by Cat Chandler
Nicki blinked. “What kind of commitment?”
Jane didn’t look up as she waved her pen in a circle. “I told the owner of the shop that houses the Historical Society that you’d be by to talk to her yourself.” Jane raised her gaze. “I explained that I was your assistant and just wanted to look around a bit. She was very accommodating and seemed quite flattered that you wanted to speak with her.” Jane tapped her pen against the paper. “You have quite a reputation in town for solving murders.”
Wondering what Chief Turnlow would say about that, Nicki shrugged. “The police solve the murders. I only help out on occasion.”
The admin closed her notebook and stowed it away in her tote. “Well, the way Madge sees it, is that the chief is a combination of mentor and father-figure to you, and there were several times he was on the verge of arresting the very good-looking but not nice boyfriend you had before Matt.”
“Rob?” Nicki laughed. “He’d be in a tizzy for getting a jaywalking ticket, much less doing anything he might get arrested for.”
“Oh? Madge said the chief didn’t like the way Rob ignored you. Or let you run around on your own solving murders.” Jane paused to smile. “I heard Matt complain about the same thing on many occasions before he finally got up the courage to ask you out.”
“Is that so?” No surprise there. Nicki couldn’t remember Matt ever saying one nice thing about Rob. And Jenna, who’d always referred to Rob as “lover-boy”, had never liked him either.
“Certainly, but I’m sure you knew that all ready. Madge seems to think that you’re the daughter the chief never had.”
“Wonderful,” Nicki muttered. That’s all she needed. She really liked the chief, but really didn’t need another watchdog. Not that the chief didn’t do that anyway. “Did Madge have anything to say about Viola, by any chance?
“Only that she never bought anything, and she spent all her time looking at the books that dealt with the histories of the local wineries. And then she showed Madge a picture of some wine event. Oh, and she tried to talk Madge into buying her services to research her ancestors.”
Nicki filed all that away in her mind as she walked over and sat on a nearby bench, then waited for Jane to join her.
“I had a very interesting talk with Roe. It seems Viola came into her shop and started an argument over some macarons.”
“Were they too expensive?”
“I don’t know.” Nicki shrugged. “Why do you ask?”
“From everything we’ve learned, it seems Viola might have been a little short on funds.” When Nicki raised an eyebrow, Jane nodded. “She finagles a free townhouse and car from Maxie, free meals from you, and everyone she talked to she’d tried to turn into a client for her genealogy business.” She eyed Nicki for a long moment. “And I suspect you think the same thing since you had us listing all her ‘freebies’ on the murder board.”
Jane was right about that. Viola being strapped for cash did explain why she never seemed to pay for anything. She could have simply been out of money. Especially since Suzanne had mentioned that her last blockbuster book had been written over a decade ago. And maybe it was the reason the genealogist had chosen to spend her vacation in Soldoff. But Nicki didn’t think so.
“Let’s head on over to Sam’s shop. I think you’ll like him. He’s very much a gentleman.” Nicki laughed. “As a matter of fact, most of our confirmed bachelors in town are.”
“Do you have many?” Jane asked as they walked along.
“A few,” Nicki confirmed. “There’s Charlie, who loves to create new hybrid flowers and owns Wine Time, a lovely boutique winery on the edge of town. And you’ve met the retired police chief, although he isn’t a bachelor anymore since he married Maxie. Then there are the more recent town additions of Ben, who makes and sells his own jewelry, and of course Sam. He owns a rather upscale gift shop.”
“Hmm. So he and Madge aren’t really competitors?”
Thinking of the completely different atmospheres in the two shops, Nicki smiled. “I’d say not. Sam also has a side hobby. He collects stamps.”
“Oh. Was he one of the suspects you interviewed in Eddie’s murder?”
Nicki sighed. That was true. She hoped she wouldn’t have to interview him as a suspect in Viola’s murder as well.
It only took them five minutes to cross the square and reach the walkway into a narrow alleyway paved with stones that had all sorts of tasting rooms and little shops tucked along its winding path. Sam’s shop was at the halfway point. It was easy to spot with its eye-catching, bright-blue door underneath a snow-white awning with a sign over it in elaborate script, spelling out “Tasteful & Tacky”.
The “open” sign was hung in the front window, so Nicki stepped into the shop with Jane following right behind her. The shop, with its unique collection of table toppers and wall hangings was empty, but it was only a moment before Sam stepped out from behind the dark curtain spanning a wide opening behind the counter that held an old-fashioned cash register. Medium height with a slender build, Sam’s brown eyes lit up when he spotted Nicki.
“Why hello! Our local amateur sleuth.” He skirted around the counter and strode forward to engulf Nicki in a warm hug. “Shame on you for not dropping by to see me sooner.” He stepped back and smiled at Jane. “And you brought a much prettier companion than you did the last time you were here.” He bowed slightly at the waist before holding out his hand. “I’m Sam Moore.”
Nicki could hardly believe the starched and proper Jane was actually blushing as she put her hand into Sam’s.
“I’m Jane Markley, Mr. Moore. And I’m pleased to meet you.”
Sam was fairly beaming as he continued to hold Jane’s hand. “I’m very happy to welcome you to my shop, Ms. Markley. Or is it Mrs.?”
“Oh no, no. I’m not married.”
Sam’s free hand instantly went to cover his heart. “Unbelievable.”
Silently watching the two of them, Nicki tried not to laugh as she wondered when either of them would remember that she was also in the room. When Sam finally turned his head and smiled at her, she clasped her hands behind her back and rolled up on her toes in a good imitation of Chief Turnlow.
“Jane is the executive assistant to Matt Dillon, the editor for Food & Wine Online. I believe you met him once when he came into the shop?”
The middle-aged Sam wiggled his eyebrows at her. “You mean the young man I advised to send that other boyfriend of yours packing?”
Nicki rolled her eyes. “Yes, Sam. That one.” Her mouth dropped open when Jane giggled.
“That must have embarrassed Matt to no end.”
“Not as much as it embarrassed Nicki,” Sam assured her. “Can I get you anything? Some water? Or perhaps a glass of wine? I have a bottle open in my small refrigerator in back.”
Feeling like she was about to get caught in the middle of a first date, Nicki cleared her throat. “That sounds wonderful, Sam, but we really came to talk to you about something.”
“Nicki came to talk to you about something,” Jane quickly clarified.
More than willing to help the suddenly starry-eyed admin out and go along with that little white lie, Nicki immediately agreed. “Yes. I wanted to talk to you.”
Sam finally let go of Jane’s hand and stepped back around the counter. “It’s about Viola Richards, isn’t it?”
“How did you know?” The confusion in Jane’s voice had Sam smiling.
“It isn’t the first time Nicki has asked me about someone who’s been murdered. And I suspect she discovered my name associated with Ms. Richards.”
“Your name was on her calendar,” Nicki said quietly.
“It was?”
Nicki was sure the surprise in Sam’s eyes was genuine. She’d bet that Sam had no idea Viola had him listed as one of her appointments. “What kind of dealings did you have with her?”
The shop owner shrugged. “Nothing unusual for someone in her profession, I suppose. She wandered into th
e shop one day and struck up a conversation. She told me what she did for a living, and I happened to mention that it would be wonderful to know something about my paternal side of the family. My father died when I was still a baby, and my mother went to live with her parents. She never had anything to do with her former in-laws after that. At least not as far as I know.”
When he paused, Nicki took up the narrative. “And Viola offered to do the research for a very reasonable price?”
He smiled. “Why yes, she did. A great deal cheaper than the prices on Maxie Edwards’ website. Although it turned out not to be such a bargain.”
“Why do you say that?” Jane asked softly, drawing his attention back to her where it stayed.
“We agreed on a price, and I paid her half up front, but then never heard from her again.” He let out a dramatic sigh. “Now I guess I never will. Unless she left some notes or a file somewhere?”
Nicki considered for a moment. “I don’t think she had any written files, and the police have her laptop.”
“They do?” Sam’s voice had risen just a little.
“But I don’t think you’ll be able to recover any of her work, Mr. Moore. Jenna confirmed that all the files on Ms. Richards’ laptop were wiped out,” Jane told him.
Nicki’s eyes narrowed slightly when Sam’s shoulders visibly relaxed.
“That’s too bad,” he said to Jane, not even sparing a glance for Nicki. “And please, call me Sam.”
“If you’ll call me Jane.”
“I’d like that.”
The shop owner’s whole face lit up with a smile and Jane was back to blushing. Nicki wondered if she was going to get through this interview since she might as well have been a stone statue in the room. And she hated having to break in on the two of them.
It was fun and gratifying to see Jane so obviously taken with Sam. Nicki didn’t think the admin had stopped smiling since they’d walked into the shop. She knew that Sam hadn’t.
“Um, Sam?” When he finally turned to look at her, his eyes were positively sparkling. “It sounds like you did have an appointment with Viola, if you were discussing some business?”
Sam shook his head. “Well no, we didn’t, actually. When she first came into the shop, we got to talking but it turned into a pretty busy day, so she said she’d come back another time, and I said ‘sure’. Two days later, she walked back in. The shop wasn’t as busy then, so we were able to come to an agreement about what it would cost and what I could expect from her.”
That sounded reasonable enough. Nicki had certainly used her own calendar to remind her to make a phone call, or to arrange a follow-up interview, on many occasions.
“Have you had a chance to eat at Mario’s yet?”
The question directed at Jane had Nicki wishing she could somehow just disappear. The last thing she wanted to do was eavesdrop on a budding relationship.
“No, not yet. Nicki is a wonderful cook, or rather chef, so we haven’t been out to eat yet.”
Sam smiled. “I’ve heard that about her. She certainly improved on the burger from Eddie’s.”
Nicki opened her mouth to protest, but then shut it without making a sound. Maybe if she kept quiet she’d be able to sneak out of the shop without the other two noticing.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you came over for dinner sometime soon.” Jane turned a pleading look toward her hostess. “Would you?”
The food blogger gave a mental sigh. Oh, not at all. Sure. What’s the problem with having a potential murder suspect over for dinner? Except of course, she couldn’t quite see Sam murdering anyone.
“Of course.” Nicki grinned at Sam. “All you and Jane have to do is figure out a date and time that will work for both of you.”
Nicki waited through a few more minutes of back-and-forth between Jane and Sam before the admin finally said that they really had to be leaving. After several assurances that she’d be in touch, and an exchange of phone numbers, the two women were once more walking toward Nicki’s SUV.
Once they were on the road, Jane pulled out her notebook and opened it up. “With Alex and her husband coming this weekend, and that charity event for Maxie’s Ladies in Writing Society in a few days, do we need to make a trip to the grocery store on the way home?”
Nicki laughed. “Something I usually do on a daily basis.” She glanced at Jane and grinned. “And let me know when you’ve invited Sam to dinner. We’ll have to come up with something that will really impress him.”
Once again Jane’s cheeks were splashed with red. “That would be excellent.” She kept her eyes on the road ahead. “You don’t think he had anything to do with Viola’s murder, do you?”
“I wouldn’t have thought so,” Nicki said before letting out an audible sigh. “But I should warn you, Jane, that I’ve been surprised before.”
Chapter One Hundred Sixteen
“Yoo hoo!” Maxie’s voice echoed down the hallway early the following morning.
Nicki and Jane were enjoying a cup of coffee at the kitchen counter as Maxie’s high-fashion signature sandals with four-inch heels clicked down the hallway. When she appeared in the doorway, she had a mug in her hand that was easily double the size of a normal coffee cup. Waving it in front of her, she made a straight line toward the pot of French press coffee warming on the stove.
“This is the only size that will do this morning. Jenna dropped by yesterday and practically redesigned my entire website, and then insisted on teaching me how to navigate around it.” Maxie filled her cup to the brim before collapsing on one of the stools. “It was exhausting. How she ever learned all of that is beyond me.”
“I paid Columbia University a boatload of money to teach it to me,” Jenna said from the doorway. She also had a large cup in her hand. “I need some decent coffee.”
Nicki chuckled as she got up and brought the pot over to the computer geek, emptying it into her cup then returning to the other side of the island to make another pot. “More will be ready in a few minutes, so I hope that will hold you until then.”
“Barely,” Jenna said, taking the stool that Nicki had vacated. “I’ll do my best to hold on.” She turned to eye Maxie. “You don’t like your new website?”
“I love it, dear. Very striking, and easy to use,” Maxie assured her. “I just don’t know why we had to redo the entire thing in a single day.”
Jenna grinned. “Once you start, it’s best to finish so you don’t lose your train of thought on how to put the design together.” She yawned before pointing at Nicki. “How did your day go? Any new clues to follow?”
“A couple of interesting things. Jane has a theory that Viola might have been broke.”
When three sets of eyes turned her way, Jane’s hand froze in the act of raising her coffee cup. “I don’t believe it was my theory. I’m sure Nicki hit on it first.”
“But you put it together and stated it out loud,” Nicki pointed out. “So you get to claim it.”
“I think we all had a suspicion, but why do you think that it’s a fact, Jane?” Maxie asked.
“Mostly because of all the freebies that we listed on the murder board, and then it struck me that everyone we’ve talked to has said Viola tried to sell them her services.” Jane rushed on when Maxie’s face fell, with her mouth pulled down into an unhappy frown. “But that doesn’t mean it’s a fact. It was only a thought I had.”
Maxie turned and stared at her blog-writing tenant. “Everyone you talked to?”
“It seems like it,” Nicki confirmed as she poured boiling water into the French press. “And she made sure she charged less than your rates.”
“Really? How enterprising. But I don’t like the idea of her approaching all my friends and neighbors as if I’d sanctioned such a thing.” Maxie fell silent as she stared down into her coffee cup.
“What’s done is done, and she won’t be doing it anymore.” Jenna’s practical observation earned her a glare from her landlady. “Anything else besides the fac
t that she was short on funds, which is very likely the reason she had to vacation in Soldoff instead of Rome or on a Mediterranean island?”
“But that’s just it.” Nicki turned away from the stove and faced her audience of three. “I don’t think she was on a vacation. I think she was working. And not just at coming up with more clients. The only one she had as far as we know is Sam Moore. And wherever his family is from, I’ll bet it isn’t a winery near Soldoff.”
“So?” Jenna demanded. “What do the wineries near Soldoff have to do with anything?”
“That’s what Viola was researching at the Historical Society, according to Madge,” Jane volunteered. “There are several wineries listed on her appointment calendar. And she showed Madge some sort of picture of a winery event.”
Jenna shrugged. “Again. So? She could have been doing research to find her best targets for potential clients.”
“Then why were her files erased?” Nicki leaned forward and put her elbows on the counter, then cupped her chin in her hands. “Who would do that unless there was something incriminating in there?”
“There is that,” Jenna conceded. “But it doesn’t mean it was connected to a winery, or anyone or anything else in Soldoff. It could be she had a juicy project going before she came to Soldoff. She could have come here to hide out.”
“Maybe,” Nicki said. “But there are a lot of places she could have hidden out that wouldn’t have been as expensive as a plane ticket to San Francisco.” She pondered it for a moment. “Maybe she didn’t come here to hide out from a lead to a juicy story, but to follow one.”
“We don’t have anyone famous here in Soldoff,” Jenna scoffed. “The closest we come is you and Maxie.”
“Why thank you, dear,” Maxie laughed. “I think.”
“Ditto,” Nicki said dryly. “But it could be someone who doesn’t want to be famous or exposed somehow.”
Jenna yawned again. “You’re spending too much time reading your own spy novels.” She grinned when Nicki snorted. “Aside from trying to figure out who the mysterious celebrity is, what are the plans for today?”
