“Yeah. So? It was Liz. I was busy.”
Kyle thrust his finger at Earl’s face. “What? Are you deaf?” He emphasized each phrase with a poke. “First Laycee, now Liz? Are you stupid?”
“You don’t trust your partner’s wife?” Earl kept his hands at his side, clenching and unclenching his fists. “I don’t have to take this crap.”
“This is my fault,” I said, stepping between them. “My old townhouse burned last night and the news upset me. I came in here obsessed with changing the address you have on file. I wasn’t thinking about anything except getting a pen to fill out the form. I’m really sorry.” Kyle’s hostile attitude softened to my lie. I turned to Earl. “Jarret is my ex-husband. I’m just a regular member here. Kyle has every right to question why I was in there.”
“Whatever.” Earl walked away, shaking his head and muttering.
Gretchen hovered in front of the cubbyholes, watching. When Kyle didn’t bark back at me, she took a wide girth around us toward the cardio room.
“Members aren’t allowed in the office. Understood?” Kyle said to me.
“Yes. It won’t happen again.” I forced a smile and picked up the pen.
He pocketed the keys from the drawer and left me at the desk, scribbling my name and address on the sheet even though I had a feeling I wouldn’t be back. Once the DEA busted Kyle’s side business, Game On could be history.
I finished and headed for the cardio room where Gretchen pedaled on a stationary bicycle. Taking the bike next to her, I slid my feet into the stirrups and began pedaling.
“Kyle’s in a foul mood,” I said. “I guess I picked the wrong day to give him my new address.”
She turned. “Your old place burned last night?”
“I heard about the fire this morning on the news. Great building. I hope there’s not too much damage. I moved out only a few months ago and I’m still catching up with changing my address everywhere. It’s been a horrible week. First Laycee, then the townhouse…”
We pedaled in silence then Gretchen said, “You were friends with her, huh? The woman who died?”
“We used to be neighbors in Atlanta. We had some good times together.” Flashing on Laycee and I sharing a joke in her kitchen, I swallowed back a twinge of sorrow. I said to Gretchen, “The other night at the game, you didn’t mention that you and Jarret went to school together.”
She jerked her head. “He told you?”
“We had dinner last night—”
“I know. I was with him when you called yesterday.” Her eyes gleamed. “What did he say about me?”
“That you’re from McHenry and exercised at Game On.” I chuckled. “You know how bad men can be with details. So you knew Jarret when he was a kid?”
“He wasn’t a kid. We met in high school. What else did he say about me?” Gretchen glowed like a smitten teenager.
“He said you had moved out here recently. L.A. is a big change from such a small town. Did you live in McHenry all your life?”
“Most of it. But Jarret made the move here easy for me. He’s been showing me around a lot, hanging out. Yesterday we went out searching for a new house for him to buy.” She smiled. “I wanted to help him take his mind off of his problems.”
Gretchen’s tone insinuated closeness. At our dinner, Jarret claimed he saw Gretchen occasionally. She rode the bike in a steady motion, arms lax at her side, eyes fixed on the TV above, only glancing at me on occasion. Her unwavering posture made it difficult to get a read on her body language for lies. Aware of Jarret’s limited free time during the season, I went with his version.
“You must know Jarret’s parents then,” I said. “And the rest of his old friends?”
“Most of our friends from school moved away, like Jarret. His parents and I stayed close. I used to see them around McHenry all the time.”
“Marion and Bud are good people,” I said. “Did any other McHenry folks move out to L.A.?”
“None that Jarret or I see.”
People wandered into the gym, filling up the cardio machines. As the noise around us increased, I needed to get to the point with Gretchen before we were interrupted. I dropped the runaround and asked straight out, “Are you familiar with a woman from McHenry named Margaret Smith?”
She wrinkled her forehead. “Never heard of her. Why?”
“Jarret mentioned her name to me. Or maybe his mother did at one time or another. While we were married I didn’t spend enough time in McHenry to meet his old friends, like you. Actually, I think Margaret lived in Bull Valley.”
“Bull Valley is miles away. All of my and Jarret’s friends lived in McHenry.”
“What made you leave McHenry and your family?”