“Four more, bro! Give me four!”
Mitch and Hal had the Dorset Fitness Center to themselves at eight o’clock on a Sunday morning. Hal was putting him through a punishing set of reps on the pressing bench. Mitch’s pecs and delts were popping, the sweat pouring off of him as Hal’s favorite music mix, which leaned heavily toward Metallica, blared from the sound system.
“Now give me two! Come on, pump it, pump it… That’s what I’m talking about!” he exulted as Mitch aced his final rep. “Okay, give yourself a ten-minute blow on the bike. You earned it.”
Gasping, Mitch climbed aboard a stationary bike and started pedaling.
Hal handed him a bottle of water, clearing his throat uneasily. “Listen, I’m real sorry about the way I lost it at Mrs. Breslauer’s cocktail party. I feel sick about it, bro. That badass stuff is so not me. I phoned Kimmy last night to apologize but she was so pissed she wouldn’t even talk about it. Which I totally understand. As soon as she walks in that door I’m going to quit. I really shouldn’t be working here.”
Mitch gulped down some water. “How come?”
“I’m not over her, that’s how come.”
“You two were involved?”
“No, never. Kimmy doesn’t believe in getting physical with anybody who she works with. That’s how she put it to me, anyhow. And I’ve been fine with it-until she met Kenny.”
“And now you’re not fine with it?”
Hal shook his head. “Bro, Kimmy’s the one. I’ve never, ever felt this way about a girl. I get my share of tail. That goes with the job. But it’s Kimmy who I really want. And I can’t have her. So I think I’d better move on.”
“Sorry to hear it, Hal. Where will you go?”
“There’s a decent club over in Old Saybrook. I can get some hours there.”
“That’s not exactly the same as managing this place. As a career move, I mean.”
“No, it’s not,” he allowed. “But it’ll be a whole lot better for my sanity.”
The front door of the fitness center opened and someone came in wearing chunky heels that clomped hard on the tile floor. A pit bull with jugs was how Des had once described Sergeant Yolie Snipes. Indeed, she was the fiercest-looking woman Mitch had ever known. Yolie’s inked up arms bulged out of her sleeveless top as she stood there at the reception desk, her cop’s eyes flicking around. Mitch called out to her, waving both arms in the air. She came on over.
“Hey there, sweet thing,” she exclaimed, a big smile creasing her street-hardened face. Chiefly, it was that one-inch box cutter scar across her cheek. It left no doubt that Yolie had lived the life. “Good to see you again.”
He climbed down off of the bike and gave her a hug. “Back at you. Pardon my sweat.”
She let out a huge laugh. “You kidding me? This is the best action I’ve had all year.” Her gleaming brown eyes looked him up and down. “Damn, boy, you are cut.”
“And I have this guy right here to thank-Hal Chapman, say hello to Sergeant Yolanda Snipes of the Major Crime Squad.”
Hal nodded to her, his manner noticeably guarded.
“How’s my girl doing this morning?” Yolie asked Mitch.
“She’s not happy.”
“Not to worry. We’ll close this one out in no time.”
“Speaking of we, where’s…?”
“On his way to the hospital. Tawny just went into labor-unless it’s a false alarm. She’s not due for another week. Chances are he’ll be back in a couple of hours. But if it’s the real deal then I’m flying solo until a new boss takes over.”
Translation: If she worked fast she had a chance to break the Augie Donatelli murder case on her own. Yolie Snipes wasn’t just hard-edged. She was ultra-ambitious.
“Nice gym you’ve got going on here, Hal,” she observed, glancing around. “I do my lifting in a stanky basement. Here you’ve got sunlight, a river view. I am loving this. Is Kimberly Farrell around?”
“Not yet. She’ll be in soon for her nine o’clock class.”
“Cool.” Yolie straddled a pressing bench, her thighs straining against the thin cotton of her tan slacks. “Okay if you and me talk while I wait for her?”
Hal shrugged his broad shoulders. “What about?”
“Last night’s beating death of Augie Donatelli. I understand you’re a potential witness.”
His eyes widened. “I am? How can that be?”
“You attended a cocktail party in a condo at the Captain Chadwick House earlier in the evening, didn’t you?”
“Well, yeah. Mitch was there, too. So?”
“So I need to account for your comings and goings afterward. That’s what they pay me for.”
“Uh… do I need a lawyer?”
“You always have a right to counsel. But if it was me, I wouldn’t bother. This is strictly routine stuff. Is there an office where we can talk?”
“Right here’s fine. Okay if my bro sits in?”
Yolie shot a glance over at Mitch. “In what capacity?”
“As a witness,” Hal answered.
She raised her chin an inch. “You need a witness?”
“Let’s just say I’ll feel more comfortable if someone else is around. You don’t mind, do you?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t mind.”
“Good deal.” Hal hunkered down on the bench next to hers, forearms resting on his knees. “What do you want to know?”
Yolie pulled a small notepad and pen from the back pocket of her slacks. “Where you were last night.”
“What time are we talking about?”
“Let’s say nine o’clock.”
“I was with someone,” Hal said, coloring slightly.
“I’ll need the lady’s name and phone number, hon.”
“Look, it’s… complicated, okay?”
“Complicated as in she’s married?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Not a problem. I won’t mess up your thing. I can contact her at her workplace. Look, let me make this easy for you…” Yolie glanced down at her notepad. “Is her name Lisa Neville?”
“How do you know about me and Lisa?”
“Because you’ve been under surveillance for a while-in connection with the Dorset Flasher case.”
Hal gaped at her in shock. “I have? What on earth for?”
Yolie’s gaze hardened. “We don’t really need to go there, do we?”
“Damn, that was a million years ago,” he responded angrily. “And it was a bum rap. She was my girlfriend, okay? We were getting it on. Got caught out on the bleachers one day during lunch. She panicked because her parents thought she was this perfect little angel. So she put it all on me. The principal, Mr. Jaffe, knew what the real story was. Everyone did. He convinced her parents not to file charges against me. And they didn’t. How did you even find out about it?”
“Dorset’s resident trooper is a first-class detective, that’s how.”
Hal looked over at Mitch. “Did you know about this?”
“Des doesn’t tell me everything she’s doing.” Which was the truth. Just not in this case.
“We’re right back where we started, hon,” Yolie said patiently. “The woman you were with last night?”
“Her name’s Terri,” Hal answered grudgingly. “She was a drop-in on Friday. Blonde, slammin’ good bod. Not a local girl.”
“Terri’s last name?”
“I wish I could remember. I just hooked up with her that one time. I think it began with an E… Edsen, maybe?”
