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Authors: Camilla Chafer
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whispered, though I don’t know why because I was the only one in the studio.
“Is there a prize if I catch you?” Solomon asked, his voice smooth and inviting.
“Yes, but you’ll have to catch me to find out what it is.” Saying that, I hung up, leaving him to wonder what I might possibly do with him, which was just as well, since I hadn’t worked it out yet either.
Retrieving a screwdriver from my kit, with a confident, happy smile on my face, I set about removing the handlebars. I found two large plastic bags to store them in and slipped one bag over each side before taping the middle closed. Just to make certain these were an anomaly, I checked the handlebars of every single other bike. Not one showed signs of a thumbtack or tape.
If Michael thought it was weird when he saw me taking the whole rack of handlebars, he didn’t say. Instead, seeing my armful of evidence, he simply nodded as he added another bag on top. Inside was a blue water bottle with liquid that sloshed back and forth. A sticker on the outside read “Property of Karen Doyle.”
“Is it okay if I get this studio cleaned up now?” he asked.
“Sure. There’s no reason that you can’t. There’s nothing more for me to do and if MPD say it isn’t a crime scene, then legally, it isn’t. I did find something strange though.” I showed Michael the handlebars, being careful not to let the thumbtacks stick me, and his forehead furrowed into deep frowns. “Do you know what these are?” I asked.
“No. Nothing like that should be on a spin bike. Ever! It’s not safe.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“You think this has something to do with Jim’s death?”
“It seems rather odd,” I said non-committally. “I’ll take it to the agency and we’ll send it to the lab for tests. These too.” I held up the large, translucent bag holding the individual baggies of water bottles and Jim’s towel. “It smells bad in there,” I warned Michael.
“Of death?” He shuddered.
“I was referring more along the lines of pee.”
“Great. Just great. Three dead clients and a pee odor. Sometimes I hate my job.”
For once, I couldn’t agree with him. I loved my job! Sure, it had its downsides, not the least of which were the endless hours of surveillance, random corpses, and bodily assaults I occasionally had to endure, but it had a whole bunch of positives too. I got to use my brain to solve baffling crimes, barely had to do any filing, and got to look forward to something different every day. As a double whammy bonus, my whole family was proud I’d finally found my calling, and it didn’t fall too far from the family crime-solving tree.
Leaving Michael the unenviable job of setting the spin studio to rights, I took the stairs down to the first floor and exited the building. I carefully stowed my crime treasures in the trunk of my VW. Checking my watch, I saw there was still thirty minutes before my shift began, giving me just enough time to drop the evidence at the agency and return. I left the lot, looking back at the gym in my rear mirror. Did I made the right choice by taking an undercover assignment here? I didn’t know the answer to that, but I did know there were three healthy people whose lives were cut short; and maybe, if there was such a thing as an afterlife, they needed me to find out what happened to them.
~
I arrived back at the gym with minutes to spare. The first cars of eager gym bunnies were already pulling into the lot as Michael guided me from the entrance to the office.
“Meet Fairmount Gym’s newest fitness instructor,” said Michael, flapping a pink t-shirt with the gym’s name emblazoned across the front, at me. Unlike the men’s version, it did indeed have a deep v-cut and I winced. Lily was right about how distracting my assets might become.
He spun me around to see my reflection in the full-length mirror in his office and wrapped the t-shirt across my front. It wasn’t quite waist-length and I
“Is there a prize if I catch you?” Solomon asked, his voice smooth and inviting.
“Yes, but you’ll have to catch me to find out what it is.” Saying that, I hung up, leaving him to wonder what I might possibly do with him, which was just as well, since I hadn’t worked it out yet either.
Retrieving a screwdriver from my kit, with a confident, happy smile on my face, I set about removing the handlebars. I found two large plastic bags to store them in and slipped one bag over each side before taping the middle closed. Just to make certain these were an anomaly, I checked the handlebars of every single other bike. Not one showed signs of a thumbtack or tape.
If Michael thought it was weird when he saw me taking the whole rack of handlebars, he didn’t say. Instead, seeing my armful of evidence, he simply nodded as he added another bag on top. Inside was a blue water bottle with liquid that sloshed back and forth. A sticker on the outside read “Property of Karen Doyle.”
“Is it okay if I get this studio cleaned up now?” he asked.
“Sure. There’s no reason that you can’t. There’s nothing more for me to do and if MPD say it isn’t a crime scene, then legally, it isn’t. I did find something strange though.” I showed Michael the handlebars, being careful not to let the thumbtacks stick me, and his forehead furrowed into deep frowns. “Do you know what these are?” I asked.
“No. Nothing like that should be on a spin bike. Ever! It’s not safe.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“You think this has something to do with Jim’s death?”
“It seems rather odd,” I said non-committally. “I’ll take it to the agency and we’ll send it to the lab for tests. These too.” I held up the large, translucent bag holding the individual baggies of water bottles and Jim’s towel. “It smells bad in there,” I warned Michael.
“Of death?” He shuddered.
“I was referring more along the lines of pee.”
“Great. Just great. Three dead clients and a pee odor. Sometimes I hate my job.”
For once, I couldn’t agree with him. I loved my job! Sure, it had its downsides, not the least of which were the endless hours of surveillance, random corpses, and bodily assaults I occasionally had to endure, but it had a whole bunch of positives too. I got to use my brain to solve baffling crimes, barely had to do any filing, and got to look forward to something different every day. As a double whammy bonus, my whole family was proud I’d finally found my calling, and it didn’t fall too far from the family crime-solving tree.
Leaving Michael the unenviable job of setting the spin studio to rights, I took the stairs down to the first floor and exited the building. I carefully stowed my crime treasures in the trunk of my VW. Checking my watch, I saw there was still thirty minutes before my shift began, giving me just enough time to drop the evidence at the agency and return. I left the lot, looking back at the gym in my rear mirror. Did I made the right choice by taking an undercover assignment here? I didn’t know the answer to that, but I did know there were three healthy people whose lives were cut short; and maybe, if there was such a thing as an afterlife, they needed me to find out what happened to them.
~
I arrived back at the gym with minutes to spare. The first cars of eager gym bunnies were already pulling into the lot as Michael guided me from the entrance to the office.
“Meet Fairmount Gym’s newest fitness instructor,” said Michael, flapping a pink t-shirt with the gym’s name emblazoned across the front, at me. Unlike the men’s version, it did indeed have a deep v-cut and I winced. Lily was right about how distracting my assets might become.
He spun me around to see my reflection in the full-length mirror in his office and wrapped the t-shirt across my front. It wasn’t quite waist-length and I
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