The Killer Sex Game (A Frank Boff Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page A

spiked with blond tips and often referred to himself in the third person. After a minute, he shook his head. “Sorry. Nothing comes to mind.”
    At this point, Damiano returned with her coffee, took a sip, and watched with obvious displeasure as Boff wormed his way into her investigation for the second time in less than four months.
    “Kate,” Boff was saying, “at some point I’d like to talk to the boxer’s wife.”
    “Me, too,” Damiano quickly added.
    “Well, at least wait a couple days,” Kate said. “I’ll let you know when I think she’s able to handle questions.”
    “Okay,” Boff said. “In the meantime, can I get Rafael’s mobile phone number?”
    “Why?” Kate asked.
    “It will help my investigation if I know who he’s been talking to recently.”
    Kate told him the number, and he wrote it down on a small pad. So did Damiano. Then Boff turned to the trainer. “When you called me, Ryan, you said the Cuban had not come home with you after his debut fight at the Garden. Did he tell you where he was going?”
    Cullen stepped in. “He said he was going to meet with his promoter, Gary Shaw. I called Shaw. He said he never asked Rafael to do that.”
    “What’s this promoter’s reputation?” Boff asked.
    “He’s the kind,” Bellucci replied, “who falls in love with his fighters and treats them like sons. Gary’s Mikey’s promoter. I’ve never heard anybody say a bad word about him.”
    “I’ll want to talk to him.”
    “No problemo. Mikey can arrange that.”
    Cullen, who fancied himself as something of an amateur sleuth, added his two cents’ worth. “The fact that Rafael told us Shaw wanted to see him immediately raised a red flag for me. No promoter would take a fighter away from his family after his pro debut. I tried to go in the taxi with him, but he shoved me away.”
    Boff turned to McAlary. “You mentioned on the phone there’d been a threat made on the fighter’s life. Tell me about that.”
    After recounting the rumors from Miami, the trainer told him about the presence of the detectives at the boxer’s fight. Boff scribbled down some notes in a form of shorthand he had developed over the years.
    When McAlary was done, Boff closed his pad. “Given the rumors, Ryan, weren’t you concerned about your boxer going off alone after the fight?”
    “Of course I was! I even threatened not to train him anymore if he went. A lot of good that did. I guess I shoulda been more forceful.”
    Boff stifled a yawn. It was way past his bedtime. “Sorry. It’s late, and my wife is waiting up for me. I’ll start on this tomorrow morning.”
    McAlary took a checkbook out of his pocket. “How much do you want as a retainer?”
    Boff tried not to frown. “There won’t be a charge for my services,” he said a bit sourly. “You can thank my wife for that.”
    Putting away his checkbook, the trainer smiled. “Pro bono work again, huh?”
    Just hearing that term made Boff cringe. “So it would seem.”
    Cullen whispered something to Bellucci, then turned to Boff. “Mikey and I want to help, too.”
    Damiano groaned. “Aw, hell! Not again! Come on, Boff. Gimme a break!”
    Cullen turned to the detective. “Let’s not forget, Miss Damiano, that if it wasn’t for me, you would’ve never gotten those hostages out alive.”
    The detective looked at Boff. “It’s bad enough having you butting into one of my cases again. Please, please tell me you’re not going to let those two idiot boxers meddle, too.” 
    Boff, as he was wont to do, said nothing.
    Damiano turned to McAlary. “Ryan?”
    “Look, Vic, even if I ordered Danny not to get involved, he’d ignore me. You know that. Stubborn mick that he is.”
    Cullen tugged on Boff’s arm. “Mikey and I have a workout at the gym tomorrow from eight to eleven. After that, we’ll be free to help you. Pick us up at the gym. Okay?”
    Without replying, Boff removed the boxer’s hand from his arm and headed for the door. As he