The Lakeside Conspiracy (9 page)

CHAPTER 29

“Michelle, it’s Mom. Can I come in? Are you okay in there? Baby, can I come in?”

Michelle opened her eyes and heard another knock at the door. “Yes, come in, Mom,” she said.

Her mother opened the door and came in. “I didn’t mean to wake you” she said. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I didn’t see your car.”

“What time is it?” Michelle asked.

Her mother looked at her watch and said, “Almost 10:00.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Michelle said. “I got a ride home.”

Her mother sat on the edge of the bed and said, “What time did you get in?”

“I think around 2:30,” Michelle said, rubbing her eyes.

Her mother rubbed Michelle’s shoulder through the covers. “Anything you want to talk about?” she asked.

For the next half hour, Michelle shared with her mother about the past few years and in particular, the past month or so. And then she told her about reconnecting with Chris and how good it felt to have someone actually care about her again.

Her mother waited until Michelle finished, then said, “I’m so sorry, sweetie. I wish I could make things better.”

“I know, Mom. Thank you. You and Daddy have been wonderful.”

Her mom kissed her cheek, then got up to leave. Just before she closed the door behind her, she said, “Where does all this leave you and Max?”

“I honestly don’t know, Mom.”

Her mother quietly closed the door. Michelle stayed in bed for another twenty minutes staring at the ceiling as she tried to sort out her feelings, feelings that had become a lot more complicated after being with Chris the night before.

CHAPTER 30

Max hadn’t slept well. He never really did the night before a game. He’d tossed and turned much of the night with a thousand thoughts running through his head. His mind kept flipping through his legal pad and the four game plans:

Springdale

Lakeside

Marriage

Me

At 5:10 a.m., he finally got up and made a pot of coffee and sat down with his notes. First, he turned to the Springdale plan. He still felt good about their chances to beat Springdale that night. They were coming in at 1-1. They’d lost to Fayetteville in week two in the “Battle of the Bulldogs”, so named because the two neighboring towns had the same mascot. Max was confident they could score against Springdale. And he knew he had a talented defensive unit. He’d lost his trust in Dave Turner though, which led to the next page.

Lakeside

Dave Turner

Jack Murphy

Ms. Jones (Dante’s mother)

Me

Max was more and more sure that Dave and Jack were out to get him fired. From what Bill Jackson had told him, Jack had always wanted Dave to have the job. Maybe they’d come up with a plan to sabotage the season, so Dave could take over. But what did Jack have at stake? Why would he care so much about Dave getting the head-coaching job?

Max looked at the last two names. His and Dante’s mother. He thought back to the day they’d talked, or not talked, in the parking lot at Feltner Brother’s. She was certainly still grieving, but it was more than that. She was scared. What was it she’d said—something about not being allowed to talk to him? Or not supposed to?

Just the sight of him had triggered her fear. If he could meet her privately, maybe she’d feel more freedom to talk. It was still too early to call. He’d wait until he was driving to school.

Max turned the page to the marriage game plan. Other than the words “Marriage Game Plan” written across the top, the page was still blank. He thought about the conversation he had with Michelle. It wasn’t much, but she hadn’t completely shut the door on their marriage.

What fire there might still be left for him in Michelle’s heart was now just the smallest ember. He hoped there was still time to fan it into a flame again. He remembered what it was like trying to light a fire with wet wood on camping trips. It was impossible. Maybe there was still a chance with Michelle though.

At breakfast the next day, he would ask Willy for any ideas that might give him a chance with Michelle. Until then, he’d have to put the marriage plan on hold. That left the plan to work on himself, and despite having more questions than answers, he at least felt like he was making progress. He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. He thought for a moment and realized he’d started to feel different after he’d asked God for help.

He just didn’t realize how much help he’d soon need.

CHAPTER 31

On his was to the school, Max called Ms. Jones’ cell number. He had no idea whether she’d answer or not, but much to his surprise, she answered on the second ring. She was not happy to hear from him and sounded at least as scared as she’d been the day he saw her in the parking lot.

Max asked if he could stop by to talk for a few minutes, but she refused. When he asked why she was so reluctant to talk to him, she said it didn’t matter and asked him to never call her again. Then she hung up.

Max arrived at the field house and got settled in his office, then went to start a fresh pot of coffee. He got it going and sat down at the conference room table and flipped through the newspaper from the day before. On page three, one of the headlines caught his attention: Accident Due to Brake Failure. The official investigation into Dante’s accident concluded his brakes had failed, which caused him to leave the road and strike the tree.

That was similar to what the police chief, Terry Cook, had told him. Max just couldn’t shake the feeling they’d somehow missed a key piece of evidence. Unless Dante’s car had sustained rear end damage between the time practice had ended and the time of the accident that night, then it must have happened during the accident. But how does a car sustain rear end damage in a collision with a tree?

Max read the article again. He pulled out his phone and found the picture he’d taken at the scene. It clearly showed damage to the back of Dante’s car. And skid marks on the street. He found a phone number for the Lakeside Police Department and asked for Terry Cook. A moment later, he heard, “This is Chief Cook.”

“Hi chief, this is Max Henry,” he said.

“What can I do for you, coach?” Terry said.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I really didn’t know who else to call,” Max said. “I was just reading the article about the official cause of Dante Jones’ accident.”

“Coach, like it says in the paper, that case is closed. Accident was due to brake failure,” Terry said.

“Yeah, I know that, but I just had a question,” Max said. “I drove by there after the accident and noticed skid marks on the street that led right up to where Dante’s car left the road. Is it normal for a car to leave skid marks if the brakes fail?”

“Look, coach, I know you care about your players and are just trying to help, but I can assure you this was a solid investigation,” Terry said.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Max said. “I’ll let you go.” He almost said goodbye, but added, “So I guess the rear end damage on Dante’s car wasn’t significant either.”

There was silence on the line. It sounded like Terry put his hand over the phone and was talking to someone else. Then he said, “There was no rear end damage, coach.”

Max paused this time. He thought about telling him he had a picture of the damaged car and the skid marks, but didn’t. “Well, my mistake then, Chief. Sorry to bother you.”

Max poured a cup of coffee and sat back down. He replayed the conversation with Terry. And then he thought about the fear he’d heard in Ms. Jones’ voice. He just didn’t know what it all meant. Or if it meant anything at all.

Twenty minutes later, he was no closer to figuring anything out and he’d already wasted enough time on things that weren’t really his concern. He poured another cup of coffee before heading back to his office. It was time to let this go and get back to coaching football. And that’s what he decided to do until he got back to his office and found Jack Murphy sitting at his desk.

CHAPTER 32

“Well, good morning, Max,” Jack said. “I came in and couldn’t find you, so I thought I’d just sit down here and wait.” After a moment, he added, “I really thought you’d be at your desk working on tonight’s game.”

Max walked over to his desk and stood over Jack. “Excuse me,” he said.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Let me give you back your chair.”

Max sat down behind his desk. Jack took a seat across from him.

“Is there something I can help you with, Jack?” Max asked. “I’ve got a lot to do.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do, Max,” Jack said. “I’m sure you do…as busy as you’ve been.”

The two men stared across the desk at each other. Neither man blinked.

“If you’ve got something on your mind, then just say it, Jack.”

“Just came by to wish you luck tonight, coach,” Jack said with a forced smile. “That’s all.”

Max could feel his muscles twitching and his hand curling into a fist. He wanted nothing more than to knock that smile right off Jack’s face.

Jack stood up and walked to the door. As he was leaving the office, he stopped and turned to Max. “Oh, just one other thing. For your own good, keep your nose outta places it don’t belong.”

CHAPTER 33

Either Jack showing up was a coincidence or he’d come in response to one of two things—either his phone call with Dante’s mother or his phone call with Chief Cook. Or both. It couldn’t have been a coincidence though. He’d just given Max a warning.

Max felt like he was playing the game where you blindfold someone and give them something to find. When they get closer, you yell, “Warmer!” And when they moved in the wrong direction, you yell, “Colder!” Jack’s visit was like yelling out, “Warmer! Hot! Hotter!”

Max just couldn’t figure out what he was getting closer to. Why would Jack care if he talked to Dante’s mother or the police? And how would he have known about the calls? Would Ms. Jones have told Jack about Max’s phone call? Why would she?

Or was it the call to Chief Cook? Max had thought Terry was conferring with someone else during their conversation. But how could Jack have found out about that so fast? That made no sense. Why would the police tell Jack about a conversation with Max?

The more Max thought about it all, the more he realized how paranoid it all sounded. And yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Really wrong.

But what was it? You don’t singlehandedly raise $23 million in a small town without wielding some power. Power meant connections. Influence. Cashing in favors. Pulling strings. Max made a few notes on his legal pad and slipped it back into his briefcase.

He was about to put his phone away when he thought again about the picture of Dante’s accident scene. The official version said there was no damage to the back of Dante’s car and no skid marks on the road, but Max had a picture right in front of him that said otherwise.

He wasn’t the most tech savvy person around, but he knew a phone could crash just like a computer. And he was looking at the only copy of a picture that directly contradicted the official police version of the accident.

He typed out a text message that said, “I can’t explain now. Just keep this picture.” He attached the picture to the message and looked again at what he’d typed. It wouldn’t make sense and would just raise questions, but he didn’t have time to go into the whole story and he couldn’t think of anyone else he really trusted. Satisfied with the message, he tapped “send.”

A moment later, over a thousand miles away, Michelle’s phone buzzed.

CHAPTER 34

At 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning, Max pulled his truck into Willy’s driveway. Max had offered to buy breakfast out somewhere, but Willy said Rose would enjoy fixing biscuits and gravy, eggs and bacon or anything else they wanted. As soon as Willy opened the door, Max could smell whatever was cooking and knew this would beat any restaurant in town.

Max shook Willy’s hand, gave Rose a hug and then followed Willy out onto the deck. It was a cool morning and most of the deck was still in the shade, which made the hot coffee that much better. Max took a sip and looked out over the lake. The water was completely still. The only sound was a light breeze blowing through the evergreens around Willy’s house. It was a perfect morning.

“Congratulations on the win last night, Max,” Willy said. “Read all about it in the paper this morning.”

“Thanks, Willy,” Max said. “We almost gave it away, but we’ll take a win anyway we can get it.” Max was thrilled to get a win, but it wasn’t how he would have drawn it up. His teams had always been known for their tough defense and balanced offense.

So many high school teams were adopting the spread offense and a hurry-up style of play. They put all their best players on the offensive side of the football and just hoped their defense could hold the opponent to one less point than the offense could score. That wasn’t the style of football Max believed in.

Of course you wouldn’t know it by the scores of their first three games. The defense was getting blown off the field and the offense was just trying to keep them in the games. They’d beaten Springdale 45-42. It would have gone to overtime, but after driving sixty yards in five plays right at the end of the game, Springdale’s kicker missed a 37-yard field goal as time expired. Max hadn’t watched any film yet, but he was sure he was going to see more evidence of Dave Turner making some very suspect defensive calls.

Rose brought out a tray of hot cinnamon rolls that were dripping with icing. “Max, you’ve got to try these,” Willy said. “Rose makes the best cinnamon rolls you’ve ever tasted. The best!”

“My mouth is watering already,” Max said as Willy slid one onto Max’s plate.

“Lord, thank you for a beautiful morning, for our friend Max and for these delicious cinnamon rolls. Amen,” Willy said. “Now take a bite and tell me that’s not the best thing you’ve ever tasted.”

The expression on Max’s face must have said it all, because Willy said, “I told ya! Rose is the best!”

There were lots of things Max wanted to talk about, but he was busy helping himself to a second cinnamon roll. Willy’s mouth was full, too, so it wouldn’t have done any good to ask a question now.

In between bites, Willy asked, “Max, how’s it going with your wife? Have you had any contact with her?”

“Well, it’s not good, but I guess it could be worse,” Max said. “We talked briefly. I asked her to think about coming home.”

“And?” Willy asked.

“Said she’d think about it,” Max said as he wiped icing from his lips.

“Rose, would you come out here?” Willy called.

Rose opened the sliding glass door and stepped onto the deck, still wearing an apron covered in flour. She sat down next to Willy who immediately took her hand in his. Rose never asked why Willy had called her. She either knew why or it didn’t matter to her. Willy and Rose exchanged a glance. Max could tell they knew what it meant. He had no clue.

“Max, after I retired as a teacher, I would still spend some time at the junior high as a volunteer,” Willy said. “There was this one particular program that would come to the school once a year and talk to the kids about waiting until they were married before having sex. As you can imagine, it was a tough sell.”

Max nodded as if he understood where this was going, even though he had no idea.

“As part of the program, they would show kids pictures of sexually transmitted diseases. It would turn your stomach, Max. It really would, but we wanted those kids to know what risks they were taking. Ya see, no one else was telling them about the risks associated with their behavior.”

Max kept nodding while hoping he hadn’t already missed the point.

“After a medical professional explained all the pictures, we’d break into groups and ask the kids questions or answer theirs if they had any,” Willy said.

“Okay,” Max said.

“What I would always tell my group was that they’d had something taken away from that day,” Willy said. “Do you know what it was, Max? What was taken away from those kids after seeing those pictures?”

He thought for a moment and guessed, “Their innocence?”

Willy and Rose both smiled. Max thought they were trying not to laugh.

“Well, I guess you could say that was taken away from them, but I suspect most of them lost their innocence long before seeing those pictures,” Willy said. “No, what I told them had been taken away from them was their ability to ever say they didn’t know. Once we showed them those pictures and explained all about those diseases, they couldn’t ever say they hadn’t been told.”

“I see,” said Max, “but what does this have to do with me?”

“Max, we’re going to share something with you that, well, it’s very powerful,” Willy said. “I believe you heard Rose ask me about it the other night.”

“You mean the secrets?” Max said.

“Yes, Max, the secrets,” Willy said.

“I wasn’t sure if that was just a little joke between the two of you,” Max said.

“It’s no joke,” Rose said.

“Max, there’s a principle at play in the universe that states ‘you reap what you sow,’” Willy said. “It’s all around us. Sow corn and that’s what you’ll reap. Sow anger and you’ll reap anger. Sow kindness and you’ll reap kindness.”

Max sensed another pop quiz coming from Willy.

“Let me see if I can tie all this together,” Willy said. “Rose and I are going to share some principles with you that we’ve learned over fifty years of marriage. They’re powerful principles. When you sow them faithfully, you reap from them in abundance.”

“I understand,” Max said, not totally sure that he actually did.

“Of course, they’re not really secrets, but might as well be,” Willy said. “Most folks don’t seem to know them, so it’s like they’re secrets hiding in plain sight.”

Max nodded.

“But just like with those kids, Max—we’re going to take away your ability to say you didn’t know,” Willy said. “You will be accountable for your new found knowledge.”

Max could see Willy and Rose were serious about this stuff.

“Now Max, before we get to the details, I need you to understand something,” Willy said. “Sometimes a marriage can be so far gone that only a miracle can bring it back to life. What I mean by that is sometimes one spouse may have neglected the other for so long that these secrets don’t seem to work. And what we’ve seen is that God doesn’t just step in and overrule someone’s free will.”

“I’m not sure I’m following you,” Max said.

Willy looked at Rose and then back at Max. He seemed reluctant to tell Max what he was thinking. “Alright Max, here’s the thing—we can share with you what we know, but it doesn’t mean your wife will necessarily respond. We hope she will. We can pray she will. But there’s no guarantee she will. Just like she may have hoped you would behave differently over these past few years.” Willy paused. “I’m sorry if that sounds harsh. I don’t mean it to.”

“Don’t worry, I see what you’re saying,” Max said. “I can do all the right things now, just like Michelle has been. From her perspective, nothing she did worked to make our marriage better. So even though I might do the right things now, it doesn’t mean she has to respond the way I want her to.”

“That’s right, Max,” Rose said. “We hope she will. We’re praying she will, but God won’t force her to.”

“I understand,” Max said.

“Alright, then,” Willy said, “when we refer to the marriage secrets, what we’re saying is that a husband and wife have each been given certain things they can do that will have a supernatural effect on their spouse.”

“Can I add something here?” Rose said.

“Of course,” Willy said.

“Well, something you just said reminded me that there’s an exponential effect that occurs when the husband and the wife do this together,” Rose said.

“That’s right,” Willy said, “Keep going, Rose.”

“Max, if just one spouse uses these secrets it has a more limited effect than if both spouses are using them,” Rose said. “Does that make sense?”

“I think so,” Max said.

Rose thought for a moment and said, “It’s the difference between addition and multiplication. If only one spouse is doing it, it’s like adding 1 + 1 + 1 +1. But if both spouses use their powers, it’s like multiplying 2 x 2 x 2 x 2. When both of you do it—it unleashes a lot of power.”

“Okay, I think I see,” Max said. “Michelle was only able to add. If I’d been doing my part, we would have been multiplying.”

“That’s it,” Willy said. “And our hope is that you and Michelle will still get the chance to see the multiplication effect in your marriage.”

Rose poured more coffee for each of them.

“There are three secrets for each of you, Max,” Willy said. “We don’t have time to cover them all, so we’ll just talk about one of the six this morning. It’s the most powerful of the husband’s three.”

Max realized he should probably be taking notes, so he quickly excused himself and got his briefcase from his truck. He was about to open the door and step back onto the deck when he saw Willy leaning over to kiss Rose. She caressed his face and their eyes remained open as their lips met. He didn’t want to interrupt or stare, so he stepped away from the door for a moment. He wondered if he and Michelle would ever enjoy a moment like that.

A minute later, Max tried again and saw Willy and Rose holding hands and talking. Max stepped outside and sat back down. “Okay, so you were going to tell me about the strongest one for the husband.”

“That’s right,” Willy said. “Now before I get to it, you need to know that each of the six secrets are meant to bond the hearts of a husband and wife to each other. That’s what will happen when you use them.”

“Of course they can also be used between two people who aren’t married,” Rose added.

“And that can be very damaging,” Willy said. “That’s where affairs start.”

“Okay,” Max said.

“Now Max, this first secret will sound overly simplistic,” Willy said. “Your tendency will be to dismiss it, to think you already understand how to use it. Like I said, these secrets are hiding in plain sight.”

“Don’t over simplify,” Max said quietly as he wrote those words on his legal pad and underlined them.

“Alright, here it is,” Willy said. “Sacrificially love.”

Max didn’t say it, but he agreed with Willy’s earlier assessment. Sacrificially love? Max wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it was something more than that. He knew Willy wasn’t going to say something like “x-ray vision” or “mind reading” but he was expecting something more than just love.

“I told you,” Willy said. “Too simple, right?”

“Well, I have to confess it does sound a little elementary,” Max said.

“Marriage 101,” Willy said.

“I guess there’s more to it, huh?” Max said.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Rose said as she patted Willy’s arm.

“Max, how does your wife like to be loved?” Willy asked.

It had been many years since a teacher had called on him in class, but all at once the feelings rushed back. Max felt like he’d just been asked what three plus two was, only he didn’t know. He knew he should know. Max looked over at Rose for a little help, but she was only grinning.