Page 32 of Final Inning

“I’m sure he’ll enjoy that. Give me more examples. How did the players act toward each other?”

“The girls were usually pretty typical. Some girls played together for years, so they tended to form cliques. Others would go from team to team every season—searching for more intense situations. Those girls tended to either burn out by fifteen, or they grew even more intense. And moved on to higher level. You couldn’t always predict at twelve what group a girl would fall into. And the majority—well, there is usually a mass exodus in twelves, fourteens, and even sixteens. Girls who want to do something else.”

“Why didn’t you finish it out through high school?”

“That drama. It wasn’t like that in high school ball, fortunately. So I just played with the girls from my high school. Sage Lowell, remember her, the chief deputy?—she’s a Tyler now—we were damned good at middle infield. I wasn’t exactly tolerant of people acting that way. It seemed so petty and I wasn’t up for that. Adults caused ninety percent of the problems, other than a few squabbles between teenage girls that were inevitable and developmental.”

“Why is that?”

“I think it is…commercialization. There is big money in kids’ sports. Big money. Along with fake dreams. Competitive softball has been growing for decades. It is not as regulated as it should be. The kids are the ones who pay the price. Sad, really. Because most girls get into it at a young age because they love it. At least…that was what I saw, anyway. I’m sure some girls have great experiences. I was not one of them. More…a four-to-six out of ten, maybe.”

“Did you believe Coach Amanda? About her relationship with Kevin?”

“Do I believe they had a romantic relationship? Probably. Deputy Lindhour already confirmed Amanda’s alibi. That girl is good at what she does. I hate that Sheriff Ted doesn’t see that. I don’t think Amanda Riccards is the killer, although she could physically be capable. I just don’t feel we have enough to even put her fully on the list of potentials.” She had learned long ago not to assume anything, though. “But was she angry enough at him? I don’t know…we haven’t come across anyone who said they were having problems of any kind. Not between them, though.”

“Is it possible this could have stemmed from an issue with previous players?”

“Parents can get very vindictive when it comes to their kids, Knight. Anything at this point is possible.”

“Including murder?”

“I have a friend with two teenagers who play. She likes to send me videos of parents behaving badly at softball. Because she sees it. I’m talking full out assaults. Sometimes they go after the umpires. Most aren’t like that, of course, but it’s always the squeaky mouse who gets chased by the cat, as my grandmother would put it. There is enough melodrama in the kids’ sports world that it gets noticed and talked about.”

“The things I missed out on as a kid.”

“Why I think you may have just tried to make a joke. I’m shocked. I think you must be learning.”

“You’ve said twice—not all teams are like that—yet the one Kevin was associated with was. That might just mean something. Is it possible some teams draw people who thrive on the drama?”

Miranda thought for a moment. Of what she knew of the softball world. “My memories are those of a young teen, Knight. They might not be accurate, considering it was almost twenty years ago. I remember subbing for a few teams where it was just…smooth sailing the entire way. And playing against teams that had it all together. And I had really good experiences for the most part.”

“Would parents keep their kids on teams with too much drama overall?”

“Some, yes. Absolutely. There are those who are seriously chasing division one softball scholarships, even though…a very small percentage will even play in college at all, let alone D1. But so many parents ignore the numbers. Fortunately, mine was not one of them. If that team could provide whatever it is they were angling for—some parents would ignore abuse and mistreatment. Far too easily. Some would also ignore it if it meant more wins for their daughters. And there are some who fully believe their ten-year-old will be the next Monica Abbott. Who will get the D1 scholarship to the top school in the nation in softball. And they will fight until the final inning to protect that.”

“Even commit murder?”

“We’ve seen people commit murder for far less, haven’t we?”

“There is that. But…this is a child’s game, right?”

“For some, they act like it’s…life or death. Really takes the fun out of it, when you think about it.”

And that was the saddest part. The kids were the ones who lost out the most.

Chapter 23

Dani was waiting on Miranda’s email early the next morning. She’d gotten a heads-up text from that girl that a list of names was coming in from a previous assistant coach, late the night before. The list had come in just after midnight, it looked like.

Dani had a task—find them all, see what kind of other connections existed, and run them through her precious little systems to see if anything interesting popped up.

Ninety percent of her job was following the digital and paper trails for her field peeps. She was very good at what she did.

In spite of what Michael seemed to think. He was escalating beyond what was normal here lately.

Shayna had run him out of their lab a few minutes ago. Dani was almost certain he’d been digging into the printouts on her desk. She always put the reports she’d send to Miranda in an exact order. So why would a form be upside down and at the bottom of the stack? She’d only gone to the restroom. Michael had been in the lab when she’d returned—waiting for her.

Dani was going to have a word with Richison. Something had the hair on her arms rising. Michael should not have been touching her reports. Period. Sometimes, Dani handled exclusive reports that only those with the highest clearances were allowed to see. A lab tech from a private contracting company was not on that list.