Murder in Georgia Page 4

  She didn’t think she was hungry until she walked into the house and smelled the tempting aromas coming from the kitchen.

  “I’m home,” she called closing and locking the front door behind her.

  “I’m in the kitchen. Come on in here.”

  “You’re spoiling me.” Nicole groaned when she saw the perfectly prepared lemon roasted filet of snapper.

  Lita laughed. “I love to cook and it’s fun to have someone to spoil. It’s been a long time.” She moved to the small kitchen table. “Sit! Let’s have a glass of wine and you can tell me all about your day.”

  Nicole told her about going into the restaurant and then into the insurance agency. Lita was impressed when she gave her a step-by-step description of how she got the job with Cottingham Insurance. She was even more impressed Connor Cottingham had taken the new employee to lunch—his treat.

  Nicole looked at her landlord and wondered why the fact she went to lunch with Connor was such a surprise, but she decided not to ask any questions. “He didn’t tell me when they paid, but I should get a check in a week or so. I hope you don’t mind waiting that long for your money.”

  “Of course not.” Lita waved her left hand. “I’m not worried about the money. I know you’ll pay me when you have it.”

  “Out of my first check, I promise. I intended to get a job as a waitress so I could make some instant money to pay you, but this job was available and I was afraid not to take it.”

  “I think you’ll like this one much better. It seems to suit you.”

  Nicole smiled. “I hope it works out. It would be nice to work near home.” She didn’t add it would be nice to work for the handsome Connor Cottingham.

  Lita reached over and patted Nicole’s arm. “I’m so glad you’re beginning to think of this as home. That’s how I want you to feel.”

  The telephone rang before Nicole answered.

  “Oh, my, what a time for someone to call,” Lita said. “Would you get that on the hall phone while I finish up dinner?”

  “I’d be happy to. I’m good on the phone. Just ask Mr. Cottingham.”

  Lita laughed as Nicole went into the front hall. “Hello,” she said into the receiver.

  “I hope you enjoyed the show,” a scratchy voice said. “The snake did.”

  “Who is this?”

  “Just someone who wants you to know I haven’t forgotten how you ruined my life, Lita. I’ll always remember what you took from me—as long as you live, that is.”

  “Who is this?” Nicole asked in a stronger voice. The other party didn’t hear her. The phone had already gone dead.

  * * * *

  Connor Cottingham sat in a lounge chair on the back patio of his condo. He had a scotch and water in his hand. He didn’t usually drink strong liquor when he came home from work, but today was different. Today he’d made a snap decision, and he was afraid he’d live to regret it. He knew if he didn’t get a hold on it, it would change his life. A life he thought he had in control. A life for which he’d carefully laid out a plan. A plan he’d been able to follow for the last two years. In one morning, those plans had derailed, and he wasn’t sure he could put things back on track.

  He downed the last of his drink and thought about going for another one, but decided against it. The last thing he needed to do was get drunk. He’d done that enough times when he’d first come home from the hospital. It was the one thing he thought helped him get through the lonely days and nights. He might still be depending on alcohol if he hadn’t almost run down a neighborhood kid chasing a ball into the street where he used to live. Having lost his own children, he couldn’t stand the thought of hurting another one. Somehow he missed the child, but slammed into a parked BMW causing thousands of dollars in damage. To add to his trouble, he backed up his car and drove the few blocks to his house, pulled into the garage, went inside, and passed out on the living room sofa.

  The next thing he knew, the police were knocking on his door. He was arrested, booked, and spent a night in jail. If the neighbor hadn’t refused to press charges, it would’ve been a bigger mess than it was. He paid for the smashed car, thanked his parents and brother profusely for standing by him, and vowed in that moment he’d never drive when he was drunk again.

  And he hadn’t. In fact, he hadn’t been beyond a little tipsy since that day. Now here he sat on his patio thinking about refilling his glass and drinking until the feelings his actions this morning had stirred up in him were gone.

  Those feelings had come so quickly and so unexpectedly they caught him completely off guard. Since their secretary Tina had moved to the West coast to join her navy husband, things had not run smoothly at the office. They’d tried temporary help. They’d even interviewed a few replacements. Nobody had seemed to work out.

  Then when he walked into the front office this morning, there she sat, wearing a cute little checked suit whose skirt had slid a little too far above her shapely knee. Her soft blond hair framed her oval face and her smile was infectious. How was he to know she wasn’t a temp? When she told him she wanted to work in his office, he started to laugh, but something stopped him. He looked into those blue eyes of hers and knew she was desperate. Having felt desperation himself, he couldn’t help wondering if hers was for a job or for some other reason. Knowing there was more to the story, but not knowing if it was something which would affect her work, he asked her to answer the phones while he listened from the back.

  When she sounded professional with the callers, he decided to give her a chance. He gave her more work than any one secretary could possibly complete and left for his appointment expecting to return and find she’d blundered so much she’d leave on her own. But she hadn’t blundered. Instead, to his surprise, everything he’d suggested she do was not only completed, it was completed perfectly.

  So without discussing it with his father or his brother, he’d offered her the job. He’d decided on the spur of the moment Nicole Lynch was just what the office needed to get back to its controlled efficiency. Or was this a ruse? Had he actually given her the job because she was so beautiful and she stirred him in an unexpected and wonderful way? Was she what he needed in his life, or was she going to be a distraction he didn’t need? Right now he couldn’t answer either question.

  Staring at his empty glass, Connor Cottingham couldn’t stop feeling he’d done something which would turn out to be more than hiring a new secretary to help run things smoothly at the insurance office. Of course there was nothing he wanted more than for the business to begin to run smoothly again. Then, all he would have to do was concentrate on staying busy with work and never revisit his past.

  Was this going to be possible with Nicole Lynch sitting at the front desk every day?

  Abruptly, he got up and headed into the condo through the sliding glass doors. He sat the glass down in the kitchen, opened the freezer section of the refrigerator and took out a frozen dinner. Practically tossing it into the microwave, he moved to the adjoining living area and flipped on the television. He’d watch it all night if that was what it took to keep the pretty little blonde out of his thoughts.

  Chapter 5

  Nicole put the phone down and tried to control her beating heart. She couldn’t believe someone was trying to frighten a sweet little lady like Lita Mancini. It was hard to imagine her having an enemy in the world, but somebody certainly had it in for her.

  Now Nicole was faced with another dilemma. Should she tell Lita about the phone call? Why should I? Why upset her when there was no answer as to who is creating this nightmare? She decided to be as calm and act as natural as she could.

  “Lita,” she called, hoping her voice wasn’t shaking.

  “Yes, Dear?”

  “I’m going to my room to wash up for dinner. I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”

  “That’s fine. I’m putting the rolls in.” The oven door opened. “By the way, who was it on the phone?”

  “Just one of those irritating sales calls,”
she lied. “I got rid of them.”

  “Okay. Don’t be long.”

  In a matter of minutes, Nicole reappeared in the kitchen.

  With the fish, Lita had prepared a garden salad, oven roasted potatoes, and yeast rolls. For dessert, she’d made a coconut pie.

  “I’ll gain ten pounds this week if I keep eating this way,” Nicole tried to keep her voice light.

  “Maybe we should take a walk after dinner.”

  “The problem is I don’t think I’m able to walk.” There was no way she was going to allow her landlady to leave the house after that phone call. Instead she challenged Lita to a game of gin. They played until almost nine and only stopped because one of Lita’s favorite television programs was scheduled to come on. Nicole excused herself and went upstairs to take a bath and relax in the tub for a while

  * * * *

  The next morning she dressed in her green pants suit and the multi-colored blouse. She had breakfast with Lita then headed toward her new job feeling good. She had hardly thought of the fact she didn’t know who she was or where she belonged. In fact, she was beginning to feel a little like where she was at the moment was the right place for her.

  The same lady was working on the same bed of pansies around her red maple tree as Nicole walked passed. She assumed this garden was one of her prized possessions.

  “Good morning.”

  The woman looked up and smiled. “And a good morning to you,” she said getting to her feet and heading toward Nicole. “Are you new in the neighborhood?”

  “Yes. I’m staying with Lita Mancini.”

  “Lita told me she had a new boarder.” She eyed Nicole. “Lita and I are good friends. We play bridge together on Wednesdays. I’m Dora Hildebrand.”

  “How do you do, Ms. Hildebrand? I’m Nicole Lynch.”

  “I’m delighted to meet you, Nicole. Do you take a walk every morning?”

  “Actually, I’m on my way to work at Cottingham Insurance Agency.”

  “Oh yes. I know the place. I have my insurance with them. Martin Cottingham and my husband were good friends.”

  Nicole smiled.

  “Well, I won’t keep you, my dear,” Dora continued. “I just wanted to introduce myself. I don’t want to make you late for work.”

  “It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Hildebrand. Maybe we can talk more at another time.”

  “That’d be nice.”

  Nicole hurried down the street. She knew it wouldn’t look good to be late on her first real day at work.

  A tall, stately, gray-haired gentleman who made her think of Sean Connery was unlocking the door to the office as Nicole came up the walk. She almost knew it had to be Martin Cottingham. “Can I help you, young lady?” he asked.

  “I’m Nicole Lynch. I started to work here yesterday,” she said as politely as she could.

  “Well, well.” He stood back and looked at her. “So, the boys finally broke down and hired a real person?”

  Nicole smiled. “Actually it was Connor. He said his brother was in Atlanta on business.”

  “Leave it to Connor. He usually makes a good decision whenever he gets the guts to make one.” He held the door open for her. “Sometimes I question him when I shouldn’t because most of the time his decisions come out right in the end. You look like you could be one of his good ones.”

  Before Nicole could answer he added, “Yep, this time looks like he did a good job. You look like a bright girl. I’m sure you’ll be just the right person for the job, and I’m always a good judge of character.”

  She liked the older man instantly. “Thank you, Sir. I look forward to working here.”

  He paused at her desk and looked through the mail laying out for him. Nodding every so often, he stuck some of the letters in each son’s file, a few he tossed in the trashcan beside the desk and the ones getting the nods stayed in his hand.

  “I’m going to be in my office for a little while. I’m expecting a call from Wayne Norket. If anyone else calls, just take a message.”

  “I’ll be happy to.”

  He smiled. “See, I knew you’d be good. You didn’t ask what to do with the insistent callers.”

  “I’ll handle them.” She smiled. “By the way, I met a friend of yours today.”

  “Oh?”

  “Mrs. Dora Hildebrand.”

  “Good ole Dora. I guess the old girl is still puttering around in that yard of hers.”

  “As a matter of fact, she was working in her flowers this morning.”

  “Don used to say he never had to worry about another man taking up with Dora, but he had competition from her flowers.”

  “She does have a lovely yard.”

  “Don and I were golfing buddies. Poor old guy. About five years ago, he dropped dead right on the fourteenth green. He’d made a near perfect shot, too.”

  Nicole almost laughed at his last sentence, but didn’t dare. She simply said, “That’s too bad.”

  “Yes it was. If you see Dora again soon, tell her I send my regards.”

  “I will.”

  He headed down the hall to the last office on the right. For a few minutes, she thought about his statement concerning Connor’s decision making. She wondered if he’d had the authority to hire her or was there some doubt in the older Cottingham’s mind? She didn’t think about it long because the phone rang.

  It was a typical morning in an office. Mr. Norket called at nine forty-five and Martin Cottingham left a few minutes later, saying he probably wouldn’t be back today. Three people came in to pay their car insurance. She wrote out a receipt from a pad she found on the desk and tucked the cash in a desk drawer. One man came by wanting to know if his homeowner’s policy covered water damage from a leaky pipe. She pulled up a copy of his policy and pointed out the section where water damage was mentioned.

  A phone call came in from a man wanting to cover a pontoon boat; one from a lawyer needing a paid receipt for a loan closing; one from a seventeen year old who wanted collision insurance on a sports car, though he had three speeding tickets; and one from a business man who wanted a quote for a second business he was starting. She ranked them in the order she received them with the exception of the teenager. She put it on the bottom because common sense told her a young man with points and a sports car was going to be hard to insure.

  At twelve-thirty, neither of the brothers had come into the office. She didn’t know what to do about lunch. She couldn’t leave and lock the door behind her, because she didn’t have a way back in, and she couldn’t leave the place unlocked. Besides, she didn’t have enough money to waste on what a meal would cost. She went into the small break room in the back and made a fresh pot of coffee. It wasn’t her favorite drink at lunch time, but it would be kind of filling. Anyway, Lita had treated her to a big breakfast. She knew she could make it until dinner.

  It was a little past four when Connor arrived. She gave him his messages. He put on his glasses to read them and smiled at her. “Did you meet Paul?”

  “He didn’t come in, but I met your father. He let me in this morning.”

  He thumbed through his mail and messages. “Yeah. I see he’s been here by the letters he put in my stack.”

  “He gave your brother some, too.”

  “He gives us more and more then he gets mad if one of his clients doesn’t get the royal treatment.”

  She could tell from his tone he wasn’t complaining, just explaining why his father pawned off clients on his sons.

  “By the way, when did Dad leave?”

  “About a little before ten this morning.”

  “So did the machine catch any calls while you were at lunch?”

  “I didn’t go to lunch.”

  “You need to take your lunch hour, Nicole.” He looked over his glasses at her.

  She looked away. “Well, actually I thought about it, but I couldn’t leave and lock up. I didn’t have a way back in.”

  For a moment he stared at her. “You mean you’ve been
here all day with nothing to eat.”

  “I had a big breakfast.”

  He shook his head. “How thoughtless of me. I’ll be right back.” In a moment, he returned and laid a key on her desk. “This opens the front door. I don’t want you to skip lunch again because one of us hasn’t shown up. That isn’t healthy and besides, I don’t want you to quit because you’re being mistreated.”

  “I’m not mistreated, but thank you for the key.” She smiled at him.

  He smiled back. “Since you didn’t get out at noon, why don’t you take the rest of the day off? I feel I owe you that.”

  “You don’t have to let me off early, Mr. Cottingham.”

  “Please call me Connor. We’re on a first name basis around here.” She nodded and he went on, “I want you to go home. I feel guilty for not giving you a key earlier.” He smiled at her again. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  * * * *

  As soon as Nicole closed the door behind her Connor shook his head and headed back to his office. He tossed the mail on his desk and plopped into his chair. “What am I trying to do? Run her off?” he asked himself aloud. “I should have come in this morning and handed her a key instead of running those useless errands just to avoid seeing her again.”

  He heard the front door open.

  “Anybody here?” Martin called as he came down the hall.

  “I’m in my office, Dad.”

  Martin stuck his head in the door. “I hope you haven’t run the new secretary off. She seems efficient and I’d like to keep her around a while.”

  “I hope I haven’t ruined things.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I failed to give her a key and she was stuck here all day with nothing to eat. I apologized and sent her home early.”

  “I didn’t know that. I let her in this morning, but I never dreamed she didn’t have a key.” He shook his head. “You’ve given her one now, haven’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Maybe she’ll forgive you this time.” He took a breath. “I didn’t intend to return today, but I left something in my office and had to slip back by to pick it up.”