Prove It!

by Susanne Matthews

  “She can’t come in. but she’ll call later. Mom brought me in a new cellphone. My old one was toast after the accident. New black truck, one. Cellphone, no score.”

  “You’re sure it was a new truck?” Katie asked excitedly. “I’ve never heard you mention the word new before.”

  Liam frowned. “Didn’t I? It had to be a new one because I remember how hard on the eyes the halogen lights were. It was like staring into the flash on a camera.”

  “When we get back, you need to call the police. I know a lot of people in this town, and I can guarantee no one has a new truck with halogen lights. They need to focus on who would’ve wanted you out of the race with out of town, maybe even out of state, connections. This could be the breakthrough they need, Liam. Now, let’s have lunch.”

  “I hope you’re right,” he answered, trying to smile. While it might be the breakthrough, it wasn’t the one he wanted. That one was out of reach.

  * * * *

  Hannah pursed her lips and glared at Erik. Last week when he’d brought up the idea Coach Snow might be involved, she’d thought he’d lost his grip on reality. Now, she was sure of it. He was frantic to find answers and he was grabbing at straws … either that or he’d lost touch with the here and now. The look on Mina’s face implied she was being mule-headed again for nothing. Maybe she was, but damn it all, what Erik believed didn’t make sense, and wanting to confront the coach on his own since Craig was laid up with a cold was idiotic. Guilty or not, Coach Snow had no reason to even let him into the house.

  Liam had been in a dismal mood all week, ever since the track meet. On top of that, last Thursday, he’d hurt himself, probably trying to overdo, and that had interrupted his physio. He wouldn’t talk about it, so she’d tried to focus on something else. Now that cross-country was over, training sessions after school had been cut down, and there were no more late buses. While she could easily walk home, Mom and Dad would be in Greece for another two weeks, and she was staying at the farm until they returned. That meant her hospital visits were cut short because she was traveling by car with Mina. While she was staying with her aunt and uncle she had to live according to their rules, and that meant home for supper by five-thirty each school night.

  Today was Friday, and while Mina and Erik spent a couple of hours together, she’d hoped to do the same at the hospital with Liam, but that wasn’t going to happen either. She’d sensed his dismay and would gladly have done whatever she could to lift his spirits, but their plans to be together had come crashing down around them. The renovations at his place were finished, and his father had picked him up at the hospital this morning. Since it was his first day home, his mother wouldn’t appreciate visitors, and Liam would probably be too warn out anyway. Unfortunately, because she and Mina were accompanying her aunt to Augusta Christmas shopping for the day, it meant she wouldn’t see him now until Sunday, assuming he went to church. He might call later, but that would depend on how exhausted he would be.

  Accepting the inevitable, she turned to Erik. “Okay. Let’s look at this logically. Sam Fitzroy claims he got the steroids he took from one of the senior basketball players at Central, who apparently got them from Coach Snow—a player who conveniently graduated and moved away last summer. Why you think you can believe Sam is beyond me. He claims he didn’t vandalize Liam’s locker or do any of the other things, but everything points to him, and you know it. Obviously you didn’t tell us all this just to get our opinion. What do you need from us?”

  “From you, nothing,” Erik answered, long over any shyness where she was concerned. “But from Mina,” he smiled and reached for her cousin’s hand beside his. “I need a lift. Coach Snow lives at his cottage. I want to go out there and confront him tonight. If he supplied the steroids, then he did it for a price, and Sam may not be the only recipient. Despite what you think of my detective skills, there are a couple of football players left on the list who could easily be juiced. If Sam didn’t leave those notes and wreck Liam’s stuff, one of them could have, as payment for the drugs. To add fuel to my fire, a couple of them owe money to someone at Central. It could easily be the coach. While you may not want to believe your precious coach is involved, everything points to him, not Sam. Liam stood in his way, and he eliminated the competition.”

  “Erik, do you hear yourself? You’re accusing the man of attempted murder as well as selling drugs to the players and gambling. You don’t have any proof. Everything you’ve said is allegation, conjecture, and hearsay. Sam Fitzroy is probably lying through his teeth. He may be the one buying the steroids online for all you know and supplying everyone. You said it yourself. He almost got kicked out of Ivy Hills last spring. If he were caught doing this, it would be ‘adios and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.’ Liam told me he was the one who’d reported him, which gives him a heck of a motive for wanting payback. Sam could easily be behind all this as a way to get even with Liam, and he’s maligning Coach Snow to throw you off the scent. Isn’t Mr. Fitzroy a zillionaire real estate developer? Sam could probably hire a hit man with his weekly allowance. Think about it. If the coach were gambling on team sports, he’d get fired, not only from Central, but there would be no chance he’d get that job with the university. He may be having a rough time because of the divorce, but I just don’t see him doing something this foolish and throwing away his future.”

  “Desperate men do desperate things, Hannah. You’re too trusting. You believe everyone is on the up and up. Well, come down off your high horse and look around.”

  His voice and face were filled with anger and frustration. Gripping the paper cup as tightly as he did, she worried the lid would pop off and shower them all in root beer.

  “Seriously?” Hannah fought to hide her own dismay, knowing part of it stemmed from not being able to spend time with Erik. “I’m not looking at this through rose-colored glasses. Whoever hurt Liam deserves every punishment imaginable and more, but you’re wrong about Coach Snow. Let the police do their jobs. We’ve done as much as we can.”

  “I’m not certain we have, and I won’t quit until the person responsible is behind bars,” he said through gritted teeth. “It’s been almost two months since the accident, and the police are no closer to solving this than they were when it happened. Liam deserves to see justice served sooner rather than later.”

  “You aren’t being fair. The case is still open and the police are investigating. Mina’s uncle is following up on leads. You have to give them a chance. I know this seems to be taking a long time, but this isn’t television. Major crimes don’t get solved in an hour.” Hannah bit off her words, her frustration giving her voice an angry edge.

  “The cops have plenty of leads, but they’re ignoring many of them. Liam and I have both talked to Chief Richards, and he’s dismissed my allegations. He warned me to keep my opinions to myself, since I didn’t have any evidence to support my outlandish theories as he called them. I know Coach Snow is involved, and I’ll prove it. Then the police can take it from there.”

  “How do you plan to do that, Sherlock?”

  “In two ways. First, I’m going to find his blood-stained boots.”

  “And you think he’s just going to hand them over?”

  “No, but that jerk’s so cocky, they’re probably just sitting in his front closet. I’ll slip them into my backpack and take them with me to test. I’ve got Luminol at home. I managed to sneak some out of the lab at school. If there’s blood on those boots, they’ll light right up.”

  “And if said boots don’t exist or aren’t in the closet?” she asked, rolling her eyes at Mina who hadn’t said a word throughout the entire conversation.

  “Then I’m going to confront him with what Sam said. I’ll watch his face as he denies it. People can’t always control their emotions, and if he’s lying I’ll know it.”

  “And you and this sixth sense to spot liars will be your proof?” Hannah shook her head.

  “It’ll be a start. He’ll be rattled eno
ugh that he’ll make a mistake, and that’s when we’ll get him. So, what do you say, Mina? Can you give me a ride?

  “Flower Lake is twenty miles from here,” Hannah pointed out needlessly.

  “I know. That’s why I need her help. She’s the only person I can trust who has a valid driver’s license and access to a car.”

  Mina smiled at him. The hero worship on her face was enough to make Hannah gag. How could her cousin be buying into this fantasy? Was she the only one here with a working brain?

  “Reality check, Brainiac,” Hannah said, using the nickname Malcolm had given him weeks ago, hoping she could prevent this disaster in the making. “She has an intermediate license, one that means she can only have family in the car with her. You, on the other hand, are definitely not a relative.”

  Mina giggled. “Good thing because dating one another would be so wrong if we were related.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You can joke about it? He’s just using you,” she said glaring at Erik. “If she gets caught with you in the car, she’ll lose her license, and Papa will never let me get mine.”

  “Now who’s being selfish? I’m not using your cousin,” Erik said. “I like her.” He reddened. “Maybe we can consider this our first date and do something fun afterwards.”

  “Wow, that sounds great,” Hannah growled under her breath, but both Mina and Erik ignored her, staring into one another’s eyes like a couple of love-sick puppies.

  “Hannah, you worry too much,” Mina said, completely sucked in. “Nothing’s going to happen. Mom and Dad think we’re going into Waverley to the movies. We don’t have to tell them any different, and we’ll be home by curfew.”

  Shaking her head, Hannah sighed, glaring at Erik. “Fine, have it your way, but this has disaster written all over it.”

  An hour and a half later, Hannah shivered in the chilly night breeze, wishing she’d put her foot down and stayed in town, but there was no way she could let Mina and Erik go off on their own. The cousin code of honor wouldn’t allow that, and her aunt and uncle would kill her if they ever found out she’d done such a thing. While she thought this was a fool’s errand, she’d dutifully sat in the back seat and kept her mouth shut.

  Wishing she’d worn something heavier than her hoodie and jean jacket, she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. Getting out of the car and hiking through the woods to the house had been a stupid idea. This fall’s weather had been more erratic than ever. Just because it had been sixty this afternoon didn’t mean the temperature couldn’t plummet into the forties tonight, and with the sleet and snow earlier this week, everything was wet and slushy. It was after eight, but now that the wind had picked up, it was probably cold enough to sleet again—that point when Mother Nature didn’t know whether to rain or snow. Her new ankle-boots were muddy and wet, and she’d have a hard time explaining how that had happened. The theater was at the mall—not a mud puddle within a mile.

  If Papa and Mama ever found out she’d lied to her aunt and uncle and was here and not at the movies, she would be thirty before she would be allowed out on her own again. Not only was she breaking the rules, she was twenty miles from town, in the woods at night with no protection but Mina, who was even more nervous than she was. This part of Maine was home to a number of predators including wolves, coyotes, and black bears—and then there was Erik. He should’ve been back twenty minutes ago. What the hell was he doing in there?

  A twig snapped, and Mina yelped.

  “What was that?”

  “Probably just a rabbit,” Hannah answered, flashing the tiny LED flashlight around, hoping it wasn’t something more sinister like a bull moose. When Erik got back, whether Mina liked it or not, she intended to give that big jerk a piece of her mind.

  “What’s taking so long?” Mina asked, nervously wringing her cold hands together. “Maybe we should go back and wait in the car.”

  Hannah screwed up her face into what Papa called her bunny look, something she always did when she was displeased. It had been Mina’s idea to get out of the car in the first place.

  Grrrr!

  “I don’t know, but he’s been in there for almost half an hour. I figured the minute he opened his mouth, the coach would kick him out.” She shuddered, the cold seeping into her bones.

  “So did I,” Mina admitted. “It’s eight-thirty, and we’re a good forty-five minutes from home. If we aren’t home by ten-thirty, Mom will have a hissy fit, and you can bet they won’t let me date Erik. They’ll read me the riot act, and they’ll take the car away for sure.”

  “Probably. I suppose I should’ve tried harder to talk sense into you, but … Let’s go back to the car for a while. It’s really creepy here, and my feet are frozen. Maybe we can phone Erik and tell him to hurry up. You’ve got his cellphone number, right?”

  “No. Don’t you?” Mina asked.

  “I call the house when I want to talk to him.” Hannah shook her head. “Text Mari. She’s bound to have her brother’s number.”

  “I will.” Mina pulled her cellphone out of her jacket pocket. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this, but I like him, and he seems so convinced he’s right.”

  Hannah bit her lip. Maybe she was the one being a jerk. Besides, if Mina and Erik were a couple, she would get to spend more time with Liam.

  Twenty minutes later, with the clock pushing nine, there was still no sign of Erik and Hannah’s stomach was doing flip flops. They’d gotten his phone number from Mari, but each call they made went straight to voicemail. Why didn’t he answer or return their calls? Something wasn’t right.

  “What are we going to do?” Mina asked, breaking into her thoughts. “I’m really worried. His phone has to be off, otherwise he’d answer. Nobody turns off their phones, especially not when they’re doing something as potentially dangerous as this could be. We can’t wait much longer. If we aren’t on our way within a half-hour, we’re dead.”

  “I doubt he turned his phone off; he’s just ignoring us. He and the coach are probably watching the hockey game while we freeze out here,” Hannah grumbled, “but you’re right. No matter how much you like him, it isn’t worth getting grounded for life. We’ll just have to go up there and get him.”

  “We can’t do that. The whole point of waiting here was so that coach wouldn’t know we were together.”

  “We need an excuse to go to the house, and I think I have one. Remember Jodie’s suggestion that the art club have a booth at this year’s Christmas Fair?”

  “Yeah, but what does that have to do with this?”

  “We’ll ask the coach’s permission to approach the fair coordinators about a track and field booth to raise money for those new jackets we talked about getting for the team.”

  “Excellent.” Mina opened the car door. “Let’s go.”

  Hannah giggled. “Then you have to drive, silly. How else would we have gotten up here? And let’s tell him we’re on our way back from Waverley. That puts us coming from the north. Not the south.”

  “Good thinking, and we can casually ask Erik if he needs a ride and offer to drop him in town.” She clapped her hands. “I even have a prop.”

  Opening the back door, she pulled out a cup from Waverley’s most popular fast food restaurant and poured a bottle of water into it. “I’ll carry it in, and we won’t look suspicious.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes once again. As mangled and dirty as the cup was, she was grateful not to be the one drinking from it.

  Within minutes, they pulled into the driveway and stopped behind Coach Snow’s red SUV. The cedar and glass cottage, the front of which faced Flower Lake, the area reserved for all the “rich and famous” in central Maine, was well lit. Swallowing their fear, Hannah and Mina walked to the massive cedar plank door and rang the bell.

  When no one answered, Hannah frowned. “That’s odd. The car’s here, and Erik hasn’t come back…”

  “Maybe the bell’s not working. Ring again.”

  Hannah press
ed the doorbell once more, certain she could hear it inside, but again no one came to see who was there.

  “I suppose the thing could be broken.” She knocked firmly on the door, the sound loud enough to wake anyone who might be sleeping.

  “Coming,” an impatient voice answered from inside. “Hold your horses.”

  “Great. Now he’s mad,” Mina whispered.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance, surprising Hannah, and making her shudder as if even Mother Nature knew they had no business being here. While thunderstorms in this kind of weather were rare, they did happen. Lightning split the sky. Just what they’d need—hurrying home in a storm thanks to that big idiot. Erik had an awful lot to answer for. Like where in blazes was he? And why had he run out on them?

  Chapter Nine

  Hannah jumped at the sound of the dead bolt sliding back. It took a couple of minutes before the coach, wrapped in a thick terry housecoat, answered. The man’s hair was wet, as if he’d just gotten out of the shower. If Erik were in the house, what was the coach doing showering? This made no sense.

  “Hannah? Mina? What are you doing here?” Coach Snow asked, the surprise on his face genuine. “I just got in.”

  Hannah frowned. Why was he lying to them? Could Erik be right? The SUV had been in the driveway when they’d dropped him off, and there hadn’t been another car in or out of his laneway in the last hour and a half. Parked where they were, they would’ve seen it, even when they’d been in the woods, watching the house.

  “We were in Waverley and had an idea we wanted to talk to you about,” Mina said, fervently entrenched in her role play. “Since your cottage was on the way back to town … We’re not interrupting anything, are we?”

  “No. I was out fishing earlier. Got in a little while ago and just finished cleaning up.”

  Out fishing would explain why he’d been out and the car hadn’t, but wasn’t it a little too dark to fish?

  “Did you catch anything?” Hannah asked.