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Rumors
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TateRegistered Posting Freak
Previously on the Chronicles of Knox Booth:
Chapter 1 - First Article Chapter 2 - The SMJHL Draft Approaches Chapter 3 - The Losses Mount Chapter 4 - Draft Day (SMJHL) Chapter 5 - Collect $200 when you Pass Go Chapter 6 - Best Served Cold Chapter 7 - Lucky Guy Chapter 8 - The Mid-Day Move Chapter 9 - The Day the Earth Stood Still Chapter 10
Rumors Cold water poured over Knox’s head and down his body to the drain. He wasn’t sure if the hot water had run out or how long he’d been in the shower in the first place. In fact, he wasn't even sure if he had turned the warm water on. Most of what had transpired in Knox’s life over the past year had been a blur and it continued as so to this day. It was the last day the team facility was open before it closed for renovations and it was quite possibly the last day Knox Booth would be here as a Panther. To suggest that the past season was a failure would be an understatement. Still reeling from the death of both his parents, Knox had become a shell of his former self. Once hailed as the franchise cornerstone for the Los Angeles Panthers in net, Knox had practically thrown it all away by clearing a path for his rival, Nolan McMahon. It was no secret that Knox and Nolan’s relationship was frigid at best and unfortunately for the Panthers franchise, the two netminders had not hit it off, and the very opposite had happened. Knox saw Nolan McMahon for what he was, a legitimate threat and a contender for taking his job full time in Los Angeles, and from what Knox could tell McMahon felt the same- viewing Knox as just another hurdle he would have to hop over on his way to fame in the SHL. The reality was that the competition between the two had now come full circle, and found itself front and center, and most unfortunately for Knox Booth- McMahon appeared to be winning the race. Knox reached up and shut off the faucet for the shower and as he did he heard loud laughter coming from the locker room. Knox turned to grab the towel he had hung next to his shower stall and watched as Nolan McMahon stood in the center of the room, and from what Knox could tell, McMahon had the room in tears from some sort of joke. Knox began to dry himself off as he walked out of the shower room and the moment he stepped into the body of the locker room, his teammates fell silent. Had the joke been about him? Knox wondered as he stepped past the group and headed to his locker room stall, but he made no effort to find out and instead remained silent as he sat down. The poor relationship between the two was not McMahon’s fault by any means, Knox wasn’t the easiest person to approach at times and had shut himself off from everyone following the death of his parents. Like most men, Knox found it hard to open up and express his feelings, and he had yet to find a way to bridge the gap and connect with McMahon. Goaltenders were notorious for being odd, and Knox was not the exception when it came to the rule – he was the definition of the rule. Knox watched as McMahon owned the room, cracking another joke and garnering a rowdy response because of it. Knox felt a rush of envy, there was so much to admire about McMahon. He was more charismatic and well spoken than Knox, and furthermore he was extremely talent. The skill was undeniable in the goaltender and McMahon’s ascension to the big leagues had gone smoothly, much smoother than Knox's and it would only be a matter of time before McMahon was named a starter. Knox was all but certain that if he didn’t get his act in order soon it could be as soon as next season that McMahon will have won the war, and claimed the net permanently as his own. “Isn't that right, Knox?” Knox looked up and over to see that the entire room was looking back at him, and it took a moment for Knox to realize that McMahon had said something to him, “What?” Knox asked, doing a poor job at masking the aggression in his tone. “Whoa there, big guy,” McMahon was quick in his response, a slight smile curving at the edges of his mouth, “You doing okay?” Knox nodded back, “Yes,” he forced the word out, his mouth barely opening to allow sound to escape. “I didn’t hear what you said.” “Oh,” McMahon was facing him now, “I was just saying that the summer can’t come quick enough, and I figured you felt the same.” “Why do you figure that?” Knox was becoming more defensive but remained seated. The tension in the room was so palpable that you could cut it with a knife. McMahon’s smile stretched further, “We’re all looking forward to the break, Knox. That’s why we're talking about it.” “Well,” Knox said, “Speak for yourself.” McMahon put his arms up, “Hey man,” he was calm and steady, “I was just trying to include you.” “Oh yeah?” Knox’s voice was rising with anger, “Well keep me out of anything involving you, all right?” McMahon’s smile faded, “All right,” he said before he turned back to the group. Damn it. Knox had not meant to do that but the reaction had come nonetheless, and he had ruined an opportunity to connect with McMahon. Knox couldn't help but wonder if that was his one and only hoped it wouldn’t be his last chance to do so, because that would be his kind of luck, wouldn’t it? ***
Fully clothed and still a bit damp, Knox hurried his way out of the locker room and found himself standing in the middle of a press conference. The reporters had been refused entry to the locker room since the breakout of the Corona Virus, and so they were waiting at a safe distance for the players to exit the room. Although Knox had little to no interest in speaking to the media he knew that this would be his last chance before the start of a new season, and he didn’t want to leave a bad taste in their mouth- just as he had done in his own locker room moments before. “How do you feel the season went for you Knox?” “It wasn’t my best year,” Knox was solemn in his tone, his eyes barely making eye contact with the group, “I know I have to be better, and I feel like I let the team down at times. I know I can better, and I will be.” “What’s the plan for the offseason?” “Continue training,” Knox was abrupt in his answer and then realized he should expand on it, “I have some areas of focus I want to work on, specifically my positioning and recovery. I see those as elements in my game that I need to take to the next level if I’m going to have success in this league. I have to do what I can to give my team a chance to win every night, and those two areas are vital in achieving my goal of winning in Los Angeles.” “Knox, your tandem partner and rookie Nolan McMahon stormed onto the season early last season, displaying all of the tools that made him a high pick for the franchise. Do you see yourselves sharing the net next season in a 50/50 split?” Knox gritted his teeth, “Only the coach can answer that.” “There is an argument to be made that Nolan McMahon was more consistent than you were last year due to the differences in your playing styles, do you believe that was a factor?” Knox was thrown by the question, “I,” he hesitated, unsure of what to say, “I… don’t know,” sweat began to form on his brow and Knox felt a rush of heat move up and down his body, “I think the most important job of a goalie is to stop the puck, and however you do that, so long as you do it- you’ll have success. This season I got stuck in my head. It’s the first time that’s happened to me, and if I wasn’t so sure of my abilities I might not believe in myself either, not after witnessing the season I had. But I know what I am capable of, it’s what got me here in the first place. I want to win, and I want to do it in Los Angeles.” “Knox, there are rumors surfacing that your name is being bandied about in trade discussions, has the team talked to you about a potential trade?” Knox shook his head, “No, I haven’t heard anything, not until now that is.” “Knox, do you believe that your past season had anything to do with your personal life? The loss of a family member can be devastating let alone the loss of both parents-“ “Thank you,” Knox said quickly before he pushed his way through the group, ignoring the question and making his way toward the exit of the arena. In a matter of moments he was outside and seated in his vehicle with the engine running. Knox rubbed his eyes, he was tired and emotional, and going over the past hour repeatedly in his head. He realized how many mistakes he had made on his way out of the Panthers facility, all mistakes that he wouldn’t be able to take back. All mistakes that would stick with him throughout the summer. Knox’s cell phone lit up, and on the screen was a call coming in from the Los Angeles Police Department, “Hello?” Knox answered. “Hello Mr. Booth, this is Detective Peter Lindt, we spoke previously when we gathered information regarding your parents homicide.” “Yes?” “New information has come in regarding an associate of your father, a man by the name of Daniel Murphy.” “I told you before,” Knox was still feeling frustrated from the events of the day and the last thing he wanted to do was revisit the conversation regarding his deceased parents, “I don’t know who he is.” “Yes, I understand,” the Detective was relaxed in his tone, he had dealt with the families of victims many times in the past and understood how to handle them. “We believe that Daniel Murphy has valuable information regarding your father’s whereabouts leading up to the day of his murder, and we wanted to ask you about a box we found at your father’s home.” “My father wasn’t murdered,” Knox told the Detective, that had been the only aspect of what the Detective had said to him that had stuck in Knox’s mind, he had heard nothing else. “He murdered my mother before he killed himself.” Pause. “I’m sorry to tell you this over the phone Mr. Booth, but we believe that your father was also murdered.” “What!?” Knox almost launched himself fully out of his driver’s side seat, “When did this happen!? Why am I finding out now!? I believed this case to have been closed!?” Pause. “I’m sorry Mr. Booth, the case has not been closed. I’m not sure where you got that information.” “From you! Or at least I thought it was from you!” “I’m sorry Mr. Booth, but I’m afraid to say that I never told you that, and I apologize that you’re finding out that information right now. The investigation is ongoing, and while we did initially believe that it was a murder-suicide it has since come to out attention that it may not have been. Your father, Mr. Booth, was involved with some dangerous people. One specifically who he owed an awful lot of money too, had he told you anything about that?” “No,” Knox thought back to the time he had met his father in the diner after a game in his rookie season, and how he had wired him thirty thousand dollars to stay out of his life. That’s why he was broke when Knox came back for his Mother, his Dad had used it to pay off one of his debts. “We found a box in your parents home that was filled with receipts, some of them were transactions made to bookies, others were withdrawals from his account. I took a look into some of those withdrawals and happened to come across a deposit that was made by yourself the year prior, for thirty thousand dollars.” “It was a one time payment to him,” Knox didn’t hold back, “I wanted him out of my life. I hated my Father, I’m not going to tell you otherwise, and thirty thousand was a cheap price to buy him out.” “I see,” the Detective responded and Knox could tell that what he had just told him had caught the Detective by surprise. “We have good reason to suspect that the thirty thousand you sent your Father was meant for Daniel Murphy. We also have good reason to believe that your Father never paid Murphy.” “What sort of reasons?” Knox couldn’t help but ask. “It’s rumors right now,” the Detective replied, “But I wanted to ask you about the money to see if it would help us locate Murphy.” “Rumors?” Knox asked aloud, his mind flashing back to the press conference he was in moments before, “That’s all you got?” “It’s what we have a lot of time, Mr. Booth,” the Detective was quick in his response, “But there’s a lot of rumors out there that have legs to them.” “I believe that,” Knox was soft in his response, his mind beginning to wander further. All along he had believed that his Father had killed his Mother as an act of cold blooded revenge, after all, what better way to hurt her for leaving him? But what this Detective was saying made some sense, his Father had been an A Grade asshole most his life but Knox never thought he would kill anyone. Knox knew his father to be one thing, and that was a thief. The suggestion that his Father had kept the money instead of paying off his debt was far more in line with his character than murder. “I don’t have anymore questions for you at this time Mr. Booth, but I may call you again if we get some more information.” “So what now?” “We continue our investigation.” “But now that you know what the money was for, what’re you going to do?” “I assure you, Mr. Booth, we will do everything in our power to bring your parents killer to justice. If you’d like, I can follow up with you next month to give you an update on what’s transpired.” “Yes,” Knox told him, “Please do.” “Okay, have a nice day-“ “Detective?” “Yes?” “I just have one question, do you know how my father and Daniel Murphy knew each other?” “Horse racing,” the Detective offered, “We traced a lot of your father’s transactions back to horse racing, and looked where the money came in from and where it went out to. Your father would receive large loans sometimes hours before placing a bet, and the only name we found consistently was Daniel Murphy. We’re not sure if it was an alias, but it’s the name associated with the account that made the deposits.” “Thank you for telling me,” Knox was sincere in his tone, his mind now completely focused on the topic at hand. Something inside of him had changed with this information, it wasn’t that he felt, “lighter,” but he felt as though he had been given a new direction. Knox knew then and there that he wouldn’t be able to rest unless he found out what really happened to his parents, and now with the information from the Detective he had a name in Daniel Murphy and a horse racing scene to look into. “To be honest with you Mr. Booth, my hope in telling you this information is that it might help you remember something, anything. This is my cell number, so please call me back should anything come to mind. Sometimes it’s the smallest detail that helps us the most, so don’t hesitate to call me or even text me.” “I won’t,” Knox said before adding, “hesitate to call.” “Have a nice day, Mr. Booth,” the Detective told him. “You as well,” Knox said as he ended the call, and before the connection fully ended, Knox had already begun to reverse out of his parking space. 2700 words ![[Image: lqfXIpe.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/lqfXIpe.jpeg) ![[Image: FThunMn.png]](https://i.imgur.com/FThunMn.png)
GwdjohnsonSHL GM siMp
This is awesome. I fell behind in the Chronicles but man this is great work.
![[Image: Gabe-lights.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/853563288988942356/1023840211416928318/Gabe-lights.png) ![[Image: nMz40Vc.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/nMz40Vc.gif) |
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