by Linnea West
"I'm sure your sisters will tell them everything," Max said. "You are free to go. But if you don't mind missing more of the party, maybe you and I could go have a drink together."
His voice dropped to a whisper when he said the last part. Obviously pretty much everyone in the police department knew about Max and I, but it still would look really bad if they caught an officer asking a witness out for a drink after their interview at the police station.
I grabbed my coat off of the back of my chair and together we walked out the door and into the snowy night. Max parked in the parking lot across from the Loony Bin and together we ran across the street. Before we went inside, Max stopped and turned to me.
"I do have an ulterior motive," Max said with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm also here to tell Rich's children that he will be let out and that they should go pick him up. Just don't tell them that he used his one call to call Sue, okay? Ready for some fun?"
My night could certainly use a happy pick-me-up, so I nodded at him. Max opened the door for me and held it so I could go in first. I let him take the lead once we were inside and followed him when he walked right up to the counter.
Just like the last time we were in there, Rich's children all scowled at us. Marie especially had a sour look on her face.
"Oh I know you are unhappy with me, but I come bearing good news," Max said. "All of you come over here."
Rich's kids all looked at each other in confusion as they moved down to the end of the bar in front of us. They all looked around like they weren't sure exactly what was about to happen.
"Tonight Tessa here caught Claire's real murderer so we are letting your dad go," Max said with a big smile on his face. All of Rich's kids burst into cheers and the entire bar whooped and howled at the good news. There was even a round of applause from the regulars.
"You guys get out of here and go pick him up," Max said. "He's going to need a ride home."
"But who will watch the bar?" Charlie asked.
"Tessa and I will," Max said. "But only if you promise not to be gone too long."
I laughed in delight as Max and I were each handed an apron that we slipped on over our party clothes. Charlie, Marie and their brother Brian ran out through the kitchen and Max as I took our places behind the counter.
Thankfully the bar was filled with regulars who took it easy on us. I couldn't help but laugh along the first time I tried to pour a beer from the tap ended up with a mug of foam instead. Max was being given a hard time for not knowing how to mix anything besides a whiskey sour or rum and coke. I found the chalk and changed the daily drink special on the chalkboard behind the bar to a whiskey sour, much to the enjoyment of the crowd.
Someone figured out how to turn up the volume on the speakers and put on some classic Christmas music. We all sang along and I felt like I was at the after party of my Christmas party. I spotted myself in the mirror and couldn't help but notice how happy I looked. My hair was flying all over having escaped out of the bun I had fashioned earlier. My cheeks were red from the wine, the warmth, and the laughter I was surrounded with.
The next time I went by Max, he pointed up. When I looked, I saw that one of the regulars was standing on his stool and holding a piece of mistletoe above us. Max dipped me low and kissed me hard on the lips. That mistletoe was getting me into some hot spots tonight.
When it got to the point where I finally felt like I didn't ever actually want to be a bartender, the front door opened and I turned to see Rich walking in. The crowd in the bar erupted once more and everyone surged forward, trying to be the first to welcome Rich to his domain.
Rich fought his way to the bar, holding Sue's hand. His children came behind him. When he got behind the bar with us, he climbed up on top and motioned for the crowd to be quiet. Once they had brought the noise down, he gave a little speech.
"I'm so happy to be back here with you all. It isn't often you see a cop behind the bar here."
Max roared with laughter and the crowd chuckled along before Rich kept going with his speech.
"While I was in jail, I had some time to think. See, I was married for so long that I never really thought about ever falling in love again. But then I met Sue and she was thinking the same thing. Somehow, we accidentally fell in love. But I didn't want my kids to think I was forgetting about their mom. So Sue and I kept our love to ourselves."
"No you didn't, we all knew," came a yell from the crowd. Everyone laughed because it had been one of those open sorts of secrets in Shady Lake.
"Okay, we weren't that secret about it. But I tried my hardest to not rub it in my kid's face. When I was brought in for questioning, I made Sue swear not to tell anyone that the night of the murder we were together. But after everything went down and I was sitting by myself in a jail cell, I promised myself that when I got out I would never hide our love again."
Sue was looking at him with shining eyes. She looked so genuinely happy and in love that it made her look like she was closer to being a teenager than to the retirement age she really was. I was glad to see the spark was back inside of her.
"Sue come on up here," Rich said.
Sue shook her head, but Max came over and helped boost her up to stand next to Rich on the bar.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter how short that time may be for us old geezers," Rich said before getting down on one knee. "I don't have a ring for you, but I will buy you whatever you want if you agree to marry me."
Sue clapped her hands over her mouth in shock and nodded yes. I glanced over at Rich's kids to see their reactions and I was pleasantly surprised to see them all smiling. Marie was even crying a little bit. Maybe all of Rich's worrying had been for nothing or maybe having their father in jail had changed their minds about Sue.
As Sue and Rich shared a kiss on the bar of the Loony Bin, I realized that it was close to midnight and I should probably get back to see how the party was going or not going at this point. Max nodded at me and we went quietly through the front door, leaving the celebration behind for a walk in the silent snow to the car.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The jazz band was playing their last set when Max and I walked in the front door. We weren't even able to get our jackets off before being bombarded by party guests who were wondering what had happened.
"Can I tell them the story?" I asked Max.
"You can tell your family, but the rest will have to wait and read it in the Shady Lake Tribune tomorrow," Max winked. Chelsea scoffed behind him, counting that as a victory. I decided to give her this one and told her to stick around after the party for the full story.
I nodded and Max swept me into his arms, twirling around the entry hall to the jazzy number the band was playing. The wine had mostly worn off by now, but I was still feeling like my head was swimming. I almost couldn't believe everything that had happened today. I would be glad when it was time to get in bed but for now, I was in the arms of a handsome man and the party I had put together was still a raging success.
The guests cleared out, mostly with the help of Ronald who told everyone that now that the band was done, anyone left would be privy to listening to him practice his campaign speeches for next year. That cleared the room pretty quickly.
My parents, siblings, Max, Clark, and Chelsea quickly cleared away the dishes and put food away. We cleaned up as much as we could and then headed upstairs to the living room so that I could tell them everything that had happened and everything I knew about the murder.
Max decided he should leave as he had already heard everything and he was needed back at work early tomorrow morning which by this point, was in just a few hours. I let him hold me tight by the front window as we watched the snow continue to fall. After a good night kiss, I waved to him through the window as he backed his car out of the driveway.
I walked upstairs to a captive audience. My parents were on the couch along with Trina. Tilly and Teddy were in the arm chairs while Tank, Clark, and Chelsea had been re
legated to the floor. I assumed my nieces and nephew were sleeping somewhere, so I was able to tell the entire story, start to finish without censoring anything.
Once I finished, Chelsea got up to hurry out and get the story in the paper the next day. I knew she wanted to get a jump on all of the out of town journalists, so Clark and I walked her to the front door. For once, I felt like we actually were getting along.
"I was supposed to give you one warning," I said to her before she left. "Don't give all of the gritty details. Just do more of the story."
"I will," Chelsea said, rolling her eyes. "It'll be my Christmas gift to you."
She slammed the door behind her and I tried not to laugh as she slipped her way on the ice down to her car. She didn't actually fall, so I felt like it was okay that I laughed because it serves her right. Clark gave me a disapproving look which made me laugh even harder.
I slipped on my jacket to walk Clark out to the porch once Chelsea was out of sight. Hand in hand, we paused once we were out the door. It was snowing and the wind was blowing just enough to make it look like a snow globe outside. I realized that for the first time since Thanksgiving, I felt like I could actually breath and enjoy the holiday season. I reveled in the bright lights from the house that were lighting up the cold winter night.
"I actually have something to give you," Clark said, letting go of my hand.
Clark dug his hand into his pocket and pulled something out but before he showed it to me, he paused for a moment and all of the color drained from his face. For just a moment, I wondered if he had an engagement ring and he was going to propose to me. I tried to stop my eyes from getting wide. Clark was a great guy, but I did not want to get married to anyone right now.
"Is something wrong?" I asked. My voice shook a little bit, but Clark didn't seem to notice.
"No, not wrong," Clark said. "But I just realized that this is something you may not actually want to keep."
I gave him a puzzled look and waited while he seemed to decide what to do about it. He had told me about it, so now he had to give it to me, right?
"You can't just leave it at that and not show me what it is," I said. "That is totally unfair."
"Okay, but promise you won't be weird about it?" Clark said.
I thought about that for a second. If it was an engagement ring, I couldn't promise I wouldn't be weird about it. My mind was racing a bit, trying to figure out what the gift was.
"I promise I won't be weird," I said. What else was I supposed to say?
Clark stepped back and opened his hand in front of him. In his hand was one of the Christmas necklaces I had admired in the Christmas Shop. The silver chain had alternating baubles made from red and green wire. It was one that had been lovingly handmade by Jill. I start to laugh and it wasn't a cutesy "I love my gift" laugh. It was a low, unattractive gut laugh.
I bent over in half and held my stomach as I laughed so hard I couldn't catch my breath. I couldn't help myself. What were the odds that the present I was getting was made by someone who had literally tried to kill me just hours before?
Clark looked horrified for a moment and I felt bad because it wasn't his fault. He had absolutely no way of knowing how the evening was going to go before he had a chance to give me my gift.
Finally, I was able to stop laughing and catch my breath. I took a few deep breaths to try to calm myself down a little bit before I said anything.
"It is beautiful Clark," I said between giggles. "I really do love it. It will always remind me of you and of this night."
"That's kind of what I'm afraid of," Clark said quietly.
"I didn't mean it like that," I said. "Well, I kind of meant it like that, but not in a hurtful way. Just that this night was very memorable."
Clark gave a shy smile. He was usually pretty personable and outgoing, so it was unusual to see him so put out. I hurriedly gave him a big hug around the middle. When I tilted my head back, he leaned down and gave me a kiss that was a bit less passionate than the one earlier in the night, but romantic nonetheless.
After holding each other for a bit longer, Clark helped me put on the necklace before he climbed carefully down the icy front steps and into his pickup truck. I waved him out of sight and headed back inside, happy for this day to finally be over.
As I got ready for bed that night, I knew that the rest of the holiday season would only get better from here on out. It had to because I don't think I'd be facing down a gun hanging partway out a window into the cold again. After that, I know I can handle managing the rest of family Christmas. I drifted off to sleep and dreamt that night of a Christmas party. At this Christmas party though, I was able to enjoy the music and company rather than face down death.
About the Author
Linnea West lives in Minnesota with her husband and two children. She taught herself to read at the age of four and published her first poem in a local newspaper at the age of seven. After a turn as a writer for her high school newspaper, she went to school for English Education and Elementary Education. She didn't start writing fiction until she was a full time working mother. Besides reading and writing, she spends her time chasing after her children, watching movies with her husband, and doing puzzle books. Learn more about her and her upcoming books by subscribing to her weekly newsletter.
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Other Books in the Series
Halloween Hayride Murder:
Tessa Schmidt was floating through life after losing her husband Peter in a car accident until her parents convinced her to return to her hometown of Shady Lake. Moving back to the small town in Minnesota where she grew up provides a welcome retreat as she helps run the B&B where her parents live while hanging out at her best friend Mandy's donut shop. She has even started to go out on a few dates, mostly with her high school boyfriend, Max and the new teacher in town, Clark.
With the annual Halloween Hayride coming up, Tessa is excited to be part of the committee that runs the town's largest fundraiser. Everything is going great, until Earl Stone tries to personally profit from it.
As everyone tries to make sure the Hayride is on track, Tessa finds something that really might shut it down for good: someone murdered Earl in the field where the Hayride takes place. And they did it by running him over with the Halloween Hayride!
Can Tessa figure out who killed Earl and get the Halloween Hayride back on track before it's too late?
Read it now on Amazon. (Also available in Kindle Unlimited.)
Copyright
Halloween Hayride Murder by Linnea West
© 2018 Mikki Tuohy
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:
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