by Gregg Stutts
Mary Lou said, “I left around 11:40 to pick up lunch and he was fine.”
They stood back and watched the paramedics work on Bob for another fifteen minutes. At 12:40, they took him out on a gurney and got him into the ambulance as they continued trying to revive him. From what Max could see, Bob wasn’t responding.
Mary Lou went back to her desk to call Bob’s wife. Max heard her say it was probably a heart attack. Max went back to Bob’s office to check something that didn’t feel right.
What he found convinced him it wasn’t a heart attack.
Chapter 76
Twenty minutes later, several Lakeside Police offers arrived and began treating Bob’s office as a crime scene. Max told them about the phone call with Bob earlier that morning, their scheduled lunch meeting and how he’d found Bob lying on the floor. The new chief of police in Lakeside, Dan Ryan, was among the officers looking through Bob’s office.
“Max, let me talk to you for a minute,” Ryan said. They left the office and stepped down the hallway until they were alone. “What exactly did Bob say to you on the phone?”
“Not much really. He apologized for threatening to fire me and warned me to ‘watch my back’,” Max said.
“And that’s all he said?” Ryan asked.
“I think so,” Max said. “I know he wanted to tell me something he didn’t want to discuss over the phone.”
“And you don’t have any idea what it was?” Ryan said.
“None,” Max said. “I saw Bob and Donnie Black sitting together at the Bentonville game, so it might have had something to do with Donnie.”
“Congratulations, by the way. Nice win.”
Max thanked him and explained what he thought might have happened. He suspected Bob came into his office and was surprised by someone hiding behind the door. As he began to close it, he was struck in the back of his head, which knocked him to the floor. It seemed logical to Max, but he also knew he was a football coach, not a detective. He thought Ryan might make some comment about leaving the investigation to the professionals, but he didn’t.
What had him convinced was the position of Bob’s body in the room. Where he landed on the floor wasn’t between the door and his desk. Max couldn’t see any reason Bob would have been heading the other direction in his office. There wasn’t anything there. Not a window. Not a filing cabinet. Nothing. But he was lying on the floor, face down, facing away from his desk on the other side of the door. If Max was right, he was betting they’d find Bob had taken a blow to the back of the head and fell away from his desk.
What didn’t make any sense was who would have been crazy enough to come to his office in the middle of a school day to kill him. And for what reason? He knew the whole thing sounded crazy, but over the past two months, he’d learned to not think of anything as too crazy.
Bob knew something. Something that involved Max. And someone possibly knew Bob was about to share what he knew.
After Max had covered everything he knew, Ryan said, “I’m going to tell you something, Max, and also give you another chance to tell me anything else you might know.” Max nodded and waited for Ryan to continue. “Bob called me about an hour ago. He wanted to meet with me at 12:30.”
Max was surprised to hear that. Why would Bob have invited the chief of police?
“You said your meeting with him was scheduled for noon?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Max said.
“Seems he had something to discuss with you and then planned to bring me in on it,” Ryan said. “And you don’t know what that was?”
“I have no idea,” Max said.
“Well, if you think of anything, be sure to call me,” Ryan said as he handed Max a card.
Max walked outside and headed across the parking lot to his truck. It was a mid-November day, but the sky was blue and the temperature was in the low-50’s. They kicked-off against Conway in four days and he had done nothing to prepare. As it stood, he wouldn’t even be allowed on the team bus or on the sidelines.
His head was spinning as he walked to the field house. It was like trying to put together a five hundred-piece puzzle without the box top to know what it was supposed to look like. Somehow, Max felt sure he was one of the pieces. Donnie Black and Bob Burns were somehow connected. And both were now dead.
What did Bob know that was worth killing him over?
Chapter 77
After wrapping up with the police, Max spent the rest of the afternoon in Willy’s hospital room with Rose and Michelle. The update from the doctor at 3:00 p.m. wasn’t anything different from what they already knew. The CT scan that morning showed continued improvement, but they wanted to wait another day to wake him up. It wasn’t bad news, but it wasn’t what they hoped to hear.
After the doctor left, Max suggested Michelle take Rose home for a while to shower, rest a bit and get something to eat that wasn’t hospital food. Max promised to stay with Willy and call right away if there were any changes. It took a little convincing, but eventually Rose agreed.
Max called Bob Burns’ assistant to see if there was any word on his condition. Bob’s wife said he was alive, but in a coma just two floors above Willy’s room. As suspected, he was hit in the back of the head. Whoever did it probably thought he was dead. He thanked Mary Lou and hung up and said a prayer for Bob and his family.
He sat with Willy for a while but could hardly keep his eyes open. He found a cup of coffee in the family lounge down the hall. It was hot, strong and tasted like what he had in jail. He wasn’t complaining though. It would do the job.
It was 4:30 when he realized he hadn’t met with his coaching staff. They were in the middle of practice now so there was no point in trying to call.
He sipped his coffee and sat with Willy who mattered more to him than winning a football game. Willy and Rose were his family now. He longed to sit on their deck on a beautiful fall morning and eat one of those delicious breakfasts Rose made. He closed his eyes and pictured the autumn leaves set against the blue sky and could almost smell the bacon and the biscuits and gravy.
Max laid his hand on Willy’s head and prayed, “Lord, I need my friend, Willy. Please heal him.” As he prayed, he suddenly felt uneasy, like he was being watched. He even looked behind him but saw no one.
Chapter 78
Michelle and Rose returned to the hospital a little after 7:00 p.m. Rose walked into the room and looked like she was on a mission as she headed straight for Max. “Max Henry, I want you to get out of here and take your dear wife out to dinner. You two…”
“No, Rose, we…” Max started to say.
“Now you listen to me, Max. I know what my husband would say. He would tell you there’s nothing you can do here and to get out,” Rose said. “If you want to come back in the morning, then fine, but you are not going to hang around here tonight. We will be just fine.”
“Rose, I…”
“We are not going to talk about this, Max,” Rose said, now raising her eyebrows and pointing a finger at him.
Max looked to Michelle who smiled and shrugged her shoulders. He looked back to Rose and started to say something.
“Max!” Rose said. “Take. Your. Wife. To dinner.”
He looked at Michelle and said, “I don’t think I can win this one.”
“I don’t either,” Michelle said. “Where should we go?”
“I’m in the mood for Italian,” Max said. “How about Enzo’s?”
“Sounds great,” Michelle said.
Before they left, Rose reminded them to not come back until morning. She promised to call if anything changed. Max agreed, but reluctantly. As long as Rose was getting her way, Max insisted they pray before he and Michelle left. Not even Rose could argue with that.
Max laid his hand on Willy’s head again and Michelle placed her hand on Rose. “Lord, we ask you to heal Willy and protect both him and Rose. Watch over them. We’re trusting you. Amen.”
They hugged Rose and said goodnight. Max
followed Michelle into the hallway but turned and looked into the room. It was just Rose and Willy. Still though, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was someone else.
Chapter 79
Max ordered the lasagna and Michelle the house specialty, which was a grilled chicken breast with sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and capers in a lemon cream sauce. He knew she wouldn’t eat more than half of it, so he’d get to enjoy two of his favorite entrees.
“What a day,” Max said.
“What a week,” Michelle answered.
“I can top that,” he said. “What a season.”
“I’ll give you that,” she said. “Speaking of a season, the Monday night game is on in the bar. You can see it if we trade seats.”
Max looked over his shoulder. “Looks like the Cowboys and Redskins. No score yet.”
“I thought we weren’t allowed to call them the Redskins anymore,” Michelle said.
Max rolled his eyes and said, “Don’t get me started.”
Their server brought out their salads, which they dug into. Both were hungrier than they realized. Michelle had made some dinner for Rose but hadn’t eaten herself.
After a long pause, Max said, “I’m not sure where to begin.” He buttered a hot roll and ate half of it in one bite.
Michelle nodded and smiled slightly. “I know,” she said. “There’s a lot to cover.”
He stared past Michelle for a moment. “There’s a lot I need to tell you, but I need to start with…an apology.”
Michelle started to say something, but Max held his hand up, “Let me finish.” He smiled and added, “Rose got her way tonight, but now I get to say what I want.”
“Okay, I’m listening.”
“When Sarah got sick, I hoped God would heal her. I thought if I prayed enough and had enough faith that he would do it. I couldn’t even fathom how a God who claimed to be loving and good wouldn’t heal our daughter.” Max pushed some lettuce around on his plate then looked back at Michelle. “You know how angry I got when God didn’t come through.”
Michelle’s eyes were filling with tears.
“I know I still have a long, long way to go, but I think my faith, my belief in who God is has started to mature. I don’t understand it all, but I get that we live in a broken world with broken people where bad stuff happens. No one is exempt. Not even Jesus.” Max took a bite of salad. “I’ve allowed my disappointment with life to become disappointment with God. And I’m trying to fix that now.”
Michelle smiled and wiped tears from her eyes. “I look like a mess now.”
“I know my anger caused a lot of devastation in our marriage,” he said.
Michelle started to speak again, but Max put his finger to his lips and said, “Shhhh…it’s still my turn.”
She smiled and let him continue.
“I ran from God and then from you. That’s on me. I have no excuse.” He could feel a lump forming in his throat. “I didn’t know what to do, Shelle.” Now tears were filling his eyes. “I missed Sarah so much. And I was so angry at Him for not coming through for us.”
Max wiped his eyes and said, “I should have listened more. I should have listened when you said we needed help.” He looked around the room, then back to Michelle and added, “I’ve wasted a few years of our marriage…and I’m so sorry.”
The server came to their table, cleared their salad plates and said their entrees would be right out. “Would you bring us a couple glasses of your house Pinot Noir?” Max said to her.
“Max, I...”
“Hold on just a moment, Shelle. I’m almost done. Then it’s your turn.”
She nodded and said, “As long as I get my turn.”
“Shelle, I don’t know what’s going to happen with all this stuff that’s going on. Donnie. Now Bob.”
“And Chris,” she said.
“Yes, and Chris,” Max said. “And on that subject…” He thought for a moment. “Over the last month, I started to think that maybe it hadn’t gone that far with him. Then a week ago, when you said you were pregnant…it was a shock. I didn’t know what to do. I’m so sorry I walked out on you, Shelle.”
Michelle dabbed her eyes with a napkin.
“I pushed you away for so long. I ignored your needs. I…” He couldn’t get any more out. The lump had become too much.
The server brought two glasses of wine and their dinners and said she’d be back to check on them.
“My turn?” Michelle said through her tears.
Max took a bite of lasagna and nodded because he knew he wouldn’t be able to speak.
“There’s no excuse for what I did. Yes, I was hurt and lonely…but that didn’t give me the right to…”
“I know,” Max said. “I forgive you.”
“If I could take it all back, I would. I’d give anything to erase what happened,” she said.
“I know. It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not okay,” she said. “We’re dealing with the consequences of what I did.”
Max wiped tears from his eyes and said, “I need to stop you and…” His voice cracked, so he paused for a moment. “When we got married, I said I’d be your husband in good times and bad times.”
Michelle nodded.
“You need to hear me say this, Shelle…whether the baby is mine or not, I will love him or her with all my heart,” he said.
Michelle covered her face with her hands. After a moment, she said, “But Chris knows. If it’s his, he’s going to make it hard.”
Max was quiet for a moment. “I’ll handle Chris. That’s a promise.”
The rest of the dinner conversation was lighter. They talked about football, Thanksgiving plans and the potential for some very early winter weather later in the week. The dessert menu was tempting, but they passed.
It was after nine o’clock when they pulled into their driveway. Neither of them noticed the car parked two houses up from them though. Or the man inside it who was watching them.
Chapter 80
Max turned the television on to The Weather Channel. The potential for winter weather was looking more and more likely to hit some time on Thursday. The exact track of the storm was uncertain, but it looked like central Arkansas, including Conway, would get a mix of freezing rain and sleet, possibly transitioning to light snow. Northwest Arkansas, including Lakeside, could see the precipitation start out as sleet and transition to all snow toward evening. Total accumulation in the Lakeside area could be three to five inches.
He sent a text to his coaching staff telling them he believed in them, felt confident about their chances against Conway, and would meet with them in the morning, unofficially, of course, at least until Thursday when he hoped to be fully reinstated as head coach.
After sending the text, he flipped over to ESPN to catch the end of the Monday Night game. It was midway through the 4th quarter with Dallas up 34-17. Michelle came out of the bedroom wearing her pajamas. Not the flannel ones with the holes in them, but the leopard print ones he gave her for Christmas.
She sat down next to him, put her hand on his leg and said, “It’s still early.”
He looked at her and smiled. “It’s still early” was their code for, “Let’s have sex tonight.” Considering how the last week had gone, he wasn’t thinking it would be a possibility. A lot had changed in the last couple of days though. It felt like they were on the right track again.
It was hard to believe that thirteen hours earlier, he was eating breakfast in jail, where God had gotten his attention. And now he wanted to be sure God didn’t lose his attention again.
“Watch the game for a few minutes. I’ll be right back,” he said and then kissed Michelle lightly on the lips.
Before he went to the bedroom, he turned the thermostat to 75 degrees. It would feel like a sauna to him, but she would love it. In the closet, he found some candles, spread them around the room and lit them. A little warmth and some candlelight could do wonders.
In the few minutes he
was gone, the Redskins scored twice. It was now Dallas 34 and Washington 31. “Wow! What happened?” he said.
“Dallas turned it over twice and the Redskins scored both times,” she said. “There’s only 3:37 left.” She smiled and said, “I think we should watch the end.”
“Well, if you insist,” he said.
He sat down and placed his hand on the back of her neck and began to lightly stroke her neck and shoulders.
“Mmmm, that feels good,” she said.
