by Cat Chandler
“Oh, hi Ben!” She put on a wide smile and stepped around Ben and took up a position next to Matt. “I thought maybe you were next door, so I popped in there for a moment.”
Ben pulled on one ear lobe. “But I was next door, visiting with Wanda.”
“Oh no,” Nicki laughed. “I went into the shop on the other side.”
The jewelry maker looked even more puzzled. “The tobacco shop? But I don’t smoke.”
“Oh, really? That’s good to know,” Nicki said brightly, moving closer to Matt so she could press an elbow into his side.
Matt wrapped a long arm around her shoulders, pulling her even closer and effectively trapping her arm between their bodies. “Nicki had a few questions, Ben, if you can spare the time right now?”
“Certainly.” He walked forward and leaned against the counter next to them. “What can I help you with?”
“Aside from those silver earrings with the red beads?” Nicki pointed to the pair in the case that she’d admired earlier. “I was wondering about Drew, the friend from back East? Was he your good friend or Sam’s?”
Ben shrugged. “Both, I guess. We all met at the same time. At a lecture on stamps at the University of Maryland. Sam and I were attending, and Drew was giving the lecture. He’s actually Dr. Drew Weston. He’s an English professor at the university.” He lowered his voice as if he’d suddenly entered a church. “Drew Weston is also a serious collector.”
From his hushed tone and the clear admiration in his voice, Nicki guessed that being called a “serious collector” was a high compliment in Ben’s mind.
“Sam said he was interested in buying Eddie’s sheet of stamps. Did you get that impression too?” Matt asked.
“I did indeed. But then it wasn’t just an impression. Drew asked Eddie outright if he could buy them. Of course Eddie said ‘no’. He always said ‘no’.” Ben paused and looked at a point beyond the two people standing in front of him. “The night went as they usually did. Eddie let us into the diner and we all headed downstairs to his wine cellar. Drew made a polite compliment about it, but his eyes were on the sheet of stamps that Eddie had already placed in the center of the table. We admired it, just like we always do, had a few glasses of wine and talked about stamps for an hour or so. Then we were sent upstairs while Eddie put the stamps away and locked up the cellar. He made hamburgers and fries, and after we were done eating, Sam, Drew and I left, and I assume after Eddie cleaned up, he went home too.”
“It doesn’t sound as if anything was out of the ordinary,” Nicki said. “Except for Drew being there.”
Ben laughed. “I wouldn’t say Drew being there was as unusual as Eddie inviting him to see the sheet of stamps. As far as I know, except for Sam and me, Eddie hadn’t shown it to anyone.”
Nicki thought that over. So why show them to Drew? She looked up at Matt who shook his head. Apparently her sidekick had no idea either.
“I can get you Drew’s number, if you’d like to talk to him. He might remember something I don’t recall.” A gleam of mischief came into Ben’s eyes. “Aren’t you going to ask me where I was at the time of the murder? Don’t all detectives ask that? Or has the chief already told you?”
“No, I haven’t talked to Chief Turnlow, so I guess I’ll have to ask you myself.” Nicki put on a serious expression, although she couldn’t quite keep the corners of her mouth from twitching upward. “Where were you the night of the murder?”
“In the city with friends,” Ben said in an artificially high, squeaky voice. He shook his head and grinned, his voice lowering to its normal pitch. “The chief has already contacted them to verify that I was there. So I guess I’m in the clear.” He added a laugh to his smile. “Sorry. I know it’s been hard coming up with suspects. If it was indeed a random stranger attack, I have no idea how the chief will ever solve this.”
“Unless someone comes forward as a witness, those kinds of crimes are tough,” Matt agreed smoothly. “Did you know what Eddie’s big dream was? Sam mentioned that Eddie felt like a trip he was planning to take was going to make a dream come true for him.”
Nicki’s shoulders relaxed under Matt’s arm. When Ben had mentioned that Eddie might have been attacked by a stranger, her mind had instantly leaped to her mom’s murder, so she was grateful for the quick change in subject to something she’d almost forgotten she’d wanted to ask Ben about.
“He never told me.” Ben closed his eyes. “The only future plan that I ever heard Eddie talk about, was wanting to franchise.” He opened his eyes and chuckled quietly. “Whenever he said that, I always got a mental picture of burger diners, all painted in that god-awful yellow with a striped awning over the front, popping up all over the countryside. Kind of like the Starbucks of burger joints.”
“That would have been a shock,” Nicki laughed. “But it certainly would have made Jenna happy.” She took a step away from Matt, so he dropped his arm back to his side. “It would have made Matt happy, too.”
Her Dr. Watson laughed. “I’m not so sure. I’m developing a taste for grilled feta cheese sandwiches with sliced turkey.”
Ben wagged a finger at him. “You’re making me hungry and I have work to get done. If there’s nothing else?”
“No, I think we asked everything we need to.” Nicki started to hold out her hand.
“Not a problem at all,” Ben said, stepping around the end of the display case and slipping in behind it. He plucked a card out of a small holder on top of the glass counter and held it out to her. “If you need to ask anything else, just call. Or come around any time.”
Nicki took the card with a smile. “I’ll do that. And you save those earrings for me.”
Ben gave her a jaunty salute as she and Matt headed out the door, where they almost plowed right into Jim Holland. The big man did a quick sidestep, one arm coming out to fend them off.
“Whoa there.” His frown turned up at the corners when he saw Nicki. “Hello, Nicki. You and your friend seem to be in a hurry.”
Nicki’s hand stayed clutched onto Matt’s arm where she’d grabbed it to steady herself. She pushed a lock of her honey-blond hair out of her eyes before smiling at the winery owner. They’d become casual friends after she’d stumbled across the body of his head winemaker and uncovered his killer.
“Hi, Jim.” She tilted her head at Matt. “I’m sure you’ve already met Matt Dillon, the owner and editor of Food & Wine Online?”
Jim Holland held out a large beefy hand. “Good to see you again, Matt.”
Matt shook the offered hand. “You too, Jim. How’d the crush go this year?”
Jim shook his head, a sad glint in his eyes. “We didn’t lose any vines to the fire, but it was close. Came right up to our outer fence line. Luckily our grapes were already in, so they weren’t affected by the smoke. Wish I could say the same for our suppliers nearer the coast and just north of Santa Rosa.” He gave Nicki a sympathetic smile. “I understand you liked that little winery, Bon Vin? It burned to the ground. That was one nasty fire. Lost some of the wineries up there, and in Napa, along with big pieces of the towns.”
Nicki immediately sobered. She and Jenna had also had to evacuate. She’d grabbed her mother’s jewelry and the family cookbook, while Jenna had toted both of their laptops under one arm, and a small box of backup CDs under the other. Maxie had met them at the gate leading to the main road, and they’d caravanned south toward San Francisco. Nicki had worried about Alex, who’d stayed to help evacuate patients from the hospital that had been rapidly filling with smoke. And she’d been terrified for Alex’s fiancé, Tyler, who was a fireman with the Santa Rosa fire department.
Nicki had been fourteen years old and living in New York when the twin towers had been attacked and then collapsed in a plume of smoke and fire, and now she’d been in the wildfires in the Northern California wine country. She sincerely hoped that was the last disaster she would ever be in.
Beside her Matt visibly tensed, and the arm beneath her hand went rock
hard. “Those fires were terrifying for everyone. I couldn’t get hold of Nicki or Maxie, or anyone, for twenty-four hours. I almost got on a plane to come looking for them.” He frowned at Nicki. “Especially since I knew firsthand how unreliable your getaway vehicle was.”
Nicki gave him an exasperated look. “Would you please forget about my car?”.
Matt ignored her to glance over at Jim Holland. “Have you seen her car?”
The winery owner smiled. “I’ve seen it. I wouldn’t let Gloria drive around in that, but then she’s my wife.” He winked at Nicki who glared back at him.
“If that’s what it takes,” Matt said under his breath, running a hand through his hair.
Now it was Nicki’s turn to ignore him. Matt could say the oddest things whenever he got agitated. She decided to get him calmed down before he had every hair on his head standing on end.
“I assume you’ve heard about Eddie Parker?”
Jim nodded. “Heard about it and got a call from the chief.” He nodded again at Nicki’s questioning look. “He wanted me to search through my records and see if Eddie had ever purchased any of our high-priced wines. I got back to him and told the chief that I didn’t see Eddie purchasing anything outside the regular wine club shipments. Sent the last one a few months ago — two bottles of white, one red and one blush.”
Nicki thought that made sense. The chief was obviously looking for anything else expensive, besides the sheet of stamps, that Eddie might have had in that cellar.
“I didn’t know Eddie well. We exchanged small talk whenever he came to the winery, or I went into his diner for a burger. Nothing much beyond that. If Eddie had an expensive bottle of wine stashed in that wine cellar the chief mentioned, it wasn’t from my winery.” Jim glanced toward the corner. “I have a couple of friends waiting for me at the coffee place, so I’d better get going.” He smiled at Nicki. “It’s nice seeing you.” He nodded to Matt. “Bring her by to taste this year’s blends if you can tear her away from her latest murder.”
“I’ll do that.” Matt looked at Nicki as Jim strolled away. “Any chance I can tear you away from murder for a while?”
“Maybe. What did you want to do? Work on a few articles for the magazine?”
Matt shook his head. “I was thinking more of a nice dinner where we didn’t discuss investigating anything or interrogating anyone.” He gave her a direct look. “And that I pay for.”
Nicki considered it for a moment. “Well, we can stop at the store and get whatever you want, and I’ll show you the best way to make it.” She grinned at his frown. “And you can pay for the food.”
Matt pushed his glasses further up his nose and looked adorably hesitant at her suggestion. “I’d like that. But you shouldn’t have to cook all the time, Nicki.”
“I like to cook. And really don’t get to indulge in it as often as you’d think since I live alone.”
“With one of your best friends right next door, who’s always happy to mooch a meal from you,” Matt grinned.
“Who prefers fast food and chocolate, if given a choice.”
He laughed. “Okay. The grocery store it is, and I pay.”
She held out her hand. “It’s a deal.”
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Nicki had just walked into the kitchen of her townhouse, with Matt and his armful of groceries trailing behind her, when her cell rang. She glanced at the caller ID before pressing the “answer” button and setting her phone on the small stand in the middle of the island.
“Hi, Maxie. Matt’s here with me.”
“Well isn’t that wonderful, dear?”
Nicki shook her head at the sound of absolute delight in her landlady’s voice.
“I was wondering where he’d gotten himself off to. I’m so glad you were able to spend the day together.”
Maxie paused and spoke to someone behind her. Nicki laughed when she heard a muffled “I am not interfering”, before Maxie’s voice came through loud and clear again.
“My Mason just arrived home, and he was hoping he could talk to you before he had to make an appearance at the police station.”
“I’m not going to see the chief to turn myself in.” Mason’s exasperated voice floated through the speakers.
Matt chuckled as he began to unload the grocery bags. Nicki put a finger to her lips which had him quieting down, but his grin stayed in place.
“I’d be happy to talk to my….” Nicki quickly coughed to cover up her automatic use of the former chief’s nickname. “Um… Mason. I’d be happy to talk to Mason.” She eyed the huge pile of food Matt had accumulated on the counter and wondered what she was supposed to do with all of it, since most of what he’d insisted on buying had nothing to do with the meal she had planned. “I’m about to make southern-style stuffed peppers. You and Mason are welcome to join us. We certainly have plenty to go around.”
“Really, dear? What makes them southern style?”
“Besides the usual ground beef mixture, it also involves ham and baby shrimp.”
Maxie laughed. “My Mason is already halfway out the door. We’ll be there shortly, dear. And thank you for the invitation.”
“See you soon.” Nicki clicked off the phone and looked over at Matt. “Would you mind if I ran next door and checked on Jenna?”
Matt stepped in front of the last grocery bag and started pulling items out. “She’s not home.”
“How do you know that?”
He stuck his hand further into the bag and pulled out a package of ground beef. “I sent her a text while you were looking over the peppers for any invisible flaws, to invite her to join us.”
Nicki’s eyes widened. “You did?”
“I didn’t see any reason why she should eat alone when we had a ton of food right next door.” Matt frowned at the loaded counter and started moving things around.
“Which you insisted on buying,” Nicki reminded him. She curled her lips under to keep from laughing as the former engineer shifted all the groceries into their respective food groups, with the canned goods stacked together and the meat lined up side by side.
“Maybe we should have picked up another vegetable.”
“Matt, the peppers are a vegetable,” Nicki said patiently. “And where is Jenna? Did she say?”
“With a client. Someone she called her ‘giant client’.” Matt glanced over at her. “Maybe we should have bought something for dessert?”
“There’s half a pie sitting in the refrigerator.”
He frowned. “Will that be enough?”
It is for most people. Nicki wondered just how big Matt’s monthly food bill was. “There’re cookies if you’re still hungry after the pie.” She laughed when his expression immediately brightened.
Nicki started sorting through Matt’s piles, separating out what was needed for their meal and putting away the rest that Matt had tossed into the cart with a “just in case” comment.
She held up a package of steaks in one hand and pork chops in the other. “You weren’t trying to keep me in groceries for a month or so, were you?”
“That would last you a month?” Matt shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“I don’t think Sherlock could have afforded to feed Watson if he ate the way you do,” Nicki said.
“I don’t think Sherlock eats enough.”
“I think Watson wants Sherlock to get fat.”
“What in the world are you two talking about?” Maxie stood in the kitchen doorway with her husband peering over her shoulder.
“Matt’s idea of the proper amount of food consumption.” Nicki walked around the counter and gave the older woman a hug. She repeated it with Mason Edwards, who put a friendly arm around her shoulders as the two of them joined Maxie near the large island.
The former police chief, with his closely trimmed hair and deep tan, looked fit and healthy as he smiled at Matt. “They don’t eat much, son. And what they do eat has a lot of green in it. You’ll learn to accept that and h
old your ground when it comes to meat on the plate too.”
“I’m beginning to realize that.” Matt gave a long soulful sigh then grinned when Nicki rolled her eyes.
She picked up the bag of peppers and walked over to the sink, looking at Matt as she pointed at the small refrigerator tucked under the far end of the counter. “If your moaning over my eating habits is done, could you please open a nice pinot gris for everyone to enjoy while I get our dinner ready and put into the oven.”
“Sure thing.” Matt headed for the wine refrigerator while Nicki quickly washed and prepped the vegetables before placing a skillet on the stove. Within minutes the kitchen was filled with the enticing aroma of onions, celery, garlic and spices sizzling together in a bed of hot oil.
Mason and Matt were sniffing the air when Maxie reached out her hands and latched onto both their arms. “Let’s go take a look at the murder board before you both end up collapsing from hunger just from the smell of Nicki’s food.”
“This won’t take long.” Nicki added the ground beef to the skillet. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Good to her word, she walked into her home office ten minutes later. Maxie, Mason and Matt were all standing in front of the big whiteboard, studying it in silence. Nicki walked over and leaned against the edge of her desk. Maxie smiled at her and picked up the black marker.
“Oh good. Now that you’re here we can update the board with the new information that you and Matt gathered today.” She raised an eyebrow at the two men standing next to her. “You can both go find a seat now.”
Matt moved away to stand next to Nicki and lean against her desk, but Mason ignored his wife’s command and continued to study the board. He glanced over his shoulder at Nicki.
“Why don’t you give me the short version of all of this?”
Nicki’s gaze slowly went across and down the board. “It’s a lot of pieces that don’t seem to fit together.”
Mason nodded. “They usually don’t until you find that missing piece. But what do you have so far? It looks like you’ve concentrated on five people here.”
