A Body to die for

of aerobicizers. The only one who’d see me climb on the fire escape would be the instructor. I waited for the right moment.
    It came when she said, “And bend. And bend.” She had scrunched herself into a tiny ball and rocked. “And stretch. And reach,” she continued. She’d buried her head under her knee. I wondered if she too were one of Janey’s girls, and how much extra that move would cost her clients. I ran for it. I was safe on the fire escape before she came up for air.
    I scrambled one flight up to Ameleth’s suite. I carefully peeked inside. No one was in the office space. I held my breath and tried the window. It was unlocked and sailed up easily. I slipped into the room. I heard the buzz of a stationary bicycle and the mechanical whir of the treadmill. Two of them. I tippy-toed across the office and plastered myself against the door to the exercise room. I heard voices.
    The tiny baritone was Ameleth. She said, “So what should I have done? Pretended the samples didn’t exist? Mallory would have found out about them anyway. And remember, when I spoke to her, I didn’t know the samples were safe. I thought they were stolen.”
    “Stupid, Ameleth. Let me tell you about people who aren’t as rich as you are: If you offer them a lot of money to find something, they’ll look damn hard. You shouldn’t have offered her a penny. Wanda Mallory would do anything for money. She might as well be a whore like you, Janey.”
    “Watch that, Betty.” That was Janey. But who the hell was Betty? The voice did sound familiar.
    “And now, not only does she have the notebook, but we don’t even have the samples anymore.” The voice was scratchy, smoky.
    Janey said, “Yeah, well, you didn’t seem to care about holding on to the samples when you gulped down the chromium compound like your life depended on it.”
    Betty shot back, “At least we know it works.” Ameleth said, “Pull your shirt down, Betty. I just had lunch.” The bike sped up. “We’ve got to decide who will tell Janey’s friend Freddie that we lost the notebook.” She paused. “I’m the one who had to get the formulas from Barney in the first place. And Janey’s the one who was brave enough to hide the samples. All you did was look the other way during the murder investigation.”
    “Which is still open, ladies. I’m not telling Freddie anything. He’s nothing to me. And don’t look at each other like that. If you think you can cut me out, I’ll throw you both in jail.”
    Falcone. That bitch. No wonder she’d been giving me such a hard time. Her first name was Betty?
    “Ameleth is out thirty thousand dollars,” Janey defended.
    “And a lover,” Ameleth added. “And a husband.”
    “Like you care at all about Jack,” Janey said, the sound of the treadmill speeding up. “It was your idea to set him up for Barney’s murder.”
    “Am I supposed to take the fall myself? I didn’t kill Barney. I loved him. Fuck.” The bike buzz stopped abruptly. I figured Ameleth was getting herself a garlic cocktail at the juice bar.
    The door to the office burst open. It almost pinned me against the wall, but at least I was hidden behind it. I held my breath and waited for her to leave the room. Then I’d get the hell out of there. I didn’t like it that this gang of three was on to me. Especially considering that one of them was a gun-carrying cop.
    “Guys—get in here quick,” Ameleth yelled. Did I forget to close the window behind me? Shit, I thought. You can get your PI license revoked for that kind of sloppy mistake.
    I watched through the crack in the door as Janey and Falcone came in. There was a chorus of “What’s wrong?” and “Are you okay?” Then there was silence. I saw the image in my head. Ameleth pointed at the open window. The three women putting a finger over their lips to say keep quiet to each other. Then they’d search the room for the mysterious interloper. I was doomed.
    Janey threw back the door. My breath caught in my chest. Completely defenseless, my dress might as well have been ripped clean off. I groped instinctively for my gun, but there was no use. I thought to myself, Be cool. I stood up straight, crotch forward. I arranged my arms akimbo. “Jig’s up, ladies. I know that you killed Barney, set up Jack and stole the formulas for your own greedy purposes. And, now you’re going to pay.” I looked at each woman as I spoke. When I got to the end of the line—to Falcone—I was stunned.