Nikki checked her watch and saw that it was closing in on the four o’clock hour. She was short on time, as Derek wanted to meet her around four-thirty. She’d have to put her detective hat away and go on to Derek’s, but first she wanted to finish her run, because she wasn’t willing to cheat herself out of any of the food that evening.
She trotted onto one of the side roads, hearing her own heartbeat and the pounding of her feet against the dirt, almost in sync with one another, as her mind went over the events of the past twenty-four hours.
A big gust of wind blew dirt up to the left of her, several hundred yards away, startling and distracting her. Out of the dust came a red jeep, speeding down the dirt road, headed straight for her. It pulled up next to her, with two women as its passengers. One was probably in her mid to late twenties, with dark hair, eyes of the same color, and lips so full of collagen, Nikki had the urge to touch her own. The other woman was a redhead, mid-fifties, light green eyes, and attractive in an artificial way. They’d both spent some money on quite a bit of plastic surgery.
“You must be the latest,” the younger one said.
“Excuse me?” Nikki replied, out of breath.
“Derek’s. You must be his newest conquest,” the redhead said.
“What?”
The younger one turned to her counterpart and commented, “She’s good. Coy. He likes that.”
“Mmhmm. Blonde, too. Must be from L.A.” She shook her head in an exaggerated fashion. “You’ll wise up. They all do. You’ve heard about the murder, haven’t you?”
“She’s the one who found poor Gabriel.”
“Excuse me, but who are you, and what are you talking about?” Nikki asked.
“You don’t have to pretend with us, sweetie. Derek’s got deep pockets. Anyone can see that. But he’s also got some serious charisma, and some other nice assets.” The woman winked at her. “Just when you think you’re getting close to the payoff, you start to fall for those baby blues and those nice strong abs, and wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am.”
“It’s not pretty. He can turn women into putty,” the older one added. “And, he’s had plenty to do it to.”
“Maybe he turned Gabriel into putty, too. That best-friends act of his was only a ruse. I should know. We women need to stick together, which is why we thought we’d give you a bit of a warning about Derek. He’s not all that he pretends to be. So watch your step, because he’ll love you and leave you, like that.” The younger of the nip-and-tuck duo snapped her fingers together.
“Well, I’m sure we’ll see you tonight. Look at the time, Meredith. Gotta go, sweetie.”
The woman driving turned the car around and pressed down on the gas, leaving Nikki in a cloud of dust. She closed her eyes. When she opened them, the dust was clearing. “What the hell was that?” she said to herself.
She decided to go to Derek’s house and see if he’d returned yet. She’d been running for almost forty minutes. It was nearly four-thirty, the time that he’d asked her to check in with him. She needed that glass of wine he’d promised right about now.
“What happened to you?” he asked as she jogged up to him. He stood on his porch as the sun started to descend.
“Don’t ask,” she replied, dusting herself off. Ollie came up next to her, panting. He quickly found his water bowl, half of which he lapped up, splashing the rest onto the porch.
A loud squeal followed by a hoop and holler came from the jeep as they spun out on the dirt road closest to Derek’s place and went flying past them at an even higher speed.
“Don’t you get it? She met the Botox buddies,” a young, prim woman remarked walking out onto the porch, a notebook in hand. She wore glasses and looked every bit the librarian with her severe chin-length page boy. She stuck her ivory-colored hand out to shake Nikki’s. “I’m Minnie Lark. I’m the accountant here at Malveaux. Derek tells me you’re considering a job with us.”
“I am.” Minnie definitely moisturized. Her hands were silky soft, and that complexion was perfect. Not even a damn blackhead or enlarged pore. Nikki wondered for a second what her skin-care regimen consisted of. She’d have to ask later.
“Great. We’ll have to talk, because you’ll be working closely with me. I know Derek has told you about our suspicions concerning certain portions of the books. He says that you have good instincts. Maybe together we can figure out the cash-flow leak. It’ll be good to have you here. Maybe the boss will give me time off to go on a Tuscan holiday.”
“Only if you promise to come back. I don’t want you buying a villa like that woman in the movie,” Derek said.
“Like in Under the Tuscan Sun?” Nikki asked.
“Exactly. You never know, I just may up and relocate there and fix up my own villa. The book inspired me, and the movie, well, the scenery alone is to die for. Did you see the movie, Nikki?”
“Actually, no,” Nikki replied, hating to admit that she hadn’t, not wanting to see Diane Lane play a part she’d tried out for and bombed at. “I’d like to, though.” Now that her green-eyed monster had been tamed and she’d accepted the fact that an Academy Award was not in the cards for her.
“I better get a move on if I’m going to be ready for tonight’s benefit. I’m also making the preparations for Gabriel’s memorial service on Tuesday. Did you want to use our usual caterers?” Minnie asked Derek.
“That’s fine. It’d be too large for the bistro to handle.”
As Minnie started down the steps, she turned back to Nikki. “Don’t worry about those two in the jeep. They’re harmless. They’ve both had so much plastic surgery, the anesthesia has killed off whatever brain cells they had left after all the alcohol they’ve put away.”
Nikki couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks.” She watched as Minnie got behind the wheel of her Nissan Maxima. “She’s very nice. I’m relieved to come across someone normal around here. Besides you, that is.”
This time, Derek laughed.
Nikki tucked some fallen strands from her ponytail back behind her ears. “I’ve pretty much made up my mind. I’d like nothing more than to catch the. . . . What did she call them?” Nikki pointed to the dirt road, where only minutes before, the red jeep had sped by.
“The Botox buddies.”
“Right. I’d really relish catching the Botox buddies doing something dastardly.”
“I’d relish that myself,” Derek replied. “Yes, that’s our pet name for my stepmother, Patrice, and my ex-wife, Meredith. Believe me, though, I have a few other names for them.”
“I’m sure. I came up with one or two myself. So, that’s your ex-wife, huh?”
“Yeah, that she is. Hey, you know, it’s been a hard day, and tonight is probably going to be very long, too. How about we open a bottle of wine and take a walk? I’ll tell you all about this crazy place and the bizarre family who—against my wishes—resides here. You should be prepared, anyway.”
“They don’t live in the main house, do they?”
“Afraid so. Remember how you asked why I lived here, and not at the big house?”
“Because they live in the big house?”
“Them, and the rest of the hangers-on.”
“Wow. Why, though? If the winery is yours, what are they doing hanging around?”
“When my dad died he left the largest portion of the winery and vineyard to me. He left the other half to be divided between my half brother and stepmother. However, he left the house to my stepmother. Believe me, if I could, I’d have them all carted off. Instead, I’ve learned to bite my tongue, and respect my dad’s wishes. I love this vineyard, and I refuse to let them push me out of here. He left me something worth more than the house.”
“What’s that?”
“A tremendous wine collection, along with my mother’s diamond from her engagement ring. They’re both worth more to me than the house. After having the entire crew living there tainting it, I would have to demolish it and rebuild before I could ever live up there.”
&nbs
p; “That’s a shame.”
“Not everything is fair in life,” he replied. “Come on, Oliver, let’s go for a walk.”
Oliver didn’t even open his eyes. “Let me try. C’mon, Ollie, let’s go.” Nikki slapped her hand against her leg. Ollie lifted his head and flopped it back down. The poor dog was exhausted from keeping up with Nikki.
“At least he responded to you.”
“I think he likes his new nickname.”
“Nah, I think he likes you. Who could blame him? I’ll go grab our wine.” He returned a few minutes later with plastic wine glasses, filled with an oaky-flavored Chardonnay. “Full-bodied,” Derek said. Nikki knew she was blushing, and realized that he’d noticed when he said, “I mean the wine.”
“Of course you mean the wine,” she replied.
“I mean you, too, but . . .” Now he was the one blushing. They both started laughing, releasing all their tensions. “Ready for that walk?”
“And that talk.”
The setting was perfect for a walk with a charming man—rolling hills of grape vines, separated by rows of colored earth in variations of brown, ranging from terracotta to deep chocolate. With the sun continuing to make its descent, a light mist came over the valley, mixing in with the pastels already blanketing the area. Everything resembled a Monet watercolor.
Nikki liked it that Derek genuinely wanted to educate her about wines. They walked for a bit, comfortable together in the peace and quiet, except for the sound of their footsteps on the bare earth.
Derek broke the silence. “How was your day? What did you do after I left?”
She shrugged, not sure if she was ready or up to revealing all the aspects of her day yet. She put her free hand inside her shorts pocket. The idea of organizing her thoughts before rambling on about what she’d been up to throughout the day was probably the best course of action here. Besides, she really wanted to get to know Derek a little better. “Not much. I went for a run, took in some sights. You know, it was a pretty easygoing day. I’m more interested in your sordid tale, and don’t leave out any of the details.”
“You sure?”
“Sure about what I did today, or sure about wanting to hear about your nutty family?”
“The latter.” He arched his eyebrows at her and gave her a bemused look.
“Of course I’m sure,” she replied, relieved that he wasn’t going to pressure her or doubt her about what she’d done earlier that day.
“Take notes. I might give you a pop quiz later.” He winked at her.
Her stomach did that flutter thing, then sent the willies all over, but the good kind. This man was going to be frustrating as all get out.
“Meredith and I were happily married for only a year.”
“Unlucky in love. What happened?”
“She’s not the faithful type. I took a business trip, and Meredith was convinced that I was messing around and decided to even the score. Crazy thing was, screwing around on my wife was the last thing I was interested in doing. I was truly taking care of business, trying to make the money that kept her in Tiffany jewels and designer clothes.”
“Not good.”
“It gets worse. Today, the police chief informed me that there are rumors floating around, about Meredith and Gabriel.”
“What do you think about that?”
“I don’t. I knew Gabriel well enough, better than anyone else did. At least I think I did, enough to know that he’d never do that to me. I refuse to believe it. Maybe other men’s wives, but not with mine.”
“I take it you’ve become a suspect in the investigation.”
He nodded but didn’t say anything, and then took a long drink of his wine. “I don’t know what to think. Those rumors have been around for some time, but Gabriel denied them, and I can’t fathom him lying to me. The chief also said that Cal Sumner, one of my competitors, had been trying to lure him away, and that Gabriel was tempted.”
“Getting sticky, isn’t it?” She swirled the golden contents in her glass.
“You haven’t heard it all. Chief Horn says that someone may be trying to set me up for Gabriel’s murder. For what reason? I don’t know. I’ve run a few scenarios through my brain, even considering my half brother or stepmother as suspects. But neither one of them is smart enough to commit murder. They’re a part of the whack pack up at the mansion, but killers? I can’t see it.”
“What about other winery owners, or a distributor? Someone you do business with? It could be someone jealous of your success, like we discussed before, of how big the Malveaux name is in the wine industry.” Nikki’s mind flashed on Andrés’ face. Could he have had resentful feelings not only toward Gabriel, but Derek, too? He spoke strongly of his belief about winemaking being an art. Could he want to bring down everyone involved with Malveaux Estate? Andrés was eccentric, yes, but crazy? Nikki wasn’t certain yet.
“I’m sure somewhere along the line I’ve angered a few folks, but nothing stands out. People are funny, though. You never really know what makes them tick, or gets their goat. It concerns me that the chief could consider a setup a possibility. He warned me to watch my back.”
“That’s probably the first intelligent thing the chief has said to you. I think he could be right about that. There’s something I need to tell you.” Nikki proceeded to tell him about her experience in the tasting room, keeping her find of the charm to herself, thinking that was safe. She wanted to get his reaction, see if there was something he was hiding. Then maybe she could put any doubts about him out of her head.
“Are you all right?” he asked, sounding truly concerned. They stopped walking. He placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed her arms.
All doubts vanished when she looked in his eyes.
“Sure. I was shaken up, but I’m fine. I was thinking that whoever was in that room watching me, perhaps was a threat to me. But now that you mention someone setting you up, I think that maybe somebody is following you, and couldn’t get out fast enough to stay on your heels when you left me in the tasting room. Or, whoever it was wants to figure out who I am. They may have seen me cruising around here with you.”
“If someone is setting me up, then you could also be in danger. They might try to use you to get to me,” he noted.
That was a thought she did not want to entertain. “I suppose,” she reluctantly admitted.
“You suppose? Nikki, I don’t want you in any danger. I certainly don’t want to be the cause of any harm to you. I’m sure I can get Chief Horn to let you go on back to L.A. We can discuss a job position when this thing dies down. Bad choice of words, but you know what I mean. I can even give you an advance on your salary, as a good-faith incentive.”
Nikki took his hands from her arms, squeezing them. An electrical charge traveled through her as she stood there in the open vineyard holding Derek’s hands. “Nope, and no way. I’m not leaving. I want this job, and I want it now. If you’re in trouble, I’m going to help. You asked me to join you here for a few reasons. You need a good assistant, someone who can help manage the place. You need someone to look after your best interests, and to figure out if you’re being cheated. I am your woman.” The strength in her commitment amazed even Nikki. “I have to tell you, no one has ever treated me as kindly as you have. The other night, you could have done what others might have, join your date in ridiculing me, or just ignore me. But not only did you give her the boot, you tracked me down and apologized. You have a heart, and I like that about you. I’m not going anywhere, boss.” She heard the twang in her voice that can only come somewhere from the Deep South, and for once it didn’t really bother her.
“Are you for real?” he asked.
“I am.”
“Okay, then. We may have to work out some new sleeping arrangements, if we’re both possible targets.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking about moving you into the big house. I know I mentioned my thoughts on my stepmother and half brother, but I r
eally think they’re harmless. Whoever planned this is smarter than they are. There’s a security alarm and so many people there, it would be awfully hard for anyone to hurt you.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t help but hear the disappointment in her own voice. What had she expected? Hey, baby, join me in my pad, and we’ll hide out under the covers from the bad guys?
“I know it’s sending you into the snake pit, but I do think you’ll be safer. Just to piss everyone off, I’ll send you up there with Ollie. Simon and Patrice are both allergic to animals.”
“Then who will protect you?”
“I’ve got a gun right next to my bed, under lock and key.”
Murder Uncorked Page 8
