Treadmill by Warren Adler Read Free Book Online Page A

behind the counter delivered their coffee.
    “Do you think he’s sick?” Beth asked. “Or maybe he’s been in some sort of an accident?”
    “Maybe,” Cooper said, taking a little sip of his coffee. They both took their coffee black.
    “Well, I just hope he’s okay,” she said. She also took a sip.
    Her comment was reassuring. It was apparent that she too was burdened by the sudden change in their lives. She had been used to seeing Parrish—his presence must have provided a certain level of comfort and security.
    “Parrish seems to have made quite an impression.”
    “You mean his absence,” she corrected.
    Cooper chuckled suddenly.
    “Did I say something funny?”
    “You got that right.”
    “What?” Beth asked
    “His absence of history.”
    She frowned, puzzled. “Everybody has a history,” she said. “A job, a family.”
    “He was a freelance artist in advertising.” Cooper said. “Supposedly things were slow at the moment. As for family…,” Cooper shook his head and smiled. “You won’t believe this.”
    “Try me,” she pressed.
    He launched into Parrish’s story. He told her about his kidnapping as a child, and about how he had no documentation establishing his identity.
    “I’ll be damned,” Beth said. She had let her coffee get cold during his narrative. She took a sip, and made a face. “A person without a past. Untraceable.”
    At that moment, a thought resurfaced. “He told me he was pissed off about the raise in fees.”
    Beth narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips thoughtfully.
    “Then he hadn’t made a side deal.”
    “Guess not. In fact it was the raise that got him talking. Up to then, he hadn’t said a word to me. Not that we ever got chummy.”
    “Seems to me like he told you a great deal about himself,” Beth said, lifting the cup, remembering how cold it was, then putting it down again. “And you…did you tell him much about yourself?”
    “You’re pretty nosy,” Cooper said. He had no desire to tell her anything about himself.
    “I guess I am,” she said. “Natural curiosity, I guess. It’s the atmosphere. At first, you think everybody is concentrating on themselves, while in fact everyone is checking out everyone else at the gym. It’s perfectly natural. Admit it, Jack.” He was surprised to hear her call him by his first name.
    “Okay. I admit it.” Truthfully, he had looked less than most, but Cooper didn’t want her to know that he was not exactly in working order.
    “Parrish was quite a specimen,” she sighed. “Great ass.”
    Is this the root of her curiosity? Had she been interested in Parrish? Or was it something more profound? Had Parrish become an overwhelming fantasy in her mind?
    “Is that what this is all about?” Cooper asked cautiously. Beth blushed.
    “No. He never looked my way,” she said humorously. “Anyway, I think maybe you’re reading too much into this.”
    “But you miss him.”
    “So do you,” she shot back defensively. He felt the full power of her accusation, as though she was inspecting him, his mind laid bare. He fell silent, sensing that there was more to come.
    “Will you be offended if I speculate?” she asked.
    “Are you going to ask me if I had a crush on him?” Had she considered it too ? He decided he might as well deal with it head-on.
    “It’s not a crime,” she said.
    “The answer is ‘no,’” he said. “It was nothing like that.”
    “Then why are you so invested in him?” Her eyes met his, steady and penetrating. He quickly looked away.
    “I’m not sure,” he admitted, tamping his emotions. “Does it matter?”
    He did not wish to tell her about the way he had rigidly structured his life, that Parrish had become an integral part of that structure, that his absence had upset it.
    Beth grew thoughtful. “Are you going to pursue this?” she asked.
    “I wouldn’t call it a pursuit…I’m not sure. But if I do, it won’t be a big detective thing. I admit that the matter with the