Chocolate Heart Murder (A Maple Hills Cozy Mystery Book 11) Page 6

  “Okay,” said Nikki. “Just let me clean up and get this apron off.”

  She washed her hands and hugged Seth, Tori, and Lidia. “Thank you for being such a great team,” she said.

  “The team is only as good as its leader,” remarked Lidia. Nikki smiled as she and Hawk left the shop.

  The town green was starting to become crowded with wedding guests and decorators. The center of town was transforming into a swirl of red and white. The tents and awnings were up and the chairs and tables were being arranged for the wedding. A man walked by carrying two tables, and Hawk and Nikki jumped out of his way.

  “Shall we head right for your place?” suggested Hawk.

  “Okay, we can have some coffee and talk about the case,” said Nikki. They headed for his truck.

  “That sounds good.” Hawk opened the passenger door for Nikki, and she stepped into his truck. She yawned.

  “Yes, we will definitely need some caffeine,” she said. Hawk laughed and they started for Nikki’s house. When they got to the house, Nikki brewed some coffee, extra strong. She looked in the freezer and found the extra batch of brownies she had made the week before.

  “These should still be good.”

  “I’ll take two,” Hawk insisted. She popped a few in the microwave to warm them up, craving a little sugar herself. Nikki plated them and poured the coffee. Caffeine and chocolate will get us through anything, she thought. Hawk opened his file and put his notes on the table. Nikki and Hawk sat in the kitchen and sipped their coffee perusing the notes. There did not seem to be anything they had missed.

  “So, we cleared the staff at the venue,” Nikki began.

  “Yes,” said Hawk.

  “And we cleared the bridal party.”

  “Yes.”

  “And we cleared the guests.”

  “Yes, yes, and yes,” replied Hawk, stretching. Hawk seemed a bit snippy, but Nikki knew it was because he was so fatigued and so concerned about the case. His father had to wrap this up quickly and with no leads, it looked like it would not be possible. They were both worn down after a night of barely four hours of sleep, but were determined to figure out what happened to Kim. Nikki poured Hawk some more coffee. She poured herself half a mug more. She did not want to get jittery from the sugar and caffeine rush.

  “Maybe we should talk to Susan again,” Nikki suggested.

  “I’m not sure about that,” said Hawk. “It is her wedding day. Her father would have a fit if he saw us bothering her.” Nikki agreed, and she did not want the chief to have to deal with the mayor again. However, they had no leads, and talking to Susan again might help. She had been Kim’s closest friend.

  “That’s true, but if I went alone, I bet I could talk to her,” said Nikki. “She should be at her parents’ house getting ready. I heard she was taking bridal party pictures there before the wedding. I don’t mind going there and talking to her.”

  “Okay,” said Hawk, “but if the mayor appears…”

  “I will smile and start talking about chocolates,” finished Nikki. Hawk smiled.

  On the ride to the mayor’s house, Nikki thought of how to approach Susan. She decided to feel out the situation and go from there. Nikki pulled up to the house and parked. The house was a two-story mansion in town. It had a circular driveway, and Nikki half expected to see a valet. Nikki walked to the front door and found it was open. Nikki walked in and saw someone who looked like a photographer’s assistant rushing past. “Excuse me, can you tell me where Susan is?” The woman pointed to the dining room. There were people running around, and the mayor’s wife was barking orders at everyone as they prepared for the photo shoot. Someone was carrying flowers and others carried trays of food. There was a person beside the mayor’s wife on a cell phone. She seemed to be the mayor’s wife’s personal assistant. In the middle of this storm, Susan was sitting at the dining room table sipping some tea. She looked happy but tired. Overwhelmed, just like any bride on her wedding day, thought Nikki. Susan perked up and gave her a happy wave. Nikki slid in and sat down next to Susan.

  “How are you holding up?” she asked Susan.

  “As well as can be expected,” Susan replied. “Would you like some tea?”

  “No thank you. I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions.”

  “Sure, but let’s go up to my room. It is too busy down here.” Susan got up, and her mother demanded to know where she was going. Susan explained that she just needed a little girl talk with Nikki in her room. Her mother opened her mouth to object, but Susan cut her off.

  “Mom, I just need a few minutes of quiet,” she said. Her mom made an exasperated face, but waved her away, turning to start barking orders at someone else.

  Nikki followed Susan up the stairs to her room. The stairs were wide and curved to the top with an elegant balustrade of wrought iron and carved wood. Susan’s bedroom was a suite with a sitting room and bedroom. There was a set of sliding doors that led to a balcony. Susan shut the door and sat on her bed. She motioned to Nikki to sit on a loveseat nearby. Nikki looked around at the flowered wallpaper and the chic miniature chandelier hanging above the fireplace. It was a gorgeous room befitting the mayor’s daughter.

  “It must be so strange to be having this special day without your friend. I’m sure you thought about postponing the wedding, right?” Nikki prodded.

  “No. This has been planned for quite some time. I am still getting over Kim’s death, but all our loved ones are already here, everything is prepared…I want to get married to Tim today.” Susan pulled out some tissues and wiped her eyes. She was keeping herself together – but barely.

  “I understand. I was concerned because your father mentioned you and Tim thought someone was out to get you.”

  Susan looked up as if she was a little surprised that Nikki knew this detail. “Well, since someone killed one of my bridesmaids at my wedding party, can you blame me?” Susan asked.

  “That makes sense,” Nikki replied. Nikki wanted to console her, but she knew she had to ask the hard questions. That was the only way she and Hawk would solve this case. “Do you know anyone who would want to hurt you or Tim?”

  “No, that is why I am so scared. We do not have any enemies. This is totally out of the blue,” Susan replied. Nikki could feel Susan getting anxious. “I mean, it happened at my rehearsal dinner. Was someone after us?”

  “That’s what we are trying to find out,” Nikki reassured her. “Do you know if Kim had any enemies?”

  “No. She was a sweet, loving person,” Susan replied.

  “Had she been acting weird?”

  “No. Not that I know of. Like I told you at the hotel – she’s a close friend, but we are not together all the time. I suppose there are others who might know more than me. You questioned her roommate already, I assume?” Susan said.

  “Was she at the rehearsal dinner last night? The roommate, I mean.”

  “No, it’s a he. He is, was, just her roommate,” Susan replied, catching herself using the wrong tense. “His name is John Hammer.” She gave Nikki his information and Nikki wrote it down. She felt a surge of adrenaline again as she recognized this as a significant lead. She knew that the friends of Kim’s who were questioned were all female, which meant no one had talked to John Hammer yet.

  “Is that all?” asked Susan. “I’m glad you came by…but I don’t have much time to sit and talk. My makeup artist is due here any moment and I’m booked all day leading up to the wedding.”

  “Of course. Absolutely,” Nikki said. “I appreciate you taking the time.” Just then, there was a knock on the door.

  “Susan, are you in there?” a woman asked.

  “Yes, Mom. I will be back down in a minute.”

  “We are on a tight schedule, you know. And Jillian is here.”

  “Okay,” Susan replied, rolling her eyes. “That’s my makeup appointment.” Nikki smiled.

  “Well, thank you. I will be going now. If you think of anything else, please
give me a call.”

  “I will,” promised Susan. Nikki left the room and swiftly went down the stairs. She made it out the door without running into the mayor. She got to her car and called Hawk.

  “Kim had a roommate,” she told him. “A male roommate.”

  “That is new,” Hawk replied. “What’s the roommate’s name?”

  “His name is John Hammer, and they lived on the other side of town. I’ll text you his address. Meet me there,” Nikki replied. Hawk agreed. Nikki got in the car and decided to call Seth to see how things were going.

  “Is everything coming together?” she asked.

  “Yes, we are getting all the ingredients for the chocolate fountain ready and all the trays of chocolates lined up.”

  “Good,” Nikki said.

  “How is the investigation coming?” Seth asked.

  “We have some new information that might help, but it’s too soon to tell.”

  “That’s good. You know, I met Kim a while ago. We have a friend in common,” Seth said. Nikki was surprised.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that?” she asked.

  “I guess it slipped my mind until now.”

  “Will you do me a favor?”

  “Yes,” Seth said.

  “Can you find out if Kim was dating her roommate? His name is John.”

  “Okay. I will call my friend and get back to you.”

  “Thank you,” Nikki replied. She hung up the phone and drove to the address Susan had given her. I wonder what John Hammer will be like, she thought as the trees rushed by her car. Nikki thought about the wedding, but then pushed that out of her mind. Seth and the others are taking care of things, she thought. Everything will be fine. She turned on the radio and hummed along with an old country song.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  N ikki drove to Kim’s apartment. It was a cute duplex in a small, quiet neighborhood. There were flowerpots on the porch and a swing. The flowerpots were empty and covered in a thin layer of snow. The lawn was small but well kept. The hedges around the house were covered and looked as soft as marshmallows. She looked around and saw that the neighboring houses were close, but not on top of one another. Nikki parked and waited for Hawk. She did not have to wait very long.

  Hawk pulled up in front of Nikki and got out of his truck. Nikki got out and together they walked to the front door. Hawk knocked, and Nikki stood behind him. The front door opened and a man appeared behind the screen door. He was nice-looking, with short blond hair. He was shorter than Hawk but taller than Nikki. He was clean shaven. Nikki guessed that he was older than Kim but not by very much. The man was visibly upset, his eyes were a little reddened and there was a sad slump to his otherwise handsome physique. Hawk introduced himself and Nikki while showing the man his badge.

  “I am Hawk Daily. I’m a detective with the Maple Hills police department. This is my partner, Nikki Bates. She assists me with some of my investigations. Are you John Hammer?” he asked the man.

  “Yes, I am. Is this about Kim?”

  “Yes. We are here to ask you some questions about her. Would you mind if we came in?”

  “Sure, come on in. I am willing to answer any questions you may have.” He held the screen door open, and Hawk and Nikki stepped inside and were in the duplex’s living room. Nikki noticed a small bookshelf by the door to the right, and a sofa and entertainment center. Straight ahead was a dining room. There were knick-knacks and pictures of Kim on top of the bookshelf. John offered them the sofa, and he sat down in a recliner facing them. He asked if they wanted any coffee. Hawk thanked him but declined.

  “Let’s get right to the questions, okay?” Hawk said. “Were you and Kim dating?”

  “Yes,” said John. Nikki was shocked but did not show it.

  “How long were you dating?” Hawk asked.

  “We have been together for three years.”

  “If you were dating, why weren’t you at the rehearsal dinner?” Nikki asked.

  “Susan does not approve of me,” he said, looking down.

  “What do you mean by that?” asked Hawk.

  “She and I have never gotten along. When Kim introduced us and Susan asked what I did for a living, I told her and she got very judgmental. She thinks I am a bad influence on Kim.”

  Nikki gazed around the apartment. It was small, but nicely furnished. There were flowers on the coffee table and some magazines. It was cozy and inviting. She did not get a bad vibe from the place. “Why does she think you’re a bad influence?” she asked John.

  “She thinks I’m a bad influence because of what I do and where I work,” he said. John shifted in his seat. “I am a rehabilitation psychologist. I counsel former drug addicts. Some of my clients are former drug dealers. They are not people Susan would approve of.”

  Hawk and Nikki looked at each other. “Do any of your clients know where you live?” asked Hawk.

  “No. I keep my work and private life separate. What I do is a good thing that could be exploited by bad people. Some of the people I work with do get rehabilitated. They go on to become productive members of society. Others, well, they do not turn out as well and sometimes end up back in jail. I do not want them to find me in case they blame me for landing back in prison. I would never put Kim in that kind of danger.”

  “How do you keep your work and personal life separate?” Hawk asked.

  “I have taken quite a few precautions. It’s part of the work. I use a partial alias, John Jackson instead of John Hammer – Jackson is my middle name, you see. We keep a post office box so that we don’t have to give out our address except to close friends. My office is an hour away. I take different routes to work each day, and I make sure I am not followed. My car is a rental in my alias. If someone wanted to find me by tracing the license plate, they would have a very hard time. I have always strived to keep myself and those I care about safe. Kim meant the world to me, and I would never do anything to put her in danger.” John stared at the floor and tears welled in his eyes. He wiped his eyes and looked up when Hawk spoke.

  “Are you aware of the circumstances surrounding Kim’s death?” Hawk asked.

  “No,” John gulped.

  “She died of a heroin overdose.”

  John turned pale. He shook his head violently. “She would never do that. Kim was a sweet and special woman. She was strong. She had no reason to use heroin, let alone overdose. I would know if she was using drugs. I have been trained to spot addicts, especially opiate users.”

  “We believe you,” said Nikki gently. John wiped his eyes. He looked out the window and tears started to fall again. He was visibly shaken. Nikki looked at Hawk.

  “Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Kim? Was she arguing with anyone? Did anyone hold a grudge against her for any reason?” Nikki asked.

  “No, absolutely not. Kim was kind. She was gentle. She would feed the stray cats in the neighborhood. She once let a neighbor’s child stay here while the neighbor was stuck in another town with car trouble. Everyone loved her and knew they could count on her. I work with some very hardened people. Kim was the opposite of that. She was open, honest, and beautiful.”

  “If you don’t mind, we would like you to come down to the station for further questioning,” Hawk said quietly but firmly.

  “Yes. Absolutely,” John said. He wiped his eyes. “I can follow you down there right now. I will do whatever it takes to find out what happened to Kim. Let me get changed first. I have not been out of these clothes since last night.” John went up the stairs to his bedroom. Nikki turned to Hawk when he was out of earshot.

  “That is an odd way of doing business,” she said.

  “Well, it can be a dangerous line of work,” Hawk said. “Drug addicts can be unpredictable and violent at times, people in recovery can relapse. I think it is a good idea that he uses an alias. He wanted to keep himself and Kim safe. I understand that need.”

  Nikki looked at him. “I understand, too,” she said. They sat for a short time and
then John came back down the stairs.

  “Are you ready to go?” Hawk asked him.

  “Yes, I have my wallet and keys. My car is parked on the street.”

  “We are parked there, too,” Nikki said.

  They all put on their coats. Nikki and Hawk walked down the sidewalk side by side. Nikki said she would go to the station, too. Hawk asked if she needed to check in with Seth.

  “No. I called him before we came over here. He should be calling me back, soon,” she said.

  “Okay. Let’s go right to the station then,” Hawk suggested. “Are you sure you don’t want a ride?” he asked John.

  “No, I will follow you. I think driving alone in the car will help me get my mind straight. I could use the fresh air. I have not been outside since yesterday,” he admitted.

  “Okay,” said Hawk. They got in their separate cars and drove down to the station. Nikki followed Hawk and John followed her. The sky was clouding over. Nikki worried that it might storm. She checked the weather on her phone when they were at a stoplight and saw that there was a system blowing in, but no snow predicted yet. The streets were already white from yesterday’s snow, and the cars left a black, wet trail behind them accented by the streetlights.

  CHAPTER NINE

  J ohn pulled into the station parking lot right behind Nikki. She was a little relieved because half of her wondered if he would panic and try to flee. Once inside, Hawk and Nikki led John to the chief’s office. The chief looked up from his desk.

  “Hi, Chief,” Hawk said. “This is John Hammer. He is Kim’s boyfriend. I questioned him a bit at the apartment, but I wanted to ask him some more questions and follow up on some things he has told us. Can we use one of the rooms?”

  “Yes,” said the chief. “You can use the first room.”

  John followed Hawk down to the interrogation room. He explained the room would give them the most privacy and was equipped with a microphone for recording. Nikki realized he did not want to tell John it was an interrogation room, perhaps so he would let his guard down. Hawk told John to have a seat and asked if he wanted anything to drink.