Page 73 of Little Buried Secrets

Warren stood and began pacing, running a hand along his jawline as he said, “I’m sorry … you were told what, and by whom?”

“A couple of individuals came to me in confidence. I’m unable to reveal their identities to you, but I will tell you what was said. I’m not here to accuse you of anything. I’m here to tell you what they told me and to get your side of the story.”

“I understand,” he said. “Please tell me. Tell me everything.”

CHAPTER 28

I’d expected Warren to get defensive as soon as I mentioned allegations had been made against him. He surprised me when he sat back down on the sofa, took his wife’s hand, and squeezed it tight. The chipper man who’d greeted me after I arrived now looked lost and forlorn, like the air had been sucked right out of him. Cass didn’t look much better.

As I sat there, thinking about how to explain what I’d been told, I had a distinct feeling. Nothing about this man screamed murderer.

Not. One. Single. Thing.

It didn’t mean he wasn’t one.

“I’d like to talk to you about one of the away games this year,” I said. “A game the team lost … right before Margot quit.”

“I believe I know the one you’re referencing,” he said. “I can still picture the look on Margot’s face when the game ended. It was a look I’ll never forget. We were tied. The opposing team served, and the ball came to Margot. She went to spike it, and as she jumped up, she winced, like she’d injured herself. Instead of doing one of her classic spikes, the ball went into the net. It was game point, and we lost.”

“It sounds like Margot blamed herself for the loss.”

“She did. Out of curiosity, why mention that game in particular?”

I took a deep breath in and said, “Do you remember what happened after the game?”

“Sure, I do. Margot was angry, furious at herself. She said she let her team down, and there was nothing anyone could say or do to convince her otherwise.”

“Did you speak to her about it?” I asked.

“I tried. It’s like I said before when I mentioned I’d noticed a change in her behavior. The young woman I knew her to be didn’t seem to have an angry bone in her body. Sure, she was hard on herself at times, and she expected a lot of herself, but even then, she was kindhearted. The night she blamed herself for the loss, she acted different, almost like she was someone else. It was a side of her I had never seen before.”

“Do you recall the date of that away game?”

Cass piped up, saying, “It would have been right around Labor Day. I remember because we went to a barbecue at a friend’s house. Dr. Rae was there, and Warren spoke to her about Margot’s unusual behavior.”

“What was Rae’s reaction to what you told her?”

“She was aware the team lost, but she didn’t know the details about what happened,” Warren said. “Margot hadn’t said a word about it. Dr. Rae said she’d talk to her, but I’m not sure if she did.”

Labor Day would have fallen right after Sebastian’s party in August. Perhaps the breakup was to blame for the abrupt change in Margot’s behavior. It seemed plausible she would have been reeling over it. Whether she was or not, it didn’t change the fact that I was at Warren’s home to ask him a couple of uncomfortable questions, the first of which was teed up and ready to go.

“Do you remember hugging Margot the night of the away game?” I asked.

“I sure do. Is this one of the complaints that was brought to your attention?”

I nodded.

“I can explain,” he said.

“Please do.”

“After the game, I tried everything I could think of to get Margot to calm down. When she didn’t, I just … well, I threw my arms around her and hugged her. It was a gut instinct, and I acted on it. I never looked at it in terms of appropriate or inappropriate. I was trying to be supportive of how she was feeling in that moment.”

“Margot thought the hug went on for too long,” I said.

He looked at me and shrugged. “I don’t recall how long it lasted. Maybe she was right. Maybe it did, but it wasn’t intentional. It’s like I just said. I was a coach, trying to comfort a member of my team. There was nothing more to it. I swear.”

“Since when is it a crime to comfort another person?” Cass added.

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