Daylight (Atlee Pine #3)(72)
Pine walked over there and joined the crowd. Several young men tried to bar her way but a broad-shouldered man, with curly gray hair and wearing an old-fashioned three-piece suit and a brilliant red tie, said, “Show some respect, let the lady through.”
The men obeyed and Pine came to stand next to him.
“Thanks, Mr. . . . ?”
“Just call me Gerald. And you are?”
“Atlee Pine.”
“Had an aunt down in Alabama named Atlee, God rest her soul.”
“Quite the gym.”
“Really? Forgive me, but I thought you’d be one of them folks who like the juice bar and the Peloton and that yoga stuff.” Then he ran his eye over her, not in a sexual way, but in a way of a person experienced at gauging fitness. “But then again, looking at your shoulders, thighs, and core, I would be wrong about that, wouldn’t I?”
“I’m a powerlifter. The gym where I work out in Arizona has no AC, just a lot of iron and a lot of sweat and no juice bar need apply.” She looked around. “And from what I can see of this place, I think I’d fit right in.”
“Well, come back anytime to work up a sweat. Now, what can we do for you?”
“I’m looking for a young man named Peanut.”
“And why would you be doing that?”
Gerald’s tone was still very polite, but his smile and gaze had hardened just a bit.
“He told me he could help me on a case. I wanted him to look at some photos I just got.”
“A case?”
She showed him her FBI badge. “Jerome Blake’s death. Did you know him?”
Gerald took a moment to look at the throng of young men around them and said, “Hey, fellas, give us space so me and this lady can have a private talk, okay?”
The group fussed a bit over this directive, but they all moved away.
Gerald looked back at Pine. “I knew his brother, Willie. Would’ve made a fine light heavyweight.”
“His mother said she got him to move.”
“So she did. And Cee-Cee made the right call. He was heading down the wrong path.”
“Cee-Cee told me to look you up here. That you were a good man.”
“She’s a nice lady. Had a hard time, like a lot of folks around here.” He looked at the two men in the ring, both in their twenties, muscled, wearing head protection gear and bobbing and weaving as they danced around the ring. “Like those two right there. Maybe their mommas should get them outta here, too.”
“So what keeps them here? You?”
He put his hand on one of the ropes. “Lived here my whole life. Fought in the ring a lot in my day. Was pretty good. Marine Corps champion for my weight class. Served my time in Nam. Got a lungful of Agent Orange, which derailed any athletic career I might have been contemplating. I’m seventy-one years old and feel like I’m a hundred. You have days like that?”
“I think we all do, even without breathing in Agent Orange.”
“Anyway, I started this gym in 1977. Been running it ever since. Try to teach the young folks around here the art of pugilism. But really, I’m just trying to give them a safe space to go to. Learn some discipline. Learn about working hard, setting goals, getting together in groups without pursuing any illegal activity, if you get my point.”
“All good things. So, Peanut?”
“He’s usually around here this time of day. Let me go check.”
Gerald walked off and the situation changed immediately. She could sense the heightened tension, the more focused gazes of the men who had once more clustered around her.
The men in the ring stopped what they were doing and leaned over the ropes. One took out his mouthpiece and snarled, “What you doing here?”
“Just asking about someone.”
“You ain’t got the right to ask ’bout nobody,” barked the other man, spitting out his mouth guard. “You can’t come in here and ask nothing.”
“And why is that?”
“She’s a cop,” said one of the men in the crowd. “Saw her flash her badge.”
The first fighter said, “Then you ain’t welcome here. You just good for shooting us in the back.”
Pine sized him up. “I’ll make a deal with you. If you can kick my ass, I’ll leave. If I kick your ass, I stay and get my questions answered. Deal?”
The two fighters looked at each other and belly-laughed. The crowd of men behind her closed ranks and did likewise.
“You gonna get in this ring with me?” he said with an incredulous look that eased to a grin.
“Unless you want to come out here.”
“No, step right up. Which teeth you want to lose and which ones you want to keep? I’ll try to be accommodating.”
The other man split the ring ropes so Pine could duck under.
She stood to her full height and drew closer to the man she was about to combat. He looked a little surprised that she was taller than he was.
Pine took off her jacket, revealing the Glock in her belt holster.
“You want me to hold your piece for you, lady?” said one man in the crowd.
“That would be a no.” She looked at the man in the ring. “How much do you weigh?”
“One-sixty.”
“Wow, almost as much as me. I’m five pounds heavier, for the record.” Pine had on a short-sleeved shirt underneath, and her ropy, corded muscles were clearly visible. The man glanced over at his friend, who shrugged and looked a little nervous as he stepped out of the ring.