Dying on the Vine

by Marla Cooper

  Trying not to slosh, I took a step into the room. I moved the beam from side to side, surveying the mess. I’d never get it cleaned up in time. Maybe there was another entrance we could bring them through.

  Someone mumbled something I didn’t hear over my left shoulder.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “I didn’t say anything,” Pete said from over my right shoulder.

  I spun around and shined the flashlight on him and he shrugged.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I thought you—never mind. Okay, you grab that, and—”

  “Wait!” Pete said, holding a finger in the air. “Shhhh.”

  I froze in place. Was someone else in the cave with us? Pete pointed behind me and I turned and peered into the darkness, using my flashlight beam to sweep back and forth. Nothing.

  “Wait. What was that?” Hector said.

  “Where?” I asked.

  “To your right.”

  I slowly arced the beam back to the right and saw a large section of barrel and something white. Something lifeless. Something with fingers.

  I jumped back and grabbed Pete’s arm, a full-body shudder running down my spine. “It’s a dead body!”

  “What the—?” Hector said as we leaned in to have a look. Sure enough, there was a human hand reaching out from behind one of the barrels

  Male, from the looks of it. Could it be? No. Surely not.

  My heart pounded as I crept forward. I had to find out who the arm belonged to. Just as I got close enough to see behind the barrel, the fingers twitched.

  I let out a yelp and jumped backwards, dropping the flashlight in the process. It landed with a splash and bounced out of reach. I scampered over to fish it out of the puddle, but before I could get to it, the batteries shorted out and we were engulfed in darkness.

  “Guys?” I whispered.

  “Yeah?” Pete answered back.

  “Cover your ears, because I think I’m going to scream.”

  CHAPTER 18

  I blinked in the darkness, trying to steady my breathing. I stared toward where I’d seen the fingers move, but without the flashlight I couldn’t see a thing. “Hello?” I called out. “Can you hear me?”

  My heartbeat thudded in my ears, drowning out the silence.

  “Hang on,” said Hector. “Let me find the light switch.” He fumbled his way across the debris, and a few seconds later the cave was flooded with light. Quickly but carefully I scrambled across the broken fragments of barrel to find out who was connected to the hand.

  Stefan. His skin was pale, but he was breathing. “Call 911!” I yelled, sending Pete fumbling for his cell phone.

  “There’s no reception in here,” Hector said. “You’ll have to go outside.”

  Pete hurried toward the door, and I leaned over and gave Stefan a little nudge. “Stefan, can you hear me?” His eyelids fluttered briefly, but he didn’t respond. “Stefan!” No wonder he hadn’t shown up for any of his appointments today. He hadn’t skipped town; he’d been otherwise occupied on the floor of the wine cave.

  Hector hurried over to join me. “Is he still alive?”

  “Yeah, but he’s unconscious.”

  “Should we try to move him outside?”

  My head was swimming. “We’d better not. We don’t know what his injuries are.”

  Hector leaned down for a closer look. “What about CPR?”

  “He seems to be breathing okay.”

  “Maybe if you slapped him? That’s what they always do on TV.”

  I paused. Tempting, but no. “We’d better not do anything until the ambulance gets here.”

  “All right.” Hector pushed a splintered piece of oak aside with his foot. “At least let me clean some of this up before we set up for the party.”

  The engagement party! In all the excitement, I’d forgotten about the guests waiting down at the villa. “There isn’t time. We’re going to have to figure out a Plan B, and fast.”

  Pete stepped back inside the door to the cave. “The ambulance is on its way. They should be here soon.”

  I let out the breath I’d been holding. “Thank God. There’s no telling how long he’s been in here.”

  “So what should we do in the meantime?” Pete said.

  “We can’t leave him alone. But I should probably get down to the château before they start sending people up here. Do you mind staying with him?”

  “Of course not. I’ll wait outside so the ambulance knows where to go.”

  Minutes later, Hector and I were hurtling down the hill in the waning light. As soon as we hit the parking lot, I jumped out and ran inside, nearly colliding with Zara as I rounded the corner. “We need you to stall!” I told her.

  She motioned with her head to follow her into the kitchen, and she closed the door behind us. “What happened?” she whispered frantically.

  I lowered my voice so the waitstaff wouldn’t hear me. “It’s Stefan. We found him unconscious in the wine cave. I think some barrels might have fallen on him.”

  Her eyes widened in shock. “That’s horrible! Is he okay?”

  “I don’t know. We’ve called an ambulance, but we’re going to need everyone to stay down here.”

  She looked anxiously toward the guests, who were happily chatting and sipping their wine. “Okay, ummm…” She paused for a second, considering her options. “No one’s on the Vintners Terrace tonight. We can put them out there.”

  “Perfect. I’ll have Hector help me bring the place settings back down.”

  “Do you mind letting them know?” She pointed toward the courtyard, where the sommelier was instructing the wedding party on the proper way to taste wine. “Like I said, brides make me nervous.”

  “Fair enough.” I steeled myself for a moment before approaching the bride and groom. Monica and Gordon would be disappointed, but it’s not like we had any choice in the matter. What was I going to say? Come on in, folks. Don’t mind the mess—or the unconscious wedding planner lying on the floor. Just climb on over here and enjoy your dinner!

  I paused for a moment as the sommelier showed them how to stick their nose into their glasses and inhale deeply to experience the wine through their sense of smell. He swirled the wine in his glass as he spoke. “See if you can detect the grapefruit and the subtle notes of sweet Thai basil.”

  While everyone stuck their nose in their glasses and inhaled on command, I crept up next to the bride and leaned in close.

  “Monica? Can I talk to you for a second?” I kept my voice low and discreet.

  “Yes?” She took a sip of the wine and aerated it against her palate, like she’d been taught.

  “I’m sorry for the last-minute notice, but we’re going to need to move you to the Vintners Terrace for dinner.”

  She swallowed her wine and set her glass down abruptly. “But we were promised the wine cave!”

  One of the other girls laughed with an unsympathetic snort—probably Monica’s sister if I knew my bridal parties. “Oh, no. She’s been going on about that damned wine cave all week.”

  “What’s the problem?” asked Gordon, the groom-to-be. “I confirmed yesterday.”

  “Yes, well…” I had half the table’s attention, and they were all staring at me expectantly. What was I going to say? Cave-wide electrical outage? Excessive limestone deposits? A colony of rabid bats?

  “There was an earthquake,” I said, trying my best to sound like I wasn’t making it up on the spot.

  “I thought I felt something!” said an older woman I’d pegged as Monica’s grandmother. Her gray hair was cropped short, and she wore a loud purple dress that made her stand out from the rest of the family.

  “Huh,” said Gordon, looking skeptical. “I didn’t feel anything.”

  “This building’s pretty solid,” I said, “but believe me, you could really feel it in the cave. It was pretty scary.”

  Grandma’s face lit up. “Didn’t I tell you all I’d felt something? No one ever listens to me!”

&
nbsp; “Anyway, I’m afraid there was some damage in the cave, and it’s not safe to go in there.” As if on cue, the sound of an ambulance siren wailed in the distance, causing our guests to look at one another in alarm.

  “Don’t worry.” I said, waving a hand nonchalantly. “One of the staff got bumped in the head by some falling debris, so we called an ambulance to come make sure he doesn’t have a concussion.” That was putting it mildly. “But it’s a beautiful evening to be out on the terrace, and we’ll get you all set up. In the meantime, enjoy your wine, and let Zara know if you need anything at all.”

  Monica looked disappointed, but she nodded her consent as she downed the rest of the wine. The sommelier immediately topped her off, giving her a slightly more generous pour than usual, then started opening the next bottle. Good man.

  I could have used a glass myself, but there was work to be done. We’d have to load everything up and bring it back down, then set up the terrace and make it look twice as good to make up for the fact that it wasn’t underground. I had already sent Hector up with the winery’s SUV, so I hopped into my car and made my way back up the hill, hoping I didn’t take a wrong turn on one of the many narrow dirt roads leading through the vineyard. A few minutes later, I pulled up in front of the wine cave, where the lights from the ambulance bathed the hillside in a pulsating red light.

  Pete and Hector stood near the door of the cave, smoking and talking in hushed voices, and I hurried over to join them. “How is he?”

  “I don’t know,” Hector replied. “They asked us to wait out here.”

  I peeked through the door to the cave. One paramedic worked on Stefan, while the other seemed to be clearing a path for the stretcher. “They look like they’ve got everything under control. So in the meantime, we’re moving this party down the hill. Can you guys help me get everything loaded up?”

  “Sure thing,” said Pete. He took a drag off his cigarette, then dropped it to the ground, smashing it out with the toe of his rubber-soled chef clog.

  “Are we going to the terrace?” Hector asked.

  I nodded. We all swung into action, the men lifting the heavy dish crates and me stuffing my car full of floral arrangements. While I was trying to coax an extra-tall cymbidium orchid into my back seat, the paramedics came rushing out of the cave pushing Stefan on a stretcher. Rushing. That meant he was still alive. I breathed a sigh of relief, then jogged over to them as they loaded him into the back of the ambulance. Stefan’s eyes were closed, an oxygen mask over his face.

  “Is he going to be okay?” I asked.

  “We’re doing everything we can for him,” said the female paramedic, stoic and noncommittal. “You can follow us to the hospital if you want.”

  “Oh! No, that’s okay. I’m sure he’s in good hands.”

  “Suit yourself,” she said, striding toward the driver’s seat and not giving me a second thought.

  * * *

  The next few hours were a blur. The first order of business? Resetting the party on the Vintners Terrace in record time. Zara sent the waitstaff up to the cave to help us move everything back down, and they set up while I made executive decisions about where the flowers, candles, and place settings should go. I hoped Monica would approve.

  Despite the mad scramble, we were able to pull it off, and before long I was able to say the words that every girl longs to hear: “Dinner is served.”

  The guests murmured appreciatively as they gathered on the terrace, and even the bride-and-groom-to-be looked pleased with the results. Once everyone was seated, I retreated back into the château and locked myself in a bathroom, ready to collapse into a heap in the corner.

  I felt like a frazzled mess, and the mirror helped confirm that I looked like one, too. I wasn’t sure if the guests had noticed the splotches of red wine on the hem of my tangerine-colored dress, but if they had, they hadn’t said anything.

  Next time someone told me they were envious of my job, I’d have to be sure to mention tonight.

  I splashed some cold water on my face and thought about Stefan. No matter what I was feeling, he’d had a much worse night than I had. I just hoped we’d found him in time.

  I shuddered. First Babs, and now this? What was going on here?

  A knock at the door made me jump.

  “Kelsey, you in there?” It was Zara.

  “Be right out!” I dried my hands on an extra-luxurious paper towel and tossed it in the trash can.

  “Sorry, just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Zara said. “Pete made us a snack. You hungry?”

  “Starving.” I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and was running on fumes.

  “Follow me.” We went into the kitchen and Pete motioned to some seats at the end of a large, stainless steel worktable. The cold, hard stools weren’t exactly comfortable, but it felt good to finally sit down.

  “You want wine?” Zara asked.

  My mind quickly flashed to the mess on the floor of the wine cave, and I flinched a little bit. I shook my head, banishing the vision from my mind. “That would be great, thanks.”

  Zara ducked into a storeroom and returned a minute later, an open bottle dangling from one hand and two empty glasses in the other. “I don’t know about you, but after everything that’s happened tonight, I could use a drink.”

  I held the glass aloft for a moment before taking a sip. “Yeah, it’s been quite an evening.”

  Pete swooped in long enough to set two plates in front of us. “Fennel-crusted ahi tuna over couscous. Enjoy.”

  “Thank you,” I said, eyeing the dish while my stomach rumbled. “This looks delicious.”

  We invited Pete to join us, but he wanted to start cleaning, so he left us to chat amongst ourselves while we gratefully polished off his meal.

  “I’m glad Miles wasn’t here tonight.” Zara swept her long, dark hair over to one side, still somehow managing to look elegant even at the end of a long day.

  “Tell me about it.” I hadn’t even really had time to process everything, but based on Miles’ grumpiness toward all things wedding related, I knew he wouldn’t be happy.

  “I don’t want to be anywhere near him when he finds out about the damage in the cave,” Zara continued.

  “How do you think he’ll react?”

  “He’s going to go ballistic. And the fact that it was Stefan…”

  “Well, it’s not like he did it on purpose.” I couldn’t believe I was defending Stefan, but I was pretty sure he hadn’t pulled the wine barrels over onto himself just to mess with Miles.

  “It doesn’t matter. Miles has been against the wine dinners from the beginning. Said he doesn’t want anyone going into those caves unless they have a forklift or a degree in viticulture. Lucas overruled him, of course, but it’s been a point of contention between them for a long time.”

  “I don’t get it. Why is he so against weddings? I mean, sure, I’m biased, but even if he doesn’t like them, it’s an easy way for the winery to pull in money.”

  Zara cocked her head to one side. “Lucas didn’t tell you?”

  I shook my head.

  “A few years ago, there was a wedding party who bought out the whole place for the night. Couple of tech millionaires from Silicon Valley. You know, young and kind of entitled. Anyway, some of the guys got drunk and decided it would be super hilarious to play hide-and-seek in the vineyard. Didn’t ask or anything, of course. Suddenly they were just gone.”

  Uh-oh. Rogue wedding parties. I’d seen my share of those.

  “They were running all over the hills, laughing and shooting off fireworks.”

  “Fireworks?! Are you kidding me?” During the dry season, that could take out the entire county.

  “We kept begging them to come back in, but it was like herding cats. Then the best man decided it would be a really great idea to get in his SUV and drive up to the top of the hill, but he was drunk and ended up plowing right into the vineyard.”

  “No!”

  “Yep. He destroyed
about ten vines that were over a hundred years old. He kept saying, ‘Don’t worry, bro, I’ll pay for them,’ but you can’t really replace something like that.”

  “Wow, I bet Miles was mad.”

  “You can’t even imagine. If Miles had to choose between people and grapes, he’d choose the grapes every time. Those vines are like his children.”

  I cringed. “Who was in charge?”

  “It was supposed to be Babs, but she was double-booked so she sent Stefan instead. Miles was ready to pull the plug on weddings after that, but Lucas said they needed the business, and he’s the money guy. So they compromised: They’d still have weddings, but no more Stefan.”

  I nodded. “Except that when Babs died…?”

  “They didn’t have a choice but to let him come back.”

  No wonder Miles had such a chip on his shoulder. I’d have to be sure to tell Haley and Christopher no fireworks. Probably no birdseed or bubbles, either. I hoped Miles would be okay with some flower arrangements, as long as I promised none of them were invasive species.

  I shook my head. “I’m doing a wedding up here on the eighteenth. Any advice on how to stay on Miles’ good side?”

  Zara shook her head. “I’m not sure he has a good side. But the more you can stay out of his hair, the better.”

  CHAPTER 19

  After a day that had been approximately forty-three hours long—or at least felt like it—the last of the guests finally got in their cars and wound their way down the hill.

  Was Stefan going to be okay? I hoped so, despite everything he’d put me through. I mean, sure, we weren’t best friends, but seeing him lying there on the floor of the cave had really rattled me, even if I didn’t fully care to admit it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest until I found out what had happened to him, so when I got to the bottom of the hill I turned my car toward the hospital instead of home.

  Twenty minutes later, I pulled into a spot near the emergency room. The temperature must have dropped twenty degrees since sunset, and I pulled my sweater tight around me as I entered through the brightly lit automatic doors. The waiting room was crowded with people in various states of emergency, and I half-expected to see Stefan sitting in a chair holding an ice pack to his head. Wishful thinking.