by Cat Chandler
“Oh.” Paul’s mouth turned down. “That’s too bad.” He turned and looked at Matt. “And who is this?”
“My boyfriend.” Nicki kept her gaze on Paul as Matt broke out into a huge grin. Kylie had been right to look confused. They might as well call it for what it was. They’d talked about moving closer to each other for goodness’ sakes, so it was past time that she publicly declared herself and Matt to officially be “an item”.
“How wonderful!” Paul held out a hand which Matt dutifully shook before stepping back to a position beside Nicki. “Let me see the two of you now.” Paul ran a critical eye up and down, tilting his head one way and then the other,
“Well, you certainly make an adorable couple.” He gestured toward the far side of the lobby. “Can I buy you a drink?”
Since that suited her plans just fine, Nicki nodded and Matt did the same. She led the way to the comfortable lounge and took up their usual table next to the large window. Matt pulled her chair out, then remained standing as he politely asked Paul what he’d like to drink. When the editor left to order their drinks at the bar, Nicki turned a smile on the florist.
“We were in town a little earlier, walking along the harbor. I saw your sign about a seminar in the window.”
“A convenient ploy,” Paul chuckled. “And it works like a charm. No one has ever questioned it.” He smiled at Nicki. “Until now. I had a meeting with Amanda. Not uncommon at this time of year. We had quite a few weddings to go over. As a matter of fact, I was thinking of playing hooky today and not opening at all.”
“That isn’t a problem in the middle of the work week?” If that’s the way Paul ran his business, Nicki could understand why Lydia had urged her ex-husband to make a change.
The florist shrugged. “Not really. Most of my business is by phone or through the internet. Very little of it comes from customers who walk in from the street.” He laughed. “Or the harbor, depending on which door they use to come into the shop. Now it’s my turn to ask you a question.”
Wondering what this was all about, Nicki inclined her head. “All right.”
“I hear you ran into Andrew at Robin’s place, and that he’s an old friend of yours?” At Nicki’s startled look, he smiled. “Small town. Gossip travels fast.”
“I met Andrew at cooking school.” Nicki wasn’t going to concede any more than that. For all she knew, Paul and Andrew were great friends and anything she said would go straight back to her former rival.
“Ah yes. Cooking school. And a very prestigious one. I was a little surprised to hear that, since you didn’t mention it when we talked the other day.”
Nicki watched Matt hand bills over to the bartender and pick up two of the three drinks.
“I guess I didn’t think of it.” She smiled as Matt approached the table and handed her a glass of wine. Paul’s drink had a small umbrella sticking out the top. “That’s easy to happen when you have a lot on your mind.” She took a sip of her drink as Matt left them alone again. “I was surprised that you didn’t mention that Robin severed your business relationship, then took on Brad Ashton as a partner.”
Paul chuckled. “I didn’t mention it because that is old news. And ‘severed’ is a much harsher word than that business decision deserves.” He raised his drink glass in a small salute before taking a long sip, making a humming noise of appreciation deep in his throat. “Lydia talked Robin into making that change right before she filed for divorce. And since I was amenable to it, there wasn’t any ill-will or drama to report.”
“You told me the two of you had been friends since you were infants. It didn’t hurt your feelings that Robin no longer wanted to be partners?”
“Not really. After all, we were still close friends. And in many ways, not being partners probably saved our friendship.”
Nicki raised one eyebrow and waited silently.
The man across the table from her sighed heavily. “Robin had changed. He wasn’t content any longer with being a small-town success. He wanted to walk in the spotlight, and the young and ambitious Brad had a blueprint to get them both there.” He took another sip of his drink. “Me? I didn’t want the bright lights and all the pressure that goes with it. I like to keep my life very simple. Wives, children, too much ambition, they’re all complications that I don’t need. Especially since they so rarely like each other, and certainly not you.”
“An unusual way to look at life,” Matt said, taking a seat next to Nicki.
“Simple gratitude for what you have, and keeping only what you earn, is the key to a good life.” He nodded at the couple across from him. “My father taught me that. He was never jealous that Robin’s dad was an officer and he was only a sergeant. And he never apologized for being the better contractor in civilian life and having more money than his former lieutenant. It’s all a balance.”
Nicki had a sneaking suspicion that Paul liked giving philosophical lectures, and she had no intention of being trapped into listening to one.
“And I was even more surprised to find out that Robin had a longstanding girlfriend. You didn’t mention Michelle Fusion either.”
“Mink?” Paul laughed. “Why should I have? If she’d pointed a gun at someone, it’s very likely it would have been the wrong end.” He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his stomach. “Mink didn’t kill anyone. She wouldn’t know how.”
Nicki’s phone rang. She dug it out of her purse and looked at the screen, turning it toward Matt. Mouthing an “I’m sorry” to Paul, she tapped the answer button and raised it to her ear. “Hi.” There was a short pause before she nodded. “We’re in the bar.” She tucked the phone back into her purse as she looked at Matt. “That was Clay. He just pulled into the parking lot, and he wants to talk to me.”
“About?” Matt asked.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say.”
“Well.” Paul pushed himself to his feet. “I don’t want to interfere in any official business.” He smiled at Nicki. “I’m sure we’ll run into each other again.” He bobbed his head at Matt then headed for the door.
Nicki stared after the rapidly retreating man.
“You don’t like him,” Matt said in a low voice.
Nicki shrugged. “He parcels out information as if it was covered in gold. And he enjoys the gossip mill of a small town a little too much.”
“You don’t like him,” Matt repeated. “Are you getting one of your famous hunches?”
She frowned. “Not really. He had no reason to kill Robin. Their partnership dissolved years ago, and he just told me that his family has more money than Robin’s. Why would he kill his lifelong friend?” Nicki shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense.” Nicki paused to wave at the police chief who appeared in the open doorway into the lounge. Matt nodded as Clay took the seat vacated by the florist.
“I’m glad I caught you two. We may or may not have a problem.”
Nicki smiled. “That’s being a little cryptic, isn’t it, Chief?”
He took off his ball cap and dropped it on the table. “Karen says you were at the catering company yesterday, and that she let you into Robin’s office.
“That’s right,” Nicki said. “Why?”
“Did you notice if Karen locked the office back up?”
She thought back to the day before. Unfortunately, she’d left the office first, so Karen was behind her. Nicki simply hadn’t paid any attention to whether or not the receptionist had locked the door. “I honestly don’t know.”
“Is something missing?” Matt asked.
“The pin that Nicki asked about.” The chief shrugged. “I got curious so I thought I’d take a look. But when I got there, the pin was gone.”
“Gone?” Nicki frowned. “But the cabinet was locked. Did someone break the glass?”
“It wasn’t locked when I got there, so I called the station and had Mary read me the crime scene reports and you’re right. That cabinet was locked. And according to Karen, she doesn’t have that key.” The chief shook
his head. “So I called Gin Ashton, since she’s also the office manager, and she said Robin had the key. But here’s the thing. There weren’t any keys in Robin’s pockets when we found him. And there weren’t any in his desk, I looked. None were reported in his car, and I have a deputy headed out to search his house. But I’d bet we aren’t going to turn up any keys.”
Nicki’s forehead wrinkled in thought. What could be so important about that pin that it was worth stealing? “There’s something else, Chief. Gin said that she thinks the wine was a burgundy, and her husband thinks it might have been a Bordeaux or Cabernet. But they’re both sure it was a red wine, and Gin said the bottle was on display the day before the murder.”
“Maybe their housekeeping service took the wine and then the pin?” Matt suggested. “It’s been known to happen.”
“There was no sign that housekeeping had been in there, and Karen said they only come twice a week and only for the offices. The catering employees clean the kitchens.”
“Something else you might be interested in,” Matt said. “It was written into Brad Ashton’s partnership agreement that the company could be sold any time after its fifth year.”
The police chief rubbed a hand across his forehead. “Well, that’s great to hear. So half the suspects have no alibi and none of them have a motive?”
Nicki tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She’d started out telling Matt how frustrated she was with trying to find answers for this murder, and nothing had changed. Well, except now the chief of police was as frustrated as she was.
“Both of you should consider taking a step back to clear your heads. Think of something else for a day or two,” Matt suggested. “Maybe the chief can offer a couple of suggestions for the wilderness trip all the guys are going on?”
“All?” Nicki wasn’t sure she’d heard that right. As far as she knew, Matt was a city boy through and through.
He grinned. “Ty called last night and invited me along.”
“And you’re going?”
Matt nodded. “Sure. I like to camp out.”
“You’ve camped out before?”
Clay gave her a puzzled look. “And you haven’t?”
Nicki’s newly acknowledged boyfriend gave a long, dramatic sigh. “She grew up in New York City.”
“Oh.”
Nicki rolled her eyes at the pitying stare from Clay just because the man looked as if he did nothing but tramp around in the wilderness. “It had its good points. We just didn’t camp much.”
“Make that at all,” Matt said, his gaze going to the police chief. “There’ll be four of us. The other three are fireman, including the groom.”
“So in good shape.” Clay stroked his chin as he thought it over. “There are lots of places you can do a fairly easy hike into. Did you bring any hiking gear?”
When Matt nodded, Nicki gaped at him. “You did?”
“Sure. The wedding venue was at the edge of a national forest. Who wouldn’t bring hiking gear?”
“Me,” Nicki muttered. “I don’t even own any hiking gear.” She grinned at the absurdity of a sudden mental picture of herself strolling along a forest trail. “I don’t even know what hiking gear is.”
“Don’t worry about it, I still love you.” Matt said it so casually, and then immediately fell into a discussion with Clay about the possibilities for the trip. Nicki wasn’t sure if he was even aware of what he’d said. Or how she felt about it. After all, she’d only gotten around to calling him her boyfriend less than an hour ago.
She was still lost in her own thoughts when Matt put an arm around her shoulders. “Okay, sounds good. Then we’re in agreement. We’ll meet at the restaurant at nine tomorrow morning.”
Nicki blinked. “Wait. What restaurant?”
“The Sunny Side Up. Clay gave me directions. It’s not far from here.”
“And we are going there at nine tomorrow morning because…?” Not that she minded. She really did want to get a look at this woman the chief was so fascinated with. And placate Jenna’s need to find a hamburger joint.
“Ricki owns and operates the restaurant. It’s more of a local favorite than a tourist hangout,” the chief said. “She also is a partner in a wilderness adventure outfit called Wilderness Pathways.”
“I saw their name on a bunch of brochures on Kevin’s desk.”
Clay nodded. “The tour coordinator. Ricki gets a lot of her business through the hotel.”
“But we’re in luck,” Matt put in. “Clay’s going to introduce us to Ricki tomorrow and we can make the arrangements without going through a middle man.”
Chapter Ninety-Three
Nicki smiled when they pulled up in front of the Sunny Side Up restaurant. On the outside, it did look a great deal like Eddie’s Burger Joint back home. Except for the color of the awning over the door. It was brown and badly faded instead of the cheerful stripes that Eddie had favored. Jenna peered out the window of Matt’s rental car and nodded her approval.
“Looks authentic enough. And I can see there are lots of customers, so that’s a good sign.”
Nicki, Matt, and Jenna walked inside and were immediately confronted with a boy who looked to be in his early teens. Nicki wasn’t sure. It was hard to tell at that age.
He had gold wire-rimmed glasses, a mop of dark hair, and was reed thin. He gave them a knowing look. “Are you Clay’s friends? He called this morning and said to watch out for you. And I’m supposed to let you know that he’s going to be a little late.”
“Thank you for letting us know.” Nicki smiled at the boy and had to resist the urge to ruffle a hand across the top of his head. He hadn’t done much more than stare at them and give them Clay’s message, but there was something about him that she took an immediate liking to.
“I’m Eddie,” he announced, frowning when Jenna gasped.
“You’re kidding?” When Eddie stared up at her, Jenna put her hands on her hips and stared right back.
Finally the boy shook his head. “No, I’m not. Why would I kid about my name?”
Jenna grinned at him. “You’ve got me there.” She stuck out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Eddie.” When the boy shifted the menus to one arm and shook her hand, Jenna nodded. “Have you got a last name, Eddie?”
“James.” He looked around the small restaurant. “The Boblers just left. You can have their table.” He pulled out three menus and handed them to Nicki. “The dirty dishes go in that plastic tub by the wall. I’ll get something so you can wipe off your table.”
When he turned around and disappeared, Nicki turned an astonished look to Matt and Jenna. “Are we supposed to clean off our own table?”
“Welcome to small town life.” Jenna headed for the table Eddie had pointed out.
“I live in a small town,” Nicki followed behind Jenna, ignoring Matt’s chuckle.
“You live on the West Coast,” Jenna laughed. “It’s different on the coasts than it is in the middle of the country.”
Nicki rolled her eyes. “Maybe you should brush up on your geography, Jenna. I’m pretty sure Washington is on the West Coast.”
“Oh stop complaining and just bus the table.” Jenna picked up two plates and a cup.
“I’m not complaining,” Nicki insisted. “I’m a chef. Why would I complain about cleaning up a few dishes? I was just surprised, is all.”
Matt produced a tray and held it out. “Go ahead and stack everything on here. I’ll carry it over to the bin.”
It only took them a few minutes to clear off the table, and true to his word, Eddie appeared again and handed Nicki a damp dishtowel. “I heard you say you’re a chef.”
Nicki looked over at the young boy and smiled as she wiped down the table. “That’s right.”
Eddie glanced at Jenna. “What do you do?”
“Design websites.”
“That is really cool.” Eddie’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “Where did you go to school?”
“NYU.” Jenna g
rinned. “So did Nicki, before she went to cooking school. Matt over there owns a magazine, but he studied engineering.”
“Wow. My mom and dad do cool stuff too,” Eddie proclaimed, not to be outdone.
“Is your mom Ricki?” Matt asked.
Eddie gave a quick head bob. “She said she’ll be out pretty soon. You should sit and have some breakfast.”
“Sounds good,” Matt said with his usual enthusiasm for anything having to do with food. He looked over at the blackboard menu that hung against the wall. “I’ll have that number two breakfast.” He pointed at Nicki. “So will she.”
“Make that three,” Jenna said.
Since every decision seemed to have been made for her, Nicki handed the damp cloth over to Eddie with a smile. “Where do I get the silverware?”
“I’ll bring that,” Eddie declared. “That’s part of my job.”
Nicki looked at her watch and frowned. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”
“It doesn’t matter for the first couple of periods. Those are my eighth grade classes. I don’t start the high school classes until eleven.” With that explanation, he hurried off.
“I guess he’s pretty smart,” Nicki said. “I think what he was saying is that he’s supposed to be in the eighth grade, but he’s taking most of his classes at the high school.”
“He is, and he does. I insisted the school give him a few classes with kids his own age so he could have some friends.” The husky voice, with a barely noticeable Midwestern twang, was attached to a slender brunette, with a luxurious fall of hair reaching halfway to her waist, and legs that were long enough that Nicki had a small spurt of envy. The slightly exotic-looking woman didn’t possess the classic kind of beauty that would land her a movie deal, but she did have an arresting face, dominated by blue eyes that were slanted up at the corners with a thick fringe of lash around them.
She gave each of them a measured look before holding a hand out to Nicki.
“I’m Ricki James. Clay told me you want to arrange a hiking trip into the Olympic Forest?”
Nicki was surprised by the firm grip of Ricki’s long, slender fingers as she smiled at the restaurant owner and outdoor adventure guide. “I’m Nicki Connors. This is Jenna Lindstrom and Matt Dillon.”
