A Vintage Murder

by Michele Scott

  “What do you mean?” Nikki asked.

  “We have money, yes. But I want to be assured that Grace and Hannah—and in the future Hannah’s children—will be taken care of. The deal with Derek and Malveaux Winery assures me of that. Grace is not a businessperson, and Hannah does not want this winery. She wants to go into zoology and she should, although we would rather she didn’t because of the dangers. Her mother is against it, but I am trying to convince her to let Hannah follow the path she chooses. The friction between them is making the two of them miserable. With Derek overseeing the wines coming into the States, those sales will be the big profit maker and my family will never have a care in the world. It’s all I know to do.

  “Grace sees this movie as a competition between her and Elizabeth. It’s not. Elizabeth is my past, and I want her to be honored for the woman she was. I am not honoring her because she was my lover. That is what my wife does not understand.

  “I have so many regrets, but the biggest one is that I looked back so many times in my life at what I missed instead of looking at what I had. If only I could make Grace see that she is the love of my life now. Our marriage and our child were never a mistake.”

  Nikki smiled. “I think I know how you can help convince her you feel that way.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes.”

  Chapter 30

  At first Liam was hesitant about Nikki’s suggestion, but after some convincing, he believed it could work. Nikki’s problem was that in reality, either of the Hahndorf women could still be a killer. Hannah especially looked to be a good candidate, but at the same time, if Nikki discovered that to be true, it could cause great amounts of grief to an already dying man. Nikki did bring up the car accident and what Grace had said about Hannah lying to Liam. Liam’s answer satisfied her. It wasn’t the big deal Nikki thought it might have been. Hannah had originally told her parents that she’d been the one driving the car when the truth was that she had allowed Lucy to drive. Lucy had crashed the car, not Hannah.

  Regardless of whether or not Hannah or Grace were murderers, Nikki was still going to do what she’d suggested, as long as Nathan and Kane went for it. It involved one little tweak in the script. If the schedule remained unchanged, then the scene she wanted to alter would be shot the following morning.

  Nikki also pondered the remark that Sarah Fritz had made when she’d met her for the first time about Grace being the one behind the business. Liam had a completely different story. Nikki was starting to believe that Sarah Fritz’s opinion of Grace Hahndorf could be more of a personal nature than anything else. It was almost as if Grace had done something in the past to upset Sarah.

  After Liam left, Nikki headed to the set. Shawn approached her. “Ready to roll?”

  “I am.”

  “Good. I think it’s all going splendid and you and me . . . well, I think we have great chemistry. What do you think?”

  Nikki knew she was blushing. “Yeah, I do think we have good on-screen chemistry.”

  “Off screen, too.” He smiled and walked away.

  Shawn Keefer was flirting with her. Any woman in her right mind would be flattered by it, but it bugged her. The last thing she needed Marne thinking was that she saw Shawn on the side.

  The first scene of the shoot was with Sophie the kangaroo since they hadn’t gotten to it yesterday. Nathan appeared to be feeling much better and Nikki prayed she’d nail it because she didn’t want to go through another day of reprimands.

  Andy brought Sophie onto the set. It was a simple scene where all Nikki had to do was go in and feed her, exactly like she had done yesterday morning in the enclosure.

  “Okay, love, everything should go as planned. Got the treats ready?” Andy asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Good.”

  “Quiet on the set. And action!” yelled Nathan.

  And action it was. Nikki walked up to Sophie as they’d practiced, held out her hand to feed the animal, who sniffed the hand, took the treats, and then without warning threw a jab at her. Nikki ducked, weaved, and ran with the kangaroo bouncing around the cage after her, jabbing at her all the while.

  Andy opened up the cage. Nikki ran out and looked around at everyone who’d been watching and they were all in hysterics, including Simon. She looked back at Sophie inside the cage, who still had a look of “get your ass back in here so I can kick it” in her eyes. Nikki turned to Andy. “I thought you said she liked me!”

  He shrugged. “She’s a female, what can I say.” He was chuckling, too. “Guess she changed her mind.”

  “I loved that!” Nathan said. “We’re keeping it. It’ll add a nice comedic touch to the movie.”

  “Glad everyone else found it so funny that a kangaroo wanted to kick my ass,” Nikki said. But when she said it she couldn’t help but start laughing herself.

  Simon patted her on the back. “Nice going, Tyson.”

  “Thanks. I think.”

  After the bout with Sophie, the day passed quickly, with Shawn continuing to gently flirt. Nikki couldn’t tell if he was really coming on to her or if this was how he always behaved on the set when he became comfortable with his leading lady.

  After dark, Simon asked her what she wanted to do about dinner.

  “I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind going into town, but that’s not so easy with Marne Pickett hanging around. By the way, have you heard from Derek?”

  “Nope. Heard from Marco?”

  “No. I’d really like to check my e-mail. But I don’t have a computer.”

  “Why don’t you ask Nathan?” Simon suggested. “I know that he has a laptop in his monster home.”

  “Not a bad idea. Why don’t you start thinking about what we might conjure up for dinner?”

  “Oh I see, I’m the manservant now. Just because you can escape from a deranged kangaroo doesn’t mean you can boss me around.”

  She laughed. “I beg to differ. Go make me some dinner.”

  She walked over to Nathan’s RV and knocked. Nathan opened the door, a beer in his hand. Kane and Shawn were also inside. “Hey, guys?” she said. “What’s going on?”

  “Nikki. We were just having a beer, and thinking about heading into town for a bite to eat. You care to join us?” Nathan asked.

  “I don’t think so. That Marne Pickett might be lurking around.”

  “Oh, screw the bitch. We can handle her. Come on with us,” Shawn said.

  She was hungry and she knew Simon would be happy as a clam to go out to dinner with these guys. It might be too much for her, though. She still wasn’t sure about Shawn’s come-ons, and opening herself up to any more of them was probably not a great idea. “I’d really hate to run into Marne, and I was only coming by to see about checking my e-mail. It’s been a while and my aunt usually writes.” That’s all they needed to know.

  “Don’t worry about Marne. We won’t take no for an answer. Check your e-mail,” Kane said. “We’ll finish up in my trailer and be back in twenty minutes. You’re coming with us. We all need a break. God, I sure can’t wait until we get home.”

  “Are you kidding? I love this outback shit,” Shawn said. “Nothing like camping.”

  “This isn’t camping,” Nathan said. “Camping is with a tent and a can of beans, and you freeze your ass off. Kane, you have to be spending a fortune to style us all out.”

  Kane gulped his beer. “Now you know why I want to get this thing wrapped up. Hey, is Andy going with us? Where is that guy?”

  “I think he’s hanging out with the Hahndorf girl again.”

  “Sounds naughty,” Kane said.

  They laughed. Nikki studied them. Guys were just . . . guys, right? “Come on let’s give her some space,” Nathan said. “We’ll be back and then we’ll head out. Someone was saying there’s this place in town that has great food. My laptop is by the bed back there. Can you believe we’ve got Wi-Fi even out here.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be quick. Oh, can Simon come?” She’d go, but not w
ithout her pal.

  “Sure,” Kane said. “Good idea. He can be the bodyguard. That way we don’t have to call in one of those security dudes. He really does know Jiu-Jitsu, right?”

  “He . . . knows about a lot of things.”

  “Good. See you two soon.”

  Nathan’s computer was already on. She checked her e-mail. Nothing from Derek. And, sadly enough, nothing from Marco either. Aunt Cara had written wanting to know what was going on with her. She was in Greece exploring the ruins and would be traveling on to Italy later in the year. Ah, the life of a retiree. She was grateful that her aunt didn’t read the tabloids and that she hadn’t heard what Nikki was up to. She was sure she’d catch some grief from her. Aunt Cara had always wanted her to follow in her foot-steps and go into law enforcement. She sort of had, in her own amateur way.

  She prepared to shut down Nathan’s computer and bite the bullet by going out to dinner with the guys, but then noticed Nathan’s favorites. She knew it was wrong to look, but curiosity was not something that could be easily squashed. As she scanned the list of Nathan’s faves, she suddenly wished that she hadn’t. He had a folder for favorite actresses. No biggie, right? He was a director after all, so that made sense. What she found disturbing was all the files he had were on Lucy Swanson, like he was obsessed with her. So, maybe he just wanted to know all he could about her. After all, she’d been his star only a few days ago. But Nikki’s gut said there was more. She searched the files and came up with one that held poem after poem about Nathan Cooley’s love for and obsession with the young actress. She scanned as much as she could quickly because she knew they’d be back soon. What caught her eye was a line in the last poem he’d written—the day she died. It read: If I can’t have you in this life, I pray it will be in the next.

  A chill crawled down her spine. She reread the last line a few more times.

  “Nikki? You coming?”

  She immediately closed the file and spun around. Nathan Cooley stood in the doorway of the RV. “We’re waiting.”

  “Sure. Right now.” She forced a smile and couldn’t help wondering if she was walking out the door with a killer.

  Thank God she was seated in the back with Shawn and Simon. After reading what Nathan had written, she had no desire to sit next to him. Shawn was being attentive and told her again what a great job she was doing.

  “Isn’t she, though?” Simon asked. “The two of you are golden.”

  “Yes, I think we are,” Shawn replied.

  They pulled up in front of the restaurant. She reached for her door handle, but Shawn said, “No, no. I’ll get it.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Nikki replied, but too late. Shawn ran around the car and opened the door for her, reaching for her hand. She took it, and then something happened that caught her completely off guard for more reasons than one. Shawn put an arm around her and said, “I really do want you to know that I think you’re awesome.”

  Then he kissed her on the cheek, and as he did, a flash went off. Nikki, wide-eyed and in disbelief, turned to see Marne Pickett and her photographer in front of the restaurant. Shawn started ranting at the photographer and yelling at Marne to give them the film. The photographer fled; Marne laughed and sauntered away.

  Chapter 31

  “That was great,” Nikki muttered as a waiter brought over an expensive bottle of Bordeaux. “I’m sure she’ll run with that photo and make up all sorts of lies.” She glanced over at Simon, who’d been told to stand at the front door of the restaurant in case Marne or any other paparazzi vultures showed up. He didn’t look too pleased about it, and neither was she. She would have much preferred him at the table with her. She was tempted to tell them the only kind of protection Simon could possibly offer would be to bitch slap someone, so that his bodyguard image would be blown to bits and she would have a pal at her side, but she refrained.

  Kane waved a hand at her. “Nikki, that’s show business. That’s what those maggots do. They cause all sorts of grief for actors. It’s the price you pay. What you have to do is learn to ignore it.”

  “Ignore Marne Pickett? Please. And how do I do that?”

  “He’s right, love,” Shawn said.

  Love? Oh no, no, no. What was the deal here? First all the compliments, the comment about the chemistry between them, and now he was calling her “love.” No one else seemed the least bit concerned that the paparazzi were following them around. “I’m involved with someone.” Maybe not any longer, but these guys didn’t need to know that, and if Marne Pickett twisted that photograph in her deranged mind, Nikki knew that she and Derek would have no chance in hell of ever working anything out.

  “Derek Malveaux? Is he your guy? I thought you just worked for him,” Nathan said.

  Oh boy. Shawn had picked up on the fact they were seeing each other. He’d suggested she visualize Derek in her mind prior to doing the romantic scene yesterday. How had Nathan not noticed? “It’s kind of a new thing. Yes, we do work together, but we are . . . dating.”

  “Cool. Where is he?” Kane asked. “Haven’t seen him around for a couple of days? Did he head back to the States?”

  She took a sip of wine and tried to keep her hand from shaking. She didn’t know if she was trembling out of anger, fear, or from being put on the spot. “He’s actually in western Australia checking out some business opportunities. We’ve started distributing international wines in the States and labeling them with the Malveaux name. I was supposed to go with him to check out some of the wineries, but the movie came up.”

  Kane nodded. “Good. I’m sure Derek will understand that whatever Marne Pickett chooses to write is a crock. What are you afraid of anyway? All they got was a picture of Shawn with his arm around you. It’s not a big deal.”

  “No. He kissed me, too.”

  “Oh God, come on, on the cheek.”

  “Come on? You all know how a photo like that can be misconstrued. The next thing you know we’ll be linked as lovers.” She looked at Shawn, who smiled. “Doesn’t that bother you?”

  He shrugged. “I’m used to it. In one flick I did, I was supposedly having an affair with Julia Roberts and her husband was leaving her, which was absurd. We all had a good laugh over it. Look, you’re going to have to lighten up and roll with it. Like Kane said, these people are maggots and they make up all sorts of stuff. I can tell you one thing: publicity of us being lovers before the release of the movie isn’t a bad thing. It gets people into the theater.”

  “It’s a bad thing when you’re in a relationship. That’s why people break up all the time in Hollywood,” Nikki replied.

  “You’ve read one too many of those magazines,” Kane said. “Now come on, it’ll work out. Let’s order.”

  Nikki wasn’t sure that any of this was going to work out, but she could see that none of these guys were on the same wavelength as her, so she ordered her dinner and tried to get comfortable with them.

  They made small talk about the movie industry before dinner came, and Nikki had herself two full glasses of wine. She was completely out of her element and knew she shouldn’t be drinking, but it was helping her get through the meal, which was actually delicious. She’d noticed that Shawn was going through quite a bit of wine himself.

  Halfway through the meal, with either enough liquid courage or stupidity flowing through her, she turned to Kane. “So what’s your story? How did you get into this business?”

  “It’s not interesting. Shawn’s story is better than mine.”

  Shawn shook his head. “Go on, tell her. Your story is interesting. What you probably don’t know is that Kane started out as a filmmaker, producer, director, writer, even an actor. Man, you did it all. You are the man.”

  “I didn’t know that you did all that,” Nikki said.

  “Yeah, documentaries were your thing, right?” Nathan asked.

  Kane nodded. “I was into that for a while, but then I met Shawn and saw a star. That was my ex-wife’s gig—the documentaries—so she sta
yed with it, and I went in another direction. Not a lot of money in documentaries. I wanted to produce big-time action films and mega movies. Shawn and I hooked up and we’ve done that.”

  Shawn nodded, but wasn’t as enthusiastic about Kane’s story. “That we have. Lots of movies together.” He smacked Kane hard on his back. “I do whatever Kane needs. I am his superstar, aren’t I? Love those movies.”

  “Don’t you like making the big films?” Nikki asked.

  “Oh I love it, love. Didn’t I just say so?” He looked at Kane.

  “It’s getting late,” Kane said. “What do you say we all head out?”

  “I wouldn’t mind another drink. I think Nikki and I should talk some more,” Shawn said. “I get the feeling she could really understand me. Wouldn’t that be a good thing, Kane?”

  “Not tonight. I think we should get back. You ready Nathan?”

  Nathan nodded and looked as bewildered as Nikki felt. They paid the bill and headed out. It was a quiet drive home and Nikki was relieved to get back into the RV with Simon, who was not pleased with her.

  “Real nice. Thanks a lot, Snow White,” Simon ranted once they got back inside.

  She held out the doggie bag. “I got you food to go.”

  He snatched it from her. “Food to go. Woo-hoo. You’re all tight and cozy with your movie-making friends, and what am I now, chopped liver? Having to stand at the door. Jeesh.”

  “‘Jeesh’ yourself. Get over it. You were the one who said you could go all Rambo on people. Kane assured me that Marne Pickett wouldn’t be lurking, but she obviously was, and so you had to do your job. Remember, you were the guy who claimed to be my bodyguard.” He started to say something. “Uh-uh, I would seriously think before I opened my mouth with one of your smart-ass comebacks. I want you to keep in mind that the reason you had to stand at the door tonight is because of choices you made. Not me.”