by Cat Chandler
“Six if you throw in Dr. Drew Weston.” Matt said. “He’s the mysterious guest who also saw Eddie’s stamps. And wanted to buy them.”
“We haven’t had a chance to call him yet,” Nicki added. “I’ll do that tomorrow.”
Maxie immediately wrote “Call Drew” under the to-do section on the board.
“If you’re making a list of things to do tomorrow, you can add ‘pay a visit to Chief Turnlow’.” Mason turned around and walked to the sofa. He sat as Maxie scribbled onto the board. “All of us might as well go. It will save time since I’d just have to report back on every word that was said anyway. And…” he gave Nicki a calm stare. “We’re going to tell the chief everything we’ve found out, so he may as well hear it firsthand.”
Nodding her agreement, Nicki went back to reading the board. “What we have right now are a lot of people who each know something that the murderer needed to know, but not everything. And some missing stamps.”
“That are worth fifty thousand dollars,” Matt added.
“Something to consider.” Mason crossed his arms over his chest. “Who needs the fifty thousand the most?”
“Roberta.” Matt shrugged when everyone looked at him. “She’s a waitress and cashier at a diner, so she’s probably living paycheck to paycheck, and now she’s out of a job. Or will be once the nephew gets here.”
“Gordon.” Maxie nodded. “He’s never built up much of a clientele and has lived on a shoestring forever. Maybe he got tired of it and decided to take the stamps.”
“Either of the two stamp collectors looks good.” Mason’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the board. “They both knew about the cellar and that the stamps were kept there. Doesn’t look like the girlfriend or the bookkeeper knew much about the stamps themselves, though.”
“Sheet of stamps,” Nicki said. “And you’re right. Both Ben and Sam referred to Eddie’s prize possession as a ‘sheet’, while Roberta and Gordon called it a ‘stamp’. I don’t think either of them ever saw it, so even if they had gone looking for it, they wouldn’t have known what they were looking for.”
Matt ran a hand through his hair. “Or where to look. Neither of them knew the stamps were in the cellar.”
Mason inclined his head at the board. “And only the assistant manager had any idea where the key to the cellar was.” His gaze shifted to Nicki. “What’s his alibi for that night?”
Nicki blinked. “I’ve never asked him.”
“No matter.” Mason smiled at her. “We’ll find out from the chief tomorrow. You can bet he asked Jake where he was when Eddie was killed.”
“Well, Roberta and Gordon were at dinner at Mario’s, as strange as that seems considering how long Roberta had been Eddie’s girlfriend.” Maxie shook her head. “Even if they’d broken up, she certainly didn’t waste any time in taking up with one of Eddie’s friends.”
“And I was out running errands and then spent the evening with my wife.” Mason smiled at Maxie’s snort.
“I am not adding your name to this board,” she declared. “You are not a suspect, and that’s all there is to that. I intend to remind the chief of that tomorrow if necessary.”
Her husband chuckled. “Okay. Then it’s back to the rest of the suspects. Gordon and Roberta have an alibi. What about the stamp collectors?”
“Ben was in the city with friends, and Sam was home alone.” Nicki gave Maxie an apologetic smile. She knew how fond her landlady was of Sam. “At least we can keep Jim Holland off the list this time.”
“What on earth does Jim have to do with all of this?” Maxie demanded.
“Nothing,” Matt quickly put in which had Maxie back to smiling. “We ran into him, almost literally, outside of Ben’s shop. The chief asked him to check if Eddie had bought any expensive wine, which he hadn’t. At least not from Holland Winery.”
“Then what we have left here is Sam and possibly Jake who have no alibis. With this Weston person as an unknown in the whole equation.” Mason pursed his lips. “Or a complete stranger, which doesn’t seem likely. And whoever Eddie had that evening appointment with.”
“Why not?” his wife demanded. “Someone could have walked in on Eddie when he was alone in the diner.”
“I don’t think so either.” Nicki rose and walked over to the board. “A stranger wouldn’t have known where Eddie lived, and his apartment was searched as well as his office. I’m voting for whoever it was that Eddie had that appointment with.”
“Why?” Matt adjusted his glasses and gave her a curious look. “The person could have met Eddie before he was attacked, or could have canceled at the last minute.”
“Maybe, if he’s from out of town and still isn’t aware that Eddie was murdered,” Nicki conceded. “Otherwise that person would have come forward by now. But I think he killed Eddie and took his cell phone to cover his tracks.”
Matt rubbed his chin. “The cell phone is still missing.”
“With Eddie’s calendar, and any calls he made,” Nicki said.
“Finding that cell phone is important.” Mason took another long look at the board. “Well, we won’t know much more until we talk to the chief. But unless some outside person shows up on his radar, it looks like Sam, Jake and Drew Weston are the best suspects.”
“How long until dinner?” Matt asked, smiling at Nicki’s incredulous look.
She glanced at her watch and calculated the time. “About half an hour.”
Maxie set the marker on the tray at the bottom of the board. “Well, we should let this rest for a while and enjoy another glass of this excellent wine before dinner.”
Mason stood. “I’ll second that, honey. A man likes to have a final drink and a good meal before he’s thrown into prison.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Maxie scolded as she walked over to her husband and took his arm. “Pour me a glass of wine and we’ll see if you still remember how to get me slightly tipsy.”
The former police chief wiggled his eyebrows at his wife. “I would never forget something like that.”
Nicki smiled at the sound of Maxie’s laughter as the couple strolled out of the office, arm in arm.
“Think I could learn how to get you a little tipsy?” Matt’s voice was close to her ear.
She turned to face him and smiled at her grinning editor with tufts of dark hair standing straight up from his forehead. “Not likely. I learned to hold my own in some of the most notorious bars in New York City.” She followed the chief’s lead and gave him a wink. “But you’re welcome to try.”
Matt laughed as he held out his arm. “Okay, Sherlock, warning taken. Let’s go eat.”
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Nicki turned her little Toyota onto the main road leading into town, and right past Eddie’s diner. She’d already sent Matt and Maxie a text, letting them know that she’d meet them later at the police station. Matt had replied that the chief had asked Mason to come in about one that afternoon, so they were going to have lunch in Soldoff and then walk to the station. If anything changed, he’d let her know. She agreed to meet them at the station since she intended to go home for lunch and check on Jenna. But first she had to do the walk-through with the fire inspector, Jake and Tyler.
It was a beautiful day. Clear and bright, with just a puff or two of clouds in the sky, it promised to be a great day to wander about outdoors, or to do a little wine tasting on a shaded patio. Since tomorrow was the start of the weekend, and the forecast promised the same perfect weather for the next five days, Nicki expected the town would be packed. Which was perfect timing for reopening the diner. Provided, of course, it passed the fire inspector’s keen eye. With the still very recent disaster of the wildfires all around the wine country, Nicki was sure the inspector would be even more diligent than before.
She arrived at the diner a few minutes later and parked her car near the front door. There weren’t any other cars in the front lot, but she spotted Jake’s battered truck near the side entrance. Nicki turned off her ca
r and waited the usual five seconds before the engine finally shut off with a last sputter. Hoping she really would be able to afford a new car in the spring, Nicki pushed open the door and stepped out, stretching her back and shoulders as she took a moment to enjoy the warmth of the sun. Sure beats New York in March. She smiled at the thought. It was hard to believe that spring wasn’t too far away.
Mentally going over her to-do list for the day, Nicki made her way to the front door. It was unlocked, and a pile of mail was scattered across the floor. Scooping it up, she casually flipped through it. She set aside the one from the energy company with its “go solar and save” stamp on the front, and the plain brown envelope from the local bank with its notice of “Loan Information” printed next to the diner’s address. The third envelope looked more interesting. Its return address said “NSDA” with “National Stamp Dealers’ Association” printed in small letters beneath that.
Nicki set the other two, along with several advertisements, on the counter for Gordon to deal with, and turned the NSDA letter over. There wasn’t any marking on the backside of the envelope, so she flipped it over again and held it up to the light. That didn’t get her anywhere either. Frowning, she thought about it several moments, then decided she’d just take it along to Chief Turnlow and let him open it. She doubted if he’d get arrested for tampering with the US Mail.
She looked around at the sound of the front door opening and closing, surprised when Gordon Twill walked into the diner. He pulled up short when he saw her. She smiled at him and pointed to the small stack of mail on the counter. “I put the bills right over there.”
He stared at her hand. “What’s that one?”
She held up the white envelope. “Doesn’t look like a bill. It’s from the NSDA, the stamp association for dealers. I thought I’d take it to Chief Turnlow since I’m going over there after I run back to my house for lunch.” She smiled. “Unless you’d like to open it?”
Gordon shook his head. “No. No. You can take that to the police. I don’t think Eddie would be getting a bill from them.” He looked around before his gaze returned to Nicki. “I came to meet the fire inspector. Why are you here?”
“Oh. You didn’t mention you were going to take care of that. Actually, I’m here for the same reason,” Nicki said cheerfully. “I’ve also asked Tyler Johnson to meet us here. He’s the fiancé of a close friend of mine, and a fireman. I thought he could help.”
“That’s a good idea.” Gordon took a seat at the nearest table and set his day planner down in front of him. He opened it up and stared at the page.
Okay. He didn’t want to talk. But there was a small detail or two Nicki wanted to discuss with him, so she pretended not to notice that he was deliberately ignoring her and walked over to take a seat across from him.
“I’m still consulting on this case concerning Eddie’s murder.” She smiled when he reluctantly raised his head and his eyes met hers. “I’m glad you’re here, there are a couple of things I wanted to ask you.”
“I don’t know what else I can tell you.” Gordon turned another blank page in his appointment book and stared at it.
“I was wondering why you were late for your dinner date with Roberta?”
The bookkeeper’s head snapped up. “What?”
“Your dinner date with Roberta the night Eddie was killed?” Nicki kept to her chatty conversational voice. “That is who your date was with, wasn’t it?”
Gordon stared at her before slowly nodding. “We had dinner at Mario’s.”
“But you were late?” Nicki prompted.
“I had car trouble.” Gordon went back to looking at his day planner. “It happens.”
“I’m surprised Roberta waited over thirty minutes for you to get there. She doesn’t seem like she’d be willing to do that.”
His cheeks flushed and he shifted in his chair, but he never looked away from the blank page of his planner. “I sent her a text message that I’d be late. She said it was okay.”
“That was thoughtful of you,” Nicki’s bright voice bounced around the empty diner. “I’ve dated men who wouldn’t have bothered.”
For a brief moment Gordon’s face twisted into a nasty sneer before falling back into its usual bland expression. “I doubt that.” He looked at his watch. “I have to make a few phone calls.” Without offering any other word of apology for his abrupt departure, Gordon stood and walked out the front door.
Apparently he wants to be sure his calls are private, Nicki mused. He’d looked pretty uncomfortable over a couple of simple questions, but she couldn’t really fault him for that. After all, he’d been out on a dinner date with a client’s girlfriend at the same time his client had been murdered in his own diner. Since Gordon’s story matched what the waiter at Mario’s had said, she decided to wander back to the kitchen and keep Jake company while they waited for the fire inspector and Tyler.
An hour later she was on her way back home. Happily humming to herself, she couldn’t wait to tell Jenna that Alex had surprised her by coming along with Ty. The whole walk-through had gone well, and Tyler was finishing up a few last notes with the fire inspector before he and Alex would be on their way to meet her at the townhouse. Gordon hadn’t stayed one extra minute more than necessary, and was already gone by the time she’d left a smiling Jake to finish the preparations for the reopening and climbed into her car.
It was still a little early for tourists, so the country road, dotted with wild flowers on both sides, was deserted as she zipped along. Another five minutes and she’d be home. Nicki glanced into her rearview mirror and frowned at the pickup rapidly coming up behind her. She wrinkled her nose in annoyance. People loved to speed along these two-lane back roads. Resigned to having the big truck zoom right by her, she pulled as far over to the right as she could, to let it pass. Instead, it kept coming up closer to her small Toyota, until her entire rearview mirror was filled with the image of a white hood on top of a wide silver grille.
Pressing the gas pedal down to put more distance between them, Nicki looked over at her side view mirror as she stuck her arm out the window and waved for the truck to go by. She caught a glimpse of tinted windows and a foggy image of a driver. He had a large hat pulled down over his forehead, and a bandanna covering his lower face.
Before that fact fully registered, the truck hit her small car’s back bumper, sending it flying a few feet down the road. Nicki lurched forward as the tires hit solid ground again. She’d barely caught another breath before there was another, even harder, jolt from behind. This time the car spun sideways, heading right for the large open ditch running alongside the road. When the front of the compact Toyota hit the side of the solid dirt wall, it crumpled into an accordion. The jarring impact had Nicki slamming violently back against her seat and then lurching forward. Her head and chest smacked hard against the steering wheel. She slumped over, fighting for breath when her vision went black.
It was the pounding in her head that got her attention first, and somewhere behind it was a vaguely heard voice, asking her if she was all right. She groaned as she lifted her head, taking in a quick breath at the sharp jab of pain. She moaned softly and slumped back against the steering wheel.
“I’ve called for help. You just hold on there young lady. And don’t move. I gave your door a good yank, but it’s stuck. Now don’t you worry. I don’t think the car’s going to explode or anything.”
That’s good to know, she thought, keeping her eyes closed against the noise of the voice. It sounded female, and a bit older, but that’s all her muddled brain could comprehend.
“Here’s some more people, come to help. Nice big man, too. I’m sure he can get you out of there.”
“Nicki? Hang on!”
Nicki heard the frantic voice and managed the tiniest of smiles. It sounded like Alex. That would be nice since her friend was a doctor and all. Nicki took a shallow breath and let herself drift off again, only to be rudely awakened by a series of quick light slaps on he
r cheek.
“Nicki? Can you hear me?”
“Stop hitting me, Alex,” Nicki mumbled. She tried lifting herself up again, but this time a firm but gentle hand on her back kept her where she was.
Alex’s voice was close to her ear. “Don’t move. Just stay where you are. An ambulance is on its way. Can you tell me if it hurts when you breathe?”
Nicki took in a very slow breath, drawing air into her lungs by inches. At about the halfway point, her chest threw out a warning signal. “It hurts,” she whispered, slowly exhaling what air she’d managed to take in, and keeping her breaths shallow.
Nicki didn’t remember much of the next thirty minutes. She’d heard the sirens drawing closer until they felt as if they were blaring directly into her head. She remembered the first gentle slide of her legs out of the car, then being carried out of the ditch and lifted onto a stretcher. But everything after that was a complete blank, until she was being wheeled into the emergency door of a hospital. She opened one eye, expecting to see Alex bending over her. Instead it was an older man in blue scrubs, with a stethoscope around his neck.
“Hi there. I’m Dr. Fedlan, and you’re in the emergency room at Sonoma hospital. Can you tell me your name?”
She squinted against the bright light in the room. “Nicki. Nicki Connors,” she croaked out. “What happened?”
“Now everyone is hoping you can tell us that, but right now we need to get you into x-ray. You’ve got a nasty bump on your head that we need to watch, and likely some pretty extensive bruising on you ribs. Do you understand what I’m saying, Nicki?”
“Yes.” Nicki closed her eyes against the light. “Need an x-ray.”
“That’s right. A nurse is here, and she’s going to help you. After the x-rays, we’ll get you out of those clothes and into a more comfortable bed. Okay? Don’t nod, I know it hurts. I’ll see you after you’re done in x-ray.” The sounds of his footsteps faded away and was replaced with several other voices.
