Body Blows Read Free Page A

apprehended.
    Neither of Leo’s sons hastened to our aid.

chapter two
    R achel Golden helps me with the bow tie.
    â€œYou can get ones that clip on,” Gritch says. “It’s the latest thing.”
    â€œPay no attention,” says Rachel. “He’s jealous because he wasn’t invited.”
    â€œAre you going home soon?” Gritch wants to know.
    Rachel took over as manager of JG Security a while back and since then things have run smoothly. Rachel looks like the chairperson of a PTA committee, but she’s ex-Army and I’ve seen her escort a large drunken man onto the street by merely taking his hand. She had two of his fingers pointing in an unnatural direction at the time and he was trying not to blubber, but you get the picture. Hiring Rachel has made my life a lot easier. She handles the details I was never good at, and a few I used to think I’d be good at but never actually attended to. I still make my grand tour mornings and evenings, still handle complaints when a measure of beef is indicated, still keep my uncashed paycheques in the hotel safe, but I’ve become more of a presiding entity than a day-to-day administrator.
    Even Gritch grudgingly allows that Rachel is much better at running the operation than I ever was. Still, her presence rankles. “The Presbyterians,” as Gritch insists on calling her four new staffers, are excessively well-groomed and polite for his taste. He was more comfortable when the Lord Douglas had ashtrays in the lobby. Gritch is an indispensable part of the security system but doesn’t fit any designation that Rachel is familiar with. He’s not part of any shift, he sets his own hours, and he refuses to acknowledge her authority. Except on the subject of cigar smoke in the office — Gritch can’t light up until she clocks off for the night.
    â€œThere,” she says. “You look like a million bucks.”
    â€œAs long as you’re wearing clean gonch for the trip to Emergency,” Gritch says.
    â€œOkay, Grinch ,” she says. “I’m heading home to suburbia. You can fire up that thing. Remember to turn on the ventilator.”
    â€œThanks for the bow,” I say.
    â€œYou look great,” she says. “Don’t get chicken-ala-king down your frock.”
    â€œPrime rib,” I say.
    Rachel heads out and Gritch waits the obligatory five seconds then lights his cigar. Gritch doesn’t smoke the same brand as Mr. Alexander. No one on a salary does.
    â€œYou going upstairs or waiting for him down here?” Gritch asks.
    â€œI’m invited for a drink,” I say.
    â€œThis is a big step for him,” Gritch says. “Been seven years, almost eight.”
    â€œEight exactly,” I say. “This time eight years ago a doctor was explaining how fortunate I was.”
    â€œHe say why, now?”
    â€œHe says he wants to try out his tango lessons.”
    â€œHe has a date?”
    â€œOh, yes,” I say.
    Leo’s date is a woman some years his junior, closer to my age. She has diamonds at her throat. Leo introduces her as Vivienne Griese but she corrects him immediately and explains that she’s reverting to her pre-divorce name of Saunders. Vivienne Saunders is wearing a gown the colour of black roses. It rustles as she crosses the room.
    â€œI’ve just heard all about you,” she says. “Leo says you used to be a prizefighter.”
    â€œSometimes he tells people I was an astronaut,” I say.
    Leo hands me a small whisky, which he knows I won’t drink. Forget about the fortune in Italian wool I’m wearing, I’m on the job. He can refer to me as his Executive Officer, or his good friend, or an astronaut if he wants. I’m still what I was the last time we went to a party — the large presence at his back.
    â€œSometimes I embellish,” Leo admits. “Telling the same stories over and over can be a bad habit