Page 112 of Slapshot Obsession
“Ok.” She smiles. “I would love your help, please.”
Tucker is back in the room a couple of minutes after I help Taryn back into her bed.
“I just spoke to Coach. He’s going to let Carole and Lexi know we’re all here and inform them about what happened tonight. We’re all excused from practice tomorrow, and Coach will be here in the morning to speak to the medical team and see what’s up with Nash.”
“I’m ok.” Nash grumbles. “Why isn’t anyone listening to me? Yes, my arms and shoulders are killing me right now. But it’s nothing some decent painkillers and a good night's rest won’t fix.”
We all glare at him.
“What?” He rolls his eyes. “Ok, maybe two nights’ rest. But I was strung up to those pipes for maybe a couple of hours at the most. I’m used to playing through pain and injuries. You should all understand that. If I were really fucked up, I’d be the first one to admit it.”
I guess he has a point. “Yeah, I think you’re right. If you were really fucked up, you wouldn’t have the energy to argue so much about everything.”
He flips me off, but he can’t hide the wince of pain when he lifts his hand. “I said I need one night.” He scowls when I raise my eyebrows at him. “By tomorrow morning, I’ll be able to double flip you off and it won’t hurt one bit.”
“Thank you for taking care of this, Tucker.” Jodiesounds anxious. “I’m with Nash that we need one good night's rest. Maybe one whole day and we’ll be back to almost normal. I just hope that one day won’t be a deal breaker for our trainers. We’re so close to making this team.”
I understand her concerns.
Tucker reassures her. “Don’t worry, Jodie. Leave it with Coach Harrison. I told him exactly what you just said, and he promised he’ll make your case for you and Taryn. He’s a very persuasive guy. I have a feeling that everything will be ok.”
He’s smiling like the cat that got the canary, and I’m over it. I want to know what he said to Andy before he punched him. “Tuck, now that’s its just us in the room, you need to tell us. How did you convince Andy to confess to everything and to give up on a trial? Before you talked to him, he seemed to be set on not wanting to speak without his attorney present. The sheriff was sure he wanted to fight his way through a trial.”
My best friend shrugs. “Don’t worry about that. I have my ways.”
I’m about to argue with him, but Taryn intervenes. “I want to know too, Tucker. Please?”
And if Tucker can ignore what I want and leave me hanging, he’s powerless against Taryn’s pleading expression. “Ok, I’ll tell you. It wasn’t really that hard to make him look at his situation a little more realistically.”
“Which means?” Taryn insists.
He relents. “I told him that he would be convicted for Tim’s murder. Even if his lawyer somehow managed to make his recorded confession inadmissible in court, we would all testify and nail him. And I pointed out that if he jerked off in Tim’s bathroom, the cops would have his DNAon file and once he got processed by the police, they would be able to put him in that room on the night of the murder. I also reminded him that South Carolina isn’t California. They would seek the death penalty and enforce it. But I also told him that he should be lucky to even make it to South Carolina to stand trial.”
“How so?” I ask.
And knowing Tucker, his answer shouldn’t surprise me. “I told him that it would probably take a few days, maybe weeks for him to be sent back to South Carolina. And in the meantime, he would await extradition here in California, probably in Star Cove, at least at first. I just told him that this is my town. That the sheriff is a family friend and that my dad has a few close connections within the sheriff's department and the correctional department. One of his first cousins is a warden at the federal prison between Star Cove and Shell Cove. I said that I would let them know what he did. That he tried to kill my girlfriend and one of my teammates.”
I can see where this is going.
“I reminded him that having the prison guards against you is fucking dangerous. I predicted he might get his ass kicked by the other inmates and that the police would turn a blind eye. Or that he might get done by the cops himself for any real or perceived infraction of an order. Either way, he wouldn’t make it back to South Carolina in one piece. But that if he confessed to everything, exonerated Taryn and Jodie from all of it and gave up to a trial, I would make sure he would be safe in custody.”
It’s hard not to laugh at Tucker’s satisfied expression. “You spoke to him for a minute or two at the most. Did you say all that?”
“Not in so many words, but it’s the gist of what I said, yes.” He chuckles.
Taryn looks impressed. “I knew you had connections in town, babe. But I didn’t know they were so powerful.”
His smile widens. “That’s because they’re not. Don’t get me wrong, I know a few cops and the new sheriff is a friend. But I doubt they would do my dirty work for me in jail. Andy didn’t know that, though.”
Nash laughs, but it must hurt because he holds his head at the end. “You know, I had the feeling you could talk yourself out of any situation the second we met. I guess I was right.”
Taryn laces her fingers with Tucker’s. “Do you really think that his confession will get me and Jodie off the hook for running with the murder weapon?”
“I don’t see why not. He will admit to everything; you heard him yourself. I called Rachel Reilly anyway. She’ll follow up with this until everything is finalized to make sure everything goes to plan. The sheriff, the other cops, and the paramedics heard Andy admitting to everything too, and so did we. I think you and Jodie are in the clear.”
“Thank you, Tucker.” Jodie doesn’t look relieved that everything seems to be copacetic. “Even though I don’t deserve your help.”
Taryn looks at her best friend. “Why not?”
