Team Manager CHAMP!
Chapter 29
DENNIS HAD A LOT of studying to do to catch up on everything he’d postponed or ignored during basketball season. Fortunately, there was nothing going on in the evenings until their meet on Thursday. That would be an indoor meet at State and was strictly to determine where individuals fell in relationship to their teammates and others in the state. It had no official standing, even though medals would be awarded. Nearly every 2A school in the State was invited, though not all would attend. No one expected to have a lot of runners from smaller schools win races. The girls would run on Thursday and the boys on Friday.
So, rather than go home after practice Wednesday, he stayed in the Coaches’ office at the new AgCentral Athletic Pavilion and opened his books. He had a paper to write for his Encounters in Humanities class at DMACC. It was a major paper that would count for one-third of his grade. He looked at the rubric again and sighed.
- * Discuss creative purpose and design.
- * Assess varying definitions of “art”.
- * Characterize the relationship between form and content.
- * Describe important biographical, social, cultural, and historical events reflected in artwork.
He had notes, of course. He’d known all term that this would be an assignment coming up. But even wading through the class notes was a challenge. He’d chosen a concert that he had gone to with Natalie over Christmas break as his reference event. He set about the tedious job of creating a plan and outline for the paper. This was not going to be a one-night project. He still had a statistics assignment to finish and needed to review his biology notes before Friday’s end of term exam.
He opened his laptop and started the project.
Dennis awoke with his head on the keyboard and around 500 pages of ‘h’ where the computer had simply kept typing the letter he’d fallen asleep on. This was ridiculous. He glanced at his phone and saw that it was nearly two in the morning. He’d planned to leave by eight so he’d be able to read to Peg. He’d been so involved in online search after search that he’d let the time get away from him and then fell asleep at the keyboard.
He was hungry and had a sudden sickening feeling that he was locked in the school. After school and evening programs kept the facilities open until nine most nights, but after midnight, there was no chance there would be an unlocked and unalarmed door. He debated his options and shut down his computer, stowing his books. He could find a more comfortable place to sleep in one of the store rooms where there were mats. The building was a little chilly, but he could grab his sweats out of the coaches’ locker room.
He shut out the lights as he opened the door, but his movement was suddenly arrested by a sound coming from the stairwell. He listened closely.
“Seems like overkill to me,” one man said.
“Maybe. I’d have gone straight for the factory farm, but boss wants it intact. He said nothing will hurt the community like losing this building and if the community is hurt, they’ll make it impossible for AgCentral to stay,” said another.
“I have visions of pitchforks and torches,” said the first.
“Smell that frying bacon. So, you head for the roof and start making sure it leaks everywhere. I’ll hit the boilers. They fixed the damn water heaters. We had those all set to give up. If I hit the right place, the pipes will leak onto the electrical box. Who knew they’d have a damn handyman who could fix the circuit breakers?”
“We need to work fast. That storm looked like it was rolling in at a good clip. We want everything set to fail when the rain hits.”
“Go.”
Dennis quietly closed and locked the door to the office. Then he found a place out of view from the door and pressed the speed dial on his phone.
“Hello. This is Moran,” a sleepy voice said.
“Tom, it’s Dennis. I’ve got a big problem and need help.”
“Where are you, Dennis? Your mother said you didn’t call in and didn’t show up for dinner or reading.”
“I’m locked in the school athletic pavilion. I kind of fell asleep.”
“I see. And now you can’t get out without setting off the alarms.”
“It’s worse. I just overheard two guys in the hall talking about sabotaging the building before a big storm hits. They’re fixing the roof to leak and doing something with the water pipes so they drain onto the electrical system,” Dennis said.
“Damn! That storm is moving fast. Where are you in the building?”
“I’m in the coaches’ office with the door locked.”
“Stay put. I’ll get cars rolling.”
“One’s on the roof. If you come in with lights, they’ll be warned.”
“All right. Just sit tight.”
Dennis turned his phone to silent and sat on the floor next to the door, leaning against the wall.
It was a tense twenty minutes as Dennis waited and listened in the coaches’ office. He couldn’t tell if anyone had arrived nor if there was any activity in the building at all. He began to doubt if he’d really heard anything or if it had all been a dream. Had he even called the sheriff?
“I’m not going down without a fight,” said a panicked voice outside the doorway. “This office has a window. Let’s go.”
The knob on the door rattled and there was a low curse. Then the window was smashed in and a hand reached through to unlatch the door from the inside. Dennis didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the hand and dragged it across the broken glass.
“Ah! Fuck! Someone’s in there. I’m cut bad.”
Another hand reached through with a gun waving around vaguely in Dennis’s direction. He hit the floor as two shots were fired. A hand reached for the latch again and the door burst open. Dennis kicked at the intruder, hitting him in the gut. With an “Oof!” the man swung toward Dennis with his gun.
“Freeze!” an officer yelled from the hall.
Dennis kicked again and the gun went off, firing over his head. A shot came from down the hall and the intruder fell into the room. Dennis jumped to slam his foot down on the gun hand, clenching as it fired again. The hand released the gun and Dennis kicked it away. An officer jumped through the door onto the fallen man and Dennis went to his knees with his hands in the air.
“Where’s the gun?” The officer demanded. Dennis nodded toward where it lay about five feet away between the desks. “Don’t move!” The deputy snapped handcuffs on the perp and rushed to stand on the gun. “Second floor office!” he barked into his lapel mike. “Two perps wounded, and a witness is being held.”
Dennis stayed where he was with hands up, trembling. He finally heard sirens in the distance as Tom appeared in the doorway.
“Where’d you hit him?” Tom asked, looking down at the cuffed perp.
“In the ass. He was going through the door shooting.”
“Are you okay, Dennis?” Tom asked.
“Yes, sir.” The gorge rose in his throat and he turned his head to throw up. “Shit!”
“It’s okay, Dennis,” Tom said, backing out of the office slightly to be sure the perp in the hall was covered as more feet sounded in the hallway. “We’re clear for ambulance crew. Two wounded and one in shock,” he spoke into his lapel mike.
“Emergency tourniquet!” shouted a voice from the hall. “This one will bleed out!” Dennis couldn’t tell who was where or what they were doing. He fell forward and passed out.
He woke up in the ambulance on his way to the hospital in County Seat. He didn’t say anything or move, but clamped his eyes shut and let tears run from the corners.
To his surprise, he was taken to an emergency room and stitches were put in his arm and his scalp. The doctor said he’d been cut by glass, but didn’t have any other information to give him. He was shaking and was given a sedative. They decided to keep him in the emergency room ward until morning unless they needed the bed before then. He slept.
Tom was busy, as were the emergency medical crews. The two vandals were taken to Des Moines in the care of State Police to a secure ward where one had a bullet extracted from his butt and the other was listed in critical condition due to loss of blood from a slash on his wrist. Tom knew he’d catch seven kinds of hell from the district attorney for letting the perps out of the county under State Police custody, but this case had a direct bearing on the federal corporate espionage and sabotage case that was under current investigation. And they’d no more than made the arrests when sirens sounded all over the county for a tornado warning.
There were reported touchdowns in several parts of the county and the sheriff’s office and emergency crews were on high alert all night.
“Dot, Dennis has a couple of cuts but is all right,” he said when he called her from his car. “He’s at the emergency room in County Seat and could probably use you when he wakes up. You need to wait until the tornado warnings are lifted before you go in. It’s a mess out here.”
“I need to get someone over here to stay with Peg. She’s already in a panic over the storm. Please be careful, sweetheart. We love you,” Dot said. Peg was cuddled under her arm and shaking.
“I love you, too. I need to hang up now. Drive carefully when you get out.”
Tom hung up and Dot looked at her phone. This was a job for sisters. She called Natalie’s number and woke the sleepy girl up.
“’Lo?”
“Natalie, it’s Ms. Dottie. I need help with Peg. Can you come over? She needs a sister.”
“Ms. Dottie? Yes, ma’am. I’ll be right there as soon as I get dressed.”
“Thank you, Number One.”
“Amy, girlfriend alert.”
“Natalie? What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure. I just got a call from Ms. Dottie. She needs us to stay with Peg. She didn’t say why or where Dennis was. Can you come with me?”
“Yeah, but it’s storming like crazy out.”
“I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.”
“Okay.”
Natalie disconnected and punched Lana’s contact.
“Hello?” Lana said, coming out of a deep sleep and realizing there was activity all over her house.
“Lana, it’s Nat. I wanted you to know that Amy and I are headed to Dennis’s house. Ms. Dottie called and said Peg needs sisters. I know you can’t get to town in this storm, but didn’t want you left out of the loop. I don’t know where Dennis is,” Natalie said. She was dressed and headed out the door, but stopped when her mother grabbed her hand.
“I’ll stand by. It sounds like everyone here is up. I’ll come in as soon as I can.”
“’Bye sweetie.” Natalie turned to her mother. “I don’t know what’s going on, Mom,” she said before her mother could ask. “Ms. Dottie called and said Peg needed sisters. I’m picking up Amy and heading over there. I don’t know where Dennis is or why Dot called me.”
“I know you’re eighteen and all grown up now, but if you need me, call and I’ll be right there,” Lily said.
“Thanks, Mom. I love you.”
Natalie rushed out the door and ran through the rain to her car.
“Is everybody okay, Mom?” Lana asked as she padded down the hall to the kitchen. The house was dark and she realized there was no electricity.
“We’re okay, älskling. Your father is outside checking the animals. Help me light the lanterns. Your brother and sister are huddled here in the kitchen waiting for hot chocolate,” Elsa said.
“I must have been dead to the world not to hear this storm!” Lana said.
“What woke you up?”
“Nat called. There’s trouble in town, too. Ms. Dottie called to tell her Peg needed sisters. She and Amy are on their way over there,” Lana said.
“She’s probably just afraid of the storm.”
“Probably, but Dennis is always the one she turns to when she’s frightened. I wonder where he is.”
“I don’t have all the details,” Dot said when Natalie and Amy entered the house. “From what I’ve gathered, Dennis spent the night in the athletic pavilion. Tom said there were intruders and went with a full force to the building. Dennis was injured—Tom says, not seriously, just a couple of cuts. As soon as the warnings stop sounding, I need to head to County Seat to pick him up at the hospital.”
“Oh, crap! You need someone to go with you,” Natalie said.
“I’ll be okay, and Peg really loves having the two of you to comfort her. I need to get dressed.”
“You could pick up Lana. She’s on your way to County Seat.”
“Oh, I don’t want to wake anyone else up.”
“She’s up. I’ll call and let her know she should get dressed.”
When Dennis woke up, his mother and Lana were standing beside the bed.
“I’m sorry,” he said immediately. “I didn’t mean to be there all night. I just fell asleep at the keyboard. I’m sorry I made you worry.”
“It seems there is more to be concerned with than falling asleep,” his mother said. Lana reached over and kissed him lightly, holding onto his hand. “How did you get cut? I’ve been told you have eight stitches.”
“I must have gotten hit by glass on my arm during the fight. I don’t remember getting cut on the head, so I’m guessing I must have fallen on a piece when I passed out,” Dennis said.
“Oh, my heavens!” Dot said. “This is much more serious than I thought. What fight?”
“Um… I fell asleep in the coaches’ office. When I woke up, I heard voices in the hall talking about what they were going to do to sabotage the building. I called Tom and stayed hidden in the office. When the police got to the building, the vandals went hunting for a place to hide or escape and broke into the office. Through the door’s window. It was all confusing then. I grabbed a hand when it reached for the latch and he got cut on the broken window. Another guy fired shots into the room and when he came through the door, I kicked him. He was about to shoot me when a deputy shot him. Then I threw up and passed out.”
“Oh. It all sounds simple enough, I suppose,” Dot said.
Dennis and Lana looked at her in surprise. Tears were running from her eyes but she started laughing. The two of them did, too.
“Hold it right there,” a woman commanded as Dennis signed the paper for his release. He turned toward the voice with Lana, his mother having just left to get the car. Behind the woman was a city policeman. “You aren’t going anywhere until I have some answers. What is your name?”
“Dennis Enders.”
“Enders? The coach who sleeps with members of his team? I might have known. What were you doing in that building tonight?”
“Excuse me, ma’am. Who are you and why are you asking these questions?”
“I’m Madeline Courtney, District Attorney and I want to know what was going on in Bartley High School tonight.” Dennis was silent. “Well? What were you doing in that building?”
“I refuse to speak until my attorney is present,” he said with a sigh. This was the woman who had stormed the school board meeting to accuse a coach of improper sexual conduct with a student.
“Oh, you’re going to be that way about it? Arrest him and take him to the jail. He can call an attorney if he has one after you get him there.”
“On what charge, ma’am?” the police officer asked, stepping forward.
“As a material witness and possible accomplice in the vandalism of Bartley High School,” Madeline said.
“Yes, ma’am. Son, you’ll have to come with me. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?”
Dennis nodded silently.
“Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us now?”
Dennis shook his head, saying nothing.
“Please hold out your hands.”
Dennis squeezed his eyes shut fighting down the panic attack as the handcuffs were fastened and he was led out. Madeline turned to Lana.
“And who are you?”
“A minor who refuses to speak until I have a parent and attorney present,” Lana said.
“Oh, fuck off,” Madeline muttered as she turned on her heel and left.
Lana looked at her phone and turned off the video recording she’d started just after the attorney and policeman arrived. She called Dot.
“Miss Dottie, Dennis was just arrested. He needs his attorney. They are taking him to the police station here in County Seat.”
“Oh, shit. I’m pulling up out front and see the car now. Come on and get in. We’ll follow.”
By the time Lana was in the car, Dot was on the phone to Drake Vining and he was on his way.
“This could all have been avoided if you had just answered a couple of simple questions in the hospital,” Madeline said when she was confronted by Drake, Dot, Lana, and Tom at the police station. “All this drama is caused by the impudence of a teenager who doesn’t know his place.”
“Madam District Attorney,” Drake said, “your actions in approaching Dennis Enders and demanding answers to irrelevant questions are at fault in this matter. Now, if you have questions for my client, I suggest we go to an interview room and ask in a civilized manner. I would like the arresting officer, the County Sheriff who was on the scene, Mr. Enders’ mother, and his girlfriend present during the questioning.”
“That is way out of line,” Madeline snapped. “The boy is no longer a minor and requires no one but his attorney to be present.”
“I will recommend to my client that he answer no questions until these conditions have been met,” Drake stated flatly. “So far, you have presented no grounds for having arrested him in the first place. You must make your position known.”
Madeline finally consented to the terms and they were all shown into an interview room. Dennis was brought in by the officer.
“Why is my client in handcuffs?” Drake demanded at once.
“Standard procedure in an arrest.”
“On what charge was he arrested?”
“He was brought in as a material witness,” the officer said.
“And is it standard procedure to handcuff material witnesses?” Drake demanded.
“Um…” The officer quickly released the handcuffs and showed Dennis to a seat beside his lawyer.
It was soon evident that there was no reason for any of them being there, least of all Madeline Courtney. It was unprecedented for a victim in the crime to be handcuffed and taken to jail in order to get a statement. The statement was brief. Dennis had been studying in the coaches’ office when he fell asleep at his computer. When he awoke, he heard voices in the hall and called the sheriff. When the vandals attempted to break into the coaches’ office, a fight ensued with shots being fired. Dennis had acted in self-defense to attempt to stop the vandals and was injured in the process.
The only chink in the story was why Dennis had called the sheriff directly instead of dialing 911. Madeline went red with anger when she found he was soon to become the stepson of the county sheriff. She called an end to the interview and stormed out of the room.
Lana calmly uploaded the video of the arrest to YouTube and sent the link to all the girlfriends. By the time the District Attorney’s office opened at nine o’clock, the video had been viewed over 5,000 times.
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