Chapter 4

On the way to the rink, Sam called Michael. He wasn't surprised when he picked up on the second ring.

"Yeah, Sam."

"Mike, I think I might have another job for us. Can you meet me at the ice rink?"

He heard a barely perceptible sigh come from Michael. So all the cases were starting to get to him too, and he was looking forward to the break. Either that, or Fi had already nagged his ear off about taking some time for his family. He knew that she and Eve were in cahoots, and Jack's wife Sasha no doubt had something to do with it, too.

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Okay, see you then."

They arrived at the same time and parked near the entrance. The parking lot was empty, except for a black Escalade that was parked in the fire lane. Sam got out and met Michael as they walked toward the entrance. "She must be getting ready to leave."

"Who?"

"Penny O'Loughlin. She's a professional skater, Espie's idol. I overheard part of a conversation this morning, and it didn't sound like a good situation. I think somebody's holding something over her head, threatening her, and she's scared." He paused and checked the door. It was still unlocked. "She was falling in practice when she shouldn't have, Mike. Whatever that person on the phone said had her rattled. That just doesn't happen to a pro, at least not like that."

Michael nodded in understanding. "Do you think she'll even want us to help?"

"We'll never know until we ask."

"Mr. Axe! What are you doing here?"

Sam turned toward Espie's teacher. "Ms. Olga. This is my friend and business associate, Michael Westen. Mike, this is Espie's teacher and coach, Ms. Olga."

Michael nodded. "Sam gave me some information that makes me think that Ms. O'Loughlin may need some assistance with something. We'd really like to speak with her if possible."

"She's still practicing, but she'll be leaving soon."

"Thank you," Michael said as he started walking toward the arena.

"She's requested that she not be disturbed!" Ms. Olga followed them, warning them with a voice full of worry.

"It's okay," Sam assured her. "We won't bother her while she's concentrating on her program."

Without another word, Michael opened the door and he and Sam entered the arena. All the lights around the exterior of the rink were dimmed, leaving the area in darkness, with only the phosphorous lamps over the ice burning brightly. They stayed in the dark and watched Penny skate. Michael knew next to nothing about figure skating, so he didn't see her flaws and missed cues. Beside him, Sam cringed as she landed on her blade.

"She's still distracted, Mike. She wasn't supposed to land on that part of her blade, and she's lucky she didn't fall on her face," he whispered. "I'm telling you, something bad was behind that phone call."

"We'll never know unless she tells us."

"Excuse me," a soft voice behind them said, getting their attention. They turned and Sam recognized him as Penny's PR guy, Walter. "You shouldn't be here."

"We may have some business with Ms. O'Loughlin. We'll just wait until she's finished skating," Michael responded with a smile.

The look on the shorter man's face was telling. He was uneasy about something. Sam studied him and asked, "Is there something that Ms. O'Loughlin needs to be concerned about?"

"No! No, that's ridiculous. Unless you consider the whacked out fans and followers. They're harmless enough and nothing to worry about. We can take care of them."

"Walter, what are these people doing here?" None of them heard Penny close in on them and get off the rink. She looked the two strangers up and down as if she were examining a bug. "Who are you people?"

"My name is Michael Westen, this is my business associate Sam Axe. His daughter Esperanza is a fan of yours." He noted the way she rolled her eyes. What an ice princess! "Anyway, we believe that you may need some assistance, and we'd like to talk to you about it."

"I don't need anybody's help with anything. Walter, get these guys out of here."

Walter grabbed their arms and pulled none too gently. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

Penny walked past them and headed for the shower. "Ms. O'Loughlin. I heard your side of a conversation this morning, and I was concerned."

She stopped and turned toward Sam. "I don't need the stage parent of some budding prima donna getting into my business. Good day, Mr. Axe." She hurried toward the locker room with Walter beside her. Another man dressed in black slacks and t-shirt stood behind Sam and Michael with his hands clasped in front of himself in the universal bodyguard sign for 'it's time to go before we break something of yours.'

"That went well," Michael quipped. "It's not like she was going to just come out and tell us she had a problem. It seems that she's got a whole entourage to help her, and we just stepped on a few sets of toes."

"Sorry, Mike. I was hoping that maybe she would..."

He was interrupted by a scream, a very piercing scream that drifted out to the lobby. Michael and Sam looked at each other, turned, grabbed the door handles and ran back inside.

Sam asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know!" Ms Olga responded as she stood looking lost and confused.

They heard another scream, and Walter and two other bodyguards raced for the locker room. Penny came out clutching a towel around herself, her hair and body dripping. In the confusion, Michael and Sam were amazed that they were able to get close to her. This was the worst time for strangers to have such easy access.

"What happened?"

She looked at Michael. "I-I was in the shower, and suddenly, there was someone in the locker room. They came into the shower area."

"Someone. Was it a man, or a woman," Sam asked.

"It was someone short. A woman, maybe? I don't know! They were dressed in black and had a ski mask on. And he or she was carrying a baseball bat."

Sam and Michael glanced at each other and nodded. "And you thought she didn't need help," Sam muttered.

"What are you two, like security specialists or something?" Walter stared at them, his eyes narrowing.

Michael answered him. "You could say that. My friend and I are ex-intelligence agents. We think we can not only protect Ms. O'Loughlin while she's in Miami, but we'll also figure out who is responsible for this. But we need to speak with you first, Ms. O'Laughlin, and get the story. Why would anyone want to harm you?"

She stood with a death grip on the towel as she analyzed whether or not she could trust them. Whatever the case, she appeared to be vulnerable, and not just from her state of undress. Penny glanced at Walter as if she expected him to give her an answer or an assurance that she could expect him to take care of this situation. He remained silent, but he also studied the men. They didn't dress like threatening people, but he was experienced enough to know that looks could be deceiving.

"I'd like to get dressed first. Then meet me at my hotel. Walter will tell you where it is." She turned on her heel and hurried back into the locker room with Ms. Olga.

"You guys are just going to let her go in there with one woman as a guard?" Michael asked, and shook his head. "Come on, Sam. We promise we won't look!" He pulled out his gun, and Sam did the same. Her hired guards stepped forward.

"Don't worry, we've done this kind of thing before." Sam followed him inside, and they located the two entrances to the locker room and kept watch on them while Penny finished making herself presentable. Her bodyguards followed and took up watch over the two doing the job they should have been doing. With so many men watching over her, no one dared to attack Penny.

"You guys get a good look?" Penny asked as she moved toward the exit that led to the lobby.

"Not at all, Ms. O'Loughlin." Sam replied as he fell into step beside her on the left, and Michael flanked her right side. Her own men led and followed her to the SUV, but when they arrived, they elbowed Michael and Sam out of the way and got in. Walter headed for the driver's seat.

"We'll be at the Victor. Be careful how you follow us. We don't want anyone tailing her."

"So, now you think there's something to this?" Michael asked, feeling hopeful that the skater and her security detail would actually consider hiring them.

"Mr. Westen, when you're a championship skater, you're the media darling, making a fortune in product endorsements and commercials, print advertisements, etcetera, someone will come after you. It's the dark side of fame. If you're familiar with security for well-known people, you would know that."

"I'm well aware of the downside of fame, Walter. We'll see you at the Victor." Michael pushed his sunglasses onto his nose. "Sam, we should take our own cars."

"Sounds good, Mike. Se you at the Victor."

On the way to the hotel, he put on his earpiece and called home. "Call Eve."

"Hi honey. We're waiting for you. The kids are excited about going to the museum. Are you coming home to get some lunch first?"

"Uh, no, sweetheart. Mike and I might have a new job."

"Sam!"

"Espie will be happy about this one, sort of." He quickly explained what happened, and that someone tried to attack Penny O'Loughlin.

"That's awful, Sam! But you can be sure when I tell Espie, she'll be adamant about you helping her!"

"If she rejects our offer, I'll be home this afternoon. Otherwise, I'll let you know when I think I'll be home."

"Okay. Be careful."

"You know I am." He hung up and parked in a lot next to the hotel. He met up with Michael and they scanned the area looking for the Escalade. "Up there, Mike. They're in the parking structure." He pointed with his gaze just as Penny and her squad headed for a side entrance to the hotel. He and Michael joined up with them. No one spoke until they were all assembled in Penny's room, a well-appointed suite with an ocean view.

"Now, let's talk." Penny walked into the living area and they followed. "Walter, have your men keep watch outside, please."

Walter's mouth worked as if he were about to protest, but he kept silent. Instead, he nodded and ushered his men to the door. However, he stayed behind and listened while standing in the short hall leading from the entrance to the living area.

Penny moved toward a kitchenette area and pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "Would you gentlemen like anything?"

"Water would be fine, thanks." Sam answered, and she pulled out two more. As she approached, she handed them the bottles and motioned for them to sit.

She may have had an abrasive personality, but at least she was polite. Sam sat in a chair to her right, and Michael sat across from her in another. She remained silent until she opened her water and took a swig. "So, you believe that my life is in danger?"

"When someone enters a ladies' locker room at an ice arena with a baseball bat, yes, I would take that as a definite sign." Michael answered with a small smile.

Sam added. "Wrong sport, it's a dead giveaway." Sam's attempt at humor achieved its desired effect. She braved a small smile and relaxed a little in her chair.

Turning serious, Michael asked, "Do you have an idea of who might want to hurt you?"

"My competition? Even though I no longer participate in the Olympics, Mr. Westen, I am vying for other things. Top spots in ice shows, endorsements, you name it. Whatever I'm doing right now, there is someone who would like to take it from me. I've almost become jaded regarding these threats."

"Until today." Sam set his bottle down onto the glass topped coffee table. "What was the phone call about?"

She let out a deep breath. "That phone call was one of my former competitors, Laura Brady. Well, her agent, actually. She's too chicken to do her own dirty work, so she has him call me. For years, she's felt as if I stole her victory at the 2004 US finals. We were only a few points off from each other, and I went to the Olympics. She was a sub who never got to go. And then I won the gold, which she believes I also stole from her." Penny paused and took a drink. "For the past eight years, she hasn't been able to get over it. And she's jealous of all the opportunities that came my way because of my Olympic success. Now and then, she threatens me."

"Well, either she's decided to get bold and handle things herself, or she had help."

Sam suggested, "Or someone else is using her as a distraction to get to you."

"Have you had any other threatening letters or incidents that could point to someone else? Do you have any upcoming competitions that someone might want you to not make," Michael grilled her.

"No, nothing at all! This is so frustrating! I just want to skate, mind my own business, and..." She shook her head and cut herself off. Then she let out a deep breath and asked, "Can you do anything, Mr. Westen? To be honest with you, my bodyguards aren't exactly top-notch. But they're what my agent hired, so I'm stuck with them." She paused and flipped a loose tendril away from her face. "If you can figure this out, what's your fee?"

"For a job like this, let's see what we're up against first before we talk price."

She nodded. "That much, huh?"

"It really does depend on how many hours we spend hunting down this person," Sam replied. "Generally, a job like this will average five thousand."

"Wow. I guess good help doesn't come cheap, but that's okay. For me, that's just a drop in the bucket. And if I don't do this, and something happens, I'm afraid the three stooges aren't going to be much help." She glanced behind her, knowing full well that Walter heard her. He stood with a blank look on his face as if he'd frozen in place and didn't hear.

But Sam saw his eyes shift to her, and he didn't like what he saw in them. As Michael tried to get more information from her, Sam thought back to where exactly Walter was just before the attack. While the two goons escorted them to the door, he followed Penny toward the locker rooms. She said the potential assailant was short and wore all black: Walter's wardrobe of choice that day matched the description. He was short. Where he could have gotten a baseball bat, that was anybody's guess. If it had been Walter, he must have ditched it somewhere on site.

"Mike, Ms. O'Loughlin, I'll be right back. I need to make a call."

He let himself out onto the balcony and said, "Call Fi."

"Sam? Where's Michael? We were supposed to go with Luke and Mari to the farmers' market today!"

"Sorry, Fi, we've got a job." He quickly explained the situation and said, "We need your help. And we're gonna need Eve and the kids, too."

"What do you want us to do?"

"I need you to go to the arena. Have Eve call Ms. Olga to have her unlock the place. You need to check every inch inside and outside for a baseball bat. A light-colored one, probably ash."

"Like I know my ash from my oak," Fiona scoffed. "We'll look for a baseball bat. I would think any kind would be out of place in an ice arena."

"Exactly! So if you find it, don't let anybody touch it except by the end, and I'm talking way on the hitting end. If it has any prints on it, they'll be all over the handle."

"Seriously, Sam, you think you need to tell me how to handle evidence?" She let out a huff.

"Yeah, well, you've been out of practice for a little while. That's all."

"Just because I turned into Suzy Homemaker..."

"And our business manager," he added in a vain attempt to squelch her Irish temper.

"Yes, that too... Anyway, you think I can't..."

"Fi, just do this, will you, please?"

She sighed heavily. "Okay."

"Great! Thanks, we owe you. I'll call Eve and tell her what's up. She'll call Ms. Olga."

"Fine. I'll get the kids together and we'll meet them at the arena."

"And be careful. I want you both armed."

She let out another huff. "That's a given, Sam!"

When Yvette told the kids that they were going to help with Daddy and Uncle Michael's investigation, they dropped everything they were doing, whooped and shouted with joy.

"Alright, let's go!" Samuel pumped his fist in the air.

"This is so awesome! Wait'll all my friends hear we're on a case and protecting Penny! They'll be envious as all get out!"

"Now kids, this is serious." Yvette unlocked the cabinet holding the gun that Sam left around for emergencies. Then she slipped a box out from the cabinet, pressed the numbers on the keypad, and the box opened. She grabbed two clips, just in case, before locking it again. "Okay, let's go. We're meeting Aunt Fiona, Luke, and Mari at the rink."

It wasn't quite as big a deal when they discovered that their cousins were coming along to help. But for Esperanza it was an opportunity to give back to her heroine, the one who inspired her to greater heights of skating excellence. She couldn't wait to meet her again and hear it from her own lips how grateful she was for Espie's unselfish service.