Bump at the Ball: Missteps of Murder

By Aubrey Elle

     With new clues about her aunt Josie's disappearance from Baycourt Hall, Anna Glenn is all ears when Officer Romona wants to speak to her at Orson's Fall Ball. Except, attempted murder strikes again, hindering Anna from learning any news about the cold case. Or…has it? Vera Kessel is the town's drama queen, but is her fall simply due to a medical condition or a lethal bump to the head?

     Vera's life hangs by a thread, and it seems more than one person is threatened by what secret she can spill. From jealous former friends, outrageous bribes, and grudges with jilted lovers, there are plenty of enemies who might want to silence her for good. Sure, it's fodder for drama and gossip, but that's not the only headache Anna faces. While she helps the Banners clear the Baycourt Hall's bad rep—again—trouble crops up at home, too, when Aunt Pru sees someone trespassing.

     Keeping secrets is a dangerous, complicated business, something Anna comes to appreciate as a warning in finding Vera's attacker and in unearthing her long-lost relative's fate…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aubrey Elle
• Release date: Nov 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201555948

Book preview

Bump at the Ball

Disclaimer

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Other Books by Aubrey Elle

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2021 Aubrey Elle

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions

Chapter One

Ruby Banner strolled by, exaggerating a wave as she caught my attention over the Fall Ball guest’s shoulder. Sequins glittered as she shimmied in her black dress, signaling her excitement with a cheesy grin and double thumbs-up.

Goodness. This woman, my boss, was such a riot, and I couldn’t begrudge her happiness. Here we were, hosting the biggest event of the year at Baycourt Hall. Big bucks with this party, and so far, no one had been stabbed or shot. The absence of crime seemed a miracle, but to top it off, the guest who’d cornered me about future reservations promised even more good fortune.

Laura Kessel loved to socialize and party, and she had the money and name to support that habit. So her asking me about our schedule for the rest of the year definitely warranted Ruby’s glee.

Cha-ching is right, Ruby.

Anna? Laura asked.

I blinked, smiling anew at the Fall Ball guest—the guest of honor, it would seem. The Kessels were a born-and-raised family from our small town of Orson, but they fled the nest, too. Laura, for instance, was running for Senate and halving her time between DC and Orson. Her sister, Vera, had just moved back from Hollywood.

Sorry, I said. For the sake of securing her business, I had to ignore Ruby’s antics and pay attention on this already busy night. To start with, if I wanted to actually hear Laura, maybe I could steer her toward the foyer, further from the loud music for the dancing couples. Talk about a full, loud house. Baycourt was packed with dignitaries from town, as well as notable mentions from others in the state.

Like I said: party of the year!

Boy, did we need it. After one man stabbed and another one shot, Sean and Ruby Banner needed this pomp party to go off smoothly.

And how would it not? The PTA leader and all-around community chairperson who’d organized Orson’s Fall Ball insisted we have security after the Homecoming dance began with a bang—literally. After the debacle, I’d admit Erin was right to ask for Officer Romona and her officers to be present on our town’s biggest night of the year. Even if we hadn’t asked for their presence in the vein of providing security, I bet they would have come as off-duty guests anyway. There wasn’t a soul missing.

"Are you sure you’re booked for New Year’s?" Laura pressed, smiling charmingly.

Wow. Was that how she planned to get her seat in Senate? Coyly grinning and opening those baby blues so wide that she could seem innocent? There was no doubt she had charisma, but I couldn’t pull magic out of thin air. Sure, the Banners and I would love to host Laura Kessel’s party, but Ruby would disown me as her honorary granddaughter if I did so by cheating out other reservations.

Yep, I’m sure. The Duncans reserved the hall for New Year’s. They put their deposit down over a year ago, and—

The Duncans? She trilled a short, instant laugh, flicking her red hair back as she patted my forearm. While she might be trying to look fun and easy-going, the force of which she pressed her hand to me had me thinking she’d had more than just a little champagne.

I caught her before she stumbled altogether. Balancing the inebriated was a skill I performed quite often as Baycourt’s event manager.

Well, that’s not a problem. Mark my words, they’ll be divorced by Christmas. They’ve been squabbling so long now, one more holiday will be the final straw. And no one’s partying after a split. She winked, her lips yawning wide with the exaggerated expression. Trust me, I’ve got a sixth sense about these things.

You’re a...divorce psychic?

She laughed again. Yep. Definitely bordering on too much to drink. No, silly. I just have these hunches about couples.

Ah. So, is that her secret to campaigning somehow? Deducing relationship odds? Heck, with how anyone was put in or kept in government positions...

Like...you. She beamed. You and Sean.

I deadpanned. Talked to Ruby, have you?

"But she’s so right! You and Sean would make an adorable couple!"

I caught sight of the man himself. Dapper in a tux, he ran his hand back through his brown hair, his gorgeous eyes not quite smiling, but I saw no hint for alarm as he listened to a guest across the foyer space. He caught my attention and just barely nodded his chin toward the corner of the room.

Summoning me to a covert meeting? Hmm. I wondered what was wrong. Because as much as I wanted to agree that Sean and I were inching toward something more than friendship, certainly something more than boss and employee, he wouldn’t strike up a flirty moment here and now. By his words—and Ruby’s—if the Fall Ball went well and we all three nabbed future reservations with deposits from the guests tonight, the hall would be out of the red.

Divorces, weddings. You name it, I’ve got a feeling about it. Take... Laura pointed, seemingly moving on from her prediction about me and my hunky boss. Thank goodness. Perhaps my non-answer was a firm let’s change the subject message that got through her drunken state. Take my darling sister, for example.

Darling came out as wretched. To match her tone, Laura nearly sneered at her younger sister, Vera. A brunette dressed in purple, Vera screamed Hollywood. She’d only gone to Hollywood as an assistant for a personal fitness trainer—some connection from her college days—but the twentysomething sure picked up the vibe on the coast. Engaged to then dumped by a celeb, she’d come back home to Orson as a residue of a big name, but she embodied the lifestyle in all its glitz, glamor, and fuss.

What, you predicted she wasn’t going to last with that, um...actor?

Laura smiled. "James was a producer. But no, I’m not talking about him. Since V’s come home, she’s hooked up with Raymond."

Oh. Now that she mentioned it, I recalled seeing her with the lawyer. He’d been milling around the dessert area, all those long tables set out as samples from the café in town. Marilyn’s Main Street business was casual, more down-to-earth, but she sure prettied up her newest treats for tonight’s posh event. More networking and promotion, huh?

Laura leaned closer to whisper, Word is, he’s thinking to propose soon, but it’ll never happen.

Him asking her?

She shrugged. Well, no. I’m sure he will. But she’ll never marry. Or stay married more than a day. As she rolled her eyes, she tipped to the side again so much that I held out my hand to catch her if need be. Vera’s just...too much. Once more, she shrugged, as though to say it is what it is. "Besides, even if he asks her, she’ll probably say no. Not only to cause drama and garner more attention, but she also might be fed up with him. Every couple argues, but that man takes it a little too far sometimes."

As if on cue, Vera laughed as she and Raymond shared words near the desserts. Her cackle was loud enough it halted Laura from saying anything more. Such a forced sound, not at all the result of amusement. Raymond glowered as Vera seethed at him, all while maintaining the mask of a smile.

See? Laura downed the last of her drink. She’s not getting a happily ever after anytime soon.

And...you care because? I was no stranger to Laura and Vera’s sisterhood. They were well-known in town, and their catty status as siblings reiterated how glad I was to be an only child. But was Laura gleeful about Vera’s lack of luck in love?

At any rate, Laura said, pulling my attention from Vera snapping at Raymond just before he stalked away, let me know about that New Year’s party. This hall would be per—fect!

I winced at her sloppy hiccup as she was pulled aside to speak to the mayor and his wife.

Psst.

I whipped around, finding Sean reaching for my elbow.

What’s wrong? I asked, crouching like we were discussing state secrets.

His smile put me at ease as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Just being near him could lighten my mood. Such a strong, considerate man who doted on his grandma and—

Uh, nothing. I hope?

I raised a brow at his dubious tone.

Well, Mr. Moore was complaining about the hand dryer putzing out in the bathroom. And then Erin stopped me to say the main fountain was splashing out water, and—

I groaned. Sure, we might be close to having the funds to be out of the red, but would this old monstrous building ever not be so...needy?

I’ll check it out. But I wanted to tell you Romona was looking for you.

Now I perked up. Orson’s main officer, looking for me? I wasn’t afraid of being caught redhanded in any crime. Like Aunt Pru said, I was a classic good girl.

However, Romona—as everyone in town nicknamed her, by her surname—was a person of interest. She’d promised to help Aunt Pru and I look into my aunt Josie’s disappearance, and I had to hope her seeking me out meant she’d have new