"Well thank you" Zoey said to him as she leaned in to kiss him.
"You're very welcome" he said.
"So how was school today?" she asked him.
"Oh wonderful, trying to teach teenagers about history and keep them interested, so fun" he said. "And now I get to grade a hundred papers" he said to her.
"Don't get so excited" she said to him.
"I could use a distraction" he said wrapping his arms around her waist, he kissed her neck and she giggled.
"Well I could certainly use a lesson Mr. Richardson" she said as they kissed.
"Hey Dad?" his son, Ethan asked poking his head into the kitchen.
"What's up?" Kyle asked.
"You should probably see this" Ethan said to him, thrusting his thumb behind him towards the living room.
Zoey followed as he went into the living room.
"Seventy year old former football coach William Reinhart was found dead tonight in his hotel room..." A newscaster said as a crew stood outside the hotel.
Kyle looked at the TV confusedly, he leaned against the back of the couch "His body was discovered by a hotel staff member after Reinhart had ordered room service. He was shot execution style in the head, the LAPD is now investigating".
"Oh my god" Zoey gasped.
"This doesn't make any sense... he was in town for the reunion, he came to see me, I just talked to him this afternoon" Kyle said.
"Has Dean called you?" Zoey asked.
"No...I'm going to go down the police station" he said.
"Kyle..." Zoey said.
"I just want to see what happened, I'll be back alright?" he asked leaving.
"Coach William Reinhart, employed at Hilridge High School from 1985 to 2015, moved to Florida where he currently resides with his daughter" another detective said reading from a file.
"Did you notify the family?" Dean asked him.
"They're on their way out now" he said.
“Dean” Kyle said standing in the doorway of his office.
“Kyle” Dean said surprised “What’s wrong is your mother alright?” he asked.
“Yeah mom’s fine, don’t worry…what happened to coach Reinhart?” he asked.
“I’m sorry Kyle but I’m not allowed to discuss an open investigation with civilians” Dean said standing up from his desk.
"I'm not a civilian, we're family, coach was my mentor you know this" Kyle said to him.
“Look, Kyle, stepfather or not I’m still not at liberty to discuss the case, I’m sorry” Bradley and Neilson walked back into the police station, the door to Dean's office opened "Littrell, Carter, I need you guys in here" he said ushering them inside.
"What's up cap?" Bradley asked entering the office, Neilson followed behind him.
"Kyle" Neilson said in surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Bradley asked.
"I heard about coach on the news" Kyle said.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you guys this...I'm taking you both off the case" Dean said.
"What?"
"Why?" they asked
"Because you're both way too close to the people involved, Mooney was your boss…”
“Wait Mooney…Mr. Mooney? From the record store?” Kyle asked.
“Kyle you really shouldn’t be here” Dean said to him.
“What happened to Mooney?” Kyle asked.
“We found him earlier this afternoon…he was killed the same way as coach" Bradley said to him.
“You are the common link between the two victims" Dean said.
"Cap we haven't seen Mooney or coach Reinhart in years" Bradley said to him.
"Yeah come on we've already put too much work into this case" they said to him.
Dean sighed deeply "Fine...but if anyone else connected to you guys ends up dead, you're both done, are we clear?" he asked.
"Yes sir"
"Yeah" they said.
Kyle got home, Zoey was sat cuddled on the couch with a steaming mug in her hands "Hey, so? Did you find out what happened?" she asked sitting up and setting her mug on the coffee table.
"Yeah, coach was murdered" Kyle said.
"My god...who would do something like that?" she asked as he sat next to her.
"I don't know... you know...I can't wrap my head around this, he was my mentor...he was the reason I was ever a good football player in the first place...and now he's gone" Kyle said sadly.
Zoey pulled him close "I'm so sorry" she said “Come on, let’s go to bed, it’s been a long day” Zoey said to him.
“Yeah” he said as they went up the stairs.
“Morning wife” Bradley said to Sydney.
“Ugh” she groaned.
“Aw, I love you too” he said kissing her head “Were you down here all night?” he asked.
“Just about” Sydney said to him when a knock came upon their backdoor.
“Detective Littrell” Barry said to Bradley.
“Barry” he said brushing past him.
“Sydney my dear” Barry said approaching her.
“Morning Barry” she sighed “What do I owe this early morning visit?” she asked.
“I have got the most amazing news for you” he said “I talked to the publishing company…they loved the stuff you sent in…congratulations you got yourself a four-book publishing deal she squealed in delight, Barry opened his arms, she then moved past him and hugged Bradley.
“I’m so proud of you” Bradley said kissing her.
“Oh Barry thank you so much!” she said taking his hands.
“Now they’re looking to bring in more young readers so they’re hoping for a young adult series but the genre is up to you.”
“Well that certainly narrows it down…okay great…think they’ll want four books of my name in different fonts?” she asked.
“If you’re stuck for ideas, I can help you out” Barry said.
“Yes, please, anything” she said to him.
“A comedy series based on the wacky hi-jinks of the teenage sons of a famous 90’s boyband he said looking back at Bradley.
Bradley looked at him irritated “Huh, can’t imagine where you got that from” he said taking a drink of his coffee.
“Barry…as good of an idea as that sounds… I don’t feel right about exploiting my husband’s adolescent years for profit” Sydney said to him.
“That’s my girl” Bradley said “Alright I got to get to work, have a good day alright?”
“You too, be careful out there” she said as they kissed.
“Barry” Bradley said leaving the house.
“Well since that idea’s off the table…I have something else in mind” Barry said.
“Well I’m all ears, let’s hear it” Sydney said sitting at her laptop.
“I was in a coffee shop yesterday and I met a man who told me an interesting story about a family who used to live in town.”
“Oh?” Sydney asked.
“Yes, it has all the elements of a suspenseful thriller, money, power, deep dark secrets.”
“Sounds good” Sydney said “He’s okay with us using his idea?” she asked.
“Oh he insisted on it” Barry said.
“Okay, does the family have a name?” she asked.
“Yes uh…oh Winchester…that was it” Sydney stopped cold upon hearing the name Winchester.
“Mrs. Lewis?” a woman asked opening the door the principal’s office “A man is here interested in enrollment?” she asked.
“Send him in” she said.
“Principal Lewis?” a man asked coming into her office.
“Yes, please, call me Cecily, you’re here about enrollment?”
“Yes, Chad Winningham, I was hoping to talk to you about enrolling my son in school” he said to her.
“Well sure, please have a seat” she said to him “Care to tell me a little about yourself?” she asked.
“Well you see my company is relocating me from Connecticut, my family will be joining me in a few weeks, I just came ahead to take care of things before they arrive.”
“And what made you choose Hilridge?” she asked.
“I have heard nothing but good things about this school and I want nothing but the best for my son and from what I hear, Hilridge is just that.”
“Well they certainly were right, would you like a tour of the building?” she asked.
“I would love one” he said smiling.
An elderly man walked into the police station, a cane firmly clutched in his hands. "Excuse me" he said to the desk Sergeant.
"Can I help you sir?" he asked.
"This was in my mailbox this morning" he said sliding a card over to him.
He opened it to see a simple "You're Next" written inside "When did you say you got this?" he asked.
"This morning, I went to get my mail it was in the box with everything else".
"Okay, I'm going to get one of our detectives, why don't you have a seat?" he said gesturing towards a row of chairs.
Bradley passed by the desk, a file folder in his hands when he looked closely . "Wexler?" he asked, Mr. Wexler looked up and saw Bradley.
"Oh no" he said Mr. Wexler stood up and approached the counter. "Bradley Littrell...been a long time" Mr. Wexler said to him.
"Not long enough" Bradley said to him “Looking good in your old age Wexie.”
"For god's sake will you stop calling me that!" Mr. Wexler said angrily “I need to see a detective immediately!” he said.
“You’re talking to one, Detective Littrell, at your service" he said Bradley said.
“You got to be kidding me” Mr. Wexler said to him.
"So what can I help you with? Got some pesky kids on your lawn or something?" he asked.
"I received this in the mail...detective" he said handing Bradley the card.
He snapped on a pair of rubber gloves 'You're Next' Bradley read "Next for what?" he asked.
"You're the detective you figure it out" Mr. Wexler said to him.
"Guess I better consult with my partner about this one" he said.
“My condolences to them” he said to Bradley.
He smiled and waved Neilson over “Hey Wexie, meet my partner, Neilson Carter” Bradley said.
"Oh god" Mr. Wexler groaned.
"What's...no way..." Neilson said approaching the desk. "Wexler?!" he asked "Man...you got old" Neilson said to him.
"So did you" Mr. Wexler said to him.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Wexie got this in the mail" Bradley said showing the note to Neilson.
"'You're Next'" Neilson read "For?" he asked.
"You two have to be the worst detectives in the world" Mr. Wexler said.
"We're cops we're not psychic you know" Neilson said to him. "When'd you get this?" Neilson asked putting a pair of gloves on.
"This morning" Mr. Wexler said to him.
"Think it's the same guy?" Neilson asked.
"First Mooney, then coach, now Wexler..." Bradley said.
“Alright, Wexie, this way” Bradley said leading him into the squad room "Captain Stone, you remember Mr. Wexler right?" Bradley asked.
"Well sure you were the principal at Hilridge High School" Dean said.
"He got this threat in the mail this morning" Neilson said handing Dean the card.
"Okay Mr. Wexler if you'll come with me" Dean said as his assistant lead Mr. Wexler to Dean's office.
"Now cap we know what you're thinking..." Bradley said.
"You guys are off the case" Dean said to them "Two people both connected to you are dead and now a third is being threatened, until we find out what's happening I'm assigning you guys a different case" Dean said to them.
Natalie sat at her desk, children’s laughter and screaming could be heard from outside.
“Hi” Sydney said poking her head into the classroom.
“Oh hey” Natalie said looking up “What’s up?”
“Well I figured you could use an actual lunch instead of just a yogurt cup” she said setting a plastic bag on her desk.
Natalie gasped “Thank you” she said putting a cap back on a red pen.
“Grading papers?” Sydney asked.
“Yes, today’s spelling tests” Natalie said putting the tests on a paper tray. “So this is a surprise” Natalie said as Sydney handed her a plastic container with a salad inside.
“Yes well I wanted to celebrate with someone” Sydney said pulling a chair up to the desk.
Natalie gasped “You’re pregnant!” she said.
“Oh god no” Sydney said “I heard from Barry today” she said.
“Oh my god, and?” Natalie asked.
“They loved it! Four-book publishing deal!” she said excitedly.
Natalie squealed in delight and got up from her seat.
They hugged tightly “Congratulations!” Natalie said “So? What’s the first book going to be about?” she asked.
“Barry says that the publishing company is looking to bring in more young readers so they want a young adult series but the genre is completely up to me” Sydney said.
“That doesn’t sound so bad, what do you have so far?” Natalie asked.
“About four pages of my name in different fonts” Sydney said.
“Stuck huh?” Natalie asked.
“Well…Barry came up with an idea…” Sydney said.
“Oh yeah?” Natalie asked taking a drink of water “What was it?”
Sydney chuckled a bit “A comedy series based on the teenage sons of a famous 90’s boyband” she said.
“Hmm…no idea where he could have gotten that idea from” Natalie said laughing.
“And after Bradley told him ‘No way in hell’ he came up with something else” she said.
Natalie looked at her “Yeah?” she asked.
“The Winchesters” Sydney said.
“You didn’t tell him about…?” Natalie asked.
“No of course not” Sydney said “He said he got a general idea of them from a story someone told him, but he liked the idea of the whole money and power and deep, dark secrets” she said.
“Okay so what’d you tell him?” Natalie asked her.
“I didn’t get the chance to say anything, as soon as he told me he said he was going to do more research on the family and he left” she said “What do I do?” Sydney asked.
“You know what you have to do, you have to tell Bradley” Natalie said “And pray to god Barry doesn’t dig too deep, because you know what he’ll find” she said.
“Okay guys remember, reports are due next week, see you tomorrow” Kyle said to his class as the bell rang. He picked up a newspaper sitting on the desk and unfolded it.
"FORMER HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COACH FOUND MURDERED" stuck out in bold type on the front page, Coach Reinhart's picture posted underneath. he looked at the page and sighed before shoving it into his bag
Cecily stood outside the room as the students exited “Kyle, I want you to meet Chad Winningham, his son will be enrolling here in a few weeks” she said.
“Oh hi, welcome” he said shaking Chad’s hand.
“So you’re a teacher here” he said.
“Yes Mr. Richardson one of our more popular teachers and Hilridge alumni” she said “He’s also our school’s football coach” she said.
“Wow, football coach too huh?” he asked.
“He’s definitely the man for the job” Cecily said, Kyle smiled and waved her off.
“So is your son interested in sports?” Kyle asked.
“He is, maybe next year you’ll see him at tryouts” Chad said.
“Yeah? He play football?” Kyle asked gathering his things bag.
“He does, not very well though.”
“I’m sure he’s great, probably just needs some practice” Kyle said.
“You play football?” Chad asked.
“I did…a very, very long time ago” Kyle said.
“Kyle is a Hilridge legend, he earned out team 2 consecutive championship seasons” Cecily said.
“Well I didn’t do it alone, I had a whole team of great guys behind me” Kyle said. “Speaking of which, I got to get to the field” he said “It was nice meeting you he said shaking Chad’s hand once more “Quite a grip” Kyle said as Chad squeezed his hand tightly, Kyle looked at him closely.
“Something wrong?” Chad asked.
“No, sorry I just…have we met before?” he asked “You seem familiar” he said.
“Really” Chad said.
“Yeah it’s weird, and you’re not from around here?” he asked.
“Oh no Mr. Winningham is moving here from Connecticut?” Cecily asked.
“Correct” he said.
“Okay, sorry about the confusion” Kyle said.
“No problem at all” Chad said to him.
“Shall we continue?” Cecily asked.
“Yes, let’s” Chad said as they continued their tour.
