Page 26 of 40-Yard Line

“And?” frowned Carl.

“There was none beneath his nails or the nail bed. Do you know how difficult that would have had to have been? He would had to have had something long, like a knife away from his hand. This wasn’t a knife. It was a razor blade. Thin, small, and sharp.”

“But we found no blade at the scene,” said Felix, frowning at them. “Nothing.”

“Maybe we need to go back and check again. Take that ice bathtub apart,” said Carl.

“You can try, but she’s not letting anyone near that place.” There was a knock on the door, and an assistant came in. “What’s up, Alissa?”

“I thought you should know that it was just announced on the news that Gwen Pinken Sharp sold her shares of the Fire to her sister, Glenda. Glenda now owns sixty-five percent of the team, while her brother only owns thirty-five percent.”

“That does make for interesting family dinners, doesn’t it?” frowned Carl. “Let us know when you have the full reports. And Roger?”

“Sir?”

“Don’t take any more money from anyone.” He smirked at Carl, realizing how fortunate he was at this moment.

“Yes, sir. Not a dime.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“So, she just handed over fifty thousand in cash to the kid?” said Ghost.

“Yep. I don’t agree with what he did, but I get his reasons. He’s on our side, and he’s going to help, I’m certain of it.”

“And the contracts, Georgie?” asked Gaspar.

“There were none available for public view. That’s not suspicious on its own. Employment contracts don’t have to be shared publicly. What’s more suspicious is the lack of

information around her tax filings, profit and loss statements, medical spend, all of it. I think we need to do some digging into this league. I can’t find anything that tells me they are connected to the NFL or CFL.”

“Do you have the time to take this on, Georgie?” asked Nine.

“Of course, Uncle Nine. Anything for you,” she said, kissing his cheek.

“Hey, I’m your father-in-law. Don’t I get a kiss?” frowned Gaspar. She laughed, kissing his cheek as well, and then started to leave the room. At the door, she stopped and turned toward the men.

“Lara O’Connell isn’t going to be seeing Trevon any longer, but I don’t think she’s even going to bother to tell him that,” she frowned. “Someone has to let him know, and I think it should be one of you guys.”

“Damn,” muttered Ian. “I’ll have a talk with him.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Ghost. “I think he’s out at the Sugar Lodge putting up some lights and things.”

“Do you need any help?” asked Carl.

“Only if he gets pissed off,” smirked Ghost. “I’ll take my weapon just in case.”

Ghost and Ian took an ATV to the back of the property, where the Sugar Lodge was getting fully decked out for the holidays. In recent years, the team had become so large that for holiday meals they often ate out there so that everyone could eat at the same time, not in shifts.

“Sounds like Lara used our man a bit,” frowned Ghost.

“Yeah. I think she was lonely and wanted to be closer to Butch and thought he would be the way to do it. She doesn’t sound like someone who is intentionally cruel, but it doesn’t change that this is going to feel cruel to Trevon.”

“Seems strange that he hasn’t met and married someone yet. He’s a nice-looking kid, made decent money as a player,” said Ghost.

“He reminds me of Skull in a lot of ways,” said Ian. “Big, wide, gentle as a lamb, as I said, good-looking kid other than a few scrapes and scars.”

“I think we were right about him, though. He’s a bit naïve about certain things, and I think women are one of those things. He’s going to do well working with Noelle, and I think Zeke has already taken him under his wing. Maybe we can get him involved with our school team. That might make him feel connected to football in a small way,” said Ghost.

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