The Lakeside Conspiracy (21 page)

CHAPTER 85

Michelle still had a few minutes until she had to leave to pick up Ms. Jones. That would put them at the meeting location just before 1:00. It would only take a minute or so to go in through the back door and make their way to the meeting room. She’d asked Max why he was risking cutting it so close. He’d said he didn’t want to get their too early and be noticed. It would only take one wrong person in a small town to blow the whole thing.

Michelle was nervous. She knew Max had come up with the plan he thought would work, but there was still so much that could go wrong. Everything hinged on the reaction of one person. Max was confident it would be a reaction in his favor, but there was no guarantee.

By dinnertime, she and Max would either be celebrating a victory or licking their wounds and trying to figure out how they would pick up the pieces. Or she might be visiting Max in jail.

Even though she was nervous, she felt at peace. They were doing the right thing. How others responded was out of their hands.

At 12:10, Michelle started Max’s truck and headed toward the hotel. She called Ms. Jones to let her know she was on the way. After seven rings, it went to voice mail. Michelle tried again, but with the same result. She tried calling Max to let him know, but he didn’t answer either.

CHAPTER 86

The Carroll County Touchdown Club met for lunch during football season every Wednesday from 12:30 to 1:30 at the Best Western. This was the twenty-third year for the club to meet. Lunch was usually barbecue or Charlie’s Chicken. The meal usually wrapped up by 12:50, there were a few announcements and a prayer and then the featured speaker came on around 1:00.

Max had been to the meeting many times. The food was always good and the speakers were usually top-notch guys, mostly former players or coaches. The scheduled speaker for today, October 1
st
, just happened to be Joe Patterson, the Pioneer’s head coach.

Max would be in attendance and giving an unscheduled speech of his own.

CHAPTER 87

It was only a five-minute drive to the Basin Park Hotel. Michelle had tried calling Ms. Jones several more times, but she still hadn’t answered. Michelle really didn’t have time to park and walk to the hotel, but had no choice. The Basin Park parking lot was several blocks away, so Michelle found a spot in one of the public parking lots nearby. Fortunately, it wasn’t busy on a Wednesday morning in October.

She walked up the hill toward the hotel. Just as she was about to cross the street, a man stepped out of the hotel. She might not have recognized him if it wasn’t for the black eyes and bandage across the bridge of his nose. It was the guy Max had knocked out. She wasn’t happy to see him, but was glad to know Max hadn’t actually killed him. The last time Michelle had seen him, she had to step over his sprawled out body outside the restaurant in Ozark, Missouri.

Michelle stopped in her tracks and turned her head. She was only forty feet from him. Fortunately, he hadn’t seen her. She ducked into a coffee shop across the street and waited. He just stood in front of the hotel looking up and down the street. She didn’t know if he was looking for her, Max or Ms. Jones. She could only hope Ms. Jones was safe.

Michelle tried calling Max again, but still didn’t get an answer. She didn’t know what to do and had to let him know she would be late. She also had to find Ms. Jones. Michelle tried calling her again. As she listened to the phone ringing, she prayed Ms. Jones would answer.

That’s when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

CHAPTER 88

Michelle was so startled, she screamed and dropped her phone. She turned around to see Ms. Jones standing there. The four other people in the coffee shop stopped what they were doing and looked at Michelle.

“Ms. Jones,” Michelle said. “Thank God it’s you.”

“I didn’t mean to scare ya, honey,” she said.

“What are you doing here?” Michelle said.

“Hidin’ from the same fella you are,” she said.

“What happened? How did he find you?”

“I don’t know how. Just know that he did.”

Michelle bent down and picked up her phone. She’d only dropped it one other time and hoped it would be okay, but when she turned the phone over, she saw the screen was completely shattered.

“I’m sorry about your phone,” Ms. Jones said. “I didn’t mean to scare ya.”

“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re okay.” Michelle put her useless phone in her purse and said, “We’ve got to get out of here. Max needs us to arrive in…” Michelle looked at the clock on the wall, “…forty minutes.”

Alex Martin, the guy whose nose Max had broken, was still standing outside the hotel. Looking. Waiting.

“How did you know he was looking for you?” Michelle asked.

“I came downstairs earlier this morning to get some breakfast,” she said. “I heard this man at the front desk saying he had a delivery for me. He was trying to get the nice young man at the desk to give him my room number. He wouldn’t give it to him, so he asked the clerk to call my room. While they were busy doing that, I walked right out the front door and came over here.”

“That was very smart,” Michelle said.

“Well, I recognized that man from when I moved to Lakeside. Him and another man unloaded our truck for us.”

Alex Martin didn’t budge from in front of the hotel. And it felt too risky to walk onto the street. One glance is all it would take for him to see them.

“Ms. Jones, do you have your phone with you?” Michelle asked.

“It’s in my room,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d be runnin’ from someone.”

Michelle looked at the clock again. There was no way they would make it to the meeting on time. And there was no way to let Max know. She didn’t remember his cell phone number and her phone was useless.

Michelle went to the counter of the coffee shop and said, “I’m sorry to bother you, but could I borrow a phone and a phonebook?”

The young woman handed Michelle a cordless phone and said, “Here, you can use this. Let me see if we have a phonebook somewhere.” She started to look for the phonebook when Michelle said, “Actually, I just need the phone number for the Basin Park Hotel.”

The young woman looked at her and said, “Um, you know it’s just right across the street, right?”

Michelle had to resist saying what she was thinking. “I understand,” she said. “Maybe you could just pull it up online for me?”

Michelle watched as the woman typed in the search on a laptop on the counter. A moment later, she turned the screen around for Michelle to see the number.

“Ms. Jones, please be ready to move fast,” but even as she said it, she realized it wasn’t looking good for them. Apparently, it had been quite some time since Ms. Jones had exercised. “As soon as you see Alex Martin head back inside the hotel, we’re going out the front door to the left and down to the parking lot across the street.”

“I’ll move as fast as I can,” she said. “Just don’t expect me to do no runnin’.”

To say that Ms. Jones didn’t exactly have the body of a sprinter was kind. She just hoped they’d have enough of a head start to make it to the car. She punched in the number on the phone and heard it begin to ring.

“Basin Park Hotel, Diantha speaking, how may I help you?”

“Hi Diane, I…”

“Diantha.”

“I’m sorry?” Michelle said. “What did you say?”

“Diantha,” the woman said. “My name is Diantha.”

“What did I say?” Michelle asked.

“Diane,” she said. “It’s a common mistake.”

Of all the times, Michelle thought. “Alright, Dian
tha
, I’m meeting a man there for lunch today. He may be hanging around in the lobby. You’ll recognize him by his broken nose.”

“Oh, yes,” she said. “He’s here.”

“Great,” Michelle said. “Would it be possible to hand him the phone for a moment? My cell phone is broken, so I don’t have his number.”

Michelle could hear Diantha calling out, “Sir? Sir? You have a call.”

The moment Alex Martin stepped back inside the hotel, Michelle set the phone down on the counter, grabbed Ms. Jones by the hand and said, “Hurry!”

CHAPTER 89

Max was still driving the rental car. With the tinted windows, a baseball cap and sunglasses, he felt safe waiting in the parking lot for a few minutes. It was 12:40 p.m. He planned to enter the room at just before 1:00 when head coach, Joe Patterson was just beginning to speak. He would walk to the head table and sit in Joe’s seat and wait for an opportune moment. Of course, Max was prepared to not even make it all the way to the head table. Chances were good, he’d be stopped first.

If his timing was right, Michelle and Ms. Jones would enter the room five minutes later. That was the plan anyway. Max was well aware of how often plans were executed as drawn up. Hardly ever, at least not in the hundred plus football games he’d coached. The problem with a plan was that the other guy always had a plan to try and stop your plan. The guy who usually won was the one who made better adjustments.

Michelle should just be fifteen minutes away with Dante’s mother. Max pulled his phone from his pocket and saw missed calls from Michelle. His heart sank as he tried calling her back. After numerous rings, it went to voice mail. He tried texting her, but didn’t get a response. He tried calling Ms. Jones, but after seven rings he heard her voice mail greeting.

In less than fifteen minutes, Max would be walking into the lion’s den. Having Dante’s mother there was absolutely essential. Without her, Max knew he could end up sounding like a crazy man. He also knew it would not be a friendly audience. This was like playing a road game against your long time rival. No one in the room today would be happy to hear what he had to say.

Max had a view of the door into the meeting room. At 12:53, he watched as Donnie Black, the executive director of the Pioneer’s Athletic Foundation walked outside talking on his cell phone. Max couldn’t hear anything, but could see Donnie was not happy. He walked to the side of the building, clearly upset at someone as he gestured wildly with his free hand.

Max hoped Donnie would go inside. It wouldn’t work for him to see Max coming across the parking lot.

CHAPTER 90

Michelle pushed the door open and pulled Ms. Jones onto the street. They made a left and hurried down the sidewalk. There was a flight of stairs that led down to the parking lot. Eureka Springs was built on the side of hill, so almost anywhere you went you were walking up or down a hill or flight of stairs.

The good news was that they were walking down the stairs. The bad news was that Ms. Jones was moving slower than anyone Michelle had ever seen. Michelle held her hand as they descended the stairs and tried to coax her to go faster. She had little success. Ms. Jones seemed to have one speed and it was first gear. Michelle looked behind them and didn’t see Alex Martin. She tugged just a little harder on Ms. Jones’ arm.

After what felt like an eternity, they arrived at Max’s truck. Michelle looked at Ms. Jones and the height of Max’s truck and realized they had a problem. She looked up the hill and saw Alex Martin taking the steps two at a time in pursuit and realized they had an even bigger problem.

CHAPTER 91

Max watched Donnie Black finish his phone call and put his phone in his pocket. He stood in front of the Best Western and ran his hand through his hair. He paced for a minute, checked the time and went back inside at 12:57. It was time for Max to go in, but he’d heard nothing from Michelle. If she didn’t make it before the Touchdown Club dismissed at 1:30, he was in trouble. Big trouble. Career-ending-maybe-go-to-jail trouble.

Then he called his first audible. He’d wait until Coach Patterson’s speech was ending, rather than beginning. That would give Michelle a little more time. The game often went to the team that made the best adjustments.