by Cat Chandler
Since she still had her phone on silence, and was using her laptop which did not have Skype, she’d managed to avoid talking to Matt. Or anyone else for that matter. But Alex and Maxie knew if they needed to get hold of her, they only had to call Jenna. Nicki was sure her very good friend and next-door neighbor had explained the whole avoiding-Matt-for-the-foreseeable-future thing to the other two women.
A loud knock on the door rang through the townhouse. Nicki listened for Jenna’s signature door bang, or Maxie’s familiar yoo-hoo. When neither occurred, she shrugged and ignored it. It was probably somebody who pretended not to see the “No Trespassing” signs posted all over the property’s fence and was selling something.
When the knock sounded a second time, a little louder and a little more insistently, Nicki uncurled herself from the sofa and padded over to the door. She looked through the peephole before stepping back with a frown.
It was Chief Turnlow.
The way her life was going he was probably here to arrest her for obstructing justice, or maybe for jaywalking. As tempting as it was to ignore the man and go back to her game, Nicki decided to do the adult thing and find out what he wanted.
She opened the door just far enough to stick her head out. “What can I do for you, Chief?”
“I’ve had a complaint I have to respond to, Ms. Connors, so I have to ask you to step out here.”
Nicki frowned. “I’m still in my pajamas and I don’t feel like stepping out there. What was the complaint?”
The big man gave her a polite smile. “Then I need to come in, if that’s agreeable with you.”
“It isn’t, Chief Turnlow,” Nicki said, not opening the door even one more inch.
“Stop pouting, Nicki. I need to talk to you.”
She pulled the door open. “Fine. Come in. Do you want a cup of coffee?”
“That would be nice, thank you.”
Nicki marched back to the kitchen and pulled a bottled water out from the cupboard as the chief settled himself on one of the stools at the counter.
“So, what’s the complaint?” Nicki asked, pouring the water into the tea kettle and turning on the burner.
“I’ll get to that in a minute. I also want to talk to you about the Lancer case.”
Nicki looked over her shoulder, her eyes wide with surprise. “You do? Why?”
“Because you should know that I’ve been in touch with the State boys, and a resource or two at the Santa Rosa PD, but I don’t think it’s going to do much good.”
She continued to measure out the coffee. “Okay.”
“I’m not meaning to make a bad pun, but we’ve hit a dead end. All we know for sure is that someone got into that room and poisoned the wine that killed George. We didn’t find any fingerprints in that private aging room besides the victim’s, and while a lot of people didn’t like the man, no one has a strong motive to kill him. And everyone has an alibi for the time of death, including Stella and that bookie we tracked down in New York.”
When he paused, Nicki turned around to face him.
“What does that mean? That the case will go cold?” she asked.
The chief ran a beefy hand through his thinning hair. “I’m afraid so, Nicki. I’ll keep picking at it when I can, but with nothing else to go on and no family to push for it, I don’t think we can solve this one.” He looked down at his hands. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s just one of those things, Chief.”
She sighed. If the police backed off and she and her friends stayed away, maybe the killer would disappear too, and they could all return to their normal lives. Accepting a cold case involving a man no one liked was a small price to gain back peace for her friends. And for herself, too.
“Now, about that second thing,” the chief said.
“What second thing?” Nicki asked more from habit than any real curiosity. She was still thinking about the murder going cold. Just like her mom’s case had.
“The wellness complaint.”
“What? Someone complained about me being well?”
Chief Turnlow chuckled. “No. The complaint is he doesn’t believe you’re well at all, and demanded I come out and check on you.”
She didn’t have to think twice about who the “he” was.
“Matt called you? Again?” Nicki was exasperated. Why did her editor feel he had a right to interfere in her life, anyway? She was only one of a hundred contract writers he gave assignments to. He wasn’t her keeper.
“Again? Your friend-who-happens-to-be-a-male is driving Fran nuts with all his calls. According to this friend of yours, no one on the entire West coast is answering their phones. Not Maxie, not Jenna, not Alex, and not you. He swears we’re only answering calls, and that’s because we’re the police department and we have to.” The chief rolled his eyes. “He’s a little upset.”
Nicki put a cup of coffee in front of the chief before folding her arms with a shrug. “It sounds as if he has a problem.”
“He does,” the chief said. “You. And he’s made it my problem. So now I’m making it your problem. You need to call him.”
“He’s just going to lecture and yell,” Nicki said. She was sure of that much.
“Then let him get it out of his system so we can all have some peace.” The chief picked up his coffee and took a long drink. “I’ll wait while you get him on the phone.”
Nicki gaped at him. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, I am.”
Fuming, Nicki picked her phone up from the stand and dialed Matt’s office number. As she hoped, his efficient assistant answered on the third ring.
“Hi, Jane. It’s Nicki. I’m sure Matt is busy, so would you take a message and let him know the chief was here and I called?”
“Just a minute, Nicki,” Jane said. “Let me grab something to write with.”
Nicki sighed when Jane put her on hold, but then clicked back on almost immediately.
“Great. Do you need me to repeat the message?” Nicki asked.
“No, I don’t,” Matt said. “And if you hang up on me, Nicki Connors, I’m getting on the next plane to California.”
“Oh.” Nicki bit her lower lip. “Well. I wasn’t going to hang up, I just didn’t expect you to be on the line.”
“Obviously, since you called my office number rather than my personal cell like I’ve left a million messages for you to do.”
Nicki glared at the chief when he mouthed a “good luck” and left the kitchen.
“My phone’s been turned off.”
“And your computer too?”
“I’ve been using my laptop,” Nicki said. “Is this what you wanted to talk about? The status of all my electronic devices?”
“No. I want to talk about your meddling in a murder investigation to the point you put your life in danger.” By the time he’d reached the end of that sentence, Nicki could feel his anger even through the phone.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about it anymore,” Nicki said. “The chief stopped by and told me the case has hit a dead end, so to speak, and will probably go cold. Just another unsolved murder tucked away into the police files.”
“Which is how you’re going to leave it,” Matt stated.
“I am?” Nicki only said that because she didn’t like the way he was barking out orders that had nothing to do with the magazine and everything to do with her life.
There was a long, charged moment of silence while Nicki held her breath.
“You’ll leave it alone, Nicki, or I won’t give you one more hour of work for Food & Wine Online. And I’ll be calling the chief to be sure you keep to your end of that bargain.
“Matt!” Nicki couldn’t believe he’d just said that. He couldn’t mean it. He knew how much she depended on the income from the magazine to keep herself above water financially. Now he was using that knowledge to hold it over her head so she’d fall into line. It was a low blow. And a vicious one from a guy she’d always counted on to never be th
at way.
“I mean it, Nicki. Don’t test me on this.”
The phone went dead in her ear. Nicki held it away and stared at it.
After a minute, she carefully put it back into its holder as big tears rolled down her cheeks.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nicki hit the send button on her email, then frowned at the computer screen. She was back working on her desktop since there was no need to deal with unwanted Skype calls. She hadn’t received so much as an email from Matt in four days. She vaguely wondered if she’d ever hear directly from the owner of Food & Wine Online again.
This latest article was simply one in a string of assignments she’d received from Jane. She could usually count on a new assignment to be in her email inbox every morning, and corrective edits to the article she’d submitted the day before to show up in the afternoon. Both came like clockwork. Both came from Jane. No other communication necessary.
Nicki glumly felt this new arrangement was a good thing in the long run. All the assignments were interest pieces, the kind that only required a moderate amount of Internet research, and on occasion a phone call or two. She could crank them out right from home, which left her plenty of time to work on her own blog and very neglected spy novel. Or even sit and enjoy a cup of coffee whenever she wanted one. Yes, it was a great gig.
And she hated it.
With a sigh that was half frustration and half resignation at the fate she’d brought on herself, Nicki opened the email that had been waiting for her since morning. With a definite lack of enthusiasm, she read through the details of the assignment. She blinked and sat up straighter as she read through it again, a spark of anger growing into a full-blown eruption. Really? The varieties of wildflower that naturally grow around grapevines? Who writes about that?
She was glaring at the screen when the front door slapped loudly against its frame. Something else she hadn’t heard in days. It suddenly dawned on her that whenever Jenna dropped by lately, she’d quietly come into the house and just as quietly left. But today she was back to her usual, door-banging habit. Nicki smiled.
“Where are you?” Jenna called out, her flip flops smacking against the boards of the hallway.
Laughing, Nicki jumped to her feet. “I’m in the office but headed for the kitchen for coffee and a cookie.”
She was already ripping open a bag of Oreos when Jenna appeared in the doorway.
“Cookies? Really?” Jenna’s gaze zeroed in on the bag in Nicki’s hand. “And store-bought ones?”
Nicki dumped them out onto the counter. “I haven’t made any cookies lately, but I just might find the time this afternoon.”
Jenna rushed over the space separating them and wrapped her arms around Nicki in a breath-stealing hug. Stepping back, Jenna held her off at arm’s length, a grin slowly spreading across her mouth.
“And she’s baaaaack!”
“Let go of me, you nut. I didn’t go anywhere,” Nicki laughed. She reached down and picked up an Oreo. “Here. A cookie for my freedom.”
Jenna took it out of Nicki’s hand, then snatched up another one. “Make that two and a glass of milk, and you have a deal.”
Plopping down on one of the stools, Jenna eyed her friend as Nicki poured out a tall glass of milk. “So, what finally snapped you out of the stupor you’ve been in for the last five days?”
“Matt’s stupid assignments,” Nicki said, setting the glass down in front of Jenna.
The computer geek paused with her cookie in mid-air. “You talked to Matt?”
“No. He’s not speaking to me. I’m getting the assignments from his admin, Jane.
“Okay. So what’s wrong with the assignments?”
Nicki shrugged. “Nothing. If you’re a staff writer for the magazine.”
Jenna’s brow wrinkled. “Well, aren’t you?”
“No. I. Am. Not.” Nicki emphasized each word. “I’m a freelance writer who takes field assignments. Field. As in going out into the field and visiting wineries, eating establishments, food and wine festivals, that sort of thing.”
“Oh. What kind of assignments has Jane been giving you?”
“Desk assignments. You know what I’m talking about, anything I can write with a little help from research done from the comfort of my desk. The latest one? The varieties of wildflowers that grow naturally around vineyards.” Nicki snorted her disgust. “Wildflowers. Really?”
“Maybe Jane lacks imagination when it comes to thinking up interesting magazine articles,” Jenna said.
“Oh no.” Nicki shook her head and glared at nothing in particular. “This is all Matt. Jane would never come up with such lame ideas much less assign them to one of the mag’s freelance writers.”
“Ah. The man’s trying to keep you keying away at your computer in your safe-and-sound townhouse.” Jenna nodded and bit into a cookie. “Not very clever, but points for the considerate thought.”
Nicki turned her glare on Jenna. “He doesn’t get any points for that. I’m not someone he can wrap in cotton and stick wherever he wants.”
“No, no. You’re definitely not the cotton ball type.”
“First the man crushes me and brings me to tears with his stupid ultimatums, and then he pawns off a bunch of fluff assignments that are an insult to my intelligence and lifestyle. I don’t sit at home and do research. I like going out in the field.” The more she talked, the madder Nicki got. Matt Dillon had become an impossible jerk.
“Whoa, wait. Hold up there.” Jenna slapped a palm flat on top of the kitchen counter. “What do you mean he brought you to tears? You cried over something Matt said?”
“Only briefly,” Nicki sniffed. “And anyone would have if they’d had over half their income threatened.”
Jenna’s jaw dropped. “He said he wouldn’t pay you anymore?”
“More or less. He said if I stuck my nose into the investigation for even one more minute, he’d stop sending me any assignments for Food & Wine Online.”
“And then he sent you fluff assignments to be sure you stay at home and behave?” Jenna shook her head. “Well, that was low and dirty, and astonishing.”
“Yes, it was. Low and dirty, I mean,” Nicki clarified. “Why was it astonishing?”
“First because he’s never acted that way before, at least not toward you. And second because you’ve actually been doing the fluff assignments instead of throwing them in his face.”
Nicki sighed. “I have to find a way to replace that income first. I’m too old to be that irresponsible anymore.”
Her friend laughed. “Well, old lady. I’m positive plenty of magazines would love to take you on as a freelance writer.”
“Thanks,” Nicki said with a smile.
“Yoo-hoo?”
Nicki’s smile grew even wider at the sound of heels click-clacking down her hallway.
“We’re in the kitchen, Maxie,” she called out, laughing when Jenna groaned out loud.
The silver-haired landlady marched over and gave Nicki a kiss on the cheek, and then gave another to Jenna before settling onto a stool.
“Well, ladies. Where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?” Maxie beamed when Nicki and Jenna burst into laughter.
“Does your husband know you’re here?” Nicki finally managed to ask.
“Of course he does, dear. I’m too old to go sneaking around. I told him I was coming to check on you and any updates to our murder board, and if he didn’t like it, he should get his mind onto other things, like pruning a bush.” Maxie smoothed away an imaginary stray piece of hair. “By the way, he said to be sure to tell you ‘hello’. He was very upset when I informed him that after his boorish behavior the other day, you most likely think he hates you.”
“Oh, I would never think something like that,” Nicki lied, her mouth still turned up into a grin.
“Of course you wouldn’t.” Maxie patted Nicki’s hand. “But he doesn’t need to know that, does he? Now, what shall we do for lunch?”
&
nbsp; “Hold that thought for a few more minutes,” Jenna said. “I’m waiting on a surprise for Nicki. Should be here any minute now.”
“A surprise?” Nicki pursed her lips. “Tell me it’s the name of a contact you have at a major magazine.”
“Not quite,” Jenna said, smiling when the doorbell rang. “And there it is.”
Less than a minute later Alex walked into the kitchen. Nicki gave a happy yelp and ran to give her other BFF a hug. Jenna joined in while Maxie beamed at them.
“Together again,” Alex laughed. “I know it’s only been a few days, but it feels like forever.”
“I’m sorry.” Nicki leaned back and gave her two best friends a misty-eyed smile.
“For what?” Alex asked.
“For weirding out on you. I should have had a backbone and told the chief and Matt they can’t order me around.”
“Matt?” Alex glanced at Jenna. “What happened with Matt?”
“He made her cry,” Jenna whispered back. When Alex narrowed her eyes, Jenna shook her head. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“Much later,” Nicki agreed. “Just because you’re whispering doesn’t mean I can’t still hear you.”
The three women widened their circle to include Maxie. Alex smiled at the older woman.
“Where’s your husband?”
“Pruning a bush, I would imagine. He’ll be around later to walk me home.” She winked at the others. “Simply as a romantic gesture. And to apologize to Nicki for his rude behavior.”
“How did you get past Tyler so you could visit me again so soon?” Nicki asked. Everyone turned to look at Alex.
“I told him that he couldn’t keep me from being with my friends, especially when they needed me and I needed to be with them. He’d have to figure out a way to deal with it.”
“Perhaps he should take up gardening,” Maxie suggested.
Jenna laughed. “So what’s he doing? Lounging in a man cave somewhere and pouting? In a macho way, of course.”