by Tim Green
JY dialed the number and got no answer, so he left a message. “Coach? James Yager here . . . from the Yankees. I know it seems strange—getting a call from me—but I’m friends with Jalen DeLuca. He gave me your number, and I’m hoping we can sit down and talk today. We’ve got a game tonight, but maybe lunch? Call me.”
“Great,” Jalen said. “How about the detective?”
“We’re all business this morning, aren’t we?” JY said. “I already beat you to it. I spoke to Miles Endwell, the head of Yankees security, and he’s got the perfect person for us. It’s a woman he used to work with in the Secret Service. He says she’s great, and he’s going to text me later on when we can meet her.”
“Okay, awesome . . . Now what?” Jalen asked. They sat in JY’s office with Cat and Daniel.
“How about the batting cage?” JY suggested. “We can get tuned up while we’re waiting for your coach to call back.”
“He’s not our coach yet,” Daniel said.
“Yet,” said JY. “Come on.”
They trooped out back to the cage, where JY hit a couple of dozen balls before instructing Daniel and Jalen, letting them each hit a few dozen balls of their own.
“You’re doing a good job with that shoulder,” JY said, following up on some earlier instructions he’d given to Jalen before his trip to Cleveland. “Try to open up that left foot a bit. I think that might help, but see how it feels.”
It felt good, and Jalen glowed with pride as he drove the pitches into the netting.
“Wow,” Cat said.
“Yeah, looking good.” JY scratched his chin. “Coach Allen, watch out.”
“Rockton Rockets, watch out,” Daniel said.
“I thought you were done with the Rockets,” JY said.
“Not with them, but against them.” Daniel tightened the grip on his bat and took half a swing. “If we can get on the Bandits, we’ll probably face them this weekend in Boston.”
“There’s a travel team tournament in Boston for you guys this weekend?” JY raised his eyebrows. “We play in Boston too.”
“Maybe you can see us play?” Daniel said.
Jalen didn’t join in. He didn’t want to ask JY to do more than he was already doing, and he had to think the Yankees star player had more to do in Boston than show up for the 13U tournament.
“Maybe,” JY said, surprising Jalen. “I’d like to see you guys in action. Let’s see what the timing is like. We play Friday night, then Saturday afternoon, and Sunday evening, so . . .”
Jalen realized JY was staring at him. Daniel was too.
Jalen rested his bat on the concrete. “What?”
JY licked his lips. “Man, could I use you against David Price.”
“Yes!” Daniel pumped his fist. “Jalen helps you, and you come watch us play. I love that.”
“My mom and I could take a road trip and help coordinate everything,” Cat said. “I’ve never been to Fenway.”
Jalen felt a surge of excitement too. Helping his Yankees beat their archrivals at the Green Monster? Plus, anything that would make JY work harder to convince Coach Allen to find a spot for them on the Bandits was a good thing, a great thing.
“Sure,” Jalen said. “We should be able to work something out, especially if Cat’s mom is there to help out. That’s if we’re in Boston with the Bandits.”
As if on cue, JY’s phone rang.
He looked at the number of the incoming call, smiled, and said, “Well, we’re about to find out.”
43
JY MADE SOME SMALL TALK with Coach Allen about the Yankees season and the Bronxville team. He paused to listen before saying, “Yes, I am calling you about Jalen.”
He listened again and said, “It’s really something I need to discuss in person, if you don’t mind . . . .”
Jalen crossed his fingers and looked at Cat. She winked at him, confident.
“Great,” JY said. “How about the Ritz-Carlton in White Plains at noon? I’ll get a private room.”
Jalen and Cat slapped high fives with each other and then with Daniel.
“And, Coach,” JY said, “can you tell me if your team is practicing tonight? Oh, good. No, I’ll explain when I see you.”
The Yankees player hung up and grinned at Jalen. “Looks like you’ve got an appointment at Yankee Stadium tonight. The Calamari Kid is back. You all just check with your parents.”
“Are we going too?” Cat asked.
“I already got four seats set aside,” JY said. “Right there behind the on-deck circle. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?”
“Wow.” Daniel snapped his fingers. “We were so close last time I could tell what cologne Gardner had on.”
“That’s kind of weird,” Cat said in a pleasant tone.
“You’re weird,” Daniel said.
“Takes one to know one,” Cat replied.
“Who’s on the mound tonight for Houston?” Jalen asked.
“McCullers is supposed to start,” JY said.
All the numbers the young Astros pitcher had put up over the past couple of seasons popped into Jalen’s mind without effort. “Really a two-pitch guy, four-seam and a breaker, but he will throw the changeup—two years ago in his playoff game against the Royals, he threw it twelve percent of the time.”
Cat and Daniel looked at each other with open mouths.
JY chuckled and shook his head. “This is why I love stuffed calamari at the Silver Liner.”
They made their phone calls and hit some more balls before they cleaned up and climbed into JY’s Mercedes SUV, a black G55, with room for them all to stretch out on the trip to White Plains. When they pulled up to the hotel entrance, the doorman and valets instantly recognized JY. They straightened themselves and greeted him in hushed and somber voices.
“Good morning, Mr. Yager.”
“Welcome, Mr. Yager.”
“Do you need anything, Mr. Yager?”
Daniel popped the wad of gum he’d been chewing out of his mouth and turned to the doorman in his scarlet uniform and gold-braided cap. “Have you got a place I can put this?”
“Of course.” Without hesitation, the doorman handed him a tissue, which he then threw away.
Doors opened, and people stopped to stare as the little group, led by the famous baseball player, marched through the lobby, where more wide-eyed people wanted to know what they could do for James Yager.
Jalen ached to be like JY one day, not just an MLB player, but a famous player, one who everyone recognized and liked and wanted to be near, especially the mother who’d left him behind.
They went to the top floor and were seated at a round table in the corner of a grand suite by the windows. Waiters fluttered around the table like birds at a feeder, bringing water and bread, or just to steal a glimpse at James Yager. JY either didn’t notice or pretended not to. Jalen didn’t think he could ever grow used to, or tired of, the kind of special attention people gave to JY.
Coach Allen appeared, wearing a suit and tie and with his short gray hair slicked down and parted on the side. He looked taller and thinner than Jalen remembered. As he was escorted through the suite toward their table, Jalen saw that the coach hadn’t expected that three kids would be joining him and JY for lunch.
The two men shook hands, and then JY introduced Coach Allen to Cat and Daniel before saying, “And I know you’ve already met Jalen.”
Coach Allen nodded and sat down. They ordered right away because JY told the head waiter that he had to get to the stadium. Jalen and his friends sat quietly and watched as JY charmed the coach. The two of them talked a lot of baseball, and JY showed a special interest in Coach Allen’s baseball experience, which included four years on the Siena College team. Their food came, and Jalen sank his teeth into a hot pastrami sandwich. As the conversation between JY and Coach Allen dragged on, Jalen began to worry about why it was taking JY so long to get down to business, but Cat—who kept her eyes glued to the two men—seemed happy, and that gave
him some comfort. Trying to be calm, he tackled the french fries.
Finally JY leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Dave, I need your help with something.”
Coach Allen blinked and sat up straight. “Of course. What can I do?”
“First of all,” JY said, “this is completely confidential. You have to promise you’ll keep this between us.”
Coach Allen studied the Yankees second baseman for a minute before he nodded. “Okay, I can promise that.”
“Good. So, Jalen and Daniel and Cat, they’ve been helping me.” JY nodded toward the three friends. “With my batting slump. I know it’s gonna sound strange—I can’t believe it myself sometimes—but Jalen can predict the kind of ball a pitcher is about to throw. He really can . . . .”
Both men looked at Jalen, and he tried to meet their gazes with a look of confidence, even though that wasn’t how he felt.
Coach Allen wore a crooked smile, and he looked around as if someone might be filming the scene before he turned to JY. “So, you’re kidding me here, right? I don’t get it.”
“No.” JY shook his head once. “I’m not kidding. I’m being serious, and I need your help now too.”
“He knows every pitch?” Coach Allen asked, obviously confused.
“Yeah,” JY said, “just about. It took me a bit to accept it too. It’s kind of unreal. Then I had him show Derek Jeter. We went to his place to watch a game together, and Derek was like, ‘Hey, the kid’s for real. Go for it.’ That’s when I knew I wasn’t losing my mind. The rest—as they say—is history.”
“You are serious!” Coach Allen looked out the window into the distance for a few moments, considering. Then he said, “Umm, okay, what do you need me to do?”
Jalen grinned at his friends and let go a deep breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding.
JY put a hand on the coach’s shoulder. “I need you to let these guys play on your team, and I may need some help with Jalen missing a practice here or there if I have to have him help me at the stadium.”
“Oh, gosh. I see.” Coach Allen’s face turned red. “Look, I’d really love to do that for you . . . but I can’t.”
44
JY’S HAND SLIPPED OFF THE coach’s shoulder.
“You can’t?” He tilted his head as if he’d heard wrong.
“We only have room for sixteen players,” Coach Allen said. “When Jalen told me no-go, I offered the spot to another kid.”
“Did he take it?” JY asked.
“Not yet, but that’s just one spot. Even if he says no, I can’t take them both. It was a big deal when I expanded the roster from fourteen to sixteen. These baseball parents are tough. Everyone wants their kid to get playing time, so the roster limit is set. I can’t go back on my word.” Coach Allen looked like he wanted to take both Jalen and Daniel.
JY pursed his lips and puffed out his cheeks.
“What about this?” Cat’s voice took everyone but Jalen by surprise. Nothing about a girl who wanted to be president, a talk-show host, or a sports agent could surprise him anymore.
“What if,” Cat continued, “you take them both for practice, and you rotate them for the games? Then, if someone else gets hurt or they have a family obligation, you’ve got a player in reserve.”
“I couldn’t rotate them in and out.” Coach Allen frowned at his silverware and flipped the fork on its edge before looking up. “Having an extra player around will make some parents upset, but I can weather that storm. Best I can do is have Daniel practice with us, and, if someone gets hurt for the season, he can take the spot, but no guarantees. What about the fee? Who’s going to cover that?”
“How much?” JY asked.
“Fifteen hundred,” said the coach. “Each.”
“I got that covered.” JY looked at Cat. “An advance.”
Cat turned her attention on their friend. “Daniel?”
Daniel looked around at them all with his mouth open, but no words coming out.
“It’s not a bad offer,” JY said.
“We can’t go back to the Rockets anyway, Daniel,” Jalen said. “And you don’t have to worry about the fee.”
Daniel chewed on his lower lip, then said, “Okay. I’m in.”
“Yes!” Cat high-fived Jalen before she froze, then turned toward Coach Allen. “Oh. I forgot. One more thing.”
Coach Allen raised his eyebrows. “And that is?”
“Could I do stats for the games?” Cat wore a winning smile. “I know a lot about baseball, and I’m easy to get along with.”
Daniel barked a laugh. “Like a cobra.”
Cat gave him a melting look.
“The tame kind.” Daniel forced a smile. “Like with the guy in a turban, swaying back and forth, so calming.”
Under his breath Daniel said, “Just watch out for her bite.”
“What’d you say?” Cat glared at him.
Daniel’s face filled with panic. “Just how you’re always right.”
Coach Allen looked at JY, who shrugged. “In my experience, things seem to go better when you give this young lady what she wants.”
“Uh, sure,” the coach said. “I don’t see why not.”
“That’s great, Coach.” Cat patted Jalen’s shoulder. “You just got yourself a baseball genius.”
“Super. Then I’ll text my other recruit and tell him we’re full.” Coach Allen took out his phone.
Jalen picked a string of pastrami from his teeth before Cat signaled that he also had a spot of Russian dressing on his cheek. Coach Allen got Cat’s and Jalen’s phone numbers to put them on his team texts.
“Don’t forget Daniel,” Cat said.
“You manage him too?” Coach Allen asked.
“Yeah. He’s like a brother,” she said, causing Daniel to blush as he gave his number.
They left the hotel, and JY dropped Cat and Daniel at the mall where they were meeting Cat’s mom. She was going to take them home before heading back to the game that evening. It was just Jalen and JY in the SUV. Before hitting the road, JY read a text on his phone and said, “So the detective who’s gonna find your mom is meeting us at the stadium.”
“Right now?” Jalen felt a current of excitement buzz through his body.
“Yup,” JY said. “Right now.”
45
IT WASN’T THE FIRST TIME Jalen had pulled past the guard and down into the players’ underground parking garage, but it was still a thrill. All the shiny new rides packed in together reminded Jalen of a box of fancy chocolates, each one different, but delicious-looking, so that you couldn’t help wanting them all. They got out and headed toward the clubhouse. Jalen recognized an olive-green Bentley convertible, a red Ferrari, a black Lincoln Navigator decked out in chrome, and a deep blue Tesla Roadster.
JY held the door for Jalen, and they walked down a long corridor, past the clubhouse entrance, until they came to Miles Endwell’s office. The security director had his assistant bring them into a meeting room. A red-haired woman in jeans and a Patagonia pullover shell with a Timberland cap pulled low on her head sat chewing gum and talking on her phone. When she saw them, she held up a finger, quickly finished her call, and stood to greet them.
“Hi, I’m Emery Moore.” Her face was spotted with freckles, and her bright green eyes were sharp.
They shook her hand and sat down across the table.
Emery clasped her hands and rested them on the table. “So, you’d like me to find your mom?”
Jalen’s mouth sagged open. It was a big moment. “Uhh, yes.”
“That’s what I do, so . . .” Emery looked at JY. “And you’re good with my rates?”
“Yes.” JY turned to Jalen. “I gave her a ten-thousand-dollar retainer to start. Your first two games for me.”
“Plus the travel team fees.” Jalen felt uncomfortable owing JY thirteen thousand dollars, but without the detective he’d be nowhere.
“It’ll all work out.” JY waved a hand in the air. “So, Emery, M
iles says you’re the best.”
“Yeah, I’d say that’s right.” She chewed her gum and took out a pad of paper and a pen. She pointed the pen at Jalen. “So, tell me everything you know about her. JY told me her name, but there are way too many Elizabeth Johnsons to go through. I’ll need as many details as you can give me.”
JY and Emery stared at Jalen. His brain seemed to collapse in on itself the way a sand castle crumbles under a thick ocean wave. He felt his face catch fire.
JY cleared his throat and tried to help. “She was pretty young. Right, Jalen?”
“Yes.” Jalen looked at his hands, their skin the color of coffee with milk, brown and white together. “I think she was a singer.”
“Professionally?” Emery asked.
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s good. Any pictures?”
“One.” Jalen looked up.
“Great. Can you get that for me?”
“Uh . . .” It was all he had of his mom.
“Just take a picture with your phone and text it to me.” Emery snapped her gum. “I don’t need the original. How about her birthplace? Where she went to school? Anything like that?”
“I don’t think so,” Jalen said, “but I can ask.”
“How about her family?”
“No.”
“JY told me she and your dad got married.”
“So he could get his green card and stay,” Jalen said.
“That’s good.” Emery wrote that down. “See if you can find out where they got married. I can get a copy of the license, and that will tell me a lot.”
“It will?” JY asked.
“Sure, it’ll have her parents’ names and addresses. That’ll be money.”
Jalen realized his heart was pounding frantically, as if trying to escape his chest. “So, you think you can find her?”
“Me?” Emery laughed and pointed a thumb into her chest. “Last person I had to find disappeared from a church mission in Paraguay. That was a challenge, and I still got her. This is a Rubik’s Cube with two sides already done. Yeah, I’ll find her.”