Page 23 of Eye on the Ball
“Tell me.”
“The case he was building to hold the softball trophy? Somebody’d smashed it to smithereens. And the trophy? Was gone.”
“A softball-related kidnapping? I know everybody takes this game seriously, but that seems unbelievable.”
“You’re not wrong there. And it’s not like Ace didn’t have a lot of people who disliked him. Enough to hurt him, though?” The deputy shook his head. “I can’t think of anybody, off the top of my head, unless it’s one of his cousins. He treats those boys like dirt.”
The cook leaned over the counter and whistled to get our attention. “Reynolds. Sheriff’s on his way over.”
The deputy drained his mug. “Time to go.”
I stood, put money on the table for our coffees plus a tip, and followed him out the back door. We waited there a minute until his phone buzzed, and then I followed him to the ugly municipal building, where Brenda waited outside, just raising her phone to her ear. My phone buzzed once, and then she saw me and hung up.
“Jack?” She looked back and forth between me and Reynolds, looking worried and exhausted. “Can you take me home now?”
“Definitely.”
Reynolds gave me his card, and I could reciprocate, since Tess had ordered nifty business cards for me that had an image of a prowling tiger across the front.
“Let me know what you hear?”
He nodded. “You, too.”
With that, Brenda and I headed out. She said little and, when I looked over at her, I realized she was asleep. Understandable after the night she’d had. I’d followed her home so she could drop off her car before we went to Riverton, so I knew where she lived. When I pulled into the driveway in front of her house and shut off my truck, she woke up.
“We’re here.”
“Thanks,” she said, reaching for the door handle.
“Brenda. You should tell me what’s happening,” I said quietly.
“I … I don’t know anything,” she said, avoiding my gaze. “Send me a bill for your time.”
“I don’t care about that. I just want to help you.”
“I know. I just … I need some sleep. I’ll see you at practice tonight.” She opened the door and hopped out.
“We’re still having practice?”
For the first time since we’d left Riverton, she looked directly at me, her eyes wide. “Of course! Nothing gets in the way of the big game.”
“Not even the disappearance of the Riverton team captain?”
She hesitated and then shook her head, closed my truck door, and fled into her house.
I waited until the door closed behind her to text Tess and, showing great restraint, I avoided the phrase “foul play.”
10
Tess
Fortunately, my post-robbery morning was super busy. Time flew by, and I was too busy to worry about Brenda much, although concern sat heavily in the back of my mind.
Brenda arrested? Suspected murder?What?
And Jack had said they were in Riverton. Was it about Ace? He’d been missing … I spent some time beating myself up about not taking time to talk to Brenda at the field. But then another group of customers rushed in and took all my time and energy, since they had several small kids with them and none of the parents were particularly interested in supervising them.
“Please don’t climb on the shelves!” I said to a hyper kid who’d climbed halfway up one of the shelving units.