Chapter 37: Daryl: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

After sleeping ten hours in what felt like the most comfortable bed he’d ever slept in, showering and shaving, Daryl had also picked up the phone and requested newspapers with his breakfast.  He requested the San Francisco Chronicle.  It took until the next day for it to be delivered.  What he read put him in the kind of mood he needed to physically work his way out of.  He picked up the phone and spoke to the voice that answered, carefully explaining that he needed to be able to work out, with weights and machines.  The voice sounded appropriately concerned and promised to get back to him with an answer.  Later that day, he answered a knock on the door to two men dressed all in black who brought in and assembled in the living room of his suite a full home gym, weight bench and treadmill.  Daryl checked the set-up and thanked them for their work.  When they left he was already into his work-out, sweating heavily and blowing off plenty of steam vocally as he pressed the weights.

The paper said the grand jury investigating the baseball steroid scandal had decided to indict both Daryl and Cal, his trainer.  Cal had been held in custody and released.  A warrant was now issued for Daryl’s arrest.  The article briefly mentioned Daryl had last been seen on the live broadcast of “Soul Survivor,” and that he was wanted for questioning in connection with Baby’s apparent rape and the subsequent disappearance of Jack.  Daryl thought about his present circumstances and decided that, all things considered, they weren’t too bad.  He could use some female companionship, but other than that, his needs were well-met.

He thought about his interview with Cassie the day before and thought it should work to his advantage when he was released from the “Soul Survivor” hide out after the final episode was broadcast.  He’d keep on saying he wanted to do the right thing as fast as he could do it as long as he had to.

Based on what he’d read in the paper, though, Daryl was in no hurry to get back to the real world.  It was clear the real world awaiting him was preparing to exact a heavy price for the success he’d achieved as one of baseball’s heaviest hitters.  It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to pay the price, if that was what it came down to.  Daryl had enjoyed a long run as a champion and the benefits that went with it.  The impending trial, judgment and penalty he anticipated based on what he’d read seemed like bothersome details he wanted to get over with as soon as possible so he could get back to enjoying the life he’d made for himself.  A life his mother would have been proud of overall, even with the complications.  He knew just what his mother would have said.  “My boy didn’t do anything wrong.  He didn’t do anything anybody else wasn’t doing.  He did what he needed to in order to be at the top of the game.  That’s what the people pay to see, isn’t it?  A player at the top of his game.”

When Daryl finished working out he took his second shower of the day.  Once he was dressed, he picked up the phone.  He greatly appreciated the gym set-up and would put it to good use in the time he was there.  Now he had two requests.  He wanted to meet with a man of the cloth for spiritual counseling while he was waiting to surrender.  And he wanted a woman to help him with more physical needs.