Free The Advocate's Ex Parte (The Advocate Series Book 5) by Teresa Burrell Page B

right.”
    “Thanks,” JP said and walked to the office. The door was open. A short, muscular man in his early fifties sat behind the desk in the tiny office. Files and papers were stacked on the file cabinet, the bookcase, the desk, and one stuffed chair.
    The man looked up when JP approached. “Come on in. You must be the PI.”
    JP held out his hand. “That’s right. JP Torn.”
    “Gilbert Arviso. Have a seat,” the coach said, pointing to the only empty chair in the room. “What can I do for you?”
    “As you know, I’m here about Matt Durham. What can you tell me about him?”
    “He’s a good ball player. Not a star, but consistent. Never missed practice. Always on time. His grades were never an issue. He wasn’t one of the ‘popular’ guys, especially with the girls, but he seemed to get along with everyone for the most part.”
    “Did Matt ever fight or argue with anyone?”
    The coach shook his head. “I’ve thought about that a lot since his arrest. He usually got along well with his teammates. There was one incident when he got in a shoving match with another student, a kid named Darren Flynn, but to tell you the truth I don’t think Matt started it. It didn’t really amount to much, more of a squabble than a fight. It was during a game and the other players stopped it before it was out of hand. Matt came up to bat shortly after that and he took all his aggression out on the ball. It was bottom of the ninth, one out with a runner on second. We could usually count on Matt for a base hit and we expected him to move the runner to third and then Darren would come in as a designated hitter and hit the winning run. But instead, Matt hit a home run and won the game for us.”
    “I suppose that didn’t make Darren too happy.”
    “I expect he was glad they won, but yeah, it meant he didn’t get to hit and be the hero. Darren is a hot head and he demonstrated it that night. He slammed his bat against the fence and he didn’t go out when the teams shook hands after the game.”
    JP turned and glanced toward the open door, distracted by the chatter of teenage boys.
    “Sorry about that. The boys are here for practice.”
    JP stood up and started to close the door. “Do you mind?” he asked.
    “Not at all.”
    JP sat down again. “When did the incident at the game take place?” JP asked.
    “About a month ago.”
    “So, just a few weeks before the murder?”
    “Yeah, a week or two, maybe.”
    JP glanced at his notes. “Matt says his bat disappeared at one of the games. Do you know anything about that?”
    “Not that I recall. Why?” The coach wrinkled his brow. “Does Matt claim the bat used in the murders was stolen?”
    “Yes,” JP said, nodding his head. “He said to ask you, that he came to you and told you it was missing.”
    “I don’t recall him coming to me, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t. But if he did, I’m sure I had him fill out a ‘Missing Equipment’ form.” Coach Arviso reached down and opened a file drawer on his desk. He pulled out a folder, opened it up, and shuffled through the papers. About three forms down, he stopped and removed a completed form with Matt Durham’s name on it. “Here it is.” He handed the form to JP. “We always have the players fill these out. It saves a lot of hassle if something shows up a few months later.”
    JP looked the form over and noted the date. It was approximately one month ago. He pointed out the date to the coach. “Do you happen to know if that was the same game that Matt and Darren had the misunderstanding?”
    “I don’t know.” The coach frowned as if he were thinking. He picked up a schedule off his desk. “Let me see….The game Matt hit the home run in was against Poway. That would’ve been on…yes, that was the same game. He must have filed it the next day. That’s the day after the Poway game. That’s right,” the coach said, as if he were remembering the event. “It was Matt’s last