I stared at the sky, the colors becoming more pronounced. It only took a moment for it all to change. “Me neither.”
“You’re a smart girl, Katie, you’ll figure it out. Call me if you need me.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Katie?”
I swallowed hard. “Yes?”
“How did the exam go?”
I took a deep breath. “Well, I … I didn’t pass.”
“I’m so sorry. I know you worked really hard. Better luck on the next one, right?”
“Really? No lecture on how I’m wasting my time and should go back to the Police Academy?”
My dad’s heavy sigh came through the phone. “Katie, I only want you to be happy. If wine is where you want to be, then that’s where you’ll be. I know your mom would be proud. I’m proud, too. Keep studying, you’ll be wearing that Master’s pin in no time.”
twenty-one
pairing suggestion: merlot—napa valley, ca
A red wine with a history of being misunderstood.
-
When I arrived at the station, Deputy Peters was behind the counter. Dean and Tessa were nowhere in sight.
“Katie?” asked Peters as I approached. “Everything okay?”
“No, not really. Where’s Tessa?”
He glanced at the side door. “I think they’re processing her right now.”
“That’s fine, I’ll wait.” I took a seat on the bench.
“She’ll be here overnight. If you come back tomorrow morning, I’m sure we can work something out.”
“It’s okay, I’ll wait for Dean. I want to talk to him anyway.”
Peters straightened papers and walked away. I waited on the bench, the station void of activity. Apparently people didn’t get into trouble on Sunday nights.
Dean approached the counter a few minutes later. “Katie? What are you doing here?”
“Tessa,” I replied. “Is she okay?”
“Of course, why wouldn’t she be?”
I stood up. “Being in a jail cell, accused of another murder. You know, that whole thing.”
“She’s not super happy, but other than that, she’s okay.” He paused. “Sorry for being harsh earlier. I can’t let anyone think that I’m biased in the investigation. I hope you understand.”
“That’s fine, but I want to see her.”
“Katie.” Dean shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“No, I can help. I need to help. And I’ll share everything with you.”
Dean studied me but remained silent.
I decided to try another tactic. “Listen, if she’s guilty, then so be it. She’ll go to jail and that’s that. I can accept that. But if she’s innocent, she deserves the best shot at being free. Please let me do this. Five minutes is all I ask.”
Dean took a deep breath. “Fine. You have five minutes. But I’m going to listen to everything that’s said between you two, you understand?”
“Not a problem. Just stay out of her line of sight. I don’t want her to know you’re there.”
“Of course.” Dean opened the gate and I stepped through. We passed by three desks covered with stacks of folders. Dean pulled open a door and we entered into a small hallway with a row of cells on the left.
“She’s in the second one down.” Dean pointed. “I’ll be over here.” He stood by the door.
I approached the second cell. Tessa lay on the bare green mattress, staring up at the ceiling, her arm across her forehead, her signature curls limp and lifeless.
“Are you counting the ceiling tiles?”
Tessa sat up and looked at me through the bars. “Katie! Have you come to take me home? Am I free to go?”
“I wish, Tee. Unfortunately you’re in a lot of trouble. Tell me about today. What happened?”
“I got arrested again. Twice in one weekend. Isn’t that ridiculous!”
“Do you know why you’re arrested?”
“Murder.” Tessa shrugged. “But I didn’t do it.”
“Do you know whose murder?”
Tessa tilted her head to the left. “Mark’s.” She frowned, her eyebrows pushing closer together. “This is still about Mark, right? You know I didn’t do it. You told me yourself earlier.”
“No, Tessa, this is about another murder.”
Tessa’s eyes grew wide. “Who else died?”
I waited for Tessa to pull her mouth to the side, but she didn’t. “They didn’t tell you when they cuffed you?”
“No, they said I was being arrested for the murder of Seb, but that doesn’t make sense. I figured it was just a mistake and they meant Mark.”
“I’ll fill you in on everything in a second, but first, what did you do today? After you got your car from the lodge?”
Tessa twisted her mouth and looked up at the ceiling as she counted on her hands. “I went to the winery, then I was at my apartment for a while.”
“Which winery? And why did you go there?”
“Frontier. It’s my job.”
“No, Tessa, you don’t have a job. Your boss is dead and the other one wants you fired.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “I meant I went for my old job, to pick up the rest of my stuff.”
I shook my head. “Do you think it was a good idea to go back to a crime scene where you were one of the suspects?”
“But, Katie,” Tessa replied, “you said this morning I was no longer under suspicion.”
“Fine. And what did you do after Frontier Winery?”
Tessa shrugged as she picked at her nails. “Pretty much nothing. Everything else was a waste of time.”
“Tee, stop being coy.”
“I’m not, I didn’t do anything. I stopped by Garrett Winery for a few minutes, but that turned out to be a bust, so I came back to my apartment and ordered Chinese. Then Detective Dean came and picked me up. Fortunately I got to eat some of it before he came, but”—her voice got louder—“I’m still hungry! Don’t you feed people in this place?” Her voice echoed down the hall.
“Okay, I’ll make sure they get you some food, but why did you go to Garrett Winery?”
“I got a call.”
I stared at Tessa. “Who called you from there? What was their name?”
“I didn’t get a name. They just said they were calling from Garrett.”
“Male or female?”
“Female. No wait, male with a higher voice. Or maybe female. It was hard to tell and I didn’t think about it at the time.” She shrugged. “I was excited because they were looking to hire someone and asked if I was interested. Which of course I was. They said for me to come right over so I did. It was a quick drive.”
“What time was this?”
“The call came in as I was at Frontier. I guess around three?” Tessa motioned with her hands. “I’m not really sure, but if you check my phone, you’ll see the time. I went right over to Garrett, but they didn’t know anything about a position or the phone call. Probably a prank. What a tease. People can be so mean.” She paused. “What is this all about?”
“I’ll tell you in a second, just a few more questions.”
“Geez, you’re a tease as well.”
I crouched down in the hallway, now at eye level with Tessa in the cell. “Tell me everything that happened once you arrived at Garrett Winery.”
“I just told you.”
“No, I mean every detail. Give me a play-by-play.”
Tessa leaned back against the wall. “When I got to the winery, I went into the main office.”
“Was that the first thing you did?” I asked.
“Yes. Although, first I checked my makeup in my rearview mirror. Is that what you’re wondering?”
I rolled my eyes. “Continue.”
“I went in
to the main office and said that I was there about the job. But the secretary was all weird and said that there was no job and that she didn’t call me. I asked if anyone else had called me, maybe Garrett, but she said he was with guests and no one else would have called. I don’t know, maybe she got confused or something, but I wasn’t about to stick around if there wasn’t a job. Besides, I was hungry. So I got in my car and went back to my apartment and ordered Chinese food.”
“Did you see anyone else at the winery? Think, Tessa, anyone at all?”
Tessa looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t think so. I mean, if I did, I don’t remember. After my visit turned out to be pointless, I left. I didn’t bother to take notes of anyone around there.” She looked back at me. “Now can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Seb was murdered today. They found his body in the vineyard at Garrett.”
“Oh my God. Why? How?”
“Strung up on the vines, his throat slit.”
“That’s terrible.” Tessa’s face turned pale. “And they think I did it?”
“You were at the winery during the time he was killed. They have video footage of you there.”
“I was there but I didn’t kill Seb. I went into the office and I left!”
“And you did nothing else?”
Tessa put her finger to her mouth and stared at the ceiling. “Wait, I did go near the warehouse, but that’s cause there was a kitten. Black with white on its chest. It was so cute so I went over to it. It was afraid of me at first, but then it let me pet it.”
I leaned forward. “When was this?”
“When I first arrived. Then I went to the office.”
“Is the warehouse near the first vineyard?”
“Yes, why?”
“Did you see anything in the vineyard? Anything at all? A movement? A color? Think.”
“No.” Tessa lowered her head and looked at me. “I don’t stare at vineyards like you do.”
“Fine. You went to the warehouse, pet the cat, went into the office, and then got into your car and left. That was it?”
“That’s it.” Tessa breathed out. “Am I going to have to stay here? I don’t want to be here.”
“I’m working on it. And my dad—”
“Your dad?” Tessa interrupted. “Why did you tell him? He hates me.”
“I needed help. I didn’t know where to turn, but he’s helping me.”
Tessa leaned back as her face grew grim. “I’m really in a spot, aren’t I? For you to call your dad, for you to ask for help. What if they find me guilty?” Her voice escalated. “What if they really think I did it and they send me to prison? What if my whole life is over?” Her voice was at its highest pitch.
“Tessa, calm down.” I wanted to throw cold water on my panicking friend, or at least slap her across the face to get her to calm down, but neither was an option. “Did you kill Seb?”
“No.”
“Then don’t worry about it. You’re going to be fine.”
“But innocent people go to jail all the time.” Tessa’s voice lowered but was still swollen with panic. “This I know.”
“I told you, I’m working on it. Now take a few deep breaths, okay?”
Tessa nodded as her chest swelled with a full breath.
“One last question and I need to hear the truth. Did you take money from the winery?”
“Katie, I’ve never taken a dime from anyone.” Tessa stared straight into my eyes, her hazel eyes reflecting the florescent lighting in the cell. “Even the money Mark paid me to take the wine to the lodge was all part of my salary. My documented salary.” She sank down into the mattress. “This is getting worse and worse.”
“We’re going to fix this, but tonight I need you to think really hard about what you saw at Garrett Winery. Try to recall every little detail you can because everything is important, okay?”
“Tonight?” Her eyes started to glisten. “But I don’t want to stay here.”
“You’ve slept in worse places.” I paused for a moment. “In fact, we both have. Remember that hotel room in Paris? We both slept on the floor with a towel as a pillow for a week. At least you have a mattress here.”
“When do you think I can go home?”
“They can only hold you for forty-eight hours before they either release you or charge you.”
Tessa closed her eyes and leaned against her hand on the bars. “Great, forty-eight hours. What am I supposed to do?”
“Well, Tessa, why not catch up on some sleep. You do party a lot.”
“Ha ha, very funny.” Tessa stuck out her tongue. “Go on, do something fun so I can live vicariously through you.”
“Fun? I’m trying to get you free.” I stood from my crouched position.
“Come on, I need stories.”
“Tessa. Seriously. One minute you’re scared, and now you’re getting saucy. I can’t keep up.”
Tessa readjusted her position on the mattress. “At least come back with a really juicy story. I want to hear about make-out sessions with Dean. It’s nice to see you have a crush again.”
“What?” Heat flared up my neck and I tried to ignore Dean in the corner. “What are you talking about?”
“I see the way you are when you mention him and text about him. You haven’t been like that about someone in a very long time. It’s about time you got some action.”
Dean silently slipped out of the hallway and back into the offices.
I cringed. “Tessa…”
“Nope, I don’t want to hear it. I know you and I know when you like someone.”
“It’s not like that. We’re just both trying to figure out what happened to Mark and Seb.”
Tessa smiled. “You like him, don’t you?”
“Tessa…”
“That’s a yes. I want to hear the sordid details when I get out of here.” She lay back down on the mattress. “Now go find some evidence to free me from this place.”
“And you’ll go over every detail from today to see if you remember anything?”
“Yep.” Tessa closed her eyes.
“Night, Tee.”
“Night.”
I took one last look at my friend before I headed down the hall and back into the offices.
Dean sat at the first desk, staring at the large computer screen in front of him. The door closed behind me and he looked up. “All done?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t slip her any knives or files?”
“Excuse me?”
“Teasing.”
“Not funny. I’m worried about her.”
“Understandable.” Dean sat back as a smile grew on his face. “So, you haven’t acted this way around someone in a long time, huh?”
“Sorry you had to hear that. She didn’t know you were there.”
“Clearly. Or maybe she wanted to send me the message that you like me. I’m flattered.”
I hesitated. “I don’t know what to say about that. But I can say that I know I’m going to get Tessa free. I don’t think she killed Seb.”
“I don’t either.”
“You don’t?” I lowered myself into the chair next to him.
“No. It’s too cookie cutter. Also, I checked her phone.” Dean pointed to Tessa’s purple phone on the desk. “There was a call from Garrett Winery right before three o’clock. She was telling the truth about that. She was still at Garrett during the time of the murder, but at least she was honest about the call that brought her there. Peters is getting me a list of everyone, workers and guests, who were at Garrett Winery today. Then we’ll go from there.” He held up Tessa’s phone. “By the way, interesting text you sent to Tessa, about seeing me.”
I wanted to put my head in my hands, but instead I put my game face on. “Just that I got her credit card and ran
into you. Nothing to it.”
Dean nodded. “Okay then.”
“But the murder.” I shifted. “We need to find out where Seb was killed.”
Dean leaned his head forward and smiled. “How do you know he wasn’t killed in the vineyard at Garrett?”
“The soil wasn’t full of blood from where he bled out. Which means he was killed somewhere else and taken there. And the mud and wear on his jeans, shows he was dragged.”
“You should have been a cop. You’re very good at this.”
“You should see me with wine.”
Dean raised his eyebrows. “I’d like that.”
Tessa was right. I was flirting. I tried to focus. “Okay, so what about evidence from today? Does any of it point to Tessa?”
“That’s still to be seen, but we’re impounding Tessa’s car and I’ll have a team go to her apartment to check the clothes she wore earlier. If she did kill Seb, there’d be blood found somewhere, either on her clothes or in her car. Things will become clearer once we figure out the exact timeline of Seb’s day and a list of possible other suspects.”
“Thanks, Dean. I appreciate it.”
“For what?”
“For helping my friend.”
“I’m not helping anyone, I’m just doing my job.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “But thanks.” I touched his shoulder. “I appreciate it.”
“I’ll keep you updated.” Dean looked around. “You should probably go. People around here are going to start thinking there’s something going on between us.”
twenty-two
pairing suggestion: merlot—yakima valley, wa
This wine has complex flavors, but lower acidity and tannins
than its California cousin.
-
My phone beeped with a text message as I started my car.
Harvest next Tuesday. See you then.
A smile spread across my face as I wrote back. Thanks Jeff, looking forward to it. I pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the street as another text beeped in.
Let me know about the ’69 Chateau Margaux. I’d love to share it with you.
Decanting a Murder Page 16
