by Gregg Stutts
CHAPTER 79
Michelle sat down at the table. Max had opened a bottle of Pinot Noir, so she poured a glass. He was finishing up the meal in the kitchen and hadn’t noticed her dinner attire. She took a sip of wine and said, “What are we having?”
Still focused on getting their dinner plated, he said, “Oh, don’t worry, it’s something you’ll like.”
“Well, it smells good, whatever it is,” she said.
“I promise you’ll love it,” he said.
“I’m sure I will. Anything for dessert?”
“Um, no, I hadn’t planned anything for dessert. Sorry.”
Michelle took another sip of wine. “That’s okay. We’ll figure something out.”
Max came out of the kitchen and saw Michelle already sitting at the table. Topless. He set the plates down and said, “Wow!”
Michelle took a sip of wine and said, “Yes, dear?”
Max sat down without taking his eyes off Michelle. “You know it’s really not fair.”
“What isn’t?”
“Oh come on, like you don’t know. Romance for a woman means dinner and talking and feelings and candles. Stuff like that.”
“So?”
“And then all you have to do is show your breasts and I can’t think about anything else.”
“Mmm, this smells so good,” she said. “What is it?”
“Chicken picatta,” he said. “So I’m really supposed to concentrate now?”
“Why don’t you say the blessing so we can eat,” Michelle said. “I’m really hungry.’
Max prayed, but with his eyes open.
They were quiet for a couple minutes while they ate, then Michelle said, “This is all going to work out, Max. You know that, right?”
“Do you mean us or everything happening in Lakeside?” he said.
“Both,” she said. Michelle took a sip of wine and set her glass down. “Max, there’s something I have to…”
“Hold on, Shelle,” Max said looking at his phone. “It’s Ms. Jones.”
CHAPTER 80
The cell phone reception was better on the deck so Max stepped outside to take the call. Michelle sipped her wine and waited for him. She really was confident everything would work out with Ms. Jones and the issues with the football program. It might get ugly for a few days, but the truth would come out. They’d be okay somehow.
She also believed their marriage would be okay, but that would depend on both of them being willing to forgive and put the past behind them. She’d already chosen to do that. Now Max would have to as well.
She was surprised he hadn’t asked about Chris yet. Maybe he’d already put the past behind them. Still though, she had to tell him. She had to be honest. Max had to know what he was putting behind them.
Michelle hadn’t planned on bringing it all up over dinner, but there would never be a good time. Of course, sitting there topless might seem manipulative now. Maybe it would be best to wait.
The door opened and Max came back inside.
“Everything okay?” Michelle asked.
“She’s nervous,” Max said. “She’ll be okay though. I told her what you said.”
“What did I say?”
“That everything would be okay.”
“Oh, right.”
Max took a bite of his dinner and swallowed the rest of his wine. “What were you saying before the phone rang?” Max said.
Michelle finished her wine too. “It can wait,” she said as she stood up and slowly sat down on Max’s lap with her legs straddling him.
CHAPTER 81
Over breakfast on Tuesday morning, Max and Michelle formulated a game plan. They were done playing defense. It was time to go on offense. Max’s coaching philosophy had always been to control the ball, control the clock and control the game. If his offense had the ball, that meant the other team didn’t. Keeping the other team on defense and off balance was the way to win.
For the time being, Max and Michelle would stay at the cabin in Eureka Springs. If necessary, they might even move Ms. Jones to one of the cabins if the Basin Park Hotel no longer felt secure. Max was confident though that he would be able to get things worked out sooner rather than later. For now though, he would spend his nights back at the cabin. It was way too risky to stay at their house in Lakeside.
Max and Michelle left the cabin at 9:05 a.m. The first thing they needed to do was go to the airport to pick up his truck and take it back to the cabin. Michelle would do that while he went to the high school. His first stop would be Bill Jackson’s office. He was going to give Bill the benefit of the doubt and assume he’d be willing to do the right thing when presented with the choice. If he didn’t cooperate, then Bill would receive adequate warning of the coming fallout.
Max didn’t plan to give Bill any advance notice he was coming. It wasn’t like you warned a defense about the plays you planned to run against them. The element of surprise would be on Max’s side.
At just past 10:30, Max parked his rental car in the lot outside Bill’s office. He was unnoticed as he entered the building and walked down the hall to Bill’s office. It had only been a few days since he’d been on school grounds, but it suddenly felt like foreign territory.
Bill’s receptionist looked surprised to see Max enter the waiting area outside Bill’s office. Max simply said good morning, opened the door to Bill’s office and walked in unannounced. Bill was even more surprised than his assistant.
“Good morning, Bill,” Max said as he took a seat across from Bill’s desk.
“Max?” Bill said, sounding confused. His reaction made it clear Max was the last person he’d expected to see in his office that morning. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought you wanted to meet, Bill?” Max said. “Did I misunderstand?”
“Ah, no, you didn’t misunderstand, but I’m not sure this is really the time or the place to do this,” Bill said.
“Do what exactly, Bill?” Max said, raising his voice slightly.
Bill came out from behind his desk and pulled a chair up next to Max, presumably to get Max to lower his voice. “You don’t have Dante’s mother here, do you?” Bill said.
“No, I don’t,” Max said. “Should I?”
“No, no, that’s good,” Bill said. Max could see Bill was trying hard to gather himself and assess the situation.
Max had no intention of letting that happen. “Bill, I’ve always liked you,” Max said. “So that’s why I came to you first.”
“What are you talking about Max?” Bill said.
“I’m talking about doing the right thing,” Max said. He looked at Bill and let the words sink in. “I’m talking about giving you the chance to do the right thing.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bill said. “I should be the one giving you the…”
Max cut him off, “Don’t, Bill. Don’t go there. I told you I came to you first so you could do the right thing. If you want to play a game with me, then you’re going to lose.”
Bill was silent, but Max could see the tension on his face. His eyes narrowed. His jaw was clenched. He looked ready to either run for his life or take a swing at Max. Either would have been fine with Max, but after everything he’d been through over the past month, he’d have preferred Bill take a swing. He didn’t though.
“Max, you need to listen. You need to understand who you, who we’re, dealing with,” Bill said. “They’re feeling backed into a corner right now. They admit things got out of hand. People got hurt, but…”
Now it was Max who could feel his jaw clenching. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Got hurt?” Max stood up. “Got hurt?” His voice was getting louder. “People didn’t get hurt, Bill. Damnit! People died.” Max had never been as angry as he was at Bill’s pathetic statement. He stood up and looked down at Bill.
“Max, please sit down,” Bill said. “Let me try to explain.”
“Bill, I don’t want an explanation,” Max said. “I’m simply g
oing to ask you one question and I want you to tell me the truth.”
“What do you want to know?” Bill said.
“Were you aware that Jack Murphy was funneling money from the Pioneer’s foundation to Dante’s family?” Max said.
Bill sat quietly. Max could see he was thinking carefully about his answer. “Yes,” Bill said finally.
“Then I have another question,” Max said. “Do you know who killed Dante?”
Bill was sweating now. “Possibly,” he said.
“Possibly? What does that mean?” Max said.
Bill stood up and began to pace around his office. He removed a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead. “Look, when Jack first came to me with this, I told him no. I wanted no part of it. I told him there was no way I would clear Dante to play football here.”
“So what happened?” Max said.
Bill sat down behind his desk and turned to look out the window. It was the look of a man who knew his days of being the Athletic Director were numbered. “They took pictures,” Bill said.
“What pictures?” Max said. “What are you talking about?”
Bill just looked defeated now. “Of me. With a student,” he said. “They set me up.”
“What happened?” Max said.
“It was a few days after I told Jack that Dante was ineligible to play at Lakeside,” Bill said. “She was a senior. She played on the volleyball team. She was here at school late one night. Said her car wouldn’t start. She asked me for a ride.”
“And?” Max said.
“She was eighteen, by the way.” Bill said. “I’m not making an excuse. I’m just saying it wasn’t anything illegal.” Bill stared out the window for a moment, then said in a defeated voice, “She kissed me. I kissed her back. Someone took pictures.”
“Then what happened?” Max said.
“The next day, I got an email with the pictures attached. The email said to clear Dante to play or the pictures would be all over the Internet.”
“Who sent it?”
“I don’t know,” Bill said. “It was some made up email address. I’m sure Jack was behind it.”
“Who killed Dante?” Max asked.
Max could see Bill weighing his options. Calculating his odds. Did he stand a better chance of jumping on board with Max or could he possibly ride this out? “You still don’t know what you’re up against, Max. This isn’t some little 2A school we’re talking about. This is the university, Max. This is the Pioneers Foundation. They’re not going to let you or me tarnish their image.”
Max was no longer angry. Just resolute. “You had your chance, Bill. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Max opened the door and quietly closed it behind him. As he walked to his car, he mentally checked off the first meeting. It had gone as he’d expected, but not as he’d hoped. He imagined Bill was already on the phone with someone in the Pioneers Foundation office. And that was fine with Max. It would be good for them to sweat.
CHAPTER 82
Bill picked up his phone and placed the call. “Max just left my office,” Bill said.
“What?” the man said.
“It didn’t go well,” Bill said.
“Did you find out where the mother is?”
“No, I didn’t have a chance,” Bill said.
“That’s very disappointing,” he said.
“Well, you better come up with a way to stop him,” Bill said. “And you better do it fast.”
“I’m already on it,” he said. “I obviously can’t count on you.”
CHAPTER 83
Max had given Bill a chance. He was sorry Bill chose the way he did. Obviously, he thought he had a better shot at surviving by sticking with the Pioneers. He might have made the same choice had he been in his shoes. Max knew his plan was risky, but he was also confident it was his best chance to make all this right. If he was successful, a lot of people would lose their jobs or be disgraced and some would even go to prison.
If his plan failed, at a minimum, he’d be the one without a job and there’d be no way for him to continue living in Lakeside. At worst, well, he didn’t want to even think about the worst case. Two people were already dead, so someone was willing to go to great lengths to cover this up. They probably wouldn’t have a problem with one more death.
His next meeting would have to take place the following night. It would decide everything. As he drove back to Eureka Springs, he was playing out the various scenarios. The meeting could go in any number of directions. Max really had no idea, which way it would go. He’d know in just about twenty-four hours though.
The closer he got to Eureka Springs, the more his thoughts shifted to Michelle. They’d talked more in the past few days than they had in the past six months. And he felt closer to her than he had in years. He knew she was feeling the same way. He was looking forward to introducing her to Willy and Rose. He just hoped there’d even be a chance to do that.
Before heading to the cabin, Max stopped at the Basin Park Hotel to check on Dante’s mother and assure her everything would be okay. She was a big part of the plan. Actually, she was the plan. Without her, Max could make allegations. He could share suspicions. He could accuse any number of people of various crimes and cover-ups, but without Ms. Jones he knew his story would lack credibility.
She met him in the lobby where they talked for several minutes. Max reviewed the schedule with her for the next day. She understood the plan and said she’d be ready. Max gave her a hug and wished her goodnight.
If Max hadn’t been so preoccupied with his plan for the next day, he might have noticed the car across the street that had followed him back to Eureka Springs.
CHAPTER 84
Max and Michelle hadn’t slept well. At 7:10, Max got out of bed and made some coffee. When it was finished brewing, he poured a mug for himself and brought one to Michelle. They sat in bed, drank their coffee and reviewed what they both needed to do that morning to implement their plan. It went without saying that the rest of their lives were riding on whatever happened in the next six hours.
It was still hard for Max to believe what he was involved in. This was a Wednesday. October 1st. He should have been thinking about the Ft. Smith Northside game. Instead, he was trying to save his life, his career and his marriage. Not necessarily in that order.
Dave Turner was coaching the team in his absence. Maybe permanently depending on today’s outcome. As Max played out the various scenarios in his mind, he concluded that either he would be vindicated or he would be publicly humiliated and have no choice but to pick up and leave town. If things really went bad, he could be arrested. There wasn’t any evidence he’d killed Jack, but that might not matter. He also knew he could be putting his and Michelle’s lives in danger.
At noon, Max was ready to leave the cabin. He would time it to arrive at the meeting when they were part way through the agenda. That would again give him the element of surprise. He kissed Michelle goodbye and said, “Try to get there at exactly 1:05,” he said. “Use the back door.”
“We’ll be there,” Michelle said.
CHAPTER 85
Michelle still had a few minutes until she had to leave to pick up Ms. Jones. That would put them at the meeting location just before 1:00. It would only take a minute or so to go in through the back door and make their way to the meeting room. She’d asked Max why he was risking cutting it so close. He’d said he didn’t want to get their too early and be noticed. It would only take one wrong person in a small town to blow the whole thing.
Michelle was nervous. She knew Max had come up with the plan he thought would work, but there was still so much that could go wrong. Everything hinged on the reaction of one person. Max was confident it would be a reaction in his favor, but there was no guarantee.
By dinnertime, she and Max would either be celebrating a victory or licking their wounds and trying to figure out how they would pick up the pieces. Or she might be visiting Max in jail.
; Even though she was nervous, she felt at peace. They were doing the right thing. How others responded was out of their hands.
At 12:10, Michelle started Max’s truck and headed toward the hotel. She called Ms. Jones to let her know she was on the way. After seven rings, it went to voice mail. Michelle tried again, but with the same result. She tried calling Max to let him know, but he didn’t answer either.
CHAPTER 86
The Carroll County Touchdown Club met for lunch during football season every Wednesday from 12:30 to 1:30 at the Best Western. This was the twenty-third year for the club to meet. Lunch was usually barbecue or Charlie’s Chicken. The meal usually wrapped up by 12:50, there were a few announcements and a prayer and then the featured speaker came on around 1:00.
