by Cindy Bell
“I tried to remind her of how special what we had was. I tried to make her see that she was going down the wrong path.” Martin set his fork down. “But I guess she didn’t see things the same way I did. She met someone new.”
“Ouch.” Nikki nodded. “That’s always the worst. Knowing that someone has replaced you.” She watched his expression closely as he reacted to her words. She noticed the tension in his forehead, and the twitch of his lips.
“I wouldn’t say replaced. It’s more like she lost her mind.” Martin frowned. “You can finish both, I think I’ve lost my appetite.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Nikki frowned. “I hope it’s not the company.”
“Not at all. You’ve been very kind to listen to me ramble on. I guess I’m not as ready to move on as I thought.” Martin shook his head. “Pathetic, right?”
“It’s not pathetic at all.” Nikki smiled. “You obviously had strong feelings for this woman. It’s not as if you can just turn them off. I’m sure that you have a hard time seeing her with her new boyfriend.”
“Fiancé.” Martin hung his head. “We were together for years, and she wanted to take her time to get married. But she met this guy and within a year she’s ready to get hitched.”
“You need this more than me.” Nikki pushed the rest of his cupcake towards him. She picked up her fork to have another bite of hers.
“Thanks.” Martin grinned as he took a bite of the cupcake.
“Nikki?” Quinn spoke up from just behind her.
The sound of his voice startled her so much that she dropped the fork onto the plate. A loud clang sounded through the otherwise quiet bakery.
“Hi Quinn.” Nikki smiled as she looked over at him, despite the fact that her heart raced.
“Hi.” Quinn looked Nikki over from head to toe, then turned his attention to Martin. “Martin Garlind?”
“That’s me.” Martin looked from Nikki, to Quinn. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“I’ve been looking for you. I’d like to speak to you about an important matter.” Quinn looked back at Nikki. “Could you excuse us please?”
Nikki noticed the tension in his tone. Was it just him being professional, or was he less than pleased to find her sharing a cupcake with another man? Either way she wasn’t going to test it.
“Of course.” Nikki stood up from the table.
“Wait a minute, we were right in the middle of something.” Martin stood up. “Weren’t we, Nikki?”
“Actually, I should be going.” Nikki smiled. “Thanks for the cupcake.” She turned around and headed for the door. She would have much rather listened in to Quinn’s conversation with Martin, but she doubted that he was in any mood to have her hang around.
As Nikki stepped outside, she took a peek back through the front window of the bakery and saw Quinn sit down across from Martin. She noticed the way he leaned towards the man, the jut of his shoulder as he tipped it towards the window, and the notepad he had tucked into his back pocket. It seemed to her that he was working hard to try to get Martin to trust him, but she doubted that it would work. Martin wouldn’t tell him much, no matter how well Quinn questioned him.
Nikki continued down the sidewalk back in the direction of her apartment. She still had two hours before she needed to take the dogs on their evening walk. Now, she was interested in finding out more about Briana. It struck her as odd that Briana would go from a handsome and wealthy boyfriend to an average man that was in debt in such a short span of time. Maybe it was true love. Or maybe Briana had other motivations.
When Nikki arrived at her apartment, she settled on the couch with her phone. As she hoped, there were just as many posts from Briana. At least, until the day that Matt disappeared. After that, she couldn’t find any record of Briana’s existence. However, she did notice that from the date that Briana began dating Matt, her posts nearly doubled. That took quite a lot of dedication since she already posted about twenty-four pictures a day. What had caused the uptick? Was she in love or did she just want to get as much attention as possible? She recalled Sonia’s hunch that Briana just wanted to upset her parents and grandfather. If that was the case it would explain why she spent so much time posting.
“Briana, were you just using Matt?” Nikki sighed as she sorted through the pictures. Matt looked happy in most of them. Briana beamed into the camera for each picture. Did she look too happy?
Nikki decided to dig a little deeper, and looked back further through Briana’s posts. She went back two years and found plenty of pictures of Briana with Martin. However, there were also quite a few angry posts about things Martin had done to upset her, including a few posts that promised she would never fall for him again.
“But maybe you did?” Nikki pursed her lips. “Maybe, your relationship with Matt was just to punish Martin? Maybe it was to make him jealous?”
When her cell phone rang, she saw that it was Sonia calling.
“Hi Sonia.” Nikki settled back against the couch. “How are you doing?”
“Okay so far. I’ve made a few phone calls to find out what I could about the Murrows. It turns out that there was more than an issue with Briana. Her grandfather had recently given her an ultimatum. Either she left Matt, or she would be cut off from the family wealth.”
“Wow, I’d say that would be a strong motive for her to break up with him.” Nikki narrowed her eyes. “Maybe she tried to break up with him and he lost his temper? Maybe this could come down to self-defense?”
“I would agree with you on that if the body hadn’t been hidden. But someone went to a lot of trouble to try to hide what they did. If Briana felt threatened, I’m sure she could have asked for help.”
“True.” Nikki rubbed her hand across her eyes. “Also, it doesn’t explain what happened to Briana. Quinn said Briana isn’t missing anymore. I think she is dead, so why would she be dead if she killed Matt.”
“Oh no, that doesn’t add up. Unless she felt so guilty about killing Matt that she took her own life.” Sonia sighed. “I hope Briana is okay.”
“Did you want me to come by to take Princess for a walk?”
“Not tonight, we’re going to turn in early. I hope you get some good rest, too. We’ll be waiting for you in the morning.”
“Good night, Sonia.” Nikki hung up the phone and looked back at the search she had been conducting. She wanted to look deeper into Briana Murrow. Maybe she had some help to kill Matt and get him out of her life? Maybe things went wrong, and she was murdered as well?
Chapter 9
The knock on the front door drew Nikki out of her internet search. She stretched her arms above her head, then walked over to the door. She wasn’t sure who to expect, but it certainly wasn’t who she found.
“Quinn. What are you doing here?”
“Do you mind if I come in?” His gaze swept past her into the small apartment. “I mean, if you don’t have company.”
“No, I don’t have company.” Nikki laughed and stepped aside to let him in. “Sorry about that awkward situation today.”
“You should be.” Quinn followed her to the couch.
“Excuse me?” Nikki glanced back at him. Quinn hadn’t struck her as the jealous type. Sure, the situation was a strange one, but he had to know that she didn’t have any interest in a man like Martin.
“I know exactly what you were doing, and I don’t like it.” Quinn sat down on the couch.
Nikki sat down beside him, and shook her head. “It’s not what you think, Quinn. I’m not interested in Martin.”
“I know that.” Quinn shifted on the couch to look at her. “I know you were trying to find out if he was involved in Matt’s death.”
“Oh.” Nikki raised an eyebrow, then nodded. “Well, then it’s exactly what you think.”
“I know you pretty well, Nikki. I’m not going to say it wasn’t a little unsettling to see you eating a cupcake with a murder suspect, but I knew from the moment I saw the two of you that y
ou were investigating him.” Quinn sighed and sat back against the couch. “What made you think that was a safe thing to do?”
“I just wanted to see if he would confide anything in me. I was doing pretty good until you walked in.” Nikki gave him a light poke in the side. “Did you get anything useful out of him?”
“No.” Quinn frowned. “He claimed he had nothing to do with Matt’s death, of course. He insisted that he has been over Briana for months.”
“Not a chance.” Nikki shook her head. “That guy is still one hundred percent hung up on Briana.”
“Hung up enough to go after her fiancé?” Quinn looked over at her. “That’s the part I’m not sure about. Martin has everything going for him. He has plenty of money, a good career, and he’s popular enough to pretty much get anyone or anything he asks for. Why would he risk all of that to kill Matt?”
“Jealousy.” Nikki clucked her tongue. “He’s used to getting what he wants. He seemed disgusted by the idea that Briana replaced him with Matt. I almost think he was offended not just by the fact that she didn’t want to be with him, but also by the idea that she wanted to be with Matt.”
“Matt couldn’t be more different than Martin, that’s for sure.” Quinn eyed her for a moment. “Did you even dress up for him? You planned this whole thing?”
“Quinn, I thought dressing up would give me the confidence to speak to Martin. I looked terrible after walking the dogs and I want to help Tom. His business is on the line here, really his whole life.” Nikki tugged her hair free from the clip she’d used to put it up and let it tumble down against her shoulders. “I did what I thought would help Tom.”
“Instead of trusting me to do my job?” Quinn brushed her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear.
“You’re an amazing detective, Quinn.” Nikki looked into his eyes. “You know I believe that. I know you have tons of avenues to investigate in this case. I didn’t think it would do any harm for me to take a little look into things myself as well.”
“I guess it doesn’t.” Quinn sat back against the couch. “You got more out of him than I was able to. I might have to get you to do some undercover work for me.” He smiled as he glanced over at her. “If it means I get to see you in that dress again.”
“You like it?” Nikki’s cheeks flushed. “I was going to wear it on our date tonight.”
“Really?” Quinn shifted closer to her on the couch. “Nikki, you’re gorgeous in whatever you wear, but yes, I like the dress.”
“Hey.” Nikki glanced up at the clock on the wall. “It’s dinner time. Want me to toss something in the microwave?” She stood up from the couch.
“That sounds great. I’m really hungry.” Quinn stood up as well, then caught her hand. “But this doesn’t count as our date. I want to take you somewhere nice.”
“Oh of course, I’m not letting you get out of that one.” Nikki winked at him then led him to the kitchen. “Still, I like this just as much. Any time I can spend with you is time I enjoy, Quinn.” She pulled some leftovers out of the fridge and put them in the microwave to warm. “Sorry, it’s nothing fancy.”
“I don’t mind at all.” Quinn leaned back against the counter. “So, what did you think of what Martin had to say? How did he strike you?”
“I’m not sure. He does seem like the jealous type. Did you know that Charles Murrow threatened to cut off Briana if she didn’t break up with Matt?” Nikki grabbed two plates from the cabinet beside him.
“No. How did you know that?” Quinn took the plates from her and set them on the counter beside the microwave.
“Sonia just told me.” Nikki popped open the microwave and spooned some mashed potatoes and chicken onto each plate. “It seems to me that if Briana was dating Matt to get her family upset, she succeeded.”
“Briana told me she’s in love with Matt.” Quinn picked up the plates and carried them to the kitchen table.
“Wait, what?” Nikki spun around to look at him. “You talked to Briana?”
“Oops.” Quinn winced. “I wasn’t supposed to say that. Her family is trying to keep her sheltered from people and the press, until things calm down a bit.”
“When you said she wasn’t missing anymore, I thought you meant you found her body.” Nikki grabbed a pitcher of lemonade from the fridge and two glasses. “Quinn, are you saying you know where Briana is?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you think that.” Quinn frowned. “I meant to imply that she’d been found. It turns out she wasn’t actually missing.”
“Tell me.” Nikki poured them both a glass of lemonade, then sat down across from him.
“Briana had taken off to one of the family’s homes in France. She said she needed a break, but I guess she didn’t tell anyone else about that break.” Quinn shook his head. “She gave everyone quite a scare, but she is alive and safe. She’s supposed to be flying back home tonight.”
“Was she in France when Matt was killed?” Nikki raised an eyebrow.
“Not sure yet. I’m working on an exact time of death with the medical examiner. Her flight out was the same evening that Matt went missing.”
“So, it’s possible that she killed him, then took off?” Nikki poked at her mashed potatoes.
“I’d say it’s possible at this point, yes. But the investigation is still in progress.” Quinn picked up his glass. “Why don’t we just try to enjoy our dinner and not discuss homicide?”
“I’ll try.” Nikki smiled. “But I can’t make any promises.”
“I’ll take that.” Quinn winced as his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, then sighed. “I’m sorry, I have to go. Briana got in early and I need to be at the airport if I’m going to get a chance to interview her before her parents whisk her away and send her lawyer after me.”
“I understand. Make sure you get something to eat somewhere.” Nikki walked with him to the door. “Be careful, Quinn.”
“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to say to you?” Quinn kissed Nikki’s cheek, then stepped out the door.
Chapter 10
Early the next morning Nikki woke with a start. Her heart pounded. Was that someone outside? She sat up farther in her bed and waited to hear the sound again. It sounded like scratching. She managed to swing her feet off the side of the bed and stand up. As she walked towards the front door, she listened for the sound. Whatever it was didn’t make another sound.
“Hello?” Nikki called out through the door, as her hand trembled on the doorknob. Faint, early morning light drifted in through the window beside the door. She looked down and saw an envelope that had been wedged under the door.
Nikki pulled the door open a crack.
“Is someone there?”
She looked up and down the corridor. No one was there so she closed the door.
She picked up the envelope. Confused, she sat down on the edge of the couch and looked it over. The plain white surface of the envelope stared up at her. No name, no address, and certainly no stamp. But someone made sure it was under her door. She ran her fingertip under the flap of the envelope, tearing it open. Inside she found several pieces of folded paper. Unsure what they might be, she tugged them out carefully. Right away she noticed the Patrick Kirk Building letterhead. At the top of each sheet of paper, it boldly announced the source of the correspondence.
“Why is Patrick Kirk Building sending me anything?” Nikki began to read through the first letter and quickly realized it wasn’t addressed to her, but another building company. The letter contained a barely veiled threat that indicated the other company should be careful about putting in lower bids and that there could be consequences if they did so.
As Nikki flipped through the four pages that remained, she found the same letter addressed to different companies. Some were building contractors, while others were smaller businesses.
“Patrick Kirk Building has been intimidating the other builders in the area?” Nikki read over the letters again to be sure. Although the
threats could easily be denied due to the way the letters were written, the implications were clear. She snapped pictures of each of the letters and the envelope. Then she sent them and a text to explain them, to Quinn. Why had someone gone to all of the trouble of putting the letters under her door? How did they know she had been asking questions about the murder? With this new information she could easily assume that Patrick Kirk Building had been involved in Matt’s murder. She recalled Tom’s comment about Matt offering the lowest cost for the project. That didn’t explain why someone left the letters for her. She started a pot of coffee and did her best to wake up. She had to walk the dogs soon and needed to be on her game. However, her thoughts shifted back to the letters. Had Patrick tried to intimidate Matt, too? Had his lower bid set Patrick off enough that he decided to kill Matt?
After drinking her coffee and eating a bagel she got ready and started off to collect the dogs for their morning walk. As she left her apartment, she searched for any signs of who might have put the envelope under her door. Very few people were out, they had either already left for work, or worked later in the day. In the quiet in between the morning rush, it was hard for her to believe that someone had given her the letters. Why didn’t they just turn them in to Quinn?
As Nikki approached Coco’s house, her cell phone rang. She answered it when she saw Quinn’s name.
“Morning Quinn.”
“Thanks for sending over those pictures, but I’m going to need the envelope and letters. Do you still have them?”
“I brought them with me to drop off at the police station.” Nikki glanced up at the house. “I’m just picking up Coco, then I’ll head your way.”
“Thanks Nikki. You didn’t see who left the envelope?”
“No, when I looked outside no one was there. I only checked outside because I heard the envelope being stuffed under the door.” Nikki walked towards the door. “Did you get to talk to Briana last night?”