A Food and Wine Club Mystery Boxset Books 1 through 5

by Cat Chandler

  “Of course.” Nicki waved him away. “Go. Take care of whatever it is.”

  “My point exactly,” Jenna declared. “We all need to take care of ‘whatever’.” She looked over at Alex who was calmly pouring out wine into a line of glasses. “You have a wedding to plan. If it doesn’t happen on schedule this time, your mom will have a stroke.”

  Alex sighed. “Very true.”

  Jenna switched her attention to Nicki. “And you’re supposed to be giving the best cooking classes in town, starting next week. I know that because there are flyers plastered all over the place. And Suzanne said the first five classes are already full.”

  “They are?” Nicki couldn’t help the leap of delight, even as an image of the long task list attached to the folder in her office floated in front of her eyes. “We’ll need to add one more student. I promised Jake he could attend.”

  “And speaking of Jake and the diner, with it reopening with cash-paying customers once again at the door, that gloomy bookkeeper decided to send me a check for the money Eddie owed me.” Jenna smiled and popped another chip into her mouth. “Nice to have the bank account a little healthier again.”

  Nicki froze in the middle of patting spice onto the last pork chop.

  “Something wrong?” Tyler, who’d been closely watching the whole process, frowned.

  She slowly turned around to stare at Jenna. “What did you say?”

  “I said it was nice to be paid and that it really helped the bank account.”

  “Because you got paid, and there’s money in your bank account,” Nicki said slowly.

  Jenna leaned on the counter and propped her head in her hands. “That’s how it usually works when you get paid.”

  “Yes.” Nicki vigorously nodded her head. “Yes it does, doesn’t it?” She abandoned the pork chops and raced around the island. “I should have listened to Matt, and the chief. They both said to follow the money.”

  “What money?” Maxie’s eyes followed Nicki as she darted down the hallway. She turned a frown on the others, who were all staring in her direction. “What money?”

  Mason grabbed his wife’s hand and started to tug her along. “Come on, honey. We aren’t going to find out by standing here.”

  The rest of the kitchen’s occupants took one quick, puzzled look at each other and then scrambled after Nicki.

  Nicki flew into her home office, startling Matt who was sitting at her desk. He took one look at her and barked, “I’ll call you back”, before getting to his feet and meeting her at the murder board. “What is it?”

  “I should have listened to you.” She nodded at his puzzled look. “Follow the money, you said. That’s what we should have done.”

  Maxie came up behind her in a rush. “What money?” She leaned against her husband’s arm. “I need a moment to catch my breath.”

  Matt turned as everyone behind them pressed forward. “Okay. Let’s step back and give each other some breathing space.” He waited until Mason took his wife over to sit on the sofa, and Tyler had pulled Alex back toward the desk. When everyone had found a spot, he looked at Nicki.

  “We talked about this. We don’t know who bought the stamps, so we can’t follow the money.”

  Nicki did another quick scan of the board before turning around to nod at the expectant faces in the room. “But it isn’t the killer who would have been paid. It would have been Eddie.”

  The former chief of police shook his head. “But he wasn’t. You heard Chief Turnlow. The money wasn’t in anyone’s bank account. Not even Eddie’s. So he was never paid.”

  “Then we would have found the stamps,” Nicki said. “Unless the killer took them from Eddie before he handed over the money. But then why search Eddie’s office and apartment?”

  “And the money wasn’t in the safe, because the safe wasn’t touched,” myMason said.

  “None of it makes sense,” Nicki declared. “Unless the stamps weren’t the killer’s real target. What if it was all the money, not just what Eddie might have sold the stamps for?”

  “All what money, dear?” Maxie repeated.

  “Remember what Roberta and Ben said? Eddie had sold his house, and his car. But the chief said there wasn’t any more than two thousand dollars in anyone’s bank account, and I’ll bet there was a lot less than that in Eddie’s.” Nicki felt a tingle up and down her arms.

  This was it. She was sure of it. She wrinkled her forehead as she concentrated on her train of thought. “And I saw a letter from the local bank addressed to Eddie. It had ‘your loan information’ stamped on the side.”

  “Loan?” Mason shifted to the edge of the sofa. “What loan?” His jaw hardened. “And if he took out a loan, where’s that money?”

  “He used it all for his dream,” Nicki said softly. She looked at Matt and gave a decisive nod. “We need to talk to Chief Turnlow right away.”

  “My car’s outside.” He stepped aside so she could lead the way. “What’s your plan?”

  “I think I know why the office and the apartment were searched, and what they were looking for,” Nicki said.

  There was silence in the room until Alex finally gave out an audible sigh. “Did you say ‘what they were looking for’? Who are you talking about?”

  Mason stood and fished his cell phone out of his pants pocket. “I’ll call Paul and tell him that Nicki’s found that missing puzzle piece.”

  “We’ll call from the chief’s office and let you know what’s going on.” Matt threw a glance at the whole group staring at him before he followed Nicki out the door.

  When Matt pulled the car into the parking spot in front of the police department, Chief Turnlow was standing on the sidewalk, his hands in the pockets of his jacket and his legs braced apart.

  Nicki stepped out of the car and nodded to him. He inclined his head toward the station at his back and waited for her and Matt to walk ahead of him. Once inside, Nicki stopped in front of the long counter as Matt stepped up beside her. Danny was leaning with one arm on top of the lone file cabinet, and Fran was sitting at her desk, as the chief came around the counter and rested his elbows on its top as he faced Nicki.

  “Mason called and let me know you were on your way,” he said without wasting any time on greetings. “He seemed to think you’ve figured out something about Eddie Parker’s murder.”

  Nicki took a quick glance around the open room.

  The chief smiled. “If another good citizen comes through the door, we’ll go into my office. But it’s too small to accommodate all of us, and I’d like the other members of the department to hear this. So get started, Sherlock.”

  Nicki hadn’t said a word during the brief ride into town, instead using the time to scribble into the small notepad she always kept in her purse. She was grateful that Matt hadn’t peppered her with questions, but had kept quiet and let her finish writing out what she needed to give to Chief Turnlow. Now she set the small book on the counter and ripped out the two pages on top. Leaning over, she handed them to him.

  He looked down and read in silence for a moment before lifting his gaze back to her. “What’s this?”

  “Will the bank answer a specific question you have about Eddie’s account?”

  “It’s a small town, so I imagine they would if I put in a personal call.” He looked back at the two small sheets of paper in his hand. “A cashier’s check?”

  “You and Matt always say to follow the money. And that’s what we should have been doing.” Nicki smiled. “It wasn’t about the stamps. At least not just the stamps. Eddie sold his house and his car, and he took out a loan.”

  Chief Turnlow raised an eyebrow. “How do you know he took out a loan?”

  “I saw a letter from the local bank that had been delivered to the diner. It had a stamp on the outside saying that it contained loan information. I didn’t think anything about it at the time, and just left it for Gordon to deal with.”

  The chief frowned. “When I asked about the balances, the b
ank told me Eddie had less than five hundred dollars in his account.” He looked over at Fran. “Can you get the bank manager on the phone for me?”

  “One call to Lou Applegate coming right up.” Fran lifted the phone to her ear and did a quick turn of the rolodex on her desk. “Do you want to take it out here or in your office?”

  “My office, Fran.”

  As the chief strode off, Nicki turned a smile on the young deputy standing in back of the clerk, who was talking into her phone. “Danny? I need to see those business cards that Eddie had in his wallet.”

  “Chief, Lou’s on line one,” Fran called out before she put the phone back in its cradle and turned toward Nicki. “All that was sent over to Santa Rosa for safe keeping. But I made copies.”

  She reached over to a basket on her desk and pulled out a manila folder.

  “Both the front and back of the business cards?” Nicki asked.

  “Of course. I’m not senile.” Fran stood up and walked over to hand Nicki the file. “What are you looking for?”

  Nicki quickly flipped through the pages until she came to a copy of the card for Green ‘N Go. She got out her phone and dialed the number listed on the front.

  “Hello, Mr. Bridgeton? My name is Nicki Connors and I’m consulting with the police on Eddie Parker’s murder. Oh? Really? Well, I’m sorry to say that it happened right in his own diner. Your business card was in his wallet, and I’m hoping you won’t mind answering a few questions?”

  Chapter Seventy-Five

  Gordon Twill stood under the awning of the diner where he’d been the bookkeeper for over a decade, and where a friend from his childhood had died. He shifted his day planner and the client file he was carrying until he was clutching them both to his chest, before forming his mouth into his usual vague but pleasant smile and opening the door.

  He’d barely taken a step inside before he pulled up short, blinking at the number of people occupying tables. He always tried to get to the diner before it opened. He frowned and checked his watch.

  The bookkeeper took another tentative step forward, his gaze darting the service counter where Roberta stood, with Jake beside her. He tried a smile, but when neither one of them smiled back, he hunched his shoulders and looked at the big man standing in front of him.

  “Hello, Chief Turnlow.” He ignored Nicki who was standing right beside the chief. His eyes did a quick glance around the room as Danny quietly slid in behind him and blocked the door. “If you’re having a private party, I can come back to do my work later.”

  The chief pulled a chair out from the table beside him. “Have a seat, Mr. Twill. There are a few more questions I need to ask you.”

  Gordon winced but his feet stayed right where they were. “I’d be happy to help, Chief. Maybe we could go back to the office and I can explain anything about the diner that you don’t understand?”

  “Just a couple of questions. This won’t take long.” The chief inclined his head toward the chair. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like to sit down?”

  The thin, neat, and tidy man shook his head and pressed his planner and file closer to his chest. “I’m fine. What do you want to ask me?”

  Chief Turnlow shrugged and put his hands in his jacket pockets. “I understand you had car trouble the night Eddie Parker was killed?”

  “Yes.” Gordon nodded. “I had a date with Roberta. We’d decided to have dinner at Mario’s.” He looked at the stocky woman standing behind the counter. “Roberta will tell you that we had a date.”

  “But you were late?” the chief prompted.

  “I had car trouble,” the bookkeeper repeated. “I sent a text to Roberta. She said it was okay. That she’d wait at the restaurant.”

  “What kind of car trouble?” When Gordon blinked at him, the chief smiled.

  “I’m… I’m not sure.”

  “Did you call for help?”

  “No, Chief Turnlow.” A note of irritation crept into Gordon’s voice. “I didn’t call for help. I didn’t need to. It finally started up and I went on my way.”

  The chief raised an eyebrow. “It just started up? Where were you?”

  Gordon was back to blinking. “What?”

  “Your car,” the chief clarified. “Where was your car when it broke down?”

  “A few blocks from here. I don’t remember exactly where.” The bookkeeper frowned. “What’s this about? I went to see a client and when I got back to my car, it wouldn’t start. I waited a few minutes and it started up again. I guess I must have flooded the engine or something. That’s all there was to it.”

  “What client?” the chief asked.

  The bookkeeper shifted his weight from one foot to the other and then back again. “Should I get an attorney? It sounds like you’re accusing me of something.” He looked around at the faces staring at him and his lips pulled back across his teeth. “This is an odd place for an interrogation.” He jerked his head toward the counter in back of the diner. “Roberta and I were having dinner at Mario’s when Eddie was killed. Go ahead and ask her.” He stuck his lower lip out further. “The last time you questioned me, you said Eddie died at nine o'clock that night. When I was sitting at Mario’s with Roberta.”

  “I said that Mr. Parker died around nine that night,” the chief corrected. “Our work isn’t quite as precise as yours.”

  Gordon shrugged. “Fine. Around nine. But I joined Roberta just after seven, and we were still there at nine o’clock.”

  “The problem, Mr. Twill, is that the victim died around nine o'clock, but he was put into the freezer a couple of hours before that. Just about the time you were having car trouble.”

  “I… That’s ridiculous.” Gordon took a quick step backward. “I told you. I didn’t know anything about that stamp of his, how much it was worth or where he’d hidden it. And I certainly don’t know who killed Eddie and stole it.”

  “The sheet of stamps wasn’t stolen,” Nicki said quietly. The more she’d watched and listened to Gordon Twill answering the chief’s simple questions, the more convinced she was that she was right. “Eddie sold the stamps and put the money into his bank account. Along with the money from the sale of his house and his car, and the loan he took out from the bank.”

  “I don’t know anything about all that either,” Gordon snapped out.

  “You were Eddie Parker’s bookkeeper, weren’t you?” Chief Turnlow kept an unwavering stare on Gordon Twill.

  “And you did tell me that you took care of Eddie’s personal, as well as business, accounts,” Nicki said. “You also told me that nothing unusual had gone on in his accounts.”

  “What’s so unusual about money going in and out of a bank account?” Gordon demanded. “It happens every day.

  “Didn’t say that it went out, just that it went in.” As the color from Gordon’s face started to drain, the chief shrugged. “As it happens, though, the money did disappear from Mr. Parker’s account. Almost two hundred thousand dollars of it.”

  Since she was watching him closely, Nicki noticed that the bookkeeper didn’t show even a flicker of surprise at the amount the chief had mentioned. Instead, he drew himself up and stood a little taller, a triumphant look in his eyes.

  “Well I didn’t embezzle it if that’s what you’re implying. I couldn’t have. I didn’t have any signing power on any of Eddie’s accounts.”

  “But you knew the money was there?” Nicki pressed.

  Gordon shrugged. “I kept his books and drew up the checks to pay his bills. Checks, I would remind you, that Eddie had to sign. There was nothing strange about me knowing what his bank balance was.”

  “Then you must have known that Eddie withdrew most of that money. He took out a cashier’s check the morning he was killed.” Nicki glanced at the chief. “The bank confirmed it.”

  “How would I have known that? I didn’t ask the bank about a cashier’s check.” Gordon shifted his gaze to the police chief. “You can ask around at the bank. I never questioned them about any wi
thdrawals from Eddie’s account.”

  “Except you stopped by that morning so Eddie could sign some checks. You said that’s why you were here.” Nicki took in a deep breath. “And you’re a good bookkeeper, aren’t you Gordon? Like any good bookkeeper, you checked on the bank balance to be sure there were enough funds available to pay those bills. So you knew the money was gone. Did you ask Eddie about it? Did he tell you he was meeting Mr. Bridgeton that night and would be turning that money over to him by a cashier’s check that was in his office safe?”

  “I don’t have to talk to you.” Gordon took another step back. He let out a yelp, and jumped a good foot to the side, when he backed into Danny. The young deputy crossed his arms over his chest and didn’t budge an inch. Gordon whirled around again to face Nicki. “You aren’t the police. You don’t know anything. And I’ve never met this Mr. Bridgeton. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, I think you do, Gordon.” Nicki’s hazel eyes leveled a stare at him. “Mr. Bridgeton arranges the franchise agreements for Green ‘N Go. His business card was in Eddie’s wallet, and he’s confirmed that he was supposed to meet Eddie that night and finalize the contract.”

  Gordon’s face was sheet-white as his eyes wheeled around in his head. “Then you should be asking this Mr. Bridgeton about Eddie’s murder. I don’t know anything about a franchise. And Eddie never told me the combination to his safe. He never told anyone what it was. He used to brag that he was the only one who knew it.” The bookkeeper pointed a shaking finger at Jake. “Ask him. Ask him. He knows Eddie used to brag about that.”

  Jake nodded. “He’s right, Nicki. The boss used to say that all the time. Just like his burger mix, and where he kept the key to his wine cellar, or where he hid that stamp, Eddie kept things to himself. He’s the only one who knew that combination.”

  Nicki smiled at the assistant manager. “Yes, he did. And you also told me he kept all of his important information on his phone.” Her gaze went to the right and landed on the waitress standing next to Jake. “Isn’t that right, Roberta?”