Chapter 4 – Remembering the Night

“You, whore!”

Jim was furious. He was in disbelief that the woman who killed his grandson was standing right before him. Raising a cane, he tried to hit her, but Sean stepped in. He got hit in place of the murderer.

“Oops! Grandpa! What are you doing?”

“What are you doing, Sean Andrew Hartmann?” the old man growled. “She killed your brother. Why are you protecting her?” Sean raised his hands in surrender. Then he grabbed his grandfather’s cane to put it down.

“She may have killed Scott, but she's still my wife. Gramps, we just got married? Can you at least let me spend a few more hours with her before you murder her?”

Jim was about to say something when someone else spoke, “Where is my son?” It was Emilie, his stepmother.

“You’re stepson!” Sean corrected.

“Whether I gave birth to you or not, the moment your father married me, I became your mother!” Emilie scolded.

“Enough!” the old Hartmann yelled. “If you want to be considered a mother, make sure you learn how to discipline your son first!”

Emilie bowed, feeling ashamed of what her father-in-law said. He was right. She had never been a mother to either Sean or Scott. She only paid attention to her biological son, Marcus.

Shunned, Emilie excused herself to leave. However, her attention diverted to the woman standing behind her stepson.

“Who is she?” Emilie pointed at Maxine. The woman was standing straight with her head bowed down.

“Oh, sorry! I forgot my manners,” Sean then placed an arm over Maxine’s shoulders and pulled her closer. “Stepmother dear, meet Maxine Winther. My wife and Scott’s killer.”

The woman next to him felt small. ‘How many times has he called me a killer in the past hours? I swear to God I don’t even know who Scott Hartmann is.’

“You’re wife? Last time I checked, you were single. You even declined Danielle’s invitation for dinner. And now you have a wife? You’re married?”

Without paying attention to everything Emilie said, Sean turned to Maxine and smiled, “Hon, meet my lovely stepmother,” his tone was full of sarcasm.

Maxine looked up to face the woman. She was about to shake her hand when she stopped midway, “H-Have we met before?”

Emilie narrowed her eyes at her. She felt weird about her question. “I don’t go to strip clubs!” she snapped.

“Sorry, ma’am,” then Maxine bowed in courtesy. “I’m Maxine Winther.”

The so-called lovely stepmother looked at Maxine from head to toe. Then her eyes landed on her hand before looking at her face. “Not so nice to meet you!” Then she turned around to leave.

As soon as Emelie left, the argument between Sean and his grandfather continued. Jim was mad, but Sean just kept teasing him.

The grandson was testing his grandfather’s patience. No one was backing down. Both of them were overflowing with pride and ego.

Maxine remained quiet at the side without sitting. She was just waiting for Sean to say when they were leaving.

Thankfully, after several more minutes of shouting and cursing, Jim let the case rest. He finally let go of his grandson without talking to Maxine, not even once.

“Where are we going this time?” she asked without even looking at him.

Sean gave the woman a side glance, “We’re going home, hon.”

Maxine felt irritated hearing what he called her. But instead of refuting or commenting, she decided to pay no mind.

Fortunately, the ride didn’t even take more than 16 minutes. The gate has an arch with the name Villa Vita written on it. Just like the Hartmann Estate, the gate opened automatically.

A middle-aged housekeeper named Martha greeted Sean. She took his coat and opened the villa’s door for the couple.

When they were inside, Martha gave them slippers. Maxine felt weird when it fitted her, and it looked like the female version of Sean’s pair.

The man then sat on the couch, resting his long arm on its backrest and putting his feet on the coffee table. Maxine, on the other hand, remained standing near the door.

“What are you doing? Sit down,” Sean invited, then he pointed to the single-seater in front of him.

Feeling tired and numb, Maxine sat down right away. She knew when to refuse, and that wasn’t the right time for it.

Mustering courage, the woman clasped her hands between her legs and faced the young Hartmann, “Can you please explain to me, in detail, what is going on?”

Sean shook his head as he put down his feet and crossed his legs. Leaning forward, he pointed at Maxine, “You’re the one who should explain to me.”

Maxine sighed in frustration. She just wanted to know what happened that she had to go through all this, but the man seemed to be making it hard for her.

“Did I really kill your brother?” She asked, hoping that it was just some sort of a prank.

“Do you think what I said was a joke?” Ignoring his irritating tone, she asked for his brother’s name instead. “Scott, Scott Hartmann.”

“When and where was he murdered?”

“Last January at Purple Spade.”

The woman closed her eyes to try and recall everything. However, she wasn’t lucky enough.

She had seen tons of murder cases related to her job. She couldn’t pinpoint which of those was Sean’s brother.

“Can you show me his picture?”

The man’s forehead creased, unable to figure out what the woman was trying to do. He picked up his phone from the coffee table, looked for a picture of Scott, and showed it to her.

When Maxine saw it, she let out the breath she'd been holding in. “This is your brother? I remember him!”

“Of course, you will. You killed Scott at the club. My brother just wanted to have a good time. Why do you have to do that to him?” clenching his jaws, Sean was trying to hold back the urge to strangle her.

“I didn’t kill him, and the incident was in Maryland, not Virginia. It was at the Mystic Club and not Purple Spade.”

Confused, Sean leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “What are you saying?”

“I met him through Lottie. He was the man she used to call Shanks before of his red hair. So, I call him that too. He was nice to almost all the girls at the club, and he’s close to us.”

“He was nice to everyone! Yet you took advantage of it and killed him!” Sean accused.

“No…”

“Yes! Who knows? Your sister probably was an accomplice!”

“I said no!”

“And you think I’ll believe you?”

“You will, and you have to!”

“Why would I even believe a stripper and murder?”

“Because I didn’t do anything to him!” Maxine was furious too. Whenever he talked to Sean, she always felt like she was at a dead end. He never listened.

“Okay, okay! I’ll believe you if you could explain how his dead body moved from Maryland to Virginia. Explain to me why it was the police in Virginia who investigated the crime instead of those from Maryland. Did his body walk while he was dead? Did it move somewhere closer to home? Do you think I’m that stupid to believe your story?”

“Shut up!” I was trying to recall everything, and I wouldn’t be able to if you continue to interrupt me and wouldn’t stop talking!”