Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“Not that I can think of,” Everleigh said.
“Now, as for your personal life… you have none. No boyfriends. Two… no… three exes,” he said, making my brows raise. That was a lot of fucking intimate detail. Who the hell did he have doing this research? “And you don’t fuck around outside of your relationships.”
It wasn’t a question, but Everleigh answered in a tiny voice. “No.”
“So, your character seems pretty impenetrable. What we need to focus on instead is Gav’s character. So, spill on him. Is he a creep? Does he grab your ass or stare at your chest? Does he make lewd comments, or give the female patrons of the gym the ick?”
“He’s… I don’t know. He’s kind of…”
“Reclusive,” I supplied for her.
“Yeah,” she said, nodding. “He’s not around that much. And when he is, he usually stays in his office. I don’t want to say he’s anti-social, but he just… keeps to himself.”
Simon jotted that down.
“Does he ever have visitors to his office?”
“No, not really. If he has meetings with someone who has a complaint about the gym, or maybe his brother or his mom once or twice. Nothing, you know, shady?”
“Okay. Does he ever handle the boxes? Whose job is it to handle the boxes?”
“Oh, ah, I guess that depends on the boxes? Like, I wouldn’t unpack the cleaning supplies. I would leave that for the cleaning staff. I would unpack the merch or sometimes the stuff for the juice bar if the evening staff didn’t handle it.”
“How many other people work at the gym?”
“Ah… eight? Four other front desk people. Depending on the shift, there might be two people working. Then the girl at the juice bar. The rest are cleaners. But that’s not counting the, you know, personal trainers. But the personal trainers really have nothing to do with how the gym is actually run. They rarely leave the gym floor.”
“I’ll have all of them looked into,” Simon said, still jotting down notes with a pen that likely cost more than Everleigh’s car was worth at this point. “What else do you have to say about Gav?” he asked.
“I…” she started, then shook her head, thinking better of it.
“No, say it,” Simon demanded. “Now isn’t the time to be nice.”
“Well, it’s just that… I always thought him owning a gym was kind of strange.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I never see him workout. He’s naturally on the thin side. But he doesn’t use any of the equipment or take classes.”
“Is that unusual? Do you?”
“I get a free membership and one free class a week,” Everleigh said. “I do pilates and use the elliptical. Not as often as I probably should, but I use it. So does everyone else who works there. Everyone but Gav.”
“Alright,” Simon said, jotting things down. “I’ll look into him deeper. But it wouldn’t hurt if you guys ask the people you know in town for more information on Gav.”
“Will do,” I agreed. Everleigh didn’t seem to have much of a social circle, and I at least could talk to the Murphy brothers, Jack at the motel, maybe even the Russians. And I could have the other guys put out feelers to anyone else they knew.
“Now,” Simon said, dropping his notepad into his briefcase, then snapping it shut to look between us. “What the hell is going on here?”
“What do you mean?” Everleigh asked, spine straightening.
“You don’t live here.”
“No, not usually,” Everleigh agreed. “It’s just temporary,” she added. And I had to ignore the way those words made my heart deflate in my chest. Even if I knew that was the way of things.
“Because I knew Everleigh was innocent, and I was worried about whatever connections Gav might have, I thought it wasn’t safe for her to be alone in her apartment. She’s staying in our guest room.”
I noticed Simon’s dubious look.
Clearly, he had made up his mind about things since I was paying Everleigh’s legal bills.
I got it.
It made no sense.
People didn’t act that selflessly.
And, I guess, I hadn’t either. Everleigh being free meant I got to see her, talk to her, spend time with her. I would lose that if she was convicted.
Was that pathetic of me?
Yeah, pretty much.
“I would try not to advertise that you are staying here,” Simon said, looking at Everleigh. “It’s fine to do it, but we don’t want it getting around town that you’re staying with bikers. We know they’re not involved with drugs, but you know how gossip can get spreading in a small town. It would be best for you to just… stay in the clubhouse as much as possible.”
“I can do that,” Everleigh said. “I kind of don’t want to go to town anyway. I’m sure everyone is already talking about me.”
“Probably,” Simon agreed, standing. “Anyway, I will have my team on this for a few days. See what we can come up with. You work on your end. Then we will have another meeting. Compare notes. Hope we come up with something before the DA decides to go to trial.”