Making the Cut (13 page)

“So he’s killing off the competition,” Slogger said. “First he went after Charlie. When that didn’t work he took out Duncan, which did work because Duncan got sent to Team 3. But he had to get rid of one more centre to make sure of it — so he planted the ring on Jake.”

“The dude’s not dumb. After Savard and Charlie, he’s the next top forward on Team 2 now that Duncan’s in the doghouse,” Scott said.

“I can’t believe Jake didn’t steal the ring,” Nick said. “He finally gets what’s coming to him, and he turns out to be innocent.”

“What are you thinking, Charlie?” Slogger asked.

He’d sort of made up his mind the second he’d figured out the truth, and after talking it out, he was sure. Charlie wished he’d never met Jake, and he certainly wouldn’t miss the guy if he got sent home. But he couldn’t let Jake be blamed for something he didn’t do, not when it was so serious.

“Well, I think I’m going to have to tell the coaches what I know,” he said.

“Charlie Joyce saves Jake Wilkenson — sounds too bizarre for words,” Scott said.

“Not to mention Jake accused Charlie of stealing the ring,” Nick said.

“He turned on Charlie at the obstacle course,” Slogger said.

“And hit you from behind at the capture-the-flag game,” Nick added.

“Let’s not forget the piggy-backing,” Scott said.

“I’d prefer to forget that,” Charlie said.

“Jake wouldn’t come to your rescue,” Slogger said quietly.

“Maybe that’s the real point. I’m no Jake Wilkenson. Jake didn’t steal the ring. I’d love to see him go — but not like this.”

“I guess that means your roommate’s gonna miss the Challenge Cup,” Nick said.

“That’s another reason I wanted to talk to you guys. I’m cool about telling the coaches that Jake’s innocent. I’m very uncool about telling them about Corey.”

“I understand you, sort of, about Jake,” Scott said, “even though the guy is a total jerk and would never do this for you. But look at what Corey did. He framed someone for theft — and tried to get you booted off Team 1.”

“I know it’s weird. But for some reason I still can’t blame him for what he did. I’m obviously mad about it; I could’ve done without looking like such a doofus with Jen and in front of the other players.” He shrugged. “I can’t explain it. Only, I would feel worse about getting Corey kicked out than if it was me. His father puts him under so much pressure. Can you imagine what would happen if he went home for stealing the ring? As crazy as it sounds, I still think of Corey as a friend. Deep down I know he’s a good guy, even though he drives me nuts half the time.”

“Only half the time?” Scott said.

“You’re right,” Charlie said. “It might get up to the seventy-five percent level. The point is …” He sighed
heavily. “Hockey is a full-time job for Corey — even though he’s our age.”

“I think you might have made your decision,” Slogger said.

Charlie grinned. “I guess you’re right.”

“I understand helping a friend,” Nick said, “but are you sure about this? Think about what the coaches are going to say. They might accept your story about Jake — but what happens when you refuse to tell them about Corey? They’re gonna be seriously unhappy with you. I mean, what if they send you home for not telling?”

“What can I do? Dude’s my roommate.”

They all laughed.

“If you’re cool with it, then I’m with ya,” Slogger said.

“Me too,” Nick said.

Scott stood up. “While I hate to pass up a chance to humiliate Jake, and I wouldn’t mind not having to deal with Corey, I have to admit that Joyce might actually be right here. Why can’t doing the right thing mean you get everything you want and people adore you and you become unbelievably popular?”

“Thanks guys,” Charlie said. “This helped.”

There was a knock at the door, and Charlie’s heart almost skipped a beat.

“I forgot about Trevor,” he said. “And thanks for keeping this Corey thing quiet.”

Nick leaned back. “Keeping what quiet?”

“Already forgotten,” Slogger said.

“Done,” Scott said.

Charlie punched fists with each of his friends. “I owe you one.”

“As I recall, you owe us a pizza,” Scott said.

“Consider it ordered,” he said, as he opened the door.

Trevor ushered Charlie into the cafeteria. The coaches were sitting on chairs, all in a row, with Jen standing off to the side. Charlie fought the tightening in the pit of his stomach. He needed to keep calm. Everything depended on him convincing the coaches that Jake didn’t steal the ring without giving away so much that they figured out Corey did it, and if that meant him getting sent home …

“We have a few more questions,” Clark said. “Please take a seat.”

He indicated for Charlie to sit next to Jake, who promptly moved to the far edge of the bench.

“Jake, I think we’ve covered everything for the time being,” Clark said. “You can go back to your room.”

Jake got up, eyed Charlie closely and, with a defiant expression, walked slowly out. The coaches waited until the door closed completely, and then Clark leaned forward and pointed his pen.

“Jake has made a serious allegation against you, Charlie,” he said. “We spoke at the rink, and now that
you’ve had a bit of time to reflect, I’m going to ask you again: Did you take the ring?”

“I did not,” Charlie answered.

“Jake told us he believes you planted the ring in his bag after the race when you were alone in the dressing room, and that your motivation was to get him kicked out of camp.” He paused and said, “I understand you and Jake are not exactly the best of friends.”

“You could say that.” Talk about the understatement of the year, he thought.

“Could you tell us again what you did the morning the ring was taken?” Clark continued. “I believe that was the day of the obstacle course, right, Jen?”

“Yes, Coach Clark,” she confirmed.

Charlie took a deep breath and began. “I remember running to the cafeteria after the obstacle course for a snack. I was with Scott and Nick, and Slogger too. After we ate, Jen announced that changes to the teams were posted the bulletin board. I’m not sure if all of you know that we had a race at the obstacle course, and … well … Team 1 lost to Team 2, and Jen announced that Team 1 had to piggy-back the Team 2 guys across the field. I guess it was a reward … or like a prize for winning …” He avoided looking at Jen or Trevor. “I piggy-backed Jake, and then went to the rink to get ready for practice. That’s when I saw Jen in the lobby looking for the ring. At least, that’s when I found out Coach Miller’s ring had been stolen. Of course, that’s also when I couldn’t find my hockey bag.”

“Is that your recollection, Jen?” Miller asked.

She nodded. “I distinctly remember Charlie … and I think Slogger … being there together. I was beside myself looking for your ring.”

“And after that she helped me find my equipment. Trevor did too,” Charlie added.

“That’s correct,” Jen said. “We eventually found Charlie’s equipment in the other rink.”

“Well, let’s put aside the mystery of Charlie’s equipment for the time being,” Clark said. “I remember watching the piggy-backing with Coach Miller and Coach Binns. How come you ended up carrying Jake?”

“He asked me. Jen said Team 2 guys could choose who they wanted.”

“I don’t believe I said that a Team 2 player could order you to carry him,” Jen said.

Charlie turned to her. “I guess you’re right. He just came over and said he expected me to piggy-back him, and I just assumed I had to.”

Coach Clark’s eyes narrowed. For a few moments he seemed lost in thought, and then he said, “I’m not seeing when Charlie would have had a chance to take the ring. But then, I also don’t see when Jake could have done it. They were clearly both at the cafeteria when snack was over because Charlie gave Jake a piggy-back. The only chance they had would have been after the snack and before Jen made her announcement. That doesn’t sound like much time, and somehow I doubt whether we’ll find any witnesses who could remember if Charlie or Jake remained in the cafeteria the entire time.”

“I also have my doubts that Charlie and Jake worked
together to steal the ring,” Coach Binns said.

The room grew silent as everyone reflected on the coaches’ speculations.

Charlie gathered his courage. “I think I know who took the ring,” he offered.

That got their attention.

“Go on,” Clark said.

“The first thing, and the most important thing, is that Jake didn’t do it — and neither did I.”

Jen and Trevor took a few steps closer to the other coaches, so it felt like all of them were crowding around him. It wasn’t a very comfortable feeling.

“You already told us you didn’t do it. But how can you be so sure about Jake?” Miller asked.

“It’s weird how that happened, actually. I admit that I was alone in the dressing room before the ring was found in Jake’s bag,” Charlie said. “What you don’t know is that I ran into another player in the hallway before the skills finals begin. He was already changed, and when I talked to him he was all nervous and acting strange. We were joking around a bit, and he made a comment about me losing my elbow pads. At the time I don’t think he realized that he’d given himself away, or maybe he thought I’d never figure it out …”

His voice trailed off as he realized they were staring at him. This wasn’t going well. No one knew about his elbow pads. He needed to explain things — and fast. Clark looked as if he was losing patience with him.

“Sorry. I should backtrack. My elbow pads were missing from my bag before my first practice with
Team1. Only Trevor knew about that.” Charlie looked over at him. “Isn’t that right?”

Trevor nodded.

“And Trevor told me he didn’t tell anyone about that.”

Miller cleared his voice. “Sorry to interrupt, Charlie, but you’ve lost me with this elbow pad business. What does Trevor have to do with your elbow pads?”

“I just spoke to Trevor in his room and he told me …”

“You talked to Trevor about your elbow pads in his room … before you came here?” Clark asked, shaking his head. “I thought I told you to stay in your room.”

Charlie flushed. “You did, only I needed to find out if Trevor told anyone … about the elbow pads, that is.”

Clark rolled his neck and sighed. Charlie braced himself. “Continue,” Clark said finally, in a quiet voice.

“When I was taking a shower in my room after the skills competition, it suddenly dawned on me. If Trevor didn’t say anything to anyone about my elbow pads, and I didn’t tell anyone, then the only other person who could know is the guy who took them. So the player I saw in the hall must have taken them from my bag. Anyway, I started to think about the obstacle course, and I remembered that this same player was walking away before the final race. At the time I didn’t think anything of it. I assumed he wanted to see the race better. Now I think he must have been the one who threw my rope over the wall.”

“Then that means the person you’re talking
about was on Team 3 or 4,” Jen said to him.

Charlie gulped and tried to slow down his thinking. That was his first huge mistake. He was letting them narrow down the list of suspects. Nothing he could do but press on now, however. “Then it all came together at once. For instance, this person had told me about Duncan’s lost binder before anyone else. How come he knew? The only thing I can figure is he was the guy who did it.”

Coach Clark help up his hand. “Charlie, I’m still not following your point. And while I’m intrigued as to why you would defend Jake considering what we know about you two, it still doesn’t explain how the ring ended up in Jake’s bag.”

“Right. Good point. Well, the thing is I know who put Coach Miller’s ring in Jake’s bag, because he’s the same kid who took my elbow pads out of my bag, and most importantly, the same guy who was outside the dressing room before the skills competition. I was the last guy out of the room, so that’s got to be when he planted the ring.

“It’s no secret Jake and I aren’t friends. I guess we’re kind of the complete opposite. But Jake wouldn’t do it. He’s … not that kind of guy — I mean, the type to steal a Stanley Cup ring. I was there and he was as surprised as anyone when the ring fell out of his bag. And if he did take it, why would he be so dumb as to put it there in the first place?”

“We have considered those points as well,” Clark said. “But aren’t you forgetting something?”

Charlie shook his head. What did he mean?

“Who do you believe stole the ring?”

Charlie took a deep breath. “That’s the problem. I can’t tell you his name. I can tell you he did it for personal reasons that didn’t have much to do with hockey.” That was probably pushing it a bit, but it wasn’t exactly a lie. It had more to do with Corey’s dad than anything. “And I can promise you he won’t cause any more trouble. But if I tell you any more you’ll figure out who it is, and … I don’t want this person to get in trouble. He has enough problems as it is … and, since you found the ring, and since I know Jake didn’t steal it, and I didn’t, I was really hoping … we could just forget about it.”

Charlie finished in a rush. He suddenly realized he’d been speaking practically non-stop this entire time. Clark had a funny expression on his face, which made him nervous. Would they connect the fact that Jake, Duncan and he were centres? Would that lead them to suspect Corey?

Clark opened his eyes wide and looked at Charlie for an uncomfortable moment. “I think you should go back to your room while we discuss this.”

Miller motioned toward the door. Charlie felt he needed to say something more before he left. “This has been an amazing camp, and I’ve learned a lot about hockey. I’m sorry I can’t tell you who stole the ring; and I understand that you won’t be happy with that. I’m … just sorry, but I can’t tell you.”

Clark raised his eyebrows and sat back in his chair.
“Thank you, Charlie,” he said quietly.

Charlie hesitated, expecting him to continue, but he remained silent. Charlie nodded at the coaches and left the cafeteria, and then sprinted up the stairs and opened the door to Scott and Slogger’s room. In answer to their inquiring looks, he said, “No way to tell what they’ll do. I think they believe me about Jake. I’m not so sure about me and Corey. Anyway, they told me that I should go back to my room, so …”

“Catch you later,” they chorused.

Corey was doing push-ups when Charlie walked in. He hopped to his feet. “Where did you go? You were gone for close to an hour.” He looked worried.

Charlie shrugged. “The coaches wanted to speak to me again … about the ring.”

“Is Jake getting sent home? They aren’t blaming you, are they?”

Corey’s eagerness to have Jake kicked out bothered him. “I don’t think Jake stole it. Do you?” Charlie asked.

Corey shuddered ever so slightly and he began to blink rapidly. “The ring was in his bag,” Corey said. “I don’t see how he can deny it.” He pointed to the floor. “Do you mind if I pump out a few more push-ups, and then finish with my sit-ups?”

Before he could answer, Corey was back at it. Charlie left him alone — he couldn’t exactly talk to him while he was grunting and sweating — and lay down on his bed. Corey counted up to fifty push-ups, and then moved on to the sit-ups.

Charlie wondered what kind of dad made his
son that obsessed with hockey, or with anything for that matter? He folded his hands behind his head and thought about his own father. Sometimes parents would get carried away at games and start yelling at the refs or other players. His dad would always ask them to be quiet. He used to get so embarrassed, and his teammates would bug him about it. Now he found it hard to believe he ever felt like that. He could see why it bothered his dad so much. Parents got so crazy about hockey and wrecked it for everyone. Corey was the perfect example. All those phone calls from his dad, and the extreme things he’d done just to get into the Challenge Game; he was so intense and under so much pressure that Charlie doubted he was having a very good time at hockey camp — and he’d ruined it for him, Jake and Duncan, just to try to live up to his dad’s ridiculous expectations.

Corey kept up the sit-ups, pushing himself to do more. Charlie didn’t feel like confronting him now. He tried to relax, but with little success.

How could he, with the coaches in the cafeteria right now deciding his fate?