Chapter 5 - Coach Ray Came to My WorkshopThree days later, Ray Madsen showed up at my carpentry shop.
I almost called police before letting him inside.
He stood just beyond the open bay door with both hands visible.
“I’m not here for trouble.”
“Then this is an unusual location.”
He looked around at the saws and unfinished cabinets.
“You really are a carpenter.”
“What were you expecting?”
“Some retired-operator bunker.”
I didn’t smile.
“What do you want?”
Ray looked older outside the gym.
Less like a criminal caricature.
More like a man who had made compromises until he stopped remembering which one was first.
“I heard Marcy’s talking to cops.”
I stepped closer.
“You came here to threaten me?”
“No.”
“Then choose your next sentence carefully.”
He nodded.
“Dustin’s out of control.”
“That’s not news.”
“He wasn’t always.”
“Also not useful.”
Ray exhaled.
“Victor started using the gym for more than fights two years ago.”
Cash sponsorships.
Fake fighter appearance fees.
Security contracts.
Cash movement disguised as event revenue.
Ray claimed he looked away because Victor owned the building and financed the team.
Then Victor started expecting more.
“You’re telling me this because?”
“Because Dustin thinks his uncle protects him from everything.”
“Does he?”
Ray gave a grim laugh.
“Victor protects Victor.”
Then he said something strange.
“Dustin didn’t go looking for Marcy alone the night she got hurt.”
I stopped.
“Who was with him?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I know somebody drove him.”
“What car?”
Ray hesitated.
“Black Escalade. Victor’s people use three.”
Not useful enough.
Then Ray added:
“But Dustin came back to the gym afterward.”
“What time?”
“Close to midnight.”
“With the laptop?”
“No.”
“What did he say?”
Ray looked toward the street before answering.
“He said, ‘Coach, if anyone asks, I was here all night.’”
There it was.
A false alibi request.
Ray refused.
That explained his silence when Dustin taunted me.
He wasn’t afraid of my Marine background.
He was realizing Dustin might confess something in front of witnesses.
“Why are you telling me?”
Ray rubbed his jaw.
“Because I have a nineteen-year-old daughter.”
The answer irritated me.
“You needed your own daughter to understand mine?”
He looked ashamed.
“Apparently.”
Before he left, Ray handed me a paper.
License plate.
One of Victor’s Escalades.
“Give it to police.”
“I will.”
Then he stopped.
“And Jack?”
“What?”
“You embarrassed Dustin in front of people.”
“I restrained him.”
“To him, same thing.”
“Meaning?”
“He’ll come after you.”
I met his eyes.
“Then I call police.”
Ray nodded.
“That’s exactly what you should do.”
May you like
The coach of an underground fight gym had just reminded me of my own rule.
The irony was not lost on either of us.
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