by Laura Scott
“I never thought you’d be good at that job. Gonna end up dead before you’re forty.”
Colt swallowed the disappointment and crushing blow. He was never going to make his earthly father happy. Not one day on this planet.
But he could make his heavenly Father proud and pleased. “Well...I guess we’ll see.”
“I gotta go. Got a car I’m working on. Said I’d have it done by this evening.”
“Right.” Because a car was more important than his son in a hospital. “Hey, Dad.”
“Yep?”
“I—I forgive you.” The words tumbled out and a boulder was lifted from his chest, making some breathing room. All the past. All the pain. Colt chose to release it.
“Well, I didn’t ask for it. And don’t rightly see why I’d need it.”
“I know you don’t.” Maybe one day he would. Maybe not. Colt wasn’t responsible for Dad’s choices and actions. Only his own. And his next choice was getting out of this place. He had a job to do, and that was top priority.
He left his room and Georgia came around the corner with a coffee in her hand. “What are you doing up?”
“I have a case to solve.”
“Oh.” Questions swirled in her eyes. Were they okay? Was he angry? He was too tired to be angry.
“I called my dad.”
She gaped. “For real?”
“Apparently forgiveness is a thing.”
“How did that go?”
He could actually laugh. “Not like I hoped. But then, nothing about this day has gone like I hoped.”
She dropped her head. “I’m so sorry, Colt.”
“I know. I understand, Georgia. You gotta do what you gotta do. I’m gonna do what I gotta do, and it is what it is. At least we know where we stand with one another.” Not exactly profound words, but truthful. Would he want to press their relationship knowing she would be sick with anxiety every day? No. He didn’t want that, and mostly he hated that she was imprisoned by it. That was no way to live. But he wasn’t responsible for her choices, either.
Rhett met them as they turned the corner. “Hey, I was coming to give you the news. We got the warrant, and guess what we found in Terry Helms’s financials?”
“Proof that Terry had something to do with buying the land on Pine Road?”
Rhett’s grin was full of satisfaction. “James Kreger isn’t a real person, as we suspected. But we found papers where he secured a loan through the bank—it didn’t go through any of the loan officers, but Terry himself. There are statements that the loan is being paid, but we haven’t gotten far enough to see if Terry is actually paying on the land—we didn’t get the warrant to cover the scope of Terry’s personal finances, only information pertaining to the land.”
This was excellent information. “Where is Terry now?”
“Station. We asked him to come in, and he obliged. Of course, Poppy threatened to haul him out of the bank in cuffs.” His eyes held amusement. “Aren’t you supposed to be in a hospital bed? You have a mild concussion on top of other injuries.”
“I have too much to do and too little time.” They didn’t talk much about the move to Atlanta. It was bittersweet. “We need to see what’s on this SD card.”
Rhett gave him grief over not following the rules. Typical, but in the end, he conceded and Colt and Georgia climbed in the SUV, since his truck was totaled.
Inside the station interview room, Terry Helms sat in the folding chair, his big, meaty hands resting on the table. Colt hobbled in with his crutches, and Georgia followed.
Terry’s eyes widened. “What happened to you?”
“I have a feeling you already know.” Colt finagled into a seat.
Time to get to the truth.
TWELVE
“I didn’t try to kill anyone! Not Jared and not you, Georgia.” Terry folded his arms over his massive chest, and protest radiated in his eyes.
“What about Dandy?” Colt asked.
“What about her? I didn’t kill her. I’m not a murderer.”
“Someone is. We have proof that those boys falsified their addresses using land purchased with a fake loan. One you signed off on. The jig is up.”
Georgia pursed her lips.
Okay, that may have sounded a bit like Scooby-Doo.
Terry remained silent, but he hadn’t asked for a lawyer. Any minute Colt was bound to see Reggie Leeway waltz through the door. “You know what we’ve already uncovered. Before it’s over we’ll find more. Help us now. If you didn’t kill anyone, then come clean on the rest. You’ll more than likely get a slap from the NCAA for your part in illegal recruiting to Ole Magnolia.” Of course, he’d lose his job for falsifying documents, and have to face fraud charges for the Pine Road address.
He knew it, too. It showed in the slump of his shoulders and the defeat on his face. “I bought the land through a fake name. Fake address. Handled all the paperwork so no one would be the wiser. Yeah, I did that. I may have helped families get loans that they may not have been able to receive at another bank, but they legit have paid off those loans or are still paying on them. But that’s helping them.”
“Who’s involved? I want it all and maybe it’ll go toward helping you. Can’t say for sure.”
Terry huffed. “We love our town and our team. We did it to help boys who deserved to go pro or at the very least play college ball. We did it to put our town and team on the map in football. We win championships. Nothing wrong with that.”
Except it was cheating.
“Who is we?”
Terry massaged the back of his neck. “Me, Duncan, Sunny and Joe Jackson.”
So the coach at Ole Magnolia was involved. A nice little thing going. Colt would be sure to give the NCAA a call after this interrogation. Terry’s story unfolded the way they’d suspected—they poached players from other districts to come play for them with loan offers, monetary offers as well as sealed deals with Ole Magnolia if they continued to perform in their high school career. It kept the coaches in the spotlight and won them championships and fame, not to mention Coach Flanigan received some kickbacks from the college for bringing them top players—according to Terry. Coach had yet to admit that.
“What about Jared? Did you offer him the deal at Ole Magnolia?”
Terry nodded. “We gave him tickets to a concert he was wanting to attend and about ten grand.”
Ten grand! Wow.
“But he died and that was that. Never even asked for the money back. It was a tragedy.”
“How kind of you,” Georgia stated dryly.
But Jared was going to go play for State. Terry and Coach had no idea he’d changed his mind—or Terry was lying.
“Jared changed his mind. Did you know that?”
“No. None of us knew that, though Duncan suspected. Said Jared had come in and wanted to talk to him—seemed upset and he figured it was a change of heart. Said he’d talk to Gerald and see what was going on, but then we found out Sunday morning that Jared had been murdered.”
Colt paused. “Gerald knew Jared had accepted an illegal offer to play ball?” He and Karen had both denied those allegations. All these years.
“Of course.”
Gerald knew. Karen knew. They must have hidden that to protect Jared and their reputations. They wouldn’t have been arrested for it. Might have to give back the money if the NCAA requested them to. If they hadn’t hidden it, then investigators could have gone down a recruiting angle avenue long ago. Colt made a note to call them on it and find out why they felt the need to keep it concealed.
“Talk to me about Georgia’s attacks, Dandy Martin’s and Harry Benard’s murders. If you did it, or if you’re an accomplice, I can talk to the DA and he might be willing to go easy on you. If you cooperate.”
Terry looked at Georgia, and his hands went up in surrender.
“I never killed or hurt anyone. I admit I heard about your podcast from a loan officer at my bank—Tricia Candor. Ask her. She told me, and I listened to it and told Duncan. I suspected it was about Jared, but Duncan knew it was, and he knew it was you, Georgia. Said you mentioned something about truth rising in an ocean or something. Said you said the exact same thing to him when you were questioning people about Jared’s death in high school. We hoped it wouldn’t amount to anything, and then you got attacked and we figured...”
Figured someone else would take care of it and they could sit pretty. Vultures.
“I said, ‘My mama used to tell me that time will lift the truth to the surface and it’ll bob in the water of lies for all to see.’ Like it is right now.”
But who else knew it was Georgia? Anyone who knew that she used that phrase. Or Duncan had attacked Georgia and kept it from Terry. Or Terry was flat-out lying.
“Did Dandy come around with questions?” Colt asked.
“She did. Came asking Duncan and me questions about Pine Road. We talked about what to do and if bribing her might work, but then she died in a carjacking.”
“Convenient,” Georgia spewed. “It’s all too convenient.”
“What about Harry Benard? Miss Thompson and Miss Burgess both said he came to them about playing for the Cougars. Why is he dead?”
“How would I know? Harry never liked the recruiting. Felt it was unfair. We were glad to see him go, but he knew not to say a word because he’d caved and done the dirty work with the Burgess and Thompson boys. Needed the money.” Harry had taken money. Did the deed. Felt bad and when the Tigers coaching position opened up, he transferred.
“And he conveniently died before we could question him. Again, I’m saying it.” Georgia folded her arms over her chest, fire in her eyes. “Come clean, Terry. This is ridiculous.”
“I am coming clean. I’m going to lose my bank position by admitting the truth about Pine Road.”
“No,” Colt said. “We busted you out on that. Sit tight.” He signaled Georgia to follow him out, and the team rallied. “With the fraud charges, we have enough to get a warrant to search his home for guns and knives.”
“On it,” Poppy said and disappeared.
“We also have enough to bring in Duncan Flanigan.”
Rhett nodded. “Already took the liberty of asking him to come in and answer a few questions about Harry Benard—whom we suspect of recruiting athletes. He was more than happy to throw Benard under the bus.”
Little did he know. “Good. We need to see what’s on this SD card, figure out why Alice had her prints on Jared’s watch and if she’s involved. Mae, can you find a camera or a computer to fit this brand of SD card?” He showed it to her, and she took a picture of it.
“On it.”
Poppy rounded the corner. “Coach Duncan Flanigan is here.”
Inside the interview room, Coach met Colt’s eyes with smugness. This guy actually believed he was getting off scot-free and Harry Benard was going to go down for it all. “Whatever I can do to help you in regards to Harry, let me know.”
“We’ll get to Harry. Let’s start with your attack on Georgia after Terry Helms informed you of her podcast. You recognized her truth-and-lies phrase. Told Terry you knew it was her.”
“All true, except I didn’t attack her.”
“No? Okay.” He was going to stick to his guns. For now. “We know about Pine Road. We had parents confirm. Former athletes.”
Coach’s bravado faltered, but he held his resolve.
“See, Terry is in a room across the hall, and he’s already given it up.” He laid it all out, letting it sink in. Coach balled a fist, and a vein bulged in his neck. “It won’t be long before those boys have to go back to their right district.” Time to hit him where it would hurt most. “And your career as a cheater—it’s over.”
“I didn’t cheat.” He leaned forward, obviously hating that label. “I recruited good players. I gave them an education and a shot at the NFL. I put this town on the map. It’d be nothing without me.” His pride was almost tangible.
“You are a cheater and liar, and you don’t deserve a single title. You didn’t grow boys into the best—you stole the best to make yourself look good.”
A vein popped in Coach’s forehead as his face turned murderous. His pride wouldn’t let him keep silent. Colt had seen it one too many times.
Georgia intervened. “What will the town think when they find out that their state championships were built on everything false—that some of the best players had to be brought in under the table?”
“You shut your mouth, girlie!” Coach slammed his hands on the table. “I’ll tell you what I told Dandy Martin. If you’d keep your mouth shut, things would keep going well. You and she are going to wreck these boys’ dreams. But she wouldn’t listen, either.”
Colt jumped in. “And you had to shut Dandy up like you tried to shut up Georgia.”
“You’re right I did!” He blurted his admission of guilt without even realizing it, like a play right out of Jack Nicholson’s book in A Few Good Men. But Colt wasn’t shocked at his admission. He’d been expecting it.
Coach went on ranting. “People like you jump in and stick your noses where they don’t belong. No one was hurting you.”
“Until you hurt me!”
Suddenly, the fact he’d admitted guilt hit him and he sank in his chair. Defeated. Outed.
“You killed Dandy for poking around. Thought it was all over. But then Georgia got her notes and started connecting dots and went live on her podcast. She was going to find you, and you attacked her, hoping to shut her up permanently, but I showed up. Even that didn’t stop you. Did you bribe Jared? It’s over, Duncan. It’s time to tell the whole truth.”
Duncan licked his bottom lip, knowing the home team was up too many points for him to recover and win the game.
“Terry and I did offer Jared incentive. He took the money and the concert tickets. We signed the agreement, and it was a done deal.”
“Who is we?”
“Me, Terry as a witness and Joe.” The Ole Magnolia coach. “I had a feeling he was regretting the decision that night he came to me. But he got that call and said never mind—that part is all true. I do regret leaving that night. I do wish I knew more. I didn’t kill Jared Toledo.”
“But you did kill Dandy Martin, and you attempted to kill Georgia.”
“Look me in the eye and admit it, Duncan,” Georgia demanded.
He gradually made eye contact. “You should have kept your mouth shut and stuck to the Podunk crimes that happen around here.”
No apology. He didn’t believe he was wrong. This town had made him a king, and he believed it. But it was over now. Except he hadn’t admitted to killing Jared. And Colt tended to believe him. “What about Harry Benard?”
“Harry never liked the idea of what we were doing. But he didn’t seem to mind the wins. We pressed him to talk to the Burgess and Thompson families. If we could get some dirt on him, he’d keep everything under wraps. He needed money for his sister’s medical bills. We offered him a onetime deal, and he took it. But he left. Big deal. We knew he’d never talk. Until things got heated and y’all showed up. When Leeway called to cancel a meeting I’d arranged—to put some additional pressure on him—I couldn’t be sure what he was up to. I went over there, saw he really was at home and did what had to be done.”
“And Terry? Did he help you?”
“No. He helped recruit and offer incentives as well as supply the address. Never hurt anyone.” At least the coach wasn’t going to take Terry down with him on murder charges or conspiracy to commit murder.
“I think we’ve heard enough.” Colt and Georgia left the room.
Outside in the hall, he didn’t know what to do. Hug her? That seemed out of the question. Instead, he sighed. “You’re out
of danger, at least, and it’s almost over.”
She would remain and put the charred pieces of her life back together, and he was going to move on to Atlanta. There was nothing left for him here. Not when he was her trigger, and law enforcement was who he was. She wrapped her arms around herself as if she wasn’t sure what gesture to make, either. “I can hardly believe it. You did a really good job, Colt. Thank you.” Her phone rang. “It’s the vet.” She answered and listened a few moments. “No. No need for them to stay a few more days. I’ll be there. Thanks.” She ended the call and pocketed her phone. “Picking up the dogs.” She chewed her bottom lip. “I know you have a lot to wrap up here. Susan is actually at the station bringing her brother dinner, so I’ll bum a ride from her. It’ll be great having my boys back again.”
And they didn’t have to be in a car again with the weirdness. “I have paperwork.”
He needed Duncan to write out a statement about the illegal recruiting ring and Dandy’s and Harry’s murders, as well as the attacks on Georgia, her dogs and Colt. He’d also need a statement from Terry Helms, and he wanted to speak to Sunny Wilkerson again. They were waiting to hear from Wade Parker in Florida, and Alice would need more questioning. One of them would hopefully cop to killing Jared. Then he could move on.
“Well...again...thank you for being here and sticking it out. And I wish you well in Atlanta, if I don’t see you again.” Her lip quivered, but she sucked it between her teeth and put on a brave face. “Have you got a place there already?”
“No. I’ll start that this upcoming week. What about you? Where will you stay? What are you going to do?” As of now she was homeless.
“I have insurance. I’ll probably end up rebuilding, but for now I’m going to see if Amber will let me and the dogs stay with her. Susan’s apartment doesn’t allow pets. That’s about all I know, which isn’t much, but it’s enough, I guess.”
Did he stick out his hand for a shake or...? He went with his gut and gave her a friendly hug. Kept it short. “I guess this is technically goodbye.”