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Tuesday evening I had just settled in to unwind with another episode of The Walking Dead when there was a knock on the door.
I wasn’t expecting Petreski, but I recognized his knock.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when I opened the door and saw his face. “Something’s happened. Is Miss Nancy okay?”
“She’s fine,” he answered, coming inside and taking off his jacket and holster. I went to the kitchen for a beer – he looked like he needed it.
“Are you okay?”
He took a long pull from the bottle before answering. “Not so much. The prisoner – the guy we caught outside Miss Nancy’s?”
I nodded.
“He was found dead in his cell this afternoon.”
“What?! Seriously? Was it... did he... was it suicide or did someone kill him or what?”
“He ripped his shirt up to make a noose and managed to hang himself from the bars. It wasn’t an easy way for him to do it, so he had to be pretty determined.”
“And he definitely did it himself?”
“Yeah. God, we thought we might be getting somewhere and now we’re back where we were last week.”
“And he never said anything?”
“Nothing useful. When the psychologist tried to interview him this morning he just rocked back and forth muttering to himself in Creole. ‘Li se fou.’ We thought it was a name, Lisa Foux, and we wasted too much time trying to track down someone with that name and any kind of connection to the case.” He stopped for another long swallow of beer.
“Did you find anything?”
He shook his head. “No. It wasn’t a name. Turns out he was saying ‘he’s crazy’ in Creole.”
“Who’s crazy? Belzir?”
“That’s the assumption. But by the time we figured it out and went to ask him, he was dead.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. So that was my day. Please tell me yours was better.”
“It was just a day. Dropped Don off at work, went to school, worked out, studied. The usual. I was going to have leftovers for dinner, but I can make something if you’re hungry?”
“You haven’t eaten yet?”
“Nope.”
“Would it be okay – it’s been a while – would it be okay if we ordered a pizza? I just really need cheese and carbs tonight.”
“Yeah. No prob. Whatever you want, Boo.”
* * *
“Jake...” Dani had a disapproving look on her face when we met up for our session at the campus wellness center the next day.
“Hmm?”
“Pizza for dinner? So much dairy and carbs!”
“It was solidarity pizza. Do calories count if it’s eaten in solidarity?”
“What the hell is solidarity pizza?”
“My boyfriend needed comfort food.”
“Ah.”
“He had a shit day at work, and besides, you told me it was about choices. I’ll be good the rest of the week, I promise.”
“It’s about choices, but it’s also about developing good habits. Using food for comfort can lead to bad habits if it’s done too often.”
“Yeah, I know. Eating mindfully.”
“I’m convinced it’s the key to lifelong healthy eating. Just like getting fit now, and building that habit, is the key to lifelong fitness.”
I knew that was my hint to get to work, and headed toward the cardio area to warm up.
I needed to tell her I wasn’t planning to sign up for another three months of personal training, but I wasn’t sure how to bring it up.
“Um, Dani...” I said after I’d finished ten minutes on a rowing machine and we were heading for the free weight area.
“Hmm?”
“So, about the next three months. Uh...”
“You’re not gonna renew?”
“No, I just can’t right now.”
“I understand. It’s cool.”
“Really? I’m sorry, it’s just with school, and stuff, you know?”
“Of course. And it’s not cheap, either. I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect you to last this long.”
“You didn’t?” I didn’t know whether I was relieved or insulted.
“Not once I figured out that you only signed up to pump me for information about Lana.”
“Shit.” I stopped and gaped at her. She stopped and turned back to face me.
“What?”
“You knew?”
“Not at first. But it wasn’t hard to figure out once I got to know you. You’re a snoop – and I mean that in the nicest possible way. But yeah, your curiosity’s going to get you in trouble one of these days, so be careful, yeah?”
“Are you mad?”
“Mad? Why would I be mad?”
“I felt bad about it. Let’s be blunt – I kind of used you.”
“You helped figure out who killed Lana, and helped send her father to jail. You may have had an ulterior motive, but your heart was in the right place. No, I’m not mad. And as far as training goes, I have short term clients all the time. They come and go, plus I have a waiting list these days. Don’t worry about it. Anyway, I’m right downstairs in case you slip and need me again.”
“I can honestly say you’ll be the first call I make.”
“Cool. Now let’s get to work, yeah?”
