Death by Auction

by Alexis Morgan

  She paused to think back over the evening. “After that, he visited with another man I didn’t recognize. The two of them looked to be about the same age. Bryce also talked to Mrs. Alstead, that retired teacher. I saw her as I came back in. I think she’s taking his death pretty hard, but that’s understandable.”

  Then her gaze drifted over toward the door to where Tripp and Valerie were standing. “The last person I saw Bryce with was Valerie. He could’ve talked to other people, but right now those are all I can think of. My mind is feeling pretty fried right now.”

  “That’s okay. This is a good start.”

  She gave his notebook a pointed look. “What happens next?”

  “I’ll take a quick statement from you while my men get contact information on everyone who was still here at the time of the . . . death.”

  That slight hesitation had Abby sitting up straight, a frisson of dread dancing along her nerves. “You almost called it something else, didn’t you? Do you know how he died?”

  Gage glanced around the immediate area as if making sure that no one was paying any attention to their conversation. A few people were watching from a distance, but there was enough ambient noise that it was doubtful they could make out anything Gage and Abby were saying.

  “We can’t assume it was natural causes, especially considering his age. Until we know differently, we treat everything as suspicious. The coroner won’t have a definitive answer until he finishes the autopsy and any other tests are completed. For now, we will proceed with our investigation, which includes interviewing everyone Bryce talked to while he was here. We’ll try to track his movements while everybody’s memories are fresh.”

  She shuddered. “Starting with me, I suppose.”

  Gage stared at her with those lawman’s eyes of his that always seemed to see far more than she wanted them to. “Sorry, but yeah. How well did you know him?”

  At least he’d started off with an easy question. “Not well at all. A subcommittee on the veterans group researched possible emcees for tonight’s event. Bryce topped the list because of his connection with Snowberry Creek. As the committee chair, I’m the one who offered him the contract. After that, we talked on the phone a couple of times, but mostly we communicated by e-mail and text. If you want copies, I can print them out for you.”

  She glanced at the stage, where Bryce had stood only hours before. “I never met him in person until he walked through the door tonight. We went backstage to go over the final details before he got started. All told, we spent about ten minutes together.”

  “And after he was done up onstage? Did you talk to him then?”

  “No, we never spoke again. I didn’t try to catch up with him right away.”

  Mainly because she’d been reeling from the shock of learning Tripp had a wife. Well, an ex-wife, but that’s not how he’d referred to Valerie until later. That wasn’t Gage’s concern, though, so she gave him another reason for her delay in tracking down Bryce. “He seemed to be enjoying himself and catching up with old acquaintances. I figured he’d come find me if he was in a big hurry to leave.”

  “Then you saw him walk outside with Ms. Brunn.”

  “Yes.”

  She really hoped Gage would leave it at that, but no such luck. “How were they acting?”

  Abby replayed the scene in her head. “I was talking to you and the mayor when I saw Bryce walk away from Mrs. Alstead. Since it looked as if he was heading for the door, I excused myself and went after him.”

  Gage nodded as he kept writing. “And then?”

  “Ms. Brunn stepped in front of him and started talking. She looked upset . . . even angry. Bryce didn’t look happy to see her, either. He glanced around as if to see if they were drawing unwanted attention. He looked right at me and then took her by the arm and led her out to the parking lot. He didn’t give her much choice in the matter, but she didn’t try to get away from him, either.”

  She paused to let Gage get caught up with his note taking. “I wasn’t about to intrude on their discussion, so I stayed near the door and waited for them to come back inside.”

  “How long did that take?”

  “Valerie was outside for maybe ten minutes, but she was alone when she returned to the hall. I think she made a beeline for Tripp at that point, but I can’t say for sure. I talked to Connie and Jack for a few minutes while I waited for Bryce to reappear. When he didn’t, I went looking for him.”

  She closed her eyes and drew a slow breath as the image of Bryce hanging out of his car filled her head. “I found him and then called you.”

  “I’m sorry, Abby. It would’ve been hard on anyone to stumble across his body like that, but I really hate that it was you.”

  It was hard to be brave, but she tried. “Better me than Jean or one of the other ladies. A couple of them have heart conditions.”

  His smile was sympathetic. “Those ladies are tougher than you’d think. Still, you’re right. You kept your head and handled it better than most. I appreciated being the first on the scene and being able to control the situation from the get-go.”

  He stuck the notebook back into his pocket. “Are you going to be all right driving yourself home when we get done here?”

  Another question she’d been asked by the police on more than one occasion. “I’ll be fine. It’s not far.”

  “If I’m tied up, I can have one of my people follow you home. A few reporters have already been sniffing around outside, so I don’t want you going out of here alone. Do you want to leave now?”

  Yes, she did, but that wasn’t going to happen. She wasn’t part of the cleanup crew, but she felt duty bound to remain on-site until everyone else was able to leave.

  “I need to stick around for a while yet. You know, in case I’m needed.”

  Gage looked as if he wanted to argue the point, but he didn’t. “If you’re sure. Just let me or one of my people know when you’re ready to go.”

  He stood up and looked around at the milling crowd. “People are sure to have questions. You’ve done enough, so aim them in my direction.”

  In other words, stay out of his investigation. “I’ll do that.”

  Something across the room caught his attention. After a few seconds, he turned back to face her directly. “I take it you didn’t know about Valerie’s existence before tonight.”

  Great, another conversation she didn’t want to have. “No, Tripp had never mentioned her.”

  “What an idiot.”

  The pure disgust in his voice cheered her up a little, and she dredged up a hint of a smile. “No arguments on that score.”

  “If it’s any comfort, she might be standing right next to him, but he’s watching us.” Then he grinned. “Somehow I doubt it’s me he’s really interested in.”

  Abby appreciated Gage’s heavy-handed attempt to offer her comfort. “I’ll be fine, Gage. As far as surprises go tonight, finding out about her is a pretty minor one.”

  Okay, that was a lie. Time to move on. “I’m going to check in with my people. Any idea about when you’ll have cleared everyone out of here?”

  “We’re already sending folks home once we have their contact information. I’ll be having a personal chat with a few people back at the station before the night’s over.”

  She could guess who most of them would be. “Will they know I’m the one who ratted them out to you?”

  “They might guess, but you’re not the only person I’ve talked to about tonight’s events, and I have a few more to go. I’ve also got more names on my list besides the ones you gave me.”

  That was reassuring, although it wouldn’t be the first time she’d had people mad at her, and it wouldn’t likely be the last. “I see Clarence watching us. He’s head of the cleanup crew, so I’d better go see what he wants.”

  She headed in his direction while Gage started making his way back over to where his deputies were hard at work. He’d barely gotten there when Valerie Brunn got right up in his face a
bout something. Tripp stood right next to her but didn’t look particularly happy about the situation. Good. She was glad she wasn’t the only one having a rough night.

  Abby turned her attention back to Clarence. “Hi, sorry you had to wait. What can I do to help?”

  * * *

  She had to give Gage and his men credit for being efficient. Once they started releasing the people they’d cleared, the crowd thinned out in a hurry. To keep herself busy, she kicked off her heels and pitched in to help the cleanup crew, who managed to make quick work of their chores. Once Gage shooed the rest of the guests out the door, the crew would do a last check of the area and head out themselves.

  Unfortunately, two of the people still lurking around were Tripp and the barnacle. If anything, Valerie looked even angrier now than she had earlier. Even so, she was still perfectly groomed with every blond hair in place and her makeup intact.

  Abby, on the other hand, suspected she looked like she’d been stacking chairs and hauling trash. She was about to make another trip out back to the Dumpster when Gage called her name. Considering Tripp and Valerie were standing right beside him, she had no desire to find out what he wanted now.

  Unfortunately, Clarence intervened. “I can take those bags, Abby. Go ahead and see what the man wants.”

  “Thanks, Clarence. You guys have all done a great job under tough circumstances. I really appreciate it.”

  She dusted her hands off on the skirt of her dress and slipped on her shoes. It was tempting to make a quick detour to the ladies’ room to touch up her lipstick and make sure her hair was tidy, but that wasn’t happening. She’d been working hard, and if it showed, too bad. Tripp and Gage had seen her look far worse and still liked her. If the former Mrs. Blackston wasn’t impressed, Abby really didn’t care.

  Much.

  For now, she kept her eyes trained directly on Gage. Tripp must have noticed, because he shifted to stand right behind Gage’s shoulder, enough so that she couldn’t avoid seeing him, too. She managed a small nod in his direction before focusing on the man who’d called her over in the first place.

  “Did you need something, Gage?”

  “A couple of things. First, Ms. Brunn is missing her purse. Has anyone turned it in?”

  “Not that they’ve told me. We found a red sweater, but that’s all.” She looked at Valerie. “What does it look like? I’ll let the owner of the hall know to be on the lookout for it.”

  “It’s a silver clutch. There’s nothing valuable in it, so it’s no big deal if it doesn’t turn up. I had my credit card and hotel key in my jacket pocket.”

  Gage moved on to the next subject. “Anyway, Abby, it looks as if your team is about done here, and I want to let my people get back to their normal patrols. Can you be ready to go in five minutes? I still want to make sure you get home okay after everything that’s happened.”

  Her nerves had calmed down considerably, but she didn’t argue. Both Gage and Tripp had huge protective streaks. They wouldn’t be happy until they knew she made it home safely. “Sure thing. I’ll let Clarence know I’m leaving.”

  As soon as she was back, Gage led the parade outside. “I’ll follow you guys to your place. Once I know everything is quiet, I’ll head over to the office.”

  Who did he mean by “you guys”? She really hoped he hadn’t meant Valerie was going someplace with her. That question was answered when the other woman split off to wait beside Gage’s car while Tripp hung back with Abby. She let out the breath she’d been holding. With everything that had happened, she’d almost forgotten that Tripp had ridden with her to the auction. Even though Abby wasn’t particularly happy with the man right now, she could handle a short car ride with him. The only way she could’ve tolerated having Valerie in her car was if she could lock her in the trunk.

  That image, evil as it was, cheered her up considerably. She hustled over to the car, so ready for this night to be over. Tripp slid into the passenger side and fastened his seat belt. Neither of them said anything until she pulled out of the parking lot with Gage right behind them.

  They’d barely driven a block when Tripp angled himself to look more directly at her. “I meant what I said earlier. I didn’t know Valerie was coming tonight.”

  “I believe you.” Not that it changed anything. She had no idea what to say that would make things go back to the way they usually were between them. “Did she say how long she planned to be in town?”

  Tripp turned to look out the passenger door window. “All things considered, it seems her plans may have changed.”

  There was something he was reluctant to tell her, no doubt something she wasn’t going to like. “Look, I’m too tired and too frazzled from finding another dead body to play guessing games tonight. Whatever you’re wanting to say, just spit it out.”

  He sat up straighter and sighed. “Sorry, Abs. It’s that Valerie was supposed to fly back home to California tomorrow morning, but Gage asked her to stay longer for some reason.”

  She risked glancing in his direction. “Asked?”

  Tripp flexed his hands into fists. “Not exactly. More like, he told her not to leave town until they knew more about what happened to Bryce Cadigan. She tried telling Gage she didn’t know the guy at all, but he didn’t believe her. Can’t imagine why, though. She hasn’t lived in this area since my first deployment, so the chances of their paths crossing would’ve been pretty remote.”

  Should she admit she’d been the one to rat out his ex-wife to the cops? Deciding she was in no mood to play games, she just blurted it out. “Tripp, I can’t imagine why she would tell Gage that. I don’t know how or why, but she definitely knew Bryce.”

  A heavy silence filled the car, and Tripp was back to staring at her. Finally, he asked, “How in the world would you know that?”

  The chill in his voice made her shiver. “Because I saw her get all up in his face about something. For the record, I needed to talk to him myself and wasn’t spying on your ex-wife. I was supposed to hand over the second half of his fee after the auction.”

  Tripp crossed his arms over his chest. “What happened between them?”

  Was that jealousy she heard in his voice or just concern? Impossible to tell and not really any of her business.

  “Whatever she said to him looked pretty intense. She was clearly upset, and he didn’t much appreciate her getting up in his face in public. It looked to me like he was the one who insisted they take the discussion outside. After Ms. Brunn came back inside alone, I hung out near the door to see if he was right behind her. When Bryce didn’t reappear after a while, I went out looking for him. You know the rest.”

  “And that’s what you told Gage? That the two of them had words right before he died?”

  There was no use in denying it. “Yes, I did. He wanted to know if I’d seen Bryce with anyone in particular at the auction.”

  Tripp glanced in her direction. “I’m sure Val wasn’t the only one who talked to him.”

  “No, she of course wasn’t, and I told him that. However, she was the only one I saw who looked that mad.”

  They reached her driveway. She drove around the back of the house and parked. Tripp didn’t say anything as they got out of the car. If he was waiting for her to apologize for telling the police the truth, he was going to wait a long time. Finally, he crossed his arms on the roof of her car and rested his chin on his wrists.

  “I really wish you hadn’t told him about Valerie talking to Cadigan, but I know you had no choice.” He looked back toward the other car. “Although Gage hasn’t said so, I get the feeling they’re treating the guy’s death like a murder, not natural causes.”

  She couldn’t disagree with his assessment of the situation. “I think they have to do that until the coroner makes an official determination. If Bryce died of something like a heart attack, then they’ll close the investigation. But until that happens, they have to make sure they protect any possible evidence.”

  “That makes sense.�
� Although he still didn’t look happy about the situation.

  Gage was headed toward them, but at least Valerie stayed behind in his car. “I don’t mean to rush you, Abby, but let’s get you inside. I need to get back to headquarters. The desk sergeant just called to tell me more reporters have caught wind of Cadigan’s death. They’re already crawling out of the woodwork around city hall with mics and cameras.”

  Tripp pushed away from the car and walked around to stand between her and Gage. “Just so you know, I plan on following you to the station. Valerie will need a ride back to her hotel after the two of you are finished talking, which shouldn’t take all that long.”

  That he’d insist on being there for Valerie didn’t really surprise anyone, and Gage didn’t argue. “Fine, Tripp, but no time limits. The discussion will take as long as it takes. I’d also point out I can save you the trouble and have one of my deputies drop her off, but I’m guessing you don’t want to hear that.”

  “Not particularly.”

  It was clear that Tripp had gone into full protection mode when it came to Valerie and that Gage didn’t appreciate it at all. He pointed at Tripp. “Fine, you can come. However, you will stay out of my way or I’ll kick your backside to the curb.”

  Lord save me from stubborn men. Fed up with the whole situation, Abby left them to glare at each other as long as they wanted to. She had already unlocked the back door and let Zeke out before either man caught up with her. It didn’t take them long to prowl through her house to make sure no boogeymen were hiding anywhere. She understood that Gage had a job to do, but Tripp’s motivations for hurrying were far more confusing. In the past, the three of them would’ve gathered around her kitchen table for coffee and cookies. Not tonight, though.

  She tried to be a good sport about the way they’d rushed through the place. Even waved as they drove away. She just wished she knew when it came to Tripp if she was saying goodbye for the moment or for a lot longer than that. Would he come back to his place tonight or stay with the barnacle?

  Rather than dwell on something she had no control over, she patted Zeke on the head. “Come on, boy, it’s bedtime.”