Murder at the Movie Theater (Traumatic Temp Agency 5) Read online

  A few seconds later, Detective Bilson says, “I see him.”

  “Follow me,” I hear Patrick tell him.

  I’m still staring at the body when they walk into the theater. I pocket my phone again.

  Detective Bilson turns to Patrick. “Get the lights on. All of them.” He pulls out his phone and calls the station. Once he’s hung up, he walks over to me. “You’re going to need new sneakers.”

  “Think the Rockland PD will foot the bill for me?” Sneakers are expensive after all.

  “I might need your help with the investigation, so I’ll see what I can do.”

  I wasn’t expecting that. “Should I remove my shoes?” I don’t want to track bloody footprints all over the place. I don’t think the police or Mr. Berryman would appreciate that.

  “That’s probably best,” Detective Bilson says.

  Patrick offers me his arm to hold onto and steady myself as I untie my laces and carefully step out of my shoes.

  “Leave them there,” Detective Bilson says. “The CSI team will bag them up.” He walks to the other side of the body, most likely to avoid stepping in blood, and reaches for the victim’s wallet. He removes the driver’s license. “Corey Vincent.”

  I heard that name earlier tonight. He’s the one Jasmine and William were talking about.

  “Do either of you know the victim?” Detective Bilson asks.

  “He’s in here a lot,” Patrick says. “I’ve seen him before, but I never knew him by name.”

  “I heard some people talking about him,” I say. “He kept coming to see the same movie. One of the customers even commented on how many times Corey had seen it.”

  “Was this person here with Corey?” Detective Bilson asks me.

  “No. Corey was alone when I took his ticket.”

  “I thought you sold tickets,” Patrick says to me.

  “I usually do, but I was covering for Mr. Berryman when he took his break.”

  “Okay.” Detective Bilson sighs. “I’m going to have a lot of questions for you, Hailey, but it’s late, and I have to see to the crime scene right now. Can you come down to the station first thing tomorrow morning?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “What about me? Am I free to go?” Patrick asks.

  “I’m going to need to speak to you as well. Let me get your information before you go.”

  “Will the theater have to close?” I ask.

  “This one specifically, yes. But after a day or so, we might be able to block off this theater and let the rest of them open.” Detective Bilson takes out his notepad and pen and jots down Patrick’s information. By the time he finishes, the CSI team arrives.

  Patrick and I let them in as we head out to our cars, me in my socks. I’m pretty sure it’s not legal to drive without shoes, but I think that’s probably the last thing on Detective Bilson’s mind right now. I call Ben on my way home, and he insists on meeting me at my place.

  I get there about fifteen minutes before he does, which only leaves me time for a quick shower. I’m just pulling on a shirt when there’s a knock on my door.

  “Hi,” I say, opening the door.

  Ben pulls me into a hug. “Why does this keep happening to you?”

  “If you figure that out, please let me know so I can try to avoid it in the future.” This is the fifth time I’ve discovered a dead body on a job. It’s getting really out of hand.

  Ben releases me and closes the door behind him. “I’m guessing you don’t want to talk about it.”

  I hate that so much of my relationship with Ben has had to focus on solving murders. “It would be nice to talk about anything else.”

  He takes my hand and leads me to the couch, where we sit down. “I’m thinking of getting a dog,” he says.

  “Really? But you’re not home much,” I say.

  “I know. That’s why I haven’t gotten one yet. I always had one growing up, though. I miss it.”

  “What kind?” I ask, but I keep picturing the wound on the back of Corey Vincent’s neck.

  Ben cups my cheek. “Hey, why do you suddenly look sick?”

  “Sorry. I’m trying not to think about the dead body, but I see it every time I close my eyes.”

  He stares into my eyes. “What can I do?”

  I offer him a weak smile. “You’re already doing it.”

  “Then I don’t seem to be very good at it. I’m supposed to be distracting you so you don’t think about the murder.”

  “It’s not an easy thing to distract a person’s attention from,” I say in his defense.

  “Are you planning to investigate it?” he asks.

  “Garrett said he might need my help. He might be buying me new sneakers as well considering mine are currently covered in the victim’s blood, and they’re in police custody.”

  Ben pulls me to him, and I rest my head on his chest. “I think this calls for ice cream and a comedy.”

  I look up at him. “That’s random.”

  “Not at all. You need the opposite of what you’ve experienced this evening. The opposite of horror is comedy in my mind. And is there any situation that ice cream can’t fix?”

  I smile, but it quickly fads. “I don’t have any ice cream in my freezer.” I’m lucky to have ice cubes in there.

  “You ate it?” he asks.

  “I never had any.” I narrow my eyes at him in confusion.

  “When was the last time you opened your freezer?” He stands up and walks to the kitchen.

  I follow. “What do you mean?”

  “I put two cartons of ice cream in there last week.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, I brought it over when Riley was here. You were in the shower when I put it in your freezer. We never ended up eating it because we ordered cheesecake with our dinner instead.” He pulls open the freezer and produces two containers of cookie dough ice cream.

  I lean forward and kiss him. “Best boyfriend ever.”

  He smiles. “You grab some spoons,” he says, carrying the cartons to the couch.

  I get two large spoons because the night I’ve had merits shoveling ice cream into my mouth in heaping spoonfuls, not tiny teaspoon-size bites.

  We sit down and dig right in, each taking a whole container to ourselves. About five minutes later, I’m almost finished with my ice cream, and there’s a knock on the door.

  It has to be Riley. Garrett probably called her, and she’s here to yell at me for not telling her about the murder. I get up, placing my ice cream on the coffee table. Through the peephole, I see the annoyed expression on Riley’s face. I open the door. “Sorry I didn’t call you.”

  She barges into the apartment. “But you called Ben,” she says.

  “I am her boyfriend,” he says.

  “I’m her best friend. That should count for more." She crosses her arms.

  “I’ve technically known her longer,” Ben says.

  I look back and forth between them. “Are you two seriously arguing over which one of you I should like more?”

  “Yes!” Riley says. “And it’s me!”

  Ben smirks and eats another bite of ice cream. “I stocked her freezer with ice cream.”

  Riley’s mouth drops open. “I feed her all the time.”

  “Hey, I’m not a pet. Knock it off. Both of you.” I sit back down on the couch and resume eating my ice cream.

  Riley remains standing, and she uncrosses her arms. “Garrett told me you found the body.”

  “Hailey doesn’t want to discuss it,” Ben says.

  “Too bad.” Riley flops down beside me and grabs the ice cream container and spoon from my hands.

  “Hey!” I say.

  “I’m not apologizing. You called Ben instead of me. The least you can do is give me your ice cream.” She takes a big spoonful.

  Ben hands me his ice cream and gets up to get another spoon. “Did your new boyfriend fill you in on the murder?” he asks Riley.

  “Yeah, but Garrett’s Garrett. I want to hear Hailey’s perspective.”

  Ben returns with another spoon for me.

  “I reiterate. Best boyfriend ever,” I say, taking the spoon.

  He smiles as he retakes his seat.

  “Ugh.” Riley rolls her eyes. “You two are nauseating.”

  “Don’t tell me things aren’t going well with you and Garrett,” Ben says.

  “No, they’re fine.”

  “He seems like he’s doing a lot better,” I say. Not that long ago, Garrett was in a car accident that left him in a coma. He’s been recovering from his head injury ever since, and Riley stayed at his place, playing nurse, for a while. Now that they’re officially together, she’s back to her townhouse, though.

  “He is. He’s a lot happier being back at work, too.”

  One of the reasons why Riley resisted her feelings for Garrett is because he's married to his job, so I’m a little worried that him returning to work would put some tension in their relationship. “It’s good to see he’s making time for you.”

  “I was totally shocked when he suggested going to the movies tonight,” she says. “I guess I should be grateful the murder happened after our date was over.”

  “I’m sure the killer took that into consideration,” Ben jokes.

  Riley rolls her eyes. “I’m a little worried that going behind Garrett’s back to solve this murder might cause some issues between us now that we’re together.”

  “We may not have to go behind his back,” I say. “He already said he might need my help, which means I could even get some compensation for it.”

  “Really?” Riley almost looks disappointed by that.

  “Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing?” I ask.

  She eats another bite of ice cream before answering. “I don’t know. I sort of liked sneaking around behind Garrett’s back. It made things more interesting.”

  “We openly helped him on the previous case.”

  “Yeah, but that wasn’t actually his case. He was sneaking around with us behind Officer Casey’s back.”

  “So it’s the sneaking around part that you like,” Ben says.

  He has no idea she sneaks around as Rumor Robin every day of her life. It’s a secret I hate keeping from him, but it’s her secret to share, not mine.

  She looks at me, and I get the sneaking suspicion she feels bad that she’s forcing me to keep her secret.

  “I think it’s just part of her dynamic with Garrett,” I say.

  “You must not be happy that Rumor Robin outed your relationship then,” Ben says.

  “I’ve decided there’s nothing any of us can keep from Rumor Robin,” I intervene on Riley’s behalf yet again.

  “Stop, Hailes.” Riley puts her ice cream on the coffee table.

  “I don’t know what you mean.” I meet her gaze and silently communicate she should stop talking. I don’t want her confessing for my sake.

  “I can’t ask you to lie to him.”

  “Lie to me?” Ben faces me. “What is she talking about, Hailey?”

  “I’m not lying about anything.” He’s never asked me if I know who Rumor Robin is.

  “It’s a lie by omission,” Riley says. “And you don’t have to. If you trust Ben, then so do I.”

  “But—”

  “Wait a second.” Ben narrows his eyes at Robin. “Are you trying to say you’re Rumor Robin?”

  She nods.

  He turns to me. “And you knew?”

  I bob my head as well.

  “For how long?”

  “Since the day I met her,” I say. “She told me, but it was in confidence, and I didn’t feel right telling her secret.”

  “Of course not,” he says. “I wouldn’t expect you to betray her confidence like that.”

  “Really?” I ask. “You’re not upset I kept it from you even after we got together?”

  “No. It’s not like you were keeping something about yourself a secret. This is about Riley. It was up to her to decide to tell me.”

  Riley bobs a shoulder. “And I didn’t have to because you figured it out. I’m honestly surprised more people haven’t.”

  “I totally thought Rumor Robin was Pete Modell,” Ben says.

  Pete is one of the sweetest men I’ve ever met. He’s saved Garrett’s life and mine. He’s sort of the town savior in a lot of ways. And he knows everyone and everything that goes on in town. Most of the residents of Rockland think he’s the face behind Rumor Robin. After all, Robin is a gender neutral name. It could be anyone.

  “Who else knows?” Ben asks.

  “Just Garrett and Hailey. And my uncle Sammy, of course,” Riley says.

  “I always forget Mr. Montage is your uncle.” Ben shakes his head. “Man, you’re really Rumor Robin? You’re not pulling my leg?”

  “Would you believe me if I denied it now?” she asks.

  “No.” He laughs.

  “I didn’t think so, which means I need you to swear to keep my secret, or my new boyfriend might have to cover up your murder for me.”

  “Why don’t I think you’re kidding?” Ben asks.

  Chapter Three

  I show up at the police station bright and early Saturday morning. Call me crazy, but I find it hard to sleep after finding a dead body. So I was up at four o'clock. I went for a run, showered, and got to the police station before Garrett arrived.

  He pulls in and gets out of his patrol car to meet me. In his hands are two large to-go cups of what I’m assuming is coffee. He immediately gives one to me. “I was informed I needed to bring this for you.”

  “Tell Riley I said thank you.” I take the coffee from him and sip it.

  “She said it was the least I could do for making you come in so early, but you don’t look like I dragged you out of bed at all.”

  “That’s because you didn’t. I’ve already gotten in a five-mile run.”

  He holds the door to the station open for me. “You’re even crazier than I thought.”

  I laugh. “You don’t put in any time on the treadmill?”

  “Not since the accident, at least.” His gaze goes to my feet. “I’m glad to see we didn’t confiscate your only pair of sneakers.”

  “No, but you did confiscate my favorite pair. These are old.” I take a seat at his desk.

  He sits as well and opens the top drawer. “Here. Hopefully this will cover the cost of a new pair.” He hands me a check for a hundred and fifty dollars.

  “You’re kidding me.” I stare at it in amazement.

  “Nope. I talked to the chief and told him how much you’ve helped this station. He thought this was the least we could do.”

  I’ve never met the chief of police. “Is he here now?”

  “Chief Decker won’t be here for another hour or so. Why? Do you want to meet him?”

  “At some point, I think I probably should. If you’re serious about wanting my help, that is.”

  Garrett sighs. “I figure it’s better to work with you and Riley than have you two investigating behind my back. It will be easier to keep an eye on you both that way.”

  I smirk. “You might want to let Riley believe she’s getting away with a few things behind your back.”

  He laughs. “She does like to think she’s got the upper hand.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Okay, tell me about last night. What do you know about Corey Vincent?” He picks up a pen and his yellow legal pad.

  “Not much. I took his ticket before he went into the theater. William—he’s the guy who works the concession stand—came over to make sure Corey paid for his ticket and Jasmine didn’t give him her free pass.”

  “That’s William Cruise?” Garrett asks me, consulting a list of movie theater employees.

  “I guess. I don’t know everyone’s full names yet. Yesterday was only my second day of work.”

  “Okay, go on.”

  “William was upset. I think he likes Jasmine, and maybe she turned him down.”

  Garrett looks up from his notepad. “How upset? Was he angry with Corey?”

  “I don’t know. I think maybe he was more hurt that Jasmine might like Corey more than him.”

  Garrett bobs his head.

  “There was this other guy. Jasmine called him Ty. I don’t know his last name, but she probably would. She seemed to know him. Anyway, he commented on how Corey was back to see the same movie again.”

  “So Corey Vincent frequented the movies a lot.”

  “Yeah, and apparently he was quoting the one film so much it was annoying people like Ty.” I remember something else. “Oh, and Jasmine thought maybe Corey kept coming to the theater to see her, but Ty seemed to think it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with loving that movie.”

  “Did Jasmine appear to be upset by that news?” Garrett asks.

  “Yeah, and she immediately asked me to cover for her so she could use the bathroom.”

  “Do you think she really used the bathroom or was that just a story she told you? She might have gone to confront Corey and find out if what that Ty person said was true.” Garrett taps his pen against the legal pad. “Once we get a time of death, we’ll know if Jasmine should be on the suspect list. For now, I’m putting her there.” He makes a note. “Was anyone else on break while Corey was in the movie theater?”

  “I’m not sure. I was selling tickets. I do know that Bethany went home early because she was feeling sick. That’s why I was helping Patrick clean up after all the showings.”

  Garret consults his list again. “Bethany Rogers. She claimed to be sick?”

  “That’s what Mr. Berryman told me when he asked me to stay and work overtime.”

  “Patrick Adams will be here at nine to give me his full statement. I’ll check with him about Bethany as well.” Garrett scribbles another note. “Did you notice anyone acting suspicious or coming out of the theater in a hurry?”

  Now that he mentions it, yes. “There were these two teenage boys who snuck into the theater twice.”

  “Twice in the same night?”

  “Same theater, too. It was theater seven.”

  Garrett meets my gaze. “Where Corey Vincent was stabbed?”