Page 41 of Crosshairs

Trilling started to step past me, his instinct to stop something like this too strong to ignore. I put my hand out and caught him by the chest. I leaned over and said into his ear, “This isn’t her first rodeo. Give it a minute before we do anything stupid.”

“We can’t let this keep going.”

“We can’t fight the forty people in here either.”

Trilling nodded but didn’t look happy about my decision. We both turned and watched the fight. Robinson knew how to move. The tall man landed one glancing blow off her shoulder. Thenshe stepped to one side, cocked her right arm back, and caught the man on the side of the chin with her bare fist.

I could tell by the way his head snapped that the fight was over, even before I saw his eyes roll back in his head. Then he dropped to his knees and fell face forward to a round of cheers from the entire crowd.

Wendy Robinson had hardly broken a sweat. She checked to make sure her opponent was okay. Several men from the crowd had him sitting up and were checking his eyes. The man gave her a thumbs-up and she turned to walk away.

Trilling and I intercepted her as she was headed into the crowd to watch the next fight. As soon as Robinson noticed us, she turned on the ball of her foot and tried to cut through the crowd to the rear door.

Trilling raced ahead and was waiting at the door.

Once I reached the door, we all stepped outside into the relatively quiet alley behind the gym-warehouse. The place was a perfect camouflage for these illegal fights. Even from inside the gym you couldn’t tell there was a rear warehouse section of the building.

We stood on either side of Wendy Robinson as I said, “You haven’t been enrolled at City College for almost two years. You lied to us.”

She smiled. “I lie to everyone. I have to just to stay sane. My mom wants to know my every move. The VA wants to make sure I stay on my meds. And cops asking questions just makes things worse. I didn’t want to tell you I was involved with these guys. You’d shut them down.”

I said, “So it’s like the movie. First rule is not to talk about it.”

“What movie?”

“Fight Club.”

She just gave me a vacant look. “Our first rule is to make sure no one gets hurt. It just adds a level of realism to our training, and the owner of the gym makes a little extra from people coming to watch the fights. The VA would never sanction this sort of therapy for PTSD. I swear to God it’s the only way to deal with living here.”

I said, “Now that I know your alibi is bullshit, I need to know where you were the night Adam Glossner was shot on his balcony.” That was the date we knew she had lied about.

She made a sour face and said, “C’mon, guys. You can’t figure it out? I was right here. I’m here two or three nights a week. Your detective abilities don’t seem that sharp to me.”

I looked at Trilling and he nodded as he went back inside to verify her story. He’d find the manager easily enough.

I looked back at Robinson. “We visited your mom. She seems very nice.”

“She’s the best. Except she expects everyone to live their lives the same way she has. I don’t want to end up in a little town with a house full of kids running around.”

“Where’s the rifle you used at her house?”

Another smile slid across her face. “So you’re saying I shouldn’t confide any criminal activities to my mother. She showed you my little range, didn’t she?”

“To be fair, she didn’t know why we wanted to talk to you.”

“The rifle belongs to one of my buddies who lives near my mom. I just wanted to feel a rifle against my shoulder for an hour or so. It’s too expensive to shoot anymore. Ammo costs a fortune. I liked it a lot better when the government provided me with bullets.” She gave me a sly smile. She wasn’t worried about a homicide charge.

After a while, Trilling came back out. “Robinson’s story checks out. The manager even showed me some video. He says she’s a regular and never causes any trouble.”

Robinson did a little curtsy. “That’s me, just a good little girl.” She pointed at the building. “I guess you could say this whole thing is my anti-anxiety drug. Please don’t shut us down.”

“Answer your phone if I call you again and we won’t bother this place. Ignore me and I’ll make a call that shuts this place down for good. Do we have an understanding?”

She held out her right hand and shook mine. “You have my word.” She turned to Trilling and stuck her hand out again. When he reached to shake it, she pulled him close and planted a kiss right on his lips. “That’s just to show I’m serious about my work.”

Watching Trilling blush never got old.

CHAPTER 50

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