by Cindy Bell
“You have betrayed me for the last time.” Martin crossed the distance between himself and Henry, then paused right in front of him. “I gave you every chance to make things right, and you squandered each one. Now you’re going to pay the price.”
“What will you do?” Henry stared hard into Martin’s eyes. “Will you have me locked away? Ruin my life? What makes you so special, that you get to judge me?”
“Your envy has blinded you. You are a fool!” Martin’s shout carried through the entire auditorium.
“I am a fool?” Henry suddenly pulled a dagger from his waistband and thrust it into Martin’s stomach. “No, you are the fool!”
“I was always your friend.” Martin gasped out his words, then collapsed to the floor.
“It looks so real.” Ally tightened her grasp on Luke’s hand as the lights dimmed over the stage. Luke suddenly jumped to his feet and bolted towards the stage. The auditorium lights turned on as the curtain dropped. An instant later someone on stage screamed.
Confused, Ally followed after Luke. She heard another scream, and then Leanne ran in front of the stage.
“Everyone, please remain calm and exit the auditorium through the lobby doors in an orderly fashion. Please remain in the lobby until you are given permission to leave.” Leanne looked over the audience. Although her expression appeared calm, Ally could detect the panic in the swift movement of her eyes. While the crowd headed for the lobby doors, Ally bounded up the side of the stage instead. She peered past the curtain and spotted Luke with his knee in Henry’s back as he handcuffed him.
“Luke?” Ally gasped, too shocked to think straight.
“Ally, you shouldn’t be back here.” Luke shot her a sharp look as he stood up.
Ally’s gaze shifted from him, to the other person sprawled across the floor. Martin. He hadn’t moved from the position he had crumbled to after Henry stabbed him in the stomach. Ally’s heartbeat quickened as she realized that he wasn’t even breathing. A pool of blood had formed around his torso. Paramedics rushed the stage from the other side.
“It’s too late.” Luke shook his head.
Ally stared at him, as the reality of the situation slowly set in. Martin was dead, and Henry had been the one to kill him.
Chapter 5
“Ally!” Charlotte ran across the stage towards her. “I heard the commotion, but I wasn’t sure what happened. We were all evacuated from backstage.” She wrapped her arms around her granddaughter. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay.” Ally wiped at her eyes, then steered her grandmother away from the scene on the stage. “Mee-Maw, the knife was real. Henry stabbed Martin to death in front of the entire audience.”
“What?” Charlotte’s eyes widened, she took a sharp breath. “But that’s impossible. It was a prop!”
“It wasn’t. He had the real dagger, not the replica.” Ally frowned, glanced back over her shoulder, then returned her attention to her grandmother. “I guess Henry’s envy over Martin’s success got the better of him.”
“I can’t imagine Henry doing something like this.” Charlotte clamped her hand over her mouth, then shuddered.
“Mee-Maw, we should go. Luke is handling everything. There’s no reason for us to stay.” Ally guided her grandmother down from the stage. As they walked down the empty aisles to the lobby doors, Ally squeezed her grandmother’s hand.
“It doesn’t look like anyone knows what’s happened yet.” Charlotte gazed at the crowd of people in the lobby.
“It can’t be true!” Mrs. Bing shrieked from the middle of the crowd.
“They do now.” Ally sighed as she braced herself for the panic that might follow the revelation. “Someone is going to need to say something before the rumors get out of hand.”
“It looks like Leanne is taking the lead.” Charlotte tipped her head towards the director who stepped forward in front of the crowd.
“Everyone please, can I have your attention?” Leanne waved her hands in the air until the conversations died down in the lobby. “I know that you are all wondering what happened here today. I wish I had a better answer for you, but at this time, I can only say that there has been a tragic accident. I know many of you may want to leave, but the police have asked that you remain long enough to give a brief statement. Many officers will be available to you and the process will go as quickly as possible.”
“What about the play?” Someone called out from the middle of the crowd. “Will our tickets be good for tomorrow night’s show?”
“Unfortunately, the show will not be able to go on. Refunds will be issued for your tickets. Please, be as patient as possible as the police are only here to help. I know that this is a tight-knit community and I hope that you can rely on each other for support throughout all of this.” Leanne took a deep breath, then stepped back. “That’s all I can say at this time.”
“A tragic accident?” Ally glanced over at her grandmother. “Do you really think that’s what they consider it?”
“I suppose it’s possible.” Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “Maybe Henry had no idea that he didn’t have the replica knife. Maybe it really was an accident. I think I’d prefer that.”
“How can we know, though?” Ally crossed her arms and stepped back from the crowd as several police officers filtered through the lobby. “He could claim it was an accident. But maybe it wasn’t. He certainly had motive to kill Martin.”
“Motive maybe, but why would he do it in front of an entire auditorium full of people?” Charlotte gestured to the group of people before them. “Why do it in front of so many witnesses?”
“Maybe that was the point. Maybe he thought that everyone would see it as an accident, and that if he did it out in the open, the police would assume it was an accident.” Ally frowned. “I wonder if that’s what Luke is thinking.”
“You’re about to find out.” Charlotte pointed to the door of the auditorium as Luke stepped through it.
His gaze swept the crowd, then settled on Ally.
When Ally met Luke’s eyes, she could read the tension in the shadow that darkened them. He waved her over to him. As she approached, he glanced over the crowd again. When she reached the door, he took her hand and tugged her through it. Once they were on the other side, and the door was closed, he looked into her eyes again.
“I really did want tonight to be special.”
“Luke, don’t worry about that. I just want to know what happened to Martin. Do you think it was an accident?” She searched his expression for any hint of what he might be thinking.
“I can’t say just yet.” Luke frowned as he turned away from her. “The circumstances are quite unique, and I don’t want to jump to any conclusions.”
“But you did.” Ally followed after him as he paced away from her. “You knew exactly what happened. While the rest of us sat in the audience, completely unaware, you saw that something wasn’t right. What did you see?”
“The way he fell.” Luke turned back to face her. “The way he fell, it wasn’t acted. He buckled, he didn’t just fall to his knees. That is very hard to fake. I’ve seen it a few times myself.” His brows knitted with tension. “I wish I hadn’t been right.”
“Luke.” Ally cupped his cheek with one hand, and waited until he met her eyes, then spoke softly. “You did everything you could.”
“It wasn’t enough.” Luke shook his head and drew back from her touch. “Maybe if I had been paying attention to the dagger—”
“Luke, you couldn’t have known.” Ally reached for his hand.
“I should have.” Luke drew his hand back again. “I was too relaxed. I missed it. You should go home, Ally. Take Charlotte, too, I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Luke, you can’t do this to yourself. You’re allowed to have a night off, you know?” Ally grabbed his hand, and this time didn’t let him pull away. “You’re a great detective.”
“A great detective wouldn’t have sat back and witnessed a murder.” Luke
leaned closer to her, his eyes sharp, but his voice soft. “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, Ally, and I appreciate it. I’ll call you later.”
As Luke walked away, Ally’s heart sank. He really was a great detective, but that came at a price. He held himself to standards so high that he was never satisfied with his own performance. She knew that until this murder was solved, he wouldn’t let himself off the hook. If it even was a murder. She turned towards the lobby again. That was one question that she had to find an answer to, as soon as possible.
* * *
“There you are.” Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief as Ally stepped out into the parking lot. “I texted you.”
“Oh, Mee-Maw, I’m sorry.” Ally pulled her phone out of her pocket. “I turned it off when the play began, I didn’t realize that it was still off.”
“It’s all right, I’m just glad to see you. I didn’t want to go home before I had a chance to talk to you.” Charlotte glanced over her shoulder in the direction of Jeff’s car, where he stood waiting.
“How is he doing?” Ally frowned as she gave him a quick wave.
“I think he needs to talk. But he’s not being very talkative.” Charlotte shook her head.
“Go be with him, Mee-Maw, I’ll be fine.” Ally placed a kiss on her cheek. “It’s been a rough night, we all need some rest.”
“But I don’t want you to be alone either.” Charlotte took her hand. “Ally, I didn’t see what happened, but you did.”
“I’ll be fine.” Ally smiled as she looked into her grandmother’s eyes. “Besides, I won’t be alone. I’ll have Peaches and Arnold with me. If I need you, I’ll call. I promise.”
“Please do.” Charlotte cupped Ally’s cheeks, then nodded. “I’ll see you at the shop in the morning?”
“Yes, I’ll make sure there’s some coffee ready to go.” Ally gave her a quick hug, then walked towards her car.
Charlotte walked towards Jeff’s car.
“Is Ally okay?” Jeff took her hand as she reached for the car door.
“She says she is.” Charlotte glanced back towards Ally, then looked into Jeff’s eyes. “But Ally can take these kinds of things pretty hard.”
“And you?” He held her gaze. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” She searched his eyes. “How are you handling all of this?”
“I’m not sure what to make of it. I saw it with my own eyes, Charlotte. I saw Henry plunge that dagger into Martin. He didn’t even hesitate. He didn’t even look surprised.” He rolled his eyes up towards the sky as his shoulders shook with a heavy sigh.
“I’ll drive.” Charlotte took the keys from him. “Why would Henry hesitate?” Charlotte opened the car door. “Martin was supposed to die. The knife was supposed to collapse as if it actually stabbed Martin. Maybe Henry didn’t realize the knife wasn’t fake and he didn’t realize the blood wasn’t fake.”
Jeff opened the passenger door and slid inside. As Charlotte started the car, he looked over at her.
“I don’t know if I can believe that.” Jeff grimaced, then shook his head. “Something must have tipped him off.”
“You may be right.” Charlotte backed the car out of the parking space. “If he knew what he was doing, if he knew he had a real blade, then that would explain why he didn’t look surprised, why he didn’t hesitate.” She glanced over at him as she turned onto the main road.
“It would. It’s just so hard to believe that someone would be capable of something like that.” Jeff closed his eyes. “I witnessed the whole thing and I didn’t stop it. I should have known something was happening.”
“Jeff, you’re not a psychic.” Charlotte turned into Freely Lakes. “At least, last time I checked you weren’t.” She raised an eyebrow as she looked over at him. “Unless there’s something you’re not telling me?”
“No, I’m not a psychic.” He offered a small smile.
“So, there was no way for you to predict what Henry might do. It is still possible that he had no idea what he was doing when he stabbed Martin. But whether he planned it or not, there was nothing you could have done to stop it.” She pulled into the parking space closest to her apartment. “You need to know that.”
“I appreciate you saying it, but I’m not sure that I will ever believe it. The more I think about it, the more I want it to be true, but that doesn’t make it true.” Jeff popped open his door as she pulled the keys out of the ignition. “I’m sure you want to rest.”
“No, Jeff.” Charlotte stepped out of the car, then met him in front of it. She handed him the car keys. “I want you to come in, and have some tea with me, and talk.”
“You know I’m not much of a talker.” Jeff rubbed the back of his neck and met her eyes briefly.
“Then I’ll do all the talking.” Charlotte wrapped her arm around his. “But tonight, you are staying with me.”
“Charlotte, I don’t want to impose.” Jeff started to pull back.
“Jeff, I wouldn’t ask you to stay if I didn’t want you to. As you know, the couch is very comfortable.” Charlotte led him to her door, unlocked it, then guided him inside. “I don’t want you to be alone, and to be honest.” She dropped her keys in a dish by the door, then turned to face him. “I don’t want to be alone, either. All of this has me a little shaken. There, I’ll admit it.” She cleared her throat, then clasped her hands in front of her.
“I was beginning to think nothing ever shook you.” Jeff rubbed his hands along her shoulders, then pulled her against his chest.
“Some things do.” Charlotte rested her head against the curve of his neck and closed her eyes. “Some things shake me right to the core. I am grateful that I didn’t see it happen, but I still want to know the reason it did happen, and who is responsible for it. Just about all of Blue River witnessed a terrible event tonight.”
“No one expected a fun evening to turn into a murder.” Jeff nodded as he ran his hand through her hair.
A knock on the front door of the apartment jolted Charlotte out of her relaxed state.
Chapter 6
Charlotte gazed at the door for a moment. For a few seconds she had forgotten that there was an outside world. It startled her that she had gotten so wrapped up in Jeff’s presence.
“It must be Ally.” She pulled open the door to find Luke on the other side. “Luke, is everything okay?”
“I’m afraid not, Charlotte.” He looked past her, towards Jeff. “I need to speak with Jeff, I thought he might be here with you.”
“Speak with me?” Jeff stepped forward. “Anything you need, Luke.”
“I’ve gathered that you were the one to hand the knife to Henry, is that true?” Luke stepped into the apartment, then closed the door behind him.
“I was?” Jeff’s eyebrows knitted as he thought for a moment, then he nodded. “Yes. I guess I was. Just before the play started, I was running back and forth from the props room quite often. I had forgotten that I was the one that gave it to him.” His eyes widened.
“And when you gave it to him, you didn’t notice that it was heavy? Or sharp? You didn’t realize that it was real?” Luke locked eyes with him as his expression grew stern.
“It wasn’t.” Jeff closed his eyes for a moment, then shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. I would have noticed that.”
“Jeff, the knife that Henry had was real. I have not been able to find the replica knife that was supposed to be used. You’re telling me that you’re certain you handed Henry the replica?” Luke took a step closer to him.
“If that’s what he said, then that’s what he means, Luke.” Charlotte wound her hand through Jeff’s.
“Is it?” Luke’s gaze remained on Jeff. “It’s very important that you’re certain, Jeff.”
“I am as certain as I can be.” Jeff narrowed his eyes. “I would have noticed if it felt real, I’m sure of it. But.” He cleared his throat. “There was so much happening all at once.”
“But you are certain that you are t
he one that handed Henry the knife? You didn’t give it to anyone else to hand off?” Luke glanced briefly at Charlotte, then turned his attention back to Jeff.
“Yes,” Jeff murmured. “It was me. I remember handing him the knife.” He swallowed thickly. “I said, careful, it’s sharp.” He looked up at Luke. “It was a joke.”
“Luke, is this really necessary? We are still in a bit of shock,” Charlotte said.
“I’m afraid it is.” He glanced briefly at Charlotte before focusing on Jeff. “I just have a few more questions. You knew both Henry and Martin?”
“I knew of Martin because he’s famous and I met Henry today?”
“So you wouldn’t say you were close to either of them?”
“No, not at all.” Jeff shook his head. “I barely knew them.”
“Did you spend a lot of time with Henry today?” Luke asked.
“No, I only spoke to him for a few minutes during the day. Just handing him stuff.”
“You and Martin never had any disagreements?” Luke made a note, then looked up at Jeff.
“Are you asking me if I put a real knife in Henry’s hands on purpose?” Jeff’s eyes widened as his voice raised. “Are you asking me if I wanted Martin dead?”
“That’s not what I’m asking.” Luke’s shoulders straightened, his voice grew sharp. “Calm down, Jeff, I’m just conducting an investigation here. Don’t you want justice?”
“Luke!” Charlotte gasped. “That’s enough! Can’t you see you’re upsetting him?”
“I didn’t mean to.” Luke’s jaw rippled as he took a slight step back. “Can you answer the question, Jeff? I’ve heard from several people that Martin’s ego could be a problem. Did you have an argument with him? Did you see Henry have an argument with him? Did you two plan it?”
“I’m not answering any more of your questions.” Jeff folded his arms across his chest and stared hard at Luke. “Not without a lawyer.”
