Previously…
– King’s Bay gathered for a gala event in honor of Objection Designs’s anniversary. Loretta crashed the fashion show to decry Molly.
– A tipsy Finn showed up at the party and heckled during the fashion show.
– Brent discovered Finn outside the party, standing over what appeared to be Loretta’s dead body!

In his decades in law enforcement, Brent Taylor has seen many disturbing crime scenes. Some were upsetting because of the nature of the crimes; others were so grisly that they caused a physical reaction that he had to work hard to keep in check.  However, no crime scene has ever stricken him like this current one.

Brent stands in the light rain outside the studio space where Objection Designs has been holding its anniversary gala and fashion show. The show itself was a success, but when his wife, Molly, came onstage to thank the attendees and make a statement about her beloved company’s milestone, she was interrupted by Loretta Ragan, determined to make a defiant stand against Molly, her family, and the company. Now, only a few minutes after Loretta was escorted out, Brent is staring at her dead body on the pavement, with a small pool of blood glistening beside her head and Finn Campbell standing frozen over her body.

Seconds that feel like an eternity pass before Brent’s law enforcement instincts kick in.

“We need to secure this scene,” he says, to everyone and no one in particular. He scans the area and notices the pop-up tent that the valets are standing beneath. “I need that tent. We need to cover her.” All he can think about is evidence being washed away.

When the two men beneath the valet stand hesitate, Brent barks, “Move it for me! Police orders. This is a crime scene.”

As the valets scramble into action, Brent approaches Finn and Loretta.

“I need you to step back,” Brent tells Finn. “Don’t go anywhere.”

“I didn’t–” Finn draws short, panicked breaths. “I didn’t do anything.”

Brent chooses not to respond verbally, instead throwing him a dubious look, and then kneels down beside Loretta. He uses two fingers to check for Loretta’s pulse.

A second goes by. Then another. There is no pulse.

“She’s dead,” he announces, as the rain continues to fall softly and the valets position the tent over him and Loretta. Then he pulls out his phone and quickly dials. As soon as there is an answer, he says, “This is Commander Taylor. I’m at a crime scene and need backup.”

—–

“Hurry up,” Caleb Taylor mutters. He and his girlfriend are huddled in a dim corner of the party, as she discreetly pours liquor from a flask into the two sodas they just ordered from the bar. M83’s throbbing, moody “Midnight City” plays over the sound system.

“I can’t go any faster,” Jasmine Knight snaps quietly. Caleb can feel the annoyance radiating off her and decides to keep his mouth shut as she finishes pouring and screws the top back onto the flask.

“Thanks,” he says, still using his body to block her actions from the rest of the partygoers. “You’re a life-saver.”

Jasmine looks up at him, and he fully expects a snarky retort, but a voice interrupts them.

“There you two are,” Molly Taylor says as she approaches them. Jasmine quickly shoves the flask back into her clutch.

“The fashion show was awesome, Mrs. Taylor!” Jasmine declares. “This is a great party. It makes me proud to work for Objection.”

“Aw, thank you, Jasmine,” Molly replies to the young woman who also works in her company’s flagship boutique in downtown King’s Bay. “Are you two having fun? Aside from that terribly timed interruption…”

“At least it’ll get you some press,” Caleb comments. He takes a sip of his drink, and the sting of Jasmine’s heavy pour almost makes him cough, but he suppresses the reflex and pretends to smooth the front of his black tuxedo.

At that moment, another voice cuts into the trio’s conversation: “Molly!”

All three turn to see Sarah Fisher Gray stomping toward them, with her husband in tow.

“What’s wrong?” Molly asks with confusion.

“Why can’t we leave?” Sarah demands.

Seeing Molly’s perplexed expression, Matt explains in a calmer tone, “The security guards up front are telling us that we can’t exit right now. But no one will say why.”

“That’s weird,” Molly agrees. “Let me go find out…”

No sooner has she spoken these words, however, than the sounds of police sirens cut through the air. Partygoers immediately perk up at the shrill noise, and a few seconds later, flashing red lights are visible outside.

“What in the world…?” Molly asks aloud, wondering how else this evening could possibly go awry.

—–

Brent feels the tiniest sense of relief as other uniforms and crime scene techs take over the scene, crowding around Loretta’s body to try and make sense of whatever happened out here tonight. Brent leads Finn underneath the overhang that covers the front entry of the event space; thanks to the curtained-off area serving as a lobby and coat check, none of the attendees are able to peer out at what is happening, other than the handful of event workers who are thankfully minding their business.

“I swear I didn’t do anything to her,” Finn says. His voice is shaky, and so are his hands, Brent notices when he glances down.

“What was happening out here?” Brent questions.

“Nothing.” Finn’s eyes keep cutting toward Loretta — or at least at the crowd of people now gathered around her. “It was nothing.”

“You were out here with Loretta Ragan after she was removed from the party. Why?”

Finn gulps, his Adam’s apple bobbing notably as he searches for words. Finally he sputters, “It– it was a disagreement, that’s all.”

Brent furrows his brow. “What do you and Loretta Ragan have to disagree about? How do you even know each other?”

“I don’t have to answer any of these questions,” Finn says. He folds his arms in front of his damp tuxedo jacket.

“You can come down to the station with me and answer them.”

“You can’t make me do that.”

“Actually, I can,” Brent says. “Finn Campbell, you are under arrest for the murder of Loretta Ragan. Anything you say or do can be used against you…”

—–

“There’s a dead body outside?!” Sophie Fisher exclaims. The teenager wears a black dress and gothic makeup, complete with a purple-black shade of lipstick. “Where? Who?”

“We don’t know what happened yet,” Jason Fisher advises his daughter. “Let’s let the authorities handle it.”

Sophie scowls at him. “But Dad…”

“Soph, this is serious. We don’t know if it could be dangerous out there.”

The music continues to play over the speakers, but no one is dancing anymore. All attention inside the party is focused on the glimmers of red lights being thrown through the windows, and a strange hush has come over the crowd, most of whom are talking in troubled whispers now.

Across the room, Spencer Ragan stands with his wife and son, uncertain about what is going on. He doesn’t quite know why, but there is an uncomfortable knot tightening itself in his stomach.

“I wanna go home,” Peter says. The little boy has been a trooper all night, putting on his suit, sitting quietly through the party and fashion show, and not even becoming hysterical when he saw his grandmother being escorted out of the venue by security guards.

“We’ll go as soon as we can,” Spencer distractedly tells him.

“This is insane,” Natalie grouses. “There’s got to be a back exit we can use or something.”

“Let’s just wait until we have more info,” Spencer says uneasily.

Mere feet away, another group of guests are murmuring to one another.

“Someone said it was that crazy lady,” a woman says in a half-whisper. “The one who interrupted the show.”

“She’s dead?” a man responds with bulging eyes.

The words float toward Spencer, and immediately he feels his stomach drop to the floor. But his first instinct is to look at Peter, who is too distracted by fiddling with his iPad to have noticed the chatter.

Spencer and Natalie make eye contact. He can tell that she has heard, too.

“What the hell is going on?” she asks.

“I don’t know,” Spencer manages to eke out, but he suddenly feels as though the room — perhaps the entire world — is spinning.

—–

Brent remains outside the venue, watching as the squad car with Finn in the backseat drives off. His iPhone, which he has clutched in his palm, vibrates for what has to be the two-hundredth time in the last ten minutes.

Is it true? It’s Loretta? the text message from Molly reads.

He begins to type, then pauses. He knows that he has to continue in a professional capacity, first and foremost, for the time being.

I can’t say much yet, he types back. Working on clearing the scene so people can leave. Need 10-15 longer.

He sends the message and then goes to join the small collection of officers and crime scene techs who are handling Loretta’s body.

—–

Back inside, Claire Fisher returns from the restroom to find Tim standing with his mother.

“Is there any more information as to what’s going on?” Claire asks.

She sees Tim bite the insides of his cheeks, but he pushes past the hesitation: “People are saying it’s Loretta.”

“She’s… she’s dead?”

“That’s what it sounds like,” Paula says. “But no one seems to know what happened yet. Brent is still outside.”

Claire takes a moment to allow this information to sink in. “I don’t want to get my hopes up that it could be true.”

“Me, neither,” Tim says. “The fact that she could actually be gone…”

“I wouldn’t ever want to wish death on anyone,” Paula says, as she knots her fingers together nervously. “It isn’t right.”

“No, but neither are the things that woman has done to our family,” Tim responds. “As far as I’m concerned, if someone or something finally took Loretta Ragan out — we owe them all the thanks in the world.”

“Tim,” Paula admonishes him.

“I’m sorry, Mom, but I mean. Loretta deserves to burn in hell for the things she’s done.”

—–

Outside, Brent joins the crew clustered under the pop-up tent. The light drizzle has mostly subsided, but the pavement is still slick, and its surface gleams beneath the lamps that line the parking lot. Loretta’s body has now been covered with a sheet.

“Any idea on cause of death? Injuries? A murder weapon?” Brent asks the group. “The suspect is headed down to the station.”

“This is very strange,” a serious, bespectacled woman with short, somewhat spiky blonde hair tells him.

Brent looks down at the sheet. “What is?”

“We can’t find any indication of a fatal wound,” the woman says.

“But there’s blood,” Brent says. “Presumably hers, from the placement.”

“We’ve collected samples, and it does appear to be hers. But the blood… it appears as though it came from the victim’s mouth.”

“The valets both said they heard loud arguing,” Brent replies. “The suspect and Loretta were fighting about something.”

“Yet it looks as if she might have dropped dead out of nowhere,” the woman says. “It could be natural causes.”

“It could be,” Brent admits, but something about that possibility — especially given the strangeness of Finn fighting with Loretta, for whatever reason — seems off to him. “We need to figure out what happened out here tonight.”

END OF EPISODE 1240

Did Finn do something covert to Loretta?
How will Spencer respond to her death?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

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