Chapter 7. The wide wooden doors swung open and the sudden glare of natural light elbowed its way into the musty open hall. The buzz of activity was constant as a dozen men were busily engaged in using the gymnasium facilities within. Two were jumping rope on opposite sides of the large open space. Several more worked with weights and still others

with a variety of punching bags large and small that hung from the rafters. In the center

of the room stood a full-sized boxing ring, where two middle-weight-sized men stood opposite

one another trying to keep their eyes focused on each other while simultaneously absorbing the

instructions being thrown

at them by a large and seemingly very angry man outside the ring.

The combatants were handicapped somewhat by the fact that the same trainer was shouting instructions

to both of them at the same time, to say nothing of the fact that his instructions were

often contradictory in nature, and that their confusion only made him both angrier and

his already formidable Greek accent thicker. Slowly the activity around the room began to trickle

to a halt as the assembled crowd stopped to gawk at a newcomer standing in their midst,

a tallish man with a strong jaw, a shock of blonde hair, and the uniform of a Toronto police

constable. The man looked

mildly sheepish at his reception, and tried to indicate with his smile that he was not there

to make trouble for anyone. He caught the eye of the Greek trainer, who barked orders at the

two pugilists and made his way towards the young police officer.

"'If you are going to keep coming to my gymnasium, you should maybe think about taking some

lessons. The trainer growled as he breezed past the officer in the direction of a counter

set up near the front door, behind which stood the entrance to a small office.

I'm supposed to keep coming here, Spiro. The policeman protested, you're my contact man.

The trainer stopped and took his head

in his great, meaty, left hand. He was a big man, more than sixty years old now, though clearly

...