Page 26 of The Perfect Deception (Jessie Hunt #40)

Jessie finally felt like they were getting somewhere.

When she and Ryan pulled into the parking lot of the Pinnacle Health Club, it was 7:02 A.M. According to Beth, Tommy Golden had a training client at seven, so he should definitely be around. Jessie, despite her lack of sleep, was excited.

The last hour and a half, which she’d spent in the research department with Ryan, Jamil, Beth, and Elise Prager, had kept them all busy. Once Hannah arrived in an hour, she’d look into some of the other singles that Prager had recruited for the life swaps. But truthfully, they had their hands full investigating Golden.

By the time Jessie and Ryan arrived at Pinnacle, they already knew all about the guy. Thomas “Tommy”

Golden was a 28-year-old personal trainer who had moved to L.A. from Nashville seven months ago. Photos showed him to be a stunningly good-looking guy with dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and a wide grin that revealed pearly white teeth. But as they walked through the parking lot and up the ramp to the club entrance, Jessie mentally reviewed what else they knew. That was the stuff that had her intrigued.

Specifically, there was the fact that Tommy Golden didn’t seem to have existed before about nine months ago. There was no record of employment in Nashville. He had listed an address there for Prager’s benefit, but it appeared to be for a motel that had no record of him.

Jamil was currently running the man’s photos through the facial recognition program, but because the system had to search the entire country, it might take a while. Once they brought him in, they could fingerprint him and see if he showed up in a database, but for now they were flying blind.

One thing was certain. The guy was sketchy. His social security number was fake, belonging to a man who had died in 1962. His Tennessee driver’s license wasn’t real either, according to a representative from the state’s Driver Services department.

Add to that, while searching for his training schedule today, Beth discovered that the guy’s personal trainer certification was fake too. And in a final ding to his credibility, Jamil had noted tha.

“Thomas Golden”

had run up nearly $100,000 in credit card debt since arriving in L.A.

“We’re looking for Tommy Golden,”

Ryan told the smiling young receptionist at the front desk as he held up his badge for her.

“He’s got a personal training session with Margot Moroney scheduled for seven.”

After taking a few seconds to wrap her head around the fact that a cop was in front of her, demanding the location of someone she likely knew, the young woman answered.

“I’m not sure exactly where he is right now,”

she said, her voice shaking slightly.

“But if I had to guess, he’s probably on the main workout floor.”

“Where’s that?”

Jessie asked.

“Go down the hall behind me and make a right at the couches under the central skylights. It’s directly across from the café.”

“Does he still look like this?”

Ryan held up a photo from his phone.

The receptionist nodded.

“Yeah, but he’s tanner than that now.”

They thanked her and headed in the direction she’d indicated. Jessie couldn’t wait to talk to the guy. She had so many questions, even before getting to whether he was a murderer. She wondered if he’d originally joined these life swaps as a way to get a sugar mommy, or sugar daddy. Or was he just committing these murders to hide something else—maybe a desire to get into people’s homes and steal stuff? There was no sign of missing items in the mansions but in houses that big, one might go a long time without noticing a valuable item was gone.

They reached the couches and turned right, walking through a pair of sound-proofed double doors, leading to a massive workout floor. On the right side were dozens of weight-lifting machines. Beyond them were treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes. To their left was an open space that had artificial turf covering the floor. People were using the area to engage in everything from stretch sessions to dumbbell workouts to heavy ball maneuvers.

Jessie noted that the turf side seemed to have a lot of folks wearing the same fitted blue t-shirts as the receptionist, complete with the club insignia. In every case, they were paired up with what looked like a club member.

“I think our guy may be on this side.”

She nodded in the direction of the turf.

Ryan nodded in agreement. As they walked down the center aisle separating the machines from the turf section, she scanned every male in a blue club shirt. Golden didn’t seem to be on that side. She was about to turn her attention to the machine section when she caught a glimpse of a man on his knees in the far back left corner of the turf.

He had blond hair and was facing away from them as he guided a woman lying on her back through what looked like ab exercises. Jessie stopped walking and motioned in that direction. Ryan looked over just as the man and his client stood up. The guy was tall, lean, and tan.

They continued to walk down the center aisle, hoping to get a better view of him. He made it easy when he turned around and directed the woman they assumed was Margot to a pull-up bar attached to the wall. Even without the familiar broad smile he was currently flashing at her, Jessie would have known it was Tommy Golden.

“Shall we go say hi?”

she asked Ryan.

“Yes, but please let me take the lead. The last thing I need is for the guy to grab a dumbbell and swing it near your head.”

“Okay, Detective.”

She thought her husband was being a little overprotective, but she wasn’t going to fight him on it on her third day back in the country.

They walked over and Jessie was able to get a better look at Golden’s client. She fit the cliché that Jessie would have imagined. In her mid-forties, the woman was in good shape and attractive in a severe, assisted-by-surgery way. She was wearing full makeup and her chest seemed unusually buoyant. She was giving Golden her best flirtatious smile. That is until Jessie and Ryan stopped in front of them.

Golden half-glanced at them. When they didn’t leave, he gave them more of his attention.

“Hey guys, if you’re interested in a training session, I’m happy to discuss it later. I work with individuals and couples. But I’m with Margot here until 7:50. After that, I’m happy to talk for a few minutes.”

“I’m afraid we need to talk now, Tommy,”

Ryan said firmly.

“It’s in regard to a sensitive matter that can’t wait. So maybe Margot can work out on her own for a bit.”

Margot did not look amused.

“I don’t know who you think you are but you can’t just butt into my session and pull my trainer away. That’s not how it works here at Pinnacle. Show some courtesy.”

As she berated Ryan, Jessie caught Tommy’s eye. They didn’t need a major scene and if she could convince him to come with them voluntarily, that would make things much easier.

“Mr. Golden,”

she said slowly and deliberately.

“we are with a local government agency looking into a pressing issue that you might be able to assist us with. Time is of the essence. I have every confidence that you and Margot can reschedule your session, but right now, we need your help. Do you understand?”

Golden’s expression suggested that he did, even if Margot did not. He turned to her and went into full charm mode.

“Listen, I’ve been volunteering with local government on some serious issues. I don’t like to talk about it because I get embarrassed by the attention. But I did promise them that I would be there if they needed me.”

“At seven in the morning?”

Margot balked.

“It’s crazy, I know, and I will credit you for this session, but I made a commitment that trumps my income and is even more important than helping you maintain that sexy physique. Don’t worry. You know that your hot bod isn’t going to suddenly disappear if we don’t work together again until Monday.”

Margot blushed at the compliment before her pique returned. This time she focused it on Jessie.

“Are you telling me this is going to take more than five minutes? Can’t you get what you need fast and be on your way.”

“I’m afraid this may take quite a bit longer than five minutes,”

she said with certainty.

Tommy leaned over and whispered loudly in the woman’s ear.

“How’d you like a free session? You’re owed.”

That made Margot smile before she replaced it with a pout.

“You better believe I’m owed.”

“Tell you what,”

Tommy said, still remarkably smooth under the circumstances.

“why don’t you do a half hour on the Stairmaster to keep that ass tight. If you burn 400 calories, you can reward yourself with a smoothie from the café. Sound good?”

Margot nodded as she giggled like a schoolgirl. The she turned and headed off, but not before glaring at Jessie and Ryan one last time.

Once she was gone, Tommy asked quietly.

“I’m assuming you guys aren’t with the DMV?”

“I’m afraid not,”

Ryan said.

“I’m Detective Hernandez with the LAPD and this is Jessie Hunt. We have a few questions.”

“About what?”

“Why don’t we find somewhere a little less crowded to chat?”

Jessie suggested.

“Okay. There’s a business center across the main hallway. They have private work suites. I can see if one of them is available.”

“That sounds good,”

Ryan said.

They followed him back through the double doors and out into the hallway with the couches. Sure enough, there was a well-appointed business center across the hall behind glass walls. Golden led them in, walked through the main area, where a half dozen people were at work stations, typing away on their laptops. He continued down a narrow hall with four small conference rooms, two on each side.

They were all named for downtown streets. The Figueroa, Grand, and Olive Rooms were all occupied, but the Flower Room was empty. The small window built into the door was frosted and there were four chairs around a circular table.

“Is this okay?” he asked.

“It’ll work fine,” Ryan said

They were just starting to sit down when Golden popped up again.

“I just thought of something. Let me check with the front desk to make sure that no one has reserved the room anytime soon. I wouldn’t want us to get interrupted.”

He turned and ambled out, heading back down the hall. Ryan, who seemed to be about to call the man back, glanced over at Jessie. She could guess what he was thinking without a word, considering Golden's total cooperation so far, would it be overkill to bark an order that he turn around and come back?

Before she could offer her opinion, she heard something that indicated that Ryan’s instinct wasn’t overkill at all. What she heard was the sound of someone running.

She jumped out of her seat and was already out the door before Ryan could shout his first expletive