A Vintage Murder

by Michele Scott

  He stared at her and then peered into the bag. “You should be somebody’s mother,” he mumbled. He took out the foam box from the bag and opened up his steak dinner.

  Nikki left to put her pajamas on. When she returned, Simon had poured them both a glass of port. “Sorry,” he said. “I guess I was a little jealous is all.”

  “It’s okay. I’m sorry you couldn’t have joined us. Trust me, I would have rather had you at the table. There were some strange dynamics going on between Kane and Shawn.”

  “What do you mean?” Simon asked.

  “I don’t know. It was almost like an undercurrent of dislike from Shawn toward Kane—something I had not picked up until tonight. Granted Shawn had quite a bit to drink, and so did I, so I appreciate the after dinner drink here, but I think I’ll have a glass of water instead.”

  “Suit yourself, Snow White. I didn’t get to party like a rock star.”

  She shook a finger at him. “Don’t start that again.”

  “You know that a lot of times when people drink, real feelings come out. Maybe there is a problem between Shawn and Kane. I could try to talk to Shawn about it.”

  “Mind your own business.”

  “Look who’s talking,” Simon replied.

  “I know, you’re right. Hey I have to watch the rest of those documentaries on Elizabeth. Care to join me?”

  He shrugged. “Why not. I’m all about KPBS and National Geographic.”

  They settled back into the bed and first watched one on koalas, kangaroos, and other marsupials. Again, all Nikki learned from it was that Elizabeth was as decent as everyone suggested. The production credits went to the Ferrisses. Nothing new. She’d watched part of the shark documentary the night before, so she decided to pop in the other one. She looked over at Simon, who was starting to fade. “You should go to bed,” she suggested.

  “No, no. I’m good.”

  She didn’t have the heart to make him leave. She started the movie, which to her horror was about reptiles. A young Andy Burrow was there, smiling and assisting Elizabeth, who handled all of the reptiles, from poisonous snakes to crocodiles to some kind of poisonous lizard. And then, something happened that made her pause the DVD, reverse it a few frames, then play it in slow motion.

  Elizabeth had a snake in her hands—a brown snake—and then she handed it off to another woman. Nikki looked closely and replayed it again, then again. That woman . . . yes, she recognized her. She was younger and much thinner, but it was her, same scar on her face and same red hair—it was Sarah Fritz.

  Chapter 32

  The following morning there was a quick meeting with regard to the change to the script that Liam was suggesting. Nikki did not want Kane or Nathan to know that she was the one who had initiated it. The day before, she’d thought there was a good chance that one of the Hahndorf women had killed Lucy, and she hadn’t ruled them out completely, but now there was a strong possibility that Nathan Cooley had actually been the killer, considering the poems and letters he’d written to Lucy. That reminded her of the crumpled up note she’d found in Lucy’s jacket the other day. And what about Kane Ferriss and Shawn Keefer? And now, Sarah Fritz.

  What she did know about Sarah was that she didn’t have any affection toward Grace Hahndorf. She had no problem talking trash about Grace, and Nikki knew she’d been involved in that documentary with Elizabeth and Liam. The woman knew how to handle snakes. But what could be her motive for killing Lucy? That was one Nikki had not been able to figure out yet. She had to go back to the Fritz Winery again and speak with Sarah. There was no other way around it. She wondered if she could get Simon to tag along again.

  First she would have to endure the day of shooting and then she would figure out how she could go and see Sarah.

  Both the producer and director agreed with Liam’s script change. They shot one scene prior to it. Nikki saw that Liam had brought Grace down to the set. She hoped the revised scene would work to convince Grace that her husband truly loved her and had not pushed for the movie to be made because he was still devoted to Elizabeth.

  Elizabeth is sitting on the porch of the farmhouse, her head resting on her arms. James drives up, and she immediately stands and starts screaming at him to leave. She never wants to see him again. He comes toward her and she is still yelling at him. He begs her to listen. She takes a step back and squares her jaw. “What is it that you have to say?”

  “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. We both know that it can’t work between us. It never could. You don’t love me, at least not the way I need to be loved. Your love is for your animals. For the wild. There isn’t enough left for me, and I didn’t mean for it to happen between me and Gail.” He wipes the sweat from his brow.

  James continues: “But it did happen, and she loves me and I love her. I really do. It’s best this way.”

  “You’re right. It is,” Elizabeth says. “The animals are what is important and I can’t ever be a wife, James. Not ever. Go to her. Be with her, because that is where you belong.”

  James gets back into his car and Elizabeth stands on the porch with tears in her eyes.

  “Cut! That was wonderful,” Nathan said.

  Nikki glanced at Liam and Grace. At first she couldn’t read Grace’s expression. Her face was pale and she stood there, not reacting for about a minute. Liam was watching her, too. No one else noticed because they hadn’t realized what the two of them had done. Then Grace looked up at Liam and Nikki could see the tears. She put her arms around her husband and leaned into his chest. Liam stroked the top of her head. A minute later, Liam took his wife by the hand and they walked off the set. Nikki brushed her own tears away.

  “Nikki, are you all right?” It was Shawn.

  “Yes. Feeling kind of, I don’t know . . .”

  “Off? Too much wine from last night. I know I had too much.”

  “I think I’m having a hard time blending real life here into a movie.” The scene she’d witnessed between Liam and Grace was exactly what she’d hoped for, but it also made her realize that what she was doing by making this movie had so many implications. These were people’s lives, and all of it hit her at once, especially thinking about Liam dying. “You guys make movies. You pretend. And I don’t know if I can keep doing this.”

  He put an arm around her. “Of course you can do it. I understand that the lines can get a little blurred, but you have to be a professional. You have to learn to go into character and out of character. When you’re out, you do real life. This is only a job.”

  “Is that all it is?”

  He nodded. “It is.”

  “Do you like what you do?”

  “Sometimes I’m not sure, but I’m a professional, so I do it. I get it done. Now, what do you say we get back to work?”

  “I would say that’s being professional.”

  “Good.”

  The rest of the day wasn’t as eventful as the morning, though they had to do a lot of reshooting because Nikki was not on her game.

  Finally the day ended, and Nikki was back in the RV sans Simon, who had gone into town—oddly enough—in Harv’s car. Harv had invited him. Simon was bored and Harv was hot, even though he was a jerk. And of course, in Simon’s book Harv was gay. Nikki was sure he was at least right about that.

  As tired as she was, both emotionally and physically, Nikki still wanted to talk to Sarah Fritz. She really wanted a buddy to go with, but she knew everyone was probably off having dinner or doing their own thing.

  She did need to stop in at the wardrobe trailer and see about a larger size pair of pants. Harv had given her a size too small for tomorrow’s shoot, and even if she starved herself for a night and morning, it wasn’t going to matter. Plus, although she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Marne Pickett around, she thought maybe it best to get a wig or hat or something, just in case. Without Simon to pull his bodyguard act, she might want to go as incognito as possible.

  She hunted through her own wardrobe. There was a beanie—the one that
her character Elizabeth wore. That would help. Throw on a pair of jeans and a big sweatshirt. No. She couldn’t look like a bum. Maybe Amy’s trailer, since she had to return the pants anyway. Yeah. If she could somehow get into wardrobe she might find something.

  The sun had started to go down. She wrapped her coat around her. The nights were definitely getting colder. She knew that Napa Valley would be feeling plenty of heat these days as early summer set in there. Just thinking about her stomping grounds made her want to go home. As beautiful as it was in the Barossa, and as kind as the people were—most of them—she wanted to get back to the real world. Her real world.

  She smelled a campfire and saw some of the crew pouring wine and warming themselves by the fire. She reached the wardrobe trailer and knocked. No answer. She pulled the handle, thankfully found the door unlocked, and went in. She had her purse, which lucky for her was the size of a diaper bag. She put the pants back and got the new size.

  Nikki knew that Amy kept the wigs and hats in a large trunk. She found it, lifted the top, and peered in. There was the perfect wig. Nothing outlandish, a simple black bob. With the beanie over it, she thought she could pull this off. She noticed Harv’s leather bag next to the trunk.

  Nikki knew it was wrong, but she’d been curious to see what he’d shoved into his bag the other morning when he and Amy were having coffee in the snack room. She opened it up and found a first-aid kit. Inside it, in addition to the usual stuff, were syringes and vials of antivenom. Antivenom? These two had their own antivenom case? Maybe it was for nothing more than being prepared after Lucy had been killed; still, it made Nikki wonder.

  She put it all back in the trunk and shoved the wig into her purse. Then, she heard the door to the trailer open. Great. She hid behind one of the racks as Amy laughed and then shushed someone.

  “Quiet. Come on, maybe we can play dress up.”

  Who was she with?

  “You’re a bad girl. I never would have guessed.”

  It was Kane’s voice!

  “Oh, you must have known by the e-mails. You didn’t think I agreed to help you with your little charade for nothing, did you?” Amy asked.

  Charade?

  “Honey, it’s not a charade. It’s business, and it’s going to work out perfectly for everyone. You included. You get that little extra we agreed on, and I think—for a little while anyway—you can have me.”

  Oh gross. Nikki had to get out of there. How was it she always wound up in these situations? It was like they fell right into her freaking lap, and as curious as she was about the charade they were talking about, and the money Amy was getting, she would have preferred to be far away from there. God, she didn’t even think Kane knew Amy existed. When had all this come about? Now they were rendezvousing in the wardrobe trailer. Ick.

  “I think you’ll be happy about the information I passed on today. By the time we get home, Nikki and Shawn will be on the front page of every tabloid and they’ll be all the rage.”

  Wait! What the . . .

  “Good,” he said.

  “I told Marne about how Nikki didn’t like the outfit we’d picked out for her and how Shawn was so nice to her and talked her into coming back on the set, and once she was out there the chemistry between them was hot,” Amy said. “Red hot. Oh, and how about the Martian angle Marne put in?”

  “Did you have anything to do with that?”

  “Of course. I told her that Nikki was snooping about Lucy, and then Marne thought up the perfect story.”

  “Do you think she found the note you put in Lucy’s jacket?”

  “Totally. She’s a busybody, that one. It’s good, because the more nutty we can make her look, the better the publicity. The public loves nut jobs.”

  “Publicity is everything. Right now, I have to turn the negatives into positives. Since Marne thinks Nikki is such a diva, that’s what you keep giving her, and Shawn will be the lion tamer, making their love the source that tempers her rage. Kind of a Brangelina thing. Looks like it won’t be too hard to get rid of the wine guy. He’s not even around. I’ll get Shawn to sweep Nikki off her feet. He can end it after the movie premieres, but for now I need to make this movie a hit. I can’t let Lucy’s death overshadow this production. I’ve also been thinking more about having Nikki do the TV series—the wine and mystery thing. I think I can hook her. With her live sleuthing it makes a great publicity campaign. I’m working on Shawn. He’s being a bit belligerent about going along this time. He’s started flirting, but it’s not enough. He actually likes her, and that’s causing him some type of moral dilemma. I need to sit him down and have a long talk with him.”

  “I’m sure he’ll come around.”

  Nikki could not believe what she was hearing. Part of her wanted to step out from behind the clothing racks and pull an Angelina Jolie à la Mrs. Smith on them both, but she was riveted by what they were saying. Also, her sixth sense told her that keeping mum behind the clothes would serve her well in the long run. Marne Pickett was bad enough. But the betrayal by Kane Ferriss . . . !

  “I can’t say that I miss Lucy,” Amy said. “Sure, it was a shame that she died, but Nikki is easier to work with.”

  Gee thanks, a kind word.

  “I agree. She may turn out to be exactly what this movie needed. She’ll bring us the kind of publicity that gets people talking, and once people start talking, they’ll have to go and see the movie—especially if the stars are creating a stir in their private lives.”

  “Don’t you kind of feel bad for Nikki, though?” Amy asked. “I’m sure she didn’t know what she was getting into.”

  “Bad? Hell no. In the long run, she’ll probably thank me. She’s not the kind of person who will snap under this pressure. She’s got a good head on her shoulders. I’m going to make her a star, like I did Shawn, and who knows, maybe those two will find a happy ending. God knows I’ve been trying to get Shawn to settle down for some time now. After the Fiona fiasco and all the cash she got out of us. I think Nikki will be different. But, I’m going to continue needing your help on this.”

  “You got it.”

  “Just keep feeding Marne the tidbits. I’ll work on Shawn. I would say work on Nikki’s pal Simon, but he’s in love with Shawn and he’s the wine guy’s brother. We have to get him off the set because the sooner Nikki breaks her Napa Valley ties, the better off we’ll all be.”

  “I’m already on it,” Amy said. “Or at least Harv is. Simon doesn’t only have eyes for Shawn. He likes my assistant, too, and Harv is a heartbreaker—love ’em and leave ’em. They are out and about tonight at my suggestion. Harv had been nasty to the poor guy, and I told him that it would be in our best interest to make nice. So he is.”

  “Should we seal the deal with a kiss?” Kane asked.

  “Sure.”

  Nikki covered her ears.

  “Maybe we should go someplace a little more comfortable,” Kane said.

  “You mean somewhere with a bed?” Amy asked.

  “You said it.”

  Nikki waited until they left the trailer before letting out a breath. Then, she smiled. So Kane wanted a diva, huh? Fine. Because that was exactly what he was about to get.

  Chapter 33

  Nikki put on the wig, the beanie, and a big jacket. She took two beers out of the fridge in the wardrobe trailer, then snuck back to the car. A few minutes later she pulled up to the security station. Will looked at her oddly. She handed him the two beers.

  “Hey, Will.”

  “Nikki? Is that you? What are you doing?”

  “I am going crazy. I have to get out of here.”

  “You’re supposed to be with your bodyguard.”

  “He’s busy.”

  “Oh, I dunno then. I could get in some trouble. Kane would not be too happy.”

  “I know. But I only want to go for a drive. And I brought you some beers.” She handed them to him.

  He took a quick glance around. “Fine, but I’m off in an hour and if you ar
en’t back, I don’t know what to tell you.”

  “Thanks. You’re a champ.” She turned out onto the road, looking in her rearview mirror several times. The paparazzi must have given up for the time being. They were being handed a B.S. story regularly from an on-the-set source—Amy, the wardrobe queen. Ooh. That bitch.

  She would get even later. Rest assured. For now she headed toward the Fritz Winery, which she hoped was still open. She thought about the other day, when she and Derek had driven to the winery. Thinking about him both upset her and made her smile. She missed him. Was he missing her? Would they—could they—work this out? She also thought about Simon calling Sarah Fritz a liar. Simon had never been known for having any kind of intuition that she was aware of. But he had not liked Sarah. Not at all.

  Ten minutes later she pulled onto the Fritz property. The winery did look closed, but she saw a light on in the house, a few hundred feet up a dirt driveway. She took a chance and drove on up. Stopping the car, she took off the beanie and wig.

  She thought twice before going to the door. What was she looking for, and what was she going to ask the woman? What did she want from Sarah Fritz? To find out more information about Elizabeth. And why hadn’t Sarah mentioned that they’d worked together? Was she being ridiculous? The woman knew how to handle a poisonous snake, granted, but what reason would she have to want Lucy dead? There seemed to be no motive.

  Nikki rapped on the door a few times. Sarah opened it. “G’day, Nikki. Nice of you to come by again. That’s funny, because I was going to see about getting a message to you about inviting you for dinner. We had such a nice chat the other day. Your friend was a bit off, but that’s okay. I get kind of lonely when people don’t come by too often. The winery has been slow these days.”