Brutality (24 page)

“Mrs. Wegner!” Miss Letty hollered above the din. “Someone is here for you.” She stared at Fina. “Please be sure not to disturb the class,” she warned before turning on her ballet slippers and striding down the hallway toward a line of folding chairs that provided a viewing area into the windowed studio.

Kelly ducked out from behind the curtain and shooed a small girl after the others.

“I don’t think Miss Letty is happy I’m here,” Fina said.

“Miss Letty isn’t ever happy. Period,” Kelly said. She didn’t look as tired as she had on Saturday, but she certainly wasn’t as perky as she’d been at their first meeting. “We can go watch, but we should try to be quiet.”

Fina followed her to the chairs, and they claimed two that were separated from the other mothers. Inside the studio, an elderly man—Mr. Letty, perhaps—was plunking out a simple tune as Miss Letty led the little girls through warm-up exercises. The pupils looked to be about four years old, their bodies just growing out of the baby stage marked by smooth round tummies.

“Is that your daughter?” Fina asked, gesturing toward the small towhead who had pranced down the hall in front of them.

“Yes, that’s Ruby.”

“She’s adorable,” Fina commented. Ruby had her mother’s fine hair and an impish grin.

“Miss Letty doesn’t think she pays attention enough,” Kelly said.

“How old is she?” Fina asked. “Four?”

“Almost.” Kelly’s gaze followed her daughter’s movements.

“I’d be worried if she
did
pay attention,” Fina said.

They watched as Ruby continued spinning in a circle long after her classmates had stopped. Miss Letty spoke to her, at which point she arrested her turning and listed to the side, grinning.

“Miss Letty thinks if I’m here watching, Ruby will be more focused.”

“Well, even if she isn’t focused, she looks like she’s having fun,” Fina noted.

The girls were paired off and started progressing down the length of the room, two at a time. Fina couldn’t figure out what move they were supposed to be doing, there was such variation.

“So you wanted to talk to me?” Kelly asked.

“Yeah, thanks for making the time. I know your life is probably crazy right now.”

“It sure is.”

“How’s Jamie doing?”

“As you would expect,” Kelly said, focusing on the class. “I think he’s in shock.”

Fina nodded. “I’m not surprised. What do you think about the BU stuff?” she asked a moment later.

Kelly was quiet. “I think it’s kind of creepy, to tell you the truth. I don’t want anyone cutting up my brain after I die.”

“The idea is unnerving, but I suppose that Liz thought it was worth it. Has Jamie talked to you about it?” Fina asked. “How does he feel about it?”

“I think he’s okay with it.”

Miss Letty was demonstrating something to the class, and Fina had to give her credit. Her posture was outstanding, but maybe that was from the stick up her butt.

“Did Liz ever mention that she had a problem with Gus Sibley, the team doctor?”

Kelly frowned. She opened her purse and dug around before pulling out an open roll of breath mints. “Do you want one?” she asked Fina.

“Sure.” Fina thought time was being bought, and she wondered why that was.

“She never said anything about Gus to me. I didn’t even know they were still in touch.”

“Really? Tasha knew they were.”

Kelly’s lip curled slightly. “Well, I guess Liz and Tasha were better friends.”

Fina wondered if she had stumbled onto some college resentment that had simmered over the years. Three was a difficult number when it came to relationships, which was why Fina thought that polyamory was never a good choice. The whole concept seemed fraught with peril, not to mention exhausting.

“Were the three of you friends in college?” Fina asked.

“Uh-huh.” Kelly didn’t elaborate. If she had been the odd man out, it wasn’t surprising that she didn’t want to share the details.

“So Liz never mentioned Gus or any disagreement they might have had?”

“I said she didn’t,” Kelly snapped.

“Right. Sorry,” Fina said.

Kelly rubbed her temples. “Sorry. I’m just really tired.”

“I’m the one who should be sorry. I don’t mean to be a pest.”

Ruby was waving her arms like a windmill; it was no classic ballet move that Fina had ever seen. Kelly shook her head in wonderment. “What is she doing?”

“Hey, at least she’s getting her ya-yas out,” Fina said. Patty was a big believer in running kids around so that they collapsed into bed each night, spent and satisfied. As far as Fina could tell, it was a successful strategy for happy, well-adjusted kids. “That’s a good thing.”

“Yeah, if only Miss Letty agreed,” Kelly said.

Fina considered suggesting that she find a more age-appropriate class for energetic Ruby, but held her tongue. Funny, parents rarely appreciated getting parenting advice from the childless.

“Thanks for talking to me,” Fina said, rising from her seat. “Any word on the funeral?”

“Friday. They haven’t figured out the details yet.”

“Got it. Thanks, Kelly. Let me know if I can do anything.”

“Sure. Bye.”

Fina trotted down the steps, happy to be free of the rigidity of Miss Letty’s School of Dance. On the sidewalk, she slumped her shoulders and ambled to the car.

It was good to be an adult.

—

T
his is utter bullshit. That’s what it is,” said the trainer. “Giving her brain to BU. If anything, NEU should get it.”

It was later that afternoon, and Kevin was leaning against the doorjamb in one of the athletic training rooms at the NEU sports center. The room, one of many in the complex, was where the student athletes came for rehab and fine-tuning.

Kevin didn’t bother to explain that NEU had no use for Liz’s brain; the young man wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, so Kevin didn’t waste his breath.

The room was cramped with two padded tables and two hydrotherapy whirlpool baths. It wasn’t the most attractive space, but the equipment was top-notch, and that’s what mattered. Providing every possible advantage to the student athletes was one of the reasons Kevin worked so hard as a booster. If there was anything he could do to give an NEU team an edge, he’d do it.

The trainer was massaging the quadriceps muscle on one of their star basketball players, Paul Valmora. The kid lay on his back, his feet hanging well off the table. He was at least six feet five, with broad shoulders and well-defined arm muscles. Kevin liked to put in face time with Paul and other athletes off the field, and it was easy to do since they trained year-round, no matter which season they actually played. Those interactions helped build relationships and reassured the standouts that Kevin was available to them; whatever they needed, Kevin was the man for the job. He worked hard to be indispensable.

“Don’t worry about it, Chad,” Kevin assured the trainer. “It’s going to be fine.”

Chad shook his head. “And what does girls’ soccer have to do with football?”

Another young man kneeled in front of a large metal cabinet, sorting through rolls of athletic tape. Kevin walked farther into the room and leaned against a counter.

“Nothing. That’s why you don’t need to worry about it.” Kevin took his role as a booster seriously and felt a responsibility to rally the troops. This was true whether they were stuck in a losing streak or facing a PR nightmare.

Loud laughter echoed down the hall, and a moment later, three enormous young men wandered by the door to the training room.

“Yo, Laff!” one of them exclaimed.

Kevin’s face brightened at the greeting, and he went out to the hallway, where he traded high fives and man hugs with the three football players. He’d been given the nickname years ago by some student athletes. The moniker had started as a joke, but over time, it had evolved into a term of affection.

Two of the kids—and they were kids to Kevin—were black and one white, but more divisive than their skin color were their physiques. The white guy and one of the black kids were clearly linemen; they were fat, not just muscular, their bellies flopping over their waistbands. Their rear ends were gelatinous masses that strained the seams of their tight football pants. The other one was tall, muscular, and lean. Even Kevin could appreciate his body—not that he was into that sort of thing. The torso exposed by his cutoff T-shirt was rippled and looked like sand after the tide had gone out: firmly packed and dense.

“You see the news, man?” one of them asked. “’Bout that dumbass lawsuit?”

Kevin nodded. “You guys shouldn’t be thinking about that. You should be focusing on training.”

“They better not pay out using our cash. We get beaten up for that money, man. We’ve earned it.”

“And a soccer player?” the fat white kid piped up. “The girls’ soccer team is going to tell us how to play football?”

“Don’t worry about it, fellas,” Kevin reassured them. “You just focus on the team. All the rest of it is bullshit.”

“Later, Laff.” They performed their awkward straight-man farewell ritual—physical contact, but not too much and not below the waist—and wandered off.

“Kevin?” A man poked his head out of an office down the hallway. “Do you have a minute?” Don Messinger was the assistant director of NEU’s athletic program, and they’d known each other for more than twenty years. The men got along okay, but they were never really friends. Don always seemed too tightly wound. Kevin took competition just as seriously as Don, but believed that celebrations and fun should also be a part of the equation.

“Sure, Don. What can I do for you?” Kevin came into the office, which was small, but had a window overlooking the practice fields.

Don gestured for him to close the door. The motion should have made him feel important, but instead, it made him feel like a child called in to the principal’s office. Rather than wait for a directive, Kevin chose to sit on the couch instead of the chair in front of Don’s desk.

“I’ve been touching base with all the coaches and athletic staff in light of Liz Barone’s death and this lawsuit,” Don said, gazing at Kevin over his half-frame glasses. They made him look more like a professor than a jock.

“It’s a hell of a thing,” Kevin said, shaking his head. He spread his arms across the back of the couch.

“There’s probably going to be a lot of press, and everybody needs to be on their best behavior. I need you to spread the word to the boosters,” Don said.

“Of course. You don’t need to worry about the club. I’ll make sure people are behaving.”

Don stared at him. “
Everybody
needs to behave.”

Kevin didn’t ask for specifics. Whatever Don knew or thought he knew, Kevin didn’t want any details.

“Absolutely,” Kevin said, rising from the couch. “Some of the guys mentioned the lawsuit just now. I tried to reassure them that it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Good. I don’t want them to be distracted or mouthing off.”

“You know I’ll do whatever I can. Take care, Don.” Kevin opened the door and walked back down the hallway to the training room.

The lawsuit angered him, but it also gave him a burst of energy. NEU athletics needed him now more than ever, and he was raring to go.

16.

Fina woke early and spent over an hour catching up on the news related to Liz’s death and performing the administrative duties associated with being a business owner. Although most of her work came from Ludlow and Associates, she was technically self-employed and was in charge of keeping her own records. Frank had taught her that the only way to manage paperwork and other administrative tasks was to do them regularly. It always felt like it was taking her away from more pressing—and interesting—matters, but if the cops or the IRS ever came knocking, she would be ready.

Her work was interrupted by a summons from Carl.

“I could have given you an update over the phone,” she told her father an hour later at the office. Carl looked dapper in a dark charcoal suit paired with a light blue shirt and a tie sporting blue and lavender stripes. “You look very nice, Dad.” It couldn’t hurt to start the morning with a kind word.

He eyed her suspiciously. “Thank you.”

“So why am I here?”

“I do want an update, but that’s not why I called you.” Carl pointed a pen at her.

“What is it, then? I have work to do.”

“I need you to babysit Scotty today.”

“He’s older than I am,” Fina pointed out helpfully.

Carl ignored her. “He has a deposition in Lynn, and I want you to go with him.”

“Why?” Fina asked. “Is he in danger?”

“No, but the client is jumpy, and your presence will reassure her,” Carl said.

“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner? I have things to do today. Let me call Dennis Kozlowski. He can do it, or one of his subs can.” Dennis was a PI in Boston who Fina used when she needed an extra pair of hands. He was good at his job and well connected.

“Because I want you to do it,” Carl said.

Fina looked at her father. “You know, you complain about my job performance pretty frequently, and yet you keep employing me.”

“I don’t have time for this, Josefina.”

“Fine. Is the client here or are we meeting her?”

“She’s here. Scotty’s waiting for you.”

“Great.” Fina stood up. “What’s this I hear about Rand having a new girlfriend and wanting Haley to visit?”

Carl looked at her, but didn’t speak.

“What?” Fina asked. “You have nothing to say on the subject?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“That you’re not going to let him get within a mile of her, given his past behavior.”

“I don’t think we can keep them separated forever, Fina.”

“We can keep them separated until she’s an adult and can make her own decisions,” she said. “You’ve just ordered me to change my whole day. Why can’t you order Mom to butt out of Haley’s life?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that.” Carl’s phone rang. “I have to take this.”

“We’re not done talking about this,” Fina said, moving toward the door.

Carl rolled his eyes and reached for the phone. “Don’t take your car,” Carl called after her. “Take an SUV from the fleet.”