“The kid punched Scotty at school today.”

“For real?”

“Unfortunately.”

“I hope you’re going to throw the badge around on that one.”

“Maybe just a little.”

Freddie grunted out a laugh. “If I get you the phone number, can I listen to the call?”

“I suppose that would only be fair.”

“Awesome. These are the moments I live for.”

They walked into HQ together, and while Freddie tracked down the Clearys’ phone number, Sam called Chris Ortiz at his winter home in Florida. The woman who answered the phone didn’t speak any English. Sam fumbled through her request to speak to Señor Ortiz.

“Un momento, por favor.”

“Hello?”

“Is this Chris Ortiz?”

“Yes. Who’s this?”

“Lieutenant Sam Holland, Metro PD.”

“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.”