“Thank goodness,” Iola said.
“I can’t believe Coach Sokal wanted my job so desperately,” Montreux said.
“He took advantage of Allen Frierson to help him,” Frank said.
“No one was supposed to get seriously hurt,” Joe said. “But that stunt with the rope was almost a disaster.”
“It was Frierson’s father who really lost it, right?” Victoria said.
Frank nodded. “Allen did everything Sokal asked him to. When Sokal still said he was cutting him from the team, Mr. Frierson went ballistic. He modified Jake Targan’s hotplate to explode and tried to suffocate Joe,”
“When that didn’t work,” Joe said, “he decided to hunt Jake down on the ski trails.”
“He’s going to spend a long time in prison,” Frank said.
“What’s going to happen to Sokal and Frierson?” Iola asked. She tested her foil by cutting a Z in the air.
“Sokal’s banned for life from coaching,” Montreux said.
“Police are going easy on Allen because he turned himself in,” Frank said.
Victoria showed Callie how to move forward and back on the fencing strip quickly. “Are we ready to hook up to the lights?” she asked brightly.
“Yes!” Callie and Iola said simultaneously.
The two girls stood facing each other on the fencing strip.
Victoria walked to the scorer’s table. She bent down and plugged the cord into the transformer.
“Yow!” Iola went stiff and collapsed on the ground.
Joe ran to her. He pulled the mask from her face.
“Just kidding!” she cried.
Everyone laughed.
“You got me,” Joe said. “You got me good that time.” He helped Iola up, and the two girls began fencing. Just then the front door slammed.
Frank and Joe turned to see Jake Targan walking across the gym. He came up and shook hands. “I just came from the hospital,” he said. “William’s getting out this afternoon.”
“Great!” Frank said. “We’ll have to help him get his stuff back to the dorm.”
“Sounds good,” Joe said. “What are you up to this morning, Jake?”
Targan reached in his duffel bag and tossed a judo jacket to Joe. “I thought we’d go a couple of falls,” he said.
“Forget it,” Joe said, laughing. “I brought my own fun.” He zipped open his backpack and pulled out a football. “Let’s toss this around. It’s more my speed.”
Training for Trouble Page 10