by David Horne
Martin had had an ongoing text conversation with Joel that rivaled teenagers in love. They had some innuendo dialogue and flat-out erogenous discourse. He was the only person on the bus smiling. By the end of the trip, Martin felt a greater distance between him and the coaches.
McGowan said nothing to Martin the entire trip. Since there were no injuries, Martin occupied himself with watching the crowd and chatting with the onsite paramedics and another team doctor. His interaction with the other team’s sports physician didn’t go unnoticed. But no words of discouragement were ever expressed.
Martin spent the night with Joel at his apartment instead of the hotel. They had dinner, made love, and Martin felt a sense of compassion within his heart that went beyond any medical explanation. Joel was a rock, an anchor that tended to his needs and made Martin feel as if there was no one else in the world that meant more to him. It was the beginning of a new appreciation for his job and where he was, and Martin felt there was nothing that could change that.
***
It was after three on Wednesday afternoon when he received a call from a former colleague. Carolyn Matthews was cheerful over the phone.
“So, we got back your test results.”
“That took a lot longer than I expected.”
“Well, we were debating on what tests we wanted to run on the samples.” She chuckled. Only someone in the medical and scientific community would appreciate her dedication. “I wish we had more blood to work with.”
Martin frowned. “Did you find something?”
“Well, there’s elevated levels of creatinine. Nothing significantly harmful at the moment,” she added. “But there were some other indicators in the blood work that we found interesting.”
“Like what?”
“Well, I haven’t seen anything like this in the States. I did some research on what we found. There’s a published review from scientists in Britain that are looking at similar chemical compounds for enhanced muscle growth.”
“Are you saying you found some indication that the samples had drug enhancements in it?” It was a redundant question, but Martin wanted to be sure what he heard from Carolyn.
“Well, I’m not sure how your blood received the exposure. And it’s not going to show up in any of the standard drug tests. And we tested it with the Olympic grade toxicology panel they use on athletes. If you’re suggesting the sample came from one of your ballplayers, then we might be looking at a whole new problem in sports.”
“Any of the compounds you’ve found linked to aggression?”
“Well, there are some indicators. But without the subject and history, I’m not going to speculate.”
Martin understood. Results took time in the medical field. Good results took time and attention to detail. Great results took dedication and compassion to get the truth from results over a long period.
“I think I’m starting to get a picture of what we have here.” Martin felt uneasy about what he’d stumbled on. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Another one?” Carolyn asked. “They might start questioning our lab if we do more.”
“Nothing like that,” Martin assured her. “Have you sent the report to my email yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Good, I want you to send the report to my private email. Not the business email on the sample forms.”
“I can do that,” Carolyn said. “You’re not going to get me in front of a medical review board, are you?” It came out like a light question, but Martin knew there was a genuine concern.
“Not at all,” he responded. “I just want to keep the records private.”
Carolyn didn’t speak for a long time. When she did, it came out close to a whisper. “You don’t know what you’re going to do with that information, do you?”
“Well, I think to make a significant claim is a little premature. The local hospital had the same samples, and I got back negative results from all of them. I’d need to have more blood tested before I can really do anything with the information. As far as we know now, you have an anomaly.
“The subject might have come into contact with something that affected him alone. If I had more subjects who showed the same results, we have the same conclusion.”
“Well, we’ve isolated the chemical compound. If you sent more results, we’d easily localize the test bracket to focus on those particular chemicals.” She waited a moment and asked, “I don’t suppose you know how the subjects are getting the compounds into their bloodstreams.”
“Not yet. I assume it’s oral, maybe suppository.”
“Might want to look at inhalers,” Carolyn suggested.
“Really, why?” Martin considered that carefully. None of the players had any allergies on record that needed inhalers.
“It’s the way the chemicals are similar to anthemia medication.”
“Thank you for the information.”
“No problem. Maybe the next time you get some samples, we can set up a contract.”
“Always looking for a sale, are you?”
Carolyn laughed. “We’re in the business to make money, Marty. It’s how we make a living. My company wants just as much business as any others. If you set up contracts with your team, we can get other teams to sign up easy.”
“Do you think people that pour their money into athletes really care about what’s going on inside them?” When Martin had nothing to say in response, Carolyn added, “Sorry, Marty. It’s a competitive world out there. There’s a lot of money involved in sports, especially here in the US. You know some athletes are willing to do anything and everything to gain that edge. More money for them means more money for the team, and the management.” There was a long silence that Carolyn filled again, trying to lighten Martin’s mood that was as thick as his silence. “I’ll get off my soapbox. But I’ll just say, if people invested as much money in research as they did in sports, we’d have a lot more cures.”
“Thanks, Carolyn. I’ll see what I can do if there’s anything I can do about getting the contracts for the labs to do our blood work.” It was an empty promise, and Carolyn didn’t add anything to the offer. They ended the call, and Martin waited fifteen minutes before checking his personal email. True to her promise, she’d sent him the toxicology results to his email. He didn’t open the email. The digital file in his personal email account felt like it weighed more than any physical element in his life. He didn’t know what to do with the information he had.
Chapter Twenty
When McGowan sent a company email the following day, it was as if they knew he had something on them. There was a scheduled meeting between Martin and the upper management. The only person not involved in the meeting was Brant. But Martin saw the email header included the general manager’s email address in the copy.
By the time Martin went to the conference room after practice, he’d had a conversation with Joel. In his off-handed fashion, his lover was glib about the invite.
“Don’t worry about it,” Joel told him when Martin finally got him on the phone. “Maybe they’re doing some evaluation on you.”
“It feels more like I’m walking into an inquisition.” It was impossible for Martin not to feel shaken by the invite. So fast on the heels of what he’d received from Carolyn, how was he supposed to react?
“You know,” Joel started and sighed. “This is something that bothers me about you.” It came out like a negative jolt and rather than apologize, Joel continued. “I know you feel as if the world is against you right now. I know that something is bothering you. Last night you barely said anything to me. So, whatever is on your mind, it’s all on you. I love you, Martin. But I want you to break out of that self-deprecating attitude you have and start experiencing the good that’s all around you.
“I know this is new to you. And you and I are starting on a grand adventure together. I want you to know this right here and now: I am with you. I’m not going anywhere. And I want you in my life.”
“I love
you.” Martin wanted Joel to know everything he’d learned from Carolyn. But it was too far-fetched, too isolated to start pointing fingers. Reyes was a nice enough young man, who appeared dedicated to the sport. If he chose to take something that he thought would better his chances, it was a singular event and meant nothing. But if he took something on the advice of one of the coaches or the money-men who promised the world if only he opened wide and kept his mouth shut about it, then it was something beyond Reyes and Martin’s control.
“So, whatever you’ve got going on in that great big beautiful brain of yours, maybe dial it back a little and stop thinking there are people out to get you.” Joel laughed. “You need to relax, man. Just seeing you walk around on eggshells is exhausting.”
“Thanks,” Martin responded.
“Don’t take it the wrong way. I’m telling you this because I love you and I think it will help you out of that funk you’re in.”
“I know. I meant, ‘thanks’ in the sense that I heard you and I am listening.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tonight. We’ll make dinner, watch a movie, and forget about our tough jobs and terrible lives.” The joke came off well, but Martin wasn’t ready to lighten up yet.
***
It was an inquisition. There was a panel of self-righteous men who thought the world revolved around each of them individually. Martin stood as if an accused man before the court and wondered how the planet managed to turn with so many egos in the room weighing it down.
“So, Dr. Craft,” one man said. Martin hadn’t seen the man before that day. And he knew the next words that came out of his mouth were going to be the beginning of something bad. While Joel tried to assure Martin the formal meeting wasn’t something to worry about, he stood there trying not to look as if he’d murdered ballplayers and played innocent about it. “My name’s Christopher Burnett. I’m an attorney for the Coyotes. We’re going to have a discussion today, and I wanted to make sure you understood you’re not in any trouble.”
“Really?” Martin snapped protectively. “It feels like I’m in a little bit of trouble.”
Burnett continued. His tone was light, but the stern faces around him, watching Martin suggested it was just a way of sending lousy news that he perfected. “Nothing of the kind,” Burnett said. “Really, we’re just trying to make this as pleasant as possible.”
“What’s going on?”
“You know you're not allowed to have relationships with any of the players?” McGowan said. Martin watched as Burnett immediately put his hand on the assistant coach’s arm to stop him from saying anything that Martin could use in a defamation lawsuit.
“I’m not having any relationship with any of the players.”
“That includes former players,” McGowan clarified with a snap.
“What’s this all about?” Martin asked. He had access to lawyers too, and if this went on much longer, he’d evoke his rights and the next time they saw him it would be in a courtroom.
“There’s some concern about your loyalty to the Coyotes.” The lawyer knew to fill the space between them with words that spun the event in a positive tone. “You were seen fraternizing with another team during the away game.”
“Are you serious?” Martin asked. “I had a conversation with the other team’s physician. We were talking about our backgrounds and our work. I can tell you not once did we discuss players or player injuries.”
“That may be true,” Burnett said in a manner that suggested he had other intentions when it came to using Martin’s statement against him later. “But you must understand how that looks to our team. How can you stand there and not think for a minute that you, wearing a team uniform, standing next to another person wearing another team’s uniform.?”
“I don’t think anything about it.”
“That’s because you don’t care about the team.” It was McGowan who had something against Martin, and it was the single-mindedness that drove him to seek something against him to use. “You’re not part of our team.”
“I’m your team doctor.” Martin was an outsider, and his alienation from the rest of the team came from the fact he didn’t feel the dedication to the sport that others within the room felt.
He looked at the others facing judgment on him. Beside Burnett and McGowan, Floyd, and another assistant coach confronted Martin. While Durant and Key weren’t present during his disciplinary meeting, he knew they were close by and likely knew about the hearing before Martin faced it.
“You can’t do that kid.” It was Floyd, a no-nonsense man who cut through the fodder to find the meat of the meeting. “Think of it from the spectators. They see you wearing a jersey, talking to someone wearing another team’s jersey during the game. How does that look?”
“I didn’t think about it.”
“That’s one of your problems.” McGowan who claimed Martin they’d started their business relationship rocky and wanted to restart on a better footing hadn’t let go of his first-impression of Martin. The man wasn’t interested in moving on with Martin. He wanted Martin gone.
“You’re not facing any disciplinary actions today,” Burnett clarified. He wanted to keep the meeting from something volatile, and another hand on McGowan’s arm showed Martin if he wanted the man to take a swing, it wouldn’t take much to provoke him. “We think it might be in your personal interests to seek another line of work after the training season.”
“Is that what this is about?” Martin asked. “You don’t want your team’s doctor to talk to another team’s doctor because it gives the team a bad image?”
“Well, I think the away team’s doctor is likely facing his own inquiry.” Burnett had answers for everything so far.
Martin wasn’t going to give the team lawyer any warning of what he’d suspected. “Well, I can understand your motivation.” He nodded. “What are you proposing?”
McGowan kept his mouth shut. Martin watched the jawline as his clenched teeth chewed inside his skull. There was a thin smile on the lawyer’s face like he’d eaten the family pet. “We think it would be in your best interest to seek another avenue of employment. We’re happy to have you finish out your tenure here for the rest of the weeks left on the schedule. Sometimes when there is a change in management during the season, the boys don’t respond well. After which, the Coyotes will buy out your contract as your severance pay.”
He moved a stack of papers around in front of him as Burnett spoke. “We’ve amended the contract. Everything is in order.” The forms faced Martin, at the edge of the table, closest to him.
Martin glanced at Floyd, waiting, leaning back in the small chair, arms folded. His bulk was taking up more space than the chair had to give. Floyd didn’t look at Martin. It wasn’t a decision that involved him directly.
“What’s Brant say about this?” Martin asked.
“It’s a management decision,” Burnett said. A vague answer that was supposed to fill in the blanks, it was immaterial. “If you happen to find something before the end of the season, we ask that you wait until camp is over before you depart.”
“So, you’re letting me go, but you don’t want me to leave until it’s convenient for everyone else.”
“That’s about right,” McGowan said.
“We’re asking you respect the team. That means it’s a good idea to not fraternize with other teams, especially in full view of the crowd.”
“Okay,” Martin acknowledged. “I can do that.” He nodded and added. “What’s this about relationships with team members?”
The question left a spark of worry on Burnett’s face before he responded. It wasn’t something that came up, and Martin would suddenly forget. “Someone saw you with William Reyes after he was cut from the team.”
“Is this in some romantic way?” Martin asked. It was a valid question that either they’d answer now or in court.
“No, nothing of the sort,” he said quickly. The speed of his answer suggested Burnett held back information he had. “You we
re seen with Reyes the day he left the hotel.”
Martin knew the doctor card could be called in this circumstance. No one questioned a follow-up call to a physician. But it was a moot point. McGowan would likely suggest since the Cloverdale Coyotes didn't employ Reyes, then he didn’t have access to team doctors.
“You were with our promotions director.” McGowan would make a terrible witness in court. Martin knew if it came to that, he’d use the man’s submerged bigotry to provoke responses.
“We took Reyes to the bus station. I was upset he’d been cut from the team.”
“That’s nothing to do with you.” Ever the predator, McGowan couldn’t stop hunting.
“Well, that’s true.” Martin’s answer was casual. He’d walked into the meeting expecting the worst. When it was as he expected, somehow it felt better. It was out in the open. “But I don’t think it was fair he was terminated.”
And Martin stopped talking before he suggested Reyes had some influential substance in his blood that caused his uncontrolled outburst. Somehow, he thought it wouldn’t be long before others displayed the same destructive behavior. He turned and left without being dismissed. There was nothing they could do to him. And in that respect, now nothing was holding back Martin from doing something about what he learned.
Chapter Twenty-One
While Martin felt relieved by the news, the look on Joel’s face while he read the amended contract suggested he felt betrayed by the people who employed him for the duration.
“Look at it this way,” Martin started. “At least now when I say ‘I told you so,’ you get it.”
“I’m so sorry.” Joel put down the contract. He walked to Martin sitting on the couch and got on his knees in front of him. He put his arms around Martin and held him.
“I’m not upset.” Martin kissed Joel’s cheek. For the first time in their relationship, he was comforting Joel when it came to bad news. “I’m not worried about finding another job.” And at the thought of leaving Joel, the dread that lay dormant following the meeting bubbled up. “I’m worried about losing you.”