“Not that I saw. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t there. I was focused on Willie. He was so upset. I was worried he shouldn’t be driving, but he assured me he’d see me home safely.”

“Did he mention his wife or family?” Hill asked.

“He said he was sad that he had to face them as a failure. I tried to tell him he wasn’t a failure, that he’d had an amazing season and that no one would blame him for one mistake. He scoffed at that and said of course they should blame him. Who else should they blame? Nothing I said seemed to help him.”

“Help me to understand something, Ms. Clark,” Sam said. “Here’s a ballplayer who is by all accounts well-liked and well-respected by his teammates. And yet, he’s leaving with you rather than one of his so-called friends on the team. Explain to me why he was with you and not one of the other players.”

Sam could tell the other woman was dying to say something snippy but refrained, probably in deference to the law enforcement officers as well as her bosses. “After the...the error, Willie came off the field and went directly to the training room. He didn’t set foot in the locker room until everyone else had left. He couldn’t bring himself to face his teammates. When the game ended, I went back to my office in the training room. I found him there, so I stayed with him until he was ready to leave. I thought that was the right thing to do. Wasn’t it, Bob?”

He patted her knee in an almost paternal gesture. “It was the right thing to do. Ray and I were in the training room with them for a short time after the game ended. But we both had other concerns to see to, and since nothing we said seemed to help Willie, we left to deal with the press and the rest of the team.”

“I’m wondering why he was allowed to leave without security,” Sam said to Ray.

“He refused our offer of an escort home. He said this was his city and these people were his fans, and he wasn’t going to hide from them.”

“Why didn’t you insist?” Sam asked.

“Things were happening very quickly all around us,” Ray said. “The fans were rioting. Every member of our security team was dealing with what was happening in the stadium and outside of it. I had bigger concerns at that moment than arguing with a player who didn’t want my help. Believe me, I wish now that I had insisted.”

“I’d like a moment alone with Ms. Clark, please,” Sam said.

“Why?” Ray asked.

“Because.”

When he seemed to get that Sam wasn’t going to tell him, he got up and gestured for Minor to do the same.