by Cindy Bell
“Why do you have him in an interrogation room?” Charlotte stared straight into Luke’s eyes. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Charlotte, you know how much I respect you, but this is my work.” Luke returned her gaze with just as much determination. “Can you trust that Jeff is in good hands? I’m just asking him questions that need answers.”
“Can I trust that he’s in good hands when you have him in handcuffs?” Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you think that’s asking too much of me?”
“Is it asking too much of me to expect me to show favoritism? He wouldn’t come in for questioning voluntarily.” Luke glanced from Charlotte, to Ally, then back again. “Both of you need to understand that this is a high-profile case. Martin was a bit of a celebrity, and the press are all over this case. I can’t afford to make any missteps that could taint the investigation. I can’t be distracted by the fact that Jeff is someone I know, or that Henry is someone I know. I can’t spend time wondering what you or Ally will think.” He frowned, then folded his arms across his chest. “I shouldn’t even be speaking to you about the case. I think that should be proof enough that I care about both of you.” He looked over at Ally.
Ally took a breath as she looked away from him. She didn’t know how to react, with her grandmother right beside her, and two people she felt were innocent being detained.
“Luke, you have to do your job, I understand that.” Charlotte nodded. “But Jeff is innocent. I just hope you are not blinded by one theory. Just because evidence is mounting against a certain suspect, that doesn’t mean he is the guilty party.”
“I understand that.” Luke ran his hands across his face, then gazed at both of them. “I came out here as a courtesy. As of now I will be releasing Jeff and Henry, when I am finished speaking with them.” He nodded to each of them. His gaze lingered on Ally until she finally met his eyes. “I am going to find out who did this, and you may not like the final result. But you can trust that my investigation will be thorough.”
“I trust that, Luke.” Ally looked into his eyes for a moment, then wrapped her arm around her grandmother’s shoulders. “Let’s go, Mee-Maw, there’s no point in waiting here.”
“Wait, Ally.” Luke caught her by the wrist and met her eyes again. “Didn’t you have something to tell me?”
“Yes, I did.” Ally frowned as she studied him. “Jill came to us and confessed that she just remembered that she never locked up the knife in the first place. She thinks she left it in the messy props room. So, it’s still possible that all of this was an accident. No one broke into, or unlocked a lockbox to get the knife. Someone simply picked it up from a pile of props in a moment of chaos.”
“That’s possible. But we can’t assume that.” Luke narrowed his eyes. “But that is an interesting development. Thank you for telling me.” He leaned forward as if he might kiss her cheek, then thought better of it, and walked off. Ally caught sight of several officers who looked in their direction. She guessed that he didn’t want to put on a show for them. She hoped that was the only reason for his hesitation.
“What we need to find out is who gave that knife to Jeff once and for all.” Charlotte looped her arm through Ally’s.
“I think I know who we can talk to about that.” Ally led her grandmother out to her car. “I took Leanne back to her hotel in Freely and happened to run into Trent. He saw Jeff hand the knife to Henry. I want to know what else he might have seen.”
“This isn’t looking good.” Charlotte winced.
“All anyone saw was Jeff handing Henry a knife, which Jeff already confirmed. We still don’t know if it was the real knife or the replica. Let’s just take this one step at a time.” Ally looked over at her with a mixture of concern and the desire to protect her.
When Ally and Charlotte reached the hotel, Ally scanned the parking lot for any sign of Trent.
“I don’t know what room he’s staying in, but I know that he’s staying here. Maybe we can ask at the front desk.” Ally led her grandmother inside.
“Do we even know his last name?” Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “He might not be the only Trent staying here, and the more details we have the more chance we have of finding out if he’s staying here and getting to see him.”
“That’s a good point.” Ally frowned. “I have no idea what his last name is. Maybe we could call Leanne or Jill to find out.” She reached into her purse for her phone.
“I don’t think we have to do that.” Charlotte placed her hand on Ally’s, then pointed to the hall beside the front desk. “Isn’t that Trent?”
“It is.” Ally tucked her phone away, then hurried after him. Her grandmother remained just behind her. Just as Trent opened the door to his hotel room, Ally stepped up behind him.
“Trent!”
He jumped, and dropped a small keycard on the carpet beneath his feet.
“You startled me.” His cheeks flushed as he reached down to pick up the keycard.
“I’m sorry about that, Trent.” Ally glanced over at her grandmother, then looked back at him. “We need to speak with you for a few minutes.”
“I’m a little busy.” He stepped into his hotel room.
“We don’t need long.” Ally stepped in behind him. The bold move was greeted by a frown from Trent.
“Fine, what is it?” After Charlotte stepped inside, he pushed the door closed.
“Earlier, you told me that you saw Jeff hand Henry the knife. Did you happen to see who handed the knife to Jeff?” Ally watched his expression closely.
“No, I didn’t see.” Trent shrugged. “I’m sorry. I would guess he might have gone into the props room and gotten it himself.”
“Are you sure that you didn’t see Jill, or Leanne give it to him?”
“I really wasn’t paying that much attention.” He frowned.
“But you were paying enough attention to see Jeff give it to Henry?” Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
“That’s because I had one eye on the stage. I had to get the lighting right. Anyway, I don’t know what else I can tell you.” Trent held his hands out in front of him. “I wish I knew what happened. Then maybe at least all of this would be over.”
“Have you worked with Leanne or Jill before?” Ally studied his expression as it shifted from annoyed to thoughtful.
“No, never. I applied for the job just to make some extra cash, travel around a bit. I had no idea how stressful it was going to be.” Trent narrowed his eyes. “Maybe it wouldn’t have been so stressful if Jill wasn’t always yelling at me.”
“Did you have a hard time working with her?” Charlotte looked into his eyes. “I noticed that she was quite rude to you when I was there.”
“Yes, she was. She could be a bit rude, but then she would usually calm down. She thought she was in charge of everyone just because Martin liked her.” Trent rolled his eyes. “I guess she had no idea how many women Martin likes. Anyway, she figured that out opening night. I heard them fighting when he broke things off with her.” He lowered his voice some. “She said some pretty nasty things.”
“Break-ups can be rough.” Ally crossed her arms. “Did she threaten him?”
“No, not that I heard. She just called him worthless, and told him that one day he would be old and lonely and no one would want anything to do with him.” Trent cringed. “Nobody wants to hear that.”
“That does sound pretty harsh.” Charlotte nodded, then swept her gaze over the hotel room. “Did you get your room covered by the play? I thought you lived around here.”
“I don’t really live anywhere.” He frowned, then shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’d lost my apartment just before I got hired by the play. I tried to get my landlord to give me a few extra days, but he wouldn’t. That was another reason I applied. They offered to cover accommodations throughout the play.”
“I guess that’s coming to an end now that the play has been canceled.” Charlotte looked into his eyes. “What are you going to do now?”
“I have some plans.” Trent cleared his throat as he glanced at his suitcases piled up in a corner.
“What plans?” Ally’s gaze lingered on the suitcases. She guessed that they contained all of his possessions. A pang of sympathy caused her to look back at him with a soft smile. “A new adventure?”
“Something like that. I was supposed to go on a trip, but now that’s ruined.”
“You planned a trip in the middle of the play?” Ally raised an eyebrow.
“I planned it opening night, actually. But I can’t take off now. The detective said I had to stick around. I hope it’s not for much longer.” Trent shifted from one foot to the other. “Like I said, I can’t really help you with any of this. Sorry.”
“Trent, I think you can.” Ally took a step closer to him. “We need to know what happened in the props room. Did you ever see the original knife in there on the night of the play? Did you see Jill with it?”
“I don’t know.” Trent sighed. “There was nothing but chaos, stuff was everywhere.” He cringed, then lowered his voice. “The place was such a mess, I’m not surprised the knives got confused. I don’t want to get Jill into any trouble.”
“Thanks for talking with us, Trent.” Ally nodded to him, then turned back to the door. She held it open for her grandmother. The moment they were alone in the hall, she shook her head. “Something doesn’t feel right about any of that.”
“Do you think he knows something that he’s not saying?” Charlotte started down the hallway with Ally at her side.
“I think there’s a good chance he does.” Ally frowned. “Nothing we have heard has done anything to change the theory that Jeff gave the real knife to Henry.”
“No, it hasn’t.” Charlotte sighed.
“Let’s go pick up the delivery van from the police station and open up the shop. We can see if we can get any other information. It’ll be good for us to take a break.” Ally was determined to find the truth, not only for Martin, but for Jeff as well. She started the car, then pulled out of the parking lot. Maybe the rumor mill had churned up something of interest.
Chapter 11
As Ally opened up the shop, she tried to make a list of what she needed to do for the rest of the day, but each time she formed a thought, emotion overtook her, and she found it impossible to concentrate. She’d just restacked the chocolates in the display for the third time when the front door swung open and Christian stepped in.
“Hi Christian.” Ally smiled as he approached the counter. “Coffee? Cake?”
“Yes please.” He rested his elbows on the counter and sighed. “What a wild morning, huh?”
“You could say that.” Ally poured him a cup of coffee, then handed him the cup. She cut a slice of Devil’s Food Cake and placed it in front of him.
“Did you hear about the big jackpot?” Christian took a sip of his coffee. “The winning ticket was sold here in Blue River.”
“Are you serious?” Ally’s eyes widened. “That was a huge jackpot. Someone woke up very rich yesterday.”
“I know.” Christian grinned. “I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this story.” He took a bite of the cake. “Oh my, this is heaven.” He closed his eyes. “It’s so rich.”
“My grandmother’s new recipe.” Ally smiled. “It’s pretty good.”
“That’s an understatement.” Christian took another bite. “I’m surprised the gossipers around this town haven’t spit out who won yet. I’ve been asking around, investigating as much as I can, but either the person hasn’t checked their ticket yet, or they’re smart enough to keep it a secret.”
“Really? No one has come forward?” Ally laughed to herself as she replenished the chocolates on the sample tray. “I don’t think I would be able to keep my mouth shut about that.”
“Did you buy a ticket?” Christian met her eyes as he smiled.
“No, I never do.” Ally leaned against the counter. “I suppose, I already have such a good life, I don’t really need to be rich to make it better.”
“Oh, listen to you.” Christian rolled his eyes. “Ally Sweet, picture perfect.”
“Stop, that’s not what I said.” Ally took a slight step back as he locked his eyes to hers.
“No? It’s what you want though, isn’t it?” He took another sip of his coffee. “No room for anything messy in your life. Are you just going to pretend that fight with Luke didn’t happen? I was there on the bridge you know. I saw what you did, and I saw what he did.”
“Christian.” Ally narrowed her eyes. “That’s personal. It was a tense situation.”
“Don’t you mean, messy?” He arched an eyebrow, then set his cup of coffee down on the counter. “Here’s the thing, Ally, life is never perfect. Sometimes we make bad choices, sometimes terrible things happen, and sometimes we feel things we think we shouldn’t.” He held her gaze. “It’s all kinds of messy, and pretending it’s not, doesn’t make it any neater.”
“You have the wrong idea about me, Christian.” Ally stared straight back into his eyes, though her heart raced as she did. “I know what messy is. I’ve had horrible things happen, and I’ve made some less than stellar choices in my life. The difference is, I love my life for every messy part of it. I have more than most could ever dream of having, and I know how to be grateful for it.”
“If you say so.” Christian finished the last sip of his coffee. “I didn’t mean to rile you up.” He winked at her. “Though you are so cute when you’re mad.”
“I’m not mad.” Ally scowled at him.
“Oh, right.” Christian grinned at her. “Not mad at all. Do me a favor, let me know if you find out who won. I think it would be a good inspirational piece, it might brighten the spirits of Blue River a bit.”
“Sure.” Ally managed a tight smile then counted the seconds until he stepped out the door. Christian had a way of getting under her skin, and though she wasn’t quite sure why, she often found herself in a war of words with him. Still, she respected his need to get to the truth, and she knew that as long as he was digging, he would find his way there eventually. It did brighten her mood to think that someone in Blue River might be a millionaire. But if so, why were they hiding it? Did they think people would ask them for money? Did they even know they had won? She didn’t have long to dwell on it before the door to the shop swung open again. In walked Mrs. Bing, Mrs. Cale, and Mrs. White.
“Ladies.” Ally smiled at them, actually relieved to see them. “I’ve just made some fresh coffee, let me get you some.”
“Oh no, it’s too late in the afternoon for me.” Mrs. White waved her hand.
“I’ll take some.” Mrs. Cale settled on one of the barstools.
“Me too.” Mrs. Bing chirped as she sat down beside her. “I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight, anyway.”
“Are you doing okay?” Ally poured two cups of coffee.
“A little wound up.” Mrs. Bing glanced at her friends. “I think we all are.”
“Me especially.” Mrs. White bit into her bottom lip. “I keep thinking about the last things I said to Martin. They weren’t exactly kind.”
“But they were true.” Mrs. Cale accepted her cup of coffee and smiled at Ally.
“I just heard from Christian that we have a big winner in Blue River.” Ally glanced between the three. She hoped that a bit of good news would steer the conversation to brighter things for at least a little while.
“Oh, we’ve been talking about it all morning. We heard about it at the diner.” Mrs. Bing grinned. “I’ve checked my ticket three times, just in case.”
“Just in case the numbers magically changed from the first time?” Mrs. White raised an eyebrow.
“Honestly, I checked mine twice, too.” Mrs. Cale laughed. “I couldn’t help it. I mean, who could wait this long to turn in that ticket?”
“What if someone lost it?” Mrs. Bing clutched at her neck. “Could you imagine? What if you knew that you had the right numbers, but you couldn’t find it? I would
be so upset.”
“I would tear apart everything I owned.” Mrs. White tapped her finger on the counter top. “And everything everyone I know owned.”
“All this after you went on and on about the pointlessness of lottery tickets.” Mrs. Cale shook her head.
“Look, lottery tickets may be pointless, but that kind of cash isn’t.” Mrs. White chuckled.
Ally smiled at the sound of her laughter. It was exactly what she wanted to hear.
“I’d love to buy an island.” Mrs. Cale closed her eyes. “Somewhere far from anything stressful.”
“Stress follows you.” Mrs. White frowned, then looked at Ally. “Any news on the investigation?”
Ally’s heart sank as she realized that her attempt at lightening the mood hadn’t lasted.
“Not so far. It’s tough to figure out.” Ally poured herself a cup of coffee. “But Luke is working hard on it.”
“I saw the two of you on the bridge.” Mrs. Bing tipped her head to the side. “Everything okay with you?”
“Yes, it’s fine.” Ally shrugged. “I’m just glad that Henry is okay. He gave me quite a scare.”
“A sure sign of a guilty conscience.” Mrs. White pursed her lips.
“Maybe, or maybe between grieving for his friend and knowing that he delivered the fatal blow, he just couldn’t handle it.” Ally frowned and took another sip of her coffee.
“I can’t even imagine,” Mrs. Cale whispered as she gazed down at a piece of chocolate in her hand.
“It’s sad. All of it’s just so sad.” Mrs. Bing sniffed.
“Yes, it is.” Charlotte nodded to the three patrons as she stepped out of the kitchen. “For everyone involved.”
“I hear Jeff is having a very difficult time.” Mrs. White looked straight at Charlotte. “What do you make of that?”
“He’s in a tough situation. But he’s a very strong man.” Charlotte looked back at her.
Ally watched the two as unspoken tension grew between them. She couldn’t quite understand why it existed.
“It’s good he has you to look out for him.” Mrs. White stood up and headed for the door. “I think I need a rest.”