Chapter 32
32
T heresa casually walked along the auction tables, leaning over to read the names on the clipboards. The amount of money that people were willing to bid was unreal, and she wondered how much of it was ill-gotten gains.
Their bids were likely false. The amounts they were willing to bid were just for show, so the benefit could keep records, but in actuality, that money was being laundered. It made her sick they were willing to use children to hide what they were doing.
She continued walking along each table, stopping when someone called out, "Theresa, is that you?"
She looked up to see Kelsey, who she worked with at the Sandbar.
"Kelsey? Yes, hi! What are you doing here?"
Her mind whirled. What would Kelsey be doing here? She didn’t come from money. Actually, she just had some issue with a ticket or something. What did Marco say? She had to have help?
Kelsey shrugged. "Oh, my dad wanted me to come in his place. He comes to this thing every year."
"Your dad? What does your dad do for a living?"
"Oh, he runs a paper company. He sells the cardboard boxes to PCK Meatpacking, and they ship their meat out in them. This is a big deal for him. He’s known Torin Terry for years, and they’re good friends. They golf and do all sorts of things together. So, one of us had to be here, and my dad is out of town, so he needed me to come in his place."
Theresa’s mind spun. She’d never heard Kelsey talk about her family. Actually, she thought she was from out of town.
"Okay… but with me off work for a while, aren’t you filling in at the Sandbar?"
Kelsey shrugged. "Margo’s filling in tonight, and she can handle it. And with this thing going on, a lot of people wouldn’t be at the Sandbar, so they didn’t expect a big crowd, even though it’s Saturday night."
Theresa swallowed. None of this seemed right.Then Kelsey spun around quickly.The drink in her hand went flying, splashing all over Theresa.
Theresa gasped. "Oh my God!"
Kelsey responded, "Oh! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!" Kelsey’s voice was high-pitched and panicked. "Here, let me help you, oh my God, let’s run to the bathroom, I can find some napkins to sop this up. I am so, so, so, so sorry!"
Theresa shook her head. "No, that’s okay. I don’t need to go to the bathroom."
She rushed over to the bar and asked for some napkins. The bartender handed her three cloth napkins, and she began dabbing the front of her dress, trying to soak up the mess and not pull a camera or microphone from its seated spot.
"Theresa, please," Kelsey pleaded. "Let’s go to the bathroom so I can wash some of this off. It’s going to stain your dress, it’s very beautiful, by the way." She took a breath. "I thought you were on personal leave for some reason?"
Theresa paused. She hadn't thought about an alibi if someone asked her what she was doing here. She certainly never expected to see Kelsey or anyone she knew.
"I am on personal leave, but this was an event I had to attend. But why are you here? This is all big-money people."
"I told you, my dad asked me to come. Why are you here?"
Theresa sighed."It was just something I had to do for a friend."
"What friend? What friend do you have that would have this kind of money?"
Theresa blew out a breath, exasperated. Usually, she was quicker at thinking on her feet. She told white lies all the time when she was in reporter mode. But this? It caught her off guard.
"Well, to be honest, I’m not sure that’s any of your business Kelsey. And I’m not sure why you’re asking me so many questions."
"I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to seem nosy or anything. I was just surprised to see you here."
"I’m surprised to see you as well."
Kelsey sighed. "Anyway, let’s go. Let’s get to the bathroom so I can help you wipe this up."
Theresa's exasperation came out in a huff."I don’t need help wiping this up. It’s fine. As soon as I get home, I’ll send my dress off to the dry cleaners. It’ll be fine."
Suddenly, Mitch appeared from nowhere."Hello there, Theresa. Do you need some help?"
She spun around, startled. Then she realized Gabby had probably told him she was being grilled.
"Mitch, thanks. Oh, Kelsey accidentally spilled a drink on my dress. We’re just trying to sop it up."
Kelsey shook her head. "I told her we needed to go to the bathroom to put some water on the stains, but she won’t come."
Mitch shook his head. "That’s okay. My housekeeper can help you get any stains out, if need be, and the dry cleaners will do a perfect job with it."
Kelsey huffed slightly. "I was just trying to help."
Mitch dismissed her quickly. "Yes, I can see the kind of help you were trying to offer. Theresa, how about we step into the hallway and finish mopping up this mess, so we’re not in the main ballroom?"
Theresa sighed. "Yes, that would be great. Thank you."
Mitch slowly ushered her out as she continued dabbing at her dress. Her chest started to feel sticky, whatever Kelsey had in her drink was sugary.Out in the hallway, her heart pounded. Her breathing was slightly unsteady.
"Thank you for coming to my rescue," she said. "That almost felt like she did it on purpose. The way she spun around and spilled that drink, it was almost like she tossed it."
"Yeah, Gabby told me she was giving you the third degree, working way too hard to get you out of the room."
"It was so weird. And I didn’t know her dad owned a paper manufacturing company."
Mitch responded. "He doesn’t. At least, not this Kelsey’s dad. Luckily, I’m familiar with the employees at the Sandbar, and I had Gabby do a quick check on her. She was lying."
Theresa's stomach dropped. "Oh my God. Kelsey..."
Marco rushed up to them."There you are! What happened?"
Theresa quickly explained everything.Marco put his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her eyes as he softly said, "It’s okay, honey. It’s okay. Let’s just finish our job and get back to the cabin, where we're safe."