by Jim Riley
Niki watched Bailey's reaction to the mention of the cheerleader's name. He displayed no signs of deceit.
"Okay, shoot."
"The basics. You know her?"
"I know who she is. We don't have a close relationship. We don't have any kind of relationship."
Niki took a few notes. "When was the last time you talked to her?"
Billy looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know. I might have said hi to her in the hallway last week. Or it could have been the week before."
"Did you ever talk to her after practice?"
"No. Never." Billy stated firmly.
"Were you ever alone with Flavia in the film room? After practice? On a weekend? Ever?"
"No. Never." The coach was again firm.
"After the win last Friday night, did you have any contact with Flavia?"
"Do you mean when we all rushed onto the field?"
"Yes. Did you talk to or touch Flavia during the celebration after the game?"
"Geez." Billy brought both hands over the top of the said. "Honestly, I don't know. I was hugging everyone who got close enough. Players, parents, band members, other coaches. I might have hugged a cheerleader. I don't remember."
"Do you know LaDonne Elgin?"
"The name rings a bell, but I can't place it at the moment."
"Think hard. LaDonne Elgin. Do you know her?"
"LaDonne Elgin. LaDonne Elgin." He repeated more to himself than to Niki or Sara Sue. Niki waited, in no hurry to jog his memory.
The coach finally answered. "I'm sorry. I can't recall where I've heard that name before."
"She's a cheerleader, too."
"LaDonne. Of course. The Mexican girl. I mean, Latino. Yes, I know her. Why?"
"Let me ask the questions. Did you have any contact with LaDonne after the game Friday night?"
Billy replied. "Like I said before, I was so excited. We just beat the number one team in the state. My boys came through. That was all I was thinking about. I don't remember seeing LaDonne after the game, but I could have."
"How well do you know LaDonne Elgin?"
"Not as well as I know Flavia, which isn't saying much. I know her name is LaDonne just from listening to the guys talking in our locker room. They talk about all the girls, especially the cheerleaders."
Niki paused. "Do you participate in those discussions?"
"No," he exclaimed.
"Remember, I need the truth. It is all gonna come out, anyway. You might as well tell me now."
Billy sighed. He glanced at Sara Sue before answering. "I might have made a comment or two. You know, guy talk. I try to build camaraderie with the boys."
"Did you ever make a comment about Flavia's looks or parts of her anatomy?"
"No way."
Niki remained silent. Suddenly, Billy's chair became extremely uncomfortable. He fidgeted and squirmed like a four–year–old accused of taking a cookie with crumbs all over his shirt.
His voice was much softer when he spoke.
"I may have said something. But it was generic boy talk. I didn't mean anything by it."
"And LaDonne Elgin? Did you have the same generic comments about parts of her anatomy?"
"I—I guess so. But I was only adding to what the guys were talking about. Looking back on it now, it sounds stupid and immature, but at the time, I didn't think anything about it."
"Do you often discuss young girls’ private areas without thinking about it?"
"Hold on," Billy showed his agitation. "It's not like that. I don't go around ogling little girls and then talking about them. The boys were talking about them, so I—I—"
"You jumped in and added your comments. Is that what you are trying to say?"
Billy face fell. "I guess so. How did you hear about that? It wasn't in the public. It happened in the locker room."
"It's part of the prosecution's case. Some of your players remember the conversations."
"And they told that—the prosecutor?"
Niki nodded. "The guys, at least some of them, are close friends with those girls. They are more than willing to testify on their behalf."
"Geez," he exclaimed. "They turned on me. I wouldn't have thought they would."
Niki put down her pen. "Don't blame them. In their eyes, they are defending the girls, their classmates. They don't see it as attacking you."
The big brunch no longer sat well on Bailey’s stomach. He wished he had eaten less.
"But they were offhand comments. I meant nothing by them."
"When your words are printed, sometimes they don't look like what you think you said. In a situation like this, they can be damning."
"What do we do? I can't take them back."
Niki picked up her drink. "We have bigger problems than your locker room comments. The problem is those will be presented to the jury as part of your character, to tear down your image."
Sara Sue started to speak, but decided against it.
"What could be worse than that?" Billy asked glumly.
"Let's go back to the celebration after the game. What did you do? Please be specific."
Billy buried his head in his hands for a few minutes. After searching the recesses of his memory, he spoke.
"I jumped up and down like a kid. I hugged Jimbo Wax. He was standing next to me when the horn sounded. Then I hugged Floyd DeGeneres, our defensive coordinator. After that, the other coaches, then a bunch of the players. We all ran onto the field. I hugged our quarterback, a couple of the offensive lineman. Then the fans made it out to the middle of the field. I kept talking to and hugging every one of them. Somewhere, I took time out to shake the Zachary coaches' hands. Then I went back to the celebration."
"You didn't mention either Flavia or LaDonne in your recollection. Was that on purpose?"
"No—Yes—I don't remember either of them specifically. You keep talking about those two girls. Did they say something? Did they accuse me of something?"
"Quite a bit," Niki responded.
"What? What did they say that I did?"
Niki glanced at Sara Sue. "Are you sure you want to hear this?"
Sara Sue nodded, her lips quivering.
Niki continued. "Both girls told the authorities that you improperly touched them. They said you groped them."
"That's a downright lie. I was excited about the game but I never touched either of them in an inappropriate place, as you put it."
"Are you saying that you definitely did not touch those girls’ breasts or bottoms?"
Digital almost choked. "No way. I'm not a pervert getting my jollies by feeling up the cheerleaders. Come on now. I'll testify in any court in the world I never touched them, at least not the way they are describing it."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Niki sighed.
"Why not? I'm telling the truth."
“If you don't tell the truth, I can't help you. You know that, don't you?” Niki held her gaze.
"I am telling the truth. How many times and how many ways do I have to tell you I didn't touch any girl in that way after the game? Why don't you believe me?"
"Because of these." Niki pulled two eight by ten photographs from her bag. She slid them across the table to Billy.
He picked up the first one. The photograph was crystal clear. They showed the happy coach surrounded by celebrating fans. His left hand thrust into the air. His right hand firmly clasping Flavia Foster's breast, the coach's arm holding the cheerleader tight.
The color drained from Bailey’s face, leaving a sickly pale edition of his previous self. He did not attempt to speak, unable to look away from the photograph. Billy grasped it with both hands, still unable to keep the single sheet steady.
Niki glanced at Sara Sue. Billy's wife was fixated by the picture in her husband's hands. A single tear rolled down her cheek and dropped onto her blouse. Sara Sue picked up a napkin, dabbing at her eyes and wiping her nose.
Then Billy laid the photo down and picked up the other one. It was another sh
ot of the happy coach. In this one Bailey was hoisting LaDonne Elgin. He held her off the ground, his face only one or two inches from hers. Both of his hands were under her cheerleader skirt, which was pulled up exposing her buttocks. Each of the coach’s hands had a firm grasp on each of the girl's rear cheeks.
By now, there was no color left in his ashen face. Billy made no attempt to speak, concentrating on the photo with unbelieving eyes.
Sara Sue took one quick glance at the second picture. Her mouth fell open.
"Excuse me." Billy's wife raced toward the restroom, her napkin covering her mouth.
"Honey, wait. I—" Billy did not know how to finish the sentence.
"Let her go," Niki said. "She needs to be alone for a few minutes."
The coach picked up the first picture. Now holding one in each hand, he studied one, then the other, all the time shaking his head.
"I don't know what to say," he began.
"If you were on the stand, you would be charged with perjury. I don't think a jury, whom at least some of them will be female, will believe you don't remember feeling up those girls."
"But I don't." His voice was little above a whisper. "I don't remember it even after seeing these pictures. I can't believe it's me in them."
"Sure looks like you," Niki nodded at the photograph. "Looks like they are the cheerleaders you claim you don't know well."
"I don't. I’m at a loss to explain this."
"You just happened to be groping the areas of their anatomies you talked about in the locker room. You want me to believe that is a coincidence?" Niki's accusatory tone surprised him.
"You're supposed to be on my side."
Her tone did not change. "And you're supposed to be telling me the truth. I can't help you unless I know the truth, whatever it is."
Billy’s chin sank to his chest.
"This doesn't look good, doesn't it?"
Niki scoffed. "What do you think?"
Billy sighed. When he spoke, a signal of resignation filled his voice. "No. It doesn't look good. Not at all."
"Do you still maintain you have never been alone in the film room with Flavia?"
He picked up his chin. "I would definitely remember that. No way anybody has my pictures in there with her because it never happened."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Niki pressed him.
"Yes. Absolutely. Never. Never. Never."
Niki pulled out two more sheets from her bag. She slid them across the table. "Then how do you explain this?"
The somber coach silently read the entire two-page report. His eyes widened. Then he read it again.
Niki let him finish, then asked, "How do you explain it?"
"I can't. I wish I could, but I can't."
"What does it say?" Sara Sue appeared back at the table, the tears gone.
"It says—" Billy could not complete the sentence.
Niki did it for him. "It says that one of Flavia's old uniforms has blood on it. There are two sets of DNA in the mixture. One belongs to Flavia. The other belongs to your husband."
"What does that mean?" Sara Sue asked, her mind still garbled by the overload of information.
"According to Miss Foster’s statement, it means your husband and she were having rough sex in the film room. Things got out of hand. She alleges that she slapped him, and he bled. Then he slapped her back, causing her blood to drip on top of his on her practice uniform."
"Oh, my God," Sara Sue said as she looked as if she was about to vomit.
Billy did not look much better. He kept staring at the report, then back at the photographs, then back at the report. Shock spread across his entire countenance.
"There is more," Niki added.
She took another piece of paper from the bag. Billy made no attempt to deny anything at this point. He was a beaten man.
"What else can there be? Is she pregnant with my child?" He asked solemnly.
Sara Sue's hand went directly to her mouth. She again raced toward the restroom.
"Honey, I wasn't serious—" Billy called as his wife disappeared from sight. His shoulders slumped when Sara Sue did not turn around.
He picked up the paper and read it. There was no more emotion, no more disbelief. No more surprises. He dropped the paper on the table and looked up at Niki.
"Her blood was found in the film room. I guess that supports her story about the rough sex."
Niki nodded. "From an initial review, the prosecutor has a tight case. I don't see any holes in it."
Billy pleaded. "There has to be. The only thing I've ever done was to run my mouth in the locker room. I admit that. I'm sorry, but all this other stuff. I don't know where it's coming from."
"Do you still maintain that you aren’t guilty?" Niki asked.
"He's innocent," Sara Sue was back at the table, a defiant look on her face.
"I need to hear it from him," Niki said. She nodded in the direction of Bailey. "He needs to tell me all this evidence is fabricated and none of the allegations happened despite the photographs to the contrary."
Billy shrugged. "I definitely never had rough sex or any other kind of sex with Flavia Foster or anyone else in the film room. It did not happen."
"And the groping of the girls after the game?"
"I don't remember. I know that sounds terrible, but I really don't remember. If I touched them, it wasn't on purpose. I was excited. We were all excited. But I think I would have remembered something like that."
Niki took back the report and the pictures.
"If it is any comfort to you, LaDonne Elgin doesn't remember it either. When they asked her about it, she said she wasn't that close to you during the celebration. She was with your players."
"Then it didn't happen." Hope sprang in his eyes.
"She didn't say that. She said that somebody grabbed her butt during the celebration on the field, but she thought it was a player. Now she thinks it might have been you."
"He's in a lot of trouble, isn't he?" Sara Sue asked.
Niki smiled. "That may qualify the understatement of the year."
Billy frowned. "Niki, you had all these pictures and reports before the hearing. Right?"
The private investigator nodded.
"Then why are you still willing to help me?"
The strawberry blonde hesitated, toying with a coffee cup beside her plate. She answered, "Because I believe you're innocent."
8
Central High School
“Niki, come on in,” Jimbo Wax’s voice boomed.
“Thanks for seeing me, Coach. I know how busy you are with all that is happening.” She took the seat across the desk from the assistant head coach for the Wildcats.
“No problem. How is Billy?”
“Not so good. The charges against him are more serious than he first thought.”
Jimbo chuckled. “There’s got to be at least a million rumors running around the campus, and none of them are good for Coach.”
“That’s why I’m here. I want to find the facts. Separate those from the rumors.”
“Billy promoted me when he got here this year. I owe him a lot. Now I have a good future in front of me. Whatever I can do to help him and Sara Sue, just let me know.”
“How well do you know the two girls who made the allegations against Billy?” Niki asked.
The assistant coach arched his eyebrows. “There are only two? From what I heard, he was screwing all the cheerleaders and half the dance squad. I didn’t know it was only two.”
“I thought the judge released their names given the local notoriety, but I guess not. I don’t want to expose the girls, so let me rephrase my question.”
“Only two?”
“Did the coach show any special attention to any students at Central?”“Did the �
��coach show any special attention to any students at Central?”
“Sure. No doubt about it.”
“Which ones?”
“The fellows that can run faster, hit harder, and catch a football better than anyone else. He favors the stars of the team, no doubt about it.”
Niki did not bother to note that response.
“How about the female students?”
“Pretty much the same. From what I understand, he favors the girls that make good grades in trigonometry. For some reason, it seems more difficult for the girls than the boys.”
“Any girls in particular?”
A couple. Sharon Landry and Maddie Cockerham. He likes both of them a lot.”
“Do you consider those girls to be attractive?”
Jimbo laughed out loud. “Now you’re going to get me in trouble.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. Let’s put it this way. How would you describe these girls to someone who has never met them, but wants to pick them out in a crowd?”
“That’s easy,” Jimbo chuckled. “For Shannon, I’d tell them to look for the one with the biggest—Wait, you’re writing this down—I’d tell them to look for the big-boned girl. Real big bones. For Maddie, I’d tell them to look for the skinniest girl in the crowd with the worst case of acne you’ll ever see. Neither of them will win a beauty pageant anytime soon.”
“How about the cheerleaders? Did Billy show any favoritism toward any of them?”
Jimbo smiled. “So some of the rumors just might be true? Damn, I was hoping it was all bull.”
“Was Billy close to any of the cheerleaders?”
“Not really. Not that I’m aware.”
“Did you ever hear the coach make any derogatory comments about the girls?” Niki asked.
“Those sorry—boys. I heard a few of them ratted out Billy.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing that every red-blooded man in the world wouldn’t say. That includes me and every other coach on the staff and every player in that locker room.”
“Again, what did he say?” Niki persisted.