by Cindy Bell
“Who was it, Jack?” Bekki pushed and stepped closer to him. She could see beads of sweat forming on his brow and knew that he was nervous about answering.
“It was Tom,” he finally said and met Bekki's eyes. “Tom stayed that night. It was the first time he was asked to, because he was usually just the driver. But I guess some of the other guys started refusing to stay.”
Bekki was stunned by the revelation. If Tom was as innocent as he said then why hadn't he admitted to the fact that Steven had asked him to stay late the night that Brad died? Her stomach twisted as she wondered if she had been wrong all along, and Tom truly was responsible for the crime.
“Why did they refuse?” Bekki sputtered out, still trying to comprehend the idea that Tom had been with Steven Sunday night.
“Because, no one wanted Steven to sell the company. Whoever buys it is only going to do one of two things, fire us all, demolish the factory and rebuild in a larger city, or cut our pay to minimum wage and work us like mules,” he shrugged and glanced away again. “None of us wanted to lie to Brad either.”
“But you never told him what Steven was up to?” Bekki asked as she watched a flicker of shame cross Jack's features.
“No,” he murmured. “I couldn't risk losing my job if Steven decided to fire me. I've got a wife and kids I support. As loyal as I was to Brad, I couldn't betray Steven either. The man is smart,” he added and narrowed his eyes. “Smart like a fox.”
Bekki arched an eyebrow at that and was about to ask him another question when she was interrupted.
“Are you here with a warrant?” Steven asked from right behind her. Bekki spun around quickly to face him, her eyes wide, and her breath short. She wondered how much he had heard.
“I'm not with the police,” Bekki sputtered quickly.
“You might as well be,” Steven replied coolly as he raked his gaze across her. “Like I told your husband, if he wants to question my employees, he'll need a warrant. Jack, I'm sure you've wasted enough company time, hmm?”
“Yes sir, sorry sir,” Jack muttered and walked back to his station. With every step he took Bekki grew more anxious. She was nervous to be alone with Steven, who she was beginning to suspect was much more manipulative than she had first assumed.
“I'll walk you out,” Steven said gruffly and directed her towards the door. As she walked beside him Bekki did her best to plead her case for being there.
“Honestly, I just wanted a glimpse at your collection of essential oils,” Bekki explained quickly. “I recently had a client who had a terrible dye job done, turned her hair orange,” she shook her head at that, and Steven offered her a sidelong glance. “I used your restoring shampoo on her hair twice and saw a marked improvement. I've never seen that with anyone else's product. So, I was very curious about what oils are included in your shampoo.”
“Is that so?” he asked and settled his gaze intently on her as he paused beside his office.
“It is,” Bekki insisted as she met his gaze as innocently as possible.
“Well, I do have a vast array of oils,” Steven admitted and then lowered his voice. “It's a bit of a passion of mine. I'm hoping to one day open my own shop.”
Bekki nodded a little and assumed that was why he wanted out of the factory business so badly.
“Well, I'd love to have a look at your collection,” Bekki said hopefully.
“No questions?” he quirked his brow slightly.
“No questions,” she promised. The arrogant smirk he usually wore returned to his lips. “All right I'll show you quickly, but then I have to make my rounds and make sure that these employees are actually working for their pay.”
Bekki bit her tongue as she was certain that the men who worked in the factory worked much harder than Steven ever had. He opened the door to his office and led her through it to a small storage room. She felt a little anxious, yet again, as she was alone with him in a small space, but she chose to ignore it.
“See?” he gestured to the small vials that lined the shelf. “A little goes a long way,” he added. Bekki ran her gaze over the collection.
“And these are all in the shampoo?” she asked, pretending to be impressed.
“Most of them,” Steven agreed. “Some of them are in other products and some are just my personal supply. Essential oils can be used medicinally, did you know that?” he asked.
“I didn't,” Bekki replied, though she had a vague knowledge of it. “How does that work?”
“Well, some are absorbed through the skin,” he explained with a shrug. “But others can be taken orally.”
“Really?” Bekki asked with surprise. “I never knew that. Are any of them dangerous?” she asked.
“A few are,” Steven admitted and then tilted his head from side to side. “They're not really dangerous, but anything can be toxic if ingested in large quantities.”
“Good point,” Bekki agreed and then laughed. “So, no drinking the shampoo?”
“I wouldn't recommend it,” Steven chuckled and seemed to relax in her presence. Bekki surmised that as long as her focus was on him he was pleased. He struck her as a bit of a narcissist. A narcissist with an alibi. Which reminded Bekki, that Tom was now her prime suspect. She needed to talk with him again and find out why he was hiding things from her. She looked over the oils once more and then smiled at Steven.
“Well, I've taken up enough of your time. I hope that we can continue our business relationship,” she added. “You know, Nick is just doing his job. He wants to find out what happened to your brother.”
“And I want him to find out, too,” Steven agreed as he walked her towards the exit of the factory. “But I doubt that anyone here committed the crime. The only reason I didn't volunteer the employees for questioning is because it seemed like a waste of my time and that of the police. Time is money in this business,” he added.
“I understand,” Bekki nodded. “I'm sorry if I interrupted production.”
“I'll let it slide, this time,” Steven chuckled again and Bekki managed a smile in return. The more he laughed, the less she liked him.
Chapter Six
As Bekki drove back towards Harroway, she decided she would kill two birds with one stone. She knew that Doug’s Bar opened up around lunch time. She dialed Tom's number.
“Hello?” he answered in a miserable tone.
“Tom,” Bekki replied in a cold tone. “We need to talk.”
“What's wrong, Bekki?” Tom asked nervously.
“I think you know what's wrong, Tom,” Bekki replied in a clipped tone. “I don't understand why you lied to me.”
“Bekki,” Tom sighed. “I just...”
“Don't, I want to talk to you about it in person,” Bekki said firmly. She had more chance of telling if he was lying if she saw his face. She had nearly convinced Nick that he was innocent, and it was going to make him look bad if it turned out that Tom really was the killer. “Can you meet me at Doug’s Bar?”
“Sure,” Tom reluctantly agreed. “Tonight?”
“No, now,” Bekki said and glanced at the digital clock on her dashboard. “In twenty minutes.”
“Okay, I'll be there, Bekki. It's not what you think,” he insisted.
“All I think right now is that you didn't tell me the whole truth, Tom, so let's fix that,” Bekki replied in a disappointed tone. “I'll meet you there,” she added as she hung up the phone. When Bekki reached Doug’s, the parking lot was nearly empty. She didn't see Tom's car there just yet so she parked and decided to give Sammy a call.
“How's everything going?” she asked.
“Great,” Sammy replied happily. “Minnie came back in and her color is much more muted. I washed it twice and I think we can tone it tomorrow.”
“Excellent,” Bekki sighed with relief. If anything good came out of all of this, it would be that amazing shampoo. That reminded her of the oils she had just seen. “Sammy, can you text me the ingredients in the restoring shampoo? Or just snap a pict
ure and send it over?”
“Sure, is something wrong?” Sammy asked nervously. “Because I've been using it on lots of customers.”
“No everything's fine,” Bekki replied quickly. “I'm just curious about what's in it. Steven showed me his collection of oils and said some were in the shampoo and some weren't. Just wondering which ingredient is working its magic. If he ends up selling the company that shampoo might just go out of our price range.”
“Good point,” Sammy laughed. “I'll send it right over.”
“Thanks,” Bekki said as she stepped out of her car. Tom was still nowhere in sight. She walked into the bar to find Doug and two customers inside. The two customers were locals who were there more for the company than the alcohol.
“Hi Doug,” Bekki smiled as she walked up to him.
“Bekki, another visit?” Doug asked happily. “I'm honored. What can I get for you?”
“Just some ginger ale,” Bekki requested as she settled in at the bar. “I'm meeting someone here.”
“Nick?” Doug asked as he poured her soda.
“No,” Bekki replied awkwardly.
“Oh, sorry,” Doug frowned as he set the glass down. “I didn't mean to be nosy.”
“It's fine,” Bekki smiled. “I was hoping to be nosy myself, actually.”
“Oh, more questions?” he asked.
“Yes, I talked to my dad, and he remembered what time Steven came in on Sunday night, but he couldn't remember what time he left. He said everyone went home in a cab. Do you know if Steven did, too?”
“Honestly, it was strange, Bekki,” Doug shook his head. “A lot of the guys around here are like family to me, and I've never seen them get so sloshed. I guess it was so busy I wasn't paying attention to how many drinks everyone had. Usually I'm pretty good about that.”
“What about Steven?” Bekki's eyes narrowed. “Did he have too much?”
“I don't remember him ordering anything after that first round,” Doug frowned and rubbed a towel along the bar. “But I can tell you this, he didn't leave in a cab. I know because I made the calls for the guys, and I didn't make one for him.”
“So, he left before them?” Bekki asked hopefully.
“He must have,” Doug said thoughtfully. “I wish I could be sure, but once everyone started acting so drunk, I had a hard time keeping track of things. I just assumed he left around closing with everyone else.”
“When he ordered that first round, did you think it was strange?” Bekki leaned forward against the bar.
“It was strange for Steven,” Doug nodded. “First of all, he was not a regular in here. I only knew of him because I'd served his brother a few times. Also, when he ordered the round he insisted on handing out the beer to everyone.”
“You mean he gave everyone their drink?” Bekki asked with surprise. She couldn't imagine Steven doing something so service oriented.
“Yes, I said I would do it, but he insisted. I just figured he wanted to act like a big guy, and get all the thanks from everyone,” Doug shrugged and glanced up as the door of the bar opened. Bekki turned to see Tom walking in nervously. “Should he be here?” Doug asked Bekki quietly.
“I invited him,” Bekki nodded. She knew that word had spread around town that Tom was the prime suspect in Brad's murder. She stood up and met Tom in the middle of the bar.
“Let's get a table,” she suggested when he refused to even look at her. She led him to one of the tables furthest from the bar. When she sat down, Tom hovered beside the table.
“Bekki, I'm sorry,” he said quietly. “I know how this must seem.”
“Just sit down, Tom,” Bekki gestured to the chair across from her. When Tom sat down he stared at the table.
“I guess you know by now that I know Steven asked you to stay late on Sunday night,” Bekki said calmly as she tried to meet Tom's eyes. Tom did his best to evade her probing gaze.
“I know,” he nodded a little.
“So, why did you lie to me?” Bekki asked with more confusion than annoyance. “I told you that I was on your side, Tom.”
“I just thought if I told the truth, it would make me look even more guilty,” Tom whispered and stole a glance up at Bekki. “The thing is, I didn't stay.”
“What do you mean?” Bekki pushed as she rested her elbows against the table.
“I mean, Steven asked me to stay. I didn't know why he wanted me to stay. I thought maybe he wanted me to load the truck. So I agreed. But when I saw him with this guy in a suit, I knew something wasn't right,” he sighed and shook his head. “I just should have turned around right then and left.”
“But you didn't,” Bekki frowned. “Who was the guy in the suit?”
“Steven introduced him as Mr. Blake, he said that he had an interest in the company. He asked me to show him some of the process of how the shampoo was made, and show him around the factory,” he closed his eyes briefly before gritting his teeth. “I didn't understand what it was about. So, I showed him around the best I could. I didn't work in the factory, so I could only show him some of the things, but by the time we met back up with Steven, he was smiling. He told Steven he was really interested in purchasing the company,” his voice cut off around those words. Bekki watched as the color drained from his expression. “I- I got so angry,” he stammered.
“See, Bekki, I ran into some legal problems after high school. I couldn't find a job easily. But Brad said he would take a chance on me, that he needed to have people that worked for him that he could trust. If I had known that Steven was using me to give a sales pitch, I never ever would have done it,” he shook his head and slapped one hand against the table. “I wouldn't have betrayed Brad that way. So, I got angry at Steven. I told him that he had no right to try to sell the company out from under Brad. Then Steven got angry, because I was confronting him in front of this big wig in a suit. I was so angry, Bekki,” he cringed and balled his hands into fists. “I wanted to punch Steven. But I knew I would get arrested if I did. So, I walked away.”
“You left?” Bekki asked as she tried to picture the scene in her mind. She was sure that a man like Steven would be livid that Tom hadn't bowed to his will in front of an esteemed business acquaintance.
“I did. I was supposed to finish loading the last boxes into the truck, I knew that Steven would be furious, but I just couldn't be there any longer. I left as quickly as I could,” he sank back in his chair and shook his head. “I was sure that Steven was going to fire me. So,” he cleared his throat and he looked up at Bekki, “I called Brad.”
“What?” Bekki asked with widened eyes. “Tom! Did you talk to him?” she demanded. She was getting more and more irritated that Tom had held back so much information.
“I did,” Tom rubbed his hands across his face. “I was in a panic. I didn't want Brad to think I wasn't loyal, and I didn't want Steven to fire me. So, I thought if I told Brad the truth, if I told him what Steven was doing, that he would protect me.”
“What did Brad say?” Bekki asked breathlessly.
“He was quiet, for a long time. Then he said to make sure I showed up for work on Monday morning, and that he would handle everything. He told me not to worry, Bekki,” Tom grimaced as he looked away from her. “He didn't live through the night, but he told me not to worry.”
Bekki sat back and let the information that Tom had just given her sink in. It changed everything. If Brad had gone to the factory to confront his brother, then that was likely where the murder had taken place. Was it possible that this Mr. Blake was involved somehow? Maybe he wanted to buy the company so badly that he decided to eliminate the stumbling block, Brad.
“Do you remember what time you left, Tom?” Bekki asked hopefully. She knew that Steven arrived at the bar at about ten past nine. She wondered if Tom could fill in the gaps as to where he was until this time.
“It was about just after eight,” Tom nodded. “I know because I thought about the pay I would be losing. I looked at my watch, and saw it wasn't
too late to call Brad. That's when I called him,” he paused a moment and then pulled out his phone. “Here I can get you the exact time,” he scrolled through his calls. “It was seven minutes after eight,” he said as he looked up at Bekki. “At that point I was in my car in the parking lot.”
“Did Brad say he would be going to the factory?” Bekki asked.
“No, if he had I would have stayed. I was so stupid I should have realized that he would come to the factory and I should have stayed. I mean, Steven was furious with me, but I would have been there for Brad,” he sighed and shook his head. “I just never should have agreed to stay late.”
“So, when you left, Steven and Mr. Blake were still in the factory?” Bekki pulled out her phone to make a few notes on it.
“Yes, Steven was apologizing to him for my outburst. Mr. Blake said he was going to leave, but Steven suggested they look at the oils he used in the shampoo, and Mr. Blake seemed interested after that. I don't know for sure because I was already walking out. Look, Bekki,” he glanced up at her, “I'm sorry for not telling you all of this up front, but I was already in so much trouble for having Brad's body in the truck, I was sure that if I told the truth I would be convicted.”
“You're not out of the woods, yet,” Bekki said with a scowl. “Right now all you have is your word against Steven's. But,” she paused a moment and met his gaze, “I can understand why you lied. The important question is why did Steven? He never mentioned anything about being at the factory late, or you being there.”
Tom shrugged and then shook his head. “I can't make sense out of any of it, Bekki. All I know is that a good man is dead, and I can't help but feel partially responsible for it.”
“The only person responsible for it is the man who committed the crime, Tom,” Bekki's voice was stern as she spoke each word carefully. “Can I buy you a drink?” she asked.
“Sure, I guess,” Tom sighed. “Might be one of the last I get to have as a free man.”
“Don't think that way, Tom,” Bekki clucked her tongue. “I believe you. Even if you did lie to me, I know that you didn't kill Brad. Just sit tight,” she stood up and walked over to the bar to get Tom a drink. As she walked over she noticed that Doug was scrubbing hard at some beer mugs.