Early Tuesday afternoon, Gilda unlocked the front door of the school and was startled to find a lone figure standing in the lobby. Her heart seemed stuck in her throat. Yoshida was no taller than her, yet his presence seemed to fill the room with foreboding. She cringed. “Shihan Yoshida. Sensei Mick didn’t tell me you were coming early.”
“I neglected to tell him.” Yoshida turned to face her, his eyes narrowed. “I hear you have spoken with a number of people about Walter Levy, Miss Wright.”
She shrank back without moving her feet. “I was simply trying to find out why someone would kill one of our most indispensable black belts.”
“Everyone is dispensable.” He toyed with blocks on her desk one of the younger students had left behind. “Do you think by asking questions you can solve a man’s murder?”
“No,” she said, yet that was exactly what she was doing. No wonder Mick called her Sherlock. “I guess so. It was a bit of a shock finding his body. I guess I feel like I owe it to his family to help find his killer.”
His eyebrows rose as he placed a business card on top of the bottom layer of three blocks and his hard gaze met hers. “Did you kill him?”
She swallowed hard. “No.”
Yoshida’s face softened. He piled two more blocks on top of the card. “Then you owe them nothing. Keep your mind on your work and your nose in your business. Asking questions and meddling in the affairs of others will not save this school.”
She wanted to ask what he meant by saving the school, but was concerned his comment was more a threat than a stern piece of advice. “I will. Thank you.”
“I will return in time for our training session. I suggest you not show up or you may get hurt.” He turned on his toes and, abandoning his block creation, walked out the door.
Once the door closed, Gilda hid behind the desk and dared to breathe. Despite the heat, she had a serious chill deep in her bones. A cup of tea would take the edge off, yet she was afraid to set foot outside the building. Too many suspects, too few answers.
She glanced at the clock. No sign of Mick or any of the other black belts. No classes. No students. No Walter. Tears threatened to fall on her paperwork and smear the ink. Yoshida was right. She didn’t kill Walter, nor did she owe his family anything, including peace of mind. The questions, snooping really, were for her own sanity to prove her coworkers weren’t murderers.
Why had he told her not to come to train that night? Either he knew something was going to happen or it was a threat.
“Who’s in here?” Mick called from the front door. It wasn’t like him to be paranoid, but this wasn’t the first time he’d yelled into the school without setting foot inside. Was he worried about running into the murderer or just Yoshida?
“Just me.” She guessed neither Yoshida nor Gary had stuck around outside to wait.
He peered around the corner. “Are you armed?”
Gilda shrugged. “I have a stapler. Does that count?”
“I can deal with that.” Mick leaned on the counter. “Whoa. Are you okay, Sherlock? You look as green as the mats.”
“Yeah. Still a bit rattled, I guess.”
“What are you doing here then?” he asked.
She sighed. “Mid-month payments. Tidying up before the workshop. I don’t want to fall behind while we’re closed.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“Yoshida was here when I arrived.” She met his gaze.
The muscles in his shoulders tensed. “Was he? What did he want?”
“I don’t know, but he was definitely surprised to see me. The door was locked. I used my key to get in.”
“Interesting. What did he say?” Mick disappeared around the corner toward his office.
Gilda bit her lower lip and waited.
When she didn’t reply, he reappeared. “Gilda? Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” She shuffled her paperwork.
Mick returned to the counter. “Uh-huh. Sure you are. Did he walk check out the dojo?”
“He looked inside but didn’t turn on the lights.” Her throat tightened. “He stood exactly where you are now, peeked through the doorway then left,” she said. “He did warn me not to train tonight.”
Mick flared his nostrils. “What were his exact words?”
“He suggested I not show up or I may get hurt.” She hugged her stomach. “He also told me to stop asking questions and meddling in the affairs of others since it won’t save this school. What did he mean by that?”
Mick closed his eyes and ran a hand through his thick hair. “Go home, Gilda.”
“But I—”
“Go home and don’t come back until after Walter’s funeral.”
“I have to—”
His jaw hardened. “Don’t come to the workshop. Take the night off. Hang out with Marion. Just don’t show up here.”
She didn’t even open her mouth this time. She just stared. After a moment, her shoulders drooped. “At least let me tidy up and file my paperwork.”
He headed back to his office. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Gilda straightened up her desk before she wandered outside in a daze. The questions popped up at a rate that matched her pace and followed her all the way out to her garden. What was Mick up to and why did he and Yoshida tell her not to show up to train that night? Frustrated, she puttered around in the sunshine for half an hour before the phone rang.
“Okay, Gilda. What’s going on?” Marion asked.
“What are you talking about?” She sat on the back step. “Nothing’s going on. I’m at home working in my garden.”
“Oh, I don’t know. First I overheard Thayer tell someone he ran into you at the morgue then Mick calls me. Keep in mind, he has never, ever called me before. He suggested I keep you busy tonight. He even offered me bribe money. What have you done now?”
Gilda sighed. Mick really was trying to keep her away from the school. “I haven’t done anything. I promise.”
“Well, your boss seems to think I need to keep you busy tonight and suggested you and I go to dinner and a movie.” The sounds in the background said she was still in the dispatch office. “What do you say? My treat. I’ll stop at home and change then we can have dinner and a couple glasses of wine and—”
She was still stuck on one detail. “Mick put you up to this?”
“Yeah. Well, not totally. You are my best friend, you know,” Marion said. “What’s wrong? Did I miss something?”
“No, but I think I have. Tonight there’s training with Yoshida. Both he and Mick told me not to show up.”
“Holy crap. Is your karate that bad?”
Gilda groaned. “I think there’s something going on at the school that I’ve missed. If I do go to class tonight, I’ll find out more.”
“See that’s where you and I differ. If someone like Mick told me to stay away, I’d listen, no maybe about it. Especially from Yoshida. Hang on a sec, will you?” Her next words were muffled, but clear. “Get lost, Thayer. No, I’m not talking to Gilda. I’m talking to my boyfriend.”
“Yeah? What’s his name?” Thayer asked in the background.
“Tiny. Do you really want to mess with a guy named Tiny? No? I didn’t think so.”
Gilda smiled. “I have to get ready for class. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Don’t you dare hang up on me, Tiny.” She lowered her voice. “Honey, do you have brain damage? Listen to Mick. Forget training and meet me for dinner. Do you want to end up like Walter?”
Gilda got up to pace the garden path. “No, but what if Walter learned something they didn’t want him to know? What if someone else finds out and dies?”
Marion groaned. “Then you’ll end up in the middle and get killed no matter what I say.”
“There will be other students there.”
“And what if they’re all involved?” she asked.
Gilda hadn’t thought that far ahead.