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“The Monarchs are back, baby! I can feel it!”
“Andrea! Andrea Benson!”
The sound of her name being hailed with urgency stopped Andrea’s forward momentum. She spun to find a game referee closing in on her. Or rather a former referee. “Mario, exciting game tonight.”
With his hand on her elbow, the retired official guided Andrea out of the pedestrian traffic. “That was a good article you wrote on the Insider.”
The strange tension she sensed in the older man puzzled Andrea. “Is something wrong, Mario?”
“You do a lot of investigative reporting.” His dark gaze was intent on hers. His Spanish accent made the English words longer. “First the article on Gerry Bimm and now this article on the blogger.”
“Mario, what’s on your mind?” Her concern grew as the former referee glanced around them. Why was he behaving so strangely?
“My nephew is in trouble.” Mario grabbed her gaze.
“Otto? What kind of trouble?”
Mario’s expression briefly softened. “He’s very excited to have been chosen to referee the play-offs. Otto has always worked hard. He’s smart, and he’s a good boy.”
Hearing Mario refer to his thirty-something-year-old nephew as a boy almost brought Andrea’s smile back. “If he’s anything like you, he’s the best. What kind of trouble is he in?”
Mario escorted her farther from the thinning crowd. Andrea glanced at her wristwatch. She didn’t have much time to get to the postgame press conference.
He finally came to a stop. “My nephew’s being blackmailed to throw play-off games.”
Andrea’s muscles froze in shock. Her legs stopped moving, bringing Mario up short. “By whom?”
Mario hesitated. He glanced around again, then came closer to Andrea. “Gerald Bimm.”
17
Andrea’s mind went blank before spinning into overdrive. “Gerry’s blackmailing your nephew? With what?”
Shame thickened his Spanish accent. “He went to Otto and said he wanted to make sure the Monarchs didn’t advance in the playoffs.”
Incredible. Mario had no reason to lie, but Andrea couldn’t believe this could be true. “The Monarchs have been losing on their own. I’ve watched the games. No one can say Otto or the other refs have made bad calls.”
“Gerry wanted insurance. He wanted Otto to throw the games if it looked like the Monarchs would win the series. Otto said no. Our family has too much honor to get involved with this. But Gerry said if the Monarchs win the series, he’ll say Otto took bribes.”
Andrea was sick with disgust. Once again, Gerald was making someone else do his dirty work and take the fall, leaving him able to walk away from the mess with complete deniability.
“When the Monarchs won tonight, Otto panicked.” She made it a statement. Mario nodded. “Contact the commissioner’s office. Tell them—”
Mario was shaking his head as soon as Andrea mentioned the league. “No, Otto doesn’t want to go to the commissioner. He’s afraid David Stern will believe Gerry instead of him. It’s the word of an owner over a referee. Who would you believe?”
In this instance, she would definitely believe Mario’s nephew over Gerald. No question about it. But that was her. David Stern and the league might view things differently. “I understand Otto’s concern.”
“I came to you because I thought you could investigate the situation quietly, like the first time you reported on Gerry and today, with the Insider story.”
Andrea squirmed under Mario’s regard. He looked at her as though she were some sort of superhero. It was a surreal experience. For years, people didn’t want to talk to her because they were afraid of what she would do with their information. Now a former NBA official was coming to her for help. She didn’t have superpowers. Still, could she find a solution to his problem? She had to try, for the Monarchs’ sake.
She put a hand on his upper arm. “I’ll work on this. It may take a while, though.”
Mario’s eyes widened. His voice was strained. “Game five of the series is Tuesday in Cleveland. What if the Monarchs win again?”
She hoped they did. But two days didn’t give her much time to pull together a plan. She’d have to work fast. Andrea squeezed Mario’s arm. “I’m not going to let Gerry cause problems for your nephew. I promise.”
Mario looked marginally less anxious as she turned to leave. She couldn’t blame him. Andrea wasn’t certain of her course of action, but she knew she’d figure something out—with Troy and Jaclyn’s help.
