by Gregg Stutts
“That’s too bad,” Michelle said. “I like Bill. Or at least I did.”
“Yeah, me too. But he’s in deep. And he’s scared. I could hear it in his voice.”
“Those guys that were following us must have called him,” she said.
Max was playing it all over in his mind. “Yeah, maybe,” Max said. “But I don’t think Bill’s the guy in charge. I got the sense he was making his plea for someone else.”
“So the guys we wrecked called their boss who then called Bill?” she asked.
“I think so,” he said. “Bill and Jack Murphy are, or were, talking the same way. It’s bigger than them. A lot bigger.”
“Max, what’s going on here?”
“I wish I knew, Shelle. Whatever it is, somebody’s getting scared.”
He tried to call Dante’s mother again, but she didn’t answer and he didn’t leave a message. He was about to put his phone away when it buzzed.
It was Dave Turner.
Chapter 63
“Dave?” Max said.
“Hi Max. You’re probably weren’t expecting to hear from me.”
“Well, to be honest, I wasn’t,” Max said.
“Listen to me, Max, I don’t know what’s going on or what part you play in it, but you need to be careful.”
“Why don’t you tell me what you know?” Max said.
“All I know is Bill Jackson is scared. I mean, really scared. He said he talked to you, but you weren’t cooperating. Then he asked me if I knew where Dante’s mother was.”
“That’s it?” Max said.
“Well, I know Jack was involved in something with Bill. I guess you heard Jack is dead.”
“Yeah, but that’s about all I know.”
“I heard there was a witness who saw a couple guys stop to help Jack with a flat tire,” Dave said.
“Two guys?” Max said. “Is there a description?”
“I don’t know,” Dave said.
“Does anyone know who the witness is?” Max said.
“I’m not sure,” Dave said.
“What else do you know?” Max said.
Dave said. “Whatever is going on has something to do with our football program.”
“Lakeside? Why do you say that?” Max said.
“You probably know Jack pushed for me to get your job, but Bill hired you. Well, over the past year, Jack brought Bill in on whatever was going on. I don’t know what it is. Really, I don’t, but the two of them wanted you out. Jack didn’t think they could trust you to go along with whatever they were doing. I guess because Jack and I have been friends for a long time, he thought he could trust me. They suggested I start sabotaging our games, so they’d have a reason to fire you. You probably knew that,” Dave said.
“And you’re telling me you really don’t know what they’re up to?” Max said.
“I really don’t, Max. And I’m sorry for throwing those games.”
“Dave, I need you to promise me you’ll call me if you learn anything else.”
“I will, Max.”
Max hung up.
“What was that all about?” Michelle asked.
“I’m not sure.” He was trying to figure that out. “Sounds like Bill and Jack were involved in something that maybe got out of hand. And it somehow involved the Lakeside football program.”
“That just doesn’t make any sense, Max.”
“Shelle, what could be going on at Lakeside High School that someone would be scared enough to kill over it?”
“And something so secret that you weren’t even aware of it?” she said.
Chapter 64
Bill Jackson dialed the number. It rang twice.
“What is it?” the man said.
“It’s Bill.”
“I know who it is,” he said. “Give me the good news.”
“Well, I’m working on that,” Bill said. “He’s not being very cooperative.”
“I’m disappointed. Very disappointed.”
“What about your guys?” Bill asked. “I thought they were going to…you know…handle it.”
“They also disappointed me.” The man paused. “I do not like to be disappointed.”
“What else can I do?” Bill said. “He won’t listen.”
“I understand he and his wife are back together. Tell him it would be a shame if something were to happen to her.”
“What are you saying? You want me to threaten his wife?” Bill said.
“That’s not what I said. I want you to help him understand it’s in his best interests to sit down and talk with us and tell us where the mother is.”
“And if he won’t?” Bill said.
There was no reply. He’d hung up.
Chapter 65
After talking to Dave, Max went into analytical mode, trying to figure out what was going to greet him when he got home. Michelle napped on and off. If he weren’t so consumed with the situation, a long drive would have been the perfect time to talk about their marriage. He knew there was a lot to work on. And most of it was him.
He thought about how Willy and Rose interacted with each other. How Willy was so in love with her and how he bragged about her all the time. Max had once felt that way about Michelle and wanted to feel that way again.
He looked over at her and wished he could reset the clock. To get a do-over of the last few years. He thought about his high school football coach yelling, “Run it again!” when they hadn’t run a play correctly in practice. Well, Max might not be allowed a do-over, but he could “run it again!” He’d screwed up, but he had another shot.
He looked at Michelle again and wondered what had gone on between her and Chris. He knew they’d once been in love. And he knew they’d slept together in high school. He couldn’t go there right now.
He had to keep Michelle and himself alive. And if that was going to happen, it was going to fall on him. He couldn’t trust anyone. Not even Dave Turner. He seemed sincere, but he’d thought Bill was too. No longer though. Max would have to fix this on his own.
But taking charge and doing things on his own hadn’t worked out so well. Not with Sarah. Not with his marriage. For that matter, his football team was now one and three. No, going it alone wasn’t such a great plan.
You need help, Max.
He had to admit he had no idea what he was doing. He needed help. He was still missing the key pieces to the puzzle—the most important being Ms. Jones. He had to find out what she knew, but if she didn’t want to talk, he had no way to get to her.
He didn’t know what had changed from the night before. She was about to tell him something when his phone died. And he hadn’t heard from her since. He considered the possibility that they’d found her, whoever “they” were. But they couldn’t have. Bill was clear. He thought Max knew where she was.
And that gave Max an idea. He played it over in his mind. It might just work.
Help me, Lord.
Chapter 66
It was six-thirty in the evening as Max and Michelle neared Springfield, Missouri. They exited Interstate 44 and turned south onto highway 65, which would take them into north Arkansas. They were both getting hungry and started looking for a place to stop and eat.
Fifteen minutes later, they stopped for dinner in the town of Ozark at Lambert’s Cafe. Max ordered the chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. Michelle went with the grilled chicken salad. After their server left, Max said, “So I’ve got an idea.”
“Tell me.”
“It’s a long shot, but unless we hear from Ms. Jones soon, we can’t go back to Lakeside. Not yet. Not until we know what we’re walking into.”
Their server came back and delivered their drinks and a basket of rolls and cornbread. Max drank some water and realized how thirsty he was.
“If Bill is desperate enough, he might go for it,” Max said.
“What is it?”
“What if you call Bill and tell him you’re scared and you’re willing to cooperate? Tell him you’ve
been listening to me talk to him and other people and especially Dante’s mother as we’ve been driving back.”
“Okay,” she said. “Then what?”
“Tell him you know where Ms. Jones is and you’re willing to tell him, but you need a guarantee you’ll be safe.”
“What about you?” she asked as her phone started buzzing. Michelle looked at it and said, “It’s Chris. He’s called and texted every couple of hours today. I haven’t responded. I’m sorry, Max.”
Max felt a knot in his stomach forming. “We’ll have to worry about that later, Shelle. For now, I think Bill needs to think you’re going behind my back. We want him to think I’m acting irrationally and you’ve had enough of it.”
“I can try,” she said.
“You can do it, Shelle. But you’re gonna have to make him think you know more than you do. He’s got to think Ms. Jones has already told us whatever she knows.”
Max knew Michelle was scared, but he also knew she could pull it off. And if Bill was desperate enough, he might just go for it. They had nothing to lose by at least trying. If it didn’t work, then the only other option was to either find Dante’s mother or hope she called soon. And the latter was starting to look unlikely.
After dinner, Max waited for the server to bring his change while Michelle used the restroom. He was thinking through their options if the plan to get Bill to talk didn’t work. He was looking out the window as a car pulled in and slowly made its way around the parking lot. It came to a stop behind their rental car with its damaged rear bumper.
The passenger door opened and a man got out. He looked inside the rental car and then shook his head at the driver who pulled into the spot next to it. The passenger then headed toward the restaurant.
It’s them. Max felt a rush of fear course through him. The guys they’d gotten rid of had somehow found them again. And one of them was headed toward the door.
Chapter 67
Michelle was still in the ladies’ room. He only had seconds to figure something out. Big trouble was about to walk through the front door. Other than the moment Michelle backed into their car on the exit ramp, this was the closest Max had been to the guy. He wasn’t any taller than Max, but he was solid. If it came to a fight, Max had no doubt he wouldn’t do well against this guy. Plus, this guy might have a weapon.
He got up from the table and hurried toward the restrooms. He opened the door to the ladies’ room and called out, “Shelle, we gotta go! Now!”
She quickly wiped her hands on her shirt. “What’s wrong?” she said.
“They’re here,” Max said as he grabbed her hand. “The two guys.”
“What?” she said.
“Them! The two guys!”
“How?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “We gotta get outta here!” There was an exit at the end of the hallway. It led out a side door. A bell jingled as one of the guys entered the front door of the restaurant.
Max and Michelle exited the side door, but there was no way to get safely to their car, so they ran into the woods adjacent to the restaurant. It was dark enough that it would be difficult for them to be seen. As long as the guy didn’t have a flashlight.
The woods were dense with low brush. It was the perfect place to hide. If they had to run then it wouldn’t be so perfect. They crouched down and waited. Max hoped the guy wouldn’t think to or feel like searching through the woods for them. Maybe he’d just give up, although he didn’t think that was very likely.
“How do you think they found us?” Michelle whispered.
Max was wondering the same thing. “They must have put a GPS unit on the car when it was parked at the Windjammer,” he said. “Or they’re just really lucky.”
And then the side door to the restaurant opened. One small light bulb above the door cast enough light for Max to see it was him. He stepped outside and the door closed behind him. He looked to his right, in the direction of the parking lot where their car was parked. He looked to his left, which led toward the back of the restaurant and an alley that ran behind the strip mall.
Then he looked straight ahead toward the woods and took several steps toward Max and Michelle. He was just ten feet from them. If he walked straight into the woods, he’d run right into them. Max could feel his heart pounding so hard he was afraid it was making a sound. He had his hand on Michelle and could feel her shaking.
The man took a step closer and stopped. He cocked his head slightly. He was listening for them. Max wished the wind that was blowing in Seaside would blow through the trees now so it wouldn’t be so quiet. But there wasn’t even a breeze. It was deathly quiet.
Suddenly, the silence was broken by a phone ringing. Max quickly reached for his pocket. It rang twice more, and then he heard, “Hello.” It wasn’t his phone. Their pursuer was less than ten feet away answering his phone.
Max had an idea and wished he could run it by Michelle, but he couldn’t risk even whispering to her.
“Yeah, their car is here,” he said. “No, sir, no sign of them.” He paused. “Yeah, Mike’s in the car. He’s parked right next to them. They’re not gettin’ away again.”
Max only had one chance. If everything worked just right, they might get out of this. He figured the element of surprise would give him enough of an advantage to take the guy to the ground before he knew what hit him. The element of surprise was the only thing Max had in his favor, because even in the dim light, it was obvious this guy was huge. He was built like a fullback—someone who was quick, strong and tough.
But even quick, strong, tough guys went down if you hit them right. From his current position, it would take Max two seconds to reach him, that is if he didn’t trip on the thick underbrush. If it worked according to plan, the man would look toward the sound coming from the woods a split second before Max drove his forearm into the guy’s face.
It was an illegal move in football for a reason. It would cause his head to snap back and most likely knock him to the ground. He hoped he’d at least be disoriented if not completely knocked out with a concussion.
“Yes, sir,” the guy said. “We’ll find them.”
He had his back to Max and was putting his phone into his pocket. This was his chance. Like an offensive lineman coming out of his stance at the snap of the ball, Max sprang from his position staying low and moving fast. He would use the power in his lower body to propel him up and into the guy’s face and hopefully deliver a knockout blow.
The moment Max moved, the dead leaves and bushes he was pushing through caused the guy to whirl around. He moved quicker than Max anticipated, but his advantage was that the guy wouldn’t see him springing from the woods until it was too late.
He couldn’t tell, but it looked like the guy was reaching for something tucked under his shirt. And that was the move Max needed him to make. Rather than putting his hands up to defend himself or deflect the blow, his arms were down. It was at that instant Max came out of his crouch and extended his legs and hips upward while aiming his right forearm at the guy’s chin.
The guy tried to duck, but that brought his nose into the path of Max’s forearm. Max was easily outweighed by fifty pounds, but it didn’t matter. His forearm made contact right across the bridge of the nose. He heard and felt the bone break. As he’d taught hundreds and hundreds of football players, he kept his legs driving forward, which was what made it a knockout blow.
The guy probably lost consciousness the moment Max hit him. He fell hard to the ground. The sound of his head hitting the pavement made a sickening thud. And it was all over in two seconds. Michelle hadn’t even moved from her hiding spot.
“Shelle, come on,” Max said.
As she, emerged from the woods, Max was searching the guy. He found a phone, a wallet and a knife, but no gun. Max took all three. Then he took Michelle’s hand and walked to the corner of the building to where he could see the parking lot. The car next to theirs still had its lights on and engine running.
“No
w what?” Michelle said.
Max looked back at the guy he’d just knocked out. He didn’t want to know if he’d killed him. Hopefully he’d wake up with just a broken nose and a splitting headache. “We can’t take our car,” he said. “Not unless we find the GPS and get rid of it.”