Murder at the Movie Theater (Traumatic Temp Agency 5)

  Murder at the Movie Theater

  Kelly Hashway

  Copyright © 2023 by Kelly Hashway

  All rights reserved.

  No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

  To Ayla with love

  Contents

  1. Chapter One

  2. Chapter Two

  3. Chapter Three

  4. Chapter Four

  5. Chapter Five

  6. Chapter Six

  7. Chapter Seven

  8. Chapter Eight

  9. Chapter Nine

  10. Chapter Ten

  11. Chapter Eleven

  12. Chapter Twelve

  13. Chapter Thirteen

  14. Chapter Fourteen

  15. Chapter Fifteen

  16. Chapter Sixteen

  17. Chapter Seventeen

  18. Chapter Eighteen

  19. Chapter Nineteen

  20. Chapter Twenty

  21. Chapter Twenty-One

  Also By USA Today Bestselling Author Kelly Hashway

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  For the first time since I moved to Rockland and started working with the Traum Temp Agency, I actually like my job placement. The Rockland Cinema is not only extremely clean, but it’s also a big local hangout, so I get to see a lot of people here. My boss, Mr. Berryman, is very nice, too. Well, Mr. Berryman is technically the manager here at the movie theater. Our actual boss is someone no one ever sees, according to my coworkers. I think the guy bought the cinema and moved to Florida, leaving Mr. Berryman in charge of running the place in his absence.

  “Hailey, would you mind taking tickets for a while?” Mr. Berryman asks. “I’d like to take a fifteen-minute break.”

  “Of course. No trouble at all,” I say, nodding to Jasmine beside me. We’ve been selling tickets together for the past four hours. She bobs her head in response. We have some kiosks where customers can purchase their own tickets, so it’s not like she’ll be overwhelmed here without me.

  I hurry over to Mr. Berryman’s post at the entrance to the hallway where all the theaters are. There’s a small podium with a slot in the top where he’s depositing the tickets people give him before going inside.

  “Thank you, Hailey,” he says. “I’ve been on my feet all day and really need a rest.” Mr. Berryman is only in his fifties, but he has back issues. And he’s not the type of manager to sit in an office. He works right alongside the rest of us, which is why everyone likes him. During my first day here, I’ve seen the man grab a mop and head to the men’s bathroom to help clean up after a clogged toilet incident. You have to respect a man in charge like that who doesn’t pawn off the dirty jobs to his employees.

  “Take as long as you need,” I tell him.

  He smiles at me. “We’re really happy to have you on board here.”

  He’s told me that at least three times already today, but I smile as if it’s the first I’m hearing it. “Happy to be here.”

  Two more movie goers walk up to the podium, and I take their tickets, ripping them on the perforations and depositing my half into the slot in the podium before handing them their stubs. “Enjoy the movie,” I tell them.

  Mr. Berryman watches me with a smile before nodding and walking away.

  Jackson Santoro, our security guard comes running over to me. “Hailey, right?”

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “Have you seen two teenage boys come through here?” He whips his head in every direction.

  “Not in the last few minutes,” I say. Jackson probably tried to throw them out, and they ran.

  “They snuck into theater number seven. I caught them without ticket stubs.” Jackson puts his hands on his hips and inhales deeply. He’s not in the best shape, and I’m assuming he’s trying to get air back into his lungs after running around the hallways searching for the two boys.

  “If you can describe them to me, I can keep an eye out for them.” In the back office, there’s actually a wall with photos of repeat offenders—people who have been caught sneaking into the theater multiple times or causing other kinds of trouble, like throwing popcorn or candy during the movie.

  “I’ve never seen these two before. They were both wearing hoodies, and the theater was dark, so I didn’t get a good look at their faces.”

  “What color were their hoodies?” I ask, trying to be helpful.

  Jackson looks down at his shoes. “I think maybe navy blue or black.”

  “I’ll keep an eye out,” I say, even though that’s not much at all to go on.

  “Thanks.” He heads back down the hall, most likely to go check all the theaters again.

  “Hey, stranger.”

  I look up at the sound of my best friend’s voice.

  “Hey, Riles.” Riley Jacobs is the first person who befriended me when I moved to Rockland. She also knows everyone in town, which makes her job as Rumor Robin, a gossip columnist, much easier. Only three people know Rumor Robin’s real identity though. Riley’s boss, Samuel Montage, who also happens to be her uncle in addition to being editor-in-chief at the Rockland Record, me, and Riley’s boyfriend, Detective Garrett Bilson. Everyone else in town thinks she’s Samuel Montage’s assistant at the newspaper. Keeping her identity a secret helps her get close enough to all the residents in town to know their dirty little secrets. But Riley is also careful to write about herself on occasion to avoid suspicion. That’s why one of her most recent columns was about her and Garrett Bilson finally dating after knowing each other all their lives. It was more than a little frustrating to watch the two of them be so completely in love with each other and deny it every chance they got.

  “How are you liking the new job?” Riley asks, handing me her ticket.

  “I like it. I get free movie tickets.”

  “For you and your friends or just you?” Riley asks.

  I rip her ticket and hand her the stub. “Sorry but just me.” I turn to Detective Bilson. “Detective.”

  He hands me his ticket. “I’m off duty, Hailey. Call me Garrett.”

  I’ve been getting a little better at using his first name now that he and Riley are dating, but it’s difficult to retrain your brain when it comes to calling someone by a different name. I look at the ticket as I rip it. “Oh, let me know how the movie is. I was thinking of asking Ben if he wants to see it.” Ben Traum is my boyfriend as well as the owner of the temp agency I work with.

  “Will do,” Riley says. “Come on,” she tells Garrett. “You know I hate missing the previews.”

  “You go on in. I’ll grab us some popcorn and drinks,” he tells her.

  “Enjoy the movie,” I tell Riley.

  She walks off, and Garrett motions over his shoulder. “Is it okay if I go back to the concession stand if I already gave you my ticket?”

  “Of course. We encourage multiple trips to the concession stand throughout the movie,” I tell him.

  He smiles. “Do you need anything?” It’s funny how different he is with me now. When I first moved to Rockland, he accused me of murder.

  “No, thank you. I’m working.”

  He bobs his head and walks away.

  A few minutes later, William, who works at the concession stand, storms over to me right after I take a guy’s ticket. “He had a ticket, right?” William asks me.

  “Who? Him?” I gesture in the guy’s direction.

  “Yeah. I want to make sure Jasmine didn’t let him in for free.”

  “No, I took his
ticket,” I say.

  “Good. You know we’re only supposed to use the free tickets for ourselves.” William shakes his head.

  “Yeah, Mr. Berryman mentioned that.”

  “Good. I wish Jasmine would understand the concept the way you and I do.” He turns on his heel and heads back to the concession stand, where a line has formed.

  I’m guessing his frustration has more to do with the possibility that Jasmine likes that guy I just let in than her giving away her free movie passes. I’ve seen the way William looks at Jasmine. He’s got a serious crush on her.

  Once Mr. Berryman returns from his break, I join Jasmine selling tickets again.

  “What was William talking to you about?” she asks me.

  “Oh, um, he wanted to make sure some guy had a ticket,” I say.

  She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know why he has to involve himself in my personal life.”

  “Do you know that guy?” I ask her.

  She bobs one shoulder and waves the next customer on line up to the counter. She doesn’t answer me until after the woman buys her ticket. “Corey’s a friend of mine. I don’t know why that bothers William so much. He has no right to tell me who to be friends with.”

  I can’t help wondering if there’s a reason William feels like he has some claim on Jasmine. “Did you and William ever date?” I ask her.

  A man and woman walk up to my counter and buy two tickets for the rom-com that came out this week.

  “Only in his dreams,” Jasmine says, and it takes me a minute to realize she’s talking to me because what she says is almost identical to the title of one of the movies.

  I’m guessing Jasmine rejected William, and he’s bitter about it.

  A guy in his twenties approaches Jasmine. “Hey, Jas.”

  “Hey, Ty. Are you meeting Corey?”

  “Nah. Is he here?” the guy asks.

  “Yeah, theater seven.”

  “Don’t tell me he’s seeing that movie again. He’s already seen it every week since it came out.”

  “I know.” Jasmine smirks. “I think he’s using it as an excuse to keep coming to see me at work.”

  The guy narrows his eyes, and I can tell he doesn’t think that’s the reason at all. “Nah, the guy quotes the movie nonstop. It’s really annoying.”

  Jasmine gives Ty his ticket, a scowl on her face. “Enjoy the show,” she says, but her tone holds no sincerity. His comment must have stung. She turns to me. “I need to pee. Cover for me.” She walks off toward the restroom.

  A group of guys walk up to buy tickets to the new sci-fi movie. “That’s in theater eight,” I tell them. “Enjoy the show.”

  There’s a commotion, and two teenage boys go running out of the cinema. Jackson trots after them, yelling something unintelligible since he’s panting.

  “Jackson, are you okay?” I ask, holding up a finger to the next customer in line as I walk over to check on the winded security guard.

  He’s doubled over, his hands on his knees. “They...did it…again. Snuck back…into…theater seven.”

  Bold of them to sneak back in after getting caught once already tonight.

  “Well, it looks like you took care of them,” I say, patting him on the back. “Nice work.”

  “Jackson,” Mr. Berryman says, hurrying over. “Is everything okay over here?”

  Jackson stands up tall. “Yes, sir, Mr. Berryman. I chased out some kids who tried to sneak in.”

  “How do they keep getting in?” Mr. Berryman asks.

  “It must be through the janitorial closet. It has that back door to the outside by the dumpster,” Jackson says. “I think the lock must be either broken or way too easy to pick.”

  “I’ll have to put a deadbolt on it for added security,” Mr. Berryman says. “Thank you for letting me know, Jackson.”

  We all return to our posts, and the next two hours pass without any more incidents.

  “Hailey,” Mr. Berryman calls to me right before closing.

  “Yes, Mr. Berryman?” I close the register drawer after counting the money.

  “Could you possibly help Patrick with cleanup this evening? Bethany went home sick.”

  Patrick and Bethany are part of the custodial crew.

  “Sure. What do I need to do?”

  “See Patrick, and he’ll fill you in. I’ll make sure you get extra in your paycheck for doing Bethany’s job this evening. I might need you to stay an additional hour to do it.”

  “No problem.” I never turn down the chance to make some extra money. I’m currently living in a detached garage that was converted into a one-bedroom apartment. Luckily, I have great landlords, but I’d really like to find a nicer place to live. I’ve been struggling with money since I graduated from college. If you can call it that. I managed to come out of school without a degree. It’s what happens when you jump from major to major and can’t settle on what you want to do with your life. That’s how I wound up working with a temp agency. According to my parents and every guidance counsellor I’ve ever had, I lack direction. It’s become a big issue in my life, and it’s also why I moved to Rockland. I couldn’t stand all the judgmental stares from the people I grew up with. I needed to go somewhere no one knew me.

  “Patrick said he was heading to theater six first. There was a popcorn spill in there. You should go find him, and see what he needs you to do,” Mr. Berryman tells me.

  “You got it.” I hand him the register drawer and hurry down the hallway toward theater six.

  Patrick is sweeping up popcorn when I enter. He looks up at me. “Please tell me you’re here to help.”

  “I am. What do you need me to do?”

  “Take that garbage can there and go around to collect any trash people left in the cup holders,” he says.

  “No problem.” I grab the can and wheel it to the front of the theater. It blows my mind that people would leave their trash behind for us to clean up. It’s not like this is a restaurant and we’re tipped for cleaning up after people. And there are garbage cans at the exits. How difficult is it to bring your cup and dump it in the trash can on your way out of the theater?

  I shake my head as I grab a large cup and dump it into the garbage can.

  “People are pigs, aren’t they?” Patrick asks me.

  “I can see maybe not realizing you dropped a piece of popcorn or two on the floor in the dark theater, but to leave your garbage behind is completely inconsiderate.” I finish checking the seats as Patrick pulls out the vacuum.

  “Can you go on ahead to theater seven and do the same?” he asks me.

  “Sure.”

  He turns on the vacuum as I walk out.

  I’m afraid to see what theater seven looks like. That’s where Jackson caught the two teenage boys sneaking in. But then again, if they snuck in, they probably didn’t buy anything from the concession stand because they wouldn’t have tickets to get into the theaters from the lobby.

  I push open the door and grab the garbage can, wheeling it toward the rows of seats. I start at the front like I did with the last theater. I’m about halfway up the aisle when I see someone seated in the back row.

  “Excuse me,” I call. “The theater is closed. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  The man doesn’t even flinch. The lights are still dimmed, but it looks like the guy might be asleep. I leave the garbage can and walk to the back of the theater.

  “Sir?” I say as I approach.

  He’s still not stirring, but if he managed to sleep through the movie, I’m not surprised my volume isn’t enough to wake him. I’ve got nothing on our sound system here.

  I walk around to the back of the aisle and look down when I step in something. Thinking the guy must have fallen asleep holding his drink and spilled it all over the floor, I bend down to examine my sneakers.

  That’s when I notice it’s not a drink spilled on the floor. It’s blood. I stand up. “Sir?” I gently nudge him, and his form slumps forward in the seat. Th
ere’s a laceration in the back of his neck, and blood is dripping down his back onto the floor where I’m standing.

  He’s dead.

  I scream.

  Chapter Two

  Patrick rushes into the theater. “Hailey?”

  “Over here.” I haven’t moved, my sneakers still rooted in place in this man’s blood. “I found him. He’s dead.”

  Patrick hurries to my side. “You’re standing in blood.”

  “I know. I was too afraid to move. This is a crime scene.”

  “I really think you should back up.”

  I shake my head and reach for my phone in my back pocket. “I have to call Detective Bilson. I know him.” I dial Garrett’s number.

  “Hey, Hailey,” he answers. “I just dropped off Riley at her place.”

  “There’s been a murder at the movie theater,” I say.

  “What? When?”

  “I’m standing in a pool of the victim’s blood.” I hear the siren come through the phone.

  “Don’t move. I’m on my way now. Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “What’s he saying?” Patrick asks me.

  “He’s on his way,” I tell him.

  “Who?” Garrett asks me.

  “I’m with a coworker,” I say.

  “Neither of you should touch the body,” Garrett says.

  “I sort of already did. I thought the guy was asleep.”

  Garrett sighs loudly into the phone. “Okay. Can you tell how he died?”

  “It looks like he was stabbed in the back of the neck. I can see the wound.”

  “I’m pulling into the parking lot now.” The siren stops, and then I hear the car door shut, followed by heavy footfalls. Garrett must be running.

  No one else in the theater knows anything is wrong since Patrick and I haven’t left the body to alert anyone.

  “Open up!” Garrett yells, and I hear what sounds like his fist pounding on the door.

  “I’ll go let him in,” Patrick tells me. “We might be the only two people still here.”

  I nod to him. “Detective, Patrick is coming to let you in now. He’s been with me.” Now that Garrett is back on duty, I make sure to address him properly.