June Morris: Nothing. Coach Terry got into his van and drove away.
Detective Anderson: What color was the van?
June Morris: Well, it would be white if it was washed, I guess, but it was pretty dirty. Also, it made a lot of noise and all this blue smoke. Phew.
Detective Anderson: Was anything written on the side? Like a company name?
June Morris: Nope. It was just a white van.
Detective Anderson: Did you see the license plate?
June Morris: Nope.
Detective Anderson: Which way did the van go?
June Morris: Down Barnum Street.
Detective Morris: And you’re sure the man, the one who told you he had a bloody nose, was Terry Maitland?
June Morris: Sure, Coach Terry, Coach T. I see him all the time. Is he all right? Did he do something wrong? My mom says I can’t look at the newspaper or watch the TV news, but I’m pretty sure something bad happened in the park. I’d know if school was in, because everybody blabs. Did Coach Terry fight with a bad person? Is that how he got the bloody—
Francine Morris: Are you almost done, Detective? I know you need information, but remember that I’m the one who has to put her to bed tonight.
June Morris: I put myself to bed!
Detective Anderson: Right, almost done. But June, before you go, I’m going to play a little game with you. Do you like games?
June Morris: I guess so, if they’re not boring.
Detective Anderson: I’m going to put six photographs of six different people on the table . . . like this . . . and they all look a little like Coach Terry. I want you to tell me—
June Morris: That one. Number four. That’s Coach Terry.
7
Troy Ramage opened one of the rear doors of the unmarked car. Terry looked over his shoulder and saw Marcy behind them, halted at the edge of the parking lot, her face a study in agonized bewilderment. Behind her came the Call photographer, snapping pictures even as he jogged across the grass. Those won’t be worth a damn, Terry thought, and with a certain amount of satisfaction. To Marcy he shouted, “Call Howie Gold! Tell him I’ve been arrested! Tell him—”
Then Yates had his hand on top of Terry’s head, pushing him down and in. “Slide over, slide over. And keep your hands in your lap while I fasten your seatbelt.”
Terry slid over. He kept his hands in his lap. Through the windshield he could see the ballfield’s big electronic scoreboard. His wife had led the fund drive for that two years before. She was standing there, and he would never forget the expression on her face. It was the look of some woman in a third world country, watching as her village burned.
Then Ramage was behind the wheel, Ralph Anderson was in the passenger seat, and even before Ralph could get his door closed, the unmarked was backing out of the handicap space with a chirp of the tires. Ramage turned tight, spinning the wheel with the heel of his hand, then headed for Tinsley Avenue. They rode sans siren, but a blue bubble-light stuck to the dashboard began to swing and flash. Terry realized that the car smelled of Mexican food. Strange, the things you noticed when your day—your life—suddenly went over a cliff you hadn’t even known was there. He leaned forward.
“Ralph, listen to me.”
Ralph was looking straight ahead. His hands were clenched tightly together. “You can talk all you want down at the station.”
“Hell, let him tell it,” Ramage said. “Save us all some time.”
“Shut up, Troy,” Ralph said. Still watching the road unroll. Terry could see two tendons standing out on the back of his neck, making the number 11.
“Ralph, I don’t know what led you to me, or why you’d want to arrest me in front of half the town, but you’re totally off the rails.”
“So say they all,” Tom Yates remarked from beside him in a just-passing-the-time voice. “Keep those hands in your lap, Maitland. Don’t even scratch your nose.”
Terry’s head was clearing now—not a lot, but a little—and he was careful to do as Officer Yates （his name was pinned to his uniform shirt） had instructed. Yates looked as if he’d like an excuse to take a poke at his prisoner, cuffs or no cuffs.
Someone had been eating enchiladas in this car, Terry was sure of it. Probably from Se?or Joe’s. It was a favorite of his daughters, who always laughed a lot during the meal—hell, they all did—and accused each other of farting on their way home. “Listen to me, Ralph. Please.”
He sighed. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“We all are,” Ramage said. “Open ears, buddy, open ears.”