by Jim Riley
"We would like to help prepare the sandwiches for the players tonight, if you don't mind."
Lowest looked a little confused. "Of course. We can use all the help we can get. I've even got my mother here to help us. She's from Midland, out in West Texas, and this is the only game she will get to see all year. But I still didn't let her off the hook. Actually, she volunteered. She didn't want to sit in the stands alone while I was back here getting sandwiches ready."
"We would love to help. Just send us in the direction where you need the most help."
Lois looked at Niki, but her main focus was on Dalton.
"The kids aren't going to believe this. A senator is helping make the sandwiches. He might even make the one my son eats. Thank you, Senator."
"Please, I’m Dalton. Senator sounds way too formal for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I probably need to get put somewhere where I can mess up a little. I don't have a lot of experience in this area."
"Luckily, you came to the right person. Somehow I got is elected to lead this effort. I tell you what, my mom has trouble opening the jars and mixing the peanut butter and jelly together. Do you mind if I team you up with her? She’ll be thrilled."
"Me, too," Dalton grinned. "I know how to open jars."
Niki was teamed up with one of the two volunteer dads. She was not surprised that most of the people giving their time in this endeavor were moms. Most of the men felt more comfortable preparing the field or painting the stands.
"Hey, Sonny. Are you here to help or gawk?" The gray–haired lady in her mid-sixties asked as soon as Dalton introduced himself.
"I'm here to work, Ma'am. Just point me in the right direction. Your daughter thought I might get the lids off the jars for you."
"Well then, get after it. I'm Kathy. You can call me Miss Kathy. Have you washed your hands?"
"No, Miss Kathy. Not yet."
She scolded him. "We don't want to get them boys sick. You wash them real good before you touch one of them jars. I want to look at ʻem first."
Dalton washed his hands twice and passed the close inspection by Lois Turner's mother. He took his place by the elderly lady. They were in a corner in the kitchen by themselves. Dalton searched until he spotted Niki across several tables next to Lois in the next room. From his remote vantage point, Dalton doubted if he would make a positive contribution to the investigation of the death of his nephew.
"Miss Kathy, how do you want to do this?" Dalton asked.
“You open them.” Kathy pointed at the jars of peanut butter and similar number of jars of grape jelly. “There's a bowl over there. Dump the stuff in there and stir it up real good. Don't get lazy and leave a bunch of lumps of the peanut butter in there. These kids like to get a taste of jelly, too.”
"Do you get to do this often? Sounds like you're a pro. At least, you know what the kids want."
She donned a pair of latex gloves. "Nope. I only got here yesterday. I'm from Midland, you know."
Dalton nodded.
“I've been out to the Midland–Odessa area. Friendly folks and some great barbecue.”
"Pshaw. Mostly Mexicans and welfare workers. If something happens to the oil field, Midland will disappear. The only things left will be the sandstorms, sagebrush, and rattlesnakes."
"I assume one of the players is your grandson."
"Of course. I wouldn't be here to watch a bunch of kids I don't know. I can't afford it. I had to get one of them tickets that you've got to buy a week before to get the discount. That's the only reason I could buy one to come see Harvey play."
"You only get to see him play once a year?"
She looked at him like he was unable to comprehend simple words. "Ain’t that what I just told you? Are you going to talk all night or work? Them boys will be getting awful hungry at the rate you're going."
Dalton dumped several jars of jelly on top of the peanut butter in the bowl. He found a long wooden spoon and stirred the two ingredients under the watchful eyes of the elderly grandmother. When he saw the glint of approval in them, he slid the big bowl over in front of her.
"Don't just stand there, Sonny. One bowl won’t fill them boys up. Grab another bowl and make yourself useful. Here, get your spoon. You're gonna need it."
Dalton chuckled and grabbed another bowl. He took his spoon from the first bowl. A little curious how his first attempt tasted, he ran a finger down the end of the utensil. He was about to sample his concoction.
"Whoa. Don't you dare. This peanut butter and jelly ain't for you. They've got it here for the kids, not for some man to fill himself up. You get back to mixing."
Dalton obeyed her. He watched the gray woman spread the mixture in equal globs between two slices of white bread. He tried to keep an eye out for Ricky Augustine and Paula Harris, but neither entered the school kitchen. He was mixing the fourth bowl of peanut butter and jelly when he heard the players filing into the cafeteria. Soon after, he heard the higher pitched excited voices of the cheerleaders.
"You had better quit daydreaming and get to work, Sonny. If this is the way you do things on your job, I'm surprised your boss hasn't fired you."
Dalton chuckled. Kathy had not been told he worked for the people of Louisiana and they had to either rehire him or fire him every six years. He finished the last bowl and passed it to Kathy.
While she was spreading the mixture on the final loaf of bread and stuffing the sandwiches into plastic baggies, he edged to the door between the kitchen and the eating area. He saw both Paula and Ricky among the other students.
Dalton saw the two teenagers sneaking peeks at each other and exchanging silent hand signals. He was so intent on the two kids that he was surprised when Niki spoke from only inches behind his back.
"What are they doing?" She asked.
"Acting like two teenagers with the hots for each other and they don't want the rest of the room to find out. They’re like a couple of Indians sitting on opposite hills, sending smoke signals to each other."
Niki snickered. "You know the old saying. Where there is smoke, there is fire."
"We have to figure out which lit the match."
"Could be both of them," Niki said. "That's something we haven't given it a lot of thought to."
"You're right. I was thinking in terms it was one or the other, but not both."
"It might make more sense that way," she said.
"Hey, Sonny. If you want a good seat, you might want to quit eyeing all those cheerleaders and go to the stadium."
Dalton turned. "Niki, this is Kathy. She is Lois Turner's mom. She flew all the way from Midland to see her grandson play. Kathy, this is my friend, Niki."
Kathy did not even look at Niki. "Good for you. You didn't win her over by making sandwiches. Now, do I have to send a letter to get you to escort me to the stadium?"
Dalton glanced at Niki.
"Go ahead," she said. "I'm staying here a little while to make sure everything goes well. Save me a seat if you don't mind."
"Are you sure? I can stay and help you."
"Sonny, you’re a little dense, ain’t you? Missy already tried to get rid of you once. How many times does she have to tell you to get lost before you get the message? Come on, I walk fast."
Niki gave Dalton a quick peck on his cheek. "Go ahead. Miss Kathy needs you more than I do."
Dalton grinned. "Let's go, Miss Kathy. You have a date to the football game."
"I ain’t that kind of girl, Sonny." Then she lowered her voice to a whisper. "At least not whilst your girlfriend is looking."
Dalton winked at Niki and held Kathy's arm until they reached the seats on the forty yard line about midway up. Dalton laid his jacket on the seat next to him to reserve it for Niki.
Niki moved from the kitchen to the eating area. She stood just inside the door. An assistant coach was showing a brief clip designed to get the players motivated and focused.
After the presentation, the cheerleaders led the whole team in a raucous chant. At the end of the cheer, the
girls threw their pom-poms to the hyped up players. Niki noticed that Paula’s pom-pom landed in Ricky Augustine's lap. The teenagers could not contain their smiles.
The cheerleaders filed to the kitchen. Each one of them picked up a tray loaded with a bottle of Gatorade, a bag of chips, and two sandwiches. They went back and forth until all the football players were served. Niki saw Paula sneak over to the pantry and take two extra bags of chips for one tray. Those were taken directly to Ricky by the captain of the cheer squad.
The young girl reached under the table to retrieve the pom-pom. Niki could not see under the table, but she saw the huge grin on Ricky’s face. One of his teammates snickered. Paula removed her hand and led the cheerleaders out of the cafeteria onto the field.
Niki did not stay for the head coach’s address to the team. When she reached the first access step to the stands, she scanned the crowd and saw Dalton waving to her. Her mind raced while she ascended this steps of the stadium and took a seat next to Dalton.
"Anything interesting?" He asked.
“A lot,” she replied. “We’ll talk about it after the game. I think I know how they did it.”
"They?" Dalton asked.
"Paula, at least. I don't know if Ricky knew what was going on or not."
"Are you kids going to talk for the whole game? I would like to see my grandson play," Kathy blurted.
"You said his name was Harvey, didn't you?" Dalton asked. "What position does he play?"
"It's Harvey," she replied. "And I have no clue what position he plays. Lois told me he would get to play a lot tonight, but it’s my bad luck that you took me this far in the seats, I'm lucky I can see the field, much less the players. Why did you drag me way up here?"
Dalton shrugged. "Miss Kathy, you're the one that climbed up here. I was following you, remember?"
"Don't get sassy, Sonny. It's your fault. I won't be able to see him." She opened the game program that Dalton bought for her. "He's number one. He's right at the top of the list. That must mean he's the best player on the team. Ain't that right, Sonny?"
Dalton did not bother to tell the proud grandmother that the players were listed by the jersey numbers, from least to the biggest, which was number ninety-eight.
"Yes, Ma'am. That means he is the best."
A runner from the press box tapped Dalton on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, Sir. They want you upstairs."
Dalton climbed the rest of the way to the enclosed box as the teams took the field. The band played the national anthem, and then the announcer addressed the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing while Tommy Netterville's uncle, the senator from Baton Rouge, Dalton Bridgestone, leads us in a moment of silence in honor of our friend and hero. I'm sure Tom is looking down on us tonight and is our biggest fan."
Dalton went back to his seat after a brief silence.
"Where have you been, Sonny? You almost missed the start of the game." Kathy admonished him.
"I had something I needed to take care of," he replied.
"Well, I hope you did. I don't want you getting up and down during the game."
Friday Night
Wildcats Stadium
Central received the kickoff. Harvey Turner trotted out on the field and took his position behind the center. It was then that Dalton realized that Kathy's grandson was the second string quarterback who would take the place of Tommy Netterville.
“Look at him,” Kathy exclaimed. “Ain't he a fine young man?”
“He certainly is,” Dalton replied. “I hope he has a good game.”
In his mind, Dalton wished that he was watching Tommy lead the Wildcat offense.
"Who are those other guys?" Kathy asked.
"The Live Oak Eagles. Their school is only about twenty minutes from here."
"Are they any good?"
"Fairly good. Every team that gets into the playoffs is good. But Central beat them by four touchdowns earlier this year," Dalton explained.
Kathy grinned, not taking her eyes off of her grandson. "Harvey is going to beat them by six."
The powerful Wildcats team clearly over-matched the smaller Eagles team. The Wildcats relied on a strong running game between the tackles to march down the field on their opening possession without attempting a pass. They scored on a fullback dive from two yards out.
When the Eagles got the ball, they found the yards difficult to gain against one of the best defenses in high school. An off–tackle run and a tailback sweep failed to advance the ball on their first two plays. A pass to the flat on third down was intercepted by Ricky Augustine. The athletic defensive back returned the pick for a touchdown.
Dalton kept watching Paula Harris. When Ricky came off the field, she stood on the fence separating the players from the cheerleaders, and motioned for Ricky to come to her. When he leaned over the fence, she planted a forceful kiss right on his lips.
As the game wore on, the Wildcats continued to pressure the Eagles futile attempts to get back into a competitive game. The Central offense relied mostly on a powerful ground game, throwing only eight passes the entire contest.
Harvey Turner completed six of the eight, including one for a touchdown. Kathy jumped so high, she nearly fell into the row of fans below her. Dalton caught her before she hurt herself or the others. The grandmother didn't slow down, though. The elderly lady discovered a moment of youth, jumping up and down. It was like she was on a Pogo stick. Dalton and Niki grinned at the gray-haired woman acting like a cheerleader.
Central closed out the game with a conservative strategy, not trying to run up the score on the Eagles. As soon as the gun sounded ending the game, fans and cheerleaders ran onto the field to congratulate the players. Paula ran straight to Ricky Augustine. They hugged each other for a long time. It was more than a congratulatory embrace. Ricky's hands did not stay above Paula's waistline.
Dalton and Niki escorted Kathy to the concession stand, where her daughter volunteered to help during the game. Lois Turner appeared with an enormous smile.
"Wasn't that wonderful? All the boys did a good job, especially Harvey," she said.
"They all played a fine game," Dalton responded.
"Hey. The church is having a reception for the team after the youth meeting Monday night. Would love for you to come. The boys would be thrilled."
"No, Lois," Niki replied. "We have so much going on. I don't know where we would find the time."
Niki turned and watched Ricky and Paula walk off the field arm-in-arm. She turned back to Lois. "On second thought, we'd love to come. It will be a privilege to be a part of the reception."
Dalton looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
Lois’s smile grew bigger. "Then it's a date. I'll make the arrangements. Thank you so much, Niki."
The happy mother saw her son coming off the field and almost ran over Niki to give him a hug.
Dalton touched Niki’s shoulder.
"What was that all about? Do you really want to go to a church reception in honor of the football team?"
"Yes, I do."
"Why?"
"I know who switched the sandwiches, but I have no idea how we can prove it. I'm hoping one of us comes up with a plan between now and Sunday night."
Friday Night
Central
During the trip back to Niki's townhouse, they discussed the case and several possible solutions without coming up with a definitive plan.
“Let's pick up Donna and get something to eat. She's probably bored out of her mind by now, but I thought it couldn't hurt her to stay home tonight. She can't get into any trouble that way.”
The investigator was surprised to find her door unlocked. She pulled the thirty-eight revolver from her bag and quietly pushed the door open. Niki pointed her weapon at the colossal figure rising from the couch.
"Don't move, or you're dead," Niki yelled.
Another figure rose from beneath the first one.
"Don't shoot
him, Miss Niki. Please don't shoot him. We weren't doing anything," Donna screamed.
Niki saw she had the gun’s sights pointed at Blake Hebert's massive chest.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
Dalton appeared at her side, his focus on Donna's boyfriend. His stare was icy and his muscles tense.
"Miss Niki," the huge boy raised his hands. "I only wanted to talk to Donna. I didn't mean any harm."
“What are you doing here?” Niki used a harsh tone.
"I asked him to come over," Donna answered for Blake. "I wanted to talk to him. We needed to get some things straightened out."
Niki put the thirty-eight revolver back in its holster in the small of her back.
"You should not have come, especially when I'm not home." She turned to Donna. "Has he hurt you?"
"No, Ma'am. That's one thing we had to talk about. I told him I couldn't stay with him if I was scared he would hit me again."
"Miss Niki," the huge athletes stepped forward. "I've already apologized to Donna. Now I would like to apologize to you. I said some things to you that weren't wise or nice. I want you to know I'm sorry I said them, and I'll never say those types of things to you again."
"What made you change your mind?"
The big fella looked down at the floor.
"My coach told me that if I keep acting like a child, they will kick me off the team. He said the pro teams wouldn't touch me if I had a reputation as a troublemaker with the commissioner they have now. I wouldn't get drafted."
Niki shook her long strawberry blonde hair.
"I don't agree with the reason for your change of heart, but at least he got through to you on terms you understand. We were about to get a bite to eat. Would you like to join us?"
Saturday Morning
Zachary
Sam Gonzales struggled to find the key to his door for his modest residence. It was hours before daylight would ascend on the small suburb of Baton Rouge. The small wood frame house sat on six acres only four miles north of Zachary off the Pride–Port Hudson Highway. It was isolated down a long gravel drive, hidden from view of the street.
