Death by Auction

by Alexis Morgan

  “Hey, Gage, what’s up?”

  “Sorry to bother you and your buddy here, Abby, but I happened to spot your car as I was driving by.” He bent down to pet Zeke. “I’m actually looking for Tripp. Have you seen him? He’s not answering his phone.”

  She pulled out her water bottle and took a long drink. “He had classes this morning. I can give him a message if I see him, but I’m not really expecting to. He said he had an exam to study for when he gets home.”

  Gage sounded pretty frustrated when he spoke again. “I need to talk to Ms. Brunn, but she’s not answering her phone, either. Evidently she checked out of the hotel yesterday evening, and the clerk on duty at the time remembers her walking out with a guy that fits Tripp’s description. I’m not going to be at all happy with either of them if she headed back to California without telling me.”

  Abby wanted to bash both Tripp and the barnacle. “Let me get this straight. Are you telling me that neither Tripp nor Valerie bothered to tell you where she was going?”

  Gage jerked his head in a quick nod. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m telling you. Why? Do you know where she is?”

  She and her tenant would definitely be having words later. Tripp knew Gage hated being left out of the loop when it came to police business. She shouldn’t be the one dealing with a ticked-off police chief when none of this was her fault. Heck, she wasn’t any happier about the situation than he was.

  “Yeah, I do. Or at least I know where she was as of an hour ago. I have no idea why she’s not answering her phone, but she’s staying at my house.”

  The stark lines bracketing Gage’s mouth deepened. “Dare I ask why you’d invite her to move in?”

  “I didn’t, or at least it wasn’t my idea. She called Tripp yesterday to tell him that the reporters were pestering her at the hotel. Tripp said there wasn’t any way to stop them. Something about it being a public place, not to mention some of them had booked rooms there.”

  She’d also thought maybe Tripp had talked to Gage about the situation, but obviously she’d been wrong about that.

  Clearly frustrated, Gage asked, “So why didn’t she just check in somewhere else? There’s a couple of places out closer to I-5 that aren’t that far from here.”

  Another good question, one she had no good answer for. “All I know is that Tripp asked if she could use one of my guest rooms. His place only has one bedroom, and the only sofa he has is too short to use as a bed.”

  Gage didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Are you headed back home from here?”

  She decided to be honest with him. “Yeah, I actually hated to leave Valerie alone in my house at all, but I needed to take Zeke for his walk. And frankly, I needed to clear my head. I don’t know the woman at all, and I’m not all that happy about the situation.”

  “I don’t blame you.” Gage hesitated a second before adding, “But for what it’s worth, she seems to have a clean record. Not even a parking ticket.”

  It was time to go home. After unlocking the car, she opened the back door so Zeke could climb in. “Do you have a message for Valerie?”

  He opened the driver’s door for her. “No, I’ll follow you home and talk to her myself.”

  Great. Somehow she doubted Valerie would believe that Gage had sought out Abby and not the other way around. Well, too bad. If the woman wasn’t happy, she could just move to one of the hotels that Gage had mentioned.

  “I’ll see you there, but I’ll make myself scarce so you can talk to her in private.”

  “Sounds good.”

  As she started to get into the car, he stopped her. “I said this before, but I’m really sorry you got caught up in this mess, Abby. I’ll do my best to make sure that my investigation doesn’t impact you any more than it absolutely has to.”

  “I appreciate that, Gage. Besides, it’s not your fault that Valerie is staying at my place. That’s on Tripp.”

  Gage sighed. “What was he thinking? Even if she’s innocent—and that’s still a big if at this point—a possible suspect shouldn’t be living with one of the primary witnesses in the case. I’ll be having a talk with Tripp later. It won’t be a pleasant one.”

  There wasn’t much she could say to that. She hated that this mess with Valerie was causing problems for the two men. They’d served together at some point in the past and so had known each other for longer than Tripp had been living in Snowberry Creek. She hoped their friendship would survive long term.

  “I’ll see you at the house.”

  * * *

  Tripp’s truck was the last thing Abby wanted to see when she got home. The darn man was supposed to be gone. Gage was already unhappy that Valerie moved out of the hotel without notice. Having Tripp underfoot while she was once again being interrogated wasn’t likely to help matters.

  He stepped out on his front porch as soon as she parked the car. She let Zeke out, who immediately trotted over to join him. “Why aren’t you at school?”

  Okay, that came out more accusatory than she’d intended. He gave her a puzzled look. “My teacher had a family emergency and had to cancel class. Is there some reason I shouldn’t be here?”

  Before she could answer, the sound of another car in the driveway caught his attention. As soon as he recognized Gage’s cruiser, Tripp’s expression went from curious to concerned.

  “What’s he doing here?” Then he gave Abby a suspicious look. “Did you call him to complain about Valerie staying with you?”

  Really? That was his first thought? Even if she had admitted to Gage that she wasn’t happy about the arrangement, she hadn’t sought him out. “Gage spotted us heading back to the car at the park and stopped to talk. Seems he’d been trying to call you, but it kept going to voice mail.”

  By that point Gage was out of his car and close enough to join the conversation. He gave Tripp a hard look. “Don’t blame Abby for me being here. I was looking for you. Since neither you nor your ex-wife were answering your phones, I asked Abby if she’d seen you.”

  There was a heavy thread of anger woven through his words. Tripp growled back, “I didn’t answer because I was in class up until thirty minutes ago. Your message didn’t say it was anything urgent. I was about to call you back when I heard Abby’s car in the driveway.”

  Tripp stepped down off the porch with Zeke trailing right behind him. “I’m here now. What did you want?”

  “I told Valerie that I’d need to talk to her again today. Imagine my surprise when I called the hotel to set up a time to get together only to find she’d checked out with no notice. The only reason I knew to call you is because the evening clerk gave me a good description of the man she left with.”

  Tripp gave Abby another hard look before turning back to Gage. “You told Val she needed to stay in the area, not that she had to stay at that particular hotel.”

  “I also told her to keep me in the loop if that changed.”

  Okay, from his look of confusion, that last bit of information was news to Tripp. “I’m sure she planned to let you know that Abby invited her to stay here.”

  Maybe he really believed that, but Gage clearly didn’t. Regardless, Abby really hated that Tripp’s first instinct was to defend the barnacle. Maybe he was right, and Valerie had planned to let Gage know about the change in her location. That didn’t explain why she hadn’t told Tripp that she was supposed to keep the police apprised of her living arrangements in Snowberry Creek. This conversation was accomplishing nothing.

  “Gage, if you need me for anything, I’ll be in the sewing room on the third floor. Just walk on in the house whenever you and Tripp finish your . . . discussion.”

  Argument was more like it, but that was their problem, not hers.

  “Come here, Zeke.” The dog was obviously reluctant to leave the two men, but he finally padded over to stand beside her. “Good boy, let’s go.”

  The two of them had gone only about half the distance to the back steps before Gage caught up with her, and Tripp loome
d up on her other side. Neither man said a word, which probably meant they were only moving their disagreement inside. She didn’t bother to speak to either of them until they were in her kitchen.

  Rather than risk getting embroiled in what could be another angry conversation, she kept moving. “Like I said, I’m going upstairs to work on Aunt Sybil’s quilt. Help yourself to anything you want out of the fridge.”

  She hung up Zeke’s leash and headed down the hall to the staircase. As she passed by the door to the dining room, she was relieved to see Valerie was still sitting at the table. Whatever she was studying on her laptop had her full attention, making it unclear if she was even aware she was no longer alone in the house.

  Abby hurried on by and hustled up the stairs. She’d only reached the first landing when she heard Gage’s deep voice calling Valerie’s name. Although she was curious what Gage was in such a hurry to talk to the barnacle about, right now it was probably smarter to disappear for a while.

  She’d barely had time to sit down at the sewing machine when she heard the stairs creak. Zeke was already curled up on the rug in the corner, so it wasn’t him coming up the steps. Rather than stare at the door in anticipation, she chose two strips of quilt squares and began pinning them together.

  When Tripp appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, she didn’t bother to look up from what she was doing. “Did you need something?”

  He remained on the far side of the room. “Look, I’m sorry.”

  Okay, his visit might warrant her full attention after all. She set the quilt squares back down. “For what, exactly? I can think of a few things I’m not happy about right now, and I want to make sure I know exactly which one you’re apologizing for.”

  The fact that he grinned at her assessment of the situation didn’t help her mood one bit. At least he had the good sense to wipe the smile off his face the second he realized it was only fanning the flames of her temper.

  “I thought you might want a snack.” He ventured a little closer to offer her a bottle of water and a couple of the mini muffins wrapped in a napkin. “And I should’ve known you wouldn’t call Gage to complain even if you aren’t happy about Valerie staying here.”

  “That’s a good start.” She pointed toward the chair near the quilting frame on the other side of the room. “Have a seat if you want, but close the door before you do. I promised Gage he’d have privacy while he talks to Valerie.”

  “Yeah, he made it clear that my presence wasn’t wanted or appreciated.” He sat down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and staring down at the floor. “I hate this for her, but I do know he’s only doing his job.”

  To give herself something to do, Abby opened the bottle of water and took a small drink. “He also knows this is hard for you, Tripp, what with your ex-wife appearing out of nowhere only to get caught up in this murder investigation.”

  “I’m also sorry I strong-armed you into letting her stay here, but she didn’t want to be alone.”

  While that last bit might be true, Abby was willing to bet she wasn’t the person Valerie had been hoping would keep her company. Tripp might still be blissfully unaware of the barnacle’s interest in him, but it seemed all too clear to Abby. Valerie had told Tripp she needed his help with a problem, but she also looked at him like a woman looked at a man she wanted.

  When Abby remained silent, Tripp finally looked up. “I should’ve found a different hotel for her.”

  It was too late now. “Probably. Gage wasn’t happy to find out one of his suspects was currently living with a witness. It might complicate his investigation a little.”

  Or a whole lot if it turned out that Valerie was indeed the one who killed Bryce Cadigan.

  From the big-time frown that just settled on Tripp’s face, some of what she’d been thinking must have shown in her own expression. Fine. Neither of them was happy right now. She picked up her quilt squares and went back to work pinning them together. Tripp watched every move she made as if it were the most riveting thing he’d ever seen.

  “Did Gage tell you who his other suspects might be?”

  Abby paused to consider how much she should share before responding. “Not exactly. He wanted to know everyone I’d seen Bryce talking to both before and after the auction. There weren’t that many, and I didn’t know everyone’s name. I have no idea if Gage was able to identify any of them based on my description alone. Since he was asking some other people the same question, he might have figured out who they were that way.”

  Another long silence.

  “We need to figure out who they are. You and me, I mean.”

  Tripp’s bald statement startled Abby into almost knocking her bottle of water over on her quilting. She managed to catch it and quickly screwed the lid back on.

  “Gage is already unhappy with you, Tripp. If you go sticking your nose in his investigation, it’s only going to make him madder.”

  To her surprise, Tripp laughed. “Seriously, Abby? Since when have you let that stop you? Besides, I didn’t say we would actually talk to these people, but I want to help get his focus off Valerie. If we can figure out who they are, you can give that information to Gage and let him run with it.”

  He made it all sound so easy, but she knew from personal experience that even brushing up against a murder investigation could go horribly wrong. “How do you suggest we go about figuring out who they are? Neither of us have lived here long enough to know all that many people in town.”

  “Good point.” He went back to staring at the floor. “What can you tell me about the people you mentioned to Gage?”

  She picked up a pin and started working again. “I saw Bryce talking to his old football coach, but I’m guessing Gage already knows who that is. Bryce also talked to one of his former high school teachers, so I’m sure Gage will be talking to her if he hasn’t already. She seemed to take Bryce’s death hard.”

  “Tell me about the ones you didn’t have names for. What did they look like?”

  Rather than argue, she let her thoughts drift back to the auction and tried to dredge up a clear picture of the other two men she’d seen with Bryce.

  “One was about Bryce’s age. I have no way of knowing this for sure, but I suspect they might have gone to high school together. At least they looked to be about the same age. There was only one other man I saw Bryce talk to for any length of time, but he was older. Probably in his late forties. There was definitely some tension between them, but I wasn’t close enough to hear what they were talking about.”

  “We’ll start with the younger guy. There must be some way to track him down.”

  Abby really didn’t want to get sucked into Tripp’s personal crusade to clear the barnacle’s name, but there didn’t seem to be any way to avoid it. “I’ll go to the library either later this afternoon or first thing tomorrow. I could be wrong, but I’m betting they have a set of the high school yearbooks in their collection. If I can find the one with Bryce’s class in it, I might be able to pick out the other guy’s picture. It’s worth a try.”

  She finished pinning the two strips she been working on and set them aside. “It’s a long shot, though. His looks could’ve changed over the years. Heck, I could be completely wrong thinking he and Bryce went to school together, so no promises.”

  “I just appreciate that you’re willing to try.”

  He stood up and stretched. “I’d better get back over to my place and hit the books. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

  “The dinner offer still stands. It won’t be anything fancy. Just sandwiches and some of that pasta e fagioli soup you like so much.”

  “If you’re sure it’s not too much trouble.”

  She had to smother a laugh. Heating up a bowl of soup for a friend was a no-brainer. Sharing a meal with that friend’s ex-wife, who may or may not be a murderer? Now, that fit her definition of trouble with a capital T. Guessing Tripp wouldn’t appreciate her take on the subject, she settl
ed for simply saying, “We’ll eat at six.”

  Chapter Nine

  Looking at old yearbooks turned out to be incredibly boring. Abby flipped through the last few pages of the third one she’d taken off the shelf and closed the cover. It would help if she actually knew the year Bryce had graduated from the high school in Snowberry Creek. His exact age would make things easier, but she couldn’t risk asking any of her friends if they happened to know.

  After all, what plausible excuse could she come up with for needing that information? She was feeling twitchy enough just knowing the police department was right next door to the library. After asking the librarian about the yearbooks, she’d grabbed three off the shelf and found an empty table in the back corner of the library that was out of sight of the door.

  She returned them to the shelf and picked up the next four. If she didn’t spot Bryce in any of those, it was time to give up. Tripp wouldn’t be happy, but at least she could tell him she’d tried. However, luck was with her this time. Rather than going through the rows and rows of individual pictures, she concentrated on the group photos. The one thing she knew for sure about Bryce was that he’d been on the football team.

  Yep, that was him in the middle row. Better yet, standing right next to him was the mystery man he’d been talking to at the auction. According to the list of names under the picture, his name was Denny Moller, and they were both listed as juniors. While she was at it, she turned to the staff pictures. It was easy to recognize the football coach, Roy Tull. He’d put on some pounds and lost some of his hair, but the face was still the same.

  Picking out Mrs. Alstead proved to be much more of a challenge. For one thing, she’d been Miss DeWitt back then. Abby angled the book to catch the light better. Wow, she’d changed a lot over the years, and not for the better. Back then, the clothes she had on were stylish, and she’d worn just enough makeup to highlight her fresh beauty. In fact, she could’ve easily passed for one of her students. Regardless, she wasn’t the target of Abby’s search, and it was time to get back on task.