“Yes and no. They’re still not doing anything to shore up their rather disappointing infield, if you’re interested.”
“Not in the slightest.”
“Then you must want to know if Justin Hayes really did do any work for them. And the answer to that is that I still don’t know. The bodyguards who were employed by the Padres for their away games last season are no longer with them.”
Kendra’s brows rose. “Trouble?”
“No one wanted to talk about it at first, but I finally got a secretary to give me a little information.”
“Of course you did.”
“It turned out that those bodyguards were selling access to the players to autograph dealers, tipping them off to their schedules, their comings and goings. It was a lucrative sideline for them, but of course it compromised the players’ security. So the entire bodyguard detail was fired.”
Kendra thought for a moment. “Kind of scuzzy, but nothing to suggest any of them could be a murderer.”
“If Hayes is low on money, he could just be an opportunist who would do anything for the right price. I flashed his photo around but no one in the office recognized him. Not that they necessarily would, since the security team only worked while the Padres traveled to away games. The team’s in St. Louis now but they’ll be coming back into town tonight. I thought it would be a good idea to show up at practice tomorrow at Petco stadium and flash the photo to the players and road manager. We can see if they recognize Hayes and can give us the name he’s using now.”
“What about the name of the security company itself?”
“Johnson Security. It was a small firm and it disbanded right after the firings. They didn’t have much future after that. The Padres were anxious not to have any adverse publicity, which is why we hadn’t heard anything about it. I tried to reach them by phone but it was disconnected. We’ll have to follow up on it tomorrow.”
“You have a busy day planned for us tomorrow.”
“Unless you have something more productive to do, like helping Mr. Kim’s grandson in the garden or teaching Ariel better ways to hack. I know your friend Sam Zackoff, that hacker genius with Homeland Security, might be able to show her a few tricks.”
“Not funny,” Kendra said. “Sam might turn her into a superstar if he had her for a few months. She needs no encouragement.” She looked down at Harley, whose head was now resting on her foot. “But talking about skills, it reminds me that you have a job to do yourself.” She headed for the front door. “We have to go down to Olivia’s condo. We can’t disappoint her. Grab Harley’s leash. You have a few lessons to give to both of us.”
* * *
Petco Park
Next Day
“It looks a little like a ghost town,” Kendra said as she and Lynch climbed the ramp from the attached parking deck and followed the signs that would take them to the field. With the shuttered food vendors and cavernous, empty corridors, the stadium looked almost nothing like the bustling place it was at game time.
“How long’s it been since you’ve been here?” Lynch asked.
“A few months.”
“You’re a baseball fan?”
“Well, I was here for a concert. I saw the Eagles play here. Good show.”
“I’m sure.”
“Nothing against baseball, but I’ve always thought it more fun to play than watch.”
“You play baseball?”
“Beep ball, actually. I was pretty good.”
Lynch looked at her as if he hadn’t heard correctly. “Beep ball? Come on. You made that up.”
“You never heard of beep ball? It’s a big deal. There are leagues all over the world. When I was twelve, I was on the Woodward Academy team that played in the Beep Ball World Series in South Korea.”
“Okay, let me see if I have this right. It’s like baseball, but the ball beeps so you know where it is?”
“Well, it isn’t exactly like baseball. In beep ball, teams pitch to their own batters. And the pitcher isn’t blind. There are six outfielders who get help finding the ball from sighted spotters. A lot of work goes into establishing a rhythm and shorthand with your spotters. The ball, of course, never stops beeping, which also helps you zero in on it. But you don’t round the bases like in regular baseball. When you get a hit, one of the bases beeps in its own distinctive tone. You run toward that one and if you make it before one of the