by Alice Ward
He slid behind the steering wheel and navigated the car into traffic.
“I missed eight calls while we were talking to Frank,” I told him, lifting my phone. “Four numbers I don’t recognize and four unknowns. What do you want to bet there are reporters all over the city who know more about what’s happening right now than I do? I’m going to google Ethan and see what the hell’s going on.”
“Don’t do it, Emily,” Walt insisted. “I mean it. I’ll pull this car over and take your phone away. You just had a firsthand lesson in the way the media bends the truth. Anything you find online will be sensationalized versions of the facts. Reading them will just make you feel worse.”
I knew he was right, but I was desperate to know why Ethan had been arrested.
“It feels like the nightmare is starting all over again. Only this time, Ethan and I have reversed roles.”
“Why don’t you call Melissa?” Walt suggested. “She may be able to shed light on things and she won’t add a bunch of hearsay and suppositions.”
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”
I hit Melissa’s speed dial and she answered halfway through the first ring.
“Emily,” she exhaled my name and I knew she’d been expecting and dreading my call.
“Frank just called and told me Ethan’s been arrested. Walt and I are on the way to the precinct.”
“How much do you know?” she asked, her voice hesitant with caution.
“That’s it. I’ve ignored a bunch of calls that I can only assume were from reporters and I haven’t looked online. How much do you know?”
“Late last week, someone called the league’s commissioner with an anonymous tip that several players on the Stallions have been doping. The league’s medical team showed up at the stadium this morning and surprise tested all of the players. Ethan didn’t pass.”
“He was arrested for doping?” The words felt strange in my mouth.
Uncle Walt was so caught off guard he nearly swerved into oncoming traffic.
“Not exactly. Victor was in the locker room when they confronted Ethan with the results. Ethan got a few punches in and Victor had him arrested for assault.”
I knew it. Ethan got too cocky and thought he was too invaluable to the team for Victor to touch.
“Ethan doesn’t use steroids,” I insisted. “There’s an easy fix for this. As soon as he’s released on bail, we’ll go to an independent lab and he’ll take another test.”
“I’m not sure it will be that easy, Em,” she warned. “The league will want to verify any retests themselves. And the blood test isn’t Ethan’s only problem. The league doctors and half the team just saw him beat the shit out of his stepfather. One of my colleagues has already done an on-camera interview with Victor. He has a busted lip and his right eye is swollen shut. It’s not going to make Ethan look good… Oh shit, Emily. My boss wants me. I’ll talk to you soon. I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks for filling me in. I’ll call you when we leave the station.”
“Ethan was arrested for steroids?” Walt asked.
I turned my phone off and slid it into my purse. “No, Ethan was framed for using steroids. When he found out, he beat the crap out of Victor in a locker room full of people.”
Walt winced but kept his eyes on the road. “That wasn’t the best way to react. Though I have to admit, I probably would have done the same in those circumstances. So he was arrested for assault?”
I nodded. “I’m sure he’s also been fired. Victor orchestrated the perfect plot to get rid of him. He’ll probably be lucky to ever set foot on a football field again.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” Walt advised. “I know this seems insurmountable right now, kiddo. But people have forgiven much less deserving athletes for a lot more serious offenses.”
“Ethan doesn’t deserve this.”
“You didn’t deserve what happened to you, either. Neither did little Alfie. Neither of us deserved to lose your parents, and they didn’t deserve to die young. Shit happens every day to people who don’t deserve it, Emily. We can sit here and talk about how unfair it is, or we can focus on playing the hands we’ve been dealt. I for one will be choosing the latter. As soon as we get to the station, I’m calling the investigator and putting him to work investigating Victor, Marsha, and Heather Montez. I’m also going to call a few of my Air Marshal friends. One of them might have a friend in Homeland Security who could help us. I know the family is on the government’s radar.”
“You’re right. This isn’t fair, but focusing on that won’t solve any of our problems. Forget what I said back at the café. As soon as I have a chance, I’m going to tell Ethan that I think his mom set me up at the school. Victor may have set him up, but it was on Marsha’s orders. She’s trying to take us both down and if we have any hope of stopping her, we have to work together.”
“Now that sounds more like the girl I raised,” Walt declared with a proud smile.
“My life is still in upheaval, Walt. I’m not sure the smile is warranted.”
“I’m smiling because it just dawned on me that I won’t have to share holidays with your in-laws. I’ll get back to my grim scowl when my relief wears off,” he teased.
I smiled, despite my determination not to. “Now that you mention it, I’m pretty relieved about that too.”
Walt steered into the parking lot of the police station and we made our way to the south entrance. We stepped through the smudged double glass doors and paced the atrium until Frank finally appeared.
“What’s going on?” Walt demanded. “We’ve been here for nearly two hours. Were you with Ethan the whole time? Did his lawyer finally show up?”
“You’re looking at his lawyer.” Frank sighed. “Ethan called me not thirty seconds after I got off the phone with you. For obvious reasons, the family attorneys can’t represent him. I was so worried about getting the news to you, the conflict issue didn’t even cross my mind. Ethan asked me to represent him, and I agreed.”
“Will he have to stay in custody until Monday?” I asked. I doubted it was a coincidence that Victor set Ethan up to be arrested on a Saturday.
“No. I had to pull some strings, but I got a judge to hear the case and Ethan’s bail was set at fifty grand. He can bond out for five, we just need you to get the cash.”
“Where am I supposed to get that much cash when the banks are closed?” I demanded.
“Ethan’s sock drawer,” Frank replied without missing a beat. “He’d also appreciate a change of clothes and a pair of shoes. He’s still in his football pants and cleats. I’ve arranged for us to go directly to Portland General for another test once Ethan’s released.”
“Melissa said the league would want to verify any retests with their own doctors,” I told him.
“And that will be arranged,” he assured me. “Right now, it’s important to get a negative test documented. We’ll release the results to the public immediately to quell some of the media frenzy. You’ll probably be swarmed with reporters when you get to the house. You’re free to deal with them however you’d like.”
“I’ll talk to anyone who wants to listen. I’ll tell them all that Ethan’s innocent.”
“That’s not exactly the case,” Frank warned. “Ethan may be innocent of the steroid allegations. But he’s guilty of assault. We don’t have a defense, even if we prove Victor falsified his test results. The fact that Victor deserved an ass whooping didn’t make it legal for Ethan to give him one.”
“Is he going to serve time, Frank?” Walt asked.
“Not if I can help it. We’re wasting time. Walt, it’s probably best if you go with Emily. I’m going to wait with Ethan. Call me if you run into any trouble,” he instructed.
“Same to you,” Walt replied.
“Tell Ethan we’ll be back as fast as we can,” I called over my shoulder as Walt and I headed for the door. “And Frank? Will you please tell him that I love him?”
“Will
do, Emily.”
***
“Emily, Ethan, I’m so glad you called. I’ve been so worried about you,” Melissa said, stepping into Ethan’s living room. I hugged her and took her coat.
“Thanks for coming over. We have something we want to talk to you about,” I told her.
I joined Ethan on the sofa and Melissa took a seat in the armchair across from us.
“I take it this isn’t a social call?” she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
“Not exactly. But for now, it’s all off the record,” Ethan explained.
“I can’t wait to hear it. But first, how are you doing? I’m so sorry for the way you’re getting skewered in the news. It isn’t fair.”
“Life isn’t fair,” I told her, remembering Walt’s words. “But you’re right, the press has been particularly brutal.”
When I returned to Ethan’s house for the bond money, I gave a statement to the reporters gathered outside. I assured them that Ethan was innocent of the doping charges and assured them the full story would soon come to light. Four hours later, Portland General released the results of Ethan’s retest: he tested negative for everything.
I’d hoped that would subdue Ethan’s critics, but it didn’t. The public trusted the league’s doctors and assumed Ethan had paid for his negative results. And as Victor pointed out to anyone who’d listen, Ethan had already proven he couldn’t control his violent temper. Wasn’t that one of the classic signs of steroid abuse? His plan worked perfectly and the country applauded him for firing such an uncontrollable monster.
It took me three days to convince Ethan to even talk to Melissa about going public with our side of the story. He kept insisting that he didn’t want to air his family drama for the world to see, assuring me that the truth would eventually come out. But that morning, one of the tabloids had run an old picture of me with a black eye. The picture was from my sophomore year of college, when I’d taken an elbow to the face during a particularly difficult volleyball match. But the paper didn’t explain that I’d been a victim of university mandated PE class. Their headline announced that Ethan McAlister was beating his fiancé. The moment Ethan saw it, he called Melissa himself.
“The press isn’t our problem,” Ethan insisted. “My mother and Victor are the problem. What we’re about to tell you doesn’t leave this room, Melissa. Not until we have evidence to back it up.”
“And when you have the evidence?” she asked.
“The story is yours, if you want it,” he assured her.
“Of course I want it. I assume this has to do with the threats Victor made before Christmas?”
Ethan nodded. “That and so much more. Emily told you what Victor said when he demanded I break up with her. After the bowl game, I got cocky. I thought there was no way he’d actually follow through with any of it. I was wrong. But my mother’s the one who’s pulling all the strings.”
“And we do mean all the strings,” I added. “I’m pretty sure Marsha sent the thug to my school.”
As Melissa worked to pick her jaw up off the floor, I explained Marsha’s desperate determination to keep as much of Victor’s money as possible. I also filled her in on Heather and her visit to my school.
“This is your cousin?” Melissa asked Ethan.
He nodded. “Step-cousin. She has everything in common with Victor except his bank balance. Victor’s a self-made man and hasn’t been particularly generous to his extended family. But Heather would be more than happy to do a little dirty work for a nice paycheck.”
“But we still have no idea who the guy that broke into your classroom is?” she continued.
“Not yet. But Walt’s investigator is hoping he’ll turn up among Heather’s friends,” I explained.
“So at this point, we’re just waiting for the investigators to find something?” she asked.
“Pretty much,” Ethan agreed. “Emily wants to give an interview now in an attempt to quite some of the rumors. I feel if we speak out before we have proof, we’ll just make things worse.”
“I agree with you,” Melissa told him without hesitating. “I’m sorry Emily, but he’s right. That headline today was awful. But if you start talking now, without any evidence to back it up, it’s just going to look like a lame attempt to turn the blame away from Ethan. Without evidence, Victor and Marsha can twist your words however they want. You have to hit them with something they can’t deny.”
“That’s exactly what Ethan said,” I told her with a frown. “But we have to do something. This is getting out of control.”
“Then you need to find proof faster,” she advised. “Has your investigator checked with the airlines to see if Heather flew into town around the time Ben saw her at the school?”
“I’m not sure,” I confessed.
“Have you shown Heather’s picture to Ben to make sure she’s really the woman he spoke with?”
“No.”
“You think there’s a chance someone was impersonating my cousin?” Ethan asked.
Melissa shrugged. “I think getting a positive ID from Ben is the fastest and easiest way to make sure you’re on the right track.”
I turned to Ethan. “Do you have a picture of her?”
“No, but I can pull one off the internet. Heather’s the epitome of a social media whore.” Ethan pulled out his phone and a few moments later, he texted a picture of Heather to mine. I forwarded it to Ben and asked if that was the cousin he’d met at school. I checked the time after sending the text.
“If he’s still on his usual schedule, he’ll be at the club until nine tonight. We may have to wait a while for a response.”
“It had to be Heather,” Ethan insisted.
Melissa shrugged. “You could be right. Or your mother could have had someone pretend to be your cousin. They had to have known the visit would eventually get back to Emily. They could be distracting you, drawing your attention to Kansas City.”
“That’s an excellent point,” he agreed, running a hand through his hair.
“I’ve been known to make them. Now, let’s focus on your situation. Obviously, I know you’ve been fired.”
Ethan nodded. “The league’s anti-doping commission is reviewing the results of my second blood draw. They may want to retest me themselves. But I’ll eventually be cleared of the doping charges. I’m not sure that will help me get another football contract.”
“How do we prove that Victor set you up?”
Ethan shrugged. “I’m not sure that we can. He apparently bribed one of the league doctors. But Victor’s good at covering his tracks. And I’m sure the doctor is highly motivated to keep his mouth shut.”
“The league won’t ban you for a simple assault charge,” she assured him.
“True. But how many teams will want to hire me knowing I punched out my last boss?”
Melissa rolled her eyes. “I think most people who’ve met Victor have had the urge to knock him out. Some people might even offer you a signing bonus to do it again on your way out of town.”
Ethan let out a light laugh. “Let’s hope so.”
My phone rang, drawing our attention. “Is it Ben?” Melissa asked.
“It’s Frank… hello?”
“Hey, Emily. I’m sorry to bother you this late, but there’s been a development in the Hollis case.”
“A development with our investigation or the police’s?”
Ethan and Melissa sat up a little straighter, listening in to my side of the conversation.
“The police’s. They’ve identified the man who broke into your classroom. His name is Kelvin Rhoads. He’s a minor league thug who lives in Dallas, Texas.”
“Dallas?”
“Yes. They now think that whoever set you up is someone connected to Ethan. They’d like to talk to both of you down at the station. I explained that you didn’t want to miss any more class, so the lead detectives agreed to meet with you tonight.”
“We’re on our way.”
“Emily, wha
t’s going on?” Ethan asked patiently as I started rushing around the room, gathering my things.
“The cops identified the jackass who broke into my classroom. His name is Kelvin Rhoads and he lives in Dallas. Does the name ring any bells?” I slung my purse over my shoulder and turned to the door.
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Well, they want to talk to both of us. Looks like you may have been right, Melissa.”
She stood and retrieved her coat. “I’ll go to the station and start researching Rhoads. Let me know if Ben gets back with you about the picture. And call me when you leave the station.”
“Thank you, Melissa.”
She pulled me into a hug and held me a few moments longer than usual. “This is a good thing, Emily. I know getting called to the station is stressful. But this is the beginning of the end of this nightmare,” she whispered.
“Please let us know if you find anything,” Ethan said. He held open the door and we filed out into the night.
“I will,” she promised. “Good luck.”
Melissa climbed behind the wheel of her Focus and Ethan and I continued on to my car. I tossed him the keys and settled into the passenger’s seat.
“The cops think I’m involved with this because of the Dallas connection, right?” he asked, firing the engine.
I reached across the console and put a comforting hand on his thigh. “They don’t think you sent the guy. But they think you may know him. They probably just want to show you his picture and ask a few questions about your time in Dallas.”
Ethan nodded, his eyes fixed on the road. The past few months had taken a toll on both of us, and the past few days had been the worst. We were exhausted, frustrated, and furious at our circumstances. But they also brought us closer. I had no idea what the future would hold, but I had no doubt that we’d face it together.
After a few silent miles, Ethan cleared his throat. “We need to tell the police our theory about my mother.”
I was shocked by his words. Ethan had been adamantly against sharing our suspicions with anyone until we had solid proof.
