“It has to be solved because I know how people are,” Megan said. “And you do too. If the police can’t prove who killed Whit Fairfield, then everyone will just assume the most obvious suspect did it and the police couldn’t find enough evidence to arrest him.”
Katherine said, “And right now…”
“Right now Nico is the most obvious suspect.” Toni groaned. “Okay, you’re right. Count me in.”
Glenn was going to kill her.
Chapter 9
On Sunday afternoon Toni put on her only dress, fixed her short hair in loose curls with a tailored headband, and added a dab of makeup before she drove her vintage Mustang out of the vineyard and up the hill to Moonstone Cove Country Club.
It was hard not to tug at her dress. She hadn’t worn one since the last Lanza cousin wedding, which had been in Santa Maria, and it felt more like a costume than an actual item of clothing.
In a way, it was a costume. They were going into the foreign environment of “ladies who lunch” on Megan’s invite in order to see if they could gather more info on Marissa Dusi and why Whit Fairfield had hooked up with her. Since the country club had a dress code for Sunday brunch, Toni had donned her costume.
They also wanted to gather more gossip about Fairfield’s murder, and there was no better place to overhear gossip than the country club.
The winding driveway leading to the country club was lined by olive trees and the rolling lawns of the golf course. The main building sat on a hill overlooking the ocean, and Toni had to admit the view was stunning.
She pulled into the lot and found a spot under a cedar to park her car. The club’s parking lot was filled with a wide variety of luxury cars that screamed “conspicuous consumption” and very little taste. She recognized more than one customer by their license plate.
Megan was waiting near the front of the building, looking at her phone.
“Hey.”
The blond woman looked up and blinked. “You’re wearing a dress.”
“I am. Isn’t that the dress code?”
“Dress, skirt, or dress slacks. Collars for the men. I usually wear a dress. It’s the easiest.”
“Since I don’t own slacks and leather pants probably aren’t considered dressy enough, I figured the outfit I wore to my cousin Marie’s wedding would have to do.”
“You look nice!” Megan cocked her head. “Weird, but nice.”
“I think that’s what Marie said too.” She leaned against the railing and stared at the view. “I didn’t know you were a member here.”
“It’s become a point of contention in the divorce.” Megan smirked. “As of right now, we’re both still on the member roll. I don’t particularly want the membership, but I also know Rodney does because all this” —she waved a hand in a general circle— “is his thing.”
“So it’s leverage.”
“Absofuckinglutely.” The corner of her perfectly painted red lip turned up. “I gave up a thriving business to support that man on our move out here. He’s going to work for every penny he gets out of our marriage.”
Toni watched Megan from behind her sunglasses. The devastated woman who’d walked in on her husband cheating was long gone. All Toni saw in Megan anymore—at least relative to her ex-husband—was a ruthless businesswoman.
“I genuinely feel sorry for any man who has to negotiate with you.”
Megan glanced around. “When we’re not here, I’ll let you in on the latest, but the last thing I want is anyone around here getting the slightest clue about my personal business.” She waved at a carefully coiffed older woman walking into the club. “Mrs. Sharp, how are you? Your hair is stunning. Did you just have it done?”
“I certainly did.”
“It’s just darling. And I heard about your granddaughter getting engaged. How sweet is that? Are y’all excited? You must be.”
“We are—he’s a lovely young man…”
As they waited for Katherine and the brunch crowd began to roll into the country club, Toni watched Megan playing her part of the rich, well-connected divorcée. She could tell that the older women especially were charmed by Megan’s Southern accent and manners. The younger women resented her ease and charm.
Megan’s cutting sense of humor was so lightly applied that Toni knew most of the women didn’t even realize they were the butt of a joke. More than one walked away from Megan, smiling but with an edge of uncertainty.
Toni could sense their confusion from six feet away.
During one lull in the traffic, Toni shook her head and said quietly, “This place is exhausting.”
“You’re telling me.”
“No, I mean empathically, it’s exhausting. Nothing about the outside of these people matches the inside. I have never been more grateful for my oversharing family.”
“Ha! I want to meet your family sometime. They sound like a hoot.” Megan smiled and waved at someone walking in with a group of men in business suits. “I should talk to her before I leave.”
“Who’s that?”
“Pamela Martin. She strikes me as a good egg. Events director of the club. She’s all business. If I’m going to have any kind of event-planning business, I need to get on her list.”
“How’s all that going?”
“It’s going okay, but what I’m discovering is that a lot of the event planning in this area is driven by location. Most venues have their own planners, and people don’t always think about hiring an independent coordinator of their own even though it would probably save them money.”
“Oh, I see what you mean. So if someone wanted to have a wedding here at the club, they’d call that Pamela lady—”
“Exactly. And she’d coordinate the food and flowers and all that. Most of the wineries are the same way. But when you do that, you’re kind of stuck with whoever the club or the winery likes for services.”
“Interesting.” Toni wasn’t too interested in fancy events, but she did enjoy talking about business. “I don’t think Nico has an event planner.”
“Does he have a good venue?”
“Oh yeah. There’re two houses on the winery, and they’re both Mediterranean. Nico and the kids live in the larger one, and they rent out the smaller one for events. But there’s a big formal Italian garden that my grandmother planned from the ground up. It’s gorgeous. They’ve hosted parties and stuff, but it’s like you were talking about—planners just hire the location. The winery doesn’t really do anything except provide the wine.”
“Interesting.” Megan seemed to be mulling something over. “I wonder—”
“Katherine’s here. Thank God.” Toni flexed her ankles. “These shoes are killing me.”
Megan looked down. “You’re wearing kitten heels.”
“I know.” Compared to the work boots she normally wore, they were excruciating. “This place better have a decent spread. I am starving.”
* * *
Katherine was looking around the formal dining room of the country club with wide eyes. “This is fascinating.”
Megan smiled. “This is why I got us a table in the corner. I knew she was going to enjoy the people watching.”
Toni was unimpressed. “Looks like a whole bunch of fancy jerks to me, sprinkled with a few genuinely nice old people.”
“The relationships and power dynamics though…” Katherine pointed to a table full of women in the center of the room. “I’ve been counting the number of people who approach that table and noting how long they stay in relation to other tables in the room, and I can say that the women there definitely display the most overtly powerful social influence.”
“Queen bees,” Megan whispered. “You’re exactly right.”
“And who is the woman we’re investigating?”
“Marissa,” Toni said. “She’s about two tables to the right of the queen bees. Dark hair and a plum-colored dress.” She craned her neck and caught Marissa’s eye. Toni gave her a fake smile and lifted a hand. Marissa gave her an equal
ly fake smile and waved politely.
“Interesting.” Katherine narrowed her eyes. “That’s very interesting.”
“Why?”
“I noticed her earlier. She’s watching the room the same way we are.” Katherine shrugged. “Well, she’s probably not as acutely aware of the social dynamics from an outside perspective, but she’s definitely observing.” Katherine’s eyes went momentarily distant and she froze.
Toni looked at Megan. “Is she having a vision right now?”
“I think so,” Megan murmured, sipping the mimosa that came with the brunch buffet. “Just leave her.”
Katherine’s eyes fell closed, and Toni could see her eyes darting back and forth as if she was in a dream. A few seconds later, her eyes opened and she reached for Toni’s hand. “There’s going to be a scene. In a few minutes, you should go to the ladies’ restroom. Marissa is going to run in there, and she’ll be upset.”
Seconds later, Toni saw Poppy Carmichael, one of the queen bees that Megan had identified at the center table, stand up and walk over to Marissa’s table. She pulled up an empty chair and spoke quietly to Marissa.
“What do you think she’s saying?” Katherine said. “Do you think she’s asking about Mr. Fairfield?”
“From what I heard at the buffet, that’s the hot topic today. Everyone is speculating about what happened.”
Toni asked, “Do they knew any details?”
“Not many.” Megan dabbed her mouth and kept her voice low. “A few people said he was murdered. Bunch of other people seemed to think he probably died from natural causes.”
Was it wrong of Toni to feel superior for knowing the facts of the case? “Did anyone mention us?”
“No. That doesn’t seem to have slipped out, but everyone is talking about how he was found on your cousin’s land.”
“Great.” Toni watched Marissa. She could see the tension around her mouth as she struggled to control her expression.
“Almost,” Katherine murmured.
Poppy took Marissa’s hand and put an arm around the other woman’s shoulders. If you didn’t see the undercurrents involved, it would have looked comforting.
It wasn’t comfort.
Poppy finally leaned back and Marissa stood rapidly, her lips pursed as she looked at the diners around her. Poppy sat back, her eyes wide and seemingly concerned.
“Thank you.” Marissa’s voice was audible across the room as the club fell silent. “For your concern, Poppy. You’re so… considerate.”
“Go now.” Katherine nudged Toni.
She stood and walked to the women’s bathroom that they’d passed on the way in.
Marissa’s voice rang clear in the dining room. “It’s just so… thoughtful how concerned you all are about Whit’s passing.”
Oh, she was pissed. So very pissed. Toni nearly laughed out loud.
She ducked into the bathroom and looked under the stall doors. No one. She waited in the plush outer lounge where there were couches and mirrors along with a counter to fix makeup and freshen up with mints, mouthwash, and tiny toiletry items.
Toni took the opportunity to grab a few for her purse.
Handy.
Seconds after she’d nabbed a bunch of the breath mints and extra toothbrushes, Marissa walked in. Her eyes went wide when she saw Toni.
“You.”
Toni swiftly walked over to the door and locked the dead bolt. “Hey, coz.”
“What are you doing?” Marissa walked to the door and reached for it, only to have Toni block her.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” She gestured toward a chaise. “How is that going to look? Where else are you going to go?”
“What do you want, Toni?” Marissa stepped back, but she didn’t sit down.
“I want to have a quick conversation about Whit.”
Marissa snorted, which Toni appreciated. The gloves and the masks were off. “You and everyone else. I’m not exactly broken up about it, okay?”
“You’re upset though.” She stared at Marissa’s face and tried to sort through the emotions rolling off her.
Anger was obvious.
But under that was irritation. Confusion. Worry. Fear?
“You know he was murdered,” Toni said. “Don’t you?”
“That detective already called me. I also know he was found on our land.”
“It’s family land, Marissa. When you left the family, you left any claim to it. Don’t even try it with me.”
Marissa sneered. “Whatever, Toni. At least I’m not one of the Dusi puppies, forty-six and still sucking at the family teat. Nico’s probably the one who killed Whit. He was always jealous.”
“Did you tell Drew that Nico killed Whit?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “If he didn’t do it, he has nothing to worry about.”
“Wow.” Toni blinked. “You are an ignorant bitch. How were you married to Nico for nearly twenty years?”
“Good question.” She narrowed her eyes and smirked. “It did have a few perks. Nico’s fantastic in bed.”
“You’re so trashy.” Toni tried not to gag. “And yet you left him and ran off with Whit Fairfield of all people. Hard to imagine he was very attentive to anyone but himself.”
Marissa’s cheeks went red. “Whit was a great boyfriend.”
“Was he?” She smiled. “Was he really your boyfriend, Marissa? Or were you a convenient place to put it? I mean, no judgment, whatever works for you. But it’s not like he was taking you home to meet the family, was he?”
Marissa’s chin went up. “Whit knew exactly how valuable I was. Unlike Nico.”
“Okay. Sure.” Toni shrugged. “Too bad Whit’s dead.”
“Fuck you, Toni.”
Marissa blinked hard, but Toni wasn’t feeling any real grief from her.
Toni curled her lip. “You’re not even sad about him. You feel sorry for yourself.”
Marissa narrowed her eyes, and Toni knew if they were anywhere but the country club, she’d be going for Toni’s eyes with those manicured fingernails. “At least I’m not the sad little spinster aunt with grease under my nails. Nico always wondered: Why hasn’t Toni ever gotten married? Why can’t guys see how great she is?”
It was a common poor-Toni tactic, even in her own family, unfortunately. Toni rolled her eyes. “Maybe I’m not married because I didn’t want to get married. Is that too hard for your little brain to understand, Marissa? Some of us don’t need a man to make us feel complete in life, okay? You’d probably be better off if you understood that.”
“And you’d be better off if you understood that men don’t like women who make them feel emasculated.” Marissa’s face was all pity. “Putting on a dress doesn’t change who you are.”
Had this conversation outlived its usefulness? Probably. “Okay. Whatever, Marissa. Why was Whit Fairfield dating you? Or sleeping with you anyway. Was it just convenient, free sex?”
Marissa’s mouth curled up in the corner. “Like I said, unlike Nico, Whit understood exactly how valuable I am.” She turned and walked to the counter, opening her purse and taking out a tube of lipstick. “By the way, how’s Henry?”
“Henry?” Toni schooled her features carefully. “Nico’s winemaker?”
“You know exactly who I’m talking about.” Marissa laughed a little.
“He’s fine. Why do you care?”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why was she asking about Henry? What did that mean?
“No reason.” Her voice was breathy. “Such a promising young man. We all know he’s the only reason Nico’s wine is starting to win awards. I’m surprised he’s still working for him. Henry’s so… talented.” Her lips curved into a mauve-slicked smile.
Toni wanted to slap Marissa, yank her hair, and smash her fist in her smug mouth for letting Henry’s name cross her lips. “Sure, Marissa. Whatever.”
“Nice to see you, Toni. You should go now. We both know you’re not even close to being a member here.”
“T
hat’s a feature, not a bug.” She unlocked the door and looked over her shoulder. “So what was that with Poppy earlier?”
Marissa’s eyes went cold.
“Let me guess.” Toni flipped through what she knew about the ladies who lunched and what Megan had told her on Friday. “Poppy was warning you—now that you foolishly kicked Nico to the curb and your new sugar daddy is gone—not to go looking for any new hookups at the club, right? No one trusts you around their husband. Did I guess that right?”
The red spots on Marissa’s cheeks told Toni she’d nailed it in one.
Toni pretended to wince. “Harsh. But kind of smart. After all, we all know you don’t have any money of your own, Marissa. Without Whit Fairfield, whatever will you do?”
And with that last bomb thrown, Toni walked out of the bathroom and back to the hornets’ nest of the Moonstone Cove Country Club. She sat back at the table with Katherine and Megan, who were both staring with curious expressions.
Toni sighed. “You know what?”
“What?”
“Not being able to drink free champagne sucks.” She glanced down at her still-flat stomach. “This better be worth it.”
Chapter 10
“So Marissa thinks she was valuable to Fairfield in some way.” Megan sat on Katherine’s back porch, sipping wine and staring at the ocean. “How? Does her family have money?”
“No. Her mom and dad are normal middle-class folks. Dad was a farmer and Mom was a teacher. I have no idea where she got the idea that her shit doesn’t stink.”
Katherine asked, “Does her family have land Fairfield might want? Does she have any kind of inheritance?”
“I don’t think so. Pretty sure her brother is still running their farm and it’s all vegetables. Not the right area for wine at all.”
“Hmm.” Megan tapped her finger against her cheek. “Oh, by the way Toni, your read on what got Marissa all riled up was dead-on. I heard a bunch of Poppy’s friends talking about how Marissa wasn’t even going to let Whit get cold before she hooked up with someone new, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be their husband. That kind of thing.”
Fate Actually: Moonstone Cove Book Two Page 8