by Cat Chandler
Matt smiled at Nicki as she stepped away from him. “You can count on that.”
There was a flurry of ‘goodbyes’ as everyone piled into cars. Ty and Alex had decided to make a beeline for Santa Rosa to placate Alex’s mom.
Once he was in the Edwards’ car, Matt rolled down his window and motioned to Nicki. She leaned over and met brown eyes that were dancing with amusement.
“I almost forgot. I left you something near your computer. It’s supposed to help you get over being mad about the car.”
She laughed. “I am mad about the car. Kind of.” She looked over at it. “But it’s so beautiful, it’s really hard to stay mad.”
Matt grinned. “The keys are on the hallway table.”
She stepped back as Mason put the Mercedes into gear and slowly pulled away.
“Well, pal. I need to get to work. Hopefully the next time our little club gets together, it will only be to enjoy a good meal and an excellent wine.” Jenna gave Nicki one last hug before she headed for her own place right next door.
Nicki watched her go with a smile. Half a minute later she walked into her house with a definite spring to her step. She should also get to work. But not before she took a short spin in her new car. She scooped up the set of keys on the hallway table and then looked over at the door to her office. Curious, she made the detour to her desk and spotted the small box with a red bow around it. She cradled it in her hand for a moment. It was light, and her mouth curved up when she saw the name of Ben’s shop imprinted on a sticker on the back. Lifting the lid, her eyes grew soft. Nestled against a bed of white tissue paper were the silver earrings with the red beads. Only Matt would remember how much she’d liked them.
Removing the earrings she’d put on that morning, Nicki replaced them with the gift from Matt before walking over to the murder board. She gave it one last look before she picked up the eraser. Taking a long swipe across the flat white surface, she hummed as she continued the small chore.
She’d just get this board clean and then take her new car, and her to-do list, over to Eddie’s Diner and go over it with Suzanne.
She stepped back to admire her now-clean whiteboard as she jingled the keys she’d stuck in her pocket.
Life was good.
Champagne, Cupcakes, And Murder
A Food and Wine Club Mystery Book 4
By
CAT CHANDLER
Chapter Seventy-Seven
“My mother might have a nervous breakdown before we even get around to the actual wedding.”
Alex’s head moved in a sharp decisive nod as she exited the elevator and stepped into the wide, opulent lobby of the St. Armand Hotel. The historic landmark that had once been a getaway for politicians and movie stars, was perched above one of the small towns that dotted the many bays leading into the Puget Sound, and was an easy driving distance from where Alex had grown up.
The petite honey-blond woman walking beside her smiled. “Your mom is a sweetheart. She’s only nervous because she wants the perfect wedding for her only daughter.”
Alex stopped dead and threw up her hands as she faced one of her best friends. “Her daughter, I might remind you, wanted a simple ceremony followed by an exotic honeymoon for at least a month. Instead, I’m spending over a week in a frenzy of final planning for a three-hundred-person circus, and then jetting off for a week of some sort of aquatic athletic marathon my adorable, but obviously romantically clueless, fiancé has planned.”
Nicki laughed. Trust Alex to reduce her wedding down to a five-second sound bite that resembled a lecture on how not to get married. A habit of the doctor’s that probably stemmed from working in an emergency room, where quick no-nonsense communication was an everyday requirement.
“That wasn’t entirely Tyler’s fault,” Nicki said, happy to come to the fireman’s defense. “That’s all the time either of you could get off.”
But she did silently agree that Alex’s fireman fiancé, while a wonderful guy, was definitely no Romeo. Still, he treated Alex as if she was the most important thing in the world to him, and put up with all her odd friends, so that made him golden as far as Nicki was concerned. And who knew? Maybe he’d learn to remember a romantic gesture or two without being prodded into it.
At least he showed up when he was supposed to, which was more than Nicki could say about her own last boyfriend.
“We’re going scuba diving,” Alex sighed. “I don’t even like to swim, much less spend an extended period under the water.”
“No. Tyler is going scuba diving. Which he will be doing from the luxury hotel on a private white-sand beach, that has lounge chairs with water-side service from good-looking cabana boys. Not to mention an upscale spa,” Nicki pointed out.
Alex’s lips curved up into a slow smile. “I’ll be on my honeymoon. I can’t be noticing any cabana boys, no matter how good looking they are. Besides, it’s very unlikely they’d be able to compete with Ty.”
Nicki grinned. “I’d say a three-hundred-person circus or not, you’re ready to get married, Dr. Alex Kolman.” She looked around, taking in the gleaming mahogany furniture and thick rugs covering wide-planked wooden floors that were polished to a high shine.
“And you certainly picked a beautiful place to get married.” She pointed to the far side of the lobby. “Those double curving staircases are simply spectacular.”
The bride-to-be let out a very uncharacteristic giggle. “And those aren’t even the ones I’ll be walking down. Wait until you see the staircase leading from the balcony that circles the entire grand ballroom. The whole effect is right out of Cinderella.”
“It sounds like the St. Armand has outdone Disney being Disney,” Nicki laughed. She hooked one arm through Alex’s. “I know I’ll enjoy playing maid-of-honor to your princess, but I’m not sure I’d say the same for Jenna.”
The women exchanged wide smiles as they marched in step toward the hotel bar where they’d agreed to meet Alex’s mother at exactly ten that morning.
“I haven’t told our computer geek friend yet about the long walk down the winding staircase, or the heels she’ll have to wear unless she wants to face the wrath of my mom.”
“It’s probably best to leave it as a surprise.” Nicki was absolutely positive that Jenna would flee in terror if she knew any of that in advance. The third member of their close-knit friendship was more used to sweat pants and flip flops as her daily attire.
“I thought so too, and that’s why I haven’t mentioned a thing to her.” Alex consulted her wrist watch. “We have just enough time to make it through those iron gates into the bar before Mom will lecture us on being late.”
They both quickened their step. Nicki waved at the young girl behind the coffee cart, and then to the middle-aged man sitting at a desk where guests could book tours of the local area, or arrange for transportation into Seattle, which was two hours away.
“Don’t tell me you’ve already made friends with the staff, Nicki Connors. You just got here last night.”
Nicki shrugged as she did a quick scan of the bar area. “Since I was up early, I came down for coffee and met Sally. I was her first customer this morning.”
“What about Kevin?” When Nicki raised an eyebrow, Alex raised one right back then inclined her head toward the middle-aged man behind the desk. “He arranges all the tours.”
“Oh. We haven’t formally met yet. We’re still just friendly wave-to-each-other buddies.” Nicki didn’t even have to look to know that Alex was rolling her eyes. Instead, she pointed to a table in front of the large floor-to-ceiling windows that boasted a spectacular view out onto the bay. “There’s your mom.”
Alex headed in that direction with Nicki trailing after her. The bar’s decor was as quietly tasteful as the rest of the hotel, with most of the seating area exposed to the same breathtaking panorama of the meandering bay surrounded by hills rising on both sides leading into the much larger Puget sound.
“Hello.” Nancy Kolman rose and engulfed
Nicki in a warm hug. With her blue eyes and gleaming black hair, she was an older version of her daughter. Except Nancy’s hair was cut into a simple page-boy style that barely brushed her shoulders, instead of the sleek one-sided wedge that Alex preferred. “Did you have any trouble getting here? Sometimes these destination weddings do have their challenges.”
Alex pulled out a chair and sat next to her mother. “Mom, this is hardly a destination wedding. Henley Bay is only an hour from our house.”
Nancy gave her daughter’s hand a firm pat. “It still isn’t one of our neighborhood venues, honey, so that makes it a destination.”
“It’s a lovely hotel,” Nicki put in quickly, intending to fend off any potential argument. Mother and daughter usually enjoyed a close relationship, but they hadn’t agreed on much when it came to this wedding. And they’d been sparring over it ever since Alex had called home to tell her mom about the engagement.
“Thank you.” Nancy leaned forward on her elbows, turning her head toward Nicki. She kept a smile on her face while she lowered her voice. “And I’m so glad you could come early. The wedding is less than two weeks away, and the caterer is becoming somewhat of a pill.”
“What kind of pill?” Nicki asked, ignoring the sideways glance coming from Alex which clearly said, “don’t encourage her”.
“He doesn’t seem very organized.”
Nicki looked properly horrified at that statement. She’d known Alex’s mom long enough to realize that there wasn’t anything worse in Nancy Kolman’s world than not having everything planned out and lined up in perfect order.
“We’re going over to their establishment this morning to put in the final design choice for the cake,” Nancy continued on. “And only because I insisted on it. This should have been decided months ago.”
Since neither Nicki nor Alex wanted to get into a debate over the wedding cake, they immediately nodded their agreement.
“I’m hoping with a trained chef along with us this morning, we can get everything properly sorted out.” Nancy fairly beamed at the idea.
“I’ll be glad to help in any way I can,” Nicki promised. She’d attended one of the best culinary schools in New York City, and even though she now made her living writing articles for a popular online food magazine, along with her own personal blog and a series of spy novels she published under a pen name, Nicki still enjoyed spending time in the kitchen, making delicious meals for her friends.
“Well, if Robin’s Catering doesn’t prove satisfactory today, I’m afraid I’ll have to mention it to the events manager here at the hotel.” Nancy sent an apologetic look to her daughter. “I hate to make a fuss so close to the wedding, but Robin’s is the hotel’s official caterer, and I’m certain that they’d want to know if their service isn’t meeting the St. Armand’s standard of excellence.”
“I’m sure it will be fine, Mom.” Alex took another glance at her watch. “Shouldn’t we be going?”
Gathering up her candy-red purse, which was a perfect color-match for both her high heels and her lipstick, Nancy led the way out the side door into the hotel’s garden and over to the parking lot.
Since this particular town on Henley Bay boasted only a handful of streets, all of which led to either the St. Armand Hotel, or to the boardwalk and docks lining the bay, it was only five minutes before they’d parked at the curb in front of the white-washed brick building featuring a light-green sign with Robin’s Catering in black letters.
There wasn’t much activity around them as they walked up to the glass door and into an almost deserted lobby. Its walls were painted in the same mellow green as the sign outside, and all the furniture had black accents.
The lone receptionist sat at a desk on the far side of the room. She looked up when the bell over the door tinkled and smiled as the trio approached.
“Hello, and welcome to Robin’s Catering. I’m Karen. How can I help you?”
Nicki gave the young woman a cordial smile but hung back a little to let Nancy do the talking.
“Good morning, Karen. We’re here to finalize the cake for the Kolman-Roberts’ wedding.”
The receptionist, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, blinked behind her green-rimmed glasses. “Is Kylie expecting you?”
When Nancy gave poor Karen that shaming stare every mother in the world had perfected, Nicki turned her head away to hide her smile. It didn’t surprise her one bit when Karen quickly rose to her feet.
“But I’m sure Kylie can see you immediately. I’ll let her know that you’re here.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Nancy said smoothly. “But our appointment is with Robin.”
“Robin?” The flustered brunette glanced behind her as if she expected the owner to suddenly appear out of thin air. “I haven’t seen him come in yet this morning.” She looked back at Nancy and went a little pale. “But since he’s expecting you, I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.” She gestured toward a grouping of chairs not far from her desk. “If you’d like to have a seat, I’ll pull your file and we can get you started with Bradley, the other partner in the company, until Robin gets here.”
Not waiting for a response, Karen made a hasty retreat through the door behind her desk. Left standing in the deserted lobby, the three women had little choice but to sit and wait. Nicki hoped Robin made his appearance soon. Nancy’s frozen smile and stiff back didn’t bode well for the tardy caterer.
She breathed a sigh of relief when a young man dressed in a sharply tailored suit with a vest and tie in the same green color as the walls, strode through the doors. He walked directly to Nancy and held out his hand.
“Nancy. It’s a pleasure to see you again.” He kept his smile through Nancy’s short nod as he turned toward Alex. “How are you?”
Alex returned his smile as she leaned forward and gave him a hug. “I’m fine, Brad. How’s Gin?”
Nicki had almost forgotten that the younger partner in the wedding caterer’s company was married to a childhood friend of Alex’s. The two women had grown up in the same small town just on the other side of Henley Bay, which snuggled into the Washington coast on one of the many bays and inlets leading into Puget Sound.
“She’s fine. She’ll be mad she wasn’t in the office today to see you.” Brad lifted a hand to smooth out his tie. “She’s really enjoyed working on the plan for your wedding, and I’m anxious to meet your fiancé and all those friends you’ve been talking about for years.” He smoothly shifted his smile to Nicki.
Alex slipped an arm around Nicki’s shoulders. “This is one of them. Nicki, meet Brad Ashton. Brad, this is Nicki Connors.”
The man with the pleasant smile that reached right up to his warm brown eyes, held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Nicki. I’m both a partner and a manager here.” He cocked his head to one side and studied her for a long moment. “Aren’t you the friend who’s solved all those murders?”
Nicki laughed. “Not so many, and I’ve never managed to solve any of them by myself.”
Brad grinned, showing two rows of perfect white teeth. “Alex told us. She said you have some kind of group that is really into the high-end food and wines, and that you’re a gourmet chef.”
Nicki and Alex exchanged an amused smile. Most of the members in their little group were just as happy with fast food as they were with a gourmet meal.
“I used to be a working chef,” Nicki corrected. “Now I only cook for my friends.”
“But you’ll be giving cooking classes pretty soon,” Alex interjected. “According to Suzanne, the first year is already booked solid.”
The catering owner gave an appreciative whistle. “You must be a great chef.”
“She certainly is,” Nancy said. She stepped forward and tapped a polished fingernail on the manager’s arm. “And we are pressed for time. We had an appointment with Robin to finalize our cake order. Is he here? Your receptionist didn’t seem to think so.”
Brad looked over his shoulder and frowned at the tall door
leading into the back of the building. “He should be. Robin always comes in early since he’s in charge of all the baked goods and desserts.”
“Well, he hasn’t made an appearance yet, and I…” Nancy was cut off in mid-sentence by a high-pitched scream from somewhere beyond the door behind the receptionist’s desk.
Everyone froze for a second before Brad took off like a shot. Nicki and Alex ran after him as the screams continued, growing louder as they approached a set of double doors standing open at the end of the hallway.
“Oh my god.” Brad’s horrified voice could barely be heard over Karen’s screams as half a dozen people poured out of doorways to see what was going on.
Nicki skidded to a halt beside Alex, just inside the open doors. She had a quick impression of a large office, with a huge glass-topped desk facing away from the back wall. A man was seated in a tall chair, slumped over, with his cheek resting against the desk’s smooth surface.
“Can you please get her to quiet down?” Alex pointed from Brad to Karen. The doctor approached the desk with Nicki right on her heels.
Alex walked around the sleek piece of furniture until she was standing next to the slumped-over man. She reached over and placed two fingers against his neck and one hand on his back.
Nicki stood a few feet away and drew in a quick breath. She could clearly see the blood-flow across the smoked glass. She looked over at her friend who shook her head.
He was dead. And it was a sure thing that he’d had help getting that way.
Pressing her lips together as a heavy weight settled into the pit of her stomach, Nicki glanced over at Brad. He was standing with his arms around Karen. The receptionist’s face was buried against his chest and she was soaking the front of his shirt with her tears. The manager didn’t seem to notice as he stared back at Nicki, his eyes wide with horror.
