by P. Creeden
“So, it seems you’re covered then? You have a car?” Mr. Wright pressed. “I have more business to take care of here at the winery, so I’d much prefer if you could meet me here.”
Felicity closed her eyes and let out a long breath. She hated fear. She couldn’t let it control her, or it always would. Fear was best defeated by facing it head on. She could do this. “Yes, sir. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Excellent. I’ll see you in a short bit then.” He hung up the phone before she could say anything else.
Each of Felicity’s joints suddenly felt stiff as she set her phone on the table and looked over at her roommate. Georgia didn’t know anything about what had happened to Felicity in the last twenty-four hours, as she’d not had the chance to tell her yet. And now her roommate was on the floor with Jay, loving on him and giving him his breakfast. Lately it seemed that Georgia was doing a better job of taking care of Jay than Felicity had been. She sighed. She hated that Jay had missed his dinner the night before. Pizza crusts did not a meal make, especially not for a hard-working dog like Jay. Felicity looked up at her friend as Georgia drew back up to her feet. “Aren’t you working today? Don’t you need your car?”
She shook her head. “I already texted Alice. She’s coming by to pick me up in twenty.”
Felicity frowned. She was stuck doing this, but she’d be smarter this time. Mr. Wright only needed her there to sign a few checks. She’d get the job done out on the covered porch. That way she could keep an eye on Georgia’s car and make sure no one messed with it. It wouldn’t be hard to make this a quick, direct trip. Get the job done and get out.
Determination coursed through her. She could do this.
Darren arrived at the winery, feeling as though he’d only left a short bit ago. One of the purple-shirted employees stood on the covered porch of the wine store, giving a short history of the winery and the sorts of grapes they grew there, as well as the process of making the wine. Darren hopped out of his sedan and watched the talk for just a moment.
As interesting as the topic seemed, Darren had specific questions he needed to ask, and he wanted to find the one person whose name Felicity had called in distress when he’d met her on the side of the road after her accident. Mr. Page stood over his ATV, pouring gas into the tank from a gas can. He called over as he approached. “Morning.”
Mr. Page stood up straight, pulling the gas can upright and shading his eyes from the sunlight that was to Darren’s back. “What can I do you for, detective?”
“There was an incident this morning that I’d like to ask you a few questions about. I’d heard that the winery has been having a bit of difficulty with rattlesnakes.”
The older man frowned, setting the cap back on his gas can and putting it in the bed of the ATV. “I wouldn’t call it difficulty. One of the guests on tour complained that she saw one on the trail. I routinely drive the grounds to search for the snakes, capture them, and put them in this box.” He patted the top of a plastic box in the back of the ATV. “Then at the end of the day, I drive them about eight miles down the road, past Pacific Adventures, and release them in the park. I have permission from the park rangers to do so.”
Darren scrubbed the back of his neck. He was glad that Mr. Page had been willing to divulge so much detail about his process. It had given the detective a moment to process his words, stance, and expressions. “So, you’re a snake lover, then?”
“I guess. They have their place in the ecosystem, just like everything else does. We shouldn’t end their lives simply because we find them inconvenient to our way of life.”
“Fair enough. Do you ever get any issues with the snakes getting into buildings around here, or into cars?”
His frown deepened. “I imagine it’s a possibility either way, but I haven’t heard tell of either of those things happening. No.”
Darren nodded. Mr. Page seemed surly and hard to get along with, but most men did when they were honest to the point of harshness. “What was your relationship like with Elizabeth Collier?”
The old man’s ice blue eyes turned mournful and the wrinkles in his forehead changed as they went from a hard glare to soft sorrow. “She was a friend—a good one. When I came back as a vet from the gulf, I was in a downward spiral. I couldn’t find a job, I had no place to go, no family. But Liz gave me a chance to change, a real one and a real hand up. I would have taken a bullet for the woman. I’m sad that I didn’t do more for her if she took her own life. And if she didn’t, I’m mad that I didn’t see what was coming and help.”
“I heard that Liz had recently fired her housekeeper and hired a new one. Was there anyone else around whose job was at risk?”
Mr. Page looked confused or half a moment and then lifted an eyebrow. “Not that I heard tell. But Liz didn’t discuss her business with me. If anyone knew that kind of thing, I imagine it would be Lucian, the lawyer. Or maybe Heath Anderson.”
Darren nodded. “Do you know where I can find Mr. Anderson today?”
Mr. Page glanced at his watch. “It’s nearly lunch time, so I imagine he’s in the bar. He really likes watching the sports programs on the TV in there.”
“Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Mr. Page. I know that you’re a busy man.” Darren backed up two steps to start heading in the direction of the bar and wine store.
“Not a problem. If Liz didn’t off herself, you’re going to find the guy who did this, right?” He narrowed his gaze at Darren.
Darren stopped his backward retreat for a moment and nodded to the man. “I’ll do my best.”
The old man jumped into the ATV and sat in his seat. “I guess that’s all I can ask for, then.” And he started up the engine on the four-wheeler and steered it away toward the rows of vineyard on the other side of the parking lot.
Once Darren had watched him fully leave, he turned around and walked straight to the bar and store area. The employee leading the tour pulled the guests toward the vineyards as she continued her spiel. Once the tour had passed him, Darren stepped onto the covered porch and headed into the wine store. He found Heath sitting at the bar with his half-eaten plate of salad pushed to the side while he wrote notes on the margin of a newspaper and looked up at the horse race playing on the television.
As the race finished, Heath cursed and set his pen on the paper, shoving it to the side and then pulling his salad back over. Darren walked up to him and sat on the stool next to the man. Heath glanced up and lifted a brow in surprise. “Detective?”
“Hello, Mr. Anderson. Enjoying your lunch?”
As if to punctuate his pleasure, he stuffed a forkful of lettuce and chicken into his mouth and then offered a half-smile and a nod.
“Well don’t let me stop you, but do you mind if I ask a few questions as you eat?”
Heath’s brows knit together. He finished chewing the bite in his mouth, swallowed, and asked, “Is this about Lizzy? I thought it was an open and shut case of suicide?”
Darren shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Where did you say you were the morning in question?”
He pushed the chicken Caesar salad he’d been eating to the side and leaned an elbow on the bar. “Napa. I was staying at a very quiet bed and breakfast there. I’m happy to give you the phone number if you want it.”
Darren nodded. “Sure, I’ll take it. And how long did you stay at the bed and breakfast?”
Heath looked up toward the ceiling, scratching his chin in thought. “Let’s see. I went up there on Saturday and had been there through the weekend for the wine convention. The convention ended Monday night, but I’d gone out with some friends I’d met at the con and decided to stay until Tuesday morning. I got the call from Lucian at about two and immediately came back. You were here when I got back, at whatever time that was… late afternoon.”
“Right.”
Heath’s cellphone, which had been sitting on the bar next to the newspaper, rang. The man’s body stiffened, and an unreadable expression twisted his featu
res for a moment as his facial muscles tensed. Slowly, the man turned and glanced at the lit screen on the front of his phone.
Darren peered over as well and saw it was a call from an unknown number.
Without answering, the man turned back to Darren. “Will that be all, detective?”
“You not going to answer that?”
That unreadable expression tensed in his face again. “I don’t appreciate spam, so I don’t answer if I don’t know the number.”
Sounded reasonable. Darren shifted gears a little. “Did you know that the walk-in cooler here at the restaurant was tricky to open from the inside?”
His eyes went a little wide. “No. I had no idea. I really don’t spend any time in the kitchen here.”
“But you allowed Felicity in to make a sandwich?”
“A sandwich is pretty simple, and the restaurant staff leaves the leftover fresh bread out for any of the team members who want to take it home or eat. It’s one of the perks that Lizzy had instituted.”
Darren nodded. “Do you have any pets?”
Heath lifted a brow. “That’s an unusual question. I don’t have any dogs or cats. Being around fur too long messes with my allergies. But I’ve had furless animals like fish in the past.”
The man’s phone stopped ringing, and his shoulders relaxed. Seemed like odd behavior for just avoiding a spam call. “Well, if you’ll give me the name and number of the bed and breakfast where you stayed for the weekend, that’ll be all.”
After a nod, Heath picked up his phone and pulled up the info on the place where he’d stayed in Napa. Darren plugged it into his phone, thanked the man, and got up from the bar. Before leaving, he decided to head into the bathroom and wash up. Not just because he needed to go, but also because it gave him one more opportunity to watch Heath before leaving entirely. On Darren’s way out of the bathroom and to the front door of the wine store, he strolled by the bar again and just watched the man from a distance. The salad plate now stood empty, pushed off to the side again while he made notes on the newspaper as he’d done before. His eyes darted back and forth between the television and the newspaper. It seemed a bit old fashioned that someone even looked at the newspaper anymore, much less made notes on it. Then Heath stopped what he was doing, picked up his phone, and thumbed in a long text message.
The behavior was odd, to say the least, but nothing about the man sent up warning signals in Darren’s mind. The man seemed to be honest enough to believe what he’d been telling Darren. No sweating, no nervous behavior except when he’d gotten the phone call from the unknown number. That bit was strange but didn’t point toward issues with Liz that Darren could see.
He shrugged and continued out the door to his sedan. The bright sun beat down on the vineyard from a cloudless, deep blue sky. Darren imagined the guests on the tour would be breaking a sweat from the direct sunlight even though the temperature was comfortable and there was a light breeze.
After sparing one last glance around at the property, Darren sighed. He just kept meeting dead end after dead end in this case. None of the pieces of the puzzle were fitting together easily. He guessed he’d have to just close the case after all, no matter that it made his gut feel queasy. Once he let out a deep breath, he ducked into his sedan. His cell rang. Unknown number. His mind flashed back to what Heath had said, and he half-expected the possibility of spam when he answered, “Hello, this is Detective Willis.”
“Detective, this is John Farmer from We Tow All. Animal control has taken the snake out of the SUV and searched the vehicle for more. We’ve given it a once over and found no issues with it except tires that are heading a little bit toward bald that we suggest the owner consider changing them soon.” The voice on the other line was slightly nasally and monotone.
A smile tugged at Darren’s lips. “Thank you. I’ll let the owner know that she can come get her truck.”
“Thank you, detective.”
When he’d hung up the phone, Darren dialed Felicity right away. There was no answer, but instead of leaving a message, Darren decided to text her since he was still sitting in the parking lot to let her know that her SUV was ready for pick up. He then sent her a second text, offering to give her a ride to the tow company, if she needed. He smiled down at his phone. She hadn’t yet answered his messages, but just the thought that she’d be looking at them sent butterflies dancing through his stomach. He started his engine and left the winery, heading to the hotel to work on the robbery case.
Chapter Twelve
Felicity’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Darren’s unmarked sedan pulling from the long driveway of the winery and out onto the main highway. She waved, but he didn’t see her. Because she was in Georgia’s car instead of her own, she understood that he may not have recognized her so easily, but it didn’t stop her stomach from dropping a little bit in disappointment.
Her heart stuttered the whole drive up to the winery and pounded harder when she pulled into a parking spot in the lot. A group of people were gathered on the covered porch area for a tasting. She frowned in disappointment. Staying outside of the building would be an impossibility. She picked up her phone and saw that she had both a missed call and two text messages from Darren.
Somehow, her ringer had been left off. She frowned and turned up the ringer on her phone and read the messages. Once finished, she shot a response over to Darren thanking him for the offer and asking what a good time would be for him to pick her up later in the afternoon. Then she called the lawyer back again.
“Hello?” his gruff voice asked on the other end of the line when he answered.
“Hi, Mr. Wright. I’m here at the winery. Where do you want me to meet you?”
“I’m in the main office. To get here, go past the wine store over to building directly behind it. It looks like a large, white, temporary trailer. It’s where Elizabeth put her office space temporarily while they were expanding the winery.”
Felicity took a deep breath. She considered asking if he could meet her at her car but thought better of it. No. The last thing she wanted to do was let fear take control of what she did or didn’t do. “Okay. I’ll meet you there in a moment.”
After hanging up the phone, she stepped out of the two-door coup and called Jay to hop over the seat and join her. She pulled the leather leash from her pocket and snapped it onto his collar. His tail wagged as he spied all the people on the covered porch. Felicity scratched him behind the ears and then commanded him to sit.
She made certain her doors were locked this time before closing the doors. Her heart fluttered in her chest. Fear. She did her best to swallow it down, steel her spine, and follow the path around to the back of the winery where Mr. Wright awaited her. At least there was no ATV around that she could see, and no sign of Mr. Page.
“Felicity!” a deep voice called to her, and she turned a bit to find Heath Anderson jogging toward her from the area of the wine store.
“Hello,” she called back, her hands fisting on the leash.
“I didn’t expect to see you again today. I’m glad you’re here though. Would you like to join one of the tours for a walk and tasting?”
She couldn’t help but scrunch her brow at the offer. “Thank you, but I’m not sure if I’ll have time. I’m only here to sign a few things for Mr. Wright, and then I’ll be heading right back out again.”
He nodded, a touch of disappointment as he pursed his lips, but that expression disappeared quickly, replaced with a smile. “If you haven’t had lunch yet, you can join me at the bar. You have to eat, right?”
“I suppose, but I’m in a bit of a hurry, so I don’t think I can even spare a moment for a sandwich.”
“Ahh. I’ll just have to spend another lonely meal on my own. If you change your mind, I’ll be in at the bar.” He waved and started back toward the wine store.
Felicity waved back and continued past several stacks of wine barrels and to the office at the end of the path she was walking. Once she let Jay lead
her up the steps to the office, she opened the door for them both. The white trailer had brown trim on the outside, and a handicap ramp as well as stairs to the main entrance. From what she’d seen, it was similar to the portable office they’d bring to construction sites, only this one looked like it had been in this location for quite a while.
Air conditioning blasted cool air her direction as she entered. The main desk was slightly to Felicity’s side, and Mr. Wright grinned up on her once she came in. “Lovely to see you, Miss Stilton.”
“Thank you. Nice to see you, as well.” She bowed her head slightly toward him and then sat in the chair across from him as he gestured.
“Your mother’s business has been pretty much handled. Virtually all of her assets are transferred directly to you. She has no other heirs or assigns. I believe that there are a few of the employees here who may be surprised at that turn of events, but I know that Elizabeth was an excellent businesswoman and wouldn’t make that decision lightly.” He handed her a pen and then turned a large bound checkbook her direction.
She peered at the green colored checks and saw that each one had notes to the side of them on a tab. Each check had been completely written out to the phone company, electric company, and other typical bills, as well as to the funeral home. A pinprick of sadness stabbed her in the heart as she looked at the last check. Tomorrow would be Liz’s funeral, and she’d be saying goodbye to the woman she’d always wanted to get to know but had never had the opportunity. The loss of what-could-have-been weighed heavily on her heart. Tears stung the backs of her eyes, but she swallowed them down, took the pen Mr. Wright had offered her, and began signing.
“Unless you have any major changes to make here at the winery, Mr. Page and Mr. Anderson can easily handle things as they have always been. I’m happy to continue as your representative here and call you whenever there is something that needs your attention. After everyone is paid and the books are balanced, you’ll receive a small check of income at the end of each month, but it will vary depending on the time of year and the amount the winery profits.”
