Weddings & Wine Cake_A Culinary Cozy Mystery

by Nancy McGovern

  “What?” Rachel’s eyes widened. “How?”

  “Can we get out of here first?” Tony asked. “Maybe walk on the beach instead? Your father might come back at any time.”

  “I...” Rachel hesitated. On the one hand, agreeing would implicitly mean letting Tony get away scot-free from his little breaking-and-entering escapade. On the other hand, it might mean finding out something important about her father.

  Taking the risk, Rachel agreed. “Out on the beach, then. I’ll give you two minutes to put everything back the way it was.”

  “Thanks,” Tony said fervently.

  Five minutes later, they were walking along the bright blue water, golden sand scrunching under their feet. Every now and then, Tony would bend to pick up a seashell, admiring it before slipping it into his pocket.

  “Why do you think my father had a motive?” Rachel asked.

  “Well, it isn’t obvious to anybody who doesn’t know our background,” Tony said. “There were four of us originally — four partners. Your father has told you that, right?”

  “Your partner Jimmy died last year, and Leon had conned him somehow. So Leon inherited Jim’s shares and earned a majority stake in the company.”

  “Right. Kind of,” Tony said. “That’s how your father always told it.”

  “You mean he was lying?”

  “No. Not exactly. I could see, from his point of view, why he felt like Leon had conned Jim, but that wasn’t what happened.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Jim had no heirs, and he knew that his shares would give one partner an unfair advantage over the others. Truth was, Jim favored your father and wanted him to have the shares. So he put in his will that, after his death, the effective executor of the shares would be the senior-most partner of our firm.”

  “Okay?”

  “Thing is, due to a technicality, Leon is considered the senior-most partner of the firm, even though the firm was originally your father’s idea. So Leon got the shares.”

  “Ah...” Rachel said.

  “Ryan was furious. He was convinced Leon had conned Jim. I’m not so sure myself. But either way, that was enough for Leon to start bossing us around.”

  “And now, with Leon gone, Mason will boss you around?”

  “No,” Tony said. “That’s the thing. Jim had a clause in his will that, should the senior-most partner should die within five years, his shares would be passed on to the next partner. Your father, in this case.”

  Rachel put a hand to her mouth. “You mean—”

  “With Leon gone, Mason won’t inherit Jim’s 25%. He’ll only get Leon’s shares. As next most senior partner, your father now has 50% stake in our firm. He’s the boss.”

  Rachel paled. “Wow.”

  “You see?” Tony sighed. “Dr. Gomez must have found this out and assumed your father is the murderer. I could see from your father’s face that he was panicking.”

  “So what were you doing in his cottage?”

  “Trying to find proof of Ryan’s innocence,” Tony said. “You see, a few weeks ago your father told me that, after he married Valentina, he wanted to retire — see the world, enjoy life with her for a few years. In other words, he was quitting the firm. I thought if I could find proof of this in your father’s emails and show Dr. Gomez, it would help convince him that your father is innocent.”

  “Why would you care so much?” Rachel snapped.

  “Because I know your father.” Tony said. “Ryan has an ego on him, and can be a bit selfish, but he’s a gem of a person. He helped me out of a big hole a few years ago. I owe him my life, to be honest.”

  “Y-you do?”

  “I don’t want to get into that right now,” Tony said. “Because I’m afraid I’ve got worse news for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I was looking at his emails and I realized your father didn’t want to quit,” Tony said. “He only told me that to save face. The truth was, Leon was pushing him out of the company.”

  “No… say it isn’t so.”

  “It’s the truth. You can ask Ryan yourself. That’s the reason Leon even insisted on hosting the wedding and on inviting the firm’s clients as wedding guests. The plan was to have Ryan announce his “retirement” at the reception. He was twisting your father’s arm, basically.”

  “So it’s safe to say they weren’t best friends anymore.” Rachel said.

  Tony snorted. “Can a tiger and it’s prey ever be friends?”

  “This looks bad. This looks really bad for my father,” Rachel said. “Has he talked to you? Said anything?”

  Tony shook his head. “I’ve been trying to get him to talk but haven’t had a chance to pin him down yet. Not that I blame him. He’s got a lot on his plate. Our clients are panicking and may pull out their money. Ryan’s working very hard to get them to stay.”

  “He’s not taking this seriously enough,” Rachel said. “He isn’t realizing how much danger he’s in.”

  “Exactly,” Tony agreed. “He’s being remarkably short-sighted. I just saw those emails between Leon and your father, but the police are sure to get their hands on them, too. Once they do…”

  “Why did Leon hate my father so much?” Rachel asked. “Why go to all these lengths to ruin him? I mean, it wasn’t enough that he was firing my father and forcing him to publicly announce a false retirement? He also had to find a way to ruin my father’s wedding by inviting my mother over.”

  Tony sighed. “There’s always been a power struggle between them. They had a weird friendship, your father and Leon. On the one hand, when they worked together against a common enemy, they were unstoppable. But left to themselves, they always had to compete. If your father bought a Mercedes, Leon had to buy a Lamborghini. If your father dated a model, Leon had to date a supermodel. Vice versa, too. When Leon got a new flat in Manhattan, your father bought a penthouse suite in a slightly nicer zip code. When Leon began dating Denise, your father latched on to Valentina — younger, richer, hotter Valentina.”

  “You think the only reason my father started dating Valentina was because of his sick competition with Leon?”

  Tony hesitated. “That’s how it started, sure. But now…I don’t know. Maybe he thinks he can be happy with her. I know Valentina loves him.”

  “But does my father love her?”

  Tony shrugged. “Like I said, maybe he thinks he can be happy with her.”

  “But you don’t?” Rachel asked.

  Tony pressed his lips together, then let out a deep breath. “In my experience, a man has to be happy with himself first, before he can be happy together with someone else. I’ve tried explaining that to your father, but he’s a stubborn man. Anyway, that’s the least of your concerns right now, isn’t it?”

  Rachel shrugged. “It should be.”

  And yet, it was pressed away in the back of her mind — a growing unease about all of her father’s choices. She was about to ask Tony something more when they heard a crashing sound from the treeline. Swinging to face the interior of the island, they saw Mason running towards them, cheeks red and lungs puffing hard.

  “Dr. Gomez!” Mason exclaimed. “You better come quick! He…I…” He bent over and began wheezing, trying to take a breath. Tony and Rachel looked at each other in alarm, and then at Mason, who had recovered slightly.

  “Valentina found him,” Mason said. “This is bad news. Really bad news.”

  *****

  Chapter 16

  First Do No Harm

  They rushed to Dr. Gomez’s cottage immediately to find Valentina weeping outside with a shocked-looking Mrs. Gomez clutching her shoulder. To Rachel’s great surprise, it was Abuelita who seemed to be holding court, effortlessly ordering people around. Denise was trying to coax Valentina into drinking some water.

  “What happened?” Tony asked.

  “Where’s Scott?” Rachel asked at the same time. “And my dad?”

  Mason answered, “Scott’s inside with Dr
. Gomez. Your dad—” He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “We’ve locked him in a room for now.”

  “What?!” Rachel exclaimed. “What do you mean?”

  “He means that your father is a killer, child.” Abuelita said. “I’m so sorry you had to find out this way.”

  “No! It’s not possible!”

  “Dr. Gomez, is he alright?” Tony asked.

  At his question, Valentina burst into tears all over again and Abuelita patted her on the head.

  “There now, chica. It’s all going to be alright.” There was a little hitch in Abuelita’s voice as she spoke. “We’re all going to be fine.”

  Denise looked at a text on her phone and said, “I contacted the pilot. The helicopter will be here in ten minutes.”

  “Can someone please tell us what’s going on!” Tony exclaimed.

  Mason put a hand on his shoulder. “Apparently, Scott was with Dr. Gomez when Ryan came and demanded to speak to him alone. Abuelita, Valentina and Valentina’s mother were all in the big house. Dr. Gomez had sent them there for safety.”

  “What happened then?”

  “Scott didn’t want to leave the cottage but Ryan forced him to. After a few minutes, Scott heard crashing noises. He broke the door open and found Dr. Gomez with a head wound. Unconscious.”

  “And Ryan?” Tony asked.

  Mason shook his head. “Unharmed.”

  Rachel looked from one person to the other. Nobody would meet her eye. There was an obvious conclusion to be drawn here, and each of them had come to it. Rachel felt dark spots develop in front of her eyes and the world seemed to tilt further on its axis. Heavily, she sat down on the sand, her knees buckling under her. The cottage door opened and Scott stepped out. She knew from the look on his face that, in this moment, he was not her boyfriend. He was a policeman, through and through. Upholding the law was his only concern.

  “The helicopter is here,” Denise said.

  “Dr. Gomez is still unconscious, but he’s breathing,” Scott said. “We have to get him to a hospital fast.”

  “I’ll go,” Mason insisted. “It’s the least I can do.”

  “I’m going, too.” Valentina stood up, trembling a little. “I want to be as close to Dad as possible.”

  “The helicopter can only hold one other,” Denise said to Mason.

  “It’s decided, then,” Mason replied. “I’ll take Valentina. The rest of you stay here until the police come.”

  Scott helped carry Dr. Gomez’ unconscious body to the helicopter on a makeshift stretcher. He returned ten minutes later, looking exhausted.

  “They’ll reach the hospital in fifteen minutes,” he said. “The doctors there are on standby already.”

  “The benefits of being a billionaire,” Tony said.

  “All the money in the world can’t save you if it’s your time to go,” Denise said. “Leon’s death proved that to me.”

  “But it wasn’t his time to go, was it?” Tony said. “His life was cut short.”

  Denise nodded. “By his own partner, no less.”

  Rachel’s hands clenched into fists. “I want to talk to him,” Rachel said.

  “Rachel…” Scott held out a hand to her, then dropped it on seeing the stony expression on her face. “I think it’s best if you left him alone right now.”

  “Why? You think he’ll murder me? My own father?” Rachel turned on Scott, her face fierce. “I want you to take me to him. Right now. I demand it.”

  Scott looked at her through his honey brown eyes, compassion overflowing from them. “Whatever you like.”

  Rachel turned away. She didn’t know what was worse — the neutral cop face he’d had on a few minutes ago, or this kindness that she couldn’t bear to receive.

  He led her inside and fished out a key from his pocket, using it to open the bedroom door.

  Rachel’s father was sitting on the bed with his hands covering his face. He sprang up on hearing the door open and rushed to hug Rachel.

  “I didn’t do it,” Ryan said. “They’re framing me, Rachel. Don’t believe a word they say. They’re all in this together.”

  “Dad—”

  “I was talking to Dr. Gomez and I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. By the time I came back, he was lying down unconscious,” Ryan said.

  “The cottage was locked and nobody was in it but you and Dr. Gomez,” Scott said, his voice hard.

  “I’m telling you — someone had to be there.”

  “I’d checked the cottage five minutes before you arrived,” Scott said. “Believe me, there was nobody.”

  “Well it’s easy to break in, isn’t it—”

  “The locks haven’t been tampered with,” Scott said.

  “I didn’t do it!” Ryan was desperate, his eyes wild. He clutched Rachel’s hands. “You believe me, don’t you Rachel? Of course, you do.”

  Rachel stood frozen, unable to speak.

  “So someone snuck into the house, whacked Dr. Gomez in the back of the head with a vase, and then ran back out?” Scott asked.

  “Yes! I know it sounds crazy. But it’s true!”

  “Dr. Gomez told me what he’d found out, Ryan,” Scott said, his voice harsh. “He told me about you getting control over the company now that Leon’s gone. He told me about Leon wanting to fire you. He knew everything and, now, so do I. It’s too late. Confess.”

  Ryan recoiled, as though Scott had spit on him. His face was a mask of disgust. “You think I’d murder my own partner?”

  “For your firm?” Scott shrugged. “I think so, yes.”

  “Stop it, Scott,” Rachel said.

  “I think you gave your life to that company and deeply resented Leon for ‘stealing’ it out from under you. I think Leon and Lily being together was the final straw for you that night. You snapped.”

  “I’m in love with Valentina! I couldn’t care less about Lily anymore!” Ryan exclaimed. But his voice was sharp and his face twisted with desperation. Rachel could tell this was a lie. Of course, it was. Even all these years later, her father was still deeply affected by her mother.

  So what else was he lying about?

  “The truth is, when Dr. Gomez gave you that three hour deadline, you grew desperate,” Scott said. “You came here, hoping to silence him, using Valentina as your bargaining chip. When he didn’t agree, you hit him over the head with the vase on his desk, hoping to silence him forever.”

  “It’s not true!”

  “You weren’t thinking straight, were you?” Scott asked. “Desperation drove you to new heights—”

  “Stop it, Scott!” Rachel shouted.

  Scott paused, looking at her through large, hurt eyes. “I’m sorry, Rachel. I know it hurts. But it’s the truth.”

  “It’s a lie.” Ryan said. “Someone’s gotten to him. Maybe he was the one who snuck in and hurt Dr. Gomez. Ever think about that?”

  “I was outside the main door of the cottage, making sure nobody got in or out,” Scott said.

  “That’s what you claim!” Ryan exclaimed.

  “Dad...” Rachel’s voice was tired. “He’s telling the truth, isn’t he? About Leon firing you, about you getting the majority stake in the firm once Leon was murdered?”

  Ryan looked away from her. His shoulders were shaking, and his face was grim. “If I say yes, what then?”

  “He’s telling the truth about mom, too. Isn’t he?” Rachel asked. “You saw her. You saw her that night with Leon.”

  Ryan raised his chin but remained silent. After a moment, he said, “I think I need a lawyer.”

  “Just talk to me, Dad. I want to believe it’s not you. I really do. But give me something to work with. Anything.”

  “Give you what?” Ryan asked. “I have nothing to give. No alibi, no excuse. Yes, Leon was planning on ousting me from my own firm. Yes, I was angry at him. Yes, I saw him with Lily that night. How could I not? He made sure to go by my cottage, made sure to make a ruckus so that I’d look out
side.”

  “So you saw Lily with him that night?” Scott asked. “Why did you pretend that you hadn’t? You acted surprised to see her.”

  “Leon was dead. I knew I’d get blamed,” Ryan said. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “You saw them together, went into a jealous rage, and killed Leon,” Scott said triumphantly. “Admit it.”

  “Scott, don’t,” Rachel said, her voice a low warning. “Don’t kick him when he’s down.”

  “I saw them together and went into a jealous rage,” Ryan said. “That much is true. After that I walked out of my cottage and went for a jog on the beach.”

  “At midnight?” Scott asked.

  “What else could I do? I had to get my anger out somehow,” Ryan said. “The fresh air helped me think. I realized that Leon only wanted me to react so he could further ruin my life. I calmed down and decided to walk back home. But then I heard screams. I ran to Leon’s cottage as fast as possible, and you know the rest.”

  “You’ve no proof of any of this, of course,” Scott said. “Just like your story about Dr. Gomez. Very convenient.”

  “Very inconvenient, actually,” Ryan said. “Since I didn’t kill Leon, nor hurt Dr. Gomez.”

  “Did you see anything, Dad?” Rachel asked. “When you were out jogging? Did you see anyone go into the big house, for example.”

  Ryan’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. For a second, his mouth worked but no sounds came out. Then he snapped back to reality. “I didn’t see anything,” he said. “Leave me alone. Both of you. I have to think. I have to think really hard about how to get out of this mess.”

  *****

  Chapter 17

  Taking Sides

  Somehow, Rachel found herself back in her own cottage, staring blankly out at the ocean. The waves crashed onto the shore and receded, still playful, still wonderfully blue. The sand glimmered under the hot summer sun, inviting and golden.

  All Rachel could see was her father’s despair as he begged her to believe him.

  She wanted to. She really wanted to. But she couldn’t. It had to be him.

  Shaking her head, Rachel got up with a sudden need to do something overwhelming her. The hardest part was just sitting around, waiting for the truth to emerge. Right now, she wanted to wrestle reality with her own two hands, and make it kneel in submission.