by Gregg Stutts
Chapter 42
Saturday, November 2
Despite getting home after 2:00 a.m., Max was awake at six o’clock. The Bentonville police had locked down the stadium as quickly as they could after finding Donnie’s body. Of course, the chances of whoever stabbed him just hanging around the stadium were slim. Whoever killed Donnie was long gone by the time the police closed the gates to the stadium—not to keep people out, but to keep people in.
The police used the stadium public address system to ask anyone who may have seen anything suspicious to please come forward. Max wasn’t sure if that generated any leads or not. Everyone was eventually funneled through a couple police checkpoints, one on each side of the stadium, where they were required to provide identification in the event the police had any reason to follow up.
He wasn’t able to see Michelle, Willy or Rose after the game, but texted with Michelle. She said Willy and Rose invited her to stay with them and Max agreed. The plan was to meet at their house for breakfast at eight o’clock.
He made a pot of coffee, poured a cup and stood on the back deck breathing in the cold November morning air. Sunlight was just beginning to peak through the trees. It was his first real opportunity to process the events of the previous day. It felt like a week ago, not a day ago, that he’d gone to the hospital with Bo to check on TJ and Carl. That was only the beginning.
There was the frantic search for Michelle. The confrontation with Donnie in his driveway. A much needed win over Bentonville. And the biggest shock of the day—Donnie Black was dead. But not just dead, murdered.
Under any other circumstances, he would have already been downloading game film and making notes on his legal pad. But something had changed when he couldn’t find Michelle.
He didn’t want to lose her. Not again. Somehow, some way, it was time to move past what she’d done. Being angry the rest of his life wasn’t an option. He took a sip of coffee, set his mug down on the railing and stretched. Without warning, his eyes filled with tears.
What’s going on with me?
The Bentonville win was the biggest win of his career, but the night would be remembered for something else. Donnie Black was dead. He’d never tell anyone, but he was glad. He wouldn’t miss Donnie at all. Still though, a man had been stabbed to death. It didn’t feel right to be happy about that. But it did mean Donnie’s harassment was over.
He had ninety minutes before breakfast. It was enough time to start on the film from the Bentonville game. He was pleased with how the offense had performed but was even more excited and surprised with how well the defense played. To hold a high-powered offense like Bentonville to just two touchdowns was a significant accomplishment. If it’s true that defense wins championships, then Lakeside might be on their way to one.
While he waited for the game film to load, Max poured another cup of coffee and realized how excited he was to see Michelle. He actually had butterflies in his stomach and just hoped she was looking forward to seeing him as much as he was her. As he sat down, there was a knock at the door.
It’s 7:30 on a Saturday morning. Who in the world...
Max opened the door and found himself face-to-face with four policemen.
Chapter 43
“Max Henry?” one of the policemen said.
“Yeah, I’m Max Henry. How can I help you?”
“We’d like to ask you a few questions,” one of them said.
“About what?” Max said.
“We’d like to talk with you about the death of Donnie Black,” the officer said.
“And your name is?” Max said.
“Lieutenant Mitchell with the Bentonville Police Department,” he said.
“What do you want to know?” Max asked.
“Can we come in and talk?” Mitchell said.
Max looked at the four officers standing at his door. His butterflies were worse, but for a different reason. Inviting them in made the feeling worse. He ignored the request to enter his home and said, “What exactly can I help you with?”
“Tell me about your relationship with Mr. Black,” Mitchell said.
“My relationship with Donnie Black?” Max said. “We didn’t have one.”
“Was there a problem between the two of you?” Mitchell said.
“Look, why don’t you just tell me what this is all about?” Max said. “You surely can’t think I had something to do with his death, do you?”
“How about we continue this conversation at police headquarters?” Mitchell said.
“I’m not going with you until you tell me what this is about.”
“Did you recently have an argument with Mr. Black?” Mitchell asked.
Max thought for a moment before answering. He knew he had nothing to hide and there was no way anyone could think he’d killed Donnie Black. There were over 12,000 witnesses who knew exactly where he was on Friday night when Donnie was stabbed. Still though, he’d also watched enough episodes of Law and Order to know the smart thing was to say nothing and request a lawyer. “Sure, let’s go have a talk, but I’d like my lawyer present.”
As he got into the back of the police car for the ride to Bentonville, he asked the two officers if either of them had a son who played for the Bentonville football team.
“I’ve got a nephew who plays linebacker,” one of them said. “Why?”
“I’m just wondering if you guys are being sore losers.”
Chapter 44
At police headquarters, they led Max to an interview room where he was left alone for ten minutes before Lieutenant Mitchell and another officer came in.
“Mr. Henry, can I get you a cup of coffee? Some water?” Mitchell said.
“No, I’m fine,” Max said, wondering why the sudden change in tone. “I’d just like to know what this is all about. Surely, you can’t think I had anything to do with killing Donnie Black.”
Mitchell and the other officer sat down at the table across from him. “Mr. Henry, let’s not go jumping to conclusions. We’re just trying to gather the facts.”
Max was clenching his jaw. Relax. “I don’t think I’m the one who’s jumping to conclusions. You’re the ones who seem to think I’ve done something wrong.”
Mitchell took a sip of coffee and nodded to the other officer who opened a laptop. He turned the screen so all three of them could see it, brought up a video and hit play. Max immediately recognized it was video from the security camera at the field house from the day Donnie had come to the field house and gotten in his face.
“Stop the tape,” Mitchell said. “Mr. Henry, can you tell me what’s going on there? Because from where I sit, it doesn’t look real friendly.” The Lieutenant, who reminded Max of Wilford Brimley, paused for a moment and added, “Can you see how someone might have a question or two about your relationship with Mr. Black?”
Max stared at the screen. It was frozen on the image where his hand was clenched in a fist. It was the moment he was calculating where to land the first punch. He had no doubt Donnie was doing the same…but now he was dead. And the police was interviewing Max.
“I believe I requested to speak to my lawyer,” Max said.
“Well, now listen Mr. Henry, it’s not like you’re under arrest or anything. We’re just talking,” Mitchell said.
Max looked at Mitchell and the other officer, then back at the screen and said, “Am I free to go?”
The room was quiet. Finally, Mitchell said, “Is there a reason you don’t want to cooperate, Mr. Henry?”
“Is there a reason you’re not answering my question?” Max said. “Am I free to go?”
“Yeah, you’re free to go,” Mitchell said. “But we’ll be in touch.”
They escorted Max from the building. Once outside, he realized he didn’t have a way to get home. He thought about going back inside and demanding they drive him the twenty miles back to Lakeside but didn’t. Instead, he called Michelle who said she and Willy would be there as soon as they could.
Chapter 45
It would take at least forty minutes for them to get to him, so Max walked down the street to the same coffee shop where he’d once tried to meet Dante’s mother. Instead, Jack Murphy had been the one to show up. At the time, he thought Jack was the cause of his problems. As it turned out, it was Donnie. And now it looked like someone was trying to implicate him in his death.
Max passed up the bowl he’d ordered last time and went with a regular cup of black coffee. He sat down at a table that looked out onto the street and watched a whirlwind of leaves whipping down the street. He took a sip and tried to figure out how the Bentonville Police would have so quickly suspected him being somehow involved in Donnie Black’s death. He’d only been dead for twelve hours when the police showed up at his door.
As he drank his coffee and watched people walking down the street, he decided it would be a good idea to talk to a lawyer. Of course, asking to speak to your lawyer had always made sense on television, but he wondered how it actually worked in real life. Was everyone supposed to have a lawyer? Because he didn’t. He wasn’t even sure he knew a lawyer.
Max finished his coffee, slid his mug across the table and checked the time. He should be at home breaking down game film and getting ready for the playoffs, not wasting time in a Bentonville coffee shop. Even in death, Donnie Black was making his life hard. Not that he’d ever wish Donnie dead.
But if I didn’t kill Donnie...who did?
Chapter 46
Max felt his stomach gurgle and growl. He hadn’t eaten anything before the police showed up at his door. The bagel the guy at the next table was eating was toasted and dripping with butter. Max went to the counter and ordered one with extra butter.
A few minutes later, one of the servers brought his bagel and refreshed his coffee. He looked around the room. It felt like enemy territory after having beaten the Tigers the night before. No one seemed to even recognize him though.
He went back to reading the sports section. Next up for Lakeside was Conway, a team from central Arkansas. Based on the win over Bentonville, Lakeside had moved up from the #8 seed to the #7 seed. That meant facing the #3 seed from the central conference. Bentonville had dropped from the #1 seed in the west conference, but as the #2 seed they still got a first round bye.
It was only quarter after nine, but thanks to the Bentonville Police, he already felt behind in preparing to face Conway on Friday night. He wished that was his only number one priority. There was still Michelle and facing the reality of raising another man’s baby. He knew people who adopted were doing that very thing, but it wasn’t forced on them because the wife slept with a former lover.
Take a deep breath and calm down.
How was he even supposed to act when Michelle arrived? What exactly was he supposed to feel? The past few years had been rough. The past six weeks had been a roller coaster. And the past few days had been equal parts infuriating and frightening. He reached in his pocket for his Rolaids, but all that was left was an empty wrapper.
Then the only person he trusted to help make sense of it all walked through the door. A moment later, Willy sat down.
“Where’s Michelle?” Max asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t worry about her. She’s fine,” Willy said. “I asked her if she would mind if I picked you up myself.”
Willy’s tone seemed serious. He started to reach for the Rolaids again. “Can I get you some coffee? Or something to eat?” Max said.
“No, I’m fine. We had Rose’s cinnamon rolls this morning,” Willy said with a big smile.
Max waited for whatever it was that Willy wanted to talk about, but Will was content to stare out the window. He was about to ask when Willy turned to him and said, “Max, there’s something we need to talk about.”
Chapter 47
Max took a bite of his bagel and hoped the dough would soak up some of his stomach acid. He wiped his mouth then sipped some coffee. He was trying to get a read on Willy but couldn’t. He’d never seen Willy look so serious and it was making him nervous. “Come on, Willy, what is it?”
“Max, do you remember the time you and I were at my house and you looked out at the view from our deck and said something about it being like heaven on earth?”
“Yeah, I remember. What about it?”
“Do you remember what I said to you?”
“I think so. You said something about it was supposed to be. Or something like that.”
“That’s right. Do you know what I meant by that?”
“I guess.”
Willy looked out the window again. Max waited for him to continue.
“Max, what do the first couple weeks of football practice look like?”
Max wasn’t sure what this had to do with anything, but he thought for a moment and said, “Well, aside from it being hot, it’s a lot of conditioning, meetings and focusing on the basics.”
Willy nodded and said, “By the basics, do you mean things like blocking and tackling?”
“Exactly. That and also how to run our basic offense and defense.”
“I’ve always found it helpful to revisit the basics on a regular basis,” Willy said. “The basics of life…of marriage…”
Willy seemed to be finished, but Max wasn’t sure. He was glad to still have some of his bagel to occupy him while Willy stared out the window.
“Max, you’ve been angry for a long time, haven’t you?”
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected Willy to say, but it sure wasn’t that. “Ah, yeah, I guess I have,” Max said.
“There’s really not any guessing about it, is there?” Willy said.
“No,” Max said. There was no point in trying to shade the truth from Willy. He’d know.
“Why do you think you’ve been so angry, Max?” Willy asked. “Bear with me a minute. I promise all this will make sense.”
The easy answer would have been to say he was angry about Sarah’s death, but that wasn’t the root. He knew it and Willy knew it. “I’ve been angry at God,” Max said.
“Why though?”
“Why? Really? Why have I been angry at God?” Max began to rise from his seat but sat back down.
“I haven’t lost a child Max, but I’ve experienced other pains and hardships in my life. Can I share with you something I had to come to terms with?”
“Go ahead,” Max said, loosening his grip on his chair.
“I would call this one of the basics of life. It’s like blocking and tackling,” Willy said. “I’ve learned to not mistake disappointment with life with disappointment with God.” Willy paused for a moment and looked at Max. “Does that make sense?”
“I guess so,” Max said.
Willy stared at Max and said, “So if one of your players said, ‘I guess I understand how to tackle,’ you’d be fine with that?”
Max shook his head and stuff the remaining bite of his bagel, which was really more like two bites. At least it gave him an excuse to not answer.
“I’m not trying to put you on the spot, Max, but this is important. It’s something I wrestled with for a long time.”
As he listened to Willy, a couple who’d been sitting nearby opened the door and stepped outside onto the sidewalk. Just before the door closed another man entered. He walked to the counter and studied the menu board. After placing his order, he stood at the counter and looked around the room. He seemed to look at Max just a moment too long.
Willy was saying something, but Max was now preoccupied with the man at the counter. He was trying to hard to look casual. And each time he glanced around the room, he hesitated a second too long when looking in his direction.
“I’m sorry, Willy,” Max said, “My mind wandered for a moment there. Would you mind if we continued our conversation on the drive home?” On their way to the door, Max looked the guy over and decided he was probably a Bentonville football fan.
Outside the coffee shop, Max zipped his jacket and looked over his shoulder as they walked to Willy’s truck. He was being wat
ched.
“Now that truck has seen better days,” Willy said, pointing to an SUV with a banged-up front end.
“Sure has,” Max said.
Chapter 48
On the drive back to Lakeside, Max replayed over and over what Willy had said. Don’t mistake disappointment with life with disappointment with God. It was easy to say. Just hard to do.
Early in his career, he’d been incredibly frustrated with the performance and effort of most sophomores. Every year, by the third week in August, his voice would be hoarse from yelling at them. They weren’t the problem though. His expectations were. The same boys that lacked talent and acted lazy often grew into starters or even team captains by the time they were seniors.
