Chapter 24 #2
“I do.” Jack leaned down farther to catch his brother’s gaze.
“And Carson? You're not betraying Robbie by telling me.
You're protecting him. Because if something bad happens and you knew about it but stayed quiet, you'd carry that weight for the rest of your life.
Trust me, that's a lot harder than dealing with a friend being temporarily mad at you.”
Carson took a shaky breath and finally met Jack's eyes. “Okay. I'll tell you what Robbie told me.”
“Thank you,” Jack said quietly. “That took real courage.”
Carson took a breath. “Robbie was in the locker, but he could only see a little through the tiny slits.
A student came in and sat on the bench nearby.
He thought it was a varsity wrestler from the shoes.
Then a guy walked over to him. He couldn't see his face because his hoodie was up and his back was to him. But he handed the wrestler something… pills, I guess.”
Jack's pulse kicked up, but he kept his expression neutral. “What did he say?”
“The wrestler asked if they were supplements,” Carson continued, his voice a little shaky.
“And the guy said yeah, that they'd improve his performance. That they were perfectly legal, but he had to stay quiet because not everyone would get them. Only the ones who could take them to the championship.”
Jack felt cold settle in his stomach. This wasn't a coaching issue. This was something bigger. Something dangerous. “Did Robbie ever see who the guy was?”
Carson shook his head. “Nah. His back was to him the whole time, and the hoodie covered everything.”
“What about the wrestler?”
“No. He said he must have been on varsity because of the shoes, but he couldn't see his face from that angle either. The varsity team all got new shoes that were in the school colors.” Carson's expression was troubled. “It's probably nothing, right? Robbie said they were supplements. Legal.”
Jack wanted to tell him that it didn't sound legal at all, and that what Robbie had witnessed was exactly the kind of thing that got kids hurt or worse.
But he also recognized the fear in his brother's eyes.
The same fear Jack had felt as a kid when he'd overheard someone talking about drugs being stolen.
Fear of reprisal. Fear of making things worse by speaking up. And in Carson’s case, fear of an adult who might be an authority figure.
“Carson,” Jack said gently, “I want you to know that you did the right thing by telling me.”
“I didn't really tell you anything useful,” Carson mumbled.
“You told me enough.” Jack leaned forward. “And I promise you, I'm going to look into this. I’ll talk to Robbie, and I'll figure out a way to check into the situation without giving anything away.”
Carson's eyes met his, and relief washed over his features. “Really?”
“Really.” Jack held his brother's gaze. “But if you remember anything else, or if you see anything else, you come to me.”
“Okay.” Carson nodded, his shoulders finally relaxing. “Um… Ms. Ayers said I could talk to her.”
“That’s good, bro, but I’d also want you to talk to me.”
“What about Dad? I know I should tell him, but… um, are you going to?”
“As the sheriff, he needs to know. Now, how you want that to go, I’ll leave it up to you.”
Carson sucked in a deep breath, then said, “Okay. Let’s talk to him tonight.”
Jack stood and almost ruffled his brother's hair the way he used to when Carson was little. But instead, he clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll go with you.”
Carson nodded. “Deal.”
They headed downstairs, and Jack stayed right by Carson’s side as they sat with their dad in the living room, explaining the information Carson had and how he’d come by it.
Just like Jack knew he would, their dad was pissed that his son was put in the position of not knowing what to do, but was proud of Carson’s decision.
With vows of pride and hugs around, Carson said good night and headed up to bed. Later that night, when his brother was finally asleep, his dad and Jack talked over the new information they had.
“I hate that Carson has been carrying this around. I swear, Jack, it reminds me so much of you when you were younger. I’m glad he had you to talk to.”
“You can thank Rachel… she’s the one who got through to him.”
His dad nodded, then stood to head to bed. “I’ll see you in the morning, Jack. We’ll have a lot to do.”
Jack left the room and headed up the stairs to his apartment.
His mind was spinning through what Carson had told him.
Pills being distributed to athletes. Someone telling them they were supplements when they clearly weren't. A conspiracy to keep it quiet, to only give them to the kids who could win championships.
This was bigger than a coaching issue. This was criminal. And Jack needed to figure out how to investigate it without putting Carson or any of the other kids at risk.
He sat on the edge of his bed and pulled out his phone, staring at Carson's contact photo. His little brother. The kid who looked up to him, who trusted him enough to share something that was clearly eating him up inside.
Jack set his phone down and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He thought about the way his brother's hands had trembled slightly when he was talking about what he'd heard. He thought about when he was a kid many years ago, about how scared he'd been then and how helpless he'd felt.
But Jack wasn't a kid anymore. He had training, resources, and authority. And he was going to use all of it to make sure no kid got hurt on his watch.
Not Carson. Not Ben. Not Robbie. Not any of them.
Jack closed his eyes and took a slow breath. Tomorrow, he'd start digging. Tomorrow, he'd figure out who the man in the hoodie was and what exactly he was giving to those kids.