by Cahoon, Lynn
“The place looks amazing. You’ve got such a flare for design, I’m surprised you opened the winery instead of an interior design shop.”
Darla blushed again. That was twice tonight I’d seen her face this red. “Honestly, I didn’t have the right degree. My folks insisted I get a straight business degree, and well, they started the winery years ago. So I was expected to keep it going.” She paused, deep in thought. Then she shook her head like she was coming out of a dream. “Not that I don’t love running the winery. Pipe dreams are just that, puffs of smoke about what could have been.”
“I spent ten years as a lawyer before I woke up and realized I wasn’t cut out to do the suit and court thing.” I motioned toward my jeans and silk tank. “Now I only get dressed up for dates.”
“Hey, I should have brought another glass.” Greg set my wine in front of me and kissed Darla on the cheek. “Nice turnout tonight. You must be happy.”
She shrugged. “It’s a good band. Matt knows the lead guitarist. He’s very handy. I’m not sure what I did without him.”
Greg shot me a look and I knew what he was thinking, but I let that comment slide. “Too bad the guys will be gone at the first of the year. Aunt Jackie’s gotten pretty attached to Sasha. I think she likes training someone as much as she likes running the business.”
“Your aunt likes telling people what to do. Me included.” Greg laughed.
Darla looked at me, then at Greg. “Is she pushing you guys to set a date?”
“No.” The word came out a little too emphatic. “I mean, Greg and I haven’t even talked about anything like that.”
Greg watched me, amusement tickling his eyes and his lips twitching. “I can see even the thought has you freaking out. I guess I’ll have to take the ring back to the jewelers.” He nudged Darla. “Unless you might have use for it.”
Darla slapped his arm. “Stop teasing. I know the rumors flying around. Matt and I are just friends. Besides if you had bought her a ring, everyone in town would already know. Except Jill, of course.”
“He’s just kidding you, Darla.” I put my hand on her arm. “Wait, why wouldn’t I know?”
“Because, dear, you don’t gossip.” Darla stood and squeezed my shoulder. “You two have fun. I’ve got to go check in with the bar. And find Matt. He was fixing a heater out on the patio, but if it’s taking this long, the darn thing’s probably done. He never gives up.”
I thought about the girl Matt had ushered out of the winery. Darla would be crushed, no matter that she’d just declared she and Matt were only friends. “Hold on, I’ll go with you.”
Greg stood, but I motioned him down. “Save our table, I’ll be right back. I want to see if Matt talked to the new program director yet.”
“Her name is Candy,” Greg amended.
I raised my brows. “And that exactly is what I’m having trouble with. What kind of woman goes by the name of Candy after forty? She’s definitely not a stripper.”
Greg snorted. “You forget, I’ve met the lady in question. Sometimes you take this women’s lib thing too far. I think Candy’s a sweet name.”
“Very funny, big man.” I put my hand on Darla’s back and we wove our way through the tables. At least this way if Matt was still talking to that girl, I’d be able to keep Darla from killing him. Or at least try. Maybe I should have let Greg come, too. He could have helped hold her back, giving Matt a chance to run away.
Matt stood at the end of the patio, working on a heater. My shoulders dropped an inch before I saw who was standing next to him, holding a screwdriver. The girl from the coffee shop. When I glanced at Darla, her face told me she’d already seen the two and come up with the same conclusion. Her voice hitched a bit when she said, “He’s still working on the heater. I’m probably going to have to break down and head into Bakerstown and buy new ones.”
We kept walking, but now it felt as if our feet were sinking into concrete. Matt turned toward us, a smile growing on his face. “Hey, Darla.” He nodded up at the sputtering heater. “It’s not completely up, but it’s starting to put out some heat. I need to clean out all the grates tomorrow before we light them up in the evening.”
Darla didn’t respond. As the silence grew, Matt’s grin faded and he tipped his head, examining her face.
“What’s wrong?” He put his tools on the table and put his hand on her arm. Still Darla didn’t say a word. He studied me. “Seriously, you guys are scaring me. What’s going on?”
I glanced at Darla. This wasn’t my story to tell. But at least I could get her some information. I focused on the girl who had started to move backward, away from the gathering. “Hey, you’re the tea drinker from the shop. I thought you were just passing through?”
The girl’s eyes widened, surprised I’d talked to her or remembered her, I wasn’t sure which. She glanced at Matt. “I’m visiting friends.”
“I never did get your name.” I reached out my hand. “I’m Jill Gardner. This is Darla Taylor. She owns the winery. And apparently you know Matt.”
“Becky was part of the job crew a few years ago. When Ted ran the program.” When Matt said his name, Becky cringed. “She’s pretty upset over his death.”
Darla glanced back and forth from Matt to Becky. “Oh, you were, I mean, oh.” She paused, then leaned toward me and whispered, “Ted had favorites.”
Becky’s eyes narrowed. She stepped away from the group, this time with a purpose. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you before I leave.” She didn’t look at Matt, but it was clear who she was addressing.
“You don’t have to leave. Do you want a drink? Or a sandwich?” Darla called after her, but Becky kept walking. She put her hand in the air and waved Darla’s words away.
“Wow.” I hadn’t ever met someone that angry at the world, especially someone so young.
Matt rubbed his hand over his face. “She’s messed up. Ted did a complete number on her. She thought they were in love.”
“But she’s just a kid. He must have had twenty years on her.” Darla shook her head. “Where was her mother?”
“Hell, where were the police?” Matt sank into a chair. “You realize she was underage when she and Ted first hooked up. But as usual, nothing stuck with that creep.”
“Sounds like you didn’t like him very much.” I watched as Becky stomped down the road to Main Street. I wondered if she truly was staying with friends or if she had made friends with the homeless who liked to hang out at the public beach.
“No one liked Ted. At least no one who knew the creep. I’m glad he’s dead. He can’t ruin another girl’s life this way.” Matt leaned back in his chair and his face froze. I turned to see Greg standing there, his beer in one hand and my wineglass in the other.
“Being glad someone’s dead doesn’t mean you killed them.” Darla sat in the chair next to Matt. She shook a finger at Greg. “And don’t you be trying to blame Matt for being honest about how he felt about the guy.”
Greg’s lips curved. “If I arrested people for saying they were glad someone died, my jail would be filled constantly.” He smiled at me. “And this one would be a repeat customer.”
“You’re always trying to get me behind bars, Detective. I think you may have a fetish or something.”
Darla put her hands over her ears. “La la la, TMI. You two should be more careful about what you say in public.”
Darla’s words haunted me throughout the evening. Matt had come close to saying the world was a better place without Ted in it, a sentiment that Becky didn’t agree with at all from the look on her face.
As Greg and I walked back into the building, I glanced down the road to see if I could catch a glimpse of where Becky was heading. But she’d disappeared. Greg’s hand moved on my back and I turned to look at him.
“Everything isn’t a problem to be solved, you know.” Greg’s voice was warm and comforting, but it also held a twinge of humor.
Chuckling, I leaned into his shoulder. “Am I that transparent
?”
“Practically invisible.” He squeezed me closer. “I’ll see what I can find out about the girl. Will that make you happy?”
“I just wish I knew she was sleeping indoors tonight.” As bad as my own childhood had been, I’d never been homeless. Although sometimes I wondered if I would have been stronger if I’d taken a chance as a teenager, leaving the constricting house my mother called a home. But the world, like the ocean I could see sparkling in the moonlight, was filled with sharks who preyed on the young and naïve. Traits Becky shared with the younger version of me. “Hey, I need to tell you about Marie’s visit today.”
“That can wait.” Greg kissed me on the forehead and moved toward a table. He set our drinks down and put out his arms. “To everything there is a season. Time to stop worrying for the evening and time to dance.”
“I’m not sure that’s how the Byrds wrote the song.” I followed him out to the parquet floor.
He pulled me close into his arms, matching our steps to the soft ballad playing. “The Byrds didn’t write that—it’s Ecclesiastes, from the Bible.”
“Oh.” I felt my face heat. Attending church hadn’t been a house rule, so I hadn’t gone very often. My mother had stopped going once my dad passed, worried that those people would look down on a single woman raising her only daughter. And in a way, she was probably right. Not because of being a single parent, but her use of alcohol to get through the day would have been an issue. “I didn’t know that.”
Greg pulled me closer. “If you’d spent your childhood attending St. Catherine’s Academy, you would know all the popular songs they stole from the Bible. According to Sister Mary Francis, the musicians, their groupies, their production crew, and anyone who had ever listened to the songs were damned to eternal suffering.” He spun me around the floor. “Of course, I think it was mostly because no one asked her to her own prom in high school. The nun could hold a grudge forever.”
I giggled and snuggled into his chest. Yes, the wine was doing its magic. Maybe tonight would be all right after all. Darla hadn’t killed Matt for talking to Becky. Regina and David had left earlier. They hadn’t even stopped by the table to say good-bye. But maybe she hadn’t seen me as clearly as I’d watched the couple on the dance floor.
And I was dancing with my own personal white knight. Although his faithful steed was parked at the house, and we’d walked from my house to Lille’s, then from dinner to the winery. When I had questioned Greg earlier, he chuckled. “I plan on having more than one beer tonight, and no way am I giving Toby a reason to pull me over. The kid would have me breathalized and sitting in the drunk tank at the office before I could say, ‘Did I do something wrong, Officer?’ ”
“He’s got a high level of integrity.” I smiled as I thought about Toby.
Greg shook his head. “Nope, the kid would snap pictures and blackmail me with the evidence.”
That had made me chuckle over dinner, and now, thinking about Toby hunting drunk drivers made me pause. I turned my attention to Greg, who was humming along with the song. “Did you know Toby was dating a real person? With a kid and a job?”
“I’m sure he’s dated real people before, love.” Greg continued humming.
I put my hand on Greg’s chest. “Yeah, but this time he’s monogamous. He’s only dating one woman.”
Now Greg’s brows raised and I had his complete attention. “So, the boy’s getting serious, is he?”
“That’s what I’m asking. Has he talked to you about this girl at all?”
Greg shook his head. “Not a word. But we had a deal tonight. You were going to stop trying to save the world and I would ask you to dance. Now one of us has kept their side of the bargain.”
I leaned my head back down on Greg’s chest, listening for his heartbeat. “Sorry, I forgot about the contract.”
“You realize there are substantial penalties for breaking the terms. You’ll probably have to give me several advantages next time we play the Xbox.” He leaned in and kissed me quickly, our lips barely touching. “And maybe there’s something more in the fine print.”
“You’re smooth, Detective King. Very smooth.” I smiled and let the music transport me.
I heard Greg whisper in my ear, “Just trying to keep it interesting.”
CHAPTER 15
Greg’s phone buzzed. We were dancing so close, I felt the vibration on my leg. He pulled the offending cell out of his jeans and, glancing at the display, frowned. Greg led me off the dance floor and sat me down at our table. “It’s Toby, I’ve got to take this.”
I watched him walk out of the building, answering the call in motion. Damn that kid, he knew just how to ruin a perfect evening. I finished my glass of wine, knowing that as soon as Greg came back to the table we’d be leaving. I was dating Mr. Dependable. Besides, I knew Toby. He wouldn’t have called if he didn’t need his boss.
I was knee-deep into my pity party when Greg sat back down next to me. “You’ve kind of figured out what I was going to say, huh?” He wiped a stray tear from my cheek.
Sniffing, I nodded. “Toby wouldn’t call unless there was a problem. So, what’s going on?”
Greg tapped his phone absently. “Honestly, I’m not exactly sure, but Toby says someone’s broken the front window in The Glass Slipper.”
“No! Any other damage on the street?” Coffee, Books, and More sat across from Marie’s shop. “Was it a riot?”
He laughed and took my hand. “No riot. Toby says your shop is fine. He’s on his way here to pick us up. He’ll drop you off at the house before taking me to the crime scene.”
“Great, another drop-off in a police cruiser. If I had any neighbors besides Esmeralda, I’d sure be giving them gossip fodder.”
“Why do you think Esmeralda works at the station? She’s the biggest gossip in South Cove.” He put his arm around my shoulders and walked me out to the patio to wait for our ride.
Toby had the lights of the cruiser flashing but he didn’t have the sirens going. At least until he spotted us sitting at an outdoor table. People sitting around us jumped, glancing around to see who was in trouble. When Greg led me out to the cruiser, I heard the whispers. Great, by this time tomorrow I’d be arrested, convicted, and on my way to the California Penitentiary for Wayward and Wanton Women, at least in the South Cove gossip mill.
Greg sat me in the backseat. I blocked the door with my arm.
“Seriously? Not again. I call shotgun.” I started to stand, but he gently pushed me back into the seat. He closed the door quickly this time.
Toby was laughing, I could tell from the shake of his shoulders and the crinkle in his eyes as he glanced into the rearview window. “You okay back there?”
Greg climbed into the passenger side and turned his head toward me. “Toby, didn’t anyone tell you never to poke a caged bear?”
“Sorry, boss.” Toby swung the car back out onto the street.
I leaned my head back on the bench seat, then jerked upright. I’d drunk just enough wine that the movement of the car was starting to feel like a roller coaster. “I’m not sure if I’m more upset about the bear comment or being stuck in the back, again.”
“Well, make up your mind soon, sweetheart, we’re almost at your house.” Greg flipped through the electric file that had been created when the 911 call had been placed. “Marie called in the vandalism?”
“She wasn’t on site when I arrived. It was her intern, Mindy.” Toby pulled the cruiser into my driveway.
“Mindy saw who did this?” I leaned forward, trying to see what Greg was looking at on his tablet.
“No, she was in the building cleaning up after the last class. Mindy said Marie had left instructions for her to lock up after she was done and …”
“That’s enough, Toby. Jill needs to stay out of the investigation.” Greg pointed his finger at his deputy. “You’re just feeding her addiction, you know that, right?”
“I’m not addicted to sleuthing. I’m good at it.” I poute
d as Greg came around to open the back door.
He pulled me out of the car and kissed me. “Go inside and go to bed. I’ll call you in the morning.”
“Find Marie. I’m worried about her.” I leaned into him as we walked to my front porch. “She might be in danger.”
Greg took my keys and unlocked my front door. “And you might just read too many mysteries. I’m sure Marie’s home in her apartment. I’ll make sure to check though, just for you.”
I kissed him quickly. “I’m serious, I’m worried. I signed up for the class tonight. Maybe if I’d been there …”
“Jill, stop. The class was already over before the incident happened. There was nothing you could have done.”
“I feel guilty skipping.”
His slow, sexy smile gave me pause. “I know you do. I’ll make sure she’s okay. Just make sure you lock up tonight.”
“No one’s going to try to hurt me.” But Greg had already turned and stepped off the porch.
“Let’s keep it that way, okay?” he called back. When he reached the car and I was still standing in the doorway, he motioned me into the house with both hands. I nodded and closed the door, engaging the dead bolt along with the one in the doorknob. And then I went to the kitchen to let in Emma.
I glanced at the clock on the stove, ten thirty. My night out had lasted longer than most of our impromptu dinners, especially in the middle of the week. I wondered if Sherry had felt lonely when he’d chosen work over time with her. I knew Greg had to be available twenty-four/seven. But, of course, so did I. My afterhours emergencies so far this year had added up to exactly one trip down to the shop to let Aunt Jackie in because she’d locked her keys in the apartment upstairs. When I asked her where the spare was, she had nodded to the locked shop.
“At least it was secure,” I told Emma, who wagged her tail like she knew exactly what I was saying. I grabbed my notebook and a pen. Time to sketch out a possible motive for Ted’s murder and update all the possible suspects. I grabbed the laptop, as well, and settled into the couch. I threw a blanket over my legs against the chill and started writing down names.
