Death by Auction

by Alexis Morgan

  Abby cautioned them again. “Mind you, there was nothing inherently suspicious about Bryce talking to anyone at the auction. No doubt he ran into quite a few people he knew from when he still lived here. Don’t you agree that it would be only natural for him to want to catch up with old friends and acquaintances?”

  She waited for them to acknowledge the truth of that statement before continuing. Finally, Louise responded. “I’m sure that’s true. After all, he lived here his entire life until he left for college. His father died while Bryce was in high school, and his mother passed away a few years after that, so there was no particular reason that he would come back to town except for a special occasion like the auction.”

  Not to be outdone, Glenda added her own bit of information. “His family lived on the other side of town near the hardware store. I didn’t know Mr. Cadigan at all really, but Mrs. Cadigan belonged to the same circle at church as Louise and I do. She was a nice lady, but she had her hands full with Bryce. He was quite the scamp when he was in junior high and high school. You know, the usual hijinks common in boys that age.”

  That information was interesting, but not particularly helpful. It was time to redirect the conversation back to the mystery man she was trying to identify.

  “The guy I saw Bryce talking to looked to be in his late forties and was about five foot nine. His hair was going gray, and he wore it pulled back in a ponytail.”

  While her friends pondered that information, she replenished both their tea and the cookie supply. The ladies rivaled Tripp when it came to having a sweet tooth.

  After tossing around a few possibilities, they quickly whittled the list down to a few final names. Abby waited patiently as Glenda gave the matter a little more thought. Finally, she nodded. “We think the man you saw might have been one of the Pratt brothers. They would be about the right age, and both of them were still wearing those ridiculous scraggly ponytails the last time I saw them.”

  She reached for another cookie. “I have no idea if either one of them was at the auction, though. At least I didn’t see them. How about you, Louise?”

  The other woman shook her head. “Neither did I, but that doesn’t mean much. We pretty much spent the evening in that one area. Unless Gil or Gary happened to pass right by our table, we wouldn’t have seen them. The hall was awfully crowded.”

  Jean rejoined the conversation. “That’s true, which is a sign of how successful the auction was, Abby. You should be proud of that.”

  She was, but it wasn’t a solo effort. “I had a great team of volunteers. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

  Once again, Abby steered her friends back to the topic at hand. “So, why do you think it was more likely one of the Pratt brothers instead of the other names you were considering?”

  Louise held out her cup for a refill. “For one thing, the Pratts lived next door to the Cadigans. As far as I know, the two brothers still live in that same house.”

  Now they were on a roll. Abby should be able to find their exact address easily enough. If she drove past the house, she might be able to determine for sure that one of the two brothers was the man she’d seen with Bryce.

  She gave her friends a bright smile. “I knew I could depend on you ladies to help me out. And for the record, remember that there’s no reason to think whichever of the Pratt brothers I saw at the auction had anything to do with Bryce’s death. I’m just trying to provide Gage with the most complete information I can about what I saw that night.”

  Before the ladies could respond, the back door opened with no warning. Even Zeke failed to announce that Valerie had returned hours and hours before Abby had expected her. Glenda sat facing the door, so she was the first to realize who had just strolled into the house as if she owned it. Her horrified gasp had both Louise and Jean twisting around in their chairs to see what had caught Glenda’s attention. She pointed at Valerie and announced in dark tones, “It’s that woman!”

  For her part, Jean’s eyes widened in shock and then narrowed just as quickly into anger. She glared up at Valerie. “Abby, call the police. Tell them to hurry before she murders us right here in your kitchen.”

  Louise nodded like a bobbleheaded doll. “Even if Gage can’t throw her in jail for murdering that poor man, he can arrest her for unlawful entry.”

  Abby wanted to bang her head on the table. Again, could they be more melodramatic?

  Valerie stayed by the door as if considering making a quick exit, but Abby couldn’t be that lucky. Instead, her unwanted guest locked her sights on her. “Don’t you want to tell them I’m staying here before somebody has a stroke?”

  No, actually, she didn’t, but Abby caved in to the demands of the four sets of angry eyes staring at her. “I’m letting Ms. Brunn stay here as a favor to Tripp.”

  Evidently that was enough to put him firmly back on Jean’s bad list. She gave Valerie a scathing look and then turned back to Abby. “Seriously? He actually asked you to do that? Did they run out of rooms at the hotel, or did they just run her out, period?”

  Louise wasn’t any happier. “How can you sleep nights knowing a potential murderess is living under your roof?”

  It was far past time to put a halt to this discussion. “Ladies, I appreciate your concern, but she is a guest. Please treat her as such.”

  Valerie finally stepped farther into the room. She helped herself to a couple of cookies and got a soft drink out of the fridge. “If you charming people will excuse me, I’m going to work in the dining room.”

  Then she nonchalantly sailed out of the room, shoulders back and head held high. Abby had to give the woman kudos for having such style. She wasn’t sure she would’ve had the strength to carry off an exit like that after being accused of murder. Abby hated envying anything about Valerie, but right now she’d love to be the one working at the dining room table instead of sitting here with three women waiting for her to offer up an explanation that they’d understand.

  “The reporters were bothering her at the hotel. When she called Tripp to help her, he asked if she could use one of my guest rooms. It was that or he would have to let her move in with him.” She held up her hands to forestall any interruptions and lowered her voice to a quiet whisper. “His house has one bedroom. What would you have done?”

  Her blunt statement took the wind out of their outraged sails. While they pondered the situation, she poured herself a cup of lukewarm tea. It tasted bitter, but that could’ve just been her mood.

  “For what it’s worth, Tripp doesn’t believe she’s capable of killing someone.”

  Glenda rolled her eyes. “From what my late husband shared with me from those awful true crime books he read, I would point out that anyone is capable of murder if the circumstances are right. People can be living a normal life and then something goes wrong. All it takes is for someone to threaten their family or their livelihood, or maybe to reveal some dread secret that they can’t afford to have come to light.”

  She was right about that, and Abby should know. After all, she’d met two murderers up close and personal since moving to town.

  Glenda wasn’t done. “Having his ex-wife reappear in his life after all these years had to come as a shock to Tripp. There’s a good chance he isn’t thinking straight when it comes to her. What do your own instincts tell you?”

  Abby didn’t answer right away, preferring to give the matter some serious thought. Finally, reluctantly, she gave them the best answer she could. “I might not trust Valerie, but I do trust Tripp.”

  Her three friends exchanged glances and then nodded. Glenda gave her a sympathetic smile. “He’s never betrayed you yet, so we’ll give him and his judgment the benefit of the doubt. We’ll assume she’s innocent until proven otherwise.”

  Then she shook her finger at Abby. “That doesn’t mean we’re happy about her staying here and taking advantage of you and your hospitality.”

  Neither was Abby, which meant she needed to figure out which Pratt brother had be
en at the auction and then find a way to let Gage know the man’s identity along with Denny Moller’s. The sooner he had all the information he needed, the sooner he and his men could solve the case and Valerie could go back to California—preferably alone.

  * * *

  After that, none of them were in the mood for any more tea and cookies. Glenda left, taking Jean with her and leaving Abby to drive Louise home. The plan was that the older woman would point out where the Pratt brothers lived on the way to her house. Once they were settled in the car, Abby backed out of the driveway and then asked, “Okay, which way do we go?”

  “Drive over to Main Street and head toward the center of town. You’re going to want to turn left about two blocks past city hall.”

  Ten minutes later, they turned into the area where the Pratt brothers lived. Louise pointed toward the intersection ahead. “Turn right at the corner and then slow down. As I recall, their house is at the end of the second cul-de-sac on your left.”

  That was disappointing. If they didn’t spot either of the Pratt brothers on this trip, Abby would have to come back again. It was one thing to drive past a house on a through street. But a cul-de-sac made it more likely someone would notice her if she had to make multiple trips before she got to check out the two men.

  Crossing her fingers that luck would be with them, she turned onto their street and slowed down. “Which one is it?”

  Louise studied the nearly identical houses for several seconds before pointing toward the one at the top of the circle. “That was where Bryce’s family lived. The rambler to the left with the blue trim belongs to the Pratts. Both boys left town when they joined the navy. But when their mother became ill, Gil moved back to take care of her, and Gary returned not long after that. I would guess they inherited equal shares of the place when she passed away.”

  By that point, Abby had slowed the car to a crawl as she made the turn at the top of the circle. She looked in vain for any sign of life at the Pratt house. Short of walking up to the front door and knocking, she had no choice but to leave and try again later.

  “I’d better get you on home, Louise. Thanks for showing me where they live. Maybe they’ll be outside the next time I drive by.”

  As they headed back toward Main Street, Louise appeared to be thinking pretty hard. Abby finally asked, “Is something wrong?”

  “I’m still worried about that woman staying with you, not that I think she’s any real danger to you. I just find it very odd that she would try to rekindle some kind of relationship with her ex-husband with no warning at all. Tripp is certainly attractive enough, and he’s polite and hardworking. But why now? What happened to bring her here to our town? It’s not as if she’s ever lived here.”

  Abby couldn’t agree more. “I don’t understand why she would use the auction as a way to approach him in the first place. She lives in Los Angeles. How did she even hear about it?”

  Those were all good questions. Too bad neither of them could come up with any reasonable answers. A few minutes later, Abby pulled up in front of Louise’s place but left the engine running. “Thanks for coming over today. Even under such weird circumstances, you guys are always good company.”

  Judging by Louise’s smile, Abby’s comment pleased her a great deal. “Well, as Jean said earlier, you’ve become quite dear to all of us. Keep us posted on how things are progressing, and let me know if I can answer any more questions for you.”

  Then she let herself out of the car and started up the sidewalk. Abby always waited for her friends to get safely inside before leaving. Louise was almost halfway to her front door when she abruptly turned around and marched right back toward the car. Abby pushed the button to lower the passenger door window. “Did you forget something?”

  Louise leaned down to look in the window. “Yes, I did. We were so focused on where Gil and Gary live that I didn’t think to tell you that they have their own business. I’m not sure where their garage is located these days, but they build and repair motorcycles. That’s what their father used to do, too, but the business closed when he passed away. The boys started it up again right after they came back to town.”

  “Thanks, Louise. That’s really helpful.”

  Having delivered her message, Louise headed back toward her house. She stopped to wave one last time before disappearing inside. Abby’s mood had improved considerably. It should be easy enough to find the Pratts’ workshop. With luck, it would be on a busy enough street and Abby could make several passes if necessary without being spotted.

  Once she verified that one of the brothers was the man she was looking for, she’d bite the bullet and simply tell Gage what she’d been up to. At least she could also assure him that she hadn’t tried to do any sleuthing on her own this time other than to track down a couple of names. That should make him happy, shouldn’t it?

  Deciding she really didn’t want to know the answer to that particular question, she put her car in gear and drove away.

  Chapter Eleven

  Rather than going directly home to her unwanted company, Abby decided it was the perfect time to make a quick stop at Something’s Brewing. With luck, Bridey Kyser, who owned the coffee shop, would have a little time to visit. When she walked in, she was glad to see her friend behind the counter rather than her assistant.

  Bridey shot her a friendly smile. “Hey, Abby, I’m glad you stopped by. I’ve been thinking about you. Seth and I both wanted to congratulate you on the huge success the other night even if the evening didn’t exactly turn out as expected. Are you doing okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Honesty had her adding, “Mostly, anyway. Finding another body was pretty unnerving.”

  Her friend shuddered. “I can’t imagine how awful it was for you. I don’t know what this town is coming to for something like this to happen again.”

  She set down the cloth she’d been using to polish the glass countertop. “What do you say we forget about gloomy stuff for now and take a break?”

  “Sounds good to me.” Abby eyed the goodies in the display case. “I’ll have a piece of that peaches-and-cream coffee cake with a tall latte.”

  After asking her assistant to take over the counter, Bridey made quick work of Abby’s order and then fixed a drink for herself. The two of them sat at their usual table in the back corner. “Whew, it feels good to get off my feet for a while. It’s been extra busy today for some reason, and this is just the lull before the high school mob descends upon the place this afternoon.”

  “Sounds like I picked the right time to stop by.” Abby took a bite of her pastry and moaned as the taste of fresh peaches with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg hit her tongue. “This is absolutely delicious, Bridey.”

  Her friend looked pleased as she studied Abby over the rim of her coffee cup. “So the big dance is almost here. Seth and I are looking forward to it so much. He’s already rented his costume, and I found a vintage dress that is just perfect for the occasion.”

  She set her cup down on the table. “I can’t wait to see Seth in his uniform. How about you? With everything you’ve got going on, have you found something gorgeous to wear?”

  That was one item on her to-do list Abby had already taken care of weeks ago. “Actually, I have. I’ve been sorting out decades’ worth of junk in Aunt Sybil’s attic. I was going through an old steamer trunk last month and came across a dark green dress from the right era. The seamstress at the cleaners is making a couple of minor alterations for me.”

  “It sounds perfect. My dress is pale blue with a swirly skirt. It’s so pretty and fits like a dream.”

  “Ooh, that sounds nice. I bet Seth will love it.”

  Of course, from what Abby had seen, Seth loved his wife, period. The truth was that Abby envied the couple and their happiness. She’d had that once and missed it even if she didn’t exactly miss her ex-husband.

  Meanwhile, Bridey was talking again. “Seriously, Abby, the dance is going to be so much fun. I can’t tell you how many people h
ave come in here talking about it. In fact, I saw Zoe Brevik just yesterday. Her husband and his two buddies were complaining because they couldn’t simply wear the dress uniforms they already have from their time in the army. But when Leif came home from the costume place, he claimed he pulled off the vintage look better than the other two guys. From what she said, they’re hoping you’re having some kind of ‘best in show’ contest at the dance.”

  Abby laughed. Having met the three former soldiers on several occasions, she could just picture them all vying for top honors. “I’ll mention that idea to my committee. Regardless, I’m glad they’re having fun with the idea of a USO-style dance. I was really worried no one would want to come, but ticket sales have been great. The last I heard, we’ve almost sold out.”

  Bridey seemed delighted by that news. “From what Zoe told me, the auction also did incredibly well. I still haven’t gotten over the mayor placing the high bid for Gage Logan, not to mention Connie Pohler forking over the big bucks for a night out with Pastor Haliday.”

  That had been a definite highlight in the evening’s events. Abby was pretty sure neither man had known what hit him. “Gage seemed to be okay with going to the dance with the mayor, but I think Pastor Jack was stunned Connie would want him as her date for the evening. I know she looked really pleased with how things turned out.”

  When Bridey looked around the shop as if to confirm where her assistant was, Abby was pretty sure that she wasn’t going to like what her friend was about to say next. She was right. “I know this is probably a sore subject, but I would guess having that woman unexpectedly slap down five thousand dollars for Tripp didn’t hurt the group’s bottom line.”

  Abby said the only thing she could. “Her donation to the cause was very generous.”

  It was too much to be hoped her flat statement would head off any further discussion on the subject. Bridey immediately asked, “Is it true she’s Tripp’s wife? Because if it is, I’m not very happy with that man right now.”