on the shoulder, and he recoiled, his fingers digging even deeper into Casey’s shoulders. Casey pulled him down off the treadmill. “Come on, Dylan. Let’s get back to work. See you later, Tamille.”
Tamille gave Dylan one more head to toe gander, and sauntered away. Dylan released his death grip once Tamille was out of sight. He’d gone all sweaty, and was way whiter than a young man in the prime of his life should be.
“Whoa, Dylan,” Casey said. “What is up with you?”
“She scares the crap out of me.”
“But why? It can’t just be because she didn’t want to share the weight room.”
His mouth twitched. “You really want to know?”
“I wouldn’t have asked, otherwise.”
He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Tamille was gone. “I didn’t tell the cops. I know I probably should have, but I didn’t really think it mattered, or that it was relevant.”
“Dylan…”
“She did see me down in the bar. A few weeks ago.”
“So?”
He ducked his head. “I was with…Krystal. Krystal, Andrea, and another guy.”
“Who was the guy?”
“Curtis Somebody. He was from out of town, visiting folks in the Palm. Their grandson or something. Huge guy, I think he might’ve been a football player in his former life, but now he’s in something boring, like estate planning. Or maybe real estate. Or I guess it could’ve been—”
“Dylan!”
“Sorry. But he was pretty cool. Tall, dark dude, with a gold earring and brands on his arms. The four of us were sitting around in the bar, just talking, you know? And Tamille comes up, out of nowhere. It’s kind of dark down there in the evenings, and she just sort of loomed up, like a ghost or something out of some spooky movie, or maybe a Stephen King nov—” Casey made a move toward him, and he hurried on. “And she went off, saying how other women would like a chance at the new guy, so maybe some people should share him for the evening.”
“Had he been here long?”
“Several days, I guess. I’d seen him talking to Krystal and Andrea other nights at the bar. I had a few beers with him, too. Nice guy, really.”
“And Tamille’s little speech was enough to put the fear of God into you for life?”
“Oh, geez, no. It was what happened later.”
“And what was that?”
Dylan swallowed. “We were walking the girls—women, sorry—to the elevator when Tamille showed up again. She brushed past me and Curtis and got right up in her face, pinning her against the wall. ‘You leave him alone,’ she said. ‘You leave him alone, or you’re going to answer to me.’ And she stared at her a few seconds, before she spun around and left. I thought I was going to pee my pants.”
Casey gave a little laugh. “Were there other women around to cheer?”
“Cheer? Why would they?”
“Dylan, I know you like Krystal, or you lust after her, anyway. Lots of men do. But you’ve got to know women feel just the opposite. If there were any around, I’m sure they were all wishing they would’ve been the one to give her the ultimatum.”
“But she wasn’t talking to Krystal,” Dylan said.
“What?”
“Krystal was with me that night. We went back up to her apartment and—” He blushed. “Andrea was the one with Curtis. Tamille backed Andrea up against the wall and threatened her. Right there in front of God and me and everybody.”
Chapter Twenty-five
“But I like Tamille.” Casey took a gulp of water and slammed her cup on the table. She’d finished her session with Dylan, promised him she would offer protection from Tamille if need be, taken care of her other clients and classes, and moved robotically from one thing to the next, completely stunned by what Dylan had told her.
“Lots of people like killers,” Death said. “It’s the way the world works. Nice people—or even people like Tamille—can get pushed to murder by the strangest things.”
“I don’t believe it. I just don’t.”
Neither Sissy nor Laurie showed up in class, and the Parkers hadn’t yet made an appearance. Casey was itching to ask them more about Andrea’s supposed fiancé, but she knew she needed to give them their space. If they were sleeping, she didn’t want to be the one to wake them up.
Now, on her lunch hour, she struggled about what to do with the landmine Dylan had dropped in her lap. She probably should tell Detective Binns and get Tamille on Binns’ radar, even if a threat made in the heat of the moment didn’t prove later