Treadmill

Treadmill by Warren Adler Read Free Book Online

Book: Treadmill by Warren Adler Read Free Book Online
Authors: Warren Adler
Tags: Fiction, thriller, Suspense, Retail
he wouldn’t have been able to get in.”
    “I have no record of him, and records are the only thing I can go on.”
    “Impossible,” Cooper muttered. “I was with him right here ten days ago.” He hesitated for a moment. “We worked out together for months. This is total bullshit. He was a member. I know he was a member.”
    The woman flushed with anger as she studied his face. “Listen,” the woman said with attitude now, “I can only go by what’s in the computer. Don’t give me a hard time. If you got a problem, Mr. Salgo the manager will be back later in the day. Talk to him.”
    “Damned right, I will.”
    He had wanted to avoid another scene, but it was pointless to argue with the secretary, who depended entirely on the computer.
    He thought about Parrish, the stolen child and his lost identity. The irony would probably amuse him, but Cooper was more mystified than amused.
    “You should talk to Blake,” the woman said.
    He had no desire to go through that again.
    “Good idea,” he said, mostly to dispose of the suggestion. It occurred to him then that Parrish, who had lived life by his wits, might have made a side deal with someone, maybe with Blake himself, to circumvent the official system. That would explain Blake stonewalling Cooper.
    He thanked the secretary and left the office. In the corridor he was confronted by Beth. Suddenly, he remembered her last name: Davis .
    “I couldn’t help but watch that little caper earlier,” Beth said.
    “Some people have bad days,” Cooper said. He wondered what she had overheard.
    “I thought he was being a real shit,” she said. She had put on a skirt over her tights.
    “Why was he making a federal case out of a simple request?”
    So she had heard everything.
    “It wasn’t that important,” Cooper said.
    “I hate rude people,” she said. “I think it was important enough to ask. Hell, I’m as curious as you are.” She smiled, showing off deep dimples. She pointed with her chin to the secretary. “She give you his number?”
    He shook his head. “He’s not on file.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    “He could have made a side deal,” Cooper suggested, although another idea also surfaced. “Or maybe it goes back to Blake’s lousy paperwork.”
    “Sounds weird…,” she said. “Cup of coffee?” she asked, breaking the awkward moment of silence between them.
    Cooper’s first instinct was to refuse. But their common ground seemed strangely intriguing, and he consented. His routine was out of whack anyway. They took one of the two Formica tables in the lunchroom and Cooper ordered two coffees.
    “No sandwich?” the woman behind the counter inquired with a frown.
    “Not today.”
    He felt Beth Davis inspect his face. She was the kind of person who looked directly into one’s eyes, unwavering, exploring. He had always felt that type of scrutiny disconcerting, and he deliberately averted his eyes, looking everywhere but at her.
    “I never even saw you talk to him,” she said.
    He was surprised at her scrutiny and power of observation. As far as he could tell, Beth had only casually looked his way, always mostly concentrating on her exercises.
    Cooper wondered if Beth, like Blake, had suspected any sexual motives to his inquiry. It was strange that such a thought should keep surfacing in his mind. Another irony, considering the neutrality of his desire. In pre-Margo days, he would have considered Beth Davis attractive, a bit sexy, even. But acknowledging his still lost libido, Cooper rarely thought about women now as anything more than the other gender. The psychological trigger to sexual fantasies was dormant. It no longer troubled him. Yet he was not completely without hope of rejuvenation, and would be encouraged by occasional spermatic effusions during sleep, which he discovered when he awoke. But, since it was beyond his control, a mere biological event, he forced both the memory and the anxiety it portended out of his mind.
    The woman

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