Page 19 of Done Dirty

“No,” Becca said, shaking her head. “Definitely not. I grabbed her and pulled her back into the hall. Then I called 911.”

“What do you do for work, Paige?” Jack asked, changing the course of the conversation.

“I’m an aesthetic nurse,” she said. “At Vitalia. It’s a medical spa a couple of blocks from here. I do injectables, fillers, laser treatments, facial reconstruction. I’ve been there a little over a year.”

“How’d you meet Wade?” he asked.

“The way everyone meets Wade,” she said, with a laugh, but there was no humor in it. “I joined his Pilates studio. I took early morning classes almost every day before I went to work. He was hot and I was attracted.” She shrugged. “It seemed mutual and he gave me information on his private sessions. One thing led to another and we ended up living together.”

“Did you do the private sessions here in his condo?” he asked.

“Yeah, me and every other woman.”

“Did Wade have any enemies? Anyone who’d threatened him or who’d want to hurt him?”

She thought about it for a moment before she answered.

“There was a husband of one of the women at the studio,” she said, her words slow and thoughtful. “I don’t know her name. But the guy came in and confronted Wade in person. Made a big scene. Wade told me about it and laughed. He thought it was funny. He said the wife still came to class, and that her husband’s jealousy was good for their sex life.” She pressed her fingers to her temple. “He liked being the center of attention. Liked knowing that women were attracted to him or would fight over him.”

Jack passed a card across the table. “That’s all for now. But give me a call if you remember anything else.”

“I don’t guess I can get my stuff from the condo?” she asked hopefully.

“You can go up with one of the officers and pack a bag,” he said. “Get your personal things.”

“Is Wade still…up there?” she asked.

There was a knock on the door and Lily appeared. “Sorry to interrupt. We’re headed back to the station.”

“Good timing,” Jack said and then looked at Paige. “No, he’s not there.”

We sent Paige up with Plank while Becca called her father to fill him in on the details.

“Go ahead and put him on ice,” I told Lily. “We’re going to be a little while. We’ve still got the studio to look through.”

“Don’t forget to eat lunch,” she said on the way out. “The baby needs something besides donuts.”

I didn’t ask her how she knew about the donuts. Lily was wise beyond her years.

I looked at Jack.

“Ready to check out Form and Flow Pilates?” he asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I said. “Maybe he’ll have a list of scorned lovers and this will be an open-and-shut case.”

“From your mouth to God’s ears,” he said.

CHAPTER FIVE

Form and Flow Pilates occupied the ground floor of a converted brownstone two blocks from The Windsor, close enough that Wade could have walked to work in under five minutes.

We decided to leave the Tahoe parked at The Windsor and walk off the donuts.

The temperature was already in the mid-eighties and the humidity made me glad I’d decided to wear black pants and a sleeveless black top. If no one touched me, they’d have no idea that the fabric was glued to my skin.

Clouds had moved in, which was typical this time of year, and we’d probably get a brief afternoon shower. Which would give people just enough relief so they didn’t lose their minds and murder their neighbors.

“You doing okay?” Jack asked. “You’re looking kind of flushed.”