TEST BOOK

by Camel Press

  “He must not have realized Quinn had made an effort to stock more than one of his special brew. First time I’ve known Quinn to consider anyone’s preferences but his own.”

  Benji put the bottle down on the table as if displaying Exhibit No. 1. “Well, you’ve got to tell Detective Kahn.”

  “Then he’ll know I lied.”

  “So? Just explain that you thought you were covering for an innocent friend. He’s human, surely he can understand that.”

  Cat pointed at the stovetop clock. “The Hudson press conference is in an hour. It’ll have to wait.” She grabbed her bagel and headed into the bedroom.

  Benji followed on her heels. “Uh, don’t you think this is a little more important?”

  She took a bite of the bagel and flung open the closet doors, grabbing the first dress she saw. “No, I don’t. Spencer’s not going anywhere. Unlike Quinn, he’s got a job. He’ll be front and center for George Hudson’s public flogging and I plan on turning the tables on him.”

  Cat circled the employee parking lot twice before finally finding a spot for the Jeep. Roger’s parking policy of “first come, first serve” was democratic and all, but the outside media took advantage of his fair-mindedness. News vans and satellite trucks stole their rows, taking up two to three spots each. They’d probably been here for hours, just waiting to catch a glimpse of George Hudson. Things couldn’t have worked out better for the sports rags. Baseball fans still had two rest days before the championship series would start and instead of having to fill the sports segments with pitching predictions and tedious replays, they’d scored the story of the year. The same reporters who had covered the divisional series were now squeezed into the Soldiers’ meeting room, anxiously awaiting George Hudson’s press conference.

  Cat spotted Spencer talking to a couple of national reporters near the coffee pot. He caught sight of her and gave a cheerful wave. She charged him and before she knew what she was doing, her hand reared back and slapped him across the face.

  The reporters gasped and the room fell silent.

  Spencer’s hand shot up and clasped his reddened, plump cheek. “Cat!” He grabbed her arm and escorted her to the hallway. “What was that for?”

  “You forgot something at my house.” She reached into her purse and dug out the beer bottle, shoving it into his chest with a hard thrust.

  “Beer? Cat!” He looked around the empty hallway and snaked it into his jacket pocket. “Have you been drinking?”

  With each innocent bat of his eyes, her anger intensified.

  “Oh you are lucky I don’t make you wear that beer to the press conference.”

  “Will you just talk to me and tell me what is wrong?”

  “Don’t play dumb, Spencer. That beer was in my fridge this morning and it wasn’t yesterday morning. I know you were at my house yesterday afternoon before Quinn left town.”

  “Because you found a Hawaiian beer in your fridge? Cat, this could be anybody’s.”

  “Don’t you dare deny it. I know exactly how hard that beer is to get. I went through hell finding it for your birthday, though it wasn’t even close to the hell I’ve been through this last week in covering for you.” She crossed her arms. “Now you’ve got thirty seconds to tell me exactly how you were involved before I tell Detective Kahn I lied for you the night of the poker game.”

  His eyes flashed with uncertainty and darted around the empty hallway. “Cat, I—”

  “Just tell me, how much money did they pay you? Or was your involvement in exchange for something else, like my job? Was that the deal?”

  “No, of course not! I didn’t … okay. Keep your voice down. That night, I was there when everybody started talking about, you know, throwing games and stuff. I didn’t know they were serious, Cat, I swear, and I left when it was still just a bunch of laughs.”

  “Did you still think it was all hijinks and giggles when the team started losing?”

  “I thought it was just a coincidence that the Soldiers were playing so poorly. It wasn’t until the game five debacle that I realized they really did do it so yesterday, I came by your house to ask Quinn if it was true.”

  “With beer?”

  He rolled his eyes. “You know your brother, it’s not like I could exactly interrogate him so I came by with a tiny cooler, you know, under the guise of hanging out and throwing a few back. We got to talking and he told me it was true. That’s it, I swear.”

  Cat scoffed. “Really? So you, a sports reporter, found out that baseball players were fixing games, information that came to you well before the next day’s print deadline, and yet it didn’t even make today’s paper? This scoop was a career maker and I’m supposed to believe you just blew it off?”

  “I didn’t say anything for your sake. Because Quinn’s your brother, you’d be implicated, too. I kept it secret for you.”

  “For me?”

  “After the way you covered for me, how could I not? Besides, even if you hadn’t saved my ass, I would never … Cat, you mean the world to me. I thought you knew that.”

  He removed his dark glasses and rubbed his eyes, then his temples. He reached out for her arm but she backed away, searching his face for the truth. His brown eyes begged her for mercy. He was desperate to be believed, and he looked sincere. However, a good enough con-man would know how to work the innocent look.

  “Please believe me.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You’ve known me for almost a year. Do you really think I would do this to you? To the team?”

  “Everybody's got a price. If the money was good enough—”

  “What money?” Spencer jokingly pulled out his empty khaki pockets. “I’m still broke. Don’t you think I would’ve left town if I’d gotten a wad of hush money?”

  “Why didn’t you say anything when we talked this morning? You sounded so shocked by the news.”

  “I was shocked! I didn’t know George Hudson was involved.”

  “You still should’ve told me what you knew.”

  “I was going to, I swear, but it was so early and there was so much chaos. I was trying to think of the right way to tell you because this is exactly what I was afraid of—that if you found out I was hiding something, you’d stop trusting me.”

  His explanation sounded plausible. Hadn’t she been dancing around the truth with both Roger and Detective Kahn?

  “I guess I can kind of understand that.” She peeked in the conference room. “We should get in there.”

  “I’m not going anywhere until I know things are okay between us.”

  “We’re okay. Not great but okay.”

  “Really?” His eyes widened with hope.

  Cat sighed. “Yeah.”

  “I’ll take it.” He smiled and gestured to the door. “After you.”

  Stepping into the room, they became the immediate center of attention. She smiled ruefully at Spencer. “I’m used to this by now.”

  Then all eyes fixed on the area behind them and the murmuring stopped. The vultures had only circled her and Spencer, but when George Hudson entered the room, they came to roost. Cat and Spencer scrambled to claim the last two chairs. Cameras flashed as George took a seat. Following dutifully behind was Kiki, her skirt suit a size too small, with two straight-faced lawyers in tow. James Hudson filed in last and stood stoically behind his brother’s chair.

  The second lawyer wiggled his way through the two brothers to sit on the opposite side of George. He covered the microphone with his hand as he whispered into George’s ear. George solemnly nodded. Cameras flashed again as he pulled the microphone stand closer and cleared his throat. Cat leaned forward in her chair, double checking that her recorder was activated.

  “Good morning, friends and colleagues.”

  Cat smothered a smile. Now they were ‘friends and colleagues.’ At all prior press conferences, they had hardly merited a curt nod.

  “I called this meeting today to address the distressing allegations that ha
ve been made against me. I know that you all must have questions of your own, but due to the gravity of these accusations, my attorneys have advised me not to comment … as eager as I am to defend myself to the City of Buffalo. Although I feel I have nothing to hide, I have to trust that this country’s great justice system will prevail. Until then I must refrain from discussing the case.”

  Cat traded knowing looks with Spencer.

  “That being said, I can’t ignore everything that is going on around me. My first priority is not myself, but my family, friends and the Soldiers’ fans, who believe in me and know that I would never do anything to hinder this great team. My supporters have asked for ways to show their support and that offer alone means more than they’ll ever know. There are those who doubt my innocence, but I beg of them to please remember that our justice system was founded on a presumption of innocence.”

  George’s voice began to crack. He pulled a handkerchief out of his suit pocket and dabbed at his teary eyes.

  “I care more about the Soldiers than anything in this world. So much so, I was able to beat my once-debilitating addiction. Yes, I was a compulsive gambler for twelve years, that much is true, I’m ashamed to admit. However, I take no shame in saying that I am recovered and have been for six years. I successfully completed a treatment program with one of the country’s foremost experts in addictions and haven’t so much as scratched a lottery ticket since. I did all this because when my father stepped down from his position with the Soldiers, he offered me his most prized possession and I chose in favor of my true love—the game of baseball. I gave my all to the Soldiers and I took this club from a pretender to a contender. I would never bet on the Soldiers to lose and I would certainly never arrange a loss. While I would like you all to believe me, my only request is that you don’t let this ugly accusation tarnish the hard work of this season’s team. However, I’m not a fool and I know that my presence at this time would only cause further damage to the team’s reputation.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Therefore, I’m stepping down from any further involvement with the team. I’ve relinquished sole ownership to my brother, James.”

  A few gasps sounded from the back of the room. The cameras started flashing again as George dabbed at his eyes. James Hudson placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

  Spencer leaned over and whispered in Cat’s ear, “I think the real story here is how he gets all balled up about himself, but he was cool as a cucumber when he said his vows to Ms. Kiki the Freaky over there.”

  “You’re terrible.” Cat grinned. “Accurate, but terrible.”

  The Hudson wedding had been another media frenzy, because George had insisted on having it at the stadium during the All-Star Break, much to the dismay of the grounds crew. Between the three hundred folding chairs and Kiki’s four inch white stilettos, the field was mangled, but George owned the dirt and destroying it was his prerogative. At least, he had owned the dirt. Now he’d handed both it and his bride over to James. Of course she doubted he knew about the transfer of ownership on the latter.

  Cat’s eyes flashed to Kiki. Three inches of cleavage spilled over the top of her camisole and peeked out from the top of the jacket. She dabbed at nonexistent tears under the thick layer of black eyeliner. For a woman whose husband was facing prison time, she was awfully dry-eyed. George entwined his thick fingers with her delicate ones. The gold signet ring sparkled at another flash of a camera.

  “That’s weird,” she whispered. She fished her cellphone out of her purse and used its camera to zoom in on their hands. She snapped a quick picture and studied George's ring on the screen. It looked very much like the one Quinn had left with his note. The enlarged image was too blurry to tell for sure, but the ring appeared to be imprinted with the same coat of arms. She had been surprised that her greedy brother hadn’t taken the 14K gold ring with him; he could’ve easily fetched a wad of cash at a pawn shop. Why had he left it behind? If he’d expected her to do his dirty work once again and return it to its owner, he could at least have let her know who that owner was. Thinking it must belong to someone on the team, she had planned on “finding it” at the stadium at a later date, but had not had a chance to execute her plan. Since that ring was still in her possession, there had to be two rings.

  “What?”

  She shook her head. “I’ll tell you later.”

  “As many of you know, I took much pride in my position as chairman of the Soldiers; however, given the severity of these accusations, it is no longer in the team’s best interest to have me serve. As such, with the league’s approval, I will appoint my wife Kiki to replace me as head chairman to facilitate the team’s operations.”

  Kiki beamed at this announcement. There were a few curious looks amongst the media, but most of the reporters weren’t surprised. Kiki already served on the board of directors and the head chairman position was mostly a figurehead anyway, whose only task was to announce charity events and hand out awards throughout the season. Even Kiki could handle that.

  Behind him, James Hudson responded with another solemn nod.

  “Thank you for coming here today and hearing me out. I am confident justice will prevail in this matter.”

  Normally, this is when the room would blow up with questions, however, the press had already been informed that their questions would go unanswered. She’d wanted to scoff, “Freedom of the Press, eh?” but whereas the first amendment might afford protections with regard to her opinions, it did bupkis for job security. If the reporters wanted to get their questions answered in the future, they had to play by the house rules.

  George rose to his feet and pulled out Kiki’s chair, escorting the buxom blonde out the side door. The lawyers followed, but James didn’t; instead he took his brother’s seat in front of the table with the microphones. He didn’t look out of place. With the same fancy suit, full mound of chestnut hair and cadet blue eyes, James was a younger, slimmer version of his big brother. New and improved.

  “I’m available to answer a few questions, providing they concern me and not my brother’s legal issues.” He smiled, his bright white smile stretching from ear to ear. The media pounced, but Spencer spoke the loudest.

  “Mr. Hudson, are you planning any immediate changes with the team?”

  James pursed his lips, his smile growing somber.

  “My brother did an excellent job putting together a winning team. It’s no coincidence that they got to the playoffs. I only have a few tweaks in mind to make sure they get there again next year.”

  He crossed his hands in front of him, giving Cat a chance to study each finger.

  Each bare finger.

  Chapter 26

  Most of the reporters had left, but Cat was milling around the back of the conference room, trying to stay out of the way as it was staged for a television interview. The ESPN reporter sat in the other chair, reading through her notes while being fitted with a microphone. James strutted inside, wearing a different suit than he had just an hour earlier. Cat walked up behind the cameraman and cleared her throat. “Mr. Hudson, can the Soldiers get a word before your television debut?”

  “I don’t have time for that right now.”

  The reporter looked up from her papers. “Yes, you do, we’re not on for another ten.”

  James placed his hand on Cat’s shoulder and led her off to the side. “With all due respect, I think this interview is a little more important than the team website.”

  “This is off the record.”

  “Can it wait? I have a little time free this afternoon if you—”

  “Where’s your ring?”

  “Excuse me?”

  She held up her right hand and pointed at her ring finger. “Your ring. Gold. Showy. It’s got a family crest, which if I understand correctly, is something you rich people like to display whenever possible. Your brother wears one, so I’m guessing all the Hudsons do.”

  “Yes, I know the one. It was a gift from my father.”

&n
bsp; “Where’s yours?”

  “I don’t wear jewelry.”

  Cat was prepared for that. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a cellphone. “Remember this summer? We were all at your brother’s wedding; you were the best man. The team photographers didn’t miss a beat. Here’s when you handed him Kiki’s ring.” She showed him the photo screen. “What’s that gold thing on your finger?”

  He squinted at the screen. “Okay, so I wear it for family gatherings and such.” He jerked his head back toward the interview set. “Is that all? I’d like to look over a few notes before I go on national television.”

  “I’ve got your ring.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I found a ring like that in my apartment after the poker game. I can’t help but wonder how your family heirloom would wind up in my house.”

  “Shouldn’t I be asking that?” He surveyed her empty hands. “Well? Can I have it back?”

  “I’ll have to get it for you; it’s still at my apartment.”

  “I guess I owe you one. I thought I’d lost it.”

  “You know, Detective Kahn seems to think there were more people present at that poker game.”

  The fake smile melted off his face. “What’s your point?”

  “In some people, drinking alcohol causes fluid retention and their fingers get swollen. If that happened to a person, he would take off his ring, which he might forget if he had to leave in a hurry.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I’m your boss’s new boss, little girl, and I really don’t appreciate what you’re insinuating.”

  “Your ring was at my house the day after that poker game. I don’t think I’m insinuating anything.”

  “All right, fine.” He gnawed on his bottom lip. “I guess it doesn’t even matter anymore. That ring you have is George’s.”

  “George is wearing his. I saw it this morning during the press conference.”

  “No, George is wearing mine.”

  “He stole your ring?”

  “I lent it to him. He came to me yesterday and told me he needed to borrow mine. He didn’t say why and I didn’t ask. I could tell he really needed it. I found out this morning that your brother was trying to put the squeeze on him, to get even more money out of him. George knew the ring implicated him and he thought that if he had my ring, then your brother would drop it. Of course, none of that matters now.”