“Miss Brady, so pleased to meet you, my name is Detective Jean-Baptiste Bouguereau of the Dersee Police Department, would you be so kind as to have a word with me in private?” Bouguereau bowed, smiled and motioned for her to step away from the cheerleader squad.
“How…how do you know my name?” Tisha asked without moving.
“Oh, Miss Brady, I make it a point to be aware of many names in this community whether I have been formally introduced or not.” He smiled and motioned again for her to step away.
“But, it’s halftime and I’ve got so much work to do with the cheerleaders to get them ready for the second half. Couldn’t this wait?”
Bouguereau did not smile this time, his hazel eyes became cold and stared at Tisha intensely. “Mademoiselle Brady, a young girl has mysteriously disappeared and the last thing anyone knows about her is that she was on her way to a cheerleading meeting at your residence.” Bouguereau normally spoke with the tinge of an accent and was exceedingly polite to everyone he spoke with, however, if he became agitated with anyone, he would slip in a few French words to let them know his attitude had changed and to keep them on their toes. “Are you not the least bit concerned?”
“Why…why yes, yes I am. I’ve been worried to death about poor Ash.” Tisha turned to the cheerleading squad and announced, “Girls, I’ll be right back. Keep those pom-poms shaking and remember to smile.” She and Bouguereau moved out of ear shot from the cheerleaders.
Leaning on his walking cane, he inspected his cigar for a moment, then glanced at Tisha and explained, “You see, Miss Brady, I have a potential kidnapping case in progress—”
Tisha gasped, cupped her mouth with her hand and asked, “Kidnapping? Are you serious? How can that be? I don’t see how—”
“I am sorry, but what else would you call the situation poor Miss Richardson has found herself in? She is not in her house, her parents have not seen her since early this afternoon and she didn’t arrive at your meeting. For all intents and purposes, Miss Richardson was supposed to attend this game, yet she is not here. The likely route she would have taken to your residence has been thoroughly scoured with absolutely no sign of her.” Bouguereau sighed and continued, “She has either been abducted or has run away. Her family background would not indicate a desire to run away so, at this time, that leaves me no choice but to consider this a potential kidnapping case.”
“Okay, okay, I understand now that you put it that way.” Tisha smiled weakly and plaintively asked, “Do you consider me a suspect?”
“Miss Brady, I consider everyone a suspect until the evidence proves otherwise,” Bouguereau went on, “Were you concerned when Miss Richardson did not appear at the appointed time for your meeting?”
Raising her hand to her chest and wearing a surprised expression on her face, Tisha replied, “Oh absolutely! We waited as long as we could before we came here. I asked all the girls if they had any idea where Ash could be and no one knew.”
“I see.” Bouguereau lightly tapped the ground with his walking cane and asked, “Did it occur to you to call her residence and inquire as to her whereabouts?”
“Oh, Detective, I should have, I should have. But, it was getting toward game time and you know the old saying, ‘the show must go on’, well, we packed up everything and came over here.”
“How many cheerleaders are on your squad, Miss Brady?”
“Well, as you can see, there are six.”
“Six, Miss Brady? How can there be six if one is missing?”
“Oh. I see what you mean. Yes, um, Felicity Whittaker is the first alternate in case someone is sick or…or… whatever.”
“And how did Miss Whittaker know her presence was required?”
Tisha smiled and proudly said, “Oh, I gave her a call and told her she needed to get over here immediately!”
“Tsk, tsk. Miss Brady, you called Miss Whittaker, yet you could not be bothered to call Miss Richardson?” Bouguereau’s voice rose as he scolded her.
“But Detective, you don’t understand. I meant to call her, I really did! I’ll never forgive myself if something bad has happened to Ash.” Tisha’s eyes welled up with tears and she wrung her hands worriedly.
Bouguereau nodded in sympathy and then tilted his head toward the cheerleading squad and said, “I shall need to speak to each one of the cheerleaders as well. Let me begin with Miss Whittaker. Please be kind enough to bring her to me, Miss Brady.”
“So…so you’re all done questioning me?”
“For the present moment; however, if need be, I shall be in contact with you. Oh, and if for any reason you feel the need to leave the fair city of Dersee, please inform me before doing so.”
Chapter 18- The First One
The second-half kickoff scooted across the ground, wobbled and then bounced into and off of Nick Miller’s chest at the thirty-four yard line. Fortunately, the football stayed in front of Nick, he picked it off the ground, squiggled out of an arm tackle, but was brought down six yards later by an avalanche of Lions thanks, in large part, to the squib kick.
As the referee placed the ball on the Bobcats’ forty-yard line, Judd ran up to him and announced, “Sir, I’m switching positions with our tight end for the rest of the half. My coach said to make sure and tell you so that you don’t throw a flag ‘cause you’re confused about who’s playin’ where.”
“Thank you seventy-five, that was right nice of you and your coach to think of me. I’m not ready for the old folk’s home yet, so I won’t be too confused.”
“You’re welcome, sir!” Judd grinned, spun around and ran back to the huddle. Standing next to Tony on the sideline, Coach Tiny put his hands on his knees, glanced at Tony and said, “Here goes nothing. Let’s see what Judd can do.”
On the advice of Tony, Coach Tiny kept the plays simple and straightforward. Also on the advice of Tony, Nick Miller would draw the pass route on the ground for Judd, since he was unfamiliar with the tight end position. “Okay, pass play, wide receivers run hook routes, Judd you run six yards into the middle of the field, like this: “Nick sketched the route with his finger, Judd nodded and Nick went on, “Hike on two, hike on two, break!”
With the binoculars up to his eyes, Hunter Dunwoody clicked his tongue and said, “Are you kidding me? The Bobcats are drawing plays in the dirt now?” He took a quick glance at the Lions’ sideline, “Hah, even Coach Chuck is having a good laugh. My, oh my. How the mighty have fallen.”
At the second hut, Nick took a three-step drop, fired the ball to Judd who received it effortlessly and drug three tacklers to the Lions’ forty-nine yard line for a first down. Tony, Coach Tiny and Coach Buck high-fived each other while yelling encouragement out to Judd and the rest of the team.
Nick knelt in the huddle, smiled at Judd and said, “Another pass play, this time both wide receivers line up wide on the left, Judd you line up wide on the right and when the ball is hiked, take one step forward, then two steps back and I’ll wing to you. If you’re covered, I’ll pass to one of the other guys. Got it? Hike on two, hike on two, break!”
When Judd lined up wide on the right, Coach Chuck, thinking the Bobcats would want to score quickly, yelled at his defensive backs, “Watch out for the bomb, watch out for the bomb!” He motioned for all them to back up several steps. Nick grinned slightly and knew the right play had been called.
“Ready! Set! Hut! Hut!”
Putting his head down, Judd took one long stride, stopped, backpedaled twice and waited for the ball. Nick’s throw was high and to the right. Judd, realizing he had to jump to catch it, sprung up as hard as he could and stuck his left hand high into the air. The football spiraled into his palm, deflected down and Judd cradled it next to his chest with his right hand. Landing off-balanced and disoriented, Judd took a step toward the wrong end zone, recognizing his error, he spun around and charged up the field for a gain of twenty yards before being shoved out of bounds.
“Who-o-o whee! That seventy-five is dynamite!” Hunter Du
nwoody yelled out loud. “That ball was sailing high and he managed to bring it down and gain a huge chunk of field.”
Smilin’ Bob turned to Dunwoody and joked, “Hmm, those ‘dirt’ plays seem to be working just fine for the Bobcats!”
Dunwoody glanced back with a frown and murmured, “Ahem, yeah, well, maybe I was a bit harsh about that, ahem.”
“All right, listen up,” Nick barked. “Coach Tiny wants a run play, but with a twist. We’re gonna run the same formation, except everybody goes long, including you Judd. Just run straight for the end zone. I’m gonna drop back, act like I’m gonna pass, then slip the ball to John for a draw play. Got it? This time on one. Hike on one, hike on one! Break!”
“Ready! Set! Hut!”
As Nick dropped back with his arm cocked, most of the Lions also dropped back into a pass defense. When Nick got behind John Flores, the tailback, he reached around him and slid the ball into his midsection, slapped him on the back and shouted, “Go! Go!”
John, with a huge hole in the Lions’ defense staring at him, dug his cleats into the ground, pumped his arms to gain speed and took off up the middle of the field.
Coach Chuck and the rest of the Lions, saw Nick hand off to John and tried to alert their defense, waving their arms and yelling, “Run, run! Draw, draw!”
Gaining five yards before a defender could react, John was met at the twenty-four yard line by the first Lion who lunged wildly, but could only manage a glancing blow. Another Lion also took aim, but John easily side-stepped him, gaining another five yards before being gang tackled by a wall of four Lions.
When the fourth Lion got off of John, the referee bent down, spoke to John, stood up, whistled, waved his arms above his head in a crisscross fashion and yelled, “Time out! Injured man!”
As Doc Claiborne and Coach Tiny ran onto the field to check on John, Tony turned to the bleachers to look for Detective Bouguereau. He spotted him off to one side having an animated conversation with Felicity Whittaker. He also saw a miserable looking Mel and Josie sitting nearby, no doubt he just interviewed them, thought Tony. I almost wish I was over there helping him get to the bottom of Ash’s disappearance. I bet I could—.
“Tony! Coach Tiny wants you in the game!” Coach Buck slapped him on the shoulder pads and brought his attention back to the action on the field.
While Doc Claiborne continued to examine John, Coach Tiny called the team into a huddle and explained, “Unfortunately, Doc thinks John has a separated shoulder and won’t be able to play for several weeks. So, here’s what we’re gonna do: Tony, you’re the quarterback. Nick, you’re the tailback. Everybody else stays the same. All right, here’s the next play. We’re gonna take advantage of having two quarterbacks on the field. Tony, you reverse pivot and toss to Nick for a sweep right. Except Nick, you’re gonna pull up and throw it to Judd. Judd, you’re gonna line up next to the right tackle and run a square out to the near sideline, like this,” Coach Tiny drew a diagram in the grass of the route he wanted Judd to run.
“I really and truly do not believe this!” Hunter Dunwoody threw his hands into the air in exasperation and groaned, “Don’t the Bobcats have a playbook? Even the head coach is drawing plays in the dirt! Amazing!”
A visibly aching John Flores walked off the field with Doc and Coach Tiny while the fans from both of the teams stood up and cheered for him. Smilin’ Bob announced, “First down for the Bobcats at the Lions’ nineteen-yard line.”
“Ready! Set! Hut! Hut!”
Tony deftly tossed the ball to Nick who grabbed it out of the air and ran at half-speed parallel to the line of scrimmage. He faked turning up the field, took one step back and fired the ball to Judd. Many of the defenders bit on Nick’s fake and rushed toward him, leaving Judd one-on-one with the safety. Nick threw a perfect spiral and Judd snagged it at the nine-yard line. In an attempt to bring Judd down, the safety jumped on his back and rode him like a bucking bull at the rodeo. At the four-yard line, two more Lions went low and Judd, falling like a chopped tree, extended his arm, trying to get the ball into the end zone , but fell short of the goal line with the referee marking the ball at the half-yard line.
A collective moan issued from the Bobcats’ fans.
Signaling the play into Tony, Coach Tiny called for a “22 Dive” which is a run up the gut with Nick jumping the line of scrimmage if the gaps are stopped up.
The defense crowded the line of scrimmage with ten players and the free safety backing them up in hopes of stuffing the ball carrier.
“Ready! Set! Hut! Hut!”
Nick realized before he received the ball that he was going to have to leap over the Lions. There were just too many of them for the Bobcats to create a hole. At the second hut, he broke for the line, received the hand-off from Tony, took two steps and flung himself into the air. The free safety, Matt Bishop, recognizing where Nick was going broke for the line and leapt into the air as well.
Reaching the line of scrimmage, Nick sailed over his center and held the ball out with his arms in hopes of breaking the plane of the goal line. Matt Bishop’s helmet, however, collided with the football and launched it high into the air. Tony saw the football go straight up and knew he had to go get it. In front of him, a defender was on all fours and Tony took the opportunity to use him as a springboard. Two other defenders also realized the football was up for grabs and jumped up to snatch it. Thanks to the unlucky Lion on the ground, Tony leapt higher than the other two, plucked the football in mid-air and landed on his back in the end zone. The next thing he saw was the referee standing over him, with both arms raised, signaling and whistling a touchdown for the Bobcats.
Chapter 19- The Investigation
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Booger-row,” grumbled Felicity Whittaker as she stood with her pom-poms lodged on her hips and with a petulant look on her face.
“She doesn’t know what you’re talking about, Booger-row,” parroted Mel and Josie as they stood with their hands on their hips behind Felicity.
Tony had warned Detective Bouguereau about Felicity and her toadies and he was ready for them. He leaned down to their level, looked them square in the eye and proclaimed in the most authoritarian voice he could muster, “First of all, mademoiselles, when you address me, you do it properly. My name, to you, is Detective Bouguereau. You pronounce my name Boo-gah-roo.” He reached into his coat pocket, produced his detective badge, flashed it to them and said, “The last person who mispronounced my name is still on community service, raking the leaves around the courthouse.” He arched his eyebrows, narrowed his eyes and warned, “And you realize there are many trees at the courthouse whose leaves need to be raked.” He raised his hand and put his index finger close to his thumb and continued, “All three of you mademoiselles are this close to getting your own rake.” At the same time he put his other hand behind his back and crossed his fingers indicating that he really did not mean it.
“Oh!” A gasp escaped from Mel and Josie’s lips, they’re eyes bulging and their hands cupping their mouths. Felicity dropped her petulant look and stared at her feet.
Bouguereau felt the tide turning in his behalf and kept up the pressure. “Miss Amelia Mackey?”
“Yes, Detective Bouguereau,” Mel squeaked, “That’s me.”
He turned his full attention to Mel and asked, “Have you seen Miss Richardson today?”
Under his intense glare, Mel could barely utter a tiny, “No, sir.”
“Thank you, Miss Mackey.” He turned his head, zeroed in on Josie and asked, “Miss Josephine Barnes? Have you seen Miss Richardson today?” Josie nervously looked at Felicity and then at Mel. “Excusez-moi, Miss Barnes.” He put his finger to his eyes and said, “You do not look at anyone else but me. Now, once again, have you seen Miss Richardson today?”
Josie inhaled a gulp of air, raised her right hand and blurted in a rapid-fire speech, “Oh, no sir, Detective Bouguereau. I hope I said that right. I got up this morning at 7 a.m. and ate breakfast,
washed the dishes, helped my Mom clean the house, watched my Dad cut the grass, then went over to Mel’s house, talked about school, talked about boys, then we walked over here to the game and I never saw Ash anywhere, I swear!”
“Miss Mackey and Miss Barnes, please go and be seated in the bleachers while I speak with Miss Whittaker.”
“Are we going to have to rake leaves, Detective Bouguereau?” Mel and Josie asked sincerely.
Bouguereau chuckled silently to himself while presenting a stern face to Mel and Josie and replied, “That will depend upon the answers I will receive from Miss Whittaker. Now, I must talk to her. Go. Time is of the essence.”
Bringing his full attention to Felicity he said, “Before we were interrupted by your two friends, Miss Whittaker, I had asked you if you knew anything about a threat to Miss Richardson. The answer you gave me was clearly not well thought out because there is a witness who overheard you.”
Felicity threw her pom-poms to the ground, clenched her fists and answered, “Okay, okay, I admit I did say some things about Ash, but I was angry and upset! I was supposed to be on the cheerleading squad instead of her!” She looked up at him with tears streaming down her cheeks and cried, “But we never did anything about it. It was all talk!”
He nodded and said, “That is a much better answer, Miss Whittaker, I commend you for your honesty and I sympathize with you. You may now return to your cheering for I must question many more people. Thank you for your time.” Bouguereau bowed, tapped his cane on the ground twice and strode off.
“We ain’t giving up! No! We ain’t giving up! No!” Yelled a small core of fifth-graders as they started their own cheer in the bleachers after Tony’s touchdown and it rapidly spread throughout the entire crowd with the cheerleaders picking up on it as well as the pep band.
“J.B.! J.B.!” Shouted Maria as she hung over the bleacher railing and tried to get Bouguereau’s attention, but the revitalized fans and the new cheer drowned her out. “Oh, he can’t hear me!” Maria mumbled to herself as she turned and hurried down the steps to catch up with him.
Touchdown Tony Crowne and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader Page 8