Free Hardheaded Brunette by Diane Bator

past the Phoenix school toward Ponderer's Point. Charlie Hunt had been murdered along the point near the lighthouse, where she loved to hang out.
    She couldn't help but stare at the spot where she'd found Charlie's body. No sign of blood or footprints, just soft gray sand. As Gilda shook off the image of Charlie's beaten face, she walked toward her favorite boulder then paused. A familiar figure had already beaten her to the same spot.
    Doctor Ryan Graham, better known to the whole town as Doc, sat on a boulder with pipe smoke swirling into the September air. Taller than Mick, with white hair and a deep tan from the hot summer sun, Doc was dressed in his usual manner with Bermuda shorts, a bright Hawaiian shirt, and, more than likely, his Birkenstock sandals over black socks.
    "Hi." Gilda strolled over, stopping just out of a breath of smoke. The scent reminded her of her dad, who'd passed away far too soon in the line of duty. When she was younger, he sat out on the porch in the evenings and puffed on a pipe while he watched the world go by. He was, in effect, Sandstone Cove's first Neighborhood Watch.
    Doc nodded. "I wondered when I'd see you out here again. I've missed our little chats over the past few weeks. How are the renovations coming at the new school?"
    "Done. The Phoenix is going to be amazing. Mick's hired a yoga instructor and someone to teach weaponry. We had our grand opening yesterday."
    "Yoga?" He raised his bushy eyebrows. "Where do I sign up?"
    Gilda laughed, hopping onto the boulder. "Really?"
    "Young lady, I've practiced yoga since I was in med school. It's kept me in shape for all these years. I haven't had anyone to train with since my wife died, just my cat."
    "In that case, I'll bring you a copy of our new schedule."
    "I'd appreciate that." Doc released a ring of smoke. "So, what's on your mind today? Aside from the dead fighter you found on the beach yesterday."
    Her face warmed. "Good guess."
    "I know you too well."
    Gilda glanced at Doc, her vision instantly marred by the brisk wind blowing her hair in her face. "I know you and the M.E. are good friends."
    He puffed his pipe and shifted on the rock beside her. "Yes, but we never discuss specific cases, if that's what you want to know. Particularly current ones."
    "Even if the man accused of murder is probably going to jail right now?"
    "Who?"
    "Kane Garrick. It doesn't sound like they have any physical evidence against him, just his long, sordid history with Charlie."
    Doc met her gaze. "Kane Garrick? Wasn't he the guy Fabio and Thayer found waving a sword around on the beach and screaming like a lunatic?"
    "They were kiais , not screams. He's a Japanese fencing teacher. He was training." She wasn't sure why she suddenly felt the need to defend a guy she didn't really like. "He wasn't yelling at anyone except imaginary opponents."
    Both of Doc's eyebrows rose. "So he's crazy."
    Gilda groaned. "No crazier than the rest of us. Well, not that anyone's scientifically proven anyway."
    "Is Kane a friend of yours?"
    She hesitated, unsure how to answer. "More like a coworker, I guess you'd say. He's supposed to teach weaponry classes at the school, which we'll have to put on hold now he's in jail. Ironically, that's the one class we have a long waiting list for."
    Doc puffed his pipe. "I see. So you have a vested interest in proving his innocence."
    "I guess so," she said. "He's a friend of Mick's. I just want to help."
    He nodded, eyebrows raised. "May I remind you about the time you insisted my nurse was stealing drugs from my office?"
    "I was fresh out of surgery and had so much medication in my system I was hallucinating. You said so yourself."
    "And the time you set up a killer in the martial arts school and nearly got Mick killed."
    She snorted. "That was not my doing. Mick and Thayer—" When Doc smiled, she paused. "Are you toying with me?"
    "Of course." He patted her arm and slid off the rock. "I'm also trying to warn you to keep out of trouble. I