Free A Vintage Murder by Michele Scott Page B

“If you need anything at all from us, please let me know.”
    Derek took Nikki’s hand. She stood there surveying the scene, with a nagging feeling that, although everyone kept insisting this was an accident, it was anything but. It may be true that the Barossa rarely had murders occur in its quaint valley, but Hollywood definitely had its share, and she had a feeling that Hollywood had come to the Barossa in more ways than one.

Chapter 7

    Detective Von Doussa and his crew had exited the RV. Nikki now saw him nodding and talking into a cell phone. He flipped it shut and approached them. “My job is finished here for now. I called the pathologist, who said he’s fine with my findings. Warre is calling the funeral director. We’ve bagged her, so once they show up she can be moved.”
    “You say that you’re okay with your findings. What are they?” Nikki asked.
    “She died from the bite of a brown snake. Of course, we took DNA swabs. I mean, DNA is so useful these days, we might as well use the technology. I would like to take DNA from Andy Burrow’s snake just to rule out that it was not his snake.”
    Nikki didn’t say her next thought out loud, but if he planned to talk with Andy to be certain that it wasn’t his snake, then he was not ruling out the possibility that Andy or someone could have planted it there. This was going to be interesting. And where was Andy anyway? He’d sure been gone a long time.
    “What if his snake isn’t in the terrarium, as he insists?” Nikki asked.
    “Yes, well, I suppose I’ll attend to that if that’s the case. I will have to ask how the snake did get out.” He nodded.
    Nikki faced Von Doussa. “Can I ask you something?”
    “Surely.”
    “Even if death by a snakebite isn’t super uncommon, how would the snake get into the RV?”
    “Oh, they are wily creatures. And we will be looking into that further.”
    Derek shot Nikki another one of his looks. “I told you. There’s a reasonable explanation.”
    “But was Lucy in bed? I mean, do you think the snake bit her while she was asleep?”
    The detective pondered her question. “Well, I would say that would be likely, as her head was resting on the pillow and the covers were pulled up. Yes, she was in bed.”
    Nikki nodded. “Isn’t it peculiar? I mean, Lucy was asleep in her bed, the snake somehow got into a locked RV, made its way into her bed, bit her, and there you have it.”
    No one said anything for a moment. The detective finally chuckled. “Yes, that is what I would say. If I had to guess, I think the snake somehow got inside the RV when the door was open. Once inside, he probably fell asleep. The girl came in, went to bed. Maybe he’d gone to sleep in her bed. He sensed some warm blood and took a bite out of her and . . . there you have it. I understand your aunt being a detective might make the way we conduct our investigations of interest to you, but are you sure there’s nothing more to it, Miss Sands?”
    Derek started to say something, but she cut him off. “I think it’s kind of strange is all. I have to wonder if someone didn’t plant that snake in Lucy’s bed with the intent of the snake biting her, killing her, and having it look the way you theorized, that it was all an accident.”
    Von Doussa appeared to be amused. He then clapped his hand on Derek’s shoulder and pointed at her. “You’ve got yourself a sheila with some spunk now, don’t you?” He laughed and shook his head. “Miss, do you know something that I don’t? Because this is good stuff.”
    “She’s a regular sleuth,” Derek grumbled, squeezing her hand with the obvious intention to get her to shut up.
    Fat chance. Nikki had gut instincts and no matter what the detective thought, this whole thing stank big-time.
    Before she had a chance to continue her inquisition, Andy Burrow finally appeared. He looked distraught, his eyes bulging, his face ashen. “It was my snake. He’s gone. I’ve been searching the