Play On

by Heather C. Myers

  Chip Donahue turned to his left in order to face another comment.

  “Brandon Thorpe recently made headlines by holding out last minute instead of resigning with the Gulls,” Chip continued. “He wanted more money. Already a player that wasn’t, exactly, a fan favorite though revered for his amazing skill in front of the net, Brandon Thorpe already has a notorious antisocial reputation, not only with fans but amongst his fellow players as well. It is highly unlikely that if Thorpe is innocent of Brown’s murder and Hanson does not offer Thorpe the option to resign, he will have an easy time finding a new team to play with. Just because Thorpe is arguably the best net minder in the Western Conference – possibly even the entire league – does not erase the fact that he was thought to be a murderer. This is disappointing because, God, the guy could play.”

  The game resumed and the young ladies pulled their eyes off the television and placed them on each other.

  “I cannot even imagine what I would do if I was that Hanson girl,” Ariel commented, taking a sip of her mimosa. “Inheriting a sports team I had no idea about, only to find out that one of my players is a suspect and oh, by the way, so is my uncle. Jesus.”

  “Ahem,” Carrie said, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Ariel a look. “What’d I say about taking the Lord’s name in vain, Ariel?”

  “It’s an expression,” Ariel retorted.

  “Okay, I know this is going to sound weird and everything,” Michelle said, a light pink blush coloring her pale cheeks, “but was I the only person who thought that Brandon guy was hot?”

  “Michelle!” Carrie exclaimed. “The guy is a suspect in a murder!”

  “So?” Michelle asked. “That didn’t mean he did it.”

  Carrie looked like she was about to argue but Emma interrupted. “Michelle’s right,” she said. “And Chip Donahue didn’t actually tell the entire story. I was at the game, the day Thorpe was brought in for questioning, and my dad already knew everything there is to know about it. As much as a civilian could know, anyways. But the way Chip was talking, it was like he was insinuating Thorpe was arrested, but he actually wasn’t. He was only brought in for questioning. Technically, he could have left whenever he wanted, and because he got to leave without being arrested, the cops probably don’t have anything on him.”

  “Well, they must have something on him,” Carrie pointed out, “if they suspected him in the first place.”

  “The motive is a good one,” Ariel added. “Wanting more money.”

  “Yeah, but I’m sure another team would have paid him the same,” Emma said. “And plus, killing Ken didn’t guarantee that whoever inherited the team would give him that money. And if the team was sold without him resigning, he would have been screwed.”

  “See?” Michelle said with an easy grin. “Hot.”

  Carrie rolled her eyes, still not entirely convinced.

  From the corner of her eyes, Emma noticed an extremely tall guy walk into the restaurant, heading straight for them. She couldn’t stop herself from letting out a groan.

  “Guys,” she seethed under her breath. “Who the eff invited Vincent?”

  Ariel pointedly avoided Emma’s eyes, Michelle smirked, and Carrie shrugged.

  “He is our friend,” Ariel said. “Or have you forgotten?”

  “Yeah, our friend who happens to like me a little too much!” Emma exclaimed as softly as she could.

  Carrie started laughing as Michelle said, “Seeing the two of you interact is, literally, a better show than any 3D Imax movie.”

  “Well, I’m thanks my life amuses all of you,” Emma said in a rush just as Vincent made his appearance.

  “Hey!” he exclaimed in a low, gravely voice. He gave each of the four girls a hug, lingering on Emma a little too long, something that didn’t go unnoticed by anybody at the table. “Sorry I’m late. Class got out late.”

  Vincent was pushing six foot five, with short, curly black hair and a high forehead. He had crisp, brown eyes and a svelte form that was highlighted by his height. With a small nose, a small mouth, and broad shoulders, he wasn’t obviously good looking, but he had charm and he was hilarious which made up for whatever seemed lacking in his physical appearance.

  Emma knew that Vincent would definitely make a good boyfriend. He was warm and funny and he seemed to genuinely like her. He was also a gentleman – always holding door open for her – and was sweet, not only to her but to all of her friends. But she wasn’t interested. Mostly because she wasn’t actually attracted to him, though she did admit that he was cute, but also because he could be annoying in his courtship of her. The first time Vincent asked her out, it was somewhat awkward due to their friendship but nonetheless sweet. The second time, it was pushing it. The third time, Emma promised herself that she would do her best to avoid him. Which was hard, because he was always hanging around the four of them. He, too, was in graduate school at UCI – his for some science Emma couldn’t pronounce – so he was local and actually could hang out if he wasn’t working. Emma tried to organize their catch ups when Vincent was working, but it didn’t always work and it wasn’t always Emma who put things together.

  Today’s lunch date was thanks to Ariel. As such, Emma knew that Ariel was to blame for the surprise visit. All of her friends knew Emma was trying to avoid him as much as she could but if they all dropped him at once...

  Well, Emma could understand the logic behind it, but that didn’t mean she was happy about it.

  He waved at the waitress, ordering a beer and a burger.

  Lucky bastard.

  “Emma, was that the Kyle Underwood you went out with Tuesday night?” Carrie asked before Vincent could say anything. Vincent, who happened to be sitting right next to Emma, having pulled a nearby barstool over and placing it conveniently next to hers.

  “Wait,” Vincent said. “You went out with Kyle Underwood? The hockey player? Like, on a date?”

  Emma looked up, temporarily ignoring Vincent’s inquiries. There was actually a picture of Kyle Underwood – like Thorpe’s, it was this season’s team photo – and there it was, the skipping of the heart and the following ignoring of it.

  “Yup, that’s Kyle,” Emma answered with a nod. She couldn’t deny that she was slightly proud of this fact. Kyle was cute and he was a hockey player. “But we both thought that it would be best to just be friends.”

  “You went on a date with Kyle Underwood?” Vicent asked, deadpan.

  “Why?” Carrie asked. “The guy is so cute!”

  “Can I just point out that you’ve seemed to find something wrong with every guy you’ve dated since Paul and Paul was two years ago,” Michelle said.

  “Vincent, you need to set Emma up with some of your friends,” Ariel suggested.

  Emma threw her friend and dark look but Ariel just smiled as though she didn’t do anything wrong.

  “Trust me,” Vincent said, and though he was speaking in response to Ariel’s question, he was looking at Emma with twinkling eyes. “If Emma won’t even go out with me, I highly doubt she’d go out with my friends.”

  Thank God the waitress came with their food – save for Vincent’s due to the late order – at that moment because she wouldn’t have known what to say. Actually, scratch that, she knew what she wanted to say and might have said even though it probably was rude.

  And anyways, Emma could leave right after the food – she’d throw enough cash for her food and a tip – and head over to the dance studio at UCI. Thank God school started so she wouldn’t have to see Vincent all that much anymore. Thank God she could focus on dance rather than boys. And thank God for her dad because even though he wasn’t a fighter, she was almost certain that if she needed it, he’d hire someone to take care of Vincent if he continued to bother her.

  And who knew? Maybe Kyle Underwood would offer up his services as well.

  27. Her hand shook as she reached for her cell phone and called the number on the card she had retrieved from her overstuffed wallet. It was g
iven to her by Detective Christopher Williams during their first encounter, and he had told her that if she needed him for anything at all, she could call him, no matter what time it was. Since it was close to noon, Seraphina doubted that she would be interrupting anything, except perhaps lunch, but she didn’t really care all that much about etiquette right now.

  She knew what happened.

  She knew.

  She couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it before, but now that she did, it was so obvious. Those rumors, even the suspicion around Brandon Thorpe, it all came from one person. The puzzle was finally complete. The mystery was finally solved.

  And once she got off the phone with Detective Williams, she would call Katella. Though would a phone call be a smart idea? Perhaps she should just go over to Katella’s office and tell her sister in person.

  Hmm.

  Well, if it was Seraphina, she’d want to know as soon as possible. By phone – and not a text message. If Katella didn’t answer, she’d drive over there.

  There had been three rings. With every second, Seraphina could feel her heart beat increase more and more that she felt her chest vibrate.

  Why wasn’t he answering?

  Until finally, “This is Detective Williams.”

  “Detective?” Seraphina knew she sounded crazy, maybe even shrill, but at that point, she didn’t care. She didn’t know why, but she felt as though she needed to tell Detective Williams everything she knew all in one breath. “It’s Seraphina Hanson. I know who killed my grandfather. It was” –

  “Seraphina?” came his slow voice. “What’s wrong? Slow down.”

  “ – and he used his cane to knock Papa out” –

  “I can’t understand you,” Williams said. “You have to slow down. Seraphina, I can’t understand you.”

  “ – started the rumors about Papa wanting to sell the team” –

  “Seraphina?” This time, it was a familiar voice though not on the other end of the line. This one belonged to the man that had just left her office minutes ago, now back, and with a gun pointing at Seraphina. “Please. Hang up the phone. Oh, and I wouldn’t say anything else either.”

  Seraphina felt her entire body freeze that it took her a while before Simon Spade’s words sunk in. She managed to swallow, and with even shakier hands, she closed the phone. It dropped from her fingers due to the fact that she couldn’t control her body’s reaction at seeing him standing there with a gun. She grabbed her shaky hand with her other one, hoping that she might be able to calm herself down.

  “I was just talking to Katella,” she said. Her voice didn’t sound like herself; it sounded low and scared and detached.

  He smiled at her statement. It was warm, like all his smiles were. “I don’t believe you,” he said in a calm voice. “We both know that you’re lying.” He stepped into the office, but for whatever reason, didn’t think to close the door behind him. Maybe it was because one hand held the gun while the other held onto his cane. Maybe it was because there were probably only three or four people here – besides Seraphina herself – thanks to the away game that would take place that evening. And Simon would know that, thanks to his long, professional relationship with Papa. Maybe he was just cocky. Probably all three.

  “See, that’s how I know you are your grandfather’s granddaughter,” Simon continued. Seraphina didn’t understand how someone with such a nice, relaxed voice could be a cold-blooded killer. “Honesty runs through the family. Your grandfather couldn’t lie to save his life, and now I see that you’ve inherited that trait from him.”

  Seraphina pressed her lips together. She wasn’t sure if the fact that she hadn’t screamed was a good or a bad thing. People might have heard her and come to her aide – maybe, if the four people that were here would actually hear her and actually think to come looking to see if there was anything wrong – but Simon might have shot her had she made any noise.

  At least she knew how she’d react in a life or death situation; her entire body stood rigid, like a rock, but definitely not as strong.

  Right now, she couldn’t think, couldn’t move, couldn’t speak.

  “I’m not sure if you’ve been told this before, Miss Hanson,” Simon continued. He didn’t come any closer, but he was blocking the door – the only way in and out – so she couldn’t escape even if Seraphina had thought to. “But you have incredibly expressive eyes. And they, in turn, cause your entire face to react to something. I knew the instant you realized what happened to your grandfather. I realized my mistake in that moment, so I had to regroup. Luckily, I always carry this” – he tilted the gun so Seraphina would know it was what he was talking about – “in case of an emergencies. I’m an old man, Miss Hanson, and can’t protect myself. I started wearing it after your grandfather passed. Just in case.”

  This time, the smile on Simon’s face wasn’t warm; this time, it was sardonic.

  “So I left, just for a moment, so I could come back prepared,” he said. “And luckily I did, because you wasted no time getting on the phone, now did you? Admitting that Ken told me he was going to retire was my only flaw, you see? And maybe if I had kept my mouth shut, you wouldn’t be in your current predicament. For that, I apologize. But things happen for a reason. I slipped up, and if you would like to psychoanalyze me, I would not stop you.

  “Telling you about Ken’s supposed plan to retire was my undoing because your granddaughter would never have made such a decision without getting your opinion on it first. He told me how he would seek your advice about problems he was facing about the team, the players, so he wouldn’t actually think about selling the team without at least talking to you about it first. And I know Ken’s character, and Ken would never have retired unless health complications forced him to or if you and your sister asked him to. Not even spending more time with the two of you would be enough to get Ken to sell the team and retire.

  “Well, I can admire a working man. A man who earned every cent he ever made and went on to make himself a multi-millionaire, coming from absolutely nothing. But I am not like your grandfather. I want to retire a wealthy man – poor, in comparison to Ken, of course, but wealthy when compared to normal people – and spend more time with my family, who I rarely get to see myself.”

  Seraphina swallowed again. She didn’t know what else to do. She couldn’t concentrate on one thought at a time due to her eyes always looking at the gun pointing at her torso. Her entire body was tense as if it had already prepared for the gun to go off, but as of yet, nothing.

  So she forced herself to listen. Just in case she survived this thing and needed to retell it.

  “The team, as you well know now, was losing money,” he said. “Is losing money, I should say. Though, what with all the controversy surrounding Ken’s death, business has picked up. But it wouldn’t have, had I not killed your grandfather. At the time, the team was losing money which meant I was losing money. Of course, your grandfather wasn’t worried, but why should he be? He has plenty of money to his name. I, on the other hand, could not afford such a decrease in my finances. Selling the team would have been the best way to get rid of a sinking ship. And what with Brandon Thorpe asking for even more money and the fact that your grandfather was actually considering this young, arrogant fool, I had to take matters into my own hands.”

  “You started the rumors about Brandon.” They were the first words out of Seraphina’s mouth. They were firm but shocked. And she sounded more like herself.

  “Yes,” Simon said with a curt nod of his head. Seraphina noticed that for someone in his seventies, Simon’s hand holding the gun didn’t shake. “It was terribly easy too. Even you cannot deny that Brandon Thorpe was the perfect person for the police to focus on. He held out for more money – what a perfect scenario that happened at exactly the correct time. I couldn’t ask for a more arrogant and greedy scapegoat. Perhaps if he was a beloved player, a fan favorite so to speak, I might have had a more difficult time getting people to turn on him, but people d
o not particularly like him. Yes, he is an acclaimed net minder but people are flighty and tend to support those that they like, whether or not the player is actually good at the sport. And because people tend to believe what the media says rather than doing their own research and because the media loves a controversy, they feed off of each other until the story has gotten so big that even if Brandon Thorpe is acquitted or dropped as a suspect, his reputation is ruined. He’ll never play hockey again. And I’d have done everyone a favor because people want him gone. Of course, nobody will know this is my doing” – he stopped midsentence in order to look into Seraphina’s eyes, his lips curling into a dark smirk as he did so – “well, almost nobody. But I shall remedy that problem soon enough.”

  “You’re going to kill me.” Seraphina wasn’t sure if she meant her words as a statement or a question, but for whatever reason, she felt compelled to say them. Her eyes were still fixated on the gun.

  “Well, you need to be disposed of,” Simon told her, as though it was completely obvious. His tone was casually and he shrugged his shoulders slightly, almost like he was apologizing for it but it was still something that had to be done. “Don’t worry about me though, Miss Hanson, because I’ve thought it out. It isn’t difficult to see that you’ve been struggling to manage the Seagulls, that you’re in over your head. And that, piled on top of the distress you’re feeling in terms of losing your grandfather in such a horrific way, your uncle coming out to the media against you, well, it would make sense for you to take your own life and rid yourself of the burdens that have been placed on your shoulders.”