The Lakeside Conspiracy

by Gregg Stutts

  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.

  And then he thought about it for a moment. Taking charge and doing things on his own hadn’t worked out so well. He couldn’t save Sarah. He’d almost lost his wife. For that matter, his football team was now 1-3. No, going it alone wasn’t such a great plan.

  He had to admit he had no idea what he was doing though. 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 had made that 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. But first he prayed, “God, please help me.”

  CHAPTER 66

  It was 6:30 p.m. 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, then 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.”

  “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. Max looked 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.

  The guys Max thought they’d gotten rid of had somehow found them again. And one of them was about to enter the restaurant.

  CHAPTER 67

  Michelle was still in the ladies room. Max had to figure something out quick. The guy was about to come 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 it wouldn’t end well. Plus, this guy might have a gun.

  Max 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!”

  Michelle quickly wiped her hands on her shirt and opened the door. “What’s wrong?” she said.

  “They’re here,” he said. “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. Max took Michelle’s hand and they ran down the hall. 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 next 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 these guys either wouldn’t think to or feel like searching through the woods for them. Maybe they’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 and then it hit him. “They must have put a GPS unit on the car when it was parked at the Windjammer,” he said. “It’s how they caught up to us in Ohio. It’s how they knew to find us here.”

  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, which was the direction toward the front of the restaurant and the main 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 stood just ten feet from them now. If he walked straight ahead, 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 guy took a step closer to the woods and stopped. He cocked his head slightly. He was listening for them. Max wished the wind would blow through the trees so it wouldn’t be so quiet. But there was no wind and 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 Max 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. Max 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 the guy, that is if he didn’t trip on the thick underbrush. The noise of him moving through the bushes would probably cause the guy to look toward the woods. And if it worked according to plan, that would be the instant Max would drive 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 this guy would 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 sprang from the woods. He 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. Max heard and felt the bone break and 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 was a sickening sound. And it was all over in two seconds. Michelle hadn’t even moved from her hiding spot.

  “Shelle, come on,” Max said.

  As Michelle, 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 Max’s still had its lights on and engine running.

  “Now what?” Michelle said.

  Max looked back at the guy he’d knocked out. He really didn’t want to know if he’d killed him. Hopefully he’d wake up soon with a broken nose and a terrible headache. “We can’t take our car,” he said. “Not unless we find the GPS and get rid of it.”

  “We can’t even get to our car,” she said.

  And then the phone Max had taken off the guy started to ring. Max looked at Michelle who looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. The caller ID said “Mike.” Max touched the screen to accept the call, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he dropped the phone on the ground as he heard someone on the other end saying, “Hello? Hey! Where are you?”

  Max watched as the guy still in the car opened his door and got out with a phone to his ear? He started walking quickly toward the restaurant. Max could hear him yelling, “Answer me! Alex? Where are you?” as he opened the front door to the restaurant and went inside.

  That’s when Max grabbed Michelle’s hand and started running toward their car. At the last second though, he saw the other guy’s car was still running, so he and Michelle quickly got inside and were out of the parking lot before the guy inside the restaurant even knew what was happening. A few minutes later, they were again headed south on highway 65 toward Arkansas.

  Max took a deep breath and exhaled. “Wow!” he said.

  “I can’t believe that just happened,” Michelle said.

  They rode in silence for a couple minutes. Both were trying to catch their breath and stop shaking. After he was able to talk again, Max said, “I think we learned something.”

  “What?” Michelle said.

  “Those weren’t professionals,” he said. “If you and I can get away from them, then they must be amateurs. Right?”

  “I guess,” Michelle said.

  “Think about it. No gun on the guy I knocked down. The other guy runs into the restaurant yelling his buddy’s name and leaves the car running. Who does that?” Max thought for a moment. “Yeah, there’s no way these guys are professionals. They’re freakin’ idiots!”

  “So now what?” Michelle said.

  “Think about who’s been involved in this,” Max said. “Dante and his mother. Jack Murphy. Bill Jackson. And these two clowns we just ditched.”

  “Okay?” Michelle said.

  “I still think we need to find out what we can from Bill Jackson,” Max said. “If I’m right, he’s going to trip himself up. It’s time to call him.”

  CHAPTER 68

  Max handed his phone to Michelle so she could get Bill’s number. He also gave her the wallet she took off the guy he’d knocked out. “Before you call Bill, check out the wallet,” he said. “We know their first names. Let’s see what else we can learn.”

  Michelle opened the wallet and looked through it. “He’s got $18,” she said. “His name is Alex Martin.” She kept looking. “He’s got a Bank of America Visa card. And it looks like he’s a member of the “Pioneers Athletics Foundation.”

  “Alex Martin?” Max said. “That sounds familiar. Why do I know that name?”

  Michelle finished going through the wallet and said, “That’s about it.”

  “Shelle, do a search for Alex Martin and Northern Arkansas State football,” Max said. “If I’m right, he played there a few years ago.”

  Michelle typed in the search and waited. “I don’t have a great connection here,” she said.

  While they waited, Max felt like some things were beginning to come together. He was convinced they weren’t dealing with professional criminals at all. If he had to guess, these were people who got in over their heads. Maybe they did something they shouldn’t have, something that didn’t seem too bad at first, but then it all spiraled out of control.

  Max remembered reading in one of Chuck Colson’s books about how Watergate had gotten out of control. At some point after the break-in, Nixon’s inner circle knew if they all stuck to their stories, the whole thing would blow over. All they had to do was hold the lie together and they’d get away with it. But they didn’t. John Dean broke ranks and blew the whistle. That’s when it all unraveled for Nixon’s administration.

  “Shelle, what if Dante heard or saw something he wasn’t supposed to?”

  “Like what?”

  Max thought for a minute, but couldn’t imagine what it could be. “I don’t know.”

  “Did Jack see the same thing?” she said. “How would they be connected?”

  “What if there is a connection somehow?” Max said. “What if they got involved in something that went bad? Maybe it just got out of hand. Maybe like Watergate, someone broke ranks. And when they did, it started to unravel and people had to be silenced.”

  Now Max wondered if Jack might have been legitimately trying to warn him. He’d seen Jack as the enemy. And he may have been, but he may have also regretted whatever he’d gotten into and was trying to make things right. Maybe whoever was in charge didn’t think he could trust Jack any longer.

  “Okay, I’ve got it,” Michelle said. “You were right. Alex Martin graduated from Northern Arkansas State four years ago. He played fullback.”

  “I knew it,” Jack said. “He looked like one. What else?”

  “Now he works for the Pioneers Athletics Foundation as an alumni liaison.”

  Alex Martin was a new piece to the puzzle. Somehow he was connected to all this, but he wasn’t a key player. Max was sure of that. He was just following
orders. He’d heard the way he’d talked on the phone. He’d said, “sir.” And it was someone Alex didn’t want to disappoint. Exactly how this was connected to Dante and the Lakeside football program was the piece Max was missing, but it was the piece that he needed to figure out to get them out of trouble.

  “How’s your connection?” Max said.

  “It’s good for now,” Michelle said.

  “Okay, it’s time to call, Bill,” he said.

  CHAPTER 69