by Cindy Bell
“What do I think about what?”
“Do you think she did it?”
Kerri’s cheeks flared with heat. She slowed the car down as she turned into Natalie’s street. “Do you think she did?”
“No, like I told you I don’t think she would ever do something like that. But I am interested to know what you think.”
“I don’t want to upset you, Nat.”
“It’s not going to upset me. I like Chloe a lot and I would never think that she would be capable of this, but I also know that being left at the altar is not something that is easily recovered from, so I’m interested to know what you think.”
“According to her she was glad that Damian called off the wedding.”
“Do you believe her?” Natalie asked.
“Yes, I think I do. But that doesn’t mean I’m right. As she pointed out, Damian was strong, and a boxer, I would think whoever killed him would have to be pretty powerful, especially to be able to bury him as well.”
“That’s true.”
“Unless.”
“Unless?”
“Unless she took him by surprise and she had help to bury him.” Kerri parked outside Natalie’s house. “Something to think about.”
“Yes, it is, but I still don’t buy it.” Natalie opened the door and stepped out of the car
Kerri drove the rest of the way home with questions swimming through her mind. Chloe was right about one thing, the questions were exhausting, what she needed were some answers.
Chapter 8
For the rest of the afternoon Kerri tried to run through the possible scenarios of Damian’s murder in her mind. The problem was she didn’t know much about Damian at all. She spent some time searching through his social media accounts. She found lots of pictures of him and Chloe, and some with their friends. There were also quite a few shots of him in a boxing ring. He didn’t post much of a personal nature, but she did find one passage where he apologized to everyone impacted by him not showing up for the wedding. He also indicated that he would be moving soon, to get a fresh start in life.
“No wonder everyone thought he moved away. Where were you going, Damian?” She mumbled under her breath as she tried to find out from other posts, but she didn’t discover any indication of where he might be headed.
“Kerri?” George walked down the hall towards the living room.
“Yes, I’m here.”
“I was reading in my room, I didn’t even know you were home.”
“I got caught up in looking up information about Damian.”
“I’m guessing the visit with Chloe didn’t answer your questions?” He watched as she got up and paced back and forth across the living room.
“Not at all. It created a few more though.” She paused to look at him. “I can’t get a good read on Damian, who he was, what he might have been into.”
“Well, you do have a good source for that information.”
“I do?”
“Sure.” He crossed his arms. “Steve.”
“Oh right.” She blinked, then shook her head. “I don’t want to bother him though.”
“All right, it’s just a suggestion. I’m going to do a workout in the garage, just about thirty minutes.”
“Okay.” She nodded, too distracted to even pay attention to his words. She continued to pace. If Damian had a girlfriend, there was no sign of it anywhere on his social media, or on any of the local gossip sites. So why had he backed out of the wedding? He was too chicken to call off the wedding, but on the big day he managed to get brave enough not to show up? It didn’t make sense. Something had to push him. Something had to have changed before the wedding to make him suddenly decide to act. Then again, she had never walked down the aisle herself, so perhaps the pressure of the wedding could have been enough to make him snap.
Kerri broke out into a mild sweat as she continued to pace. She thought about calling Steve. Maybe her grandfather was right. Her best resource was Steve. Even though she knew he was upset by Damian’s death she was certain that he would be investigating the murder. She fiddled with the phone and contemplated texting Steve. She’d been waiting for him to reach out to her, but that waiting seemed to be taking far too long. As these thoughts rolled through her mind, her phone chimed with a text. She snatched it up, hoping that it was from Steve. Instead, it was from Chloe. She paused a moment as she wondered how she’d gotten her number. She could only assume that Natalie had given it to her.
I thought about what you asked. Natalie told me that you have a great mind for mysteries. I do remember Damian telling me something about a story he was working on. He said it was serious, and could put him at risk. I didn’t really take it seriously, I was concentrating on the wedding. I have no idea what he was working on, but maybe it’s something you could look into.
Kerri thought about the information for a moment. If Damian was working on something that serious, maybe that was his motivation for calling off the wedding. Maybe he wanted to make sure that Chloe didn’t become a target. She sent a quick text back to Chloe, then tried to think through Damian’s last days. He was working on something big, something he considered to be dangerous. Why was he suddenly so secretive? What kind of big story could he have been investigating? He blew off his wedding, faced the ridicule of everyone in the area, then disappeared without anyone noticing. As she paced through the living room, her grandfather stepped back inside from the garage.
“You’re going to wear a hole in that carpet if you keep it up. You were pacing when I went out there, and you’re still pacing now. What’s on your mind?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She sighed and looked down at her phone.
“Steve?”
“What?” She looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Is it Steve? You’re not sure if you want to call him?” He folded his arms across his stomach.
“How did you know that?” She met his eyes as her cheeks burned. “I must be so obvious.”
“No, you’re not. I just know people.” He sat down on the arm of the couch and smiled at her. “Plus, every time you see him you blush.”
“I do not.” She turned away as her cheeks heated up even more.
“Sure. Anyway, why not just call him?”
“It’s awkward. I don’t know if he wants to hear from me. I don’t want to bother him. I know he must be upset about all of this.”
“Huh. I guess that is tough. What would you want, if you were in his shoes? Would you want someone to show they cared, or would you want someone to remain silent and distant?”
“That’s simplifying it a bit much, don’t you think?”
“Is it?” He smiled. “Games are a waste of time, Kerri. If you like him, you should let him know that.”
“I think I have.”
“You think you have. But men can be a little slower on the uptake when it comes to things like this. You’re friends, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“If it were Natalie, would you hesitate to call?”
“No.” She tightened her grip on the phone. “You’re absolutely right. I should call him. Or maybe text him.”
“You let me know when you figure it out. I’m going to run into town for some groceries. I’m making dinner tonight.”
“You are?”
“Yes. You have enough that you’re dealing with. Why don’t you invite Steve?”
“Oh, I don’t know if I could do that.”
“Why not? It would be a good way to find out how he’s doing. Besides, who else is going to cook for him? Food is good for grief. It eases the pain of loss. So they say.”
“All right, I’ll think about it.”
“Great. Anything you need from the store?”
“No, not right now. Thanks though.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be back in a little while.” As he left the house she looked down at her phone. He was right, if Natalie was upset, she’d be texting and calling a few times a day to make sure that she was doing okay. Why sho
uld it be any different for Steve? Texting seemed too impersonal when he was dealing with the loss of a friend. Instead she dialed his number and held her breath as the phone began to ring. One ring, he was probably busy with something. Two rings, he was probably on the phone with someone else. Three rings, he was really occupied and she was disturbing him. She moved her finger to the hang up button, but before she could press it, she heard his voice.
“Kerri?”
“Hi Steve. Sorry if I’m interrupting something.”
“Not at all. I was just getting out of the shower, and didn’t hear my phone ringing right away. Sorry.”
“No need to apologize, I just wanted to check on you. How are you doing?”
“All right. I’m going into the office to talk to Jasper. I want to see if he knows anything about what happened to Damian.”
“That reminds me. Chloe texted me a little while ago and mentioned that Damian said he was working on something that he considered might be dangerous.”
“Oh really? I’ll be sure to ask Jasper what that might have been. Usually we have to run our story ideas by him to be approved before we work on them.”
“I thought there might be something about it that made Damian a target.”
“I don’t know. He really only worked on sports stuff. I can’t see how that would make him a target. I will look into it though. How was Chloe?”
“Natalie and I had lunch with her. She’s having a hard time, but she didn’t seem too upset.”
“Poor girl.” He sighed. “She’s been through so much.”
“Yes, she has.” She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. Maybe Steve had a thing for Chloe? Was he just being considerate, or was it something more? “Listen, my grandfather is making dinner tonight. Would you like to join us?”
“Thanks. That’s very nice of you. Are you sure it’s not too much trouble?”
“It’s no trouble at all. I think he would love your company.”
“He would?” He paused. “Are we talking about the same grandfather?”
“Yes.” She laughed. “He’s much milder than you think.”
“What time?”
“Around six.”
“I’ll be there. Thanks Kerri.” When the line disconnected she saw her own reflection in the screen of her phone. Was it wrong of her to wonder about him and Chloe? There was so much history in the town, and she wasn’t aware of most of it. With everything else that was on her mind the last thing she needed to focus on was some silly twinge of jealousy. She glanced at her watch and saw that she had about two hours until dinner. She decided the best way to find out more about Damian, was to ask the people who were around him often. She couldn’t approach Damian’s parents, because the police were on guard there, but she could check out the boxing gym he’d posted online. She grabbed her purse and headed back out. As she drove through town she noticed her grandfather’s car, but it wasn’t parked at the grocery store. It was parked at the post office. She shrugged and assumed he had a few other errands to run before he went to the grocery store.
She continued on to the outskirts of town where the boxing gym was located. The parking lot was large, and the building it faced resembled a warehouse on the outside. There were no flashy advertisements or murals of happy exercising people. This gym wasn’t meant to attract the novice, it was meant to serve those who were into the real boxing experience. She noticed a few cars in the parking lot, and parked close to them.
As Kerri pushed open the glass front door she was greeted by the heavy smell of sweat and vinyl. Music pounded from speakers positioned along the ceiling of the wide-open space. There were three boxing rings and several exercise areas. Among multiple weight-lifting machines there was an ample selection of free weights. She felt just how skinny her arms were as she stepped further into the gym. She did not belong in a place like this.
“I’m Thad. Can I help you?” A man who had to be well over six feet tall, with shoulders almost as wide as the doorway walked towards her. Immediately she wondered if she’d made a bad choice by coming there alone.
“My name is Kerri.”
“Sure, I know who you are, Kerri.” He smiled and revealed that he was missing a few teeth on the right side of his mouth.
“You do?” She searched for any recollection of the man before her.
“Sorry, I’m not a stalker or anything, but I can’t wait until your shop opens. I’ve been following your updates online about what you’re going to have in the shop, and I’m real excited about it. It’s hard to get anything gourmet around here.” He rolled his eyes. “Not much class, you know.”
“Oh.” She smiled. “Well, thanks for your support. I did have to postpone the grand opening.”
“Yes, I read about that, sorry to hear it. But I understand, what with Damian.”
“Did you know him well?”
“Sure.” He scratched the back of his head. “Everyone here knew Damian.”
“He boxed often?”
“Every chance he got. He was fierce in the ring, too.”
“Did you ever fight him?”
He laughed so loud she was a little shaken by the force of the sound. “Oh, you’re joking right?”
“No. I was just curious.” She frowned.
“You don’t know much about boxing, do you?” He grinned. “Don’t worry, most people don’t. But no, I didn’t fight Damian. He could never come close to being in my weight class with his skinny-self.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot about that.”
“It’s all right. I shouldn’t be poking fun at him anyway. I keep forgetting he’s dead. Isn’t that weird?”
“Not really. Not when it comes as such a shock. I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about the last few days before Damian’s wedding?”
“Oh, the wedding that never was.” He nodded. “What do you want to know?”
“Well, was he upset? Did he have anyone here that he confided in?”
“It’s not really that kind of place. Guys come here to work out, box, that’s about it. We don’t really hang out after. But, of course, Damian was always with Jasper.”
“Jasper? His boss?”
“Yes, Jasper helps manage this place. He took Damian under his wing when he wanted to start boxing.”
“Oh, I see. So do you think Damian might have confided in Jasper about his plans to blow off the wedding?”
“Eh, that wasn’t really a secret.”
“No? Why was that?” Her eyes narrowed some as she sensed she was getting close to the topic she was hoping to reach.
“Damian never talked about Chloe, she never came to his matches. When I heard he was getting married, I was surprised. I asked him something about being invited, and he basically said I shouldn’t bother attending. It just seemed odd. Whenever one of the guys talked about how hot Chloe was, he wouldn’t even get mad, he’d just agree.”
“And that’s unusual?”
“Sure. Most guys would lose their minds over the kinds of comments the guys around here would make. You know, a little jealousy shows how much you care.”
She bit into her lip at that comment, then nodded. “So, it didn’t seem like he was that into Chloe? Did he maybe have someone else he was interested in?”
“Are you asking if he was cheating on Chloe?” He stared hard into her eyes.
“Yes, I guess I am. It just seems strange that he would abruptly call off the wedding. I thought maybe he had someone else he was into?”
“No, Damian wasn’t like that. He would have broken things off with Chloe first. He was a real honest guy. Somebody offered him a couple of hundred dollars to throw a fight once, and he nearly put that guy in the hospital.”
“Honest, and violent?”
“It’s a boxing gym.” He glanced around the space, then grinned as he looked back at Kerri. “The amount of testosterone that fills this place on match night is so high I’m surprised we don’t all end up with black eyes.”
�
��I get that. Did he ever get real angry with anyone else?”
“Just a few feuds here and there between boxers, the normal stuff. Hey Mitch!” He waved to another man that walked through the door, about his size. “We’re on for some sparring right?”
“Sure Thad, whenever.”
“Great.” Thad looked back at Kerri. “I hope you get your store open soon.”
“Hopefully next weekend.”
“I’ll be there. Oh, and if you ever want to come see a match or anything, just let them know Thad sent you. You’ll get a great seat.” He glanced over her flowery silk blouse. “But wear something you don’t mind getting blood on.”
“Wonderful. Thanks.” She laughed. “I will keep that in mind.”
As Kerri turned to leave the boxing gym she noticed a photograph on the wall near the door. Damian was in it, along with several other men. She studied Damian’s expression for a moment. She noticed that there were names listed underneath the photo and presumed they belonged to the boxers in the photo. She took out her phone and snapped a picture of the photo and list, maybe one of them would hold the clue to who murdered Damian. She looked at the picture on her phone, it wasn’t the best because of the glass covering it, but she could still make out the names. She put the phone in her pocket and took one last look at the photo hanging on the wall, then started to look away. In that moment a beam of sunlight pierced the glass door and bounced off the glass that covered the photograph. It drew her attention to the ring on Damian’s finger. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the silver ring with an amber stone. Her mouth grew dry and she reached her hand into her pocket. When she pulled out the ring, she saw that it was a match.
“Thad!” She turned back just in time to see Thad climbing into one of the boxing rings. He looked over at her.
“What is it?”
“Did Damian always wear his ring?”
“Of course he did. So does everyone else.” He raised his hand to show the ring on his finger. “We only take them off when we’re boxing or working out.” He slid his ring from his finger. “Why?”
“Oh, just wondering.” She looked back at the photograph and noticed that every man in the picture had a ring. With a deep breath she slid the ring back into her pocket. Maybe it meant nothing. Maybe it meant something. Since the woods that backed up to her house were the same woods that were on the property where Damian’s body was found, was it possible that it was his ring? She left the boxing gym with Thad staring after her.
