“It would’ve bought her some badly needed time.” He produced another piece of paper, detailing Elle’s efforts to find investors to shore up the struggling company. “All of them bailed when the team lost the game. After I read about the investors, I called Bixby, the team’s director of security, to ask if anything had happened in the owner’s box that night. He said Elle flew into a rage, and had to be subdued by her bodyguards. They took her out of there. Bixby said it looked like they’d done it before.”

“She’s been escalating. Why didn’t Bixby say anything about that when you talked to him before?”

“She’s the owner’s wife. He’s interested in job security, and he figured it was just a tantrum. He said it didn’t really register as anything important with his people. Her bodyguards handled it.”

“It’s time to pick her up, but we need to have another chat with Jamie Clark first.” Sam gestured for him to head out of the pit, and after shutting and locking her office door, she followed him. “McBride and Tyrone, I’ll need you to stick around for a bit. I’ll authorize overtime.”

“Sure thing, LT,” McBride said. “What do you need?”

“Meet me in the lobby in ten minutes.”

“We’ll be there.”

Hill followed her downstairs to the city jail where Jamie Clark was being held in a cell with six other women. She was sitting on one of the cots, tucked into a corner with her arms hugging her legs as if trying to be invisible. At the sight of Sam outside the cell door, she got up and rushed over, bumping into one of the other women on the way.

The woman pushed back, nearly knocking Jamie off her feet. “Watch who you’re ramming into, bitch.”

“Sorry,” Jamie muttered, clearly fearful of the other women.

“I have another question for you,” Sam said.

Jamie wrapped her fingers around the bars. “What?”

“You said that you and Willie were alone in the training room after the game.”

“That’s right. We were there for at least two hours, waiting for everyone else to leave so he could get his stuff and go.”

“You said Ray Jestings and Bob Minor came in to talk to him during that time.”

“Yes, they were both there for a short time before they left.”

“Did anyone else enter that room? And I want you to think carefully and tell me the truth.”

Jamie swallowed hard, her eyes darting between Sam and Hill. “One other person came in.”

“Who?”

“Elle Jestings.”

Bingo, Sam thought. That’s exactly what she was hoping Jamie would say. “And you didn’t mention this sooner because...”