had ever hooked up. The one thing he and Will had in common when they were at the academy is that they'd both vowed to never get married or have children. Will kept his promise. Troy thought he would as well, but…
along came Natalie.
He smiled and glanced at his watch.
5:53!
He needed to get out of there so he'd have time to shower before Natalie left. He did one more set of reps before calling it a wrap and went to retrieve his things.

Outside, Troy caught the tail glimpse of Will's car leaving the parking lot.
Strange.
He hadn't seen Will inside the gym. Will's car was easy to identify because it was a black BMW 2 series coupe with a specialized license plate that read,
WILL DO.
Figuring that the gym manager had probably come in and out unnoticed, Troy attempted to deactivate his alarm only to find it acting up again. For several weeks now, the alarm to his truck had been giving him problems. He'd turn it on; it would automatically turn off. He'd leave it off and somehow it would turn on. It was driving him crazy, and when he got a chance, he would take his truck to the shop. He'd had his Navigator well before he and Natalie ever met and it was high time for an upgrade. “You'll have to do for now,” he said aloud as he hastily threw his duffel bag across the front to the passenger's side of his truck and peeled out of the parking lot.

He hadn't been on the freeway for thirty seconds before a figure sat up in the back, pointing a gun at his head. “Get off at the next exit.”

A
fter getting off the phone with her husband, Natalie tended to the crying storm of her one-year-old twins who were eerily connected beyond simply sharing the same birth date. The only thing they didn't share was gender and skin color. Ebony had taken a darker tone like Troy and Nate; Ean had taken after his mother. Other than different parts and complexions, they embodied every meaning of the word “twins.” If Ebony got sick, so did Ean. If Ean pooped in his diaper, his sister did as well. If Ebony wouldn't eat her food, neither would Ean. It came as no surprise then that, when Ean started crying after Nate snatched the tiny kids' meal toy away from him, Ebony felt the need to imitate though nothing had been taken from her. For several minutes, Natalie was in need of a “Calgon, take me away” moment while she was trying to calm the twins. She even said as much under her breath, forgetting that the five-year-old human tape recorder picked up everything.

“Mommy, who's Calgon?” Nate asked after the cry fest had ended.

“No one, honey. It's a brand of bath soap.”

“What's a brand of bath soap?”

Knowing that this could inevitably lead to a never-ending Q&A session, she was able to redirect his attention with another statement. “Honey, Mommy needs your help while she finishes dinner. I'm going to put your brother and sister in their playpen and I need you to babysit them, okay?”

“ 'Kay!” His face lit up as she knew it would. Nate liked being “in charge.”

Natalie wasn't crazy enough to solely leave her youngest children in the care of her oldest son. She put the playpen in the middle of the walkway between the kitchen and the living room where she could clearly keep an eye on everyone. The twins cried for a split-second when they were moved into the confined space, but their attention was quickly diverted by the lights and sound of one of their noise-making gadgets.

Things went smoothly while Natalie whipped up dinner. The twins laughed heartily at Nate who would put his face against the net of the playpen and make silly faces and call them “monkey babies.” It was something he'd picked up when Natalie had been pregnant, thanks to Troy's mother's crazy superstitions. Natalie usually tried to discourage Nate from referring to his siblings as such, but she let it slide this time; she was concentrating on finishing the task at hand. Besides, the kids were all having fun and she didn't want to impede on that moment with unnecessary verbal correction.

It brought sheer joy to Natalie's heart to witness moments like this when her children interacted with one another. It also stung a little when she thought about all the times she'd missed similar occasions with her oldest daughter, Corrine, whom Natalie had at the tender age of thirteen and gave up for adoption. It wasn't until Corrine was in college that Natalie learned she'd been adopted by a family member and the two of them reconnected. Now, several years later, she and Corrine had an unbreakable bond.

With dinner finally done, Natalie made Nate's plate and then chopped up food tiny enough so that Ean and Ebony could eat with ease. As expected, their messes mirrored one another's. As she'd promised Troy, Natalie got everyone bathed and into pajamas. It was only about a quarter after six when she'd finished. The babies were usually put to bed by eight whenever they were home. Since Nate was a “big boy,” he got to stay up until eight-thirty or nine, if he was well-behaved. When Natalie relayed Troy's message to him about playing a game, Nate was thrilled.

By six-thirty Natalie and her brood were back in the living room. Nate had gotten tired of entertaining the little ones by having them chase the remote-controlled car he'd gotten for his birthday, so he put it out of their reach and sat on the couch playing with Natalie's iPad until Troy arrived to make good on his promise. Ebony and Ean were crawling around babbling and gurgling in a language that only the two of them understood. With her purse and keys in hand, Natalie kept glancing out of the front window, expecting Troy at any second, and anticipating the wild reaction of her children when he walked in.

Nate and the twins often reacted to Troy like he was a superstar, and he didn't have to do much to earn his stardom. Simply walking in the door after being gone for a while would spark Nate to do his
“Daa-dee”
squeal while Ean and Ebony would babble “dada” and bounce with excitement. It was cute to see and Natalie sometimes teased Troy about being the favorite parent since she didn't routinely get such warm receptions when she came home after being gone for a while. “It's because they see you all the time,” Troy had explained.

“Um hmm” was Natalie's playful response. She found it delightful to watch and it brought back memories of how she would react to her own father when she was younger. She'd only known him for five years because he was killed in a car accident, but his memory continued to live in her heart.
“Daddies are always favored,”
she remembered her mom saying once. It certainly seemed true in her household. Sometimes Natalie would have to repeat herself or even threaten to spank Nate before his behavior changed. Troy could say something once and Nate straightened up. The one thing Natalie didn't do was make a habit of being one of those “I'm-going-to-tell-your-father” type of moms. The thought of having a child who disobeyed all day only to turn things around when the father came home made her cringe. She was strict and made sure Nate ultimately listened to her, even if it meant following through on one of her threats.

Natalie glanced at the time. It was 6:40 p.m. Her meeting started at 7:00 and Troy still wasn't there. She began to get concerned and tried calling his cell phone. Voicemail. She waited a second and then tried again. Still no answer. She texted Lisa explaining why she would be late. Not surprisingly, Lisa suggested that she bring the kids. If it was only Nate, she would, but Natalie wasn't about to put the responsibility of her twins on RJ's shoulder. Natalie called Troy once more. This time she left a message. “Hey, where are you? Quit working on those biceps and come home so I can go. You promised you'd be here on time.” She also decided to look up the number to the gym. “May I speak with Will, please?”

“I'm sorry, huh-nee,” a woman responded. “Will ain't here today. Can I help you wit' sumthin'?”

“Yes, can you page Detective Troy Evans for me, please?” She felt asking for him in that manner made her call seem more legitimate. She'd intended on having Will deliver a message to Troy since the gym's policy on paging people was technically for emergency situations only.

“Oooh, I know him! You talkin' 'bout Southie, ‘dat cute, dark-skinned police offisa wit' a li'l country twang to his speech.”

This had to be Shay, the one Troy had told her about with the tattooed breasts that had a crush on him. Natalie had to push aside the thought of this woman salivating over her husband every time he went to the gym and, that perhaps, he went for that very reason.
Unfounded jealousy.
That had been the topic at the last Wise Wives meeting. They had discussed how men and women could create issues in their marriages by being unreasonably jealous, failing to realize that jealousy was actually based on some personal insecurity. Such insecurities then caused husbands and wives to react on scenarios that had only taken place in one's head. Besides, someone who couldn't put an intelligent-sounding sentence together was not her husband's type. And Natalie couldn't fault Shay for telling the truth. Troy was cute…and muscular. At forty-three, he had a six-pack that would put even Hollywood A-listers to shame. She quickly reminded herself of the wisdom imparted from last month's Wise Wives meeting as she listened to Troy's admirer explain,
in detail,
what he'd done at the gym and that he'd left at least a half hour ago. “Are you sure?”
Dumb question.
Any woman who could describe Troy the way Shay did would know when he was no longer in her presence. “Okay, thank you.”