“I work days—I’ve got Evan—but yeah, he’d been coming in off-hours. Staff’s allowed to use the facilities off their shift, or adjust their schedule to suit a client. We run six A.M. to ten P.M., and I noticed him swiping in pretty regularly after ten on the log. He said he was using the comps to program some new training sessions, getting a late workout in when the place was quiet. He brought in the clients, earned his pay and commission. I didn’t make a thing of it.”
“Okay. He has a locker here.”
“All the staff have lockers.”
“We’d like to get into it. I can get a warrant.”
“No need for it. If he doesn’t want the cops to have all the information they can get on finding out who killed him, he’s too stupid to live anyway.”
Intrigued, Eve nodded. “That’s one way of looking at it.”
Lill took them down to the staff lockers—a tight little room with wall units, two narrow benches, a toilet stall and a skinny shower.
“We have another staff locker room on the third floor. Mostly the guys use this one, the women use that, but they’re coed. He put a second lock on his a couple weeks ago. People do, sometimes—clients and staff. Which is why I have a universal master because half the time people forget their codes.”
Lill ran it under the first lock once, then twice. Frowned, ran it under the main lock.
“It’s not reading.”
“Let me try mine.” Eve stepped in, repeated the process with the same results. “He’s gone to some trouble here. That’s interesting.” She glanced at Peabody. “McNab.”
“On it.”
“I’m calling in someone from our Electronics Detective Division. He’ll access and confiscate anything in the locker. You can be present if you want.”
With her hands on her hips, Lill frowned at the locker. “I kind of do just because I want to know what the hell he’s got in there.”
“Meanwhile, why don’t you give me a list of names. People, you know, who might have wanted to take a tire iron to his car.”
Lill laughed weakly, said, “Crap.”
While they waited for McNab, Eve had Peabody do a run on Alla Coburn and the names Lill listed while Eve talked to the instructors and trainers on duty.
She broke off when she spotted McNab.
He stood out among the hard bodies, the six-packs, the oiled guns.
Then again, he stood out anywhere.
In his long red coat and bright green watch cap he looked like a skinny twig in a forest of sequoias. The long tail of his hair bounced sunnily at his back as he pranced in on gel boots the same color as the cap. A line of silver rings glittered on the curve of his ear.
She watched his pretty face light up, followed the direction of his gaze to Peabody.
Love, Eve thought, came in all colors, shapes, and sizes.
She cut across his path before the EDD ace and her partner did something embarrassing like lock lips on duty.
“Double locks,” she said without preamble. “One factory installed, one add-on, both reprogrammed to block master access.”
“Got your bypass right here.” He patted one of the half dozen pockets of his coat. “Some sweatbox,” he added with a glance around. “Your DB work here?”
“He did.”
“Guess he died fit. Makes you think, doesn’t it? Eat rabbit food, sweat daily, die anyhow. Hey, She-Body. You forgot your toe warmers this morning.” He pulled a pair of thin gels out of one of his pockets.
“Thanks. Aw, you activated them.”
“Can’t have my girl’s tootsies cold.”
“Don’t say aw again,” Eve ordered, anticipating. “And never say tootsies. You’re wearing badges, for God’s sake. This way.”
She knew damn well they did their little finger tap behind her back.
“Nothing stood out on the run, Lieutenant.” Peabody made up for the finger tap with a brisk report. “A couple minor bumps, one with some outstanding traffic violations, but nothing that rang. Coburn’s run her business out of its current location for nearly six years.”
“Okay. Nobody liked him. Most of the coworkers don’t come right out and say so, but it’s clear he won’t be especially missed around here. Words like arrogant, sneaky, ambitious, and asshole are the most popular.”
She nodded to Lill.
“Lill Byers, the manager, will witness our access to the deceased’s employee locker. I’d also like Detective McNab to take a look at any computer Ziegler would have used.”
“Oh, man.” Lill did the hand over hair scoop. “Staff lounge on the third floor. We’ve got two minis up there. Mostly everybody brings their own pocket or