by Pete Bowen
The third string San Francisco quarterback had begun to warm up on the sideline as soon as Schuler went down. He hadn’t taken part in the brawl. He just calmly started throwing the ball on the side lines. For the first time in his three year NFL career, Tony Reilly stepped on to the field in a real game. His team was down 14 against the best defensive team in football, at the time. He was ready.
First and 10 at his 46 yard line with 4 minutes to go in the half. The San Francisco went off tackle for a couple. Reilly then hit his tight end for 17 yards and a first down. He then sent his receivers long and took off when they were covered, picking up 12. Having Reilly run was pretty risky considering his backup at this point was a wide receiver who had last played QB in high school. The Team were out of quarterbacks. First and 10, 20 yard line San Francisco had two running plays for five yards. Reilly found an open wide receiver in the end zone, who dropped the ball. They kicked a field goal and that’s how the half ended.
Both injured quarterbacks were on the way to the hospital. Emotions were high in the locker room. Tony Reilly met with the offensive coordinator and the coach. The plan for the second half was to play conservative and pass when they had to and try and grind out a respectable game. Reilly wasn’t having any of that. He adamantly insisted they had to go no huddle with a spread offense to have any chance. No huddle keeps the defense in their defensive look longer, allowing the QB to get a better look at what they’re doing. The defensive players also have to stay in their stance longer tiring them out. The defense can still change at the last second, but it’s harder. The quarterback is often calling plays at the line at the last minute. The play is often a run or pass option with the quarterback having the authority to change the play after reading the defense. The quarterback has to be a great decision maker and be able to read the defense to make it work.
San Francisco rarely ran no-huddle, but Tony Reilly had often ran no- huddle in practice simulating other team offenses for the Team defense to practice against. The coaching staff reluctantly agreed to come out in the no-huddle and see what happens. Reilly also made a request for Terrence Brown to play in the slot receiver position. Reilly and Brown had spent a lot of time together in practice and Reilly felt comfortable throwing to him. The short meeting broke and the Coach Charlie Warren went out to address the team. He gave a simple speech to his team. No clichés; no win one for the Gipper; “We’re down to a team that has beaten us up in the first half. I need professionals with pride out there in the second half. Play with passion but play the way I know each and every one of you can. Defense, I need you to hold this team because Offense, Tony Reilly is going to win this one for us.”
Baltimore took the opening kickoff and with the help of a holding call and a questionable pass interference call, managed to get a long field goal. San Francisco got the ball back in the second half down 17-3. They came out in a spread, no huddle, shotgun formation which they hadn’t shown all year and really hadn’t practiced much. Reilly walked up and down the line shouting signals and at the last second snapped the ball and hit a wide receiver on a crossing route. They stayed in the no huddle and used a sweep for 7 yards. On second and three, he hit Terrence Brown for 27. They pounded the middle when the linebackers backed off and on 3rd and 3 on his 41, hit wideout Jimmy Oliva for a touchdown when he saw him in single coverage. Back in the game.
The Team Defense intercepted a pass for their first turnover of the game and the offense again came out in the no huddle. Reading the defense, shouting Kill Kill to change the play at the line to take whatever the Baltimore was showing them. On a 2nd and eight with his receivers covered, Reilly took off for 26 yards, showing his speed. The Baltimore defense were on their heels when he hit his Tight End in the end zone to tie the score. Tied up and the stadium was rocking.
Baltimore went three and out and punted. Reilly marched the Team down field and just before the end of the quarter, Reilly went in on a keeper and stuffed the football over the crossbar at the end of the run and was mobbed by teammates. 21 points in the third quarter. Baltimore hadn’t allowed 21 total points to an opponent in their four games. The fourth quarter was more of the same. The San Francisco defense dug in. The offense putting up ten more points by the time the game ended 34-20. This was against a team without their best player in DD Daniels, but this was done with the third string quarterback. Reilly had no interceptions, 270 yards passing, three touchdown passes and had scored one himself. In the locker room, the coach told his team, “Goddamn it, I told you Tony Reilly was going to win this one for us,” and handed him the game ball.”
Reilly said holding up the ball, “This isn’t mine, this is ours.” Tony Reilly had won his first game.
Chapter 16
“Well?” I said to Liz. Roger and I were both staring at her.
“Well is a deep subject,” she said.
“Who killed Tony, Liz?”
“I don’t want to say,” she said.
“Why not?”
“Because,” she said. I looked at Roger.
“Why won’t she tell us,” I asked him.
“She’s afraid,” said Roger. “You know what, Liz? Mr. Mullins is almost always wrong when he makes guesses.
“I’m never wrong,” I said.
“I’d say he’s right about….2% of the time.”
“I’m right about 85% of the time,” I said.
We rolled to a stop in front of what I assumed was Matt Benson’s house and sat there looking at each other. “Are you afraid of something, Liz?” I asked. She didn’t say anything. She just looked at me.
Finally she said, “It’s bad. It’s very bad.”
“Bad,” I said. She nodded her head and looked out the window.
“And I haven’t finished thinking about it.” I looked at Roger and shrugged my shoulders.
“Let’s go see Matt,” she said. “I love that guy.”
I shrugged my shoulders again and said, “Let’s go see Matt.” We got out and went to the door. I didn’t see any security around. Benson answered the door himself and immediately took Liz into his massive arms. Up close, these football players were big. Matt was a first round draft pick out of Texas. As a middle linebacker, he anchored and led the defensive team. The Team defense had become dominant last year and he was definitely the star.
“I’m so sorry about Tony, Liz,” Benson said. Roger and I shook hands with him and he led us into his living room. A beautiful woman stood there to meet us. Holy shit, these football players get the women! Matt introduced her as his friend Keisha. She offered her condolences to Liz and offered to get refreshments. We declined and we all sat down as Keisha left us.
“What happened to Jade?” Liz asked Matt.
“I upgraded,” he said.
“You do a lot of upgrading,” she said.
“Elizabeth, I’m so bummed about Tony,” obviously wanting to get out of that discussion. “He was more than just a friend. I would have done anything for that guy.”
“He thought the world of you, Matt.”
Benson looked at us, “I know about you guys. Saw you on Leno young man,” he said to Roger.
“I’ve seen you on TV too, Mr. Benson,” said Roger.
“Matt, Oscar Tierney suggested I speak with you as one of the leaders of the team. He’s hired me to look after the team’s interests, be a liaison for the investigation with the authorities and the team and NFL. We were wondering if you could share anything about what Tony may have been up to the last month. He seems to have fallen off everyone’s radar.”
Benson stretched in his chair. “A liaison, huh?” he said. “How long have you known Tierney?”
“Met him today,” I said.
“Here is a tip in dealing with Tierney. If his lips are moving, he’s lying. He is a two-faced motherfucker.”
“I’ve heard that before,” said Liz.
Benson continued, “For all the love he professes for his players, he makes decisions for one reason and one reason only. How wil
l this benefit me? He is the most soulless person I have ever met.”
Shrugging my shoulders, “It’s a business,” I said.
“It is, Tom,” said Benson, “and we’re all just cattle to him. Just make sure your agreement is set in stone because he’ll find some way to fuck you. He’s very consistent.”
A thought struck me, “You think he had something to do with Tony’s death?” I asked.
Benson looked at me with no expression on his face. “If it benefited him in some way.”
“You’re a little bitter, I take it.”
“I’ve just seen the shit he’s pulled. I got no use for him as a human being.”
I could see this was going nowhere so I changed the subject. “You and Tony were close?”
“Tony and I were close. I respected him more than any player on the team. Tony Reilly had a great head for football. He knew more about football than anyone on the field. I would have been very surprised if he didn’t end up as a head coach someday.” Benson stretched and put his hands behind his head. “We both came in as rookies together. I was a number one draft pick. I was the anointed one, the middle linebacker that was going to run the defense. Tony was undrafted and if he hadn’t gone to Cal, he probably wouldn’t have been playing. Tony’s job was to run the scout team against the defense. Since he saw so much of the defense, he became a student of it. He was a very positive guy and he worked both sides of the ball in practice, encouraging the defensive and the offensive players. Pointing out mistakes and telling someone how to improve but never in a critical manner. That’s a unique talent and soon everyone knew that Tony was someone special. He would often go through me to relay a message to a player. This was supposed to be the job of the defensive coaches and they started out telling Tony to mind his own business, just run the offense, but he kept doing it and after awhile they just left him alone because it was a positive influence. It was on me, anyway. Here was this rookie QB telling me what to do, but I could see that he was right most of the time. So, I listened to him. During games, he’d speak to me a few times with pointers and encouragement. I got so I needed to hear what he had to say. That is a unique relationship because half the time I know the coaches are full of shit.”
“We worked out together after the season ended when I was around. I couldn’t believe it when he told me you guys had split up, Elizabeth. I asked what happened but he didn’t have much to say. Then the contract negotiations soured and he stopped coming around the training facility. I didn’t see him for a few weeks and then one night he came over for a beer and said he was pissed off, life sucked and he wanted to get away.”
“Do you know where he went?” I asked.
Benson said slowly, “Yea, I do…he went to Mexico.”
“There is no record of him leaving the country.”
“Didn’t need one. He took my boat. He didn’t have a passport. Sailed down Baja.” I looked around at Roger and Liz. We were stunned.
“Why haven’t you said anything, Matt? Everyone’s been trying to figure out where he’s been for the last month. It could be important in the investigation.”
“Well, for one thing, no one asked me and I didn’t know they were looking for him. It gets me involved in this and I don’t know much more than he left and then he came back. I didn’t have any contact with him during that time.”
“I didn’t know Tony could sail a boat,” said Liz.
“Yea, he sailed Lasers in the Bay when he was a kid. I teamed him with a guy who knows the boat and Mexico. Tony was crew. I’m sure he learned how to sail if he was on it for a month. This is a 48 foot boat. I used to live on it when I was visiting my parents in San Diego. You could sail this thing around the world. You should find Jose and ask him what they were up to for the last month.”
“Can’t you just call him,” I asked.
“He’s elusive. I get in touch with him through the Marina. He’s in and out. I don’t even know if he’s legal. That’s how he makes a living. Moving boats around for people, crewing on boats. Great guy!”
“I need to get a hold of him,” I said.
“I can talk to the guys at the Marina, let them know you want to speak to him.”
“I want to speak to him now.”
“He’s not going to want to talk to the cops.”
“Do me a favor, call the guys at the Marina and tell them you need to find Jose and you got some cash for him to talk to me. Did the Marina guys see Tony coming and going?”
“I don’t know, maybe, depends on what time of day it was. You can get in just knowing the combination. I don’t know if anyone is working at night. There is probably some security people.”
I looked at Liz and Roger. “I guess we’re going sailing.”
Chapter 17
When we got back in the car. Roger got up on his knees and whispered something in Liz’s ear.
“It’s a secret,” she said aloud. Roger again whispered in her ear for a long time. When he was done, he sat looking at her with pleading eyes. She leaned over and whispered in his ear.
“Lydia Isackson?” Roger said aloud. Liz hit him on the shoulder.
“You said you wouldn’t tell!” she said.
“You can’t trust him, he’s a liar,” I said. “Lydia Isackson?”
“Now, I know, you are a little rat, Roger.”
“Why her?” I said.
Liz sat staring ahead with a frown on her face. “I haven’t got a good reason, just that she’s a sociopath and always gets her way. I don’t think Miami was her way. And I think she might have been having an affair with Tony.” She then started to cry.
Roger and I looked at each other. “This is going to get messy,” I said. “What do you know for a fact, Liz?”
“Other than she’s a sociopath, nothing, that’s why I didn’t want to tell you.”
“Why do you think she was having an affair with Tony?”
“She was fucking everyone else, she was probably fucking Tony too.”
“You want to back up and tell me a little more about Lydia Isackson, Liz?”
Lydia McCormack Isackson was a runner-up for Miss Utah. A Mormon, she was the oldest child in a big family. She went to the University of Utah and was the head cheerleader where she met Paul Isackson. An English major, she was smart and beautiful. The camera would often show her during football games. She was active in many charities and was a well known face in the Bay Area.
“What went on between you and Lydia, Liz?” I asked.
“We got to know each other through the team. They have various get togethers for the families. I didn’t know anyone and she was fun to be around. When the games started she asked me to sit by her and I got to know her other friends. I started to realize that I had been invited into her clique. It was like high school all over again only I had been brought into the mean girls. Did you ever see that movie?”
“Yes, I know what you’re talking about.”
“I went along on some charity events she was a part of. Lydia stays very busy with her social life and charities. She’s very outgoing. Paul, is the complete opposite. Lydia likes to have her clique around her, her camp followers. So, I got to know her and the more I got to know her, the more I realized what an asshole she was. She didn’t care about the charities or even football. She just cares about Lydia. She hates her husband. She thinks he’s an idiot. She has as little to do with him as she can. As long as Paul gets laid, he’s happy. So she’s out most nights doing her thing. Smiling in the stands for the camera during the game. I quickly got to the point where I couldn’t stand her. One day I was talking to Penny Cochran and the topic of Lydia came up. I started saying she wasn’t a very nice person and Penny unloads. Turns out most of the team wives who know her, hate her. She’s a jerk but because of who she is, she gets away with it.”
“Okay, but a jerk capable of murder?” I asked.
“Capable of anything. I don’t know, Tom. I was thinking out loud. It just occurred to me. I’m sorry I sa
id it.”
I looked at Roger. “See what you can find out. We can’t let this get out that we’re even thinking about this. Holy shit, what a mess it would be if she did it. Do you think you’re capable of being discreet, Roger?”
“Discreet is my middle name,” said Roger.
“Yea, right.”
Chapter 18
I called Tierney and told him we had a lead on Tony and wanted to check it out in San Diego. In 45 minutes he had a private jet waiting for us at the San Jose Airport. We flew into San Diego and got a cab to the Marina where Benson had his boat. No one around at 1:30 AM. I had the combination into the Marina and the keys to Benson’s boat. I couldn’t see any security but there were cameras around. Benson’s boat was spectacular. It could easily sleep 6. We gave Liz the Captain’s cabin and Roger and I hit some crew bunks for the night.
Up at 8 AM to coffee and donuts. Liz had been up early and gone on a food run. I went up on deck to see what I could see. The Marina was getting busy on a Saturday morning. Liz and I sat together drinking our coffee.
“You sleep okay?” I asked her.
“I would have slept better with you beside me,” she said.
“Then there wouldn’t have been much sleep,” I said. She laughed and snuggled up close to me. “Better be careful. I don’t want us on the front page of People Magazine.”
“I can see someone at the office, want to go talk to them?” she asked. We walked to the open air office counter that had been closed up tight last night. A guy sat behind the counter working on a computer.
