Menyara. “Really?”
Mennie arched a brow, but she didn’t say anything.
“Nothing against you, Menyara,” his mom said quickly. “You know how much I love you and how grateful I am for everything you’ve done.”
“But you want to be closer to work,” Mennie’s Creole accent was thicker than normal.
His mom nodded. “And Nick’s school. He’s always having to run for the streetcar. I’d like for him not to have to start the day off in such a panic.”
“The devil is sitting on icicles, isn’t he?” Nick asked.
She laughed. “No, sweetie. It’s just … you wouldn’t believe what people tip at Sanctuary. Oh my God, I had no idea. Between my salary and tips, I’m making four times the money I used to.”
Nick gave her a hopeful grin.
She screwed her face up at him. “All right. Both you and Bubba are forgiven for getting me fired.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. In fact, I was thinking of taking you and Mennie out to eat tonight to celebrate.”
That sounded great, but there was one little problem. “I’m stuffed. Rosa made this turkey tetrazzini that is unbelievably tasty. I brought some home for you, too. There’s even enough for Mennie.” He returned to his backpack to dig it out.
No sooner had he put his jersey on the floor than his mother sucked her breath in sharply.
Nick froze at the sound that usually heralded him getting into trouble. “Something wrong?”
“What are you doing with that?” She pointed at his shirt.
He glanced down at it and wondered why its presence had warranted her reaction. “The coach wants me back on the team.”
His mom appeared skeptical. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. They’re short a few guys for the team, so…”
“You don’t seem happy about it,” Menyara said. That was the only drawback to Mennie. She had the gift of second sight and knew all kinds of things about him that he didn’t say.
He gave them both a fake smile. The last thing he needed was for them to find out what the coach wanted from him. God help him if Mennie figured that out. “I’m happy.”
“Nicky. I’m your mom. Don’t lie to me. What’s wrong?”
His coach was a psycho, that was what was wrong, but he couldn’t tell her that. If he did, she’d go marching into the office and cause such a stink that he’d be framed for sure. When it came to him, his mom tended to lose all sanity. “Nothing. I promise.”
She gave him a look that said she wasn’t convinced. Luckily, Mennie distracted her while he pulled out the leftovers and took the container to the kitchen.
As soon as they were done eating, Mennie and his mom headed over to Mennie’s to watch TV while he stayed in on the pretext of doing homework.
Not an entire lie. He was working on something that involved school.
Once he was sure he wouldn’t be disturbed, he called Madaug again.
“What?” Man, Madaug didn’t even bother to disguise his irritation at being interrupted.
“Have you found anything?” Nick asked.
“No.”
“Nothing?”
“You’re missing my point, Nick. I haven’t uncovered anything at all. This guy’s a complete ghost. There’s no background on him that can be found. Not a school in this country has a Coach Devus, and with a name that unusual, he should be pretty easy to find. Right?”
Nick sat there, trying to digest it. Madaug was right. They shouldn’t have any trouble finding information on a guy with a name like that. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. The only Coach Devus I can find was one who coached at Georgia Tech in—get this—1890.”
“1890?” Nick gaped. “Like over a hundred years ago, 1890?”
“Yeah. He was the lead coach in the first rivalry game between UGA and Tech for the Governor’s Cup. Tech trounced the Dawgs 28 to 6. And get this … the next day, the entire team, including the coach, was killed in a fire that started in the building where they were celebrating their victory.”
“That sucks.” It was something that would happen to him. Crappy Gautier luck was the stuff of legends.
“Don’t it, though? Anyway, that was the only Devus I can find.”
That didn’t make any sense at all. “He told me he’s been coaching for years. He has to have a coaching history somewhere.”
“Can’t find a trace of it, and believe me, I’ve looked. I even hacked the school records. His résumé isn’t online. Without that, I’m stuck. I don’t know where else to look. I’ve hit more walls at this point than a blind mouse in a test maze with shifting walls.”
Only Madaug, whose parents were both