CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

It took some convincing, but Trevon was finally able to get Kurt to meet them at the café. Like Glen Pinken, he wanted something early in the morning when no one would see him or recognize him. This time, it wasn’t three men waiting for him but five.

Ghost, Ian, Nine, Gaspar, and Trevon waited at two tables for the car to pull up.

“You gonna get mad at this boy?” asked Jackie. He chuckled, shaking his head.

“I can’t guarantee I won’t, Miss Jackie, but all these men will keep me from making a mess in the diner if I do.”

“Mmhmm,” she said with a side grin. “Look, you’re a big man, grown full. Control your temper, or someone will get hurt. You want this boy to tell you things be nice, and maybe he will.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he smiled. She left his coffee and five plates with cinnamon rolls and walked back behind the counter. It wouldn’t start getting really busy for another hour or so.

“Glenda bought out Glen yesterday,” said Ian. “She’s the sole owner. Sole person responsible for everything. If the kingdom falls, it’s on her.”

“It will fall,” said Trevon. “I’m going to make sure of it.”

“Trevon? Miller, Kari, Antoine, and Jean went to see Joe Sheffler yesterday,” said Gaspar. “He was paid by Glenda to make that hit on Butch. She wanted him dead, but Sheffler couldn’t do it.”

“No, he could just ruin his career and nearly kill him,” he frowned. “It doesn’t surprise me. He’s been making dirty hits for a while now. I’m surprised he’s still allowed to play.”

“He’s allowed to play because she’s paying the refs as well.”

“Damn,” he muttered. “What is wrong with people?”

“That’s a loaded question,” said Ian. “There’s a helluva lot wrong with people. We try to weed through it all but aren’t always successful with that. Did you see Riley about an x-ray on your lungs?”

“Yes, sir. She said everything looked good but was pretty sure that your warm pond had something to do with it,” he said, shrugging. The men all nodded, smiling at the young man. “Hey, I think that’s him.”

Sure enough, the bell above the door rang, and Kurt Michaels walked into the café. He wore jeans and a sweatshirt, looking like he’d just crawled out of bed.

“Kurt, thanks for meeting me,” said Trevon.

“Sure. Sure,” he said nervously. “You look good. Are you doing alright? Do you need anything?”

“Naw, man. I don’t need anything except information.” Kurt nodded, looking at the other men. “They’re friends. They can be trusted. I just want to find the truth about what happened with Butch.”

Kurt was quiet for a long moment. Jackie poured him a cup of coffee and set down a cinnamon roll for him. He nodded but never looked up. Trevon started to speak, but Ghost gripped his hand beneath the table, telling him to remain silent.

“I couldn’t tell him no.” The other men frowned at him, waiting patiently for him to continue.

“What do you mean?” asked Trevon.

“Butch. I couldn’t tell him no. After practice that day, I found him in the training room in that damn ice bath. He said he’d help me better understand the defense of the team we were playing that week.”

“And did he?” asked Nine.

“Yes, sir. He was great. He knew everything and everyone. Told me all sorts of things I wouldn’t have thought of. He was amazing.” They noticed that Kurt was near tears and quieted, letting him collect his thoughts.

“When he finished talking about football, he gripped my arm and asked me to do one favor for him.”

“What did he want?” asked Trevon.

“He asked me to kill him.”

“What?” said the five men in unison.

“He said he had to die but and that an autopsy needed to happen on his body. He didn’t want to put a bullet in his head because he said they would want to look at his head. He didn’t want to take pills because he said they would write it off as an overdose.”

“So he asked you to slit his wrists?” said Ghost.

“Yes, sir. He said to do it and just leave. I tried. I swear to God I tried,” he sniffed. “I cut his wrists, and then I dropped the blade in the tub. He was pissed about that, but I couldn’t find it, and water and ice was sloshing everywhere. We thought Coach might hear us and find us. He told me to leave him there, but I couldn’t let him die alone. I just couldn’t.”

“You were there the whole time?” asked Trevon.

“I asked him about football and why he loved it so much. He said mostly because of all of us, the players. He said he felt like it was his family. He talked about Carigan and how much he loved her. Then he told me that he’d seen a doctor out of state. He didn’t want anyone to know until this was all over with. The reports are with the doctor.” He pulled a business card from his jeans pocket and slid it across the table.

“He’s in New York City. Supposedly one of the best neurologists in the world. Butch definitely had advanced CTE trauma, but he was also suffering from the effects of the asbestos in the locker rooms. He said when they did the autopsy, all of that should show up, and hopefully, Glenda would be found guilty.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Trevon.

“Because I killed him!” he said, openly weeping now. “I cut his wrists.”

“You did it at his request, son. He was dying anyway, and he didn’t want to die in pain and suffering. He didn’t want his daughter to see her father deteriorating a little bit every day. You did what he asked. I’m not saying it’s right. I’m just saying you did something that a lot of men couldn’t do,” said Ian.

“We all made pacts with one another,” said Ghost. “Each of us. If we reached a point in our lives, in our careers, if our injuries were so severe, end it for us. End it or we would do it ourselves. I agree with Ian. It’s not right, but it was his choice.”

“I’m sorry, Trevon,” he said, hiccupping as he spoke.

“I-I don’t know what to say to this. You did what Butch asked of you, but why wouldn’t you tell me? Why wouldn’t you come to me so we could figure all this shit out together? Why didn’t he come to me !?”

“I didn’t think you liked me very much, and then you left the team too. I think he thought you wouldn’t be able to do it, that you were too close.”

“I didn’t leave the team,” said Trevon. “I was asked to move on by Glenda.”

“She’s such a fucking bitch,” said Kurt. “I thought I would get a chance with her, but all I’m getting is sicker by the day.”

“You have to leave, Kurt. Leave and get out,” said Gaspar.

“I have to win that championship so I can get my bonus. If I do that, I can leave and, hopefully, go to another team.”

“Kurt, I don’t think there’s going to be another team,” said Trevon. “The league is close to shutting down. They’re not making money, and the NFL wants nothing to do with any of us.”

“Great,” he said, shaking his head. “Just great. Am I going to jail?”

Trevon looked at his four mentors and shook his head.

“No,” said Nine. “I don’t think there’s a reason to put you behind bars. You did something not a lot of men could do for a man who was suffering more than we’ll ever know. No. You’re not going to jail, but we might need your help.”

“Anything. Anything I can do, I’ll do it,” he said, looking at them. Gaspar nodded at him, waving Jackie over for refills of coffee.

“I’m glad to hear that because this is going to be fun.”