Death on Tap

by Ellie Alexander

  “What?” He ran his hands through his disheveled hair and stared at me. “Is this like some kind of practical joke? Welcome to Leavenworth, you’ve been pranked?”

  I shook my head.

  Garrett’s face turned ashen. “What? A body?” He moved toward the fermenter.

  Police Chief Meyers held out a beefy arm to stop him. “Back up. I’m gonna need you to step back. This is a crime scene.”

  Giving me an incredulous look, Garrett ran his fingers through his unruly hair, again. “Wait, a crime scene. I thought you said this was an accident.”

  “The last time I checked, I don’t think many people accidentally find their way into a tank this size.” Police Chief Meyers scowled. “Walk me through what happened last night.”

  Garrett repeated what I had told her almost verbatim. She made a couple of notes and then asked, “Did you hear anything last night?”

  “No. Nothing. I crashed after Sloan left and I closed up. It’s been a stressful few weeks getting everything off the ground, so I took a sleeping pill and was out cold.”

  That explained his sloppy appearance and bloodshot eyes. Somehow, Garrett didn’t strike me as the sleeping pill type.

  “What time was that?” Police Chief Meyers asked.

  “Maybe around one.”

  “And did either of you check this equipment before you left last night?”

  I looked at Garrett and shrugged. “Not me.”

  “Me neither,” he seconded.

  “Why don’t you both wait right here. I’m gonna take a better look around while I wait for the coroner to get here.”

  We nodded and watched as Police Chief Meyers carefully scanned the brewery. My breath caught in my chest when I noticed her bend over and pick up Mac’s lighter. Why hadn’t I kept it?

  “This belong to either of you?” she asked over her shoulder.

  Garrett and I both shook our heads. I debated whether or not I should tell her it was Mac’s.

  She held it out in front of her. “I know these initials.” She turned to me. “Was Mac here last night?”

  “He was,” I replied. “Up at the bar anyway. He wasn’t back here last night, although he was yesterday afternoon.”

  She mumbled something I couldn’t make out and stuck the lighter into a plastic evidence bag. “Word is that he’s not very happy you’re working here. Leaving Der Keller for the enemy.”

  I wasn’t sure what she was getting at. She couldn’t possibly think that Mac had something to do with Eddie’s death, could she? Mac was a cheating scoundrel, no doubt about that, but he wasn’t a killer. Or was he? How well did I know my husband? After what he’d done, I was beginning to wonder if I knew him at all.

  “Mac can be as angry as he wants,” I said. “And you know how things work around here. Everyone freaks out when something—or someone—new comes to town, and then two minutes later, it’s like they’ve always been here. Plus, I’d hardly call us the enemy. Our operation is a sliver of what Der Keller is producing.”

  She raised a bushy eyebrow and stared at me with her quick eyes. “Not an unwelcome coincidence that his new competitor is gonna be shut down for a while right after opening, is it?”

  “Shut down?” Garrett chimed in. “You’re shutting us down?”

  Police Chief Meyers nodded at the stainless steel tank. “Don’t think many folks around here are going to be interested in drinking that beer. As soon as the coroner arrives, we’ll remove the body, but I don’t know when I can let you open up again. Could be later today. Could be a day or two. It depends on what the coroner has to say, what our window for time of death is, and how long it takes my guys to sweep the scene.”

  “Understood.” Garrett let out a long sigh. I couldn’t blame him. Last night had gone so well, and the entire town was buzzing over his new beer. Having to close for any extended period of time would put a damper on the energy we’d built. Of course Eddie’s death would cast an even darker gloom on Nitro.

  “It’ll be okay,” I tried to reassure him. “Everyone loved your beer. No one is going to give up on us just because they have to wait a few days for another pint.”

  He gave me a halfhearted smile. “Yeah, I hope you’re right, but we’re going to have to dump that entire batch. That’s going to take a while to brew again.” His pupils went wide with disbelief. “What am I saying? A man was killed in one of my tanks. How are we going to recover from that?”

  He was right. Replacing the entire tank of beer would take a couple of weeks. Not to mention the cleaning. Would we even be able to use the fermenter? How much would it cost, and what would the delay be in getting a new one installed? I could tell that Garrett’s head was swirling with the same questions. When word got out that Eddie had been found at Nitro, that wouldn’t be good for business. Were we sunk before we’d even begun?

  CHAPTER

  THIRTEEN

  THE CORONER ARRIVED SHORTLY. POLICE Chief Meyers gave us permission to wait at the bar so that we didn’t have to witness the removal of Eddie’s body. I let out a small sigh of relief as I followed Garrett to the front of the building.

  “This is insane,” he said, pulling out a barstool for me. Bags had formed under his eyes. Or had they always been there? “It looks good in here. Did you clean already?”

  “Yeah.” I had to resist the urge to reach over and smooth his messed-up hair. “I know. I can’t believe this is happening. It feels like a bad dream.”

  He sat on the stool next to me and absently ran his hand over the bar. “Or worse.”

  “Worse?” The bar smelled of wood polish.

  “Did you get the sense that the police chief thought this might be some kind of setup?” He rubbed his temples and ran his fingers through his hair again. It must be a nervous habit, I thought.

  “I’m sure she’s going through every possibility. Chief Meyers is by the book.” Then I paused and looked at him. “Why would someone want to set you up?”

  He shrugged and pushed back his stool. Then he walked around the bar, grabbed a rag, and began polishing the already shiny keg taps. “I can’t sit still. I have to do something.”

  My question went unanswered. I watched Garrett scrub the platinum tap handles with gusto. “You don’t strike me as a sleeping pill kind of guy,” I said.

  His hand stopped for a second, but then he continued to rub the soft cloth on the tap. “Yeah, well, you should have seen me when I worked in the corporate world.”

  I waited for him to say more, but he went back to work cleaning. I picked up a salted peanut and cracked the shell, thinking to myself that Garrett was going to be one tough nut to crack. I wasn’t used to anyone keeping their feelings and words as buttoned up as me. I found it intriguing and infuriating.

  “You want a coffee or something?” Garrett asked as he neatly folded the rag and placed it next to the sink.

  “That sounds great.”

  Garrett had installed a professional coffee system in the bar. It was a smart move, not only for customers looking for something aside from beer to drink, but also to help sober up anyone who had consumed one pint too many. He also stocked a small selection of Yakima Valley wines for people who preferred wine to beer. The Yakima Valley growing region was known throughout the world for producing spectacular and award-winning wines. Once a struggling farming community, the valley had transformed in the last three decades. Thanks to fertile soil and Eastern Washington’s abundant sunshine, winemakers began planting cuttings of vines, which quickly put them on the global wine map. The area attracted wine enthusiasts from all over the world with over fifty wineries and vineyards offering artisan wines and a variety of events from harvest celebrations to crush weekends.

  While Garrett brewed a pot of coffee, I munched on handfuls of peanuts and Doritos. I wasn’t even hungry, but like Garrett, I had to do something to keep my mind off what was happening in the brewery.

  “Did you know Eddie well?” Garrett asked.

  “Not really.” I chewe
d a salty peanut. “He’s been brewing for Bruin for a while, but he wasn’t into the Beervaria scene. He rarely came downtown.”

  Garrett removed a container of cream from the built-in fridge below the bar. “I got that impression last night.”

  A knock sounded on the front windows. I turned to find April Ablin waving wildly. She wore yet another barmaid costume. This one was black, red, and white. The skirt barely covered her backside, and the red bodice was cut so low that her chest was squished up to her neck. White ruffled thigh-high socks and garish red lipstick completed her outfit.

  She caught my eye and pointed to the door. Open up, she mouthed.

  April Ablin was the last person I wanted to see this morning. I thought about ignoring her, but she continued to bang on the window.

  “You don’t have to let her in,” Garrett said as I moved toward the door.

  “I know, but trust me, she’s relentless. She’ll never go away on her own.”

  He shrugged and reached for two coffee cups.

  I twirled one of my braids and squared my shoulders before facing April. “What do you need, April?” I asked, intentionally opening the door halfway and blocking her from entering.

  She stood on her tiptoes and peered over my shoulder. “I saw Chief Meyers’s squad car and noticed the county coroner’s van parked outside.” Then she stared at me. “Oh, Sloan, you’re a mess. You look awful. Just awful.”

  “Thanks.” I glanced at my flannel shirt, which was splotched with water and dish soap. I probably was a mess, but I wasn’t about to fall victim to April’s tactics. I knew that she was trying to get me to talk.

  “So is the coroner inside?”

  “Yeah.” I tried to stay as noncommittal as possible. Once April had word of what had happened to Eddie, the entire town would know.

  Her gaudy lipstick made her face appear yellow. “What’s going on in there, Sloan?”

  “There’s been an accident.”

  She threw her hand over her mouth. “An accident. My God, what kind of accident?”

  I stood my ground. “Chief Meyers is taking care of it.”

  Moving to the left and then right to try and get a look inside, April ducked and then stood on her toes again. “Sloan, you are the most tight-lipped person in this town. This is no time for your private and superior attitude. I know that something is going on in there.”

  Was that how people saw me? As superior? April’s words stung. I knew that I was private, but I’d never considered that anyone would interpret that as having a superior attitude.

  “April, I can’t let you in. Chief Meyers has instructed us to wait for further details and not to speak to anyone. That’s all I can tell you right now.”

  She glared and made a huffing sound. “Fine, but I’m not done here. It’s my duty as Leavenworth’s ambassador to know everything—everything—that’s happening in town.” With one final huff, she spun around and stormed across the street.

  “That went well,” Garrett said, handing me a cup of dark black coffee.

  “April likes being in the know.”

  “Yeah, I got that.” He pointed to the cup. “Do you want cream or sugar?”

  “No. This is great.” I inhaled the scent of the bold coffee and tried to shake off April’s comment. Was that why Mac had cheated on me? Did he think I was cold or snobbish?

  “Don’t let her get to you,” Garrett said.

  “What?”

  “I heard her comment. You’re not superior. She’s trying to get under your skin.”

  “Thanks.” I took a sip of the coffee.

  He walked back around the bar and picked up his cup. “I know the type. Trust me, in the corporate world, that’s how most people operate.”

  I was genuinely touched at his attempt to make me feel better and was surprised that he had picked up so much from my short conversation with April. Before I could ask him more about his time in Seattle, the coroner and his team brought Eddie’s body out on a stretcher.

  CHAPTER

  FOURTEEN

  WITHOUT A WORD, GARRETT REACHED across and grabbed my hand. I squeezed his warm and rugged hand back in response and turned my head away as they removed Eddie’s body from the bar. My stomach lurched. The coffee tasted bitter in my mouth. I wanted to shut my eyes and make everything that had happened in the last hour disappear.

  Garrett must have sensed my discomfort, because he clasped my hand tighter. His touch sent a calming vibe through my body. “It’s done,” he whispered a minute later and released my hand. I didn’t want to let his hand go, but I nodded and swallowed hard.

  “All right,” Chief Meyers said, lumbering toward us and breaking the silence. “That’s taken care of. I want a few minutes with each of you in private.” Her walkie-talkie crackled again. She twisted the dial on top and hardened her gaze at Garrett. “Your office, let’s go.”

  Garrett held up the carafe of coffee. “Would you like some, Chief?”

  She declined with a brisk shake of her head. “Nope. I want a word in your office—now.”

  He caught my eye as he followed her. I was used to her abrupt and slightly abrasive style, but I knew that Chief Meyers loved Leavenworth even more than April Ablin did. Garrett shouldn’t have anything to worry about—at least I hoped that was the case. Trying to keep my mind off of Eddie, I finished my coffee and tidied up the bar. The chief and Garrett returned a few minutes later.

  “Sloan, come with me,” Chief Meyers demanded, giving Garrett a nod. “I’ll take that coffee now.”

  Garrett poured her a cup. I wanted to flee to the comfort of the farmhouse and my favorite pair of flannel pajamas, but instead I took a final swig of coffee and headed with her to the office.

  She pushed a stack of papers to the side of Garrett’s desk, rested the steaming cup, and flipped open her notebook. “Okay, let’s get down to business.”

  I sat and waited for her to ask more.

  She stared at me and tapped a pencil on her notebook. “You gonna talk?”

  “About what?”

  “Sloan, you know what I’m gettin’ at.” Her sharp, eagle-like eyes seemed to penetrate through me.

  “I’m not sure that I do.” I stared at Garrett’s beer formulas on the wall. That wasn’t exactly true. I had a feeling she was hinting at Mac, but I wasn’t going to throw him under the bus.

  Frowning, she tapped a yellow pencil on her notebook. “Your husband.”

  “Mac?”

  “Look, I know how the rumor mill works around here, and I know it’s gotta be tough for you.” Her face softened, making her almost attractive. Chief Meyers was Leavenworth’s first female police chief, and she had won the respect of her male peers and the community from her no-nonsense attitude and no-frills style. I could relate. Decades of working in a profession dominated by men had made me have to work twice as hard to prove myself. Things were changing in the world of craft beer. For three years in a row, Beer Magazine had awarded a woman brewer their highest honor—Brewer of the Year. But I guessed that Chief Meyers, like me, had run into her fair share of doubters and chauvinists over her career.

  I winced at the fact that news of Mac’s indiscretions had made it to the chief. At least she was kind about it, unlike April. She continued. “Garrett said something about a break-in here and that Mac was hanging around, trying to get him to hand over a recipe. What do you know about that?”

  “That’s right.” I went on to explain how I had bumped into Mac on his way out from offering Garrett cash for his citrus IPA recipe, and then how the office had been ransacked.

  She jotted down notes and slurped her coffee while I spoke. When I finished, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the plastic bag with Mac’s lighter. “You recognize this?”

  I nodded. “That’s Mac’s lighter.”

  “Exactly.” She made another note.

  Her cursive scrawl was too hard to decipher, but I made out the word “suspect” next to Mac’s name in her notebook. “You don�
�t think Mac had anything to do with Eddie’s death. You’ve known the Krause family longer than me. Mac and I aren’t exactly on the best terms right now, but he’s not violent.”

  She cleared her throat. “Jealousy can make people do crazy things, Sloan.”

  “Mac’s not jealous. He’s having a fling with a twentysomething barmaid. If anyone should be jealous, it’s me.” I tapped my boots on the floor.

  “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’d say he’s been sniffing around here a lot for someone who isn’t jealous, and the bad news for him is that right now all the evidence points in his direction.”

  “You mean the lighter?”

  “That and the physical nature of the crime. The coroner thinks that someone bashed Eddie on the head and then dumped him into the fermenter. That had to take some muscles, and Mac has muscles.”

  I couldn’t believe that I was having to defend my cheating husband. “But why would Mac kill Eddie?”

  “Not sure. It’s my job to find out.” She closed the notebook. “I’m off to find that husband of yours and see what he has to say for himself. Do me a favor and keep an eye on that new boss, too.”

  “Wait, you think Garrett could be involved, too?”

  “You tell me. What’s a big-city guy from Seattle doing here? Seems pretty strange that he shows up in town and we have our first murder in decades, doesn’t it?”

  I’m sure my expression must have given away my shock. I could feel my jaw slacken. “He’s a brewer, and he wanted to start his own place. He couldn’t do that in Seattle, and he inherited this building from Tess.”

  She shrugged, obviously not in agreement with my defense of Garrett. Chief Meyers was a fair police officer, even if she was a bit rough around the edges, but I couldn’t believe she was including either Mac or Garrett on her suspect list. Then again, as long as I’d lived in Leavenworth, there had never been a murder, so maybe this was standard operating procedure.

  “He’s an outsider, and he’s playing his cards close to the chest. Why does everything have to be locked up? What’s his paranoia about his recipes? You’re a sharp one, Sloan. Keep your eyes open for me. Once I have a time of death from the coroner, I’ll be back in touch.”