Page 5 of The Session

“Painfully generic,” Blaise muttered.

“How do you do it?” asked Tru.

“Just a side effect of spending most of my life around coaches who look at each body as some kind of physical specimen to analyze,” Mark explained.

“So tell us more about how the foundation works,” Tru prompted.

Morris leaned back but tilted his head down to listen to Mark. He and Kincaid exchanged glances.

“It’s all volunteer,” Mark replied. “It’s a lot of my friends from school. We also have a couple guys from the sheriff’s department. We try to be good about everyone’s time. That’s the one thing I learned: not to overuse volunteers. But we make it fun for them too.

“We talk to schools about kids who might need the program. We also work with Mission Church and Little River Presbyterian. My friend Devon and I have been talking to the folks at Crusader—that’s a big megachurch near us—but we get the feeling they just want to take the program over and claim it as their own. Which would be great and all, but the pastors there drive some fancy cars, and that makes me a little cautious.”

“And now you’re looking for grants?” Morris asked.

“Yes, sir. But I have spreadsheets to show where the money would go—mostly renting facilities. Even with county grants and discounts, that gets expensive. I’ve been able to cover it for now, but I’d like to be able to expand.”

“You cover it?” Tru asked.

“Yes. Out of my salary,” he replied. “My ulterior motive for coming down here was the coaching job interview. I figure a place like this might be easier to find donors. I mean, a place like South Florida.”

“How do you vet the people working with the kids?” Morris asked.

“We’ve been lucky with finding volunteers, and partnering with the sheriff’s office helps weed out the kind of people we don’t want,” Mark replied.

“What’s your current budget?” Tru asked.

“We spend about $1,900 a month,” Mark answered.

“And that’s volunteer supported?” Kincaid asked.

“A little bit. About $600. I pay the rest,” Mark replied.

Kincaid nodded. “And how much are you asking for?”

“I wasn’t sure what size grants your organization gives out to groups like ours. I tried to look you up online, but I couldn’t find out anything,” Mark explained.

“How much do you know about Summit Strategies?” Morris asked.

“Just that you’re a consulting group,” Mark replied.

“Do you know anyone who ever worked for us?” Morris asked.

“Since I heard the name downstairs, I’ve been trying to remember why it sounded familiar. I finally placed it. I remember seeing some folders with that name after my mom and I switched apartments,” Mark replied.

“She might have worked for us at some point,” said Morris. “That could be why you got the grant.”

“Interesting. Well, that’s very generous of you. I’ll have to ask her about that. Although it would have been when she met my father, so it could be something she wants to forget,” Mark told them.

“We’d like to help you, but the grant-making part of the charity is no longer active—other than the check that was sent to you. Keep that. At the very least, it could cover your costs.”

“Actually,” Tru cut in, “remember, we have some budget. That’s why we set up the meeting.” She gave Morris a friendly smile.

“How much are you looking to raise?” Morris asked.

“Seven thousand three hundred dollars,” Mark replied.

“That’s a strangely specific number,” Morris remarked.