Chapter Six
After a quick sprint, Meg arrived at Nicole’s office building. The whole time Meg prayed that there had just been a simple break-in at the building and nothing more. Instead, when Meg entered her friend’s office, her worst fears were confirmed. Standing in the reception area, she could see that the door to Nicole’s office was open. On the floor was Nicole’s dead body.
Meg gasped. “Oh, no.”
Meg’s boyfriend, Connor, was in the waiting room beside the reception area, talking with the burly police deputy that had rushed into the building shortly before Meg’s arrival.
Behind them was a second therapist’s office that belonged to Nicole’s officemate and fellow psychologist, Paul Miller. Dr. Miller sat in the chair of his office looking completely stunned.
When Connor spotted Meg, a look of complete surprise came to his face.
“Meg, what are you doing here?” Connor asked.
Instead of zeroing in on her boyfriend, Meg’s focus remained on her friend’s lifeless body. “Nicole is really dead?”
Connor approached Meg and let out a sigh. “Unfortunately.”
Meg grimaced as her heart sank. “How could this have happened?”
Connor pulled his girlfriend aside. “I wish I had an answer for you.” He looked deep into her eyes. “What made you come here?”
Meg explained herself. “Nicole comes into my shop every morning for a donut. Only this morning was different. At first, I couldn’t figure out why. Then I saw a squad car driving by my place headed here. I had to see what was going on.”
Connor winced. “I wish you didn’t see this.”
Meg’s face was filled with anguish. “It’s so awful.”
Connor extended his sympathies. “I know. I’m so sorry about what happened to your friend.”
Meg’s mind was racing like crazy. A flurry of questions entered her mind. She asked just as quickly as they came into her head. “Who found the body?”
“Paul. He just came into work this morning and called 9-1-1.”
Meg fired off another question. “Did he see anyone suspicious or hear anything out of the ordinary?”
“I haven’t gotten to that yet.”
Meg focused on the body again. She let out a sigh as she saw a bloody gash on her forehead.
“This has to be so difficult for you. I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling right now,” Connor said.
“Right back at you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Last night you weren’t sure if you wanted to transfer to a desk job. Now with another murder in our small town, I can only imagine what you’re thinking right now,” she said.
He surprised her with his response. “Actually, my mind is clearer than ever.”
Meg’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”
“You know how you told me that an answer would come to me?”
“Yes.”
“One did. When I got the emergency call over my police radio this morning, I didn’t hesitate to take it. Despite my reservations last night, the fact is, investigating is in my blood. I may have had a moment of doubt, but the universe reminded me what I was born to do.”
“I’m glad you got that sorted out,” she said.
Connor stared deep into her eyes. That was when he saw Meg’s emotions swing wildly again. This time, it wasn’t sorrow that consumed her, but rather resolve.
“What is it?” he asked.
“The universe just gave me a reminder of my own.”
“What kind of reminder?”
Meg took a deep breath before she replied. “Connor, I don’t want to argue with you.”
That statement didn’t make any sense to him. Where did that come from?
With a furrowed brow, Connor replied, “Who is arguing?”
“No one—yet.”
That last statement was a little too ominous for Connor’s liking. As he gazed at her, her determination was as clear as ever.
“I need to know who did this to my friend,” Meg said.
Connor had been in this position before. In the past, he had reacted in a number of different ways when he heard the news that Meg had a desire to investigate a murder in town. While Meg had proven time and time again that she had a keen investigative mind, with each new case, she didn’t know if Connor would willingly let her play the role of amateur sleuth or whether he would put up a wall of resistance.
Either way, he wore a very convincing poker face. So much so that he wasn’t tipping his hand in any particular direction.
He replied matter-of-factly. “You’re saying that you want to investigate this case.”
She felt more passionately about this topic than he seemed to realize. Meg made certain that he understood exactly what this meant to her.
“It’s not just that I want to,” she said. “I need to. This was a friend of mine. I have to figure out who did this to her.”
Meg had been brutally honest with her opinion. She expected him to do the same. When it came to casework, her boyfriend had never been shy about his feelings before.
With that, the moment of truth had arrived. Meg braced for the worst but hoped for the best. This time, hope did not win out.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he replied.
“Connor, do I have to remind you how many cases I have solved?”
“This is different. Things have changed.”
Meg groaned. “I really don’t want to argue with you right now.”
“Meg, I’m just worried. I mean, look at what happened to Walter Golson.”
“Connor, this is Enchanted Bay, not San Francisco.”
“True, but it is a murder investigation.” He got choked up. “I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you.”
“That goes both ways. Do you know how devastated I would be if you got shot?” Meg asked.
“I’m trained to investigate murders.”
“So was Walter Golson,” she said.
Connor couldn’t argue with that.
Meg continued. “There are inherent risks to investigating a murder. That’s why it’s better that we do this together.”
He was still hesitant.
“You know what they say about two heads being better than one,” she continued.
“Meg—”
She interrupted him. “I don’t want to argue with you anymore. I just want to find Nicole’s killer.”
Connor could have argued more, but it would do him no good. He knew that if he didn’t agree to investigate with her that Meg would start her own separate and more dangerous investigation on her own. Since Meg’s safety meant everything to him, the choice became simple.
“All right. Let’s see what our heads can come up with,” Connor said.
Chapter Seven
Paul Miller was a forty-two-year-old psychologist with short brown hair, an angular face, a tall, lean body, and a goatee. He sat behind his desk still deep in shock as Connor and Meg entered his office to question him.
“What happened?” Connor asked.
“When I got to work this morning, the front door to the office was unlocked,” Paul said.
“Is that unusual?”
“Not particularly. Sometimes Dr. Conway came in earlier than I did. Other times, I was the first one here.”
“So you came into the office. Then what?”
“When I entered the reception area, Dr. Conway’s door was wide open. That’s when I saw her on the ground. She wasn’t moving at all. I rushed over to her to see if she was alive, but she wasn’t breathing.”
“Is that when you called 9-1-1?”
Paul nodded. “Yes. Thankfully, you guys got here really quickly.”
“When you were waiting for us to arrive, did you see anything out of the ordinary?” Connor asked.
Paul thought that question was absurd. “Of course I did. My fellow doctor is dead.”
Connor clarified his point. “I meant, did you see anyone suspicious arou
nd the building or hear anything out of the ordinary?”
Paul shook his head. “No.”
“Does your office have a maid service that comes in at night?”
“No. The maid for our office comes by once a week on Saturdays.”
Connor moved on to his next question. “What time did you leave the office yesterday?”
“Shortly after five.”
“How about Dr. Conway? Was she still here when you left?”
Paul nodded. “Yes.”
“Was she seeing a patient when you left?”
Paul shook his head. “No. She was catching up on paperwork in her office.”
“Was she having problems with anyone?” Connor asked.
A name immediately came to Paul’s mind. “Steven Gilroy.”
“Her ex-boyfriend,” Meg said.
Paul nodded.
“How about you?” Connor asked. “Did you get along with her?”
“Yes,” Paul replied.
Connor tried to ask the doctor another question. “Mr. Miller—”
Paul didn’t like how he was being addressed. He corrected Connor. “Dr. Miller.”
Apparently, Nicole hadn’t been the only one in this office with a huge sense of pride. For Paul, however, it seemed to go beyond that. Meg could tell by Paul’s demeanor that ego played a huge role in his life. Even with a dead body in the next room, Paul wanted to make certain that those four extra years of schooling he had gotten were recognized.
Connor had more pressing issues to deal with. He wasn’t going to quibble with how Paul preferred to be addressed.
“Dr. Miller, where were you last night?” Connor asked.
It seemed like a pretty straightforward question, but Paul was in no hurry to answer it.
“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” Paul replied.
Connor had an offer for him. “Answer the question, and I’ll be happy to explain its relevancy to you.”
Paul’s forehead wrinkled. “Wait. Where are you going with this?”
Paul was clearly a smart man. It wouldn’t take him long to realize that he was a suspect. That was when the interview always went downhill. Given that, Connor wanted to keep tempers from flaring as long as he possibly could.
Connor replied calmly, “I just want to know where you were. That’s all.”
Paul opened his mouth and tried interjecting.
Connor wouldn’t let him. The detective was determined to finish his point. “It’s my job to ask questions. Unless you have something to hide, there’s no reason for you not to answer me.”
Paul didn’t withhold the requested information any longer. “I was at home.”
“Doing what?”
“Reading.”
“Reading what?”
“A psychology journal,” Paul replied.
Meg paid close attention to Paul’s eyes to see if they dilated at all or if he gave off any signs that he was lying. She didn’t see anything suspicious.
Connor continued interviewing the doctor. “It’s safe to assume that you were alone, then.”
Paul scrunched his nose. “I’m not sure why that matters.”
Connor filled him in. “Because if you were alone, it means you don’t have anyone to verify your story.”
Paul became offended. “Wait. You don’t actually think I could have anything to do with this, do you?”
Connor kept an even keel. “At this stage, we’re just asking you some preliminary questions.”
The same could not be said for Paul. The doctor became awfully defensive. “I had no reason to want Dr. Conway dead.”
Even though Paul’s behavior was becoming increasingly strange, the investigators couldn’t disagree with his last statement. At least not right then.
Paul appeared eager to bring the conversation to a close. “Are we done here?”
Meg stared long and hard at the doctor. “Not quite.”
Paul shrugged his shoulders. “What else do you want from me?”
After Meg had called over here only to have no one pick up the phone, she had some pressing questions for the doctor.
“I want to ask you about your receptionist,” Meg replied.
Confusion came to Paul’s face. “What about her?”
Meg looked down at her phone. “It is nine thirty-five. Shouldn’t she be here by now?”
“Normally, yes. If she still worked here,” Paul said.
Meg’s eyes widened. “She doesn’t work here anymore?”
Paul shook his head. “She quit yesterday.”
Talk about a curveball.
Meg was eager to get answers. “Quit? Why?”
“She just said she was tired of working here,” Paul replied.
Meg bit the corner of her lip. “That timing seems very curious, especially after what happened to Nicole.”
Connor had an addition to make. “And because employees don’t usually just quit out of nowhere. So she didn’t give two weeks’ notice at all?”
Paul shook his head. “No. It just happened out of the blue. It was a big surprise to both Dr. Conway and myself,” Paul said.
“Thank you for your time, Dr. Miller,” Connor replied.
Since the office was an active crime scene, the building was closed until further notice. The detective sent Paul home so the forensics team could start doing their work. Before the doctor left, Connor told Paul that he would be notified by a deputy when he was allowed to return to the office to resume work.
Chapter Eight
With Dr. Miller on his way back home, the investigators had plenty of their own work to do. To start, Connor sent one of his deputies to Kristin Zeller’s apartment. The deputy’s orders were to pick up the former receptionist and bring her back to the office for questioning. While the investigators waited for that to happen, they walked over to Tyler Jenson, the fifty-six-year-old medical examiner, and asked him about his findings.
Meg couldn’t help but think about the crazy timing of things. She had tried getting Nicole to talk the day before but was unsuccessful getting information out of her. Now Nicole was dead.
Meanwhile, Meg’s mother took a rare vacation exactly when a séance spell would have come in really handy. Unfortunately, a séance spell required the involvement of two witches in order to be cast successfully. With Beth Walton currently on her way to San Diego, Meg didn’t know any other witches who could help her out. That meant Meg would have to rely on her investigative instincts and the slew of minor spells that were at her disposal.
Connor addressed the medical examiner. “Got anything for us?”
Tyler did not look enthusiastic as he answered. “Just the cursory stuff.”
“At this point, anything is better than nothing.”
“Unfortunately, what I have is just slightly more than nothing.”
“Even so, let’s hear it,” Connor said.
“Judging by the state of the body, I’d say the time of death is between six and seven last night,” Tyler replied.
Connor looked at a bloodstained paperweight that was on the floor beside Nicole’s body. They sold paperweights like this at various spiritual gift shops and novelty stores around town. There was a whole line of them, each with a word of wisdom etched into the front. Some read “tranquility.” Others read “serenity.” Ironically, this particular weight had the word “Peace” etched into the front.
Connor looked up from the paperweight and addressed the medical examiner. “Is it safe to assume that blunt force trauma was the cause of death?”
Tyler nodded. “There’s no doubt about that.”
“Have you been able to pull any prints off of the paperweight?”
Tyler shook his head. “Unfortunately, not.”
“How about anywhere else in the office?” Connor asked.
“No,” Tyler replied. “The only prints we have been able to pull belong to the victim.”
Connor exhaled. “Have you discovered anything else that is useful?”
&n
bsp; Tyler grimaced. “Nothing that can help identify the killer.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
“Sorry,” Tyler said.
Connor pointed to a file cabinet that was in the corner of the room. “Have your team go through those files. Let us know if anything happens to sticks out.”
Tyler nodded. “Will do.”
The medical examiner went back to work while Meg and Connor began to speculate amongst themselves.
Meg sighed. “What an awful way to go.”
Connor nodded. “Curious, too.”
“How so?”
“It’s not often you see a paperweight used as a murder weapon.”
“True. Although, it does act as an argument against premeditation.”
Connor agreed. “Yeah. If the killer had come to the office with designs on murdering Nicole, they could have brought a gun or a knife with them instead of resorting to murder by paperweight.”
“So if the killer decided to murder her in the heat of the moment, it begs the question. Who had she been having problems with recently?” Meg asked.
“I was just about to ask you the same thing. After all, you said she came into the donut shop often.”
Meg nodded. “She did. Even more, she seemed really distressed when she came in yesterday.”
“What was she distressed about?” Connor asked.
“She said it was a little bit of everything.”
“It looks like one of those things might have ended up killing her.”
Meg exhaled. “Yeah. Unfortunately, she was really vague with me.”
“Let’s hope this former receptionist of hers can clue us in on some details,” Connor said.
Meg took a deep breath. “We’ll see.”
Chapter Nine
A few minutes later, Tim Gallagher, a six-foot-two police deputy who looked muscular enough to be able to bench-press a car, brought the office’s former receptionist, Kristin Zeller, to the office so the investigators could question her.
Kristin was a twenty-nine-year-old redhead who had a square face, freckles, and a few extra pounds around her midsection. She was dressed casually in a pair of black yoga pants with a white lycra top.
Witch Cozy Mystery Nine Book Set Page 49