Peach Cobbler Poison

by Diana DuMont

  The starlight and moonlight upped the magical factor by about a thousand. As we pulled into the dusty, gravel driveway that led to the winery and its grand tasting room, I couldn’t keep myself from gazing in awe.

  “Wow,” I whispered. I hadn’t thought I was speaking loud enough for Molly to hear me, but apparently I was.

  “Yeah. ‘Wow’ is right. Now, try to imagine being a teenage girl, seeing this place, seeing the handsomest boy you’ve ever met, and knowing that he’s the future owner. No wonder we all had huge crushes on him.” Molly sighed forlornly, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Oh, come on. It can’t be all that bad that you missed out on him, can it? After all, if you’d married him, you’d now be married to a murderer.”

  “Alleged murderer,” Molly corrected. “But anyway, I’m over it. Once I grew up, I realized that there are many more fish in the sea. One day I’ll catch one of them, and he’ll be so handsome and so wealthy that he’ll put Theo to shame. Just you wait, dahhhhling.” She dragged out the word darling and fluttered her hand like a lovesick damsel who was about to faint from excitement over her prince.

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, come on, princess. Enough with the theatrics. Let’s go get this over with and hope for the best.”

  I hopped out of the car and Sprinkles followed me. For a moment, I thought about telling him to wait in the car, but then thought better of it. If I was going to confront a murderer, it wouldn’t hurt to have a guard dog by my side. Even if that guard dog was named Sprinkles and was about as lovable as they came. I knew that if it came down to it, Sprinkles would protect me. He was friendly to everyone until they crossed me.

  My ex-husband had learned that lesson quickly. Laughably, he tried to get custody of Sprinkles in the divorce. I nipped that one in the bud by letting him keep Sprinkles by himself one night. Sprinkles had spent the whole night growling and barking at him, taking breaks only to pee on his furniture and tear up a few of his favorite expensive dress shirts. Yeah, I won that round in the divorce negotiations for sure.

  Molly and I were silent as we crept toward the tasting room. We weren’t planning to break in. We were just going to take a quick look around the outside and see if anything looked suspicious. Then we’d continue on down the path that led up to the private residence behind the tasting room. We’d knock on the door, confront Theo, and hope for the best. Still, I felt like some sort of criminal as I crept down the path and peered into the tasting room’s large front windows. I imagined that if Theo saw us now, he wouldn’t be too happy with what we were doing.

  But I soon forgot about my worries. Once I peered in the window, I couldn’t think about anything else except how beautiful the tasting room was. The inside appeared elegantly rustic. It looked like some sort of magical forest with rough-hewn wooden furniture, lush greenery everywhere, and expensive chandeliers. Sounds weird, I know. But somehow, it worked.

  “Wow,” I said for what must have been the tenth time since we drove onto the property. “I know you said you’re over him, but I can’t help thinking that whatever girl he did marry was just a teeny bit lucky. Especially since, if he goes to jail, she’ll probably get to take control of all of this. Not a bad deal if you ask me.”

  Molly snorted. “I’m not sure that’s exactly how things work when the owner of a winery goes to jail. I don’t know. You’re the lawyer, so you tell me. But anyway, it’s a moot point. Theo never married. There is no lucky girl. Or no unlucky one, for that matter.”

  “Ha. So Mr. Tough Guy managed to avoid settling down. Maybe he should have found a girl. She might have kept him a little bit more on the straight and narrow, and he might never have murdered someone.”

  In the moonlight, I saw Molly roll her eyes. “All right, enough playing. Let’s confront this guy.”

  We marched up the gravel pathway with Sprinkles guarding our rear. But we lost the element of surprise much sooner than I’d hoped. As soon as we had taken about ten steps down the path, we hit some sort of motion sensors. All around us, lights came on and illuminated the pathway. From somewhere inside the house, a dog barked. I turned back to look at Sprinkles, and saw his ears perking up.

  “No, Sprinkles,” I pleaded desperately. “Whatever you do, please don’t bark right now.”

  For once, Sprinkles listened. He gave an annoyed grunt, but otherwise kept quiet and continued to follow Molly and me as we made our way toward the now brilliantly lighted front door.

  We’d only made it about halfway down the long path before that front door flew open. A large, muscular silhouette stood in the open doorway, and I had never felt as naked while fully clothed as I did right then. I felt completely awkward and exposed. This was a ridiculous idea. What were we doing? I shouldn’t have let Molly talk me into coming here without calling the police first. I was wanted for murder, for goodness’ sake.

  Of course, I was innocent. But it wasn’t going to look good that I was sneaking around in the middle of the night. My mind started racing, and I started to contemplate turning around and running. I could probably get out of here before Theo realized who I was. I was new in town, after all. It was dark, and he wouldn’t know who I was. Sprinkles would be a problem. Dalmatians weren’t all that common, and if Theo asked around town he would probably learn who owned a Dalmatian. But still, I might get away with it, if he didn’t pay much attention to the dog.

  “Molly?” the silhouette shouted. “Molly Taylor, is that you?”

  I groaned. So much for making a quick getaway. Theo knew Molly, and I wasn’t going to leave Molly here alone. Even though this had been her crazy idea, she was only doing it to try to help me. I had to stick it out with her. I owed her at least that much.

  “Yes, it’s me,” Molly shouted. “Call off your dogs, or we’ll be forced to sic ours on you.”

  I looked at Molly in consternation. “Molly!” I hissed. “Don’t say that. I don’t want Sprinkles to have to fight. I’m not sure what kind of dog Theo has. What if it’s a pit bull? I don’t think Sprinkles can take on a pit bull.”

  Molly gave me an exasperated look. “Don’t tell me that you’re one of those people who misjudge pit bulls. You know that they’re perfectly lovable. They just need good training.”

  “Okay, okay. You’re right. I shouldn’t pick on pit bulls specifically. But whatever kind of dog Theo has, he’s probably trained it to kill first and ask questions later. He seems like that kind of man.”

  “You’re overreacting. Come on. He’s not that kind of man at all. Let’s just go talk to him.”

  “He’s not that kind of man? Molly, we think he murdered someone! What kind of man do you think he is?”

  But Molly didn’t answer me. She was already marching down the path toward Theo’s front door. I sighed and followed her, thankful that Sprinkles was right on my heels even though I hoped he didn’t have to fight.

  When we got up to the door, any worries I’d had about whether this was a mistake were confirmed. This was definitely a mistake.

  Theo was the most muscular man I’d ever seen. He was even more muscular than Sheriff Mitch. What did the guys in this town do? Spend every spare moment at the gym, seeing who could bench press more? Well, if that was the case, then Theo would beat out Mitch. And that was saying something, because Mitch looked like he could hold his own pretty well in a weightlifting competition.

  But it wasn’t the muscles that scared me the most. It was the irritated, angry look on his face. Molly hadn’t been kidding when she said he was good-looking. Yes, he was a few years older than me, but he wore his age well. I could see how he would have been a total heartthrob in high school. His dark Italian features were enough to make any girl swoon.

  He smiled at Molly, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. And it was those eyes that really scared me. They were dark, and looked angrier than I’d ever seen eyes look before. But now was not the time to panic. I was here, and it was too late to change that. At least I had my guard Dalmatian behind me. Even if hi
s name was Sprinkles, I knew he would fight fiercely for me. I also had my hand on my phone in my pocket. I could call 911 at a moment’s notice. Mitch might be a jerk, but surely the police here weren’t big enough jerks that they would let Theo kill someone in cold blood. If I made an emergency call, they’d send someone out to save us. Wouldn’t they?

  “Theo Russo,” Molly said as she put her hands on her hips. Apparently this arrogant side of him was enough to give her a fresh burst of angry courage.

  He smirked at her. “Yes? It’s been a while since you’ve shown up on my doorstep in the middle of the night. A couple decades, I think. I thought you’d given up that desperate act. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

  “This isn’t a social call, Theo,” Molly said. “I’m here because I know what you did to that journalist. You can either go confess it all to Mitch right now, or my lawyer friend here is going to present all the evidence against you in court. And trust me, you don’t want that. You know how these things go. If you confess beforehand, you can make a deal with the judge and get a lighter sentence. But if you make things difficult, you’ll end up with life in prison. Possibly even the death penalty. California still has that, you know?”

  Theo was either innocent, or the best actor I’d ever seen. He looked genuinely confused and shocked by Molly’s words. “What on earth are you talking about?”

  Molly faltered slightly. I supposed his act was working pretty well on her, and I decided it was time for me to jump in. I hadn’t wanted her to present me as a lawyer, since I wasn’t a criminal lawyer. Not only that, but I was a suspect in the case. I was pretty sure there were rules that disallowed a murder suspect from bringing a case against another suspect in the same murder. But now wasn’t the time to worry about technicalities like that.

  I drew myself up to my full height, which still wasn’t much against Theo’s height. But I did the best I could to look imposing.

  “What Molly is talking about is the fact that you poisoned Caitlin Dixon because she found out that you were stealing money from the city and blackmailing City Council members.”

  Theo looked at me with some mixture of curiosity, amusement, and disdain. I think disdain was probably winning out in that mix.

  “This has to do with Caitlin Dixon?” His voice took on a decidedly more antagonistic tone than it had had a moment ago. “She sent you here?” He looked at Molly. “Really, Molly. I don’t know what this is about, but I would have thought better of you. You don’t seem like the type to work with an annoying, squawking parrot like that Caitlin girl.”

  “Oh, don’t try to play dumb,” Molly said, seeming to regain her composure. “That ‘annoying squawking parrot,’ as you call her, is dead thanks to you. We all know it was you. You wanted to get rid of her so that she wouldn’t discover the truth about your winery.”

  Theo’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute? Caitlin’s actually dead? Really? I’ve been hiding out in my villa all day, trying to avoid her until she heads back to San Francisco.”

  Molly looked uncertain again. “Yes, she’s dead. She was poisoned yesterday, as you well know.”

  Theo let out a whoop of excitement. This was so unexpected that I nearly jumped out of my skin. Molly and Sprinkles looked just as startled.

  “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day,” Theo said. Molly and I just stared at him. Who in their right mind gave a whoop of excitement when they heard that someone had died? Theo seemed in that moment to realize his mistake.

  “I mean, of course that’s horrible. I’m sorry to hear that that young lady has passed away. But I have to admit it does make my life easier. She was over here sticking her nose in everything, trying to find a scandal that doesn’t exist!” He slammed his fist against the doorframe angrily, and I jumped again.

  “I don’t see why you’re so happy,” Molly said, trying again to make him understand why we were there. “You’re the prime suspect. You’re the one who had the most motivation to get rid of her.”

  Theo raised an eyebrow at Molly. “If I’m the prime suspect, then why haven’t the police come here to arrest me?”

  He had a point, and Molly knew it. But she wasn’t giving up that easily. “You know why they haven’t arrested you, Theo. You have Mitch and that whole Police Department in your back pocket. You think money can get you out of any problem. But let me tell you, money isn’t going to let you get away with murder! My friend and I are going to prove you did it. And when we do, you’re going to wish you had just ’fessed up in the first place.”

  Theo looked at me as though seeing me for the first time. “Are you really a lawyer?”

  He looked doubtfully at my clothing. I wasn’t wearing my Drunken Pie apron anymore, but I still had on the flour-covered pants and shirt I’d worn to work all day today. I didn’t exactly look like some sort of high-powered lawyer. I looked more like the pie shop owner that I was. But I wasn’t going to let Molly down, and I wasn’t going to let Theo intimidate me. Technically, I was a lawyer. I might not be working for a law firm anymore, and I might not be a criminal lawyer, but I was a lawyer. That much was true.

  “Yes, I’m a lawyer. And I advise you to cooperate and go confess to the police, or it’s going to be much worse for you.”

  Theo scowled at me. “Well, if you are a lawyer, then you can talk to my lawyer once I’m arrested and charged with this murder. Otherwise, I would appreciate it if you ladies got off my property. This is a private residence, and the tasting room is closed right now. Feel free to come back tomorrow during our business hours and try some wine.”

  With that, he slammed the door in our faces. Somewhere back in his house, his dogs had started barking again. Sprinkles growled, and this time I didn’t bother telling him to be quiet. Who cared if he barked? Theo knew we were here, and if he was going to sic his dogs on us, he would have done it by now.

  “Come on,” I said to Molly. “This was pointless. I don’t think we learned anything, and all we did was piss off Theo.”

  “It wasn’t pointless,” Molly insisted, even though she looked just as dejected as I did. “Did you see how he acted? He was a bit too ridiculous. He was trying to act surprised, and then happy when he learned that Caitlin was dead. He probably figured that no real murderer would act happy. They’d be too afraid that acting happy would make them look guilty, right? So he was using some reverse psychology crap on us to convince us he’s innocent when really he’s not.”

  To be honest, I wasn’t sure whether Theo was smart enough to use reverse psychology crap on us. He struck me as a big, unintelligent oaf. Sure, he was good-looking and muscular, but just because he was wealthy and owned a successful winery, that didn’t mean he was smart. I didn’t think that someone who was actually smart would admit to being happy that someone had died, especially not when there was good reason for people to suspect him of murder. Perhaps Theo wasn’t so much using reverse psychology crap as much as he was just overconfident and thought that no one could actually pin the murder on him.

  Or perhaps, I myself had had my thinking clouded by my determination to figure out whom besides myself to pin the murder on. In any case, I felt that there was certainly more here to explore. I decided I would come back after my pie shop closed the next day and pay a visit to the Sunshine Springs Winery’s tasting room. Theo had given me an invitation, after all. I would take him up on that invitation, and with any luck, I would make him regret the day that he gave me that invitation.

  I’d been screwed over too many times by men in my life, and enough was enough. There was no way that I was going to let Theo Russo get away with murder and blame me for it. He was about to find out that there was a whole lot more to this pie shop owner than just butter, sugar, and flour.

  Chapter Eight

  The Sunshine Springs Winery looked different in the daylight, but no less magical. The grapevines shimmered in the sunlight in that way I loved, and as I drove up the gravel road and parked my small, worn down coupe in the dusty parking lot, I almo
st forgot that I was there to try to catch a murderer. Sprinkles sat in the passenger seat next to me, and he seemed decidedly less enthralled by the view of the grapevines. He let out a low growl as I parked, as though still remembering the drama of the night before.

  “I know, boy,” I said. “This place didn’t get off to a very good start for you and me. But I have to see if I can find out what’s really going on with this Theo character.”

  With a resigned sigh, I opened my car door and started to climb out. Sprinkles followed me, sticking close to my heels as I walked toward the tasting room’s entrance. When we got there, I turned and shook my head at him.

  “Sorry, boy. You’ll have to stay out there. They don’t allow dogs in the tasting room.”

  Sprinkles whined, clearly unhappy with the situation, but he didn’t protest too much. He sat down by the door like a sentry, his sharp eyes darting back and forth across the grapevines, as though he expected mortal danger to appear at any moment.

  I had to admit that I felt better knowing he was out here. He was a good dog, and as long as nothing crazy happened, he would sit still and not bother anyone. But if anyone inside tried to hurt me, he would hear and come rushing in to help. I wasn’t sure whether I was being paranoid by assuming that I might be attacked at a fancy tasting room during business hours, but given the events of the last day or two, I’d rather be overly paranoid than not paranoid enough.

  I marched into the tasting room, my head held high as I prepared to confront Theo yet again. But Theo wasn’t in the tasting room. I shouldn’t have been surprised by this. What had I been thinking? That the owner of the winery spent his days mindlessly pouring out samples for slightly tipsy tourists? No, he’d hired people to do that for him, of course. Those people were standing behind the gleaming wooden counter right now, flashing overly enthusiastic smiles at their last customers of the day.

  I didn’t know everyone in town well enough to recognize them by sight yet, but I knew enough to know that no one currently in the room was a local. Their overly trendy clothes and syrupy sweet laughs gave them away as tourists from the “big city” who had come to spend a sunny day in wine country.