by Cat Chandler
“Yoo hoo.”
“We’re in the office, Maxie,” Nicki called out.
The silver-haired genealogist walked into the room, her smile taking in everyone. “Oh good. Do we have more information to enter on the board?”
“Aside from Sam being condemned as a murderer by the mob?” Jane said.
Maxie frowned. “I’ve already had several telephone calls about Sam this morning, but it’s hardly a mob, dear. Simply a few misguided people who are now well aware that Nicki is working on the case, and her main suspect isn’t Sam.”
“Who did you tell them Nicki’s main suspect is?” Alex asked from her spot perched on the side of Jane’s desk.
“Oh, I told them that couldn’t be divulged right now.” Maxie crossed the room and sat in the desk chair Nicki had pulled out for her. “And even if I did know, I wouldn’t have told any of them. It’s none of their business.”
Jenna chuckled. “That’s right. Only our Nicki is allowed to go snooping around into other people’s lives.”
Without missing a beat, Maxie nodded her agreement. “Exactly.” She turned her attention to the whiteboard. “Now. Where are we at solving this mess?”
Jane stood at the board, a marker in her hand. “You know, this mess, as you put it, might have been an accident after all.” She pointed the marker at Nicki. “That’s what you kept telling me anyway.”
It was the doctor who shook her head first. “The coroner doesn’t think so, and after reading the final report, neither do I. The blow to her head must have been painful but was relatively minor. And the bruise on her back along with the scratches on her face and hands indicates that the victim was held down. There was also no alcohol in her system to suggest she was drunk at the time.”
Nicki folded her arms. “That’s because all the alcohol was spread out all over the ground trying to make it look, or at least smell, like an accident. Someone else was there. Someone who made sure Viola drowned and then erased all the files off her laptop. Someone who never talked to her on the phone, so it was probably only through email.”
“It could have been a total stranger who never talked to her at all,” Jenna pointed out. “And how do you know this person didn’t talk to Viola on the phone?”
“Because he wouldn’t have left it there if she had. Anyone who went to the trouble of covering his tracks by erasing computer files would have taken the cell phone as well.” Nicki stood in front of the board and studied it. “I don’t think she came here for a vacation.”
“Why not, dear?” Maxie asked.
“She seems to have spent most of her time chasing people down and doing research on the area,” Nicki said.
Her landlady only shrugged. “An occupational hazard. Fascination with the past is a job requirement. And she may have simply been browsing in the shops and indulging in a bit of wine tasting like any other tourist.”
“Maybe,” Nicki conceded. “But she didn’t act like any other tourist who wanders from tasting room to tasting room in town. She went to very specific shops, and very specific wine tasting rooms.”
“That we know of,” Alex pointed out. “It could be she went to others and only wrote a few of them into her appointment book.”
“That happen to have common roots in a small town in northern France?” Nicki shook her head. “That’s too much of a coincidence.”
Maxie shifted in her seat and inclined her head toward the board. “But thirty years apart, dear. With that much time between them, there’s nothing to say they knew each other before landing in America.”
Jane looked at Nicki, then the board, then back at Nicki. “Do you think the winery owners conspired together to kill Viola Richards?”
Nicki gave her a rueful smile. “That would be a huge assumption based on absolutely nothing.” She narrowed her eyes on the board. “All I think is that it’s too much of a coincidence and there’s a connection we aren’t seeing.”
“Well, whatever it is, it will have to wait for a bit. A police cruiser just pulled up to the crime scene.” Jenna put her face right up against the window pane. “It looks like the chief has someone with him.”
“That would be Melinda Orker.” Maxie stood up and walked over to stand next to Jenna. “I told Paul that if he would drop her off this morning, I’d be sure she got back to the hotel safe and sound. And help arrange to have Viola’s things shipped to her brother in Wisconsin.” Maxie sighed. “He’s the closest relative.”
“I think we need to meet her.” Nicki held her hand up when everyone else stood up. “Not all of us. We don’t want to scare her off.”
Alex shrugged and put an arm around Jenna’s waist. “Fine. We’ll make another pot of coffee and put out something to start thawing for dinner.” She rolled her eyes when Jenna made a sound of protest. “No. We aren’t having a hamburger or a pizza. It will be real food, with real vegetables.”
“The things I do for my friends,” Jenna grumbled as she walked to the kitchen with Alex.
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Two
Nicki smiled at the short, stocky woman with the shy smile standing in Viola’s former living room. She held out her hand in an age-old gesture of greeting.
“Hi. I’m Nicki Connors. I live across the street.” Nicki pointed her other hand at Maxie and then Jane. “And this is Maxie Edwards and Jane Markley.”
Melinda’s light-blue eyes instantly lit up as she took Nicki’s hand. “Oh, hi! I’m Melinda Orker, Viola Richards’ admin assistant.” A bloom of red showed up on Melinda’s cheeks. “I mean, I was until… that is…”
Jane stepped forward and also gave Melinda’s hand a brief shake. “Yes, we understand. And I’m happy to meet you in person at last. I’ve enjoyed our conversations over the last few days. It’s always nice to feel wanted when you find yourself suddenly between jobs.”
“Conversations?” Nicki sent Jane a questioning look.
“Yes. We’ve had several.” Jane nodded. “Melinda and I have been discussing employment opportunities with the magazine.”
“Why, that’s wonderful, dear.” Maxie reached over and gave the much-shorter woman a pat on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’d love working for Matt Dillon. He’s a wonderful young man.”
“Thank you.” Melinda’s open expression had Nicki smiling. “I’m happy to have met Jane, and all of you too,” the assistant hastily added.
The chief descended the stairs leading to the bedrooms on the second level. He looked around at the sudden increase of people in the living room. “I guess you’ve all met?” He nodded at Melinda. “We’ve been through the bedrooms and kitchen, so you’re free to remove anything from those rooms.” He glanced around. “Or from this room. Please don’t go into the office that’s on this floor, or into the back patio area.”
Chief Turnlow pinned his gaze on Maxie. “I need to get back to the station. Can I trust you to be sure no one goes into either of those places?” He sent a sideways look toward Nicki. “And that means no one.”
“Of course,” Maxie agreed. “No one goes into the office or out onto the patio. And I’ll be sure Melinda has transportation back to the station house.”
The chief touched his forefinger to the brim of his hat and started toward the front door, pausing when he came up next to Nicki. “I trust you’ll call me if anything comes up?”
Nicki gave a short nod. “I will.”
Slightly turning his head, the chief smiled at Melinda. “Let me know about those phone numbers as soon as you can.”
“Yes, sir.” Melinda looked confused when he laughed.
As Chief Turnlow made his way back to his cruiser, Maxie clapped her hands together. “Well then, shall we all repair to the kitchen?”
“Oh, I doubt if Viola left anything in there, Mrs. Edwards,” Melinda spoke up. “She didn’t cook much.”
Finding that easy to believe, Nicki shrugged. “You never know. People can surprise you.”
Looking a bit overwhelmed, Melinda didn’t offer any pro
test as the other three women ushered her down the hallway. This kitchen hadn’t undergone the massive renovations that Nicki’s had, so it had a simple round table off to the side rather than an island with seating at a raised counter.
“I’ll see if I can find anything to make some coffee,” Nicki volunteered. She quietly began searching through cupboards while the others made themselves comfortable around the table.
“I believe you said you’ve worked for Viola for fifteen years or so?” Jane’s question drew everyone’s gaze to Melinda, who ducked her head in response to the sudden attention.
“Almost sixteen.”
Jane smiled. “Did you enjoy the work?”
“Mostly.” Melinda’s shoulders lifted slightly. “Viola did have a certain way she liked things done, but after so many years I could interpret what she wanted pretty well.”
“I’m sure you did an excellent job for her,” Maxie put in. “And we certainly want to thank you for all your help.”
Melinda blushed but managed a smile. “Viola didn’t talk about other genealogists much, but I’ve admired your work, Mrs. Edwards. It’s an honor to be sitting here with you. I only wish I could help out more than just a password and a copy of Viola’s calendar.”
Having had no luck finding any coffee, Nicki returned with glasses of ice water, carrying them on top of a cookie sheet. “I’m afraid this is the best I could do.” As the other three expressed their appreciation, Nicki sat down and waited for Melinda to finish her sip of water. “I gather the chief gave you a list of phone numbers?”
“From the call log on Viola’s phone.” Melinda nodded, her hands curled around her water glass. “Most of them were in Europe, of course. She lived just outside of London. But there were a few calls to the States. Mostly to me. But I saw her older brother’s number listed around the time of his birthday.” She hesitated, then sighed. “Viola usually remembered to call him for his birthday.”
“Very kind of her.” Maxie leaned back in her chair. “Her calendar didn’t have many recent dates marked on it. I gathered that was because she was on vacation?”
The short, solidly built admin visibly hesitated as she rubbed a hand down her jean-clad thigh. “I guess it’s all right to tell you that business has been a little slow for the last few years.”
Jane frowned. “Slow but not completely gone, I hope. She did pay you, didn’t she, Melinda?”
Viola’s faithful admin shook her head, sending her long fall of brown hair tied up in a neat ponytail swishing across her back. “Not for the last few months. I was going to talk to her about it, but then you called, Jane, asking about the password.” She shrugged. “I guess Chief Turnlow must have notified her brother of Viola’s death. Until you called, all I knew was that she hadn’t been answering her phone. But sometimes she was like that. Especially when money was very tight.”
“So she came here to escape her creditors?” When the assistant looked away, Maxie made a tsking sound in the back of her throat. “Viola’s circumstances were certainly none of your doing, Melinda, but you can help us find out who killed her.” She waited until the assistant met her gaze again. “Now then. Is that why she came to Soldoff?”
“She said she needed a vacation. But I know she’d been working on something. She had that same excited sound in her voice that she used to have whenever she’d come across a big project.”
“Do you think she came here to do some specific research?” Nicki asked.
“I don’t know. She said she just needed to get away, but the plane ticket was a lot more money than she usually spent on a holiday.” Melinda was silent for a moment. “She didn’t fly to places very often anymore. The last holiday she took was by train. She asked me to make the reservations for her.”
“By train.” Nicki frowned. “Where did she go?”
“Oh, to a small town in France called Nuits-Saint-Georges. But she only stayed for a few days before she came home. I guess she didn’t care to holiday there after all.”
The silence around the table drew out long enough that Melinda began to squirm as her gaze bounced from one woman to the other.
“Was there anywhere else she’d decided to go for a holiday?” Nicki finally asked.
Sucking in her cheeks, Melinda dropped her gaze once more and shook her head. “No. Not really. She liked to go on day trips to the ocean. Lately she’d talked quite a bit about Falmouth. She said it was a lovely little beach-side town.”
“That’s in Cornwall, isn’t it, dear?” Maxie asked then nodded. “I believe it has become quite the tourist haven.”
“Yes, I think so.” Melinda said. “Viola really didn’t talk much about her holidays. And she only had the one business problem that she ran into here in Soldoff.”
Business problem? Nicki leaned forward in her chair. “That’s odd, isn’t it? Especially if she was here on a vacation.”
The short assistant laughed. “That never stopped Viola from looking for new clients. I guess she found one, but then he decided he didn’t want to use her research services after all.”
“And why was that a problem?” Nicki prompted.
“He’d already paid the entire fee, and he wanted it back. But Viola refused, and she mentioned that he’d been very unhappy about it since it was several thousand dollars.” Melinda curled her lips under as she turned her water glass around in her hands. “I think he might have made a threat or two, but Viola tended to brush those things off.” She gave Jane a worried look. “Do you think I should have mentioned it to Chief Turnlow? Viola said it wasn’t a big deal, and that police chief hasn’t asked me anything much except about the phone calls, but still… maybe I should have mentioned it?”
Jane said nothing as she stared at the woman sitting next to her holding tight to her water glass. Nicki had a bad, sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach, and she hoped she wouldn’t be breaking poor Jane’s heart.
“Do you remember this client’s name by any chance?”
Melinda shifted her gaze to Nicki. “Sam Moore. She only made the one deposit, and that’s who she had me list as the client name.” The admin’s shoulders drooped even further. “That’s why I was going to talk to her about my salary. She had this deposit, and she said she was going to spend part of it on a tea party.”
Melinda’s voice took on a defiant note that was definitely at odds with her closed-in posture. “She didn’t bother to pay me, but she was going to host a tea party.”
“That would have been very rude, dear, very rude indeed.” Maxie brushed a silver strand of hair away from her face. “I imagine her brother will inherit any funds Viola has left. Why don’t you stay on for a few days longer and let Jane show you around? She’s gotten to know the town quite well, including our rather famous statue in the town square. In the meantime, I can have my Mason look into securing your unpaid salary from Viola’s account.”
The assistant gasped. “That would be wonderful! I can’t thank you enough. Are you sure Mr. Edwards won’t mind me staying longer? I can move to a cheaper hotel.”
“Nonsense. We’re happy to have you stay.” Maxie turned her smile on Jane, and Nicki was pretty sure she’d nudged Matt’s admin under the table with the toe of her very fashionable sandal. “Aren’t we, Jane?”
Jane barely nodded, and her faint “yes” lacked any enthusiasm, but Maxie quickly covered it up by asking Melinda a barrage of questions about Buffalo. After a few minutes of Melinda’s detailed description of an ornate cathedral with breathtaking stained-glass windows, Maxie took advantage of the assistant pausing for air and stood up.
“Nicki, why don’t you take Jane back home, since I know you have work that needs to be done, and I’ll stay and help Melinda pack up a few of Viola’s things.” When the assistant politely protested, Maxie easily overrode her. “It’s no trouble at all, dear. And will give me an opportunity to hear more about that cathedral. St. Joseph’s, I believe you said?”
As the two women moved off, Nicki stood and laid a
hand on Jane’s shoulder. “Come on. I have a call to make and then we need to get to work.”
“Work?” Jane echoed. She mechanically got to her feet and stood next to Nicki, stiff as a board.
“Certainly.” Nicki smiled at her. “You don’t think for one minute that Sam killed anyone, do you?”
Jane blinked rapidly several times as the color flooded back into her face. “No, I don’t. Of course I don’t.” Behind the lenses of her glasses, her eyes begged Nicki for reassurance. “What do you think?”
Nicki lifted her shoulders in a casual shrug and made sure to keep her tone light. “I don’t think Sam killed Viola Richards.” At least she hoped he hadn’t. “Now all we have to do is find out who did.”
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Three
“She’s resting.” Alex leaned a hip against the side of Nicki’s desk, next to Jenna who was sitting cross-legged on the floor. “Hearing about Sam becoming the main suspect in a murder really upset her, but he called Jane a little while ago, and between his assurances and yours, she’s keeping it together. She was tired from all the excitement, so I persuaded her to lie down.”
“Well, is he?” Jenna demanded.
Nicki raised an eyebrow at her. “Is he what?”
“Innocent. Or are we going to have to watch Chief Turnlow throw that nice gentleman into the slammer?”
Alex nudged Jenna with her foot. “We aren’t going to watch anyone do anything. Someone being arrested isn’t a spectator sport.”
“No one’s getting arrested.” Nicki shook her head at the whole idea. “I called Chief Turnlow while you two were dealing with Jane. He’s going to go talk to Sam, but he can’t arrest him simply because Melinda was told by Jane that Sam made a threat. Melinda didn’t even know what it was. Maybe Sam told Viola he’d cut off all her shopping privileges at his store.”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “And maybe I’m suddenly going to turn into the fairy godmother and grant your every wish.”