CHAPTER 29

“No!” Helen screamed. “No!”

The body fell out of the overhead duct and landed on a pile of towels. The small, rumpled form of Evie Roddick sat up. She blinked in the bright overhead lights and shook her gray hair.

Helen’s high-pitched screams carried over the televisions, the gym equipment, the ball games and the music. Evie didn’t seem to hear. She pulled the legs of her gray sweatpants down to her ankles, then dug her socks and gym shoes out from under a pile of towels and put them on.

Helen didn’t stop screaming until Evie stood up and brushed off her dust-streaked sweats. “Helen, there’s no reason to be upset,” Evie said, as if gym members fell out of air ducts all the time. “I’m sorry I scared you, but I’m fine.”

“Well, I’m not,” Helen said. She flopped down on a stack of white towels as if a puppeteer had cut her strings.

By that time, Derek and Carla were in the doorway of the towel closet.

“Where have you been, Evie?” Derek asked, sounding like an angry parent. “The police have been looking for you.”

“Home,” Evie said in a small voice.

“Oh, no,” Derek said. “Don’t lie to me. For the last five days, the police have stopped by your house almost hourly. When the cops weren’t at your house, they called and harassed your husband.”

“Good!” Evie said. “Peter deserves it.”

“Well, I sure as hell don’t,” Derek said. “We’ve been trying to find you.”

“You have my address,” Evie said.

“Not the right one,” Derek said. “Quit evading my question.”

“I was staying with a friend,” Evie said.

“You’re lying, Evie. What were you doing in that air duct?”

“I left something in there the other day, before Debbi died. I went back to get it.”

“That’s why we have lockers,” Derek said. “When did you get here?”

“This morning,” Evie said. Her eyes shifted. She looked ready to bolt, but Derek blocked the door with his massive bulk.

“I don’t think so,” Helen said. “I’ve been on the desk all morning, and I didn’t check you in.”

“You were busy,” Evie said. “I swiped my card myself.”

“You’re not in the computer,” Carla said. “I checked a few minutes ago when I came on duty. I didn’t see your name. And this isn’t the first time you didn’t check in.”

“The computer malfunctioned,” Evie said.

“It’s working fine,” Helen said. “The police have made our lives hell because they want to talk to you.”

Tears ran down Evie’s face, but she said nothing. She sniffled and wiped her face on the sleeve of her baggy sweatshirt.

Derek knelt down in front of her and said softly, “Evie, you can tell us. We need your help or we’re going to jail. Where were you, please?”

“I was right here,” Evie said. “At the gym. I’ve been living here since I walked out on my husband three weeks ago. We had a fight and Peter hit me. I can’t live with a man who abuses me. He said he was sorry, but he refused to get counseling. Peter said it was my fault that I made him angry.

“I took seven hundred dollars out of our account, but that’s not enough money for an apartment. Now I sleep in the women’s lounge at night and use your facilities.”

“I never see you when I lock up, and I check both dressing rooms,” Derek said.

“I hide in a toilet stall while you close up. Those long doors don’t show my feet. If I don’t leave the lounge area until the staff comes in at six a.m., I don’t trip the security system. I sleep on the couch. It’s surprisingly comfortable, and the towels make good blankets. I drop them in the dirty laundry basket when I get up, and nobody knows I spent the night here.

“When the gym gets busy, I dress up nice, go out for food and look for a job. I haven’t found one yet.”

“How can you look for a job?” Helen said. “You don’t have a car.”

“I’ve walked to every store for three miles up and down Federal Highway. I take the bus, too. I’ve been looking and looking, but nobody will hire me. I haven’t had much work experience. Now you’re going to kick me out and I’ll be homeless, too.”

“Have you seen a lawyer?” Helen asked.

“They charge too much,” Evie said. “If I see a lawyer, I can’t afford to eat.”

“How do you eat?” Derek asked.

“When I go out, I have a meal at the pancake house.Then I come back here to the gym and check in officially. If I get hungry the rest of the day, I drink the ice water from the pitchers in the lounge or buy protein bars.”

“No wonder you’re so thin,” Helen said.

“The police have been crawling all over this place,” Carla said. “Why didn’t they find you?”

“I heard the screaming when Helen discovered Debbi’s body. I ran up here to the towel closet. It’s my alternate hideout. I’m small, and I can fit into the air ducts. I removed the screws on the cover with a quarter and hid them in the back of the top shelf. They’re still up there.”

“How do you get up into a seven-foot ceiling?” Derek asked. “You’re only five feet tall.”

“I’m five-one,” Evie said, indignant that he’d underestimated her. “I take off my shoes and hide them under the towels, then climb the shelves like a ladder, stand on top, take off the duct cover and crawl in. I’m small enough that I fit inside.

“That’s what I did when the police were here. I pulled the duct cover in after me and held it in place while they looked around.They didn’t stay long. The CSI woman dusted for prints, but she’d expect to find them on the towel shelves.”

“How long were you in that duct?” Helen asked.

“The police left at eleven the first night, so I guess maybe sixteen or seventeen hours. I climbed down and opened the door a crack. The lights were off, but the security system was on and I didn’t want to set it off. I slept on a pile of towels in the corner there, then stayed in here the whole next day.”

“What about when you needed a bathroom?” Helen asked.

“There’s a liter bottle in the corner,” Evie said, and hung her head. “I covered it with a towel, too. I’m sorry. I’m scared and I haven’t had anything to eat but my emergency stash of PowerBars I kept under the towels.”

“Good grief,” Derek said. “Let me get you some food. Then I’ll call Detective Redding.”

“No!” Evie said. “I heard what he said. He’ll arrest me. I didn’t kill her.”

“We have to call the detective,” Derek said. “He wants to talk to you.”

“He wants to throw me in jail. He thinks I’m guilty.” Evie wept so hard, Helen thought her small body would come apart.

“I have to call him,” Derek said. “Otherwise, he’ll close this gym down and then you’ll be homeless and we’ll be out of jobs. I promise we’ll do our best to protect you, Evie, but we have no choice.”

“At least let me shower and eat before you turn me in,” Evie said. She looked pitiful with her dirt-smeared face and oily hair.

“I can do that,” Derek said. “You clean up, and I’ll go out for food. What would you like: a pizza, hamburgers, a roast beef sandwich?”

“A chicken,” Evie said. “A whole roast chicken. From the supermarket. And chocolate cake. I have the money. I can pay for it.”

“I’ll buy it,” Derek said. “My treat.Take your shower, and by the time you’re finished I’ll be back with your food. Don’t cry.We’ll find the real killer. When this is over and we know who killed Debbi, I’ll give you a job here.You’ll make enough money so you can rent your own place.”

“You promise?” Evie said. Helen couldn’t bear to see the hope shining in her eyes.

“Have you ever known me to lie?” Derek said.

Right now, Helen thought. To save your job.

Carla watched the reception desk, and Helen stayed with Evie while Derek went for food. Evie came out of the shower wrapped in towels and hot steam, then blow-dried her gray hair until it shone. When she was dressed in clean gym clothes, she joined Helen in the lounge with the tropical furniture. They were alone. The brightcolored upholstery seemed to mock their somber mood.

Evie was so slender and pale, she looked like a child. Her worries were real and grown-up.

“I didn’t do it,” Evie insisted.

“I believe you,” Helen said. She did. More than she believed Derek.

“What am I going to do, Helen?” Evie asked. “You know that detective will arrest me. I don’t have any money for a lawyer. My husband won’t help. Peter would be thrilled if I was locked up for murder. He hates me. He wants me out of his life.”

Helen wasn’t going to give Evie false assurances. They both knew that roast chicken Derek was so eager to fetch would be her last meal as a free woman.

“When Detective Redding takes you into custody, he’ll read you your rights,” Helen said. “Tell him you want a lawyer. He has to get you a public defender. Don’t say a word unless your lawyer says it’s okay.”

“I’ve heard public defenders aren’t very good,” Evie said. “But I guess you get what you pay for.”

“Not necessarily,” Helen said. “There are good ones. I’ll do my best to help you. My husband and I have a detective agency.”

“Really? And you’d help me?” Evie held on to this frail hope as if it were the last lifeboat off the Titanic.

Helen felt like a fraud. She couldn’t help her own sister, but she was volunteering to help this woman.

“I can’t make any promises,” Helen said. “I’m only a trainee. I wouldn’t want Derek to find out what I really do.”

“No, no, I won’t say a word,” Evie said. “But thanks for caring.”

There was a knock on the lounge door. “Evie,” Derek said, “I have your dinner ready in the sales cubicle.”

The desk was spread with a whole roast chicken, mayonnaise potato salad, white rolls, a bottle of wine, a cup of coffee and an entire chocolate cake.

“It’s lovely. Would you like some?” Evie asked.

“It’s your feast,” Derek said. “Eat up.” The delicious scents of warm chicken and hot coffee were calling to Helen, but she was too ashamed to ask for any.

Evie ate it all, down to the last chicken wing. “Are you sure you don’t want any cake?” she asked, cutting herself a giant wedge.

Helen started to say yes, but Derek’s frown and head shake stopped her.

After Evie finished her coffee and the last crumb of cake, Derek said softly, “Evie, I have to make that call now. But there will be a job for you when this is over.”

“I understand,” Evie said. Helen heard acceptance and sadness in her voice.

“I’ll stay with Evie while you make the call,” Helen said, hoping to spare her the humiliation of Derek asking Helen to stand guard.

“I haven’t much time left as a free woman,” Evie said. “At least I had a good meal.”

Helen felt pity for the small woman, who struggled to find a bright spot. “If the worst happens, remain silent,” she told her. “You don’t have to talk to the detective without a lawyer.”

“I promise,” Evie said. “You’ve promised to help me.”

So I have, Helen thought. Why? She already knew the answer: I’ve failed so much already. I have to succeed at something.

“Detective Redding is going to arrest me,” Evie said. “It’s probably for the best. I’ll be safer in jail.”