Read Online Murder Over Cocktails: The 2nd Nikki Hunter Mystery (Nikki Hunter Mysteries) by Nancy Skopin - Free Book Online
Authors: Nancy Skopin
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snorted. I couldn’t help it. “I guess that’s a good price for any property in Atherton. I agreed to look at it tomorrow and she suggested we have lunch afterward.”
“Where?”
“Where what?” I asked. “Where lunch?”
Jack nodded.
“I don’t know. What’s the problem?”
“Maybe nothing,” he said.
“You sure you don’t want anything else to drink?”
He shook his head. “So you said you liked the house in Los Altos. Did you talk price?”
“I asked her what she thought the owners would accept.”
“And?”
“And she said they’d gotten themselves in the hole building it, and they’d probably take five million five hundred thousand.”
“But she steered you toward another property, for a lot less money.”
“I told you she was low pressure. Maybe this is part of her strategy. Maybe the house in Atherton is a dog and she thinks after looking at it I’ll be thrilled to pay five and a half million for the one in Los Altos. I don’t know.”
Even I wasn’t convinced by my explanation, but I pushed the anxiety aside.
Jack was silent. I drank some Guinness and returned my attention to the pizza.
“You don’t want to be alone with her, Nicoli. Maybe I should follow you, just to be safe.”
“Please call me Nikki,” I said. I actually reserve that privilege for friends, but I was growing fond of Jack, in spite of his profession.
“You can’t be in two places at once,” I said. “I need you to copy those tapes. There’s a high speed dubbing service on Middlefield.”
I wiped my hands on a paper towel and fished the card for the dubbing service out of my Rolodex. I have an old fashioned Rolodex on board the boat, an address book on my smartphone, an application on my computer with the same address book and calendar features as the smartphone, and yes, I have control issues. I wrote the dubbing service address and phone number on a slip of paper and handed it to Jack.
“If you call them in advance they can probably schedule the job and copy the tapes while you wait.”
“Fine,” he said grudgingly. “Will you let your friend the cop know what you’re doing?”
I nodded. “I’ll take my own car tomorrow, and when I know where we’re going for lunch I’ll give Bill a call and tell him. Will that make you feel better?”
“It will,” he said. “When you see the videos you’ll understand why this makes me nervous. Page me when you get to the restaurant tomorrow, so I’ll know how much time I have.”
“Sure, no problem.”
We ate more pizza, but the conversation lagged and finally Jack set his napkin on top of his plate and said, “I should go.”
As he walked toward the steps I caught a glimpse of the logo on his pager. I followed him up on deck and when we were outside he turned and put his hands on my shoulders.
“Please be careful, Nikki,” he said softly, looking into my eyes, and then he stepped off the boat.
My heart fluttered in my chest. I thought of Bill and how well we were getting along. I almost never date more than one guy at a time. Besides, I didn’t want to get involved with a professional criminal, but holy cow this guy had sex appeal. I went back inside and bit into another slice of pizza. While I was pondering what I was getting myself into with Maggie, the phone rang. I swallowed before answering.
“His name is Jack McGuire and he’s a client,” I said, without preamble.
“What?” said Bill.
Shit . “Sorry. I was expecting a call from Elizabeth.”
“So who’s Jack McGuire and why are you telling Elizabeth about him?”
“He’s just a client she saw me with today. You know how nosy she is.”
“Uh-huh,” he said.
“What’s up?”
“I’m just getting off work and I thought you might want to have dinner. I could pick up a pizza.”
“Pizza sounds great,” I said, casting a guilty glance at the half empty box on my galley counter. “But I have to work. Sorry.”
“Sausage and mushroom?”
“You know that’s
“Where?”
“Where what?” I asked. “Where lunch?”
Jack nodded.
“I don’t know. What’s the problem?”
“Maybe nothing,” he said.
“You sure you don’t want anything else to drink?”
He shook his head. “So you said you liked the house in Los Altos. Did you talk price?”
“I asked her what she thought the owners would accept.”
“And?”
“And she said they’d gotten themselves in the hole building it, and they’d probably take five million five hundred thousand.”
“But she steered you toward another property, for a lot less money.”
“I told you she was low pressure. Maybe this is part of her strategy. Maybe the house in Atherton is a dog and she thinks after looking at it I’ll be thrilled to pay five and a half million for the one in Los Altos. I don’t know.”
Even I wasn’t convinced by my explanation, but I pushed the anxiety aside.
Jack was silent. I drank some Guinness and returned my attention to the pizza.
“You don’t want to be alone with her, Nicoli. Maybe I should follow you, just to be safe.”
“Please call me Nikki,” I said. I actually reserve that privilege for friends, but I was growing fond of Jack, in spite of his profession.
“You can’t be in two places at once,” I said. “I need you to copy those tapes. There’s a high speed dubbing service on Middlefield.”
I wiped my hands on a paper towel and fished the card for the dubbing service out of my Rolodex. I have an old fashioned Rolodex on board the boat, an address book on my smartphone, an application on my computer with the same address book and calendar features as the smartphone, and yes, I have control issues. I wrote the dubbing service address and phone number on a slip of paper and handed it to Jack.
“If you call them in advance they can probably schedule the job and copy the tapes while you wait.”
“Fine,” he said grudgingly. “Will you let your friend the cop know what you’re doing?”
I nodded. “I’ll take my own car tomorrow, and when I know where we’re going for lunch I’ll give Bill a call and tell him. Will that make you feel better?”
“It will,” he said. “When you see the videos you’ll understand why this makes me nervous. Page me when you get to the restaurant tomorrow, so I’ll know how much time I have.”
“Sure, no problem.”
We ate more pizza, but the conversation lagged and finally Jack set his napkin on top of his plate and said, “I should go.”
As he walked toward the steps I caught a glimpse of the logo on his pager. I followed him up on deck and when we were outside he turned and put his hands on my shoulders.
“Please be careful, Nikki,” he said softly, looking into my eyes, and then he stepped off the boat.
My heart fluttered in my chest. I thought of Bill and how well we were getting along. I almost never date more than one guy at a time. Besides, I didn’t want to get involved with a professional criminal, but holy cow this guy had sex appeal. I went back inside and bit into another slice of pizza. While I was pondering what I was getting myself into with Maggie, the phone rang. I swallowed before answering.
“His name is Jack McGuire and he’s a client,” I said, without preamble.
“What?” said Bill.
Shit . “Sorry. I was expecting a call from Elizabeth.”
“So who’s Jack McGuire and why are you telling Elizabeth about him?”
“He’s just a client she saw me with today. You know how nosy she is.”
“Uh-huh,” he said.
“What’s up?”
“I’m just getting off work and I thought you might want to have dinner. I could pick up a pizza.”
“Pizza sounds great,” I said, casting a guilty glance at the half empty box on my galley counter. “But I have to work. Sorry.”
“Sausage and mushroom?”
“You know that’s
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