Ashley, Lara, and Will stood rock still. Sean had plated up his delicious pastries and started to pass them to the crowd, but everyone ignored him. The drama playing out was much more interesting.
Just then, Holly teetered over to her boss.
“Oh Bob, I’m so sorry,” she mewed.
Bob Hartman was still in shock. He might as well have been stone. He slowly turned and looked at Holly.
“Not now,” he warned, in a low voice.
Holly had the IQ of a banana and pushed on, totally unaware or not caring about the crowd around her.
“It’s going to be okay, we will be fine,” she purred.
Donna Hartman walked over and glared at Holly. “What do you mean, ‘we will be fine” young lady?”
“Oh, Mrs. Hartman, I meant all of us,” Holly stammered.
“That’s not what you meant,” Donna snapped. “You think I don’t know what’s been going on between you and my husband? “
The stone mask was gone. Donna Hartman had a look of fury on her face. She turned to her husband.
“Bob, we need to talk, right now!” Donna said.
Hartman stood still. He craned his neck around and saw everyone looking at him. He adjusted his tie, then cleared his throat.
“Don’t look so shocked everyone. Hartman’s Autos didn’t get to where it was without some drama from time to time. Eat, drink and be merry. And I’ll invite you all back for the party of the year to celebrate the opening of our newly expanded facility. It will be a whopper; I assure you!” Bob said.
He then put on a game face and left the room with his wife. His son Brad stood there fuming, then angrily strode out. Noel White and Mark Laughlin looked like they were ready to implode. Holly glanced around nervously and tossed her hair again.
The gossip went into overdrive, and people broke into little circles talking about what they had just witnessed. They started getting their drinks refilled and were grabbing Sean’s pastries left and right and stuffing them in their faces between hoots and hollers.
Ashley sighed. What a night. Her inkling about trouble had proven right.
Just then, her dad came up to her side and whispered.
“Honey, what did I tell you about that snake oil salesman Hartman? He sure knows how to stir up trouble. But, at least he’s gone now, so you don’t have to worry that he’ll get mad at you that we dropped by.”
Burt chuckled and took some of Sean’s pastries.
“Dad, are you okay to drive? You didn’t have too many drinks did you?” Ashley asked.
“Now honey, you know me, I’m a lightweight. Only had two. But your mom and I took a taxi just to be safe. I’m going to sneak out and take a gander at those cars out there.”
Burt then headed to the showroom.
April meanwhile, walked over to her daughter.
“Ashley, dear, what an awful ending to a perfect night. I can’t believe what I just heard. Are you ok?” April asked.
“I guess so. I don’t have time yet to think about it. I have to finish up with the guests here, then clean up,” Ashley said.
“Can I help you with anything honey? It sure looks like these people will leave a big mess behind when they leave.”
“Thanks, but I have three other people to help me. Besides, don’t want you to mess up your party dress.”
“Ok honey, if you change your mind let me know. In the meantime, I’m going to bug Sean for that cannoli recipe.”
April hailed Sean down and grabbed another cannoli.
***
Another half hour went by and gradually people started to file out of the party. Everyone was still talking about the dramatic evening. The fact was, they’d probably be talking about it for weeks or even months.
When the last person was gone, Ashley glanced around the room. Her mom was right. The place was a total mess. She started to pick up the trash. Will was already cleaning the bar.
“Hey, are your parties always like this? That was better than an action movie!”
Ashley sighed. “I’d prefer a nice quiet evening.”
“Not me! Look at these tips!” Will exclaimed. He held up a glass bowl overflowing with bills.
Ashley smiled at him. “Nice.”
Just then, Noel White staggered back into the room. He walked up to Will and muttered something.
“Hey Ash, I need to go help Mr. White for a moment. Be right back,” he said.
“Ok, but don’t stay too long.” She half glanced at Will holding up Noel as they left the room together.
Will had done a good job at the bar and kept it moving. And here she had started out the evening being worried about him misbehaving. Fretting about him was nothing compared to what had gone down.
Lara breezed by with big trash bags.
“Let’s see how fast we can get out of here,” she said.
Sean ran around scooping up the plates and platters and stacking everything to put into the van. Despite what Ashley said, her mom was helping out too.
“Mom, I don’t want you to get dirty,” Ashley said.
“Oh honey, don’t be silly, what am I going to do, stand here and watch you all clean up? Besides, your father is still out there ogling the cars,” April replied.
They all worked quickly, avoiding talking about what had happened. There would be plenty of time to talk about it later. Now they were just tired, and everyone wanted to get home. Despite their team efforts, it seemed to take forever to clean the room. The patio was still a mess. Ashley found glasses everywhere, and people had actually put half eaten plates under the chairs and in the potted plants. Ugh. Funny how people have a few drinks and forget their manners entirely.
After what seemed like a long time, Sean suddenly looked around the room, and then at Ashley.
“Hey Ash, where is your dad? And Will?”
“Goodness, yes, where is Burt? There aren’t that many cars out there,” April said.
“Besides, Will should’ve been back by now to finish cleaning the bar,” Lara grumbled.
Just then, the building alarm went off. It blared to high heaven. The noise was deafening.
“Goodness, what’s happening?” April said, nervously.
“Everyone, stay here,” Sean said.
He quickly went out down the hallway.
“Sean!” Ashley called.
“Stay there!” he shouted back.
In a few moments, they heard shouting out in the showroom. April and Lara froze. Ashley darted out into the hallway.
“Ashley!” April pleaded.
“Mom, be right back!”
Chapter Six
After what seemed like an eternity, Ashley, Burt, and Sean came running back into the room. Their faces were white as sheets.
“Bob Hartman’s dead!” Burt gasped.
“What?” April asked. Her eyes were wide as saucers.
Lara stood rock still. “Where’s Will?” she yelled.
“Yes, where is Will?” April gasped.
Ashley was trying to be strong, but she was collapsing inside. Bob Hartman dead. How?
“I’m calling 911,” Sean said.
“I have to find Will!” Lara kept yelling.
“Lara, wait! The police will be here any minute. We shouldn’t go back out there,” Ashley implored.
“He’s my brother, What if he’s hurt too?” Lara was frantic.
Just then, they heard a blood-curdling scream. Will came running back into the room. He ran for the corner and fell on the floor.
Everyone stood in shock and looked at him. Except Lara. She ran up to her brother and put her arms around him.
“Will, what happened? What happened?” Lara asked.
He didn’t speak. He just kept staring ahead. Ashley thought he looked catatonic.
“There was blood coming from his head,” Will said. He screamed again.
“Ashley, Sean, did you see that too?” Lara asked.
Ashley nodded. “Yeah, unfortunately. It wasn’t a pretty sigh
t.”
“I didn’t see you there, Will,” Burt said.
Will didn’t answer. He kept mumbling and started to rock back and forth.
“Will, when did you see him?” Sean asked. “You weren’t there when we found him.”
“Where did you find him?” April asked.
“In the alley,” Burt said. “I was out looking at the cars in the showroom, then went outside to the lot to see what they had out there. Then I needed to use the men’s room. I started looking for it and couldn’t find it anywhere. So I pushed a door, and an alarm went off, and there I was facing the alley behind the dealership. I saw him lying outside.”
Burt swallowed.
Ashley explained what she saw. “When I ran out looking for dad, I saw him and Sean standing near Hartman’s body, and he looked like he was already gone.”
“Are you sure?” April gasped. “Maybe he just fell and was knocked unconscious?”
“I took his pulse dear. I know how to do that. He’s gone.” Burt hugged his wife.
“So much blood!” Will yelled.
Lara held him tight as he rocked back and forth.
The screaming of sirens then blared through the air. The commotion as the police ran into the dealership was deafening. Everyone went out to meet them, except Will and Lara. Will was still cowering on the floor.
“Come on, Will. You have to give a statement to the police,” Lara said.
“No, no I can’t,” he sobbed. “I’ve been in trouble before Lara. You know I can’t.”
“Sorry, if you don’t come out now, they’ll come to you,” Lara said. “Let’s go.”
She took her brother by the hand, and they walked out to the lobby. Will’s eyes were darting all over the place. His hands were cold, and he was muttering to himself under his breath.
“Will, what’s going on?” Lara asked.
“I can’t talk about it, Lara. I just can’t!” He cowered as soon as they got into the room with the police and kept his head down.
Ashley blinked when she saw the police. There were a ton of cops and detectives roaming around taking pictures and collecting things. In the midst of all the activity, she spotted Detective Nate Thompson. He nodded and gave her a rueful smile.
“Hi Nate,” Ashley said. “Glad you’re here.”
“Hey, it’s Miss Shakespeare. How have you been?”
“Uh, great. Until tonight that is. What a thing to happen in Comfortville again, huh?” Ashley replied.
“Yeah, well, all small towns seem to be targets now. It’s where crooks can hide under the radar it seems,” the detective replied.
Ashley gazed at him. “I’m beginning to see that.”
“Sorry to be seeing you again under these circumstances,” Nate said.
“Me too,” she said.
“Been thinking of asking you out for a coffee at that bakery you like so we could catch up,” he said.
Sean cut in. “That would be my bakery.” He extended his hand. “Sean McDonnell, owner of Babycakes.”
“Oh yeah. I remember. How’s it going?” Nate asked.
Ashley wanted to get back to the heart of the matter.
“Uh Nate, we have a possible murder here. It’s nice to chit chat and catch up, but shouldn’t we get to the investigation?”
“Of course. I was just going to do that,” Nate replied.
“Ok everyone, I’ll need statements from all of you about tonight. What you saw, what you heard,” Nate Thompson said. “Who found the body?”
Thompson stood with his feet apart and at his full height while his eyes swept the room. He actually patted his gun.
“I did,” Burt said.
April rushed to her husband’s side.
“He didn’t kill him!” she yelped.
“Ma’am, no one said he did. With all due respect, we need to hear what transpired this evening,” Thompson said.
“April, I got this,” Burt insisted. He looked tenderly at his wife. “You go sit down until it’s your turn.”
April wiped a tear from her eye, then ran and hugged Ashley.
“Well?” Thompson said. He coughed.
Ashley remembered he always coughed before or after important questions. It must be one of his nervous ticks.
Burt explained how he was out looking at the cars, then needed to go to the bathroom, and accidently pushed a door that led outside to the back alley and found Hartman’s body there. Thompson took notes while he continued his story. Soon Thompson turned his attention to Sean, who explained how he went to look for Burt and found him outside and also examined the body.
“Examined?” Thompson asked. “Are you a doctor?”
“Uh no, I don’t mean examined like in a doctor way, I mean I looked at him and could see the blood and saw that he wasn’t moving and was getting stiff and--”
“Stop!” Will yelled. “Stop! I can’t hear this!”
Lara admonished him. “Will, get a hold of yourself. That’s enough!”
Will curled up in the chair and kept muttering to himself.
“Is he ok?” Thompson asked her.
Lara looked worried and tense. “I don’t know. I hope so.”
Thompson got all the facts straight up from Ashley about the night from start to finish, including the standoff between Hartman and the rival dealer, Jason Steppe. She also included the fact that Hartman’s daughter, Janice, had shown up with Steppe and that had really set Hartman off.
She also went into detail about things she had observed between Hartman and his employees and how strained everything had seemed at the dealership. She knew the back story was going to be important to solving the case.
“Don’t forget the wife, dear. And that loose secretary,” April added.
“Uh, administrative assistant, mom,” Ashley said.
“Secretary was what they called them in my day, and if it was good enough then, it’s good enough now,” April insisted.
Ashley gave the detective a look that seemed to say ‘we will fill in all those gaps later,’ then finished her account of what happened. Thompson cleared his throat again.
“Okay, I still have you Lara and your brother to talk to,” he stated. “Please tell me everything you saw and heard.”
“Don’t forget me,” April said, excitedly. “I have more to say about how the wife was acting and the secretary too. “
“Of course,” Thompson said. He finished questioning April, who filled him in on how Donna Hartman had confronted Holly about having an affair with her husband.
He moved on to Lara, who said she had witnessed the tension and arguments that evening as well but had remained in the back room cleaning up when the others found the body.
“So, you were all in the back party room clearing up when the murder happened, except Mr. Crane, who then found the body. Then Ashley and Sean ran out when they heard the alarm. But everyone else was back here, right?”
Silence.
Thompson then turned to Will.
Will continued his catatonic stare without answering. Lara nudged him.
“And you?” Detective Thompson asked.
Will finally spoke up. “I, uh, had gone out earlier with Noel White ‘cause he said he was feeling sick. I helped him to the bathroom. I asked him if he needed any more help and he said no, so I left. Then I went back to help everyone clean up.”
“How long would you say you were gone?” Thompson asked.
“I don’t remember. I just came back after that.” Will was trembling.
The detective looked at Ashley and Lara, then back at Will.
“Will, did you hear or see anything strange while you were bartending tonight?”
Will rocked back and forth hugging his knees and refused to look at the detective.
“Excuse me young man, but I have to get a statement from you.” Thompson urged.
“Yeah, yeah, ok, ok,” Will said.
“Maybe you might have heard or seen something working at the bar?” Thompson asked.
“Nah, nothing different,” Will said. He was still looking down.
“After you walked Mr. White out to the bathroom, did you see anything strange or see anyone following Hartman?”
All of a sudden, Ashley remembered something. During the party, while Noel had been hugging the bar, she thought she saw Noel pass something to Will, and then Will pass something back. No one else probably would have noticed that, but Ashley made it a point to keep checking out Will to make sure everything was running smoothly at the bar.
“Will?” Lara softly asked. A frown crept across her face.
Will looked up at her with tears in his eyes. He was pale and trembling. He answered Thompson again without looking at him.
“No, I didn’t see him when I helped Mr. White. I didn’t see anybody following him either.”
Thompson stared intently at Will.
“So you never talked to Hartman the entire party?”
“He just gave me his business card.” He kept staring at his sister.
“Remember when I told you, Lara, that I wanted to buy a car here someday? Well, we were talking about cars at the bar, that’s all, and Hartman gave me his card.”
“Can I see it?” Thompson asked.
Will fumbled through his pants and shirt and muttered.
“I must have lost it,” he said.
“Are you sure?” Thompson asked.
“Yeah, yeah. Afterward we were cleaning, and I must’ve thrown it out.”
Thompson stared at Ashley, then Lara. He was in between a rock and a hard spot. He had his suspicions about the boy, but he was the brother of Ashley’s best friend and Thompson knew that they had all grown up together. Ashley looked at Will, then at the ground. She didn’t dare speak at the moment. She had to think. Sean and April looked down as well.
Just then, a member of the forensics team came around the corner.
“Looks like the cause of death was a blunt force blow to the back of the victim’s head. We should have the complete autopsy results in a few days,” the forensics specialist said.
“Thank you,” Thompson said.
He turned to Ashley’s group and recited his usual spiel like a robot.
Ashley Crane Cozy Mystery Collection Page 23