Free Sudden Death by Michael Balkind Page B

over, barely lifted the phone and dropped it back in the cradle. He sat up, rubbed his face and stretched, then called to order breakfast. After dressing, he ate on the balcony, then left for the club to finish the tournament. He met Buddy in the locker room. “Ready?” “Ready,” Buddy said. Reid changed into his golf shoes while Buddy did the shopping for the round: Cokes, water, bananas and candy bars. They met again at the practice range. Reid’s clubs had been delivered to the range earlier with those of most of the players. There were only a few other guys on the range practicing. Most were already playing their rounds or getting ready to tee off.
    Reid took an iron out of his bag and used it to stretch. He handed Buddy the iron and pulled his driver from the bag. Mindlessly, he removed the head-cover and tossed it to Buddy. He teed up a ball and took his stance. It wasn’t until he placed the club behind the ball that he noticed some kind of note taped to the top of the club head. “What the hell is this?” he asked. He lifted the club to read the note. It was a blue piece of paper that said:
    Win today, it’s OK, Win another you’ll be 6 feet under. “Good one, Buddy,” Reid said with a laugh. “I didn’t put it there,” Buddy said shaking his head. “
Right
,” Reid said in doubt. “Really, Reid, I didn’t,” Buddy said emphatically. “Buddy, if you didn’t do this, we have a problem. Someone’s playing with us.” “What’s it say?” Buddy asked. Reid showed him the note. After reading it, Buddy said, “Real funny. When I find out who did this, I’m gonna kick their butt all the way across the course.” “You think it’s real?” Reid asked nervously, looking around. “No
way!…My God! Do you?
” Reid took a deep breath and said very seriously, “I don’t know, but real or not, we have a match to play. I can’t let this rattle me. Today is our day, dammit. Take off the note!”
    As Buddy started to remove the note, Reid yelled, “Buddy, stop. If it’s real, that’s evidence. Go get my back-up driver.” Buddy left for the clubhouse. As Reid looked at the note again, his concern grew.
So my feelings have been right
, he thought. But why would anybody threaten me? Well, I guess there might be a few people with enough reason.
    He grabbed another club and started swinging it, trying to loosen up. After a few swings, he teed up a ball and hit a terrible slice. He teed up another and hit a huge hook. I’m over-compensating, he thought. “Slow down, focus and relax,” he said aloud to himself. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He hit the next ball straight.
Thank God
, he thought, I can still do it. He banged a few more straight and long. Then he took out his wedge and hit some short shots. He was doing okay, but he could feel a knot forming in his gut. Buddy came back and handed Reid his other driver. “How ya doin’?” “Not so great. If this thing is real, we have a big problem. I know I’ve pissed off more than a few people lately. It’ll be tough to narrow it down to one. God, I hope it’s just a joke.”
    “Please, let that be the case,” Buddy said. “Either way, we need to report it to the police.” “Call Buck and get him here quickly. Don’t tell him why; just say it’s important that we meet before I tee off.” Buddy pulled out his cell phone and walked away. Reid swung his driver a few times, then teed up another ball. He swung the club and topped the ball. It skidded through the grass about 20 feet. “Oh, this is going to be
some
day,” he murmured through gritted teeth. He looked up and noticed another player watching him with a look of shock.
    “What are you looking at?” Reid growled. “You gonna tell me you’ve never missed a ball?” “Easy, Reid, I’m sorry,” the golfer said. “No,
I’m
sorry, I’m just uptight.” Reid stepped away and walked to the far side of the range. He needed to calm down; this was one of the most