Most of the reporters had left, but Cat was milling around the back of the conference room, trying to stay out of the way as it was staged for a television interview. The ESPN reporter sat in the other chair, reading through her notes while being fitted with a microphone. James strutted inside, wearing a different suit than he had just an hour earlier. Cat walked up behind the cameraman and cleared her throat. “Mr. Hudson, can the Soldiers get a word before your television debut?”
“I don’t have time for that right now.”
The reporter looked up from her papers. “Yes, you do, we’re not on for another ten.”
James placed his hand on Cat’s shoulder and led her off to the side. “With all due respect, I think this interview is a little more important than the team website.”
“This is off the record.”
“Can it wait? I have a little time free this afternoon if you—”
“Where’s your ring?”
“Excuse me?”
She held up her right hand and pointed at her ring finger. “Your ring. Gold. Showy. It’s got a family crest, which if I understand correctly, is something you rich people like to display whenever possible. Your brother wears one, so I’m guessing all the Hudsons do.”
“Yes, I know the one. It was a gift from my father.”
“Where’s yours?”
“I don’t wear jewelry.”
Cat was prepared for that. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a cellphone. “Remember this summer? We were all at your brother’s wedding; you were the best man. The team photographers didn’t miss a beat. Here’s when you handed him Kiki’s ring.” She showed him the photo screen. “What’s that gold thing on your finger?”
He squinted at the screen. “Okay, so I wear it for family gatherings and such.” He jerked his head back toward the interview set. “Is that all? I’d like to look over a few notes before I go on national television.”
“I’ve got your ring.”
“Excuse me?”
“I found a ring like that in my apartment after the poker game. I can’t help but wonder how your family heirloom would wind up in my house.”
“Shouldn’t I be asking that?” He surveyed her empty hands. “Well? Can I have it back?”
“I’ll have to get it for you; it’s still at my apartment.”
“I guess I owe you one. I thought I’d lost it.”
“You know, Detective Kahn seems to think there were more people present at that poker game.”
The fake smile melted off his face. “What’s your point?”
“In some people, drinking alcohol causes fluid retention and their fingers get swollen. If that happened to a person, he would take off his ring, which he might forget if he had to leave in a hurry.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m your boss’s new boss, little girl, and I really don’t appreciate what you’re insinuating.”
“Your ring was at my house the day after that poker game. I don’t think I’m insinuating anything.”
“All right, fine.” He gnawed on his bottom lip. “I guess it doesn’t even matter anymore. That ring you have is George’s.”
“George is wearing his. I saw it this morning during the press conference.”
“No, George is wearing mine.”
“He stole your ring?”
“I lent it to him. He came to me yesterday and told me he needed to borrow mine. He didn’t say why and I didn’t ask. I could tell he really needed it. I found out this morning that your brother was trying to put the squeeze on him, to get even more money out of him. George knew the ring implicated him and he thought that if he had my ring, then your brother would drop it. Of course, none of that matters now.”
“You’re like forty pounds skinnier than your brother.”
“So?”
“So I’m surprised you wear the same ring size.”
She studied the ring on her left hand. A month after Benji proposed with a size four solitaire, she gained five pounds and had to have it resized to a five. Then spring training came and with all the hectic work, she’d lost the five—both in pounds and ring size. When the season had started, all the eating out and traveling had packed on an extra ten and the ring had to take another trip back to the jeweler’s. Then swimsuit season came and she’d gotten back to her optimum weight. Then she’d had the ring resized to a four again.
“Well, maybe he had to jam it on there with butter. All I know is, he’s my brother so I broke the rules for him. I think you can relate.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Don’t you have enough to do? Why are you stuck on this anyway?”
“That poker game is when this all started. If people thought you were there or had anything to do with this—”
“Why would you make things worse for everybody? I’m this team’s last resort, okay? If you throw my name in the mud, even just as a suggestion, this franchise will be frozen by the commissioner and you’ll be out of a job, too.”
There was nothing she could say to that.
“Anyway, I don’t gamble. Check it out if you want but it so happens I have alibi for that evening. I’d rather it not come out into the open because it would just cause my brother more pain.”
Kiki.
Cat met his eyes knowingly. They shared the same look they had when she’d walked in on the coat closet canoodling.
“But I do want that ring back; otherwise, I’m reporting it stolen and giving the police your brother’s name, you got it?”
“I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.”
He nodded, turned on his heel and sauntered back to the makeshift studio.