“That should die down soon,” I said, “once the sensationalism wears off. Just don’t do what I did and find another body. Then they never go away.”
“I’m going to shower off the orange jumpsuit smell. Can you come over, though? I need the company, and Mandy’s not answering her phone.”
“Oh, it’s because she’s hosting Dr. Brinkman’s talk tonight.”
“Hosting? You mean her latest guru is actually putting her in charge of something? I didn’t think she had it in her.”
“She’s quite good at it,” I said.
“How do you know?”
“I’m at the talk. Well, I was, but then you called, so I stepped out to talk to you.”
“Why are you at the talk? I never took you for the type to need all that positive self-help crap.”
“I got a free ticket,” I said with a shrug.
“Well, at least you didn’t waste your money. So, what’s he like?”
“I don’t really know. I’m missing it, but it’s kind of weird. They hand out calming drinks before the lecture. We saved a sample to find out what the heck is in it. I mean, you should see these people. They are all in some state of trance about this guy.”
“It’s probably just herbal tea,” Tim said. “Mandy’s big on the junk. I think that’s where this guy makes his real fortune. He sells the stuff at seventy-five percent markup.”
“Huh, and here I thought it was the tee shirts.”
“Tee shirts?”
“Joking,” I said. “At least I think I’m joking. I haven’t seen any merchandise for sale yet. Listen, I’ve got to go before Holly gets too sucked into this guy’s shtick. She seemed pretty into it when I left.”
“Did she drink the Kool-aid?”
“Come to think of it, she did. I’m going to go rescue her now.”
“Good luck with that.”
I snuck back into the lecture hall and was surprised to catch a glimpse of Bridget Miller. I watched as she talked to a man in a white outfit. They headed backstage.
It seems she’d one-upped me again. I might have gotten boxed seats, but she’d gotten a backstage pass. I sighed and sat down to catch the last half of the presentation. Then Mandy came on stage and closed the lecture. “He’s such an inspiring speaker,” Holly said as the lights came up.
“What did you think, Chelsea?” I asked, knowing that she hadn’t had any of the tea.
“I’d say it’s a lot of the same things that other positivity coaches are saying.” Chelsea frowned. “Still, I have a gut feeling that this guy is better than the rest.”
I put my arms through Holly’s and Chelsea’s and walked them out into the fresh air. “Maybe it’s not just the drink. Maybe it has to do with the scent in the air as well. I mean, everyone in there seemed glued to every word this man said.”
“Except you,” Holly said and drew her eyebrows together. “What happened? Why can’t you see it?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t drink the tea.”
“Neither did Chelsea, and she still got it.”
“Tim called while Dr. Brinkman was speaking, and I left to take it. Maybe I got more fresh air than you all did.”
“Well, we can’t test the air,” Chelsea said. “But we can test the tea.” She pulled the vial out of her pocket.
“I say we forget about the tea for now and go back to Aunt Jemma’s and have some wine and girl time.”
“What about Mandy?” Holly asked.
“Oh, right,” I said and let the girls go. “How about you two go to the car, and I run and get Mandy and invite her as well. Maybe she can tell us more about Dr. Brinkman.”
“Great!” Holly’s eyes sparkled. “I’m excited to learn more.”
Frowning at her weird enthusiasm, I turned and fought my way through the exiting crowd to go backstage. When I entered the auditorium, the stagehands were sweeping up and removing the microphones and the chair that Dr. Brinkman had been sitting in as he spoke. I went up the stage steps and behind the curtain, in search of Mandy. There were two women talking who seemed to know a bit about what was going on.
“Excuse me, do you know where I can find Mandy?” I asked.
The first woman blinked at me as if I hadn’t spoken English.
“Who?” The second woman asked.
“Mandy, the woman who introduced Dr. Brinkman tonight?”
“Oh,” the second woman said with a touch of disdain. “She’s probably with him right now. Down the hall, second door on the right.”
“Thanks.” I made my way through the cleanup crew. The hallway was quieter than the stage area. The first door on the right was open. The room appeared to be a dressing area and was empty. The second door was open a crack. I pushed the door farther open. “Mandy?”
I was shocked to find her in a passionate embrace with Dr. Brinkman. “Oh, excuse me.” I quickly backed out, closing the door behind me. I thought I heard her giggle behind the closed door. I turned and hurried out of the hall and out the door.
One thing was suddenly crystal clear. Mandy was having an affair with Dr. Brinkman. Before I could think about that shocking news, I ran into Bridget and the man with brown hair who had given me the tickets. “Well, well, Taylor O’Brian, what brings you here?” Bridget asked with false niceness in her voice. “I hope you aren’t thinking about adding Dr. Brinkman’s lectures to your tour group.” She sent me a small smile. “Quirky tours just inked the rights to Dr. Brinkman’s lectures and the compound. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Brilliant,” I muttered under my breath. I hadn’t even thought about the guru as a part of the tours. I guess it is both quirky and expected by California tourists. I sighed. This having a rival was going to be tough. I needed to start to think outside the box, or I was about to lose my fledgling business.
Chapter 11
“What’s the matter?” Holly asked. She was curled up on the outdoor settee in front of Aunt Jemma’s outdoor fireplace. “You look upset.”
“I ran into Bridget. She signed a contract for Quirky Tours to get tickets to Dr. Brinkman.”
“Oh dear,” Holly said. “I’m sorry.” She got up and gave me a quick hug.
“I just hope they don’t flock to her tours like they are to the lectures.”
“I’m sure there’s room enough for both businesses to thrive,” Holly said and walked me to the sitting area. Aunt Jemma had a wine bottle open and breathing, with wince glasses on the little deck table.
“Did you get Mandy?” Chelsea asked as she walked out of the house and joined us on the front patio of Aunt Jemma’s house.
“No,” I said and shook my head. “I walked in on her kissing Dr. Brinkman. It was embarrassing because it was so much more than a kiss between friends.”
“She was kissing him?” Holly asked. “Are you sure? I thought she was Tim’s girlfriend.”
“Was is the key word here, I think.” I poured the wine and handed out glasses of Aunt Jemma’s zinfandel. “I know what I saw. When I apologized and closed the door, I heard her giggle as if it was funny to get caught.”
“She must not have known it was you,” Chelsea said and sipped her wine, clearly relaxed. It was a crisp fall night, but we had a warm fire going in the fireplace that sat at the edge of the patio. The rest of it was surrounded by Mediterranean cedars so that only the smell of the grape vines and a slight scent of the ocean fog mixed with the smell of the wood burning.
The stars shone overhead brighter than they did in town. I leaned my head against the back of the wicker chair and put my feet up on the footstool. “I guess she couldn’t have known it was me. She was enveloped by Dr. Brinkman. I wonder if she thought I was a stagehand.” I sat up. “I think the crew knew about the affair. They knew exactly where she would be.”
“The next question is does Tim know about the affair?” Holly asked.
“Would he care?” Chelsea asked. She sat up. “It could be a motive for murder.”
“Mandy’s affair? How?” I asked.
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“Tim said Mandy was gone the night of the murder,” Chelsea pointed out.
“Yes,” I drew my eyebrows together. “I think he said they had a fight, and she went to stay with her sister.”
“That’s convenient. She has to know something, or maybe Tim fought with her to get her off the property. You know, Sonoma County is a small area. Everyone knows everyone else. Maybe Tim didn’t kill Jeffery for the zoning. Maybe Jeffery, being Mandy’s boss, came to tell Tim about Mandy’s affair, and Tim got enraged and hit the guy in the head, then dumped the body.”
“In his cherished blend of grapes?” I asked. “He’s been working on getting the perfect blend of old and new zins for years. His new zins finally had a good enough year to give him the ratio of old to new to make a custom blend. No, if Tim were going to kill someone, he would have buried them out back in the vineyard. He wouldn’t let anyone near his precious batch.”
“It still seems like a strange coincidence that she wasn’t here that night. Either Tim wanted her gone, or she wanted to be gone.”
“Or, as you said, Sonoma is a small town. Maybe the killer knew Tim and Mandy had a fight, and Tim was alone. So they killed Jeffery to frame Tim and put the body in the special grapes as a message.”
“That’s a lot of work,” Chelsea said thoughtfully, “but it’s remotely plausible. Does Tim have any enemies?”
“Tim certainly tries hard enough,” I said with a wave of my wine glass. “Don’t get me wrong; I like the guy, but his sense of humor is dark. Most people take it badly. I’m one of the few friends he has.”
“And me, of course,” Aunt Jemma said. She walked out in a long, flowing orange and blue swirled caftan. Her hair was pulled back and she had a glass of wine in her hand. “Hello, ladies Sorry I’m late. What have I missed?”
Holly filled her in on everything.
“You don’t need a guru to attract business,” Chelsea said as she poured a glass of wine and sat down. “You have notoriety.”
“For what?”
“For solving a murder,” Aunt Jemma said. “People love detectives. You should play that up.”
“Speaking of detective work, Mandy is having an affair with Dr. Brinkman,” Holly said. “Taylor caught them kissing in his dressing room.”
“Well, that’s interesting,” Aunt Jemma said. “Does Tim know?”
“We don’t know,” Chelsea said. “Someone should find out.”
“Why are you all looking at me?” I asked and sat up straight.
“You’re the one who saw them kissing,” Holly pointed out.
“And you are closest to Tim,” Chelsea said.
“No, he’s closer to Aunt Jemma—isn’t that right, Aunt Jemma?”
She took a sip from her wine. “I think he isn’t particularly close to anyone, but I have known him longer. Do you want me to tell him? I mean it seems a little like telling tales out of school. Since I didn’t witness the feat.”
I bit my bottom lip in worry. “I suppose I should be the one to tell him.”
“Mandy should actually be the one to tell him,” Chelsea pointed out. “She’s the one who is being dishonest.”
“How was the lecture tonight—I mean besides the insight into Mandy’s relationship?” Aunt Jemma asked. “Was Dr. Brinkman all that and a bag of chips? Is there even anything to worry over Quirky Tours’ new contract?”
“Everyone there seemed to be mesmerized,” I said.
“How would you know? You walked out a third of the way through,” Holly said and pouted. “You missed all the magic. The man is magic, you know. I have this strong urge that I need to go back and hear him again. In fact, I just bought another ticket on my phone. Do you know he has an app that you can download for free and then schedule a seat at any of his talks? This time I got a seat up front.” She closed her eyes. “I just want to bask in the glow of his words. He makes me feel all warm and safe.” She opened her eyes. “Do you know what I mean?”
I reached over and put my hand on her forehead. “She doesn’t feel feverish,” I said.
“I’ll take her phone,” Chelsea said. She grabbed the phone. Holly tried to grab it back.
“Ladies, what is going on?” Aunt Jemma asked.
“I think there’s something in the drink they give you when you enter the auditorium,” I said. I turned to Chelsea. “You’re having that tested, right?”
“I shipped the sample off to the lab right after we left the auditorium. I did it right away because I was starting to feel like it might be a bad idea.”
“There was something in the air as well,” I said to Aunt Jemma. “Mandy said it was essential oils, but I think it’s some kind of mind control.”
“Hmm,” Aunt Jemma said. “Seems like a lot of work for a guru. Most of them are charismatic speakers. They give some truths in their talks that make people want to follow them. Does he have a self-help book out?”
I picked up my phone and checked the search feature. “He has three books out. They are all New York Times bestsellers.” I looked up at my aunt. “That can’t all be due to tea and essential oils.”
“The tea and essential oil might simply be part of the theater of his work. People love theater. They love ambiance—like in our séance. It really is all about the feeling it provokes.”
“Well, this guy certainly provoked a feeling in Mandy,” Chelsea said.
Holly grabbed her phone back from Chelsea. “I think he’s brilliant. I want to hear more.”
“How much did you pay for your next ticket?”
“Only five hundred dollars,” she said. “I got a deal. If you join the group, you get two more lectures, top pick of seats, plus ten percent off all the products from his store. You know—books, tea, essential oils to recreate the atmosphere in your own meditation room.”
“Gee, the guy is making money hand over fist,” Chelsea said. “No wonder he was able to give away a couple of two-hundred dollar tickets. He’s already profited one hundred dollars in return. Not a bad investment, if you ask me.”
“Okay, so this guy seems a little shady. What’s the plan?” Aunt Jemma said.
“Keep Holly away from the app until whatever she drank wears off.” Chelsea pulled the phone out of Holly’s hands again.
“Hey—”
“It’s for your own good, honey,” Chelsea said.
“Listen to her,” Aunt Jemma said. “You’re saving for that trip to France, right? Trust me, you really don’t want to follow this Dr. Brinkman more than you want to go to France.”
“I have wanted to go to France my entire life,” Holly said and leaned back in her chair. “I want to go where all of the great artists painted. I want to walk the streets of Paris and see artists at work.”
“You can’t get that if you’re paying five hundred dollars or more for tickets to see Dr. Brinkman,” Chelsea said.
“But you were there—you heard him,” Holly argued. “He said if you follow his program to the letter, then all of your dreams will come true. That means if I spend a little money on his system now, I will have my trip to France before I know it.”
“Keep her phone,” Aunt Jemma said.
Holly pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. “Didn’t anyone else understand how good Dr. Brinkman is?”
“Trust me, he’s most likely a con man.” Aunt Jemma patted Holly’s knee. “Nothing is ever as good as they tell you it will be. We’re looking out for your own good.” She turned to me. “What else are you going to do?”
“Hmm,” I said. “Chelsea, can you look further into Dr. Brinkman? I have a feeling that his affair with Mandy is more than a coincidence.”
“I’m on it,” she said and toasted me with her wine glass. “I did some preliminary work and didn’t find much. I think it’s time I started doing some serious digging. Thank goodness for public records. Without them I would have to pay someone to hack into databases.” She grinned. “I’d rather do the research on my own.”
“Good,” I sai
d. “Now we need to help Tim out.”
“Are you going to tell him about Mandy?” Chelsea asked.
“I’m going to get Mandy to tell him about Mandy,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster.
“Good luck with that,” Holly said.
“We also need to figure out who killed Mr. Hoag and why they are trying to frame Tim,” I pointed out.
“We could let the sheriff handle that,” Aunt Jemma suggested. “He is pretty good when it comes to these things.”
“Aunt Jemma!” I was aghast. “He just arrested Tim. There is no way he’s going to investigate anyone else.”
“You should tell Sheriff Hennessey about Mandy’s affair,” Aunt Jemma said.
“How will that help Tim’s murder case?”
“Maybe Mandy wasn’t altogether honest with the police about where she was the night of the murder,” Aunt Jemma suggested.
“And?”
“If she lied about where she was, what else could she be lying about?”
I shook my head. “Mandy doesn’t seem smart enough to get away with murder.”
“That was a bit of a low blow,” Holly said. “Dr. Brinkman said we are all smart enough to accomplish our goals.”
“When is that tea going to wear off?” I asked.
“Hey.” Holly frowned at me. I reached over and gave her a big hug.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “That was mean. I must be feeling cross. I just don’t understand the Dr. Brinkman thing, and I really don’t understand who would try to frame Tim. I’m a bit frustrated that I can’t seem to help.”
“Why don’t we all get some rest,” Aunt Jemma said and stood. “Holly, come with me, honey. I’ll get you set up for a good night’s sleep. You’ll find that your mind will be much clearer in the morning.”
I stood. “I’ve got a tour group that leaves at ten A.M. Chelsea, you can stay the night as well.”
“I’ve got two guest rooms,” Aunt Jemma said. “I’d feel better if you girls all were safe under my care.” She put her arms around us. “I don’t know what happened at that lecture, but I think you shouldn’t be alone tonight. Let’s make a slumber party of it.”
Seven Deadly Zins Page 9