“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,” Kelly said.
“It was nothing,” Josie said.
She was quiet for several moments and then she said, “Angela was a friend of mine. Actually, she was my closest friend. We shared a love of wine and everything about it. She was a wonderful person, and I’m going to miss her so much.” She started to cry again.
“You don’t think she accidentally fell into the wine vat, do you?” Kelly asked. “Maybe she was distracted by something or slipped.”
“No, I don’t think she accidentally fell in,” Josie said in a very firm voice. “As I said, Angela was extremely careful about everything having to do with wine. That’s why Foxie was tied up. She wouldn’t let her into the vat barn when she took her nightly sip, because she didn’t want any dog hair to get in the wine. No, there is no way Angela just fell into the vat.”
“Were there any signs of trauma on her body?”
“None,” Josie said.
“Do you think foul play may have been involved in her death?” Kelly asked, her eyes narrowing.
Josie spoke without hesitation. “I shouldn’t say this, but I think someone wanted her dead. I think she was pushed into the vat.”
“Good grief. What a horrible way to go. I’m sure there are some people who are anti-alcohol who would feel it was a fitting end for a winemaker, but that seems pretty extreme. If she was pushed into the wine vat, who do you think could have done it? Did she have any enemies?”
Josie stroked Foxie while she contemplated Kelly’s question. The little dog began to yelp and struggled to break out of her grasp.
“I’m not in law enforcement, Josie, although as you may remember, my husband is,” Kelly began to explain. “I’ve found myself involved in a number of murder investigations, and maybe I can be of help. My husband always says that nothing is too small to be overlooked. Actually, I’m kind of at loose ends for the next couple of days. Perhaps we could be of help if Angela’s death was not an accident, as you seem to think.”
Josie loosened her grip on Foxie, who wriggled away and onto the floor where she sniffed around Kelly’s feet. “Table that for a minute,” Josie said, standing up, and for the first time since Kelly had arrived, her face relaxed. “I need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
CHAPTER 14
A few moments later Josie returned from the restroom. Her face still had several drops of water on it, and she’d applied some lipstick, evidence that she’d tried to wash her face and achieve some semblance of control.
“Somehow washing my face with cold water always makes me feel better,” Josie said.
Kelly noted she appeared more composed, although there was still an air of sadness around her. “Yes, I’ve always said that once I have my morning shower, I can take on about anything. Anyway, before you left, I asked you if Angela had any enemies.”
“I wouldn’t say she had any commonly known enemies, but Angela was well known in the valley for her winemaking abilities. You can’t be the brains behind the best wine in the valley and not make some enemies.”
“Anyone come to mind?” Kelly asked.
Josie thought for a moment. “I never have been a big fan of Matteo, Angela’s husband, and she confided in me once that he had a bad temper and was very jealous that his wife was the number one winemaker in the valley. He said it was an embarrassment for an Italian man to have a wife who was better than he was.”
“Does that possibly translate into a reason for murdering her?”
Josie shrugged. “Who knows? What I do find interesting is there is now a vacancy at the Moretti Winery for an experienced winemaker, and who better to fill the job than another winemaker who knows the grapes, the vineyards, and the operation? Kelly, that is sheer speculation, and I have nothing to base it on.”
“All right, let’s just say he could be a person of interest. Any others you can think of?”
Josie tipped her head to the side, and rolled a pen on her desk with her index finger. Foxie scampered back up onto her knee. “The wine industry here in the valley is pretty close, and it’s often a rumor mill. I’ve heard it said several times that Carlos Romano of the Romano Winery, he’s the one Matteo works for, was very jealous of the Moretti’s success. From what I hear, he wants to be number one in the making of premium wines.”
“So, since Matteo is working for him, Matteo could stay with him and make premium wines if another winemaker was hired by the Moretti Winery, or he could become the winemaker at the Moretti Winery. Interesting. Either way, it looks like he’s going to have to make some decisions,” Kelly said.
“Well, I hope that his decisions don’t include Carlos Romano’s niece, Alessandra. She’s visiting her uncle for a year to learn about American winemaking, which would be fine, except gossip has it that she’d like to have more than a professional relationship with Matteo, and she’s very beautiful.”
Kelly’s eyes narrowed. “Did Angela know about that? Maybe her death was the result of a crime of passion, say an argument between her and Matteo. Maybe she accused him of having an affair with the woman, although having an argument on the steps leading up to a wine vat is a bit of a stretch, I admit.”
“I don’t think Angela had heard about Alessandra. If she had, she never mentioned it to me. I don’t know if Angela had ever seen her, but if she had, I would have thought she would have said something to me, because Alessandra could strike fear in the heart of any woman.” Josie almost smiled for the first time that day.
“Why is that?”
“Let’s put it this way. If Mike saw a gorgeous Italian woman with a lush body and she obviously had a thing for him, wouldn’t that cause you some sleepless nights?”
“No question, and I hope he never sees her.”
“My point exactly, but I agree with you. An argument on the steps leading up to the wine vat just wouldn’t happen with two people in the wine industry. Wine is considered pretty sacred, and something like that would be beyond the scope of feasibility.”
“Okay, given what you’ve told me, I think we could add both Carlos and his niece to the suspect list.”
“I suppose. There’s someone else who was jealous of Angela from what I’ve heard. Jim told me once that Signora Moretti had made some adverse comments about Angela.”
“Really? That surprises me considering Angela was responsible for the superb wine produced here.”
“From what I recall, it had nothing to do with wine,” Josie went on. “Evidently Signor Moretti had a marital lapse many years ago, and Signora Moretti is a very jealous woman. Her comments to Jim were more about the fact her husband had to work with a woman as attractive as Angela. I guess she didn’t like their close working relationship, but I never observed it being anything other than a professional relationship.”
“Well, I suppose that’s one more person to add to my list.” Kelly tapped some notes into her cell phone. “Funny how you never think about these things until something like this happens. Anyone else?”
Josie appeared to be deep in thought for several long moments and then said, “There’s an intern that was helping Angela. She’s from the University of California at Davis. They have a very good wine program there, and one of the requirements is that their students who are working on their masters’ degrees must intern at a winery for a one quarter during the school year. Caitlin Sanders is the name of the young woman who had been working as an intern for Angela.”
“Why would she be a possible suspect?” Kelly asked, looking up from the screen on her phone.
“Only because I hear that she’s very, very ambitious. She comes from a wealthy family and from what Angela told me, she’s very intelligent, but feels that once she gets her master’s degree, she should be able to get a job as a winemaker with any winery she decides she wants to work for. It makes sense to think that she’d want to work for the winery that produces the best wines in the valley, particularly after she’s interned there. I think it’s called ‘a sens
e of entitlement.’”
“Well, that’s a lot of food for thought.” Kelly swiped her phone to off. “I’ll run this by my husband and see what he thinks.”
“I almost forgot to tell you, Kelly. The detective from the sheriff’s office asked for the names of all the people who had been at the winery in the last month, and of course I gave him all of your names. I imagine he’ll be in touch with you.”
“Not a problem. Knowing my husband, he’ll probably beat the sheriff’s office to the punch and offer his services,” Kelly said with a rueful smile. “Oh, and the reason my daughter isn’t here to pick up the information about the wine is one of her children developed a high fever, so they went home to Calico Gold early this morning. She asked if I’d get it from you, but given everything that’s happened, if you don’t have it, don’t worry about it.”
Josie looked around the room. “Actually, I do have it somewhere. I got it yesterday after you left. I also have the cheese information for you. Let me get it,” she said as she stood up and walked around her desk. “Here it is,” she said as she reached down and picked up two manila folders that were on a side table. “I hope she can use it. She can mail it back to me whenever she’s finished with it. I’m in no hurry.”
Josie passed the folders over to Kelly. “Kelly, I’d love to talk to you longer, but I need to call the people who have scheduled wine tours for this week and cancel them per the sheriff’s request. He doesn’t want any new people on the premises for a couple of days. He said something about he thought it could muddy up things.”
“I understand,” Kelly said, rising to her feet. “Josie, one more question. What will happen to the wine in the vats? Isn’t this kind of a critical time in the winemaking process?’
Josie’s face turned somber once more. “Yes, Signor Moretti will need to make several decisions within a day or so. The wine that was in the vat where Angela was found will be destroyed, which is a huge loss to a small winery like this, but of course, there is no other option.”
“Yes, I can see where that would have to be done.” Kelly said as she walked towards the door, followed by Josie and Foxie. “Again, thanks for putting together the information for Julia and me, as well as for our conversation. If I can do anything to help you, please feel free to call me. You know where I’ll be for the next two days.” She touched Josie’s arm. The petite blond’s vulnerability touched her.
“Thanks for lending an ear, Kelly. I feel much better, but I think grief is beginning to settle in. Angela was a very dear friend, and I’m going to miss her more than you can imagine.”
There was a knock on the door and Josie said, “Come in.”
An attractive young woman walked in and said breathlessly, “Josie, what’s happened. I drove into the parking lot, and there’s yellow tape all over the place along with men and dogs. What’s going on?”
“Caitlin, you better sit down. I have some terrible news. Angela died yesterday evening. Actually, the sheriff is treating it as a possible murder investigation.”
The young woman stepped back, a stunned look on her face. “How can that be? She was fine yesterday when I was here. What happened?”
With Caitlin perched on the edge of the chair Kelly had just been sitting in, Josie told her everything she knew. While Caitlin was listening, Kelly was observing her from her vantage point in the doorway and noticed a strange look on her face. Kelly couldn’t tell exactly what emotion she was experiencing, but it looked like something other than grief. It struck her as fear perhaps, or remorse.
“Oh, no. What a tragedy for the Moretti Winery,” Caitlin exclaimed. “What will happen now?”
“I have no idea. Naturally, Signor Moretti was notified last night, but what he intends to do, I have no idea. I don’t think there’s anything for you to do this morning, so there’s no reason for you to stay here. As far as the remainder of your time as an intern here, I just don’t know right now.”
Caitlin straightened up. “Well, of course things will have to be done to get the wine in the barrels and begin their aging. I’ll come back tomorrow and see how I can help. I’m sure there are things that need to be done, and as you know, I’ve learned a lot from Angela. See you tomorrow,” she said as she walked out of the room.
“Who was that?” Kelly asked. “She was quite something, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
“That’s Caitlin Sanders. Sorry I didn’t introduce you, but the conversation kind of got away from me. She’s the intern I was telling you about from UC Davis. She’s quite intelligent and someday will probably make a very good winemaker, but right now I think her elbows are a little too sharp for her age.”
“What do you mean by that?” Kelly asked.
“Angela told me once that Caitlin felt she should be able to walk into any vineyard in the valley and immediately become their winemaker because of her brains and her educational studies. What she doesn’t understood is that learning about the nuances of winemaking can’t just come from a book. It must be experienced. She still has that to learn.”
Kelly nodded sagely, noting that the clock on the wall indicated she’d been in Josie’s office well over an hour. “Again, thanks for talking to me. I imagine my husband is getting close to finishing his golf game, so I better go. I’ll be in touch,” she said as she turned to leave.
Kelly walked out of Josie’s office and over to where her car was parked, shuddering as she once again noticed the yellow tape surrounding the wine vat barn.
I wonder if Caitlin’s ambitions had something to do with Angela’s death. Stranger things have happened.
CHAPTER 15
Kelly had just pulled into the bed and breakfast parking lot when her phone rang, and she could see from the name on the monitor that it was Mike.
Smiling, she took the call, leaving the engine running. “Well, Arnie, how did you do? Ready to be picked up?”
“I’ve had an amazing morning, Kelly. I actually shot the best golf game of my life. I can’t believe it, and I even had two other men to play with. Best thing is, I even impressed them.”
Kelly pictured Mike’s beaming face. “You sound pretty pleased with yourself. Maybe it was the course. The Cedar Bay Public Golf Course probably doesn’t hold a candle to the Sonoma Golf Club course.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. After that phenomenal game, I’m starving. Let’s have lunch after you pick me up.”
“You’re on.” Kelly said as she put the car in drive. “Julia told me about a place on the square that she read had excellent lunches, and Sheriff, I’ve got a lot to tell you.”
“Whenever you use that word it concerns me. Should I be concerned?” he asked.
“Not about thee, me, or any of our loved ones, but let’s just say I’ve had a very interesting morning. See you in a few minutes.”
“I’ll be standing at the curb waiting with breathless anticipation to see what the latest thing is you’ve gotten us involved in,” he said laughing, “and Kelly, it kind of boggles the mind to think we’ve been in this town for less than twenty-four hours, and you’ve already found something that I know will probably need my professional expertise.”
“You got that right, love,” she said before she hung up.
True to his word Mike was standing on the curb with a silly grin on his face. He stuck his thumb out when the car approached. As Kelly pulled to a stop, he opened the passenger door, then leaned over and gave her a kiss.
“What was that for?” she asked. “Mmmm. Maybe I should pick up hitchhikers more often.”
“Let’s just say you’re the beneficiary of my fantastic morning.” Mike said as he clicked his seat belt and then reached over and patted Kelly on the leg.
“Wow, you weren’t kidding. You must have really shot a good game.” Kelly put the car in gear and headed in the direction of the town square.
“It was better than that. The two men from Kansas I was playing with asked if I had been a pro when I’d been younger,” he said, still grinni
ng.
“And I assume you told them you had, but in your dotage you had a bucket list which included visiting the finest golf courses in the United States,” she said, grinning back at him.
“Close, as the saying goes, but no cigar. I told them my bucket list included the best golf courses in the entire world, and I had just started to cross off the items after an early retirement.”
“Mike, you didn’t,” she said as she took her eyes off the road to look at him and see if he was kidding.
“Kelly, watch the road.” Mike leaned over and straightened the steering wheel. “No, I didn’t say that, but it did cross my mind. I simply fessed up and told them the truth, that it was the best game I’d ever shot, and I have no idea why.”
“Well, you could have crossed your fingers behind your back and told a little white lie. I used to do that, but I don’t anymore.”
“I know, Kelly, and believe me when I say I’m glad you decided to quit that dicey game of truth or dare.”
“You knew I was doing that?” she asked incredulously, once again looking at him.
“The road, Kelly, eyes on the road. Yes, I knew, but I thought in the interests of a good marriage, it was best left unsaid.”
She was quiet for a few moments and then said, “That was probably a wise decision.”
“When do I get to hear about your morning?” he asked.
“When we’re seated at the restaurant. It’s right over there, and it even has an empty parking space in front of it. Must be our lucky day,” she said as she parked in the space.
The hostess seated them and handed them menus. “In addition to what you see on the menu, the chef has created his signature muffin meat loaf as well as a dessert he serves every September. He calls it Gold Star Mother’s Day Dessert. It’s a red, white, and blue sweetened cream layered fruit sundae. People ask for it all year long, but he only serves it in September.”
Murdered By Wine: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 13) Page 6
