That evening found Nick and Cody in the ball room of the event hotel. Murray had been tasked with talking to Quinlan. Just because the computer programmer and police lieutenant mixed like oil and water didn't mean that Murray wasn't the best man for the job. After all, he was the one who'd generated the information about Harold Ottaviano. Still, Cody was glad he had to be at the reception instead.
There was going to be a large buffet later, and the open bar was already seeing very good business. People were eating hors d'oeuvres and mingling, laughing in the way of people who see each other on a semi-regular basis. The men outnumbered the women about two to one, but there was a good number of wives and steady girl-friends in attendance along with what appeared to be a few groupies.
Alex Reed walked over to Cody. "How's it going?"
Cody grinned, swallowing the last bite of a stuffed mushroom, "Pretty good."
Reed bit his lip hopefully, "Any suspects?"
Cody hedged, "Maybe."
"Really? Who?"
Cody shook his head slightly, "Could turn out to be nothing. We've still got a ways to go."
Reed looked disappointed, "Oh." He shoved in another morsel of food.
Cody glanced around, wishing everyone had on name tags. "Alex, can you point out Justin Decker and Mark Newton?"
Reed looked horrified. "They can't be involved."
"I didn't say they were; I just need to talk to them."
"Cody, you're wrong."
"Alex, take it easy, man. I just need to talk to them."
Reed didn't look like he believed Cody entirely, but he looked around the large room. "Over there by the dessert table, talking to Anson and Jeffers."
Cody's eyes searched till he found the four giants. "Okay, thanks."
Reed caught his arm again, "I'm telling you, it's not them."
Cody rolled his eyes, amused by how protective Reed was of the players. "I got it."
On his way across the room, he ran into Rusty Wise, "Hey, guy. Where's Tim?"
Rusty smiled, "Stayed home with his mom."
Cody nodded in approval, knowing it would put Nick's mind at ease. "Can you introduce me to some of the other American teams?"
Rusty glanced around and immediately moved in the direction of Anson and Jeffers, Decker and Newton, as they were nearest. Just as Cody had expected.
"Hey guys, have you met Cody Allen?"
The four men all turned and smiled. Anson wiped his hand clean and stuck it out. "Didn't I see you guys get clobbered by Ed and Iggy this morning?"
Cody grimaced at the painful remembrance of their recent encounters—both on the sand and in the locker room. "Iggy? How can a guy that big be called, 'Iggy?'"
All four of them chuckled, "Doesn't seem natural, does it? Believe me, we've all been there."
Cody caught Rusty's eye and shook his head slightly before lowering his voice, "Hey, I heard a few teams have received threats; have you guys heard anything like that?"
Anson and Jeffers glanced at each other uneasily while Decker and Newton just looked alarmed. "What? Who?"
Jeffers snuck a glance around the room, "I found one in my room."
Anson seemed worried, "In your bathroom."
The concern displayed by Decker and Newton appeared genuine, and Cody was fairly convinced this was the first they'd heard of it. He gave the silent okay to Rusty who finally spoke up, "We got one, too."
Their soft exclamations didn't draw a crowd, but there was some fast discussion between the six of them, Cody mostly just listening and observing.
Later that evening, Cody and Nick sat down where Justin Decker and Mark Newton were eating their dinner.
Nick looked around with a grin, "You guys aren't married, so where are your dates?"
Newton smiled, "Neither are you, and this is your home turf."
Cody laughed, "The girls around here have already heard our lines. We're old news. But you guys are fresh meat. And…very tall."
They both chuckled, but Decker shook his head, "Keep it in your pants the night before a match."
Newton nodded, "I used to know a team who went out and partied every night; neither of them is still playing."
The whole table of players nodded in agreement.
Cody asked another question, hoping they'd gotten familiar enough to keep anyone from being on guard, "What about your families? Do they ever come with you? Get to see you play?"
Nick nodded, "Yeah, this is Tim's hometown, so his mom is here, but I don't think she gets to see him play too often."
Newton shrugged, "I'm from Fort Lauderdale; most of my family still lives there."
"Big family?"
"Huge. But we travel so much, I don't get to see them very often."
Cody looked at Justin, "What about your family?" Mental fingers crossed.
He smiled softly, "Just me and my mom."
"What about your father?"
"He died in the army; no other family. It's just the two of us. She's in Tampa."
Cody sighed in relief, "How often does she get to see you play?"
He shrugged, "Three, four times a year, depending on where we're playing."
Nick cleared his throat, "My father took off when I was little. He once sent me a post card from Miami. That's pretty much all I know about Florida. You guys know anyone who lives down there?"
Justin shook his head, "No. The only time I've really spent in Miami is when we've had tournaments there. Mark?"
His partner shrugged, "About the same. I've visited friends a few times. Been through the airport."
Cody caught Nick's eye, nodding that he was satisfied. Nick looked back at their companions. "Well, if my old man was there, can't be much to recommend it."
At the end of the night, Reed and Olatidoye stepped to the podium with a large fish bowl filled with tickets. Reed leaned over to the microphone, "Okay, guys. Time to draw the brackets."
Olatidoye's huge smile shined brightly, his whatever accent echoing around the room, "We have chosen the top seeds based on each team's records at sanctioned tournaments over the last twelve months. The top seeds in the four brackets are: Harwell and Wise, Carritas and Mendez, McAvoy and Patterson, and Boyle and Radford. All the rest of the teams are in this bowl, and we'll draw out each bracket randomly.
Cody leaned forward, excited despite everything including getting clobbered by the Brazilians. Nick glanced his way, and Cody saw that same spark in his partner. Cody couldn't help but chuckle softly at how similar he and Nick were even in stupid stuff like this. A tournament they had no chance of winning—that Nick never even wanted to enter—yet nervous anticipation crackled off them both. And remembering that similarity, Cody was reminded of Boz's statement that they couldn't hide anything from each other. Logically, he should easily find the cookies.
But back at the podium, Alex and Jace were pulling out teams and populating the brackets. When it was all said and done, Nick and Cody were slated for the third match of the day on court three against a team from Australia. Cody had seen them practice earlier in the week. They were pretty good, and he and Nick would likely be out of the tournament the following afternoon. Not that it mattered, but still…
Just before the evening ended, Reed cleared his throat. "Listen up, people. We've all worked really hard to get here. Some of you may have heard that a few teams have received threats to get them to drop out. We've notified the police and hired some outside help to find whoever's responsible.
"So please, keep an eye out for the other teams and their families. We want this tournament to be the coolest thing King Harbor has ever seen. But we want everyone to go home safely.
"Take care, play well, and have a great time. Good luck tomorrow!"