The Hard Way by Duncan Brockwell (electronic book reader .txt) 📗

the death of a croupier who fell off a nearby roof. And I bet if we dig, we’ll find more on her. If Fisher was into her for thousands, she doesn’t sound like the type to let debts go, does she?”

“No, she doesn’t.” Hayes went over to the board and wrote “Demirci?” in red pen below the list of Fisher’s family. “We have our first suspect, if we can put the two together. I’ll call the casino later and see if I can book an interview in with the lovely entrepreneur.”

“I’m onto Kurt Austin now. It seems he’s clean. No arrests, charges, or detentions, as far as I can see. The PNC has him living with a Fernando Linares, who does have a record. He’s done time for aggravated burglary. Oh, and he’s ex-Forces in Spain. He’s lived here for seven years, still registered as living with Kurt.”

Up at the whiteboard, Hayes scrubbed out Fernando’s name in black and rewrote it in red felt pen. “Ex-Forces, he has to be added to our suspect pool. Right, I think we have enough to be getting on with.”

12

Miller pulled her navy jog bottoms up and put on her white vest. Once she tied her shoelaces, she came out of the cubicle and walked through to the gymnasium, where her colleagues worked out.

Joining the police gym down the road from the station was the best idea. She started with a gentle jog on the mill, which turned into a frantic sprint at the end to get her lungs burning.

Next up: the rowing machine. She climbed on and started the motion, back and forth, the wheel at the front whirring away, blowing air in her face, cooling her down. She found it hypnotic, the same motion for fifteen minutes.

A couple of people she’d spoken to before came in and nodded at her. She acknowledged them in return, before wiping her face with her towel. Leg press next. She sat on the seat and adjusted the weight pin. Holding the handrails either side of the seat, she pushed down hard on the foot panels.

After her first set of ten, the tenth almost killing her, she relaxed. Catching her breath, the doors opened and there he was: Luke “Not the Sky Variety” Walker entered with Zuccari, one of his armed unit colleagues. He was too pumped, even before his workout. She could only imagine what his biceps would feel like after.

Deciding to play it cool, she put her earphones in and listened to her compilation on Spotify, a mix of heavy metal, hard rock, and country. Miller adored country music more than any other genre. Her dream was to visit Nashville one day.

On the chest press, she started her reps, occasionally catching glimpse of him. Luke and his mates stuck to the free weights area, picking up huge dumbbells that she thought obscene. He almost caught her staring at him, but she turned her head in time.

As he walked towards her, Miller jumped off the chest press and meandered over to the cross trainer, where two female colleagues were halfway through their workouts. She hopped on, set the programme, and commenced when Luke leaned on her machine. Miller pretended she had not seen him. “Oh! Hey, Luke.” She continued using the cross trainer.

“Hi! I didn’t think you used this gym. I haven’t seen you here before.”

She smiled while doing the action, sweat forming on her brow, and dripping down her back. “We must keep missing each other. I’m here three or four times a week.”

“Huh! Strange. You’d have thought we’d have bumped into each other by now.”

She wiped her forehead, then placed her hand on the bar. “Well, I only joined a couple of months ago.”

He hit his forehead gently. “Of course. That’ll be it.”

Miller smiled while cross training. Her eyes went from his face down to his pecs, which were on display. When he’d entered, he wore a vest, but he’d taken that off and now stood next to her in his glorious perfection. Hayes was right: he was a poser. With a body like that, though, it would be a crime not to. Shame about the lack of smarts.

The long awkward silence between them made her want him to leave.

She kept on the cross trainer, occasionally looking at him.

He didn’t seem to get it. “Are you after this?”

Walker woke up. “Huh? Oh, no, you’re all right. I only do free weights. I get my cardio from early-morning runs.”

“Me too.” She smiled, then blew hair out of her eyes. “I only come here as an extra workout. My ex and I had a gym at home, so I never used to have to use a public gym.”

“Were you married? I notice you’re not wearing a ring.”

“I’m recently divorced, actually.” She stopped the apparatus and stood on the foot panels, her vest clinging to her skin. “What about you?”

“Me? Nah, married to the force. Funny, but for some reason women don’t seem to like dating armed cops. I can’t say I understand it.”

His colleague called for him. Miller felt a little disappointed when he made his apology and went back to lifting huge dumbbells. Walker liked her; it was in the way he wouldn’t take his eyes off her when he had to go back to his colleague. Even from his area, he kept checking her out, so she hovered on the apparatus near him, showing off her gains.

Miller smiled at a couple of female colleagues as she went around the gym.

After a further forty minutes, she decided she’d had enough and headed for the changing rooms, where she stripped and showered, before sauntering to the cubicles, grabbing her belongings and changing into her civvies: running shoes, light blue jeans and white T-shirt.

After blow drying her dark hair, Miller picked up her gym bag and made her way out to her car. She placed her bag in the boot.

“Hey, Miller!”

The voice made her jump. “Jesus Christ, Luke. Has no one ever told you off for