“Sure. I guess I got a little out of hand. This is the play-offs. You know how it is,” the man said.
“No, I don’t.” Julia said. She turned her back on the obnoxious man and weaved her way up the ascending rows of bleachers toward her family, but stopped and grabbed Charlotte’s arm when she saw her friend on her feet and cheering when a boy on their children’s team scored.
“Hey, Julia. I see you got out of the park in one piece,” Charlotte said.
“I hope I didn’t scare you off from running with me again. I’m sorry about all that earlier. If you want your necklace back, I don’t blame you.”
Charlotte leaned in and gave Julia a hug. “You keep the necklace. It’s a definite no on the running, but drinks or play dates for our kids, most definitely. I hope you can make it to the Sugar House tonight. You owe me a drink for dragging me to that creepy park.”
“Thanks, but I’ll take a rain check. I see your friend with the dog isn’t with you. If you don’t mind the nosebleed section, why don’t you sit with us?”
“Sure. I’d welcome the company. Before I forget, I picked up something you’ll want,” Charlotte said. She dug into her bag and handed Julia a bright orange piece of paper. “Does Logan play any other sports during the year?”
“Just baseball.”
“Two sports, so you’re going to want to sign him up for this. Parents here are crazy competitive, and the spots for the junior rec-league teams fill up literally in minutes. You’ll need to be on your computer by six AM Friday to reserve a spot for tryouts. All you have to do is pay a hundred dollars up front when you register. It won’t necessarily guarantee a place for Logan on the team, but he’ll get one of the first slots for tryouts. That’s big with the coaches around here. That way, they’ll know the player is serious and the family, too. There’s a lot of team fund-raisers and volunteer requirements, so we need all the parent support we can get.”
“When did the parks department get so mired in making a buck?”
“Like I said, the competition between parents to get their kids on a good team is intense. If you sign up, there are perks for you, too. You’ll get e-mails about special offers if you fill in your interests on the form.”
“It sounds to me like Wayne County is profiting from overzealous, competitive parents. That would be a good story.”
“This is a big deal for us. Sports are huge. And with the budget cuts in the public schools’ athletic programs, county park teams are more important than ever. If you’re angling to write a story about this, it could hurt the kids. I’m asking as a friend. Please don’t do it.”
“That’s not my intent, but don’t worry. Wayne County isn’t my beat. Come on, let’s grab a seat before there aren’t any left.”
The bleachers in the front and middle rows were completely filled and people had spilled into the narrow strip of stairs to watch the game. Julia pushed her way upward through the crowd until she reached Helen and Will in the very back and introduced Charlotte.
“Sorry I’m late,” Julia said to Helen. She scooped up Will and put him in her lap. “It’s been a crazy day. We’ll leave straight from here to go to the apartment.”
“No, we will need to switch cars so I can go back to the house. My Volvo is full up with the boys’ things and your suitcase. I left my bag and kitchen supplies all packed up by the front door. We are not going to ‘wing it’ with dinner tonight in the bachelor pad.”
“You must be a good cook. Some nights in our house, dinner is a bowl of cereal,” Charlotte said.
“You joke, I hope,” Helen said.
Julia’s phone sounded in her purse and she looked at the incoming caller.
“I need to get this. It’s Navarro.”
“Always anxious to get the story. That is you. Give me the boy then. No police talk in front of Will or he won’t be able to sleep tonight,” Helen said.
“I agree,” Charlotte said. “If you’re going to talk about that freaky doll we saw in the park, please don’t do it here. I’m the one who’s going to be having nightmares. I can’t burn that image out of my mind.”
Julia passed Will back over to Helen and moved to the far end of the bleacher to take the call.
“Gooden, I’m running late. I’m just leaving Royal Oak, so I should be there in fifteen. The apartment is set, so we’ll all leave from the gym after the game.”
“There’s one snag. Helen couldn’t fit everything into her car, so I need to go back to the house.”
“No, you won’t. I’m closer to Rochester Hills than you are. I’ll go to your house. Get settled into the apartment and I’ll meet you there.”
“If I don’t tell you this enough, you’re a godsend,” Julia said. “Did you find any other dolls?”
“No, and to be honest, I’m not surprised. Either the killer changed up his pattern, or someone else planted the doll in Royal Oak. I’m going with the second theory.”
“Listen, I should mention this. I don’t think it’s anything, but that doctor I ran into recently, he sent me flowers. I think his ego is bruised because I didn’t call him. But I thought you’d want to know in light of the case. I don’t picture Tillerman as the killer. We’ve lived in the same city for years, so the timing wouldn’t make sense.”
“I’m not going to discount anything. I’ll run a background check on Tillerman. Tell Logan I’m sorry I missed his game, but I promise I’ll be at the next one. Be careful, Gooden.”
Julia returned to her seat just as the ref, Jeremiah Landry, blew his whistle for halftime, and the boys on the two teams scattered to separate ends of the court. Julia saw her opening to give Logan a hug and let him know she was rooting for him, but his coach pulled the teammates in a tight huddle in the corner of the gym.
“Where are they going?” Julia asked Charlotte as she noticed half the bleachers were emptying and the parents were exiting out the doors to the hallway and the parking lot outside.
“We tailgate on Fridays, before the games and at halftime. That’s big around here. The parents cook up hot dogs and hamburgers. One guy Sophiah dated brought pate one time. Yeah, I know. Ridiculous.”
“I’m going down to the court to try to talk to Logan,” Julia told Helen. “I’ll be right back.”
Julia watched Logan’s teammates scatter, a few of them now standing on the sidelines. She made her way back down to the court and noticed the loudmouthed prison bus driver reenter the gym and approach her with a renewed sense of confidence.
“You’re still here,” the DDC worker said. “You know, I was thinking, I didn’t like your uppity tone from before.”
“Mr. Montenegro, how are you this evening?”
Julia turned to see Jeremiah Landry. He was holding a basketball with his long fingers splayed across it. He held the ball across his chest and gave the male parent in front of him a warm but steely smile.
“Is everything all right here?” Jeremiah asked Julia.
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
“This lady here has an attitude,” Montenegro said.
Landry kept his smile intact as he closed the space between himself and the other man.
“Mr. Montenegro, have you been drinking?” Landry asked.
“No way, man.”
“That’s good to hear. I wouldn’t want to have to call 911 if a parent was being hassled or if a dad of one of our teammates has been drinking and got behind the wheel of a car with their kid after the game.”
“Yeah. That would be a shame. See you around,” Montenegro said, and quickly ended the conversation as he slunk back to his seat, losing himself inside the growing crowd of parents who were returning to see the second half of the game.
“Thanks,” Julia said. “But you didn’t need to do that.”
“Defusing that guy with other parents is starting to become my nightly duty. I had to break up a near fistfight with him and another dad last week. I’m going to be in the parking lot after the game to be sure he doesn’t get behind the w
heel with his son. I smelled liquor on his breath.”
“You’re a real live Boy Scout,” Julia said.
“Guilty as charged. I was an Eagle Scout. If you haven’t gotten Logan involved in Scouting, you should. Kids learn good skills, and if Logan stays with it, he’d be eligible for scholarships down the road.”
The end-of-the-halftime buzzer sounded and Jeremiah gave Julia a mock salute as he ran backward to his position on the floor.
Julia climbed back up the stands and plucked Will from Helen’s lap, placing her youngest son right next to her as she squeezed his hand.
“These children, some of them play dirty,” Helen whispered to Julia in a conspiratorial tone. “Look at that boy, he just shoved one of Logan’s teammates who tried to make a shot.”
Jeremiah, who’d witnessed the same incident as Helen, blew his whistle and called a foul on the boy.
“Our team is only ahead by two points. If this kid makes both shots, we’ll lose.”
“It’s just a game,” Julia said, but Charlotte didn’t acknowledge and instead looked intently at the little boy at the foul line.
“Shit,” Charlotte said as the ball bounced off the backboard, but then dropped through the net. “If he makes the next one, we’re tied. We have to win this game or we won’t make the play-offs.”
Charlotte crossed her fingers on both hands and then jumped to her feet when the boy’s shot smacked against the front of the rim and then bounced back down to the floor. The little boy took in the crowd over his failure and looked like he was about to cry.
“We won!” Charlotte said, and gave Julia a hug. “We’ll do a tailgate in the parking lot for the play-offs. But we should celebrate now. You have to go to the Sugar House with me. One drink isn’t going to kill you.”
“I can’t. We’re doing some repairs on my house, and I’m moving my family into an apartment in the city while the work is being done.”
“Ugh. Asshole alert,” Charlotte said. She nodded her head in the direction of a dark-haired man who looked like he spent every off-hour in the gym. “That’s my ex, Joe. He’s picking up Steven. I better say good-bye to my kid and play buffer with King Dickhead.”
Julia picked up Will and grabbed Helen’s arm as she led her family down through the bleachers to the court.
“That woman, she uses bad language in front of children. But she seems okay. Except for all the hugging. I must go back to the house and pick up the rest of my bags. You take the boys and I will meet you there.”
“No, you’re all set. Navarro is going to the house.”
“A chivalrous man Mr. Ray is. You go get Logan. I will take Will to the bathroom before we leave.”
“I don’t have to go,” Will said.
“You will in five minutes. Trust me. Come on now.”
Julia found Logan on the court throwing the ball back and forth to Charlotte’s son as Charlotte and her ex exchanged heated words next to the boys.
“Where’s Uncle Ray? Did he see me make that three-point shot?” Logan asked, and then looked back at his friend with a dead-serious expression. “My mom’s boyfriend is a cop.”
“Uncle Ray couldn’t be here. He’s working a big case, but he called me to be sure you knew he was rooting for you.”
“Great game, kiddo,” Charlotte said. “And, Julia, if you change your mind about a drink, call me. We’ll be at the Sugar House.”
The crowd began to filter out, and Julia heard the hard pounding of a basketball smacking down in a rapid tat-tat-tat on the court. Julia looked to see Jeremiah Landry dribbling to the top of the key and then taking a perfect shot that was all net.
“If this ref thing doesn’t work out for you, I think you’ve got a shot in the NBA,” Julia said.
“Thanks for the compliment, but I’m way too old. I had my glory days as a walk-on sophomore year at Oakland University. I started in junior college, but I quickly discovered the bench and I were going to be good friends all season when I started playing for the Golden Grizzlies.”
“You’d be a good coach.”
“Believe it or not, I’m a teacher. Or let me come clean. I’m a heck of a sub. I’m getting my master’s degree. Without it, my full-time job prospects are minimal at best. I’m two courses away from my degree, and then I’ll have to leave all this behind,” Jeremiah said, and spread his hands wide. “Believe it or not, I enjoy being a ref. Since my classes are during the day, I had my choice of waiting tables or working as a night janitor. Being a ref was an easy choice. I like being around kids.”
“What do you want to teach?” Julia asked.
“Middle school. English preferably, but social studies would be okay, too,” Jeremiah said. “Middle school can be an awkward stage, but I look at it as a time when I could make a difference. Kids can be so mean.”
“So can adults. I’m impressed, you always seem to keep your cool.”
“It’s a shame because most of the players follow the rules. It’s their parents who don’t. Logan here, he’s a good kid,” Jeremiah said, and bent down so he was the same height as Logan. “Do you play any other sports?”
“Just baseball, sir.”
“Great. I’ll likely see you in the spring, too. I’m an umpire for the Wayne County–rec baseball program, and I pick up shifts for Oakland County as well, if they get in a pinch. I assume you’ll be playing for Wayne?”
“I’m not sure yet. It depends if the baseball parents are as nuts as the basketball ones.”
“Sorry to break the news, but it’s the same crowd. The competition is really over-the-top between parents here. Whose kid is the better player, which boy scored the most baskets or RBIs. Sports can be a petty, vicious animal if you let it, but you don’t strike me as that type,” Jeremiah said, and then turned to Logan. “Remember what I said about the follow-through on the jump shot. Do you want to try it again?”
Logan bent down in position when the sound of a door opening echoed in the nearly empty gym.
Julia looked over, figuring it was Helen, but instead saw a pretty blonde standing in the entrance.
“Are you ready, J? I don’t want to be late,” she asked.
“That’s my lovely better half. I’ve got to go. We’ll do some more practicing next time if you want, Logan. Have a good night.”
* * *
“So the apartment is right next to Uncle Ray’s, right? I like his place. Maybe we could move in there for good,” Logan said from the backseat of Julia’s vehicle.
Julia took a glance into her rearview mirror at Helen’s slow progress in the parking lot and caught a glimpse of Will, whose eyes were half-mast, her little boy ready to fall asleep in her backseat.
Julia’s cell phone rang on the dash and Julia grabbed it as soon as she saw Navarro’s name flash across the screen.
“Are you okay?” Navarro asked.
“Of course. We’re just leaving.”
Over the phone, Julia heard the beeping of Navarro’s car door opening and the sound of the wind blowing in the background.
“I’m at your house right now. Hold on a second, Gooden. . . .”
“What’s going on?” Julia asked.
“There’s an envelope on your doorstep.”
“Come on, Navarro. What is it?”
“It’s from the killer. He drew the heart symbol in the corner.”
Julia heard a rustling of papers and then Navarro came back on the line.
“It’s a piece of paper with just your name and the reference, Matthew 4:19.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s from the Bible, from the book of Matthew.”
“Are you sure?”
“I spent every Sunday up until I was eighteen going to Mass. I know the verse. Jesus tells his apostles, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”
“That has to tie into the building figurine MMK left behind in Royal Oak.”
“There’s the Fisher Building downtown, the next victim probably works there.”
Julia pulled her car quickly back into a parking space and flashed her lights at Helen to do the same as a horrible realization surfaced.
“I don’t think so. Jesus, Ray. I should’ve never taken her to that park. MMK’s going after my friend Charlotte. Charlotte Fisher. This is all my fault. Charlotte’s next.”
CHAPTER 22
Charlotte Fisher followed the route to the Standby, their new meet-up place for cocktails. After the game, Charlotte had gone home to change and got a call from Sophiah, who insisted they go to the Standby because it had just been voted the hottest bar in Detroit. Charlotte really wanted to go to the Sugar House instead since she had met a man there two days earlier. At the time, Charlotte had proceeded with caution, since she got the vibe the man might not be single. The guy had left before Charlotte got the chance to verify his relationship status, so she was hoping she might run into him at the Sugar House again.
If he was married, hands off, but if he wasn’t, it was open season. Charlotte didn’t consider herself desperate for a man, but just lonely sometimes. Her divorce was a year behind her. Since then, she’d only gone on a handful of dates. The idea of companionship, instead of another lonely night binge-watching The Walking Dead after she put her son Steven to sleep, was a welcome one, if it happened.
Despite the prospect of possibly running into the man again, Charlotte ultimately decided not to argue with Sophiah about wanting to go to the Sugar House because she didn’t want to make waves.
The Standby was located in The BELT alleyway, which was once part of Detroit’s garment district and had been transformed into a trendy hot spot known for its public-art displays. But more important, it had just been voted the number one bar in Detroit by a popular Wayne County single-mommy’s Facebook group they belonged to, so queen Sophiah had insisted they change venues, because you never want to be “so yesterday.”
Charlotte couldn’t believe her luck when a car parked on Library Street scooted out in front of her. Charlotte quickly put on her blinker and nabbed the space. She shut off the engine, but stayed in her car as some old insecurities that she had never quite been able to overcome surfaced like a dark slick of oil over an otherwise pristine ocean.
You Fit the Pattern Page 21