Page 30 of The Game Is Afoot

I type “sodium nitrite” and “gardening” and a lot comes up…but wait. This says “sodium nitrate.” Are they different? I toggle back and forth, looking at the formulas, thedescriptions, but my eyes start to cross. It seems like they’re…basically the same thing? Or one breaks down into the other? One site calls them cousins…Chemicals can be cousins??

God, I’m bad at this. Ms. Collier definitely did some incredibly kind math to get me to that 70 percent. Imusthave remembered it wrong, and they said nitrate, not nitrite, because I know for sure they didn’t contradict what Dad said about gardening. I’ll ask him later, just to double-check…or maybe not. I’m not trying to be on his podcast.

I let out an involuntary groan. Another thing I need to worry about.Later.

So…sodium nitrate then. It’s used as a fertilizer, it looks like? Mostly for organic farms?

Why would someone have that on hand? And I feel like there are a lot of other, more convenient poisons that could be used…not that I spend a lot of time thinking about poisons. It just doesn’t make sense—unless the murderer is someone familiar with sodium nitrate because they use it often…

I don’t think Corey uses whatever this stuff is in his little apartment complex community garden. If he did, he would have said that, at least to me and Dad. So who else was around that works with plants?

Well, thereisDom Dwyer, the facilities manager who wielded that lawn mower like a weapon in his battle with Coach Cole. A quick search confirms that sodium nitrate isn’t used on grass…but there are lots of other plants used in the landscaping at Brady Park, too?

Heclearlyhated Coach Cole. But why would he be so obvious about it if he was just going to poison him? And he didn’t come anywhere near the Capri-Suns, as far as I remember—he was too busy making the toddlers on the next field sneeze andcry. He could have sent someone, though? And maybe the big fight was to throw off suspicion?

Hold on, I need to write this all down. It’ll all float right out of my brain by tomorrow otherwise—like my Social Security number and Pearl’s first word and everything else important.

I grab the first thing with paper I see, which is the gratitude journal I bought myself last month in one of many recommitments to self-care and never actually got around to using. I turn to the first page, cross out theWhat I’m Grateful For…heading and writeSuspectsinstead.

1. Dom Dwyer

…and that’s all I’ve got. Is that really all I’ve got?? There has to be someone else who’s a possibility.

A crazed fan, maybe?

I mean, no onelookedlike a crazed fan, outside of the moms fawning over his thighs. But they definitely didn’t want him dead. And from his online presence, it doesn’t seem like he was really big enough to have some stalker coming for him.

There’s also…Hank?

He didn’t make a secret of how much he hated Cole. But is being pissed about your kid not getting enough play time a motive formurder? Would someone really kill overthat?

Still, stealing the field from an adult capture the flag league isn’t much more of a reason either…

2. Hank Michaelson

Okay, now, who else?

Trisha?

Her name flashes in my mind like a reflex. Could it have been Trisha? Was Trisha even at the park?

No. But. I wouldn’t besurprisedif she was involved somehow. That woman is pure evil.

3. Trisha Holbrook

Clearly I’m stuck.

There’s one person I know it’ll help to talk this through with, though. Because we’ve done this before: solved a mystery no one asked us to with absolutely no relevant experience or resources, just nosiness andthe audacity. So I pick up my phone and text him.

So, turns out Coach Cole didn’t have a heart attack. He was murdered.

In a few minutes, Jack’s response comes in.What??

And then,Can you step out for a minute so we can talk?

Oh yeah, because it’s working hours, when my phone is usually on do not disturb. Except I no longerhaveworking hours.

Right. I also quit my job?

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