Death of a Jaded Samurai Read Online Free PDF Page A

all the mats and clean this place up before then. Not with the long weekend. Gilda, I need you to pull some overtime. We'll have to pull up all the mats and get some cheap ones at the hardware store."
    She widened her eyes. "How am I supposed to get a load of mats here? You know I don't have a car. Besides, it's the long weekend, and the school's closed Saturday, and I have to catch a bus to Erie after classes tonight."
    "Yeah? Well, I was due in Detroit an hour ago." He opened a utility closet and pulled out the mop and bucket. "We don't have time to wait for some cleaning crew. I'll get the cleaner. You get to work. At least we can get rid of the rest of the blood before it starts to smell."
    Gilda gaped. "We're not supposed to touch anything."
    "Well, we can't just leave it like this." While he left to get cleaner, she glanced at the bare patches on the dojo floor to assess how many new mats they needed. She glanced back to the bench Mick kicked. Had she actually seen something fall?
    She moved the bench aside, and there lay a man's ring embossed with a clenched fist on the front. The goju-ryu karate symbol that indicated the school's style of karate. Curious, she knelt on the floor to check the underside of the bench. A broken piece of masking tape still clung to the wood. The ring triggered a partial memory. She'd seen it before. Why would anyone hide it in the school, of all places?
    She pulled out her cell phone and took a picture of both the ring and the tape. At a loss for what to do next, she picked it up with a piece of toilet paper and stuck it in her pocket. She'd keep the ring somewhere safe until she could take it to Fabio. Odd how, after all their careful searching, both the police and forensics crew missed it.
    Something else still seemed out of place in the changing room. The scale was fine. The bench was moved slightly away from the now-dented wall. Something seemed amiss that only her subconscious picked up, and she just couldn't put her finger on it.
    "I got the cleaner." Mick set a bottle near the bucket and mop. "Let me know how long it takes so I can adjust your paycheck."
    "Oh no you don't." Gilda wheeled around. "I'm not staying. You can either do it yourself or stay and wait for the cleaning crew. I'm leaving."
    "Whoa." He took a step back and held up both hands. "Whoa. You okay?"
    She stared, her eyes welling with tears. "No, I'm not okay. I found Walter's body, faced the police alone, and now you expect me to stay and clean up the mess. Not this time, buster. I'm out of here. You stay. I'm done." She shoved past him on her way to the lobby and let the tears flow.
    Mick caught her before she reached her handbag. "Wait. Gilda, I'm sorry."
    She stopped, sure she'd heard wrong.
    "You're right." He pulled her into his arms and held her close. His hug seemed awkward at first, but his warmth comforted her. "I ran out when I should've been here to make sure things were okay. Instead, I left to meet the instructors to ensure they wouldn't quit, or we'd have to close by Tuesday."
    "Quit?" Breathless, she tilted her head and bumped his chin. If the instructors all quit, she'd be out of a job. "I know there was a murder, but why would everyone quit?"
    He sighed. "You've been here long enough to know there are issues. Razi and Walter have never seen eye to eye, and since Razi's not a citizen yet, he's afraid the police will go after him. Xavier had that argument with Walter last week in front of the school, and Erik…" He hesitated. "Erik wanted to take over some of Walter's classes."
    "Great. So I'm working with a band of possible murderers." She flared her nostrils more out of fear than anger, and she tried to pull away. "What did you have against Walter?"
    He averted his gaze into the dojo but kept his arms around her. "Nothing."
    Something. What had he told Thayer in the interview room? She shoved him away. "Seriously? Walter's dead. For all I know, you killed him."
    Mick grimaced and walked around her