Lakeside Mystery Series Box Set

by Gregg Stutts

  Michelle watched Rose stroke Willy’s hair as if willing him to wake up. She leaned close to Willy’s ear for several minutes, whispering to him or praying or both. A few minutes later, the main doctor treating Willy stopped in to give them an update. “The latest CT scan is still showing some swelling around his brain. It’s not unusual and I’m not alarmed. I had just hoped by today we could begin waking him up. I’d like to give it another day though,” he said. “Do you have any questions?”

  Rose never stopped holding Willy’s hand. She looked at the doctor and said, “I just want him to be okay.” And then Rose started to cry. Michelle pulled a chair up next to her and hugged her.

  “I’m not worried,” the doctor said. “I suspect he’s a pretty tough guy. He’s going to be fine.”

  The doctor said he’d be back later to check on Willy’s progress and left. After a moment, Rose leaned close to Willy’s ear again. This time, Michelle could hear what she was saying. “Lord, you’ve blessed me with over 50 years with this man. I just want you to know how grateful I am. I sure didn’t do anything to deserve him. Now I want to ask you to heal him. Make the swelling go down so we can go home. Amen.”

  Michelle prayed silently for the same thing…and that she and Max would last as long as Willy and Rose.

  Chapter 68

  “Max, let me start by apologizing,” Bob said.

  Max was stunned. That was the last thing he expected to hear.

  “The way I treated you the other day…well, I’m just very sorry,” Bob said.

  Max wasn’t sure how to respond.

  “Look, it’s a long story and I’d rather not get into it over the phone,” Bob said. “Can you meet me in my office around noon? I’ll have my assistant get us some lunch. Do you like Feltner Brothers?”

  “Yeah, I like Feltner Brothers,” Max said. “Double cheeseburger. No mustard. Onion rings. Unsweetened tea.”

  “Okay, got it,” Bob said.

  “Bob, I guess I need to ask you. Do I have a job? Because of the arrest, I mean. My lawyer said the charges could be dropped as early as Wednesday.”

  “Look, Max,” Bob said. “You’ve still got your job, but I’m going to ask you to work with me. I’m going to need you to step aside for a few days. If the charges get dropped, then you’re right back on board. Until then though, you can be involved, but not…officially, if you know what I mean.”

  “Okay, I understand,” Max said.

  “I’ll explain things at lunch.” Bob was quiet for a moment, then said, “Max?”

  “I’m here.”

  “Watch your back.”

  Bob hung up. Max sat down on a bench outside the coffee shop. Bob was nervous. Even scared. Then Max realized the last two people who told him to watch his back were dead.

  Chapter 69

  Michelle had that feeling she was forgetting something. She’d left a message for Max, but guessed he was still in jail. She hoped the lawyer she hired was working on getting him out. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to remember what else she needed to do. Then it hit her.

  She opened her phone, looked under “recent searches” and found the one she was looking for. She hit search and waited. A moment later, numerous results popped up. She read two articles about the accident in which Chris’ wife died. It seemed to happen just the way he described it.

  His wife was on her way home from the store when about a mile from their home, a drunk driver ran a red light and hit the driver’s door. She survived the initial impact and lived long enough for Chris to get to her but died at the scene.

  Michelle scrolled down and found several more articles that contained the same story. At the end of one of the articles, she scrolled through some of the comments. All of them offered condolences. Most were ready to put the drunk driver away for life. A few thought the death penalty was in order. She was just about to stop reading when one comment in particular caught her attention.

  Someone with the name “JerseyGirl97,” shared two pieces of information Chris never mentioned. She wondered if JerseyGirl97 had ever gone to the police with what she knew.

  Chapter 70

  Max called the assistant coaches and informed them of Bob’s decision to suspend him until the legal process had run its course. He said he’d meet with them “unofficially” an hour before practice at the field house.

  A gust of wind whipped down the street pulling the few remaining leaves off the trees. The temperature dropped five or ten degrees within minutes. Still no text or call from Willy. He got up and went inside the coffee shop to stay warm.

  To the girl behind the counter, he said, “I’ll just have a small coffee.” The girl turned to pour him a cup, but he said, “Wait. I changed my mind. I had this drink here about six weeks ago that came in a bowl or a really big cup. It had some whipped cream swirled on it and it sort of tasted like a cinnamon roll.”

  The girl knew exactly what it was and said she would have it right out for him. Max sat down at the table where he and Willy had been, which reminded him to try Willy’s phone again. Still no answer. He was really going to give Willy a hard time about ignoring his calls.

  A few minutes later, Max’s bowl of coffee was delivered. He took a sip and gave her a thumbs-up. “Do you suppose I could borrow a pen and paper?” he asked.

  She brought them to him and he wrote: “His mercies never cease. His mercies begin afresh each morning.” He was going to do his best to not forget that. Along with a lot of other things. He didn’t have to understand everything. He didn’t always need to know the plan. It was enough that God knew. At least that was how he’d try to think from now on.

  Somewhere he’d read that life was like going for a walk at night. You could only see a few steps in front of you, but that was enough to make the entire trip. By nature, he wanted a plan. And he wanted it to be his plan. If it was his plan, then there was no guesswork. No wondering. No faith. But that was not how God did things.

  He was about to write down some questions to ask Willy when his phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket and saw it was a text message from Michelle, “Call me as soon as you can.”

  Chapter 71

  Max stepped outside as he placed the call. Michelle answered on the first ring.

  “Shelle, what is it? What’s wrong?”

  He could hear her take a deep breath and then exhale. “It’s Chris. I think he’s here.”

  “Wait, hold on, Shelle. What are you talking about?”

  “I’ve been reading some stuff online and I think I saw him last night in the parking lot. He was…”

  “Wait, Shelle, what parking lot? Where were you?”

  “The hospital. I’m still here,” she said.

  “Shelle, what’s wrong? Why are you at the hospital? Is it the baby?”

  “No, it’s not me.” She paused. “It’s Willy. He was in a car accident. He’s got a concussion.”

  “How bad is it? Is Rose okay?”

  “Yes, she’s okay, but Max, I’m afraid. I think Chris is in Lakeside.”

  “Alright, Shelle, it’ll be okay. I just need you to come get me in Bentonville. I’m in the coffee shop across the street from the police department.”

  “Okay, I’m on my way,” she said.

  “Shelle, are you okay to drive?”

  “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I’ll see you in thirty minutes.”

  Max went back inside and sat down. The bowl of coffee wasn’t very appealing now. He looked at what he’d written just moments earlier. He desperately wanted to believe it.

  Chapter 72

  It was 10:00 a.m. If Michelle picked him up no later than 10:40, then he’d have enough time to stop by the hospital to see Rose and Willy before meeting with Bob at noon. He thought about canceling the meeting with Bob so he could stay at the hospital, but there was something in Bob’s voice. He was afraid of something. Or someone.

  Max racked his brain trying to figure out what would have Bob so scared. He’d seen him sitting wit
h Donnie at the Bentonville game. Had Bob done something to cross Donnie? What if Bob had something to do with Donnie’s death? Could one of Donnie’s associates now be after Bob? That sounded too crazy. He was letting his thoughts get away from him. What possible reason would Bob Burns have to kill Donnie? And even if there was some crazy reason, would it make any sense for him to murder Donnie at a football game? Where anyone could have seen it?

  Why was Bob afraid then? Or was he even afraid? Maybe he was just afraid for Max, not himself. He’d warned him to watch his back. He didn’t say anything about needing to be careful himself.

  He’d know about Bob’s concerns soon enough. The equally pressing matter was Chris. Max hoped the Chris situation was behind him. His calls and texts to Michelle stopped after he warned him to leave her alone. Apparently, he hadn’t listened. Well, if he wanted to cause problems, then he was going to find out just how much of a problem Max could be for him.

  He brought his bowl to the counter and said, “This is delicious, but can I just get a cup of black coffee?” And before she could ask, he said, “Any kind is fine. No room for cream. Just black. In whatever size the medium cup is called.”

  He sat back down and began making notes. He wrote questions for Willy. Topics for discussion with Michelle. Questions he had about God. Then he started writing down names. Dante. Jack. Donnie. Bob. He circled the names. He drew arrows that led to questions and relationships between them. Then he wrote down Chris’ name. And then he drew a line from Chris to “baby.”

  Then he wrote down another person. God. That was the person who generated the majority of questions. Most of which had no answers.

  He finished his coffee and realized he’d lost track of time. It was now 10:50. Michelle should have already arrived.

  He called her phone. But she didn’t answer. He tried again. She still didn’t answer.

  He sent a text: “Are you okay?”

  Chapter 73

  Max watched a gust of wind blow leaves and bits of trash down the street. The few people on the sidewalk lowered their heads as they walked into the wind. It was a few minutes after 11:00 when he saw Michelle’s car stop in front of the coffee shop. He hurried out and got into the passenger seat.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late,” she said. “I forgot my phone, so I didn’t have a GPS and I took a couple wrong turns. I’m really sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Shelle,” he said. “No big deal.”

  Michelle pulled away from the curb and made the turn back toward Lakeside. Max explained about the phone call from Bob Burns and the meeting at noon. There wouldn’t be time to stop at the hospital first.

  “Now tell me why you think Chris is in town,” he said.

  “I thought I saw him in the parking lot last night, but I wasn’t sure. He was there one minute and gone the next. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just tired,” she said.

  “You said something about reading stuff online,” Max said. “What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t know, Max, I’m probably just being paranoid.”

  They rode in silence for a few minutes. Max was trying to piece together everything that was happening. Any one incident wasn’t unusual or suspicious, but was there a pattern he couldn’t yet see?

  Donnie threatened him. He warned him to “watch his back.” And now Donnie was dead. Stabbed in the back in the men’s room during the Bentonville game.

  Bob Burns was looking for a way to fire Max. He was even digging around his assistant coaches to find anything he could use against him. Max knew Bob sat with Donnie at the game along with the big bouncer-looking guy, JD. But now that Donnie was dead, Bob seemed scared.

  Someone had followed him the day he’d gone to the park to look for Michelle. He assumed Donnie had someone tailing him for whatever reason, but he’d dealt with that guy by backing into him and setting off his airbag.

  Two of his key players were injured when they lost their brakes on the way to school. He might not have thought about it twice if they weren’t integral to the Bentonville game plan, a plan they’d just changed. But would someone really target two high school kids? For what possible reason? It sounded crazy to even think it.

  Then there was the night his truck wouldn’t start and his keys were locked inside. Donnie Black had conveniently shown up. He felt sure Donnie had tampered with his car.

  What he couldn’t make any sense of was the knife in his truck. Who put the bloodstained knife in his truck? And why? It would be so obvious to everyone he couldn’t have killed Donnie.

  The only other person with a key to his truck was Michelle. He looked at her as they drove. The Bentonville cops insinuated she had planted the knife and that Max should be looking for a divorce attorney. He just couldn’t believe she killed Donnie and then tried to frame him for it.

  What would she possibly have to gain?

  Chapter 74

  They arrived at the high school five minutes before noon. “Just drop me off,” Max said. “My truck is still over at the field house, so I’ll meet you at the hospital after I talk to Bob.”

  They didn’t kiss, but they did squeeze hands. It was at least something. He watched Michelle drive away and felt sure she wouldn’t have anything to do with the knife the police found in his truck. At least he was pretty sure.

  Max entered the waiting area outside the athletic director’s office. Bob’s assistant wasn’t at her desk. She was probably picking up their food. Breakfast was a bowl of bland oatmeal and some burned coffee in the jail. His mouth was watering at the thought of biting into a double cheeseburger and onion rings.

  He never got the name of the guy who’d let him borrow the Bible. He wondered if that was information the police would give him. He didn’t think so. It would be nice to thank him. He never wanted to spend another night in jail, but it was jail that slowed him down enough to listen. To God and to his own heart.

  And when he’d listened, God had spoken. He was sure of it. God had said, “My mercies are fresh each morning.”

  He had doubted that for so long. He doubted God was good. Or loving. Or kind. God was uncaring, unconcerned and far away. Viewed through the lens of his circumstances—Sarah’s death, problems with Michelle and being arrested in connection with Donnie’s death—God looked small. But he was starting to feel differently.

  As much as he wanted to believe God would make things easy, he knew that wasn’t promised at all. In fact, what was promised were trials and suffering. It was fine to desire better circumstances, but not depend on them for happiness. He’d done that. Then Sarah died. And everything collapsed. The bottom fell out of his life.

  Now he realized he needed to change, not his circumstances. And isn’t that what he preached to his players? They needed to get stronger so they were ready to face whatever adversity came their way, whether on the field or off. How many times had he failed to practice what he preached?

  At 12:10, Bob still hadn’t called for him. And his assistant wasn’t back with lunch. Max knocked on Bob’s door but didn’t get an answer. He knocked again and waited. If he was on the phone, he probably didn’t want to be interrupted. He waited a couple more minutes, knocked lightly and then carefully opened the door.

  Bob was facedown on the floor.

  Chapter 75

  Max hurried to where Bob was lying on the floor. He called his name several times but got no response. He rolled him onto his back and checked for a pulse. “Call 911,” he yelled to anyone who might hear him. He checked to see if Bob was breathing. He wasn’t. And he couldn’t locate a pulse.

  He was about to start CPR when he heard a noise behind him. He turned around and saw Bob’s assistant standing in the doorway. She dropped the bag of food and drinks on the floor and screamed.

  “Call 911,” Max said as he began CPR.

  Max continued CPR for fifteen minutes. He didn’t know if it was helping or not. Bob wasn’t moving at all. He finally heard a siren approaching and a few minutes later; paramedics rushed into t
he office and took over.

  “How long has he been like this?” one of them asked.

  “I don’t know,” Max said. “I found him this way about twenty minutes ago.”

  “Does he have a history of heart problems?”

  Neither Max nor his assistant knew.