JP scrubbed a frustrated hand down his face. “I don’t know, probably. Kappy’s a loose cannon.”
“I’m sure he means well,” I said weakly.
“Yeah, I'm sure he does.” JP quickly searched for the clicker to turn on the TV.
As soon as JP changed it to the correct channel, Kappy appeared on the screen looking fancy with his dark mullet freshly styled. He was sitting at a panel with three other retired hockey guys, all in eclectic suits.
“JP McQuaid, who’s out on injury reserve, has apparently been busy during his recovery,” another young guy on the panel joked.
“For those of you who don’t know what happened, he was charged with vandalism for slashing the tires of a youth hockey coach,” the panelist with gray hair said.
“Allegedly, Gary.” Kappy pointed at the old man.
“You don’t believe it?” Gary let out a chuckle.
“Nah.” Kappy straightened his maroon suit jacket. “See, this happened at Centre Ice,” he said, as if that should clear everything up.
“So what?” the guy next to him pushed.
“So,Michael, I own the place,” Kappy said pointedly. “And JP is my best bud. Well, he’d say Colt is his best bud, but we’re all even, I swear.
“Okay, and?” the guy, Michael, pushed.
“And, if JP was gonna do something, he would’ve called me up to cut the cameras.” Kappy stared straight at the camera with atold-ya-solook on his face.
The other guys started laughing.
“C’mon, don’t laugh, you know it’s true,” Kappy said with a grin. “Andyou’re forgetting that we grew up at that rink. We know every single inch of that place. Even if JP didn’t want to loop me in, he knows where every single camera is set up. Gotta say, weallegedlycommitted a crime or two in the day.”
“What is he saying?” JP clutched his head.
“And we were never stupid enough to get caught,” Kappy said with a proud grin. “You’re telling me that seventeen-year-old-JP knew how to evade those cameras like a pro, but his 33-year-old smarter self got caught red-handed? Nah. I don't buy it. He was setup.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Gary, the old guy at the end of the panel, stuck his hand up, “you’re saying he didn’t commit this crime because he'sa better criminalthan that?”
The other guys started laughing.
Kappy looked like a deer caught in headlights. “I mean, it sounds bad when you say it like that, but I yeah, I guess so.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” JP whispered matter-of-factly. “I’m really gonna this time.”
“I wanna know what crimes you guysallegedlycommitted,” the guy next to Kappy said.
Kappy grinned. “I mean, nothing bad. Weallegedlytook the zam for a couple joyrides in the backlot. And there was that one time weallegedlysnuck in and froze out the high school locker room by tripping the sprinkler system. Again, never got caught. Because we know every single inch of that place. I mean, I’ll come clean about this one—when I was about seventeen, my wife and I crashed the zam into the boards. Smoke and glass everywhere. It was bad. But I deleted all security cam footage before getting caught. I actually feel bad that our rink manager, Hans—” Kappy looked up at the ceiling— “love you buddy—could never pin it on us.”
Gary slapped the table with a laugh. “I can’t believe this, you’re defending McQuaid by saying you guys were way worse back in the day.”
“Wow, this is great. Real great, Kap,” JP said sarcastically.
“Okay, that’s great and all, Kappy,” the other panelist said, “but wouldn’t you have forgotten the security cam set-up over the years?”
Kappy snorted. “Haveyouforgotten your home rink, Jake?”
Jake cocked his head to the side. “You know, he’s kind of got a point. Okay, I think I'm jumping ship. McQuaid was set up.”
“Thank you,” Kappy said, slapping the panel.
“Wait, this might’ve been good,” I told JP. “He made a lot of sense. Everyone who grew up in a rink will be on your side.”
