Lakeside Mystery Series Box Set

by Gregg Stutts

  “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, “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 high school we’re talking about. This is the university, Max. This is the Pioneers Foundation. They’re not going to let you or me or anyone else tarnish their image.”

  Max was no longer angry. Just resolute. “You had your chance, Bill. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He 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 paused. “And I’m very tired of being disappointed.”

  “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

  He gave Bill a chance. It was too bad Bill chose the way he did. Obviously, he thought he had a better shot at surviving by sticking with the Pioneers. Max might have made the same choice if he was in Bill’s shoes.

  It was a risky plan, but he was 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 stay 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 day. It would decide everything. As he drove back to Eureka Springs, he played out the various scenarios. The meeting could go in any number of directions. He 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 and he knew she was feeling the same way. He couldn’t wait to introduce her to Willy and Rose.

  Before heading to the cabin, he 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 his plan. Actually, she was the plan. Without her, Max could only 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. He reviewed the schedule with her for the following day. She said she understood the plan and would be ready. He gave her a hug and wished her goodnight.

  If he hadn’t been so preoccupied, he might have noticed the car across the street that had followed him back to Eureka Springs.

  Chapter 84

  Wednesday, October 2

  Max and Michelle didn’t sleep well. At ten minutes after 7:00, Max got out of bed and made 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 him to believe what he was involved in. He should have been thinking about the Fort Smith Northside game. Instead, he was trying to save his life, his career and his marriage. Not necessarily in that order. And 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 if things went badly, he would very likely be arrested before the end of the day. There wasn’t any evidence he’d killed Jack, but that might not matter. And even worse than being arrested, he could be putting his and Michelle’s lives in danger.

  At noon, he was ready to leave the cabin. He was going to 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. “And use the back door.”

  “We’ll be there,” Michelle said. “You can count on it.”

  Chapter 85

  Michelle still had a few minutes until she had to leave to pick up Ms. Jones. That would get them to the meeting just before one o’clock, leaving them 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 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. Perfect timing and the element of surprise would be key.

  Michelle was nervous. So much could go wrong. And everything was hinging on the reaction of one person. Max was confident it would be a reaction in his favor, but there was no guarantee. When it came right down to it, the entire day was going to be one big roll of the dice.

  By dinnertime, she and Max would either be celebrating a major victory or licking their wounds and trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces of their lives. Or quite possibly, she might be visiting Max in jail. She was sure they were doing the right thing though. How others responded was out of their hands.

  At ten minutes past noon, Michelle started Max’s truck and headed toward the hotel. She called Ms. Jones to let her know she was on the way, but after seven rings, it went to voice mail. She tried again with the same result. She tried calling Max to let him know, but he didn’t answer either.

  So much for perfect timing.

  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 in Lakeside. This was the twenty-third year for the club to meet. Lunch was usually barbecue or Charlie’s Chicken. The meal usually wrapped up a little before one o’clock, followed by a few announcements and a prayer and then the featured speaker came on at one.

  Max had been to the meeting many times. The food was always good and the speakers were usually top-notch guys, mostly former players or coaches. The scheduled speaker for today would be Joe Patterson, the Pioneer’s head coach. Whoever had scheduled Coach Patterson months earlier could not have known just how critical that piece would be to Max’s plan.

  Not only would Joe Patterson be giving a speech, but Max would be in attendance and giving an unscheduled speech of his own.

  Chapter 87

  It was only a five-minute drive to the Basin Park Hotel from their cabin. Michelle tried calling Ms. Jones several more times, but still wasn’t getting an answer. There wasn’t time to park and go in
side looking for her, but she had no other choice. She found a parking spot in the lot across the street, pulled in and hurried toward the hotel.

  She was about to cross the street when a man stepped out of the hotel. She never would have recognized him if it wasn’t for the black eyes and bandage across the bridge of his nose. It was the guy Max had knocked unconscious outside the restaurant in Ozark. She wasn’t happy to see him but was glad to know Max hadn’t actually killed him. The last time she’d seen him, she had to step over his sprawled-out body.

  She stopped in her tracks and quickly turned her head, hoping he wouldn’t see her. She ducked into a coffee shop across the street and waited. He stood in front of the hotel looking up and down the street. She didn’t know if he was looking for her, Max or Ms. Jones. She could only hope Ms. Jones was safe.

  She tried calling Max again, but still didn’t get an answer. She didn’t know what to do and had to let him know she would be late. She tried calling Ms. Jones again. As she listened to one ring after another, she prayed Ms. Jones would answer.

  And then she felt a tap on her shoulder.

  Chapter 88

  Michelle screamed and dropped her phone. She turned around to see Ms. Jones standing there. The four other people in the coffee shop stopped what they were doing and stared.

  “Ms. Jones, you scared me. Thank God it’s you. What are you doing here?”

  “Hidin’ from the same fella you are.”

  “What happened? How did he find you?”

  “I don’t know how. Just know that he did.”

  Michelle’s heart was pounding as she bent down and picked her phone up. When she turned it over, she saw the screen. It was shattered.

  “I’m sorry about your phone,” Ms. Jones said. “I didn’t mean to scare ya, honey.”

  “It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re okay.” Michelle put her useless phone in her purse and said, “We’ve got to get out of here. Max needs us to arrive in…” Michelle looked at the clock on the wall, “…forty minutes.”

  Alex Martin, broken-nose-guy, was still standing outside the hotel. Watching. And waiting.

  “How did you know he was looking for you?” Michelle asked.

  “I came downstairs earlier this morning to get some breakfast,” she said. “I heard this man at the front desk saying he had a delivery for me. I didn’t let him see me. I stayed around the corner as he was trying to get the nice young man at the desk to give him my room number. He wouldn’t give it to him, so he asked the clerk to call my room. While they were busy doing that, I walked right out the front door and came over here.”

  “That was very smart,” Michelle said.

  “Well, I recognized that man from when I moved to Lakeside. Him and another man unloaded our truck for us.”

  Alex Martin wasn’t budging from in front of the hotel. And Michelle couldn’t risk walking outside now. One glance is all it would take for him to see them.

  “Ms. Jones, do you have your phone with you?” Michelle asked.

  “It’s in my room,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d be leavin’ in such a hurry.”

  Michelle looked at the clock again. There was no way they would make it to the meeting on time. And there was no way to let Max know. She didn’t remember his cell phone number and her phone was useless. She said to the woman behind the counter, “I’m sorry to bother you, but could I borrow a phone and a phonebook?”

  The young woman handed Michelle a cordless phone and said, “Here, you can use this. Let me see if we have a phonebook somewhere.” She started to look for the phonebook when Michelle said, “Actually, I just need the phone number for the Basin Park Hotel.”

  The young woman looked at her and pointed across the street. “Um, you know it’s just right over there, right?”

  Michelle had to resist saying what she was thinking. “I understand where the hotel is. Maybe you could just pull the number up online for me?”

  Michelle watched as the woman typed in the search on a laptop. A moment later, she turned the screen around for Michelle to see the number.

  “Ms. Jones, please be ready to move fast. As soon as you see Alex Martin head back inside the hotel, we’re going out the front door to the left and down to the parking lot across the street.”

  “I’ll move as fast as I can,” she said. “Just don’t expect me to do no runnin’.”

  To say that Ms. Jones didn’t exactly have the body of a sprinter was kind. Michelle just hoped they’d have enough of a head start. She punched in the number on the phone and heard it begin to ring.

  “Basin Park Hotel, Diantha speaking, how may I help you?”

  “Hi Diane, I…”

  “Diantha.”

  “I’m sorry?” Michelle said.

  “Diantha,” the woman said. “My name is Diantha.”

  “What did I say?” Michelle asked.

  “You said ‘Diane.’ It’s a common mistake.”

  Michelle didn’t say what she was thinking. “Alright, Diantha, I’m meeting a man there for lunch today. He may be hanging around in the lobby. You’ll recognize him by his broken nose.”

  “Oh, yes,” she said. “He’s here.”

  “Great,” Michelle said. “Would it be possible to hand him the phone for a moment? My cell phone is broken, so I don’t have his number.”

  Michelle could hear Diantha calling out, “Sir? Sir? You have a call.”

  The moment Alex Martin stepped back inside the hotel, Michelle set the phone down on the counter, grabbed Ms. Jones by the hand and said, “Hurry!”

  Chapter 89

  Max was still driving the rental car. With the tinted windows, a baseball cap and sunglasses, he felt safe waiting in the parking lot for a few minutes. It was twenty minutes to one. He planned to enter the room at the exact moment when head coach, Joe Patterson was beginning to speak. He would walk to the head table and sit in Joe’s seat and wait for an opportune moment. Of course, Max was prepared to not even make it all the way to the head table. Chances were good, he’d be stopped before he got there.

  If his timing was right, Michelle and Ms. Jones would enter the room five minutes later. That was the plan anyway. He was well aware of how often plans were executed as drawn up. Hardly ever, at least not in the hundred plus football games he’d coached. The problem with a plan was that the other guy always had a plan to try and stop your plan. The guy who usually won was the one who made better adjustments.

  He checked the time. Michelle should be fifteen minutes away with Dante’s mother. He pulled his phone from his pocket and saw several missed calls from Michelle. His heart sank as he tried calling her back. After numerous rings, it went to voice mail. He tried texting her but didn’t get a response. He tried calling Ms. Jones, but after seven rings he heard her voice mail greeting.

  In less than fifteen minutes, He would be walking into the lion’s den. Having Dante’s mother there was absolutely essential. Without her, he knew he could end up sounding like a crazy man. He also knew it would not be a friendly audience. This was like playing a road game against your long-time rival. No one in the room today would be happy to hear what he had to say. They were there to hear the beloved coach, Joe Patterson, not Max’s ravings about a conspiracy in Lakeside.

  At seven minutes to one, Max saw Donnie Black, the Executive Director of the Pioneer’s Athletic Foundation walk outside talking on his cell phone. He couldn’t hear anything but could see Donnie was not happy. He walked around to the side of the building, clearly upset at someone as he gestured wildly with his free hand.

  He really needed Donnie to go back inside. The plan wasn’t going to work if he saw Max coming across the parking lot.

  Chapter 90

  Michelle shoved the door open and pulled Ms. Jones onto the street. They made a left and hurried down the sidewalk. There was a flight of stairs that led down to the parking lot. Eureka Springs was built on the side of hill, so almost anywhere you went you were walking up or down a hill or flight of
stairs.

  If there was good news, it was that they were walking down the stairs. The bad news was that Ms. Jones seemed to be stuck in first gear. Michelle held her hand as they descended the stairs and tried to coax her to go faster, but with little success. Michelle looked behind them and didn’t see Alex Martin. Not yet, at least. She tugged just a little harder on Ms. Jones’ arm.

  After what felt like an eternity, they reached Max’s truck. Michelle looked at Ms. Jones and the height of Max’s truck and realized they had a problem. Then she looked up the hill and saw Alex Martin taking the steps two at a time in pursuit and realized they had an even bigger problem.