Wilder Animals

by Geonn Cannon

  Ari said, “Okay. I’ll talk about it with Dale.”

  “Let me know. We’ll have enough food for an army whether you’re there or not, so there isn’t a deadline.”

  “Thanks. I’ll let you know by Wednesday, just to be polite.”

  Diana smiled. “Wow, Ariadne Willow giving the courtesy call. Long way from the woman I kept picking up on public nudity charges.”

  Ari laughed. “I’m all grown up now. I’m better at hiding my indecency.”

  On the walk back to her car, she thought about the case and the possibility she was only in it for herself. She didn’t care about Wilcox’s memory. It would be nice to give Tiffany some closure, but was it worth the amount of time she was spending? She got to her car and sat behind the wheel for a long minute as she weighed the pros and cons.

  If a “dog” had been hit on the Montlake Bridge, would it even be reported on? Would there have been a story for Dale to find even if she scoured every news broadcast? More likely Animal Control would get a call, they’d come out to remove the remains, and her body would be incinerated. She didn’t think Animal Control would bother to bury roadkill. She flinched at using that word, at thinking of herself in such horrible terms, but she’d been one leap away from making it a reality. Dale would only have known that she went out for a run one night and never came back.

  She would’ve hoped someone would have been there to unearth the truth for Dale. Even a heartbreaking answer was better than never knowing. In Wilcox’s case, it was obvious he’d done himself in. But one day someone might come forward. An illegitimate child, a long-lost brother, someone who would care. By that time the trail would be cold. And she had to admit that she was curious about Mike and Tom and the other muscleheads who had cleaned out Wilcox’s apartment. What were they up to? What was their interest?

  Her motivation restored, she drove back to the gym. Now that it was official business hours, there were fewer places for her to park. She found a place at the far end of the lot, secluded enough for her to do a near-strip tease. She had dressed with a set of workout clothes under her normal street outfit just in case she decided to see what the inside of the gym looked like. Now in a tank top over a sports bra and leggings, she retrieved her bag from the backseat and headed for the entrance.

  Part of her was worried about running into one of the men from Wilcox’s apartment. At least one of them had seen her there and at the office, so he would know she was connected to him. She could have had Dale go instead, but she wasn’t going to send Dale into a potentially volatile situation. She would just have to hope they either weren’t there or didn’t make the connection.

  The building was drab cinderblock painted black, with only the sign to advertise it was open for business. Some gyms went with flash and flair to draw people in, while others had the distinct air of a boys’ club. Directly inside the front door was a tall counter wallpapered with advertisements for boxing matches, exhibitions, weight-loss and muscle-building supplements, and all sorts of ephemera Ari didn’t bother to catalogue. She was surprised to see a woman behind the counter, one sneakered foot up on the counter so she could prop up her clipboard against the thigh. She smiled as Ari entered and sat up straighter.

  “Hey, good morning and healthy morning. I’m Patsy. Are you an old friend or starting on a new journey?” She tilted her head and ran her eyes down Ari’s body. “Although from the looks of you, I’d say this isn’t your first time in a gym.”

  Ari said, “Actually I don’t get out to them much. I like to jog. In nature.”

  Patsy bobbed her head. “Cool, cool, I get it, that’s cool. So are you looking for a new home?”

  “Maybe. I thought I’d give it a shot.”

  Patsy slipped off her chair. “Well, great! Let me show you around. What’s your name?”

  “Ariadne.”

  “Oh, I like that name. Do you go by Aria?”

  “Yeah.” Sure, why not.

  Patsy grinned and winked. “Like the little girl with the sword on that show. She’s such a badass.”

  “Yeah,” Ari said again, at a loss for any other response.

  “Okay! Let’s get to it, Aria.”

  Ari stepped around the counter and followed Patsy into the main room. Three boxing rings took up the majority of the space with more traditional exercise stations shoved back against the walls. Ari was surprised to see a handful of women using the machines. Patsy led her toward a recumbent bicycle and gestured for her to get on.

  “More women here than I would have expected.”

  “Sure are!” Patsy said, resting her hand on the monitor that was mounted between the pedals. She winked and lowered her voice. “There are male members, if you’re looking for a little eye candy. They tend to come in and use the speedbags or the boxing ring mostly. They get nice and sweaty, bouncing around all shirtless in the ring. It’s like a free show.” She wet her lips and chuckled throatily. “Sorry. I’m not usually this big of a horn dog…”

  Ari smiled. “No problem. It’s not really appealing to me, though, to be honest. I have a girlfriend.”

  “Oh! Okay.” Patsy bobbed her head again and looked down at the pedals. “Why don’t you get a feel for the machine? Just a quick little test run.”

  Ari began pedaling. “You wouldn’t happen to know a guy named Clark Wilcox, do you? I heard he comes in here from time to time.”

  Patsy stuck out her bottom lip as she considered the question, eyes still on Ari’s feet. “The name doesn’t ring a bell. The muscle tone on your legs is outstanding. You said you just go jogging…? Where, in the parks? On the trails? How far?”

  Ari said, “Oh, you know. Nowhere specific. Sometimes I lose my head and go for ten miles without thinking about it.”

  “Well, it’s working for you. Wow.” She reached down and touched Ari’s calf. “Sorry to be handsy.”

  Ari said, “That’s all right.” Patsy’s hand began to move up, grazing past her knee to her calf. “Uh. That isn’t.”

  Patsy jerked her hand back. “Wow. That’s really inappropriate. I’m sorry. I don’t even like… uh.” She reached up and scratched behind her ear. “I’m really sorry. That sort of stuff won’t be an issue here, I promise. You can work out in peace.”

  Ari could tell Patsy was sincerely thrown by her behavior, so she didn’t feel like pushing it. Still, she wished she had worn a hoodie or something to cover her tank top. She also didn’t want Patsy to think she’d scared her away, so she gestured toward the speedbags. “Do you have many women who use the rings, or are those just for the guys?”

  “We have some ladies who spar.” Patsy’s spiel was more subdued now, but she quickly found her rhythm again. “We even have some who have gone on to be MMA fighters.”

  “Very cool.”

  A door on the back wall opened and Ari turned toward the sound. As two men came out, Patsy followed her gaze. “Oh, our locker rooms are fully equipped. Shower, sauna, the works—”

  She continued on, but Ari was watching the men. All the men she’d seen at Wilcox’s building moved in a cluster toward the front entrance. None of them looked toward her; they all looked pissed off and tired.

  Patsy noticed where her attention had wandered. “Oh. The Creep Cousins.”

  Ari said, “Say what?”

  “Don’t worry about them. They’re here maybe half an hour every other day. They don’t use the machines much. They just kind of hang around in the common areas and the locker rooms. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about this place. It’s not… there aren’t drugs all over the place.”

  Ari smiled reassuringly. “Patsy, you’ve been great. Really you have. The Creep Cousins and the wandering hand? I understand. I just have to go.”

  “Oh. Okay. Well, I hope you consider coming back sometime. Bring your girlfriend. I promise no more funny business.”

  “Okay.”

  Ari quickly freed herself from the girl and hurried outside. The Creep Cousins - at least she now had a great
collective name for the group - were gathered around one of the trucks in the parking lot. Ari fished a baseball cap from her bag and pulled it on. She tugged the brim down over her face as she walked past them. At least one of the Cousins knew what her face looked like, and she didn’t want to risk it.

  “Hey!”

  She kept walking.

  “Honey, don’t waste your money on this place. You are done. Ow!”

  Ari kept her head down until she was back at her car. She pulled out of the spot, turned south out of the lot, and pulled to the side of the road. She could still see the entrance of the gym’s parking lot and waited patiently until an unmarked van pulled out of the lot. There were a lot of uses for unmarked vans, but given that she could see one of the Cousins behind the wheel, she wasn’t going to give this one the benefit of the doubt.

  She waited until he was almost to the intersection before she pulled out and began to follow him.

  Chapter Eleven

  The Creep Cousins drove south through downtown. She got an uncomfortable feeling of someone walking over her grave as she followed them past the spot where she and Dale had been caught in a gunfight with a group of hunters earlier that year. Ari had been undercover to find the leaders of wolf manoth, so she and Dale had actually been on opposite sides of that altercation. The feeling of familiarity grew when the van slowed behind the Westin Hotel to let out two of its passengers. The men began to walk while the van continued forward.

  Ari was forced to choose between who to follow, and she chose the men on foot on the assumption they would be easier to keep track of. She parked behind a maintenance truck and got out, jogging to catch up with them. They checked traffic and crossed the street toward McGraw Square. Ari followed, waving an apology to the driver she had just jumped out in front of, and kept her eyes locked on the men. In her periphery, she spotted the van again. It had driven around the corner and was now idling at the curb in front of Bartell Drugs. Ari noticed a FOR LEASE sign on the third floor where Orarian had been located before she and Milo’s pack had wiped it out, but she couldn’t waste her focus on that.

  The square was crowded with tourists, pedestrians, and patrons of the three food carts currently doing business on the south side, near the monorail tracks. The two Creeps on foot were using one of the carts as cover. The van was waiting ahead of them. Ari found a place between the two spots and saw a group of college-age women seated at a table. It took her a moment to recognize one of the women as Tiffany Knight, Wilcox’s secretary. The walking Creeps started toward her.

  “Ah, shit,” Ari muttered.

  She ran across the square on an intercept course. They were closer to Tiffany than she was, so she couldn’t grab her first. She was almost on top of them before Creep Number One - whom she now recognized as Mike - saw her coming. He turned toward her and she threw herself at him. She grabbed him around the waist in the hopes her momentum would be enough to tackle him. He rocked on his heels but Ari might as well have tried to tackle the statue of John McGraw. She hit him and immediately dropped to the ground, landing flat on her back.

  “Hey, this is the chick who was hanging around Wilcox’s place,” she heard one of them say.

  Mike bent down to grab her, putting all of his weight on his right foot. Ari kicked out at that ankle and this time he did fall, collapsing to the side with a howl of pain. His companion reached down and grabbed Ari’s jacket to haul her up. She drove her elbow into his gut to make him let go, then swung her fist up into his face. He grabbed his nose and she kicked Mike’s arms out from under him as he tried to get up.

  “Oh, stupid bitch!” he grunted as he fell flat again.

  Ari fled, knowing she couldn’t hold her own in a fight against them for long. Tiffany and her group of friends were already watching the altercation, and Tiffany stood up when she recognized who was involved.

  “Ariadne?”

  “Run! This way.” She grabbed Tiffany’s arm as she passed, guiding her in a direction that would avoid both the van and the pedestrian Creeps. If it was a movie, there would have been a streetcar passing that they could jump onboard and escape, but the tracks were empty. She heard the screech of tires and a blaring car horn as the van tried to join the chase. Tiffany stumbled but Ari managed to keep her upright as she looked for an escape route.

  She was close to giving up when the air was filled with sirens. Ari turned and saw one of the girls Tiffany had been sitting with had her phone out, and two squad cars had responded to her call for help. Mike and Creep Number Two were running for the van, their kidnapping attempt aborted. When the police swarmed toward Ari, Tiffany waved them in the right direction, but the van was already around the corner and out of sight.

  “She’s helping me! They were trying to… to… oh, god, were they going to kidnap me?” She looked at Ari. “Was I seriously just almost kidnapped?”

  Ari put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re okay now. Has anyone been following you? Maybe watching your house?”

  “I’ve been staying with a friend.” The adrenaline was starting to wear off and Tiffany was shaking. “If you hadn’t been here… holy shit. Thank you.”

  “I’m sorry they got so close.”

  One of the uniformed officers had reached them. “Does someone want to explain what’s happening here?”

  “I’m Ariadne Willow. I’m a private investigator. I had reason to believe the men in that van intended to kidnap Miss Knight.”

  Tiffany said, “She’s been helping me since my boss killed himself.”

  The cop held up his hands to stop them. “Okay. Let’s just sit down and get your statements.”

  “I don’t want to leave Ariadne,” Tiffany said, grabbing onto Ari’s shirt.

  “It’s okay. I think you’ll be safer with him than with me.”

  Tiffany still seemed reluctant, but then she grabbed Ari’s face and kissed her hard on the mouth. Ari recoiled, but Tiffany didn’t seem to notice.

  “Thank you,” Tiffany said, letting the officer guide her away.

  “Uh. Yeah.” She frowned and waited until Tiffany’s back was turned before she wiped her sleeve across her mouth. She’d never had problems attracting women, but it was starting to get ridiculous.

  Another officer took Ari’s statement, asking her to go all the way back to Clark Wilcox’s suicide to explain her presence there. She told them the guys from the van could probably be found at the Flex. When they finished, Ari told him to check with Detective Macallan to back everything up and hoped Diana wouldn’t be too irritated at being pulled in. When the police finally left, Tiffany sheepishly approached Ari.

  “Hey. Sorry about the kiss earlier. Adrenaline… I guess?” She averted her eyes. “I was just really grateful you were there.”

  “It’s fine. I’m glad I was there, too.” She looked around, half-expecting the van to have reappeared. “As much as I want to assure you they won’t try again, these guys are ballsy and stupid. It’s a dangerous combo. The fact they knew you were here makes me think they have someone watching you. Have you noticed anything unusual?”

  Tiffany said, “No, nothing. I’ve been staying with my friend, Lisa. It’s been fine. It’s been normal. Until today, I guess.”

  Ari said, “They cleaned out Wilcox’s apartment last night. I’m guessing they didn’t find what they were after and decided you were their best bet.”

  “What are they looking for?”

  “I think it’s an iPad. Did you ever see him with something like that?”

  Tiffany shrugged. “Sure. It was where he kept his sensitive materials. Like if he found out someone’s passwords or bank PIN or something during an investigation, he’d put it in there in case it ‘came in handy.’ But he took it with him everywhere. If it wasn’t at the office, then it had to be at his apartment. If they trashed the place, then they found it.”

  Ari shook her head. “No, because I have it. Listen, if these guys try to come after you again, just tell them I have it. Send them after me.�
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  “I couldn’t…”

  “You saw what I just did, right? I can handle myself. I’ll know they’re coming.”

  Tiffany reluctantly nodded. “But I don’t think it’ll be an issue. My parents offered to fly me down to Sacramento for Thanksgiving. I think I’m going to take them up on it.”

  “That would probably be a smart idea,” Ari said.

  Tiffany gave Ari a number where she could be reached, then hugged her and thanked her again. A police officer was enlisted to drive Tiffany home. Ari gave her card to the other officer and told him where he could find her if he had any more questions.

  When Ari got back to the office, Dale immediately stood up and went to her. “Hey. Diana called. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” She kissed Dale and accepted a hug before she went into the main office. “Diana already called? That’s pretty fast.”

  “Your shirt.”

  Dale was pointing at her sleeve, so Ari twisted until she saw the rip. “Ah, damn it. So much for that shirt.” She started undoing the buttons. “But the important thing is Tiffany is okay and the Creep Cousins are going to have to deal with the police.”

  “The who?” Dale chuckled.

  “Oh, the Creep Cousins. It’s the name this girl who works at the gym used for them. I figured it was apt, so…” She put the torn shirt aside in the hopes she could sew up the damage at some point. She kept a few shirts in the bottom drawer of her desk for emergencies. “Maybe this whole Clark Wilcox thing is finally almost over.”

  Dale said, “Hope so.” She had moved to stand on the other side of the desk. “Seeing you shirtless in the office kind of takes me back.”

  Ari smiled. “Yeah? Back when you had to stop yourself from going below the waist?”

  “I never had to stop myself. We were just friends. Come here.” Ari came around the desk and let Dale do the buttons for her. “But if we’re being entirely honest… yeah… a couple of times, I wondered what you would do if I just… slipped my hand between your legs.” She looked up at Ari through her lashes. “Would you have liked that? If I just started fingering you?”