Free A Fatal Visit (A Harbor Cove Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Emily Page Page A

made tea.” She held up the pot.
     
    Skyler rolled her eyes. “Bring the chocolate.” She turned away, and Clue followed her out of the kitchen.
     
    Nichole set down the teapot, the mugs and the chocolate on the coffee table. Skyler unwrapped a bar and took a huge bite from it. Clue jumped up onto the sofa as Nichole sat down on the armchair and yawned.
     
    “Ugh. I’m so tired. It seems like I’ve barely slept since all this Chase stuff started.” She stretched. “It didn’t go well, then?”
     
    Skyler shook her head. “He seemed so kind and friendly, but he turned the moment I mentioned Chase.” She poured some tea and took a sip. “If Aubrey’s involved, I think her father knows something. He was almost…defensive. He insists that Chase ruined her life.” She paused. “He might be covering for her.”
     
    “Her friend from the restaurant was mellower,” Nichole said as she broke off a square of chocolate for herself. “She told me pretty much the same things that Aubrey had said to us both.”
     
    Skyler emptied the contents of her bag onto the coffee table. The notes she made on the case and the photos from the crime scene were among them. She spread out the photos and some of her notes.
     
    “Right now, Aubrey Perkins is my number one suspect.” She picked up a notebook and turned to a particular page. Nichole watched over her cup of tea. “She was in the restaurant when the murder took place. As the assistant manager, we can assume that she would have the keys to the locked door in the men’s bathroom. It seems as if she holds a grudge against Chase for leaving her to raise a child alone.”
     
    Nichole nodded. “In the videos we saw, they were playing happy family in the park. But maybe she wanted to draw him closer, to gain his trust.”
     
    “Exactly my thoughts. As well as that, she had copies of the item that was used as the murder weapon with her in the park. One as a hair accessory, the other as a book mark. It’s symbolic. She has an attachment to the golden quill in some way.” She paused, and then her eyes widened. “Not only that, Chase’s fortune was set to go to Charlotte. If he died before she grew up, that fortune would be controlled by Aubrey!”
     
    Nichole had an incredulous look on her face. “I hadn’t even considered that.”
     
    Skyler’s smile faded to a frown.
     
    Nichole read her expression and offered what had been running through her own mind. “There’s too much conjecture in our argument. It would be too difficult to prosecute her based on all this. We need concrete evidence. Short of a full confession, that seems unlikely.” She paused as she thought. “I can’t help but wonder if Dustin was trying to tell us something about Aubrey. Ladyfingers. Prints on the quill maybe?”
     
    “I could call Malcolm up and ask.” Skyler tapped on the arm of the chair. “Either way, we need to completely eliminate other suspicions and firm up the case against Aubrey. We have to be certain.”
     
    Nichole nodded and yawned again. “For tonight, can I just get some sleep?”
     
    Skyler smiled. “I’ll allow it, just this once.”
     
    Nichole stood, stretching. Halfway through a yawn, she remembered something. “Oh, something one of Aubrey’s friends said was interesting. Something about Bryson hanging around the restaurant? That he liked Aubrey too?” She shrugged. “Don’t know how relevant that is.”
     
    Skyler thought for a moment, staring out of the window. “If she reciprocated, it’s possible she wanted Chase out of the way? That seems like a stretch, though. I’ll have Mom ask him about it.”
     
    Nichole yawned and stretched all the way to her room. Skyler rolled her eyes. She is so laying it on thick.
     
    ~~~
     
    Something vibrated close to Nichole’s head. Something she had decided she was likely about to kill.
     
    “Murder,” she mumbled as she lifted her head from the pillow. Her phone was ringing, the sharp jangling