CHAPTER SIX

Scottsdale, Arizona is a beautiful desert town filled with young professionals and retirees alike. Littered with high-end shops, golf courses, swimming pools, hiking trails, and mountains, the beauty of the Southwest shines through in her gorgeous desert terrain.

Having called Lara O’Connell, Carigan’s mother, Mac and Gabe headed toward the address. They knew it was a gated community, but seeing the massive homes really hit them on how well Butch had taken care of them both.

“Damn. This is really something,” said Mac.

“Yeah, but why a mansion for just a woman and her daughter? Did he hope to come back here one day and live with them?” asked Gabe.

“I don’t know,” he said, stopping at the gate.

“Help you, gentlemen?” asked the guard.

“We’re here to see Lara O’Connell. We’re with Gray Wolf Security,” said Mac.

“Yes, sir. Ms. O’Connell told me you were coming. Follow this road around the bend, then take the first left. Her house will be third on the right up against the mountain.”

They thanked the guard and followed the directions, easily finding the house. The reddish-pink stucco seemed to blend in seamlessly with the earth around the house. There was a massive double front door of custom ironwork.

Ringing the doorbell, the two men stared at one another and waited.

“Hello. You must be the two men from Gray Wolf. The guard called to tell me you were here,” said the pretty woman. “I’m Lara O’Connell.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m Mac, and this is Gabe.”

“Please come in,” she said with a wave. She pointed to the massive great room and the steaming pot of coffee waiting for them. “I figured you guys might need some coffee.”

“Always,” smiled Gabe. “We’re terribly sorry for your loss.”

She nodded, swallowing as tears filled her eyes.

“Butch and I weren’t a couple any longer. Hell, I don’t know if we ever were. We spent a week together a lifetime ago. But from that, we got Carigan. She was the light of our lives, and Butch did everything in his power to give her the life he’d dreamed of as a kid. All of this is because of him.”

“We understand that you work as a marketing executive,” said Mac.

“I do,” she said with pride. “I love my work, and I love keeping busy. Carigan is involved in a lot of things at school, so that keeps me busy as well.”

“How is she taking all of this?” asked Gabe. Lara looked up at the man and shook her head.

“Carigan’s relationship with Butch was complicated. She loved him. Adored him even. But she couldn’t understand why, if we were such good friends, we got along, why he couldn’t marry me and come and live with us. She wanted her father present all the time.”

“I can understand that,” said Gabe. “A child wants their father present. It’s good that the two of you got along so well.”

“We did,” she smiled. “We were like best friends. I think that’s what we were really good at. I never once felt any ill-will toward Butch. He was a good guy. Handsome, smart, determined, dedicated, and he loved his daughter more than anything in the world.”

“Lara, was he different lately?” asked Mac.

“Different? Different how?” she frowned.

“I don’t know. Maybe his moods were erratic, or he seemed confused.”

“No. Not that I saw. He called us almost every day. He texted Carigan morning and night and called whenever their schedules didn’t conflict. In all the years I’ve known him, he never once lost his temper with her or me.”

“He sounds like a great man,” smiled Gabe.

“He was,” she said softly. “He truly was, which is why this doesn’t make sense. Butch had been talking about maybe taking some time away from football and coming here for a while. Carigan was so excited. Everyone knew who her father was, but she never shoved it in their faces. She was proud of Butch.”

“His center, Trevon, said that sometimes they didn’t have a great relationship,” said Mac.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” said Lara nervously, twisting her skirt between her fingers. “Butch was very protective of Carigan. She wanted to move in with him there in New Orleans, and he refused. He didn’t want her exposed to the media and all the bullshit that those players have to go through. She, of course, took it as a sign that he didn’t love her. They worked through it, and she understood. Another time they argued was when she got her license. She wanted a Mustang, and Butch refused. He said she would start with a used, safe car, and I agreed. She needed to learn responsibility and show that she could handle the burden of a car.”

“Sounds like solid parenting to me,” smirked Gabe.

“Thank you,” she grinned. “We thought so. No, they got along great, and any arguments they had were more about not being together or just the usual teenage angst that we all go through.”

“I noticed that you and Carigan have the same last name. Did you remarry?”

“No. In fact, I’ve never dated anyone. Neither did Butch,” she said with a painful smile. “Butch wanted her to keep my name, not his. He hoped it would keep the spotlight off of her and allow her to have a normal life.”

“Was it that bad for him?” asked Mac. She stared at the two of them, tilting her head.

“You don’t know?”

“Know what?” asked Gabe.

“Butch was thrust into the spotlight by his overzealous father. He was billed as the next great quarterback of the twenty-first century. While in high school. His father had people following him around, making sure that he was always doing the right thing. He wasn’t allowed to eat fast food, go to movies, attend parties, nothing.”

“Damn,” muttered Mac.

“It made him an outsider. When he went to college, he was encouraged to get his degree in three years so he could join the draft after his third year of play. He’d get injured, and his father would push him to play through it. So did the coaches and medical teams.”

“Is his father still living?” asked Gabe.

“No. No, if he were, I’d have talked to him about all of this because that man was an abuser. Maybe not in the traditional sense, but he abused Butch and his talents.”

“I’m really sorry about all of this,” said Mac. “He sounds like he was a good man.”

“One of the best,” she nodded. The front door opened, and a beautiful young girl walked in dressed in a private school uniform with a book bag over her shoulder.

“Mom! I’m home,” she called. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know someone was here.”

“Carigan, this is Gabe and Mac. They’re trying to find out what really happened to your father.” She stared at her mother a moment, then back at the two men.

“That’s easy. The team killed him.”