Sooley(93)

CHAPTER 59





Two days after the burial, and with the Walkers still sleepwalking through the aftermath, Murray finally forced himself down to the basement to go through Sooley’s things. His laptop and cell phone were on the ping-pong table, untouched. Murray didn’t have the heart to try and access them, and he didn’t know the passcodes anyway. He didn’t want to know what secrets, if any, they held. He did know that Sooley had been spending more time on social media. After the first-round upset of Duke, back on March 17, Sooley’s fame spread like crazy and he was the talk of the sports world. His Facebook followers went from 20,000 to 400,000 in a matter of days. He posted more photos, chatted with his fans, and shared insights into the tournament. As Central advanced and became the epicenter of March Madness, his numbers skyrocketed. By the time the team traveled to Phoenix for the Final Four, and Sooleymania was raging, over five million fans liked his page. They followed the draft closely and he played to his audience. His shocking death left everyone clamoring for more and the number doubled.

Murray looked at his page almost daily, but the brokenhearted messages from his fans were often too much to read. Emotions were simply too raw. He would swear off, leave the page, but return the next day for a quick look.

He went through Sooley’s backpack and rifled through a pile of notebooks and sports magazines. In a daily planner that had been rarely used, Murray found some notes that were intriguing. Stapled to one page was a business card for a company called Aegis Partners and an “Advisor” named Gary Gaston. He opened his own laptop and a quick search revealed little about the outfit. It was based in Bethesda and advertised itself as a player in the vague field of “international security.” On the back of the business card, Gaston had evidently scribbled his cell phone number. Murray called it and a voice curtly announced, “Gaston.”

Murray explained who he was and what he was doing and was surprised when Gaston said, “Oh, I knew Sooley pretty well. Even met him once, just a few days ago when you guys were in D.C. looking for an apartment.”

Murray was surprised and said, “I didn’t know that.”

“You were taking a nap and I went to your hotel. The Hyatt. Met Sooley in the bar and we hit it off.”

“Mind if I ask why you were talking to Sooley?”

“Well, first, I’m very sorry about what has happened. It’s quite a shock and I’m sure you guys are reeling right now.”

“We are. I was Sooley’s closest friend and I never heard him mention you or your company.”

“We’re very private, that’s our business. We do a lot of work in Africa, complicated stuff I can’t go into, but from time to time we’re hired to extricate people and bring them here.”

“Extricate?”

“That’s it. Sooley was convinced he was about to make some money, I guess he was right about that, and he wanted to hire us to get his family out of the refugee camp in Uganda.”

“And how do you do that?”

“Look, I prefer to avoid the phone as much as possible. Same for email and texts. Everything leaves a trail.”

“Okay. I noticed that your firm’s website doesn’t say much about your firm.”

“We don’t advertise, okay? Sooley found us through a nonprofit that works with refugees.”

“He knew them all, didn’t he?”

“I guess he did.”

“So, you can’t tell me anything?”

“Sure I can, but not over the phone. If you want a cup of coffee, I’m happy to explain things.”

“When can we meet?”

Gaston put him on hold for a moment, then said, “Day after tomorrow work for you?”

“Sure. When and where?”

“I don’t know. Look, I’d like to help. I really liked the kid, watched the draft and all, love college basketball, and I was excited about doing the job. I have some time. Let’s meet halfway and have lunch.”

“When and where?”

“Looks like Charlottesville is three hours for you, about the same for me. My wife is from the area, so let’s meet there. Day after tomorrow.”

Over dinner, Murray briefed his parents, who, given his recent history of unexpected trips, were skeptical. But he had little else to do, now that his job as a manager was over, and he was not to be denied.

He drove three hours to Charlottesville and met Gaston at an outdoor café on the downtown pedestrian mall. To his pleasant surprise, Gaston was African American, about fifty, and instead of the black suit Murray expected, he wore a gray designer jogging suit with state-of-the-art Adidas sneakers. The air was hot but their table was in the shade. They ordered ice tea and salads, and Gaston began talking.

He was a graduate of the Naval Academy and had spent a career in military intelligence before joining Aegis a few years earlier. Without much background about what the company did or did not do, he said he knew Africa quite well, had traveled throughout the continent, and had many contacts.

Murray went through a windy narrative of how he met Sooley and the delightful year they had just been through. Gaston seemed to know many of the details, especially about the season. He said, “The contract was reported to be worth fourteen million. Don’t suppose Sooley got his hands on any of the money, did he?”