Stella Accused Of Locker Room Sabotage — Then Security Camera Footage Exposes The Real Culprit
Chapter 7 — Stella Opens Her Locked Gear Bag — Then The Damaged Equipment Is Brought To Light
Coach Vance turned away from the glowing monitor.
His boots clicked hard against the concrete floor of the security office.
“Let’s go,” Coach Vance said.
“Bring the bag.”
Marcus reached down and grabbed the dark fabric straps of Stella’s locked gear bag.
He lifted it off the heavy metal desk.
The weight of the bag shifted, and a faint metallic scrape echoed from inside.
Stella stood near the doorway, watching them both.
She didn’t say a word.
Her jaw was set.
They walked out of the security office and back toward the main locker room.
The arena hallway was quiet, save for the hum of the refrigeration units beneath the ice.
Coach Henderson stayed behind at the console to lock down the digital files.
Coach Vance led the way down the corridor.
He pushed open the heavy wooden door of the locker room.
The smell of melting ice and old rubber filled the air.
“Set it down right here,” Coach Vance said, pointing to the center wooden bench.
Marcus set the bag down on the slatted wooden seat.
The zipper was still secured by the combination padlock Stella had put on it earlier that morning.
“Unlock it,” Coach Vance ordered.
Stella stepped forward.
She didn’t hesitate.
Her fingers moved quickly across the dial of the lock.
She spun the numbers to the left.
Then to the right.
With a sharp click, the brass shackle sprang open.
Stella pulled the padlock free and dropped it onto the bench.
She grabbed the main zipper pull.
With a firm tug, she opened the heavy canvas flap all the way.
The dark interior of the bag was exposed to the harsh fluorescent lights overhead.
“Pull the gear out,” Coach Vance instructed.
Stella reached inside.
Her gloved hand gripped the top of her left skate.
She pulled it out and set it down on the wooden bench.
Marcus leaned in to get a closer look.
The pro-grade skate boot was scuffed along the side.
That wasn’t the worst of it.
Stella reached back into the bag and pulled out the second skate.
She placed it right beside the first one.
The damage was immediately clear under the bright lights.
The steel blade on the right skate was snapped clean across the middle.
Jagged metal edges pointed outward.
Worse still, the composite plastic holder riveted to the bottom of the boot was cracked completely through.
It was structurally ruined.
No player could step onto the ice with equipment in that condition without severe risk of injury.
Marcus reached down and touched the cracked holder with the tip of his finger.
“This didn’t happen from normal wear and tear,” Marcus said, his voice grim.
“Look at the impact mark right here on the side.”
He pointed to a deep white gouge in the hard plastic.
“Somebody took a hammer or a heavy tool to this in the equipment room.”
Stella looked down at her ruined skates.
Her hands curled into tight fists at her sides.
“These were brand new last week,” Stella said, her voice shaking with suppressed anger.
“I left them locked in my locker before the morning drill.”
Coach Vance stood silently over the bench.
He looked from the broken equipment up to the open locker room doorway.
A faint sound echoed from down the hallway outside.
The distinct squeak of rubber slide sandals against the concrete floor.
Coach Vance raised a hand to signal for silence.
The footsteps slowed just outside the doorway.
A shadow fell across the threshold.
Brooke walked down the arena hallway carrying her own gear bag over her shoulder.
