Fifty-four

“FOLLOWING the money is never a bad strategy . . .”

I thought about that as I descended the back service stairs, entered the coffeehouse pantry, and found myself face-to-face with Dante’s sketches.

The two likenesses of Richard Crest stared silently at me. And I stared back. I could see why all those young women were eager to believe Dick’s “good guy” act. His features were chiseled, classically masculine, with a squared-off chin and perfect nose.

Maybe too perfect? Plastic surgery?

Folding my arms, I asked the man why he wanted to abuse women. For a thrill? A sense of superiority? You obviously think well of yourself. And you appear to have money. Few people can afford to casually withdraw ten thousand in cash.

Ten thousand in cash . . .

It was a neat sum and a familiar one. Too familiar.

Just yesterday, I heard AJ mention it: “Tristan Ferrell doubled Haley’s salary and gave her a ten-thousand-dollar signing bonus—in cash.”

She said that happened three weeks ago.

Richard Crest’s bank withdrawal slip on the day of Haley’s murder was for the exact same amount.

A coincidence? Or a connection?

Detectives Soles and Bass said they interviewed Haley’s new boss, “Mr. Ferrell,” even checked out his alibi the night she was murdered. But they also admitted not knowing what Richard Crest looked like.

Could Ferrell and Crest possibly be the same man?

I went back upstairs, found my laptop, and called up the Equator website. The top of the site was a video loop of tanned and toned bodies smacking a giant globe around like an Atlas volleyball team. Suddenly, a young woman appeared with a tennis racket, batting words at me—

Equator

World of

Luxury

Fitness &

Innovative Workouts!

Names of the “Innovative” classes followed as I scrolled. Slick photos showed fit bodies intensely engaged in each of them.

Cyclone Cycling

Extreme Kickboxing

Global Volleyball

Cardio Badminton

Ping-Pong Flow

Non-Confrontational Dodgeball

The Critter Crawl® by Ferrell Fitness

I stopped scanning when I saw Tristan’s signature workout. Now where’s the staff page?

The name “Tristan Ferrell” was listed, but his picture was no help. His sinewy body was posed on all fours, prowling in a forest setting like a jungle cat. But his head was off to the side with camouflage paint over his face to match his skintight animal-print bodysuit.

Below the bodysuit photo was his bio.

Tristan Ferrell

Creator of The Critter Crawl® Workout

Tristan has quickly become one of Equator’s most popular fitness instructors. An innovator in bodyweight training and fluid movement, Tristan has developed multiple programs for Equator—including our most in-demand workout class, The Critter Crawl®, which celebrates natural movements of the human/animal body. The president of Ferrell Fitness, Tristan is a respected personal trainer to celebrities and athletes. He created The Critter Crawl® Workout and Critter Motivational Flow and Well-Being Program® after traveling to the rain forest of Brazil, which taught him . . .

I stopped reading. If I wanted to learn anything about the rain forests of Brazil, I would ask Matteo Allegro.

Frustrated with no image of Ferrell’s face, I turned to a general search engine, typed in “Tristan Ferrell,” and was surprised by the results—or lack thereof.

The few photos of Tristan I found were body-focused, much like his Equator staff photo. Either that or he wore primitive masks to mimic the animal poses of his fitness workout.

What are you hiding, Tristan?

Just then, my phone lit up and belted out Donna Summer’s “She Works Hard for the Money.” I wanted to clap with glee. It was Tucker’s favorite song—and his ringtone.

My AWOL assistant manager was finally returning my calls!