by Cindy Bell
“You’re right.” Ally cleared her throat. “I was there. I know what happened. But that certainly doesn’t make you a murderer.”
“No?” Abraham licked his lips, then clenched his jaw. “I was the one that provided the murder weapon. According to the detective that just spent the better part of an hour grilling me, I hold some responsibility for the crime.”
“Is that what he said?” Ally raised an eyebrow. She couldn’t imagine Luke accusing someone who had nothing to do with the crime, but perhaps he knew something about Abraham that she didn’t.
“Not in so many words. But he wanted to know why I left the knife with them, why I didn’t keep it in my shop after the replica was finished.” Abraham sighed, rolled his eyes to the ceiling, then looked back at her. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. What was the rush? I was going to go to the play later this week and retrieve it then.”
“You didn’t want to be there for opening night?” Ally leaned against the counter. “Why was that?”
“Because I couldn’t be. I had plans last night. Plans that fell through, unfortunately, but by the time I found that out, the play had already started.” Abraham frowned. “And perhaps ended.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure they must have been important plans.” Ally looked towards the shelves behind the counter. Each shelf contained items that appeared more ancient and expensive than she had ever seen in person before. “You’re quite the collector, aren’t you?”
“It is my passion.” Abraham glanced over his shoulder at a particular chalice that she stared at. “That’s why I missed the play. I was meeting with someone about a new piece I hoped to acquire. But as I said, the meeting fell through. In fact, I haven’t been able to get in touch with her again. Perhaps the news of what happened here last night scared her off the sale.”
“What did you plan to buy?” Ally turned her attention back to him.
“This woman claimed to be in possession of an antique hand drill. I’ve recently been trying to expand my antique tools collection. It would have been the perfect addition.” Abraham shrugged. “But she vanished.”
“Don’t you have her name? Maybe I could help you get in contact with her.” Ally pulled out her phone, prepared to do some research for the man.
“No, I don’t have her name. She behaved very mysteriously. She wouldn’t give her name, and she wouldn’t agree to a place to meet, just a time. She told me she would text me a location when she was ready. But she never did. Now the number is disconnected. Actually, I never even spoke to her on the phone. Just through messages online and texts.” He narrowed his eyes. “I suspected that the item might be stolen.”
“But you still wanted to buy it?” Ally’s own eyes narrowed as she tried to fit the pieces of the story together. It sounded very made-up, no wonder Luke suspected him, if he did.
“I would have checked the registry to see if it was stolen. I have returned many stolen goods in the past. I am not a thief, nor will I tolerate thieves. But there is no way to know for sure if it was stolen without seeing it for myself.” Abraham held his hands out in front of him. “And clearly that is not going to happen now. I’m not even sure why it matters. My reputation is ruined, no one is going to want to buy anything from my shop now.” He grimaced. “I suppose worrying about that makes me look even more guilty, considering that a man lost his life.”
“Speaking of that, you said the knife was an antique, right?” Ally frowned as she walked the length of the counter. “Would it have even been sharp enough to cause such harm? I mean, how hard of a thrust do you think it would have taken in order to actually stab someone?”
“The truth is, I sharpened the knife before I turned it over to Jill.” Abraham ran his hand across his cheek. “She wanted it to be as accurate of a replica as possible, and I felt that it would be easier for her to replicate the blade if it was polished and sharpened. I can’t say exactly how sharp the blade would have been, but I do know that as sharp as it was, it probably wouldn’t have taken much force. I warned her about that when I gave it to her. I told her that I had sharpened it, and that it could easily cause harm, so to be sure to be careful with it. Clearly she wasn’t.” He slapped one hand against the counter. “I never should have loaned it to her. I only did because she used to be a student of mine.”
“A student?” Ally met his eyes. “I didn’t realize you were a teacher.”
“I offer restoration classes, and a few years back Jill began to take classes from me. She was quite talented, actually.” Abraham sighed. “No good deed goes unpunished it seems.”
“I’m very sorry that you’re going through all of this.” Ally frowned. “It’s a lot to handle. But you shouldn’t blame yourself. You couldn’t have known that the real knife would be used.”
“No, I couldn’t have. But that doesn’t change the end result, does it?” Abraham shrugged. “From all of these questions I’m guessing that you didn’t come in here because you’re interested in antiques.”
“I do find them interesting. But you’re right. I wanted to check on you.” Ally smiled. “Don’t give up now, Abraham. Your shop can rebound from this. Once the police figure out exactly what happened to Martin, everyone will calm down.”
“I hope you’re right.” He stared at her. “Perhaps you can convince your boyfriend to ease up on me, hm?”
“Excuse me?” Ally’s heart skipped a beat.
“You don’t think I know who you are?” He smiled. “Charlotte’s granddaughter, Blue River’s finest detective’s girlfriend. I know exactly who you are. Are you two playing some kind of twisted game of good cop bad cop with me?”
“No, not at all.” Ally took a breath, flustered by his sudden change in tone. “Luke has no idea that I’m here.”
“Interesting.” Abraham nodded. “Well, hopefully you got all of the information out of me that you wanted. Tell your grandmother I said hello.”
Ally headed for the door. As she stepped through it, she glanced back in time to find Abraham glaring at her. The friendly visit had not exactly gone as planned.
Chapter 8
Charlotte had just turned the sign to open, when Ally stepped back into the shop. She noticed her granddaughter’s flushed cheeks and tense expression.
“Is everything okay?”
“I’m not sure what to think of Abraham. He seemed nice at first, but then he started acting a little strange.” Ally walked with her grandmother to the front counter. “Apparently, he sharpened the blade before he gave Jill the knife. Which explains why an antique was able to cause such damage. And since it was so sharp, it wouldn’t have taken much of a thrust on Henry’s part to actually stab Martin.”
“How terrible. To think that if he hadn’t sharpened the blade, Martin might still be alive.” Charlotte shuddered. “No wonder he was acting strangely.”
“Maybe it was just that.” Ally frowned. “But I’m not so sure.”
“What are we going to do with all of these?” Charlotte gestured to the pile of boxes of custom chocolates. “Now that the play is canceled, I doubt that anyone is going to want to buy them.” She glanced back at her granddaughter and hoped that the change in subject would ease some of her frustration.
The front door opened, and Mrs. Bing, Mrs. White, and Mrs. Cale stepped inside.
“I’m so happy you’re open.” Mrs. Bing smiled. “I need candy.”
“Morning ladies.” Ally smiled at them before she answered her grandmother. “We could salvage a few of the shapes, but most of them are going to go to waste. We could put them out on the sample tray for free.” She frowned. “Usually, I like to keep only fresh chocolates on there, but it’s better than throwing them out, don’t you think?”
“Why would you ever throw them out?” Mrs. Bing gasped as she looked at the two of them. “I want to make it clear, here and now, if you ever have candy that you can’t use, it will have a safe and happy home with me.”
“And me.” Mrs. White piped up.
“Thanks ladies.” Ally smiled as she stacked a few of the boxes on the front counter. “Take as much as you would like.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t give them all away just yet.” Mrs. Cale raised an eyebrow. “We have quite the mystery brewing in this town, and that might generate some interest in these candies.”
“Oh?” Ally met her eyes. “What mystery is that?”
“A true whodunit.” Mrs. Bing nodded. “My poor Martin is gone, but he left us with a puzzle to solve.”
“Your poor Martin?” Mrs. Cale snorted. “Jill might have something to say about that.”
“No, in fact, Leanne might have something to say about that.” Mrs. White smiled. “I overheard Martin telling Leanne that he and Jill had broken up. When I was adding the final touches before the first scene of the play, Leanne suggested they have a drink after the play, and he turned her down cold.”
“Cold?” Charlotte studied her. “How cold?”
“He said, Leanne, I’ve got tropical babes waiting for me when I finish this play. Why would I ever go for anything less? Then he walked away, as if it was a joke, but Leanne didn’t look amused. She looked pretty angry.” Mrs. White rolled her eyes. “What any woman ever saw in that man, I will never understand.”
“Enough.” Mrs. Cale sighed. “No matter what your opinion is, a man is dead, and this entire town needs closure.”
“That’s true.” Ally nodded.
“What’s to know?” Mrs. White shrugged. “Henry killed him.”
“Somehow I don’t think it’s that simple.” Ally emptied a box of chocolates onto the sample tray. “I’m going to make another batch of the peanut butter buttons, we’re getting low.”
“All right, hon, that’s a good idea.” Charlotte watched her disappear into the kitchen, then looked back at the three ladies in front of her.
“Is she doing okay?” Mrs. White frowned. “I was busy backstage, I didn’t see what happened. But I know that Ally was in the audience.”
“Yes, she was. I wasn’t in the audience either, I was waiting backstage.” Charlotte poured them each a cup of coffee.
“I was late to the auditorium last night. The doctor recommended that I stay off my feet, but I couldn’t resist. I decided to come at the last minute. But by the time I got there I was too late, and I couldn’t get inside.” Mrs. Bing frowned. “I heard it was horrible.”
“It was.” Mrs. Cale pursed her lips. “I was front and center. I bought tickets as soon as they went on sale, so I could get a good seat. Now, I wish I hadn’t. I could see Henry’s face when he stabbed Martin.” She took a sharp breath. “You can say what you want, but I saw the shock in his eyes. Yes, he killed Martin, but you won’t convince me that he intended to do it.”
“You really believe that?” Mrs. White sighed and shook her head. “How else would he look? He killed Martin in front of an entire audience, did you think he would smile?”
“I’m not sure we should talk about this now.” Mrs. Bing stood up. “I’m going to the diner for breakfast. Are you two going to join me?” She picked up one of the free boxes of chocolates.
“Yes, of course.” Mrs. White stood up as well. “Thank you, Charlotte.”
“Always glad to have you.” Charlotte smiled. Before the door could close behind the three women, someone else pushed it open. Charlotte recognized her right away and picked up a coffee pot. “Hi Jill. How are you doing?” She poured her a cup of coffee.
“About as well as can be expected, I suppose.” She stared hard at the counter. “I hope you don’t mind me coming in here.”
“Why would I?” Charlotte handed her the cup. “Are you okay?” Her brows knitted together with concern.
“No, I’m not okay.” Jill’s chin trembled. “I’m not okay at all.” She finally looked up at Charlotte as her eyes filled with tears. “I think I’m going to spend the rest of my life in jail, Charlotte, and maybe I deserve to.”
“Jill?” Ally stepped out of the kitchen and into the shop. “I thought I heard your voice.” She stopped as she noticed the tears that spilled down the woman’s cheek. In high school, Jill always had it together. She did well academically, everyone wanted to be her friend, and she won medals in track and field. Ally had never seen her with tears in her eyes, and the sight surprised her.
“Ally, lock the door.” Charlotte tipped her head towards the front door.
Ally nodded silently, then made her way to the door. She turned the lock and flipped the sign to closed. Then she joined Jill in front of the counter.
“What’s going on, Jill?” Ally studied her, as for a moment she considered the possibility that Jill had something to confess. She recalled the flirty behavior between her and Martin, and her argument with Leanne earlier that morning. Had her relationship with Martin led to something violent?
“It was my job to secure the real knife. But I didn’t. I just left it in the props room. Everyone else thought I had secured it, but I didn’t. I didn’t think it would be an issue. So, I left it there.” Jill wiped at her eyes as fresh tears began to fall. “I’m the reason that Martin is dead.”
“Wait a minute, how can you know that?” Charlotte shook her head. “That knife got passed through many hands before it ended up with Henry.”
“Near the end of the play I noticed that Henry didn’t have his knife on his belt. He was supposed to wear it for the entire play. He claimed that he hadn’t taken it off, that it must have fallen off. After that somehow Henry got the wrong knife. I can only guess that someone grabbed the wrong knife off the table. I never should have left it out.” She wiped at her eyes as fresh tears began to fall. “If it wasn’t for that knife being in the room, it never would have been used to kill Martin.” Jill shook her head. “I’m sorry about earlier, Ally, I just wasn’t ready to talk yet.”
“I understand.” Ally wrapped her arm around her shoulders. “Listen, it’s not your fault that the wrong knife ended up on stage.”
“I saw how messy that room was.” Charlotte clucked her tongue. “How anyone could have found anything in there I have no idea.”
“Luke said that the real blade was never easily accessible, therefore it couldn’t be an accident that Henry ended up with it. Did he get some bad information?” Ally frowned.
“Unfortunately, yes, and that information came from me. I really thought I had locked it up, but after I had some time to think about it, I realized that I can’t remember ever actually locking it up. I think I left it on the table, because I thought maybe Abraham would be there to pick it up. Everything was just so chaotic.” Jill winced. “Now, it’s going to look like I lied when I tell the detective the truth.”
“Don’t worry.” Ally met her eyes. “We can talk to him together.” A scream from outside the shop interrupted her words. She ran for the door to see if someone needed help. As soon as she stepped outside, she noticed the street flooded with people.
“Henry is on the bridge!” Mrs. White gasped as she ran from the diner towards Ally. “He’s going to jump!”
“What?” Ally’s heart lurched into her throat. She bolted towards the bridge, as her mind spun with panic. She had to stop Henry, whether or not he was guilty didn’t matter to her in that moment, preserving life was all that mattered. As she reached the middle of the bridge, she caught sight of Henry with one leg over the railing, and another person just behind him. Her mouth grew dry as she realized it was Luke.
Luke glanced in her direction, held up one hand to stop her, then turned his attention back to Henry.
“You don’t want to do this, Henry. This isn’t the solution.”
“The solution?” Henry gave a strangled laugh. “You’re here to arrest me, aren’t you? That’s why you were headed to the hotel. I got a tip from one of the ladies at the courthouse that you were on your way.”
“Henry, the investigation is ongoing. I was just coming to talk
to you. The best way out of all of this is to talk, it’s to tell the truth.” Luke edged a little closer to him, his arms tense, ready to grab him.
“Liar!” Henry snarled, then turned his head to look at Luke. As he did, he caught sight of Ally. “Good, I’m glad you’re here to witness this, Ally. When the rumor mill asks why, you tell them, it was because of this detective! Do you hear me?”
“Look at me, Henry, not her.” Luke started to step between them.
“Henry.” Ally’s voice wavered some as she spoke up, despite Luke’s warning not to. “Henry, none of this is your fault. I know that. I know that you didn’t mean to kill your friend, Henry. If you do this, we may never find out who really did set Martin up to die. Is that what you want?” She took a slight step closer to him. “Do you want whoever did this to your friend, to get away with it?”
“I did it. I am the one who held the knife!” Henry cried out.
“Henry, give me your hand.” Luke reached for him as the man wobbled on the railing.
“Don’t you touch me!” Henry scowled at him. “You don’t believe me, I know you don’t. No one does.”
“I do.” Ally stepped up to the railing, close enough that she could grab Henry’s shirt if she had the chance. “I believe you, Henry. I have proof that someone else was involved. But if you do this, it’s not going to matter. The only way to solve this murder is if you’re alive, Henry. I know that you think your life is over, but it’s not. You have a chance to be a real hero here. You can put a murderer behind bars, but you have to be alive to do it.” She held out her hand to him as she gazed into his eyes. “Let me help you, Henry, and together we can help figure out what happened to Martin.”
“What proof?” He stared back at her. “What proof do you have?”
“You have to come down off the railing to find out.” Ally narrowed her eyes as her heart raced. She tried her best to appear calm, but her chest tightened with fear each time Henry moved.
“You’d better not be lying to me.” He swung his leg back over the railing.
