bobby
I found Tristan dancing with Stacey while Dane and Ashton looked on from the edge of the dancefloor. He looked happy as he laughed. Sporadically throwing his head back and twisting and twirling Stacey in his arms.
I didn’t want to burst his bubble. But I had to tell him that Dr Mendelen, one of the people who helped him come out of his shell, whom he confided so many secrets to, was dead.
But he saw me first on approach, standing beside Dane, watching him.
His eyes sparkled in the glimmer of the moonlight, which was still the only light beside people’s phones. Ashton was playing music on his phone, which Tristan and Stacey had been dancing to.
“Baby!” Tristan announced, throwing his arms up in the air. I could tell he had had more than one or two drinks. Maybe this was for the best… I turned to walk away. I couldn’t do this!
I couldn’t ruin his night.
“Bobby? Bob, where are you going?” he called, running after me. He took me by the hand and spun me back around. “Baby, what’s the matter? You’re so serious.”
I looked down at our joined hands.
“I… I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but…”
His smile fell from his face. “What happened? You’re not breaking up with me, are you?”
“What? No! no, it’s just… there was a body found in the kitchen.”
“A body? Great! So, you have to work on our engagement party?” he said, slurring his words. He draped his muscled arm around my neck. Damn, he was heavy when he was drunk and not holding his own weight.
“No. my dad will. Tomorrow. Don’t worry.”
“Then what is? Surely it can wait until tomorrow, too? Come dance with me, baby!”
“I’d love to, but…” here it goes. Our night will never be the same after this. “The victim… it’s Dr Mendelen. I’m so sorry, Tris.”
It took a moment for the news to reach his alcohol-affected brain, but when it did, I saw his heart physically break.
“Tris…” He staggered backward away from me, his hands slipping from mine. And then he turned and ran toward the balcony. “Tris! Tristan!”
I couldn’t let him go through this alone. I ran after the man I loved.
I found him crying, looking out over the darkened harbour. Some solar lights in the garden below and around the pier and the moon were the only light sources out here.
I had never seen Summervale so dark.
“Tris, I’m sorry. I’ll find out who did this, I promise.”
He looked at me and nodded, tears running down his face. He wiped his face and smiled sadly. I walked over to him and stood beside him.
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have invited her.”
“What? No. It’s not your fault. It’s the killer’s fault. It’s whoever…” I swore as the freighting thought came to mind. I felt sick.
Now it was Tristan’s turn to be concerned. “What is it?”
I lowered my voice and leaned into him. “It has to be someone at this party.”
“What? No. They’re our family and friends. We know them all. Don’t we?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked back through the French doors toward our guests – our friends, family, and loved ones. People we knew and trusted. There was no way someone here could have killed Dr Mendelen, could they?