Lakeside Mystery Series Box Set

by Gregg Stutts

  “You can’t be serious,” Max said. “You want me to believe Michelle stabbed Donnie Black and then tried to make it look like I was involved somehow? Why would she leave her fingerprints on the knife?”

  Now it was Mitchell and the other man who said nothing.

  “That’s just crazy,” Max said.

  “Mr. Henry, may I make a suggestion?” the man standing behind him said. He leaned close to Max’s ear again and said, “When you call your attorney, ask if he also handles divorce cases.”

  Chapter 53

  At 7:50 p.m., Michelle was still waiting to hear from Max or Willy. She tried Max’s cell phone again, but he still wasn’t answering. She tried Willy’s phone, but he didn’t answer either. She thought about calling Rose but didn’t want to worry her.

  She decided if there was no word in ten minutes, then she’d just drive to the field house herself. Surely Max wouldn’t be upset if she waited two hours before going to look for him. More than likely, he and Willy were already talking and neither of them thought to call or check their phones. That was probably a good sign. She hoped Max was listening to whatever wisdom Willy was speaking. It might be their only hope of making things work.

  She gave them five extra minutes, then re-heated the dinner she’d made, wrapped it in foil and got in her car and headed toward the high school. Fifteen minutes later, she pulled into the high school complex and drove around back toward the field house. It had been awhile since she’d driven there alone at night. At almost 8:30 on a Saturday night in November, it was a dark, lonely place, especially with some of the lights around the field house were out.

  The only vehicle she could see was Max’s truck, but there was no sign of Willy’s car. She got Max’s dinner and walked to the coach’s entrance and tried to open the door, but it was locked. There were no windows, so she couldn’t even tell if he was inside. She banged on the door several times, but he didn’t answer.

  Max was two and half-hours late, and here she was with his dinner standing in the cold, and he was nowhere to be found. She got back in her car and reached for her cell phone and realized she’d left it in the kitchen at home.

  Michelle made her way across the parking lot toward the exit. She didn’t know if she was more worried or angry. If Max and Willy had left in his truck to go eat somewhere, then Willy was going to get an earful as much as Max was. She turned onto the street to head back home. Her headlights illuminated an SUV across the street with a damaged front end.

  Chapter 54

  “I’d like my phone call now,” Max said.

  “Yeah, I don’t blame you,” Mitchell said. “I’d want mine, too.”

  He led Max to the room with a phone. “You’ve got five minutes,” he said. “Make it a good one.”

  In the twelve hours since he’d last been in the Bentonville police headquarters, he still hadn’t acquired his own lawyer, so he was back at square one. He needed a recommendation on a lawyer. Someone who could get this mess figured out quickly, so he could focus on Conway. So many critical hours had already been lost. He could feel the season slipping away minute-by-minute. Unfortunately, he had bigger problems to sort out.

  Willy was going to be his best bet for finding a good lawyer, but he had to let Michelle know what was happening. He could fill her in, then she could call Willy.

  What if Michelle really is setting me up?

  Max nervously laughed out loud at the absurdity. Michelle wasn’t involved any more than he was. She couldn’t have anything to do with Donnie’s death. She hadn’t killed him or put the knife under the seat of his truck. The police were trying to mess with his head. They were fishing. They didn’t have anything solid against him or anyone else.

  But how many innocent people figured there was nothing to worry about and later found out there was? Innocent people sometimes went to prison. He sat down at the desk and took a deep breath. He picked up the receiver and started to dial Michelle’s cell number, but his hand was shaking so much he pressed the wrong button. He hung up and started over.

  As he dialed, he tried to see the situation from the perspective of the police. They knew he’d cost Donnie his job. Maybe they knew how vindictive Donnie was. He even told them Donnie had threatened him. From their perspective, it probably looked like he had a reason to kill Donnie. Or that Michelle did. Or that Michelle had a reason to make it look like he did.

  He had to stop thinking like that. He was letting them get in his head. No one could dispute the fact that he’d been on the sidelines the entire 4th quarter. They said that Michelle had left her seat, but there was no way his wife would follow Donnie Black to the men’s room and knife him in the back. That was too ridiculous to even consider. And so was the idea that Michelle would have planted the knife in his truck.

  If you were going to set someone up for murder, then really set them up. Why do it in a way that gave them a clear alibi? Like having 12,000 eyewitnesses. The more he considered it all, the crazier it sounded. Surely, Michelle wasn’t involved. Not in killing Donnie. Not in setting him up. There was no way.

  After seven rings, it went to her voice mail. “I’m in the Bentonville police station. They think I’m involved in Donnie’s death. There was a knife in my truck. It had blood on it. And my fingerprints.” Max hesitated, then said, “And yours, too, Shelle. I need you to call Willy. Ask him to get me a good lawyer.”

  An officer opened the door and said, “Time’s up.”

  “Alright, Shelle, I gotta go. Please call Willy and find me a lawyer.”

  That’s when it occurred to Max it was Saturday night at 9:00. He wasn’t exactly sure how things worked, but he had the sinking feeling he wouldn’t be going home any time soon. If he was an actual suspect in Donnie’s death, then he would probably have to go before a judge. That surely wouldn’t happen until Monday. That meant he was going to be in jail for the weekend.

  As the officer led him to a cell, he realized the Conway game plan might not be his problem anymore. Bob Burns now had what he needed to get him fired.

  Chapter 55

  It was after nine o’clock when Michelle got home. She hurried inside, put the food down and found her phone. She felt relieved to see a missed call from Max. The message erased all relief though. She tried calling Willy again, but he didn’t answer.

  She didn’t want to worry Rose, but if Max was in jail, then Willy wasn’t with him. She looked at the time. Willy had left for the school almost two hours ago. Michelle dialed Rose’s number. She answered on the first ring.

  Michelle explained about the situation with Max and how he wanted a recommendation from Willy for a lawyer. There was silence for a moment, then Rose said, “Oh dear, so if Willy isn’t with Max, then…”

  “Rose, please don’t worry,” Michelle said. “I’m sure he’s fine. He might be out looking for Max.”

  “Willy left the house over two hours ago,” Rose said. “He said he was going to the high school to check on Max. Do you suppose he’s still there?”

  Michelle hated to be the one to tell her, but she had to. “Rose, I was just at the high school. I didn’t see Willy’s truck there.”

  “Oh dear,” Rose said. “What should we do? Maybe I should go look for him.”

  “Don’t do that, Rose,” Michelle said. “Stay where you are and I’ll come over.”

  “Maybe I should call the police then,” Rose said.

  Michelle was heading out the door while still talking to Rose. She felt terrible that she’d had to tell her Willy wasn’t at the school, which meant…Michelle didn’t know what it meant. She started her car, backed out of the driveway and said, “Rose, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Let’s not worry. I’m sure there’s a good explanation.”

  She hung up with Rose and stopped at the end of the street to search for the number for the Bentonville Police Department. A sergeant answered and confirmed that Max was being held, but “no” she couldn’t talk to him and “no” she couldn’t see him. She used a few words sh
e hadn’t heard come out of her mouth in a while and hung up.

  Michelle stomped on the gas as she turned left toward Rose’s house. She was too upset to notice the SUV that had been parked across the street from her house that was now following her. Ten minutes later, just a mile from Rose’s house, she also didn’t notice the upside down pick-up truck in the ditch.

  Chapter 56

  The cell door closed behind him. It sounded just like it did on television. There were two other guys in the cell with him. Both were asleep or passed out. Judging by the smell of alcohol, he guessed the latter. He sat down on a bench across from them. It looked like the cell could hold another four or five people. Hopefully, no one else would be joining them. The night was young though.

  It was all so surreal. Just like almost every day of the past two months. It felt like years, not months, ago that he fought with Michelle, left the house on Labor Day morning and came across the accident scene where Dante had died. How different would his life be now if he’d never noticed the skid marks on the street or the fact that there was rear-end damage to Dante’s car that hadn’t been there the previous night?

  He wouldn’t have known the police were involved in a cover-up. Jack wouldn’t have warned him to not get involved. Alex and Jerry wouldn’t have followed him to New Jersey and then chased him and Michelle back to Arkansas. He never would have known about the recruiting scheme Donnie Black was running through Max’s own football program. Donnie wouldn’t have lost his job and would still be alive.

  If he hadn’t snapped a picture of Dante’s accident scene, he never would have had the evidence to back up his claims. One picture taken with his cell phone had changed everything and eventually led him to a jail cell in Bentonville on a Saturday night.

  It didn’t take him long to come up with a list of things he didn’t like about being in jail. One of them was not having his yellow legal pad. Maybe it was the quiet, which surprised him, or the isolation or the necessity, but the gears were turning. Some things were starting to come into focus. He needed to be writing it all down.

  It couldn’t hurt to ask, so he called for a guard. When one came, Max said, “I don’t suppose it would be possible to get some paper and a pen, would it?”

  “Yeah, I’ll bring those when I bring your prime rib and baked potato.” The guard laughed. “No, it’s not possible to have paper and a pen.” He laughed again as he turned and walked away.

  “Are you sure you guys aren’t just sore losers, because we beat you last night?” Max yelled after him.

  He’d just have to manage without paper. It would be a good mental exercise to remember everything. He closed his eyes and thought carefully about the past two months. What had he learned? What needed to change? And most importantly, how did he still need to change?

  He imagined himself sitting on his back deck drinking a steaming mug of coffee and making a list on a legal pad:

  What are my expectations? Of life? Of God?

  What do I really believe?

  Can I truly forgive Michelle? Can our marriage survive the affair? And the pregnancy?

  Conway game plan. Do I even still have a job?

  Who is trying to implicate me in Donnie’s death? Why?

  Max mentally stared at his list. It was hard to prioritize. He couldn’t put any on hold. He needed answers to every question. And he needed them right now. He needed Willy’s help.

  He couldn’t have imagined Willy was twenty miles away needing his help.

  Chapter 57

  Michelle sat with Rose in her living room waiting on any word from Willy or the police. Rose had called them to report Willy missing. The Lakeside Police said they’d keep an eye out for Willy’s truck but told Rose not to worry that he’d probably just stopped off for a drink somewhere. She tried to tell them he’d never do that, but whomever she was talking to wasn’t listening.

  Every time a car drove by, Rose got up to see if it was Willy. Michelle felt terrible for her. She couldn’t imagine them not being there for each other. In just a few short weeks, she’d grown to love and admire them more than anyone else she knew, except maybe for her own parents. She couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to Willy and what that would do to Rose.

  She couldn’t help thinking about Chris and how he had tragically lost his wife in a car accident. It would never be easy to get over something like that, but the fact that he’d lost her the night before they were to fly to Paris made it all that much more painful. She remembered the pain in his eyes as he shared the story with her. She tried to recall the name of Chris’ wife, but couldn’t. It didn’t matter, but for some reason it bothered her that she couldn’t remember.

  While Rose made hot tea for them, Michelle pulled her phone out and typed in Chris’ last name, “car accident” and the date it happened. The results were slow to pull up.

  “Rose, do you have a Wi-Fi network?” Michelle asked.

  “Do I have a what?” Rose said, poking her head in from the other room.

  “Never mind,” Michelle said, not seeing one listed under networks on her phone.

  Her phone was still searching when Rose’s phone rang in the other room. A moment later, Michelle heard, “Oh dear!”

  Michelle hurried to the kitchen. “What is it, Rose?”

  “The police found Willy’s truck.”

  “What did they say?”

  “They’re taking him to the hospital. They wouldn’t tell me what was wrong.”

  “Grab what you need, Rose. We’re going to the hospital.”

  Michelle slipped her phone into her purse and remembered she still needed to find a lawyer for Max.

  Chapter 58

  Michelle parked outside the emergency entrance and helped Rose out of the car. They hurried as fast as they could to get inside. At the reception desk, Rose identified herself and was told a doctor would be right with them.

  A doctor appeared several minutes later and explained Willy’s condition. It appeared he had a concussion and possible internal bleeding. Rose asked to see him but was told he was unconscious and was about to go for a CT scan. The doctor assured Rose they were doing everything they could and he’d report to her as soon as he knew what they were dealing with.

  Michelle hugged Rose tight and could feel her trembling. “I don’t know what I’d do without him,” Rose said.

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Michelle said. “Willy is tough, Rose. You know that. He’s going to be okay.” Michelle wanted to believe her own words.

  Outside in the parking lot, a black SUV circled the parking lot, slowed behind Michelle’s car, then parked several spots away.

  Chapter 59

  Sunday, November 3

  It was the worst night of sleep he’d ever had. Only made worse by the fact that when he woke up, he realized the nightmare about being in jail was real. It wasn’t just a bad dream. He looked across at his cellmates. Is that what they were? Cellmates? For some reason, it didn't sound right, but he knew they weren't roommates. If they were his cellmates, then that meant he was their cellmate. And he didn't like the sound of that.

  The younger of the two was still sleeping. The older of the two looked like he was fighting off a hangover and reading a book. “Any idea what time it is?” Max asked him.

  “Not really, man. I don’t have a watch, but I think it’s almost time for breakfast,” the older man said.

  Breakfast? Max was starting to feel hungry, but he hadn't planned to eat breakfast in jail. What he needed to be doing was finalizing a game plan to beat Conway. He didn't have time to be in jail. “What time do they serve breakfast?" Max asked.

  "It’s usually not too long after I wake up," the man said.

  “What time do you normally wake up?" Max said.

  “Like I said man, I don't have a watch."

  Max glanced around the cell for a camera. This had to be some kind of a joke. He spotted the camera just outside the bars of the cell. He couldn't tell if it was a securi
ty camera or if he was being filmed for a practical joke show.

  It wasn't a dream or a joke though. He was in jail and an actual suspect in the death of Donnie Black even though he couldn’t possibly have been anywhere near Donnie. And the police knew that. Something else was going on. It wasn’t a something though. It was a someone. He just had no idea who it was.

  “Not to assume or anything, but it sounds like you've been here before," Max said.

  “Yeah, I've been here a few times before," the man said.

  “Do you mind me asking why you’re in here?" Max said.

  “Public intoxication," the man said. "I don't always know when to stop."