MAKE ME A MATCH (Running Wild) by Bobby Hutchinson Page A

for his attention.
    Simon was a big, muscular boy, tall for five, with Eric’s blue eyes and Karen’s smile. Simon was thin and angelic looking. Both boys had masses of curly red hair. Karen introduced them to Tessa, and after a bit of prompting they released Eric and shook hands formally with her.
    Simon gave her a suspicious look. “Are you one of my Uncle Eric’s girlfriends?”
    “Heavens, no.” Tessa gave a nervous little laugh and her face got hot. “He just gave me a ride over to your house.”
    “Cause Uncle Eric has lots of girlfriends. Auntie Sophie says he does catch and release,” Simon told her. “Like with fish, but Uncle Eric does it with ladies.” He burst into giggles and Ian did, too, both of them chanting “Catch and release, catch and release. ”
    “Boys, put a plug in it.” Eric picked them up, one under each arm. “We’re outta here, see you later. Bye, ladies.” He didn’t quite meet Tessa’s eyes.
    “Sorry about that,” Karen said when the door closed behind them. “They’ve just got so much energy. Come and sit down, I’ve got fresh coffee made.”
    “That’s what’s great about kids, ” Tessa managed in a feeble tone.
    Lots of girlfriends ? Catch and release?
    Lucky she didn’t have any feelings for him anymore. Eric Stewart was obviously the desk clerk at Heartbreak Hotel, and she’d be wise to remember it.
     
    Just before ten, Eric unlocked the street door and walked along the dim hallway to his apartment. What had Karen told Tessa in the two hours he’d been out with the boys sending shoe clerks batty? He’d gone from getting kissed brainless on the street and asked about his sex drive to frostbite that damned near took his nose off when he stuck it out and offered her a ride home. He’d actually been looking forward to being alone with her again. He’d heard Tessa and Karen laughing when he came in the door. And then he’d suggested the ride home, and she’d given him that look that would have frozen his blowtorch in mid-flame.
    “I’ve called a cab, thanks anyway,” she’d snapped at him. Maybe she was getting her period. Maybe she had personality disorder.
    Women, who knew? She’d managed to knock the hell out of a perfectly good mood, so he’d stopped at a pub on the way home just to confirm that bar bunnies still found him irresistible. They did, but it must be his age, because tits and ass just didn’t appeal the way they once had.
    His building was so old there wasn’t even an elevator, which made him glad he’d chosen an apartment on the main floor. At least nobody complained about all the junk he dragged in. Hauling tons of scrap iron in and out also saved him what he’d have spent on a gym membership, so there were lots of perks to both the place and his hobby.
    He unlocked his door and went in, flicked a couple of lights, and gulped down a glass of water. He looked at the dog he was building and decided not to make life-altering changes tonight. The message light was blinking on his machine, but he wasn’t in any mood to listen. Whatever it was would keep till morning. He was heading for the shower when the phone rang.
    “Eric?” It was Karen, and the tension in her voice set alarms off in his head. “Eric, where were you? I’ve been calling and calling. The police came here just after you left.” She took a quick little gulp of air, and he waited for the worst, heart hammering.
    “Eric, Jimmy’s dead.”

CHAPTER NINE
     
    I don’t know whether to kill myself or go bowling
     
     
    It took a moment to sink in, and then a horrible thought struck him. Could a guy die from a broken nose? He didn’t think so. He’d never heard of it happening, but he wanted desperately to call Sophie and find out. Could it take a whole week to happen?
    His throat tightened. “How—what did he die from?”
    “He was just walking along the street. The detective said that they’re, ummm, the police are treating it as a suspicious death. The