QB1 (7 page)

“Wow, this is a big car, isn’t it? I rode in
one of these when I was on Leno.” Roger had his little netbook
computer open on his lap. He had an Internet roaming card my office
paid for. It came in handy sometimes.

“Anything new in the investigation?” I asked
as we drove downtown. Roger typed.

He was looking at news stories. “A number of
Arab extremist organizations have taken credit for the shooting.
The FBI cautions not to take this seriously until something is
proven. It’s an article from the AP. Other news organizations have
picked up the story.”

I called Tonelli, told him about working with
the team and asked him if he had anything. He told me that he
couldn’t talk but would speak to the guys upstairs, see what he
could share and get back to me. I saw Liz wipe a tear away from her
eye.

Reading the computer screen Roger said,
“There are some stories about sports teams and celebrities
increasing security. The President has issued his regrets about the
loss of a great athlete but has urged the public not to jump to any
conclusions until more of the facts are in.” Roger read through a
few more pages. “The head of Homeland Security stated that there
had been no indication of increased terrorist communication
regarding any type of plots against Americans. They have raised the
terror alert status to Orange.”

“Thank God, we’re saved,” I said. Liz looked
over at me. “I’m sorry.”

She laughed, “Don’t be. That’s funny.”

We pulled up to a high rise on California
Street and got out at the front door and took the elevator up to
the 56th Floor. Mr. Rosenbloom was making a few bucks as an agent.
We were shown into his office. It was a large office with an
incredible view of the Bay. There was a bank of TV screens, all lit
with different channels on one wall. Nonstop coverage of the latest
“terror” incident. We were immediately shown in with introductions
all around. Rosenbloom knew of Roger and me. He hugged Liz and told
her how sorry he was for her loss. “This is a terrible thing for
you and everyone who knew him. He was an exceptional athlete but he
was also a tremendous guy. I got to know him as a man and I’m just
beside myself over this.” He started crying, Liz was crying and
Roger was crying. Rosenbloom composed himself wiping away tears and
passed around the tissue box.

He drew himself back into the business mode.
“We should probably discuss Tony’s estate,” he said. He looked over
at me. “This information is private. I might suggest that Tom and
Roger leave us for this.”

I stood up and said, “Oh sure.”

“I’m comfortable with letting them stay,” Liz
said. “They’ve been helping me.”

“If you’re comfortable Elizabeth, I’m
comfortable.” I sat back down. “Have you retained an attorney to
represent you?” he asked.

“No, I haven’t. I’m not sure who Tony used,”
she said.

“Well, he used us,” said Rosenbloom, “Our
staff attorneys. We’re a full service agency. We even pay your
bills.”

“Yes, Tony told me that,” she said. “So, is
there any money left?”

“You really don’t know, do you Liz?” said
Rosenbloom.

“I don’t. Tony told me about some endorsement
deals but I don’t know the specifics.”

Rosenbloom sat back in his chair and looked
at Liz. “And you don’t know anything about his will?”

Liz shrugged her shoulders, “I have a credit
card that always works and I don’t spend much. I’ve got some money
I saved from when I was working on cruises. We didn’t talk about
money very much. I just knew he was unhappy about his contract. I’m
pretty much into my own thing in the music business, for what it’s
worth.”

“Liz, Tony signed a contract in March with
Nike for $27 million dollars. That contract is still in effect and
I don’t see them canceling it. There are also a couple of other
endorsement deals that were already completed that total over $7
million. His last six months have been very lucrative. We’ve
invested all that for him. He also had an insurance policy that
will pay $5 million plus the mortgage on the house.” The room
became silent as Rosenbloom looked at her. She looked stunned.
Roger’s mouth was open and his eyes wide. Rosenbloom continued, “My
job is to protect our clients and maximize income. And Elizabeth,
you’re sole beneficiary. The total estate is probably in the area
of $40 million before taxes.”

Liz shook her head and said, “Are you
kidding? I thought we were screwed unless he got a new contract and
he said he was going to hold out till he got one. I thought it was
going to be Hamburger Helper without the hamburger.”

Rosenbloom said, “The contract is a whole
different story than endorsements. Let me tell you about what was
going on with his contract. Tony had completed his original
contract of 3 years at $550,000. He wasn’t even drafted, that’s the
money you make in his position as third string. The team designated
him the franchise player. He was going to receive a salary of $14
million this year. That’s the average of the top 5 players in the
game at Quarterback. That’s a lot of money but, we felt that was
unacceptable because that was only a one-year contract with no
bonus money. If Tony were a free agent, he could expect the highest
contract in football and a huge signing bonus. We told the team
Tony would sit out the year rather than play under the franchise
tag contract. It was never going to work and I can only attribute
the team’s stance to sheer arrogance and stupidity. It isn’t the
first time Tierney’s been accused of that.”

Rosenbloom continued, “What the Team had to
do was trade Tony or Paul Isackson and trading Tony Reilly wasn’t
really an option after last season. Tony proved he was a better
quarterback than Isackson. Why Tierney was screwing around with
this is beyond me. I don’t get what the end game was for San
Francisco. Tierney’s always been a tough negotiator but this was
ridiculous. He alienated Tony and the fans with this
craziness.”

“I know the last couple of months were
difficult for Tony. I know that it hurt your relationship with
him,” he said to Liz.

“You can say that again,” she said. “I
thought we were over.”

“Don’t feel bad, he was angry and barely
speaking to me. He wasn’t himself. He was anxious and angry with a
situation he couldn’t do anything about except wait for it to be
worked out. He wanted to play football but we were out of options.
Last month he said the situation was driving him crazy. He was
taking off till it was resolved. He didn’t know or he wouldn’t tell
me where he was headed. He told me to send him an email when it was
done. I’ll be honest with you; I had no idea where he was for the
last month. Three days ago I sent him an email and said I thought
the situation was about to change and that he should probably
return. When they found his body last night, it was the first time
I knew where he was in a month.”

“Join the club,” said Liz.

“He wrote me back that he would be returning
early in the morning. Up to that time, I was sending him daily
emails keeping him up to date on negotiations which frankly until
yesterday afternoon hadn’t budged in a month. The Team was dragging
its feet, for God knows why. This should have been handled months
ago. I still don’t know what the issue was with the Team. They
finally worked out a deal to trade Isackson to Miami a couple of
days ago. It was all going to happen today. The contract making him
the highest paid quarterback in football was ready for his
signature. That all turned to shit this morning.”

I said, “Yes it did. That’s an amazing
coincidence.” I thought about it for a minute. “I don’t like
coincidences. Mr. Rosenbloom, who knew Tony was on his way
back?”

Rosenbloom said, “People on my staff and I
told the Team that we would be in today to sign. No one was going
to say anything until it was a done deal.”

“Who were you dealing with on the Team?”

“Details of the contract were worked out with
the Head of Player Personnel, George Crowley.”

“Did you tell him Tony was arriving early
this morning?”

“No, I told Oscar Tierney.”

“When did you tell him?”

“It was about 7 PM last night.”

“Can you find out if your staff leaked or
told anyone that Tony was on his way back?”

“Sure, but that’s highly doubtful.”

“Why?”

“Because they knew they’d get fired by
disclosing something like that. It goes to the press and there
would have been a crowd of reporters waiting for him when he
landed. I can’t imagine that happening out of this office.”

I said, “I can’t imagine the Tony Reilly
being murdered by a terrorist.”

Chapter 12

We got in the car and I yelled up at the
driver, “Eddie, Food. I’m starving.” I hadn’t had a thing all day
except coffee. It was 3 PM. “Can we do burgers, Liz?” She said it
was okay with her so, we found an In and Out and went through the
drive-through lane. Roger was tapping away on the computer. I sat
there eating a burger and trying to figure out how a Muslim
terrorist assassin figures out that his victim is about to show up
in a spot where his victim hasn’t been in a month. “They could have
been following him,” I said to the others.

“No,” said Roger. He continued to tap away on
the keys.

“What do you mean, no?”

He looked up at me. “There are lots of famous
athletes that would have been much easier to kill than Tony Reilly
if you wanted to make a terrorist statement. Kill Michael Jordan or
Mohamed Ali or A-rod or Beckham. Tony Reilly was MIA. Someone
wanted to kill Tony Reilly. I think we have to start with the
question, where was Tony Reilly?”

I thought about it, “Someplace very low key
because he seems to have been completely off the radar for a month.
If I’m a betting man, I’d say he was out of the country. He was too
well known to have not been recognized for a long period of
time.”

“Betting man,” Roger snickered.

I looked up at him and said, “What do you
mean by that?” and threw a fry at him.

“You mean like Texas Hold’em?” Roger turned
to Liz and said, “Mr. Mullins regularly contributes to other
player’s pockets,” he said and laughed.

“He plays Texas Hold 'em like he plays
backgammon?” Liz said.

“Exactly,” said Roger and they both
laughed.

“Oh that’s rich, the two of you ganging up on
me.” Roger held up his fingers in the shape of an L and put it to
his forehead and looked over at Liz. She laughed.

“He’s also unlucky in love,” said Roger.

“Oh really? Do tell, Roger,” said Liz.

“Shut up, Roger,” I said.

“Two letters,” said Roger.

“Two letters?” asked Liz.

“MK,” said Roger.

“Shut up, Roger,” I said.

“MK stands for Mary Kennedy,” said Roger. I
threw another French fry at him. “Mary was Mr. Mullins’ long time
girl friend. But, she’s gone now. She won’t be coming back. She
dumped Mr. Mullins.”

“No, she didn’t dump Mr. Mullins. There was a
mutual dumping as you well know.”

“Referring to himself in the third person,
now,” said Liz.

“I think it could be thought of as a mutual
dumping,” said Roger. He turned to Liz and sarcastically shook his
head, “Ms. Kennedy was a beautiful woman.” Roger quickly added,
“Not as beautiful as you, Liz.” Liz laughed and chucked Roger under
the chin.

“You are a charmer, Roger,” said Liz.

“Mary Kennedy is one of the Assistant
District Attorneys for the City of San Francisco. She and Mr.
Mullins were together forever.”

“No, it just felt like forever,” I said.

“How long was forever?” asked Liz.

“Which time,” said Roger giggling.

“You think this is fucking hilarious don’t
you dickhead,” I said.

“It was like 5 years altogether,” Roger said.
“There always seemed to be issues. I never understood it; she was
always very nice to me.”

“Well, you didn’t live with her, Roger,” I
said.

“Ms. Kennedy is a very smart, woman. She
graduated form Stanford Law School and was very dedicated to her
career,” Roger said.

“She was also dedicated to being an
argumentative, impossible bitch, most of the time,” I said.

My cell rang and I saw it was the Team. “Mr.
Mullins, its Shawn Samuelson, sir.”

“Yes, Shawn.”

“Mr. Mullins, there is a meeting of law
enforcement personnel at 4:30 this afternoon regarding the
investigation. Mr. Tierney requests that you attend.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then, Shawn.”

I opened the window to the driver, “Eddie,
we’re going to San Francisco Team headquarters. You know where it
is?” He said he did and I looked at the other two, “We got a
meeting.”

“Let’s get back to Mary Kennedy,” said Liz.
“So, you guys lived together?”

“Sometimes,” said Roger.

“Mary was a difficult person to be around on
an ongoing basis. She never lost an argument with me. She was
always right. She was a workaholic and had anxiety issues,” I said.
“You want to know how it finally ended? She was driving me crazy. I
was seeing a counselor because I was trying to make the
relationship work, God knows why! Anyway, we’re in bed and we start
making love. During sex…, during sex, she started a fight! I swear
to God, it’s true. I got up from bed, put my clothes on and went
home. The next day I told her I couldn’t do it anymore. I told her
we had to stop seeing each other. That woman just loved to
fight.”

“Would that be coitus argumentus interuptus?”
asked Roger.

“I’ve known some difficult people,” said Liz.
“It’s no fun.”

“But, it had a happy ending,” said Roger. Two
months after Mary and Mr. Mullins broke up, she married a friend of
Mr. Mullins and now they’re going to have a baby! Isn’t that
great?” The sarcasm dripped from Roger’s mouth.

Liz grimaced and said, “Ouch.”

“Yea,” I said. “I want to thank you for
bringing this sordid story of woe up, Roger. You remember me
mentioning to you Liz, how necessary it is to keep a foot firmly
planted on the back of Roger’s neck?”