Free Serial Separation by Dick C. Waters

I’m going to have to discuss it with her.”
    Maggie brought their refills. “Here’s to your help with the task team. Cheers.”
    “I know you also want to talk about the murdered guys, Bob Sullivan, and the hockey league.”
    Mike smiled, looking over his mug. “Before we go there, I want to know how your interview went, more importantly, what you thought of Mercedes.”
    “Maggie, why don’t you bring us a large order of onion rings?”
    She nodded and asked, “Do you want me to bring another refill with the onion rings, or are you guys okay?”
    Mike answered, “Sure, we’re going to be here a while.”
    “Mercedes is quite the package. I don’t remember ever meeting anyone like her. She’s uncomfortably attractive, has the longest legs I’ve ever seen, and totally took me by surprise when we shook hands. She has strong hands, like Killer Kowalski’s, and she knows it.”
    “I know I can share this with you; she makes me feel very defensive. If we were playing hockey, she would be the one making the moves. I’m not comfortable with her at all, but I guess I will have to work on it. I felt like I wasn’t thinking correctly in her presence . . . and I think Paddy noticed it.”
    Mike smiled. “I think if you spend more time with her you’ll get more comfortable. I’ll try to be sensitive to it and help if I can. She created a similar stir downstairs with the guys.”
    “Mike, that reminds me. When I came in the front door for the meeting, Mercedes was already upstairs, and I caught Colleen with her skirt at mid-thigh. So, she’s had an impact on more that just the guys downstairs.”
    Mike let out a loud laugh, and we both looked to see who had noticed. The timing was perfect with Maggie bringing our order.
    “Sounds like you guys are having a good time over here.” She smiled and turned.
    “Scott, what about these guys? What does your gut tell you?”
    “First of all, the league consisted of almost a hundred guys. We would scrimmage late at night, but on Friday and Saturday nights the rink was packed for team games. There were guys on different teams who were a higher caliber than many of us. They were intimidating on the ice. They threw their weight around, and it forced the rest of us to keep our heads up. However, when someone would get a good check on them . . . the house would explode with cheers. These three guys—Paul Maloney, Tony Sangello, and Bob Sullivan—were all in that category.”
    “That is a very interesting observation. You know we had no idea these guys played in the same hockey league until you brought it to our attention. It might not be any connection, but if Bob’s torso is found, it looks like it may be a key connection. Can you think of any other guys with the same caliber of play?”
    “There were only a couple of others, but I wasn’t in that group. I just did my thing, but watched some of my teammates go out of their way to catch these guys in a hard check. Sometimes in practice sessions, guys would come to blows due to hard checking. In practice, we weren’t supposed to hit anyone, but there were no officials to dish out any punishment for the action.”
    “To answer your question, Jason Johnston was one of those guys. We called him ‘Tippy’ since he had a very successful and unique move on the goalie. His close friends called him ‘JJ.’ He was a well-built black guy, and I remember no one ever picked a fight with him.”
    Mike pulled out a copy of the article I had given him. “Scott, look at this picture and tell me if anyone else fits the style you mentioned.”
    I looked at the familiar picture and studied the faces. “There were others, but now that I see the faces again, none that were the caliber of those four.”
    “Scott, I lay you odds that Bob Sullivan does turn up a victim. What I can’t give you odds on is why they are being killed.”

Chapter 18
     
    I really enjoyed talking with Mike. Although we had talked on the phone several times,