“Don’t play dumb with me, son, you saw that bus go down in that river, and I was on it when it went down. How did they get out?”

“I couldn’t tell you.”

“Couldn’t? Or won’t? Where have they been since Friday night?”

“Coach, your guess is as good as mine. All I know is what I know, which is exactly what everyone else knows.”

“So they just showed up on your front lawn, like the morning dew?”

“That’s pretty much it.”

“In the team bus?”

“The bus?” Cole’s mind raced. “Well, the bus was actually parked out by the—”

“It’s crap, Logan! I’m not buying a word of it.” Hickham came out of his chair. “I’ll tell you what I think. I think the whole thing was some sort of prank from the beginning. And if I find out that you brought my daughter into it, there’s gonna be hell to pay.”

“This look like a prank to you?” Cole held up his three-fingered hand. “’Cause the whole thing began with this, Coach. It began with the Badgers. They’re the pranksters. They’re the ones that sent our bus off that bridge. The joke was not done by us; it was done to us.”

“Well, it’s funny that the only ones who know what happened after that bus sank are the ones who went down with it. And they aren’t talking. Now, why is that, Logan? Doesn’t that strike you as a little odd? Hell, doesn’t it strike their parents as odd? And where the hell are my assistant coaches? Where’s Jim Tom Grady?”

Cole shook his head and crossed away. “I don’t know the answer to those questions. And as for the silence of the team … I guess they’re still just a little dazed.”

“You’re damn right they’re dazed! Most of them look like they’ve passed through a wood chipper and they’re not even showing any signs of pain. And this is the team you expect me to field?”

“They can do it, Coach.”

“Logan, those boys were so punch-drunk they couldn’t write their names, much less play an organized football game in less than twenty-four hours.”

“What if I told you they could? What if I told you that your team just played a scrimmage in the Butlers’ backyard? Not some little pickup game, Coach; I’m talking about an organized scrimmage, using our plays and squad rotations … your plays, Coach.”

“I’d tell you that you were full of it.”

“Well, it’s true. Ask around. A lot of people stuck around at the Butlers’ place to see it. The players’ own parents sure saw it. And I can promise you they didn’t have a problem seeing the guys back on the field.”