"This is about Willie."

"It is. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Sure."

"Carmen said you were his closest friend on the team. Is that a fair assessment?"

"Yes. We came up together in the D.R. When we both ended up playing for the Feds it felt like a lucky break. It was nice to have someone from home there."

"Did you see Willie after the game the other night?"

"No. I asked where he was, and I was told he was in the training room waiting for the locker room to clear. I thought about going in there to see him, but I figured he wanted to be left alone. If it'd been me, I would've wanted to be alone too. I did try to call him a couple of times later that night, but his phone went right to voice mail. And then I heard what happened... I still can't believe it. It's so shocking. And sad. It's really, really sad. His kids are so young."

"People on the team were angry with him?"

"The whole thing is hard to fathom. Willie... He was one of the best center fielders in the game. Not much got by him, which is why it's so impossible to believe he missed an easy fly ball. Winning that game would've meant so much to all of us. It's the dream, you know?"

"Was anyone angry enough to want to harm him?"

After a long pause, Ortiz said, "You're looking at someone from the team for this?"

"We're looking at everyone."

"A lot of people were mad at Willie after that game-including a lot of people who didn't know him personally. How about the thousands of fans who took to the streets to express their anger?"

"We're looking at them too. What I need from you, however, is impressions about people close to Willie who might've been angry enough to harm him."

"Everyone was upset. People were stunned. How could this have happened? I heard that asked over and over that night. No one could make sense of it. Was there some anger? Hell, yes. I was pissed at him, and he's my friend. The public sees us as a bunch of overpaid jocks, and we are that. For sure. But we're also fierce competitors. We want to win. We're all going to relive that moment for the rest of our lives and ask why. Why didn't he catch that ball?"

"Anyone particularly angry?"

"I'm sure you've already heard that Lind was off the rails, as usual."

"What do you mean 'as usual'?"

"Something isn't right with that guy. No one has ever clued me in on what it is, but you don't have to be a doctor to know he has some anger problems, among other things."

"What other things?"

He hesitated and cleared his throat. "Off the record?"

"If I need whatever you tell me to build a case it's not off the record. If I don't need it, it is."

Sighing, Ortiz said, "He likes the ladies. At home he plays the part of the happy family guy, but on the road... That's another story. He has a woman in every city."

Sam thought of Carla Lind and what she'd been through trying to keep her husband healthy enough to play the game he loved, the same game that had made him wealthy. "Is that common among the players?"

"I'd like to say no, but there are a few who get around. No one quite like Lind, though. I'm not into minding other people's business, but I feel sorry for Carla. She seems like a nice girl, and she's totally oblivious to what he's up to when she's not around. I hate that."

"Did Willie get busy on the road too?"

"Not that I ever knew about. That's not how he rolled."

"How did he roll?"

"He was a straight shooter. What you saw was what you got. I always like that about him. Even after he hit the big time, he was still the same guy I grew up with. I like to think that fame and fortune didn't change either of us all that much. Outwardly, sure... We both have the homes and the cars, the stuff. But who we are underneath it all? That didn't change. At least not as far as I could see."

"There's been some talk of a possible affair between Willie and Jamie Clark."

"No way," Ortiz said, his scoff audible over the phone. "Whoever is saying that is full of shit. They were friends. That's it."

Sam had already come to that conclusion but appreciated his take on it. "Were you aware of the problems he'd had with Carmen's brother?"

"We talked about it a little. He asked me once if everyone in my family-and my wife's family-are after me for money all the time the way they were with him."

"Were they?"

"Not like Willie's family. My wife and I have a few in both our families who aren't shy about asking us for money, but Willie's family-and Carmen's-were over the top with it. They treated him like a bank, and after he cut them off, it got kinda ugly."

"How so?"

"He had a fight with her brother Marco at spring training. He came to our facility in Fort Myers and got into it with Willie as he was coming off the field. A couple of us had to get between them to keep it from escalating."

"Were the police called?"

"Yeah, I think someone from the team called them."

Sam made a note to get a copy of the report from the police in Fort Myers. "Did you hear anything that was said between them?"

"Marco was hassling him about what it meant to be family and how Willie had forgotten where he came from. Willie hung out with Marco when they were kids. That's how he met Carmen."

As that was something Sam hadn't heard before, she made a note of it. "Did he say anything to you about the confrontation with Marco?"

"Just that he was bummed about it, how they used to be friends before Willie became successful. Now Marco was all about the money."

"That must've been tough on him."

"It was. It's tough on all of us. You gotta understand-we're just regular guys who got really, really lucky to make it in baseball. A lot of guys we grew up with were just as good as we are but never made it to the big time. Those of us who did... Well, no one prepares you for how to handle being suddenly crazy rich, especially guys like me and Willie who grew up with less than nothing."

"Did you hear anyone on the team make overt threats to Willie's safety after the game?"

"Lind. He was pretty pissed, but then again he usually is. We don't pay much attention to his rants anymore."

"What did you hear him say?"

"That he'd kill that bastard if he could get his hands on him, and it was a good thing he was hiding out like the pussy he is. Stuff like that."

"Have you spoken to Lind since the game?"

"No, but that's not unusual. We aren't friends."

"Did you happen to see Lind leave the stadium after the game?"

"No, but everyone went their own way after the media crap was done."

"Did Lind meet with the media?" she asked.

"I believe he refused to, but don't quote me on that."

Sam made a note to check on whether Lind was interviewed after the game. "Anyone else spouting about Willie?"

"Cecil Mulroney was pretty mad too."

"Do you know where I might reach him in the off-season?"

"He's at his ranch in Texas. Hang on a sec. I'll get you the number."

While she waited, Sam realized she'd missed the boat by allowing the ballplayers to leave town while the investigation was still active. She might not have prevailed in keeping the whole team in the city, but not trying was another thing she could blame on the fatigue of a sleepless night.

"Ready?" Ortiz said when he came back on the line.

"Go." She wrote down the number. "Let me give you mine in case you think of anything else that might be relevant to the investigation."

"Sure. So you won't tell Mulroney who gave you his number, will you?"

"I can say I got it from the team."

"I'd appreciate that. We've got to play together again next year, and I don't need that kind of crap with my teammates."

"I understand, and I appreciate your time. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend."

"Thanks. It's crazy when you think about how someone probably killed Willie because of a baseball game."

"Crazy indeed. Call me if you think of anything else."

"I will."

Sam ended the call and sat back in her chair, feet on the desk as she stared at the wall, rehashing everything she'd learned about Willie, the team, professional sports, the culture that surrounded the games, the family members and the missing teammate. None of it added up to murder.

She'd known all along that this investigation could end any number of ways. It could turn into a cold case in which the murderer was never found. It could lead to someone Willie had known-someone who was infuriated by his failure to catch that fly ball or perhaps a family member who felt entitled to share in Willie's riches. Or it could've been a completely random act of violence that occurred in the midst of a riot brought on by his error.

Over the years, Sam had learned to trust her instincts. They hadn't led her wrong yet. Everything in her was leading her to focus on the people around the slain ballplayer. There was just too much hate and discontent in his life to write off his murder as a random act committed by an aggrieved fan. That would be too simple. As mad as the fans had been, most of them weren't murderers. Despite that, however, she wasn't ready to rule out the possibility of a random act either.

And then there was the fact that the team was awfully new to the city for people to care enough to commit murder over a painful loss. Other far more established baseball teams had suffered much longer losing streaks, and no one had been killed over an error on the field. If Red Sox fans allowed Bill Buckner to live after his World Series error, surely the Feds fans wouldn't be out for blood from Willie, right?

She got up and went to the doorway to her office. "Everyone in the conference room. Five minutes. Cruz, get Charity and Archie down here."

It was time to start over and go through it all one more time.

Chapter Thirteen.

"Where are we with Vasquez's financials?" Sam asked Charity when everyone was in the room.

"Forrester has been promised something by first thing in the morning. I'll let you know the second I have them."

"Good, thanks. Archie, how's it going with the film?"

"Nothing yet, but we're only about halfway through all of it. I've got three people on it, but it's slow going."

"We'll have more for you from what we think is our murder scene."

"Bring it up as soon as you have it. I'll put some second-and third-shift people on it." Sam glanced at Freddie, who nodded to let her know he'd take care of that.

"The restraining orders might be a dead end," Sam said. "Most of them involve overly enthusiastic women who wouldn't take no for an answer. The notable exception is Willie's brother-in-law, Marco Pena. Agent Hill has gone to the Dominican Republic to track him down and hopefully have a chat with him about his problems with Willie. I'm going to take one more look at the restraining orders tonight. We also learned this afternoon that Feds closer Rick Lind hasn't been seen or heard from since the game."

That news sent a low murmur through the room.

"Second vic?" Gonzo asked, echoing a thought Sam had also had.

"I'm not so sure." Sam relayed what they'd learned from Lind's wife about his illness.

"So everyone around him knew that he was seriously ill, but they kept it quiet because he could throw a hundred-mile-an-hour fastball better than anyone in the game?" Gonzo asked.

"Apparently."

"This case is making me want to permanently swear off all interest in professional sports," Gonzo muttered.

"So what's our plan where Lind is concerned?" Malone asked from his usual post in the back of the room.

"We've law enforcement in the Metro area looking for him, and his disappearance has hit the media. His wife couldn't give us much insight on where he might be. I gathered from her that his disappearing acts aren't new, and she never knows where he's been when he resurfaces. I issued the APB only because of what happened to Willie, and because if we have a killer out to avenge the people who caused the loss, Lind might be on his or her list."

"How do you figure?" Freddie asked. "Vasquez was the one who missed the ball."

"Lind had plenty of chances to close out the game before that fly ball was ever hit," Gonzo said.

"Right," Sam said. "Most of the blame fell on Vasquez for missing an easy fly, but let's not forget that Lind had ample opportunity to end the game and failed to get it done."

"So if they're both missing and say Lind is presumed murdered too, then that would rule out a random act by an enraged fan," Freddie said.

"Exactly," Sam said. "I'm going to have Carlucci and Dominguez track down the car service Lind used before the game to find out if they had any contact with him after. Someone had to see him leave the stadium. I'll reach out to the team owner and have him get with his security people to figure out who was the last one to see Lind after the game." She relayed the highlights of her conversation with Chris Ortiz. "I'll also be reaching out to Cecil Mulroney when I get a chance." To Arnold, she said, "Anything on the phone logs?"