Intrigue and a Bottle of Merlot

by Bria Marche

  “Of course not. Welcome home.”

  “I’m just visiting. New York is my home. So, is Rick coming in today?”

  “He isn’t on the schedule. Abby and Steve are the cashiers today. Rick and I have opposite schedules during the week, and we come in on alternate weekends.”

  “Why don’t you give Rick a call and have him stop by. Also, I’ll need all the store receipts and expenses going back to the first of the year. Put everything on my desk in the office. We’ll be here for a week to go over everything. By the way, this is Karen. She’ll be here to help me go over the records, and we’ll both be spending time with the employees. Anything Karen needs, make sure she gets.”

  “Absolutely. I’ll get the records for you and give Rick a call.”

  ***

  Joe opened the file cabinet, pulled out a stack of files, and set them on the desk. He exited the back door and walked down the alley, making sure he was out of earshot before he called Rick.

  “We’ve got problems. Mario is here, and he wants you at Gravity right now. You better start thinking of something to say. It looks like he’s gotten wise to what’s happening in the store. Either we’re going to throw the college kids under the bus or blame it on customer theft, but we have to come up with something fast.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Sasha had the jelly jars in the double boiler and the timer set for ten minutes. Today was all about making apple butter. J. J. had never tasted apple butter in his life until he tried Sasha’s. He begged for more. Being alone with no one other than Kismet around had its benefits. Sasha could focus on the task at hand with no interruptions. She was at her best in the kitchen, stirring up a pot of something. She laughed, thinking back to months ago when Tina had showed her how to turn the oven on. Now the kitchen was one of her favorite places. She opened the curtains, allowing the spring sunshine to pour in while she worked. She popped the ’80s greatest hits CD into the player and set the volume to low. She enjoyed listening to classic rock even though it didn’t fit her age group.

  The girls’ music tastes are definitely rubbing off on me, she thought as she waited out the timer with Kismet snuggled on her lap.

  The knocker banged against the heavy wooden door just after nine o’clock.

  That’s weird. I’m not expecting anyone. Sasha set the pup on the floor, glanced at the timer, which showed that she had four minutes until it would buzz, and headed down the hallway to the front door. She pulled the sheers aside and peeked out the skylight.

  Candy stood at the door with her hands on her hips, looking agitated already.

  Oh, for crap’s sake, really? I have to deal with her now? Sasha would have thought twice about speaking to her, but it was too late. Candy saw her peeking out. Sasha reluctantly opened the door. “Candy, what’s up?”

  “What’s up? I moved to this hellhole of a town because that was the only way I’d see my kid. Now he spends almost all his time here instead of with me.”

  “You and Josh have shared custody, meaning Josh can take J. J. anywhere he wants, including here. I’m not going to get in the middle of this, Candy, so you should discuss it with Josh.”

  “How do you suggest I do that when he’s always here, too? How can I ever win against you and this stupid mansion? Joshie would rather be here than at my apartment. If Josh would just help with my expenses…”

  “Excuse me? Josh has no legal attachment to you, and he sure as hell isn’t responsible for your bills. Go find a real job and support yourself. Furthermore, you and I aren’t competing for anything. You’re J. J.’s mother, so act like it. I know it would be very convenient for you if Josh would stay home so you could park your butt at his house, but that isn’t the way it is. Actually Josh is putting his house on the market. So if you want to meet up with him and discuss J. J., you’ll have to do it in a public place.”

  “His name is Josh Jr., not J. J.”

  “Well, he enjoys his nickname, and that’s what we call him. Is there anything else I can do for you?” Sasha cocked her head and gave Candy a stare down.

  “Yeah, you can go to hell.” Candy spun around and marched down the sidewalk to her car.

  “Whatever… weirdo.” Sasha slammed the door and rushed back to the kitchen to remove the canning jars from the double boiler. Eight jars of apple butter would last for several months and make J. J. more than happy.

  The door knocker banged one more time.

  “Oh my God, I swear I’m going to kill her.” Sasha stormed to the door and swung it open.

  Mia stood on the porch with a bag of donuts. “Hey, girlfriend, want something sweet and fattening to eat?”

  Sasha remembered that she and Mia were supposed to finish the stenciling along the staircase that day. “Mia… hi, sorry, I thought it was Candy again. I was about to punch her in the face. Seriously, that woman is such a tool.”

  “Candy was here already this morning?”

  “Yeah, you just missed her.”

  “Hasn’t she found a job yet? She’s been here for three weeks already.”

  “Who the heck knows? All I know is she’s really pissing me off. C’mon in. Let’s eat those donuts. I made some apple butter. I’ll give you a jar to take home.”

  “Martha Destiny… hard at work already. You amaze me, girl.”

  ***

  Rick walked in the front door of Gravity and looked around. Joe stared at him, wide-eyed and nervous, as he folded tee shirts. Mario’s voice caught Rick’s attention. He was in the office, discussing the first-quarter receipts and invoices with someone.

  “Let’s go outside and talk,” Joe whispered.

  They stepped out onto the sidewalk. The morning hustle and bustle was already starting. Retail employees turned on store lights and put out Open signs in anticipation of customers swarming in. Tourists milled about on the streets, looking for after-season sales and a strong cup of coffee.

  “Let’s go around the corner.” Joe led the way to the side alley. “If we play this down and act ignorant, we might get a pass. I’m sure Mario is going to be pissed that we aren’t paying close attention to the numbers being off, but we’ll admit theft has been high everywhere in town this past ski season. We’ve had a decent run, but we better tone it down.”

  “Yeah, but now he’s in town, then coincidentally the sales start climbing again? He’ll know it was us for sure. We’ll end up getting fired or arrested. Who was he talking to in the office?”

  “He brought some woman with him. I have no idea who she is. Anyway, if we stick to the same story and dumb it down, he might let it go with just a stern warning. You know, we’ll say we’re still new and learning the ropes. We’ll blame the profit loss on the employees or customer theft. We’ll promise to be more diligent. We might skate by on this one if you just stay calm.”

  ***

  Mario stretched and got up. He poured two cups of coffee with cream and handed one to Karen. “I should call my accountant. Maybe we can get in there today and go over this mess with him.”

  The front door’s squeaky hinges alerted Mario. He opened the office door and saw Joe and Rick walking into the store. “I wonder why they needed to talk privately outside.”

  Mario called Rick into the office and ran a slew of questions by him. He did the same with Joe. Their answers matched up perfectly, not surprising Mario at all. He asked Abby and Steve to come into the office separately and questioned them as well. The kids hadn’t noticed anything unusual other than the clothing inventory seemed to move much faster than everything else. That could be perfectly normal since many tourists bought souvenir tee shirts, but quite a few tee shirts would have to disappear to reflect the loss of income they’d experienced.

  Mario and Karen carried out the boxes of security tags and showed everyone how to apply them to the merchandise. Every item on the floor would have a security tag put on it unless it was too large to steal anyway. Whenever the shelves were stocked, the tags that were removed from sold merchandise would be put
on the new items.

  Mario began to set up the antitheft fixture near the front door. A knock on the storefront window got his attention. He looked up to see Billy Mayberry grinning at him through the glass. Billy, the owner of Slopes Bar and Grill, had been a close friend since the day Mario had moved to Telluride. They’d met on the Mak-M-Stairs-Plunge black diamond run and remained friends ever since. Billy had given Sarah a job at Slopes after Mario moved back to New York.

  He entered through the squeaky front door and man hugged Mario tightly. “Dude, why didn’t you tell me you were coming back to town? I would have thrown a party! Are you back for good?”

  “Nah… I’m just here to take care of some business for a week. Sometimes the element of surprise is necessary. Anyway, I’m swapping out inventory in Hunter and thought it would be a good time to check on things here while I had a little breathing space. I have to put out the spring clothing line, camping gear, and bikes here, too.”

  They stepped outside to talk. Karen watched through the window as she secured tags to a dozen down-filled vests.

  “Billy, have you heard any talk in town about more retail theft than usual?”

  “I can ask around. You know, we don’t really have that problem in the food-service industry. Are there problems at Gravity?”

  “Yeah, some. The managers I hired said theft was high this past season, but I don’t know that to be a fact. They could be up to something. I’m installing security measures even though the four years I was here I never had any problems. It just doesn’t feel right.”

  “I hear you, man. I’ll definitely ask other retailers. C’mon over to Slopes for dinner and a few beers tonight. It’s on the house.”

  “I don’t know, Billy. Sarah works for you, doesn’t she? I’m really trying to keep my distance.”

  “Yeah, she does, but she’s off tonight. She only works four nights a week. She has a part-time job somewhere in town during the day, but I can’t remember where. Did you hear Brad left Telluride?”

  “Nope, haven’t heard anything. It doesn’t matter anyway. Sarah and I are ancient history. I plan to keep it that way. I want to be in and out of town without drama.”

  “I understand that. I guess Brad moved to Jackson Hole because he got so much flack in town. With both of them getting fired, then you leaving, people were angry at him. I think he just wanted some distance for a while. You have a lot of friends here, Mario. Stop in later. You remember how good those steak sandwiches and waffle fries are, don’t you?”

  Mario smiled and remembered it was almost lunchtime. “Man, you’re making my stomach growl. Okay, you twisted my arm. I’ll be there, and I’m bringing a friend. We’ll see you at five thirty. Gotta catch happy hour.”

  Mario and Karen broke for lunch then headed to the office of Mike Butler, Mario’s accountant in Telluride. They had plenty of paperwork to go over.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sasha waited for Josh at Amelia’s. She texted her dad while she sat at the bar table near the window. The grape stock was ordered and due to arrive on May 6. Her parents were scheduled to arrive three days after that. Sasha needed to know if they should get the ground prepared and the holes dug prior to their arrival. She was excited beyond belief. All of her dreams were coming true. The Victorian was almost done, and planting the vineyard was set to begin. In a month, the extra lot would be transformed into a beautiful wedding garden where her very own wedding ceremony would take place.

  The visits with the OB-GYN were going well. By her next appointment, she could learn the sex of the baby if she wanted to. She would discuss that with Josh, among other things, over lunch. For conversation, Amelia’s—with its cozy atmosphere—was the place. Bottoms Up and Morey’s attracted the loud lunch crowd.

  Josh arrived at twelve thirty. He waved to her as he exited his car and pointed to the cell phone against his ear. Five minutes later, he entered the restaurant. “Hi, babe, sorry, that was Jake. He’s handling my house listing. I guess it would be a conflict of interest in a way if I listed my own house. I may be somewhat partial.” He sighed as he caught his breath and gave her a kiss on the lips. “Busy day?”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary, I made apple butter for J. J. this morning. Mia came over, and we worked on the stenciling along the staircase in the library for a while. A few more days, and that will be done.”

  “Anything else? You seem distracted, honey.”

  “You need to talk to Candy. She stopped over early this morning and read me the riot act. She’s jealous of something. I guess she’s just a mad person in general. She doesn’t like Tarrytown, and she hates me and the Victorian. She’s angry that we call Josh J. J., and she doesn’t like the fact that you both spend as much time as you do with me.” Sasha rubbed her temples and sighed. “Can’t she just get along with us? You really need to set her straight. I don’t like it when she bangs on my door whenever she wants, either. We have to set boundaries with her. She needs to be told we’re getting married and there’s a baby on the way, too.”

  “Not that anything in our life is her business, but maybe I should meet with Stuart and have a schedule drawn up. She’ll have J. J. certain days, and we’ll have him on other days. We can alternate weekends. I’m sorry she upset you, honey. I’ll talk to her about going through me with any concerns. She has no right to bother you.”

  “Thanks, Josh. On a happier note, we can find out the baby’s sex at my next doctor’s appointment. What do you think? Do we want to know or not? We can throw a guess-the-baby’s-sex party.” Sasha chuckled.

  “Leave it to you to come up with a party idea. Sure, let’s do it. You ladies can have a nursery-decorating party, too, after we find out.”

  The waitress approached their table. “Hey, guys, ready to order?”

  ***

  The snowfall was beautiful as Mario and Karen walked back to Gravity after meeting with the accountant. The large flakes coated their shoulders and crunched under their feet as they walked.

  “Want to grab a coffee?” Mario asked as they approached the Hot Java coffee shop.

  “That sounds delicious.”

  They stepped inside the long, narrow coffee shop, which held only two tables and an oak bar. Patrons cozied up and sipped their hot brew. The funky establishment looked like it could have been a saloon back in the Wild West days except the brew would have leaned more toward whiskey or beer. Black-and-white photos of Telluride covered the walls, from a time when Colorado Avenue was nothing more than a dirt road with uneven boardwalks instead of sidewalks. Mario ordered while Karen admired the photos. They sat at the end of the bar.

  “This coffee shop is really cool. I guess I’m not surprised. This whole town is awesome. I’d have a tough time leaving a place this pretty. It’s hard to believe you chose Hunter over Telluride. It’s just so gorgeous here.”

  “It sure is. Let’s see how things go this week. Once we get everything squared away with the business ledger, maybe we can sneak in a hike and see some wildlife.”

  While at the store, Mario intended to keep a close watch on Joe and Rick. He suspected them over the kids since they seemed a little savvier and a lot more suspicious. Spending a week in Telluride would show him the average sales on a daily basis. With any luck, the security tags would stop the theft right in its tracks.

  Mario and Karen left Gravity for the night at five fifteen. It had been a long day of running numbers and placing security tags, and a fun, upbeat dinner at Slopes would be a welcome change. Mario was pretty sure word would get out soon enough that he was back in town. He wasn’t hiding—he just wanted to stay away from Sarah. There were plenty of old friends he hoped to see again, and he wanted to introduce Karen to a few of them.

  The bar was full and the atmosphere lively since happy hour was still going strong. Mario found a bar table where they waited until their dinner table was ready. Several old friends noticed Mario and came over to reconnect. Laughter, back slaps, and introductions were made. Billy Mayberry s
at with them for a while, and the discussion led back to the retail theft around town. Billy said nobody had reported anything beyond the typical tee shirt going missing here and there.

  “I’m not surprised,” Mario said. “I don’t really know Rick or Joe. I might have to let them go, and hire new managers. I’ve even considered selling the store. I guess I have to give every option some more thought.”

  “You’d really go that far?” Billy asked. “Let’s talk more about that later. It was nice meeting you, Karen. You guys order anything you like—it’s on the house. I’ll see you around town.” He gave Mario a handshake and headed for the bar area. He was helping out during happy hour, and the drinks were flowing.

  “This is a great bar,” Karen said. “It’s quite the happening place. Let’s come back here again before we leave town.”

  Mario smiled but hoped Karen would forget that suggestion. He didn’t want to press his luck.

  ***

  Saturday morning came, and the weekend crew was working at Gravity. This gave Mario an extra chance to interact with the rest of the employees. He explained the security tags to them and demonstrated how to remove them after the customer purchased an item. If they forgot, the antitheft alarm would go off by the door.

  The day was busy, too busy to leave for lunch now that they were swapping out seasonal items and marking down the winter gear. Karen volunteered to go across the street and get lunch from Soup and Sandwiches. They looked over the menus, which she’d grabbed the day before. Mario decided on chicken dumpling soup and a turkey sprout sandwich on whole-wheat toast.

  “That sounds good, I think I’ll have the same. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

  “Thanks, Karen, but wait a minute.” Mario took her by the hand and pulled her into the office, where it was a little more private. He gave her a lingering kiss and whispered in her ear. “Tonight, we’re going to relax at the condo and have a nice dinner and wine, just the two of us, alone. Maybe we can check out the hot tub, too. Does that sound okay?”