Murdered By Wine: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 13)
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MURDERED BY WINE
By
Dianne Harman
(A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery - Book 13)
Copyright © 2017 Dianne Harman
www.dianneharman.com
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Paperback ISBN: 978-1976037665
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’m always asked how I come up with ideas for my books. Even I have to admit this one came out of left field. Our daughter-in-law is a wine scholar. She’s received almost every certificate one can acquire for American and French wines, and she also teaches the subject. My husband and I recently met her and our son in Sonoma, California, and naturally, we had to do some wine tasting.
While touring a boutique winery our guide showed us the wine vat barn. The guide mentioned that the winemakers had to be very careful when they worked around a wine fermentation vat, because occasionally a winemaker could become overcome by the carbon dioxide gas given off by the fermenting wine, fall in a wine vat, and die. Needless to say, I immediately went on alert and knew this could become the subject of a new book! And so it did.
I want to thank all of the wonderful people in Sonoma who hosted us and allowed us to enjoy their restaurants, their wineries, and shared their beautiful city with us. We so appreciate your gracious hospitality. Thanks!
To Vivek and Tom: My undying appreciation for all you do. I’ve thanked you many times before, so I won’t bore the readers with a laundry list of all the things each of you does to help make my books bestsellers. You know how much I value what you do for me.
And to my readers: Thank you for continuing to buy and borrow my books. Because of you, I’m fortunate to always be on a number of bestseller lists, not the least of which was being a USA Today Bestselling Author on July 6, 2017. Thank you for making all of this happen!
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
EPILOGUE
RECIPES
ABOUT DIANNE
CHAPTER 1
Angela Lucci opened the kitchen door of her home that overlooked the Moretti vineyard just north of Sonoma, California, and inhaled the fresh smell of grapes that was still in the air from the recent harvest. Her long raven hair tumbled over her shoulder, grazing the flawless tanned skin of her uncovered arms. It was a clear fall day, and she welcomed the fresh breeze that met her on the porch. She knew the wine that was fermenting in the large stainless steel vats was doing fine. The crush, or the harvest of the grapes, had gone well. As usual, Juan, the man in charge of hiring the seasonal help required to handpick the grapes, had chosen his workers wisely.
She turned back to where her husband, Matteo, was standing, enjoying the last few sips from his morning coffee, and said, “I didn’t think I’d like it when we came to California and had to leave our families in Italy, but I’m glad we did.”
Matteo’s mustache moved as he smiled at his wife. Setting his cup of coffee on the counter, he pulled her to him.
“Certainly, Signor and Signora Moretti have given us so much,” Angela continued. “I mean, think about it, Matteo. We could never afford a large house like this on our own and live in one of the most beautiful places in all of California. I’ve gotten to really like the people here, both at the vineyard, and in town, and I love my job. When I was a young woman studying winemaking in Umbria, I never dreamed it would lead me here.”
“Or to me?” Matteo murmured, kissing her forehead.
She smiled at him and continued, “Nor did I think I would find my future husband there. I’m glad my parents agreed to send me to the school in Umbria. And how fortunate both of us were to get jobs with the Moretti vineyard in Tuscany. I’m grateful that when Signor and Signora Moretti asked me to be their winemaker at their new vineyard in Sonoma they had a friend, Signor Romano, who also had a vineyard here in Sonoma, and that he would hire you as a winemaker. I think we have to be the luckiest two people in the world.”
“So do I, amore mio,” the muscular dark-haired man said, stroking his wife’s hair. His large brown eyes and thick eyelashes were still capable of sending warm shivers throughout Angela’s body “but I wish the wine Signor Romano produces at his vineyard was as coveted as the Moretti label. I envy you for being the head winemaker here.”
Angela nuzzled closer to him. “Aah, Matteo, we’ve talked about this before, but I never think of us as having different jobs. We’re a couple. I just happen to be working for Signor Moretti, and you just happen to be working for Signor Romano. I think our jobs are very much the same. We are equals.”
“That’s very gracious of you, Angela, but we both know that the wines from the Moretti Winery are far more highly regarded than the Romano wines,” Matteo said with a sigh. “I do the best I can with what they have on the property, but every year in tasting competitions our wines always place second to those from the Moretti Winery.”
“I wish it were otherwise,” Angela said, staring into Matteo’s eyes, “but for now let’s just enjoy where we are. I think it’s a good thing we both worked for Signor Moretti’s parents at their vineyard in Tuscany. I’m sure if we just applied for the position and they didn’t personally know us, we never would have been hired.”
“Angela, it’s not we, it’s you. I didn’t get the position, you did.”
“Matteo, please, not again,” Angela said soothingly. She hated it when Matteo’s eyes clouded over. “Even if I do work for the Moretti Winery, and yes, my position as the winemaker at a prestigious winery is probably thought of as more desirable than yours by some people, but I don’t consider it to be so, and that’s all that’s important. You are the head of our household and always will be.”
Matteo pulled away from her with a jolt. “Don’t speak to me in that condescending tone of voice. It sounds like you think I’m some sort of idiot. He slammed his fist on the counter and then stomped out the door with an angry bitter look on his face.
Angela’s stare followed him. “Matteo, where are you going?” she asked in a frightened voice.
“To the Romano winery, the second-rate Romano winery, I might add,” he said as he jumped in his truck and roared off down the road to the main highway in a cloud of dust.
Angela sighed, thinking his ego had gotten in the way of a lovely fall morning. She wished there was
something she could do to convince him that his job was not secondary to hers, but no matter how hard she’d tried, it simply hadn’t worked in the past. She looked at her watch and realized it was time to get the wine samples for Bob, the UPS delivery man, to take to the special lab in town that Signor Moretti used to test the quality of his wine production. He was very committed to making sure that each vat of wine was problem free and that required a daily analysis of the wine in each vat, whatever the season, whatever the weather.
CHAPTER 2
“Here are the morning wine samples, Bob,” Angela said, as she pulled up the zipper of her baggy sweatshirt. The morning air had cooled, and she could feel goosebumps on her arms. “The wine has a few more days until it will be ready to transfer to the barrels for aging. I’ll check the vats again this evening, like I do every night, to make sure the wine is okay, but from what I’ve been seeing, we’re almost there.”
Bob Alty, who was there to collect the wine samples for the lab, regarded her with admiration. “Angela, I think you have the greatest job anyone could ever dream of having. I mean, how many people in the world can say that they’re the brains and the palate behind the best wine made in Sonoma. And I didn’t even mention that you get to taste the wines that you make for free. Considering how pricey those wines are, that’s a pretty nice perk.” He arranged the samples in a special carrying case made just for that purpose and snapped it shut.
“I know, Bob. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to see if this is real. I just wish my husband shared your point of view.”
Bob raised his eyebrow and said, “Good grief, Angela, what could possibly be his problem? He’s married to a gorgeous Italian woman…”
She laughed as she interrupted him, “Bob, I am hardly gorgeous. Italy is full of women far prettier than I am.”
“Hate to disagree with you, Angela, but with that Cleopatra hair, your flashing brown eyes, and a figure that even the jeans and sweatshirts you wear can’t hide, I think your husband is a very lucky man.” Bob gave Angela a pointed look as he waited for his words to sink in, “and I can add from what I’ve heard, that I’m not the only one in Sonoma who thinks that. Plus, he’s the one responsible for the excellent wines the Romano winery makes.”
“Thank you, Bob,” Angela murmured, lowering her head, “but Matteo doesn’t quite see it that way. He is Italian, very Italian, and in Italy the man is the most important person in the marriage. My being the winemaker at a winery that is more prestigious than his is very hard on his ego, but I don’t know what to do about it. It worries me.”
A concerned Bob bent his head down to meet Angela’s eyes once more. “Hey, you don’t need to do anything, Angela. He’s a fool if he doesn’t realize what he has. Don’t lower your standards to accommodate his outdated macho thinking. That’s nuts.”
Angela gave him a grateful smile, but didn’t respond.
“I’d love to talk longer, but I’ve got to get these samples to the lab and then run the rest of my route. See you tomorrow,” he said as he walked out to his truck. If he’d known that would be the last time he would ever see Angela, he might have stayed a little longer and told her how seeing her every day was the highlight of his job. He’d regret to his dying day that he hadn’t stayed.
*****
Later that morning, Angela greeted Caitlin Sanders, the young woman who was interning at the winery in the mornings. Part of the master’s degree program she was enrolled in at the University of California at Davis, known world-wide for its wine studies program, was to have hands-on experience at a winery. Being the intern at the prestigious Moretti Winery was the culmination of Caitlin’s education. After interning there, all she wanted when she graduated with her degree was to have the job Angela had. Quite simply, she wanted to be the winemaker at the Moretti Winery.
“Caitlin, we have a busy day ahead of us. The wine in the vats will probably be ready for transferring to the barrels within a few days. I want you to be with me this morning, so I can show you what we’re looking for. We also need to go out to the vineyards and walk some of the rows with Juan. I haven’t been out there since the crush, and one of the most important things you’re going to have to do as a winemaker is make sure that everything is going well with the vines. Believe me, that’s just as important as what’s happening in the vats.”
Caitlin nodded, and smiled eagerly.
Angela continued, “Good girl. I see you’ve got sandals on, so you’re already wearing the type of shoes that most of us do.”
“Yes. I noticed that the people who go out to the vineyards, and then back in the buildings, all wear them.”
Angela looked at the young woman, thinking how very intelligent she was and wishing she could tell her not to be quite so vocal about how much she wanted to take Angela’s place and be the winemaker at the Moretti Winery. Several people had mentioned to Angela that Caitlin had told them that because she had the best grades of anyone in the program at UC Davis, she was certain, with her master’s degree, and her finely tuned taste buds, she would someday soon make wines that were even better than those presently being made at the Moretti Winery.
Aah, youth, Angela thought. From what I’ve read, these millennials think they are the equals of everyone, and if they have a degree, experience really doesn’t matter. Someday she will learn that experience matters as much as anything else in winemaking, maybe more, but from what I know of her, she wouldn’t be able to understand what I mean. She’ll simply have to learn it.
When they returned from their walk in the vineyards, Caitlin prepared to leave. As she packed up her things, she turned to Angela and said, “By the way, Angela, I know you take a sample from the vats in the morning and send them to the lab in town, but as I recall, you once told me you also take a sample in the evenings. What do you do with those?”
“I take a small sip to make sure they are as I wish them to be. At seven at night, no matter what, I test them. It is very important that the samples be taken at the same time each morning and at the same time each evening.”
“That makes sense. See you tomorrow,” Caitlin said as she walked out to the parking lot located in front of the winery.
After Caitlin left, Angela went home for lunch, looking forward to seeing her fox terrier, Foxie, who could always barely contain herself when Angela came home. When she’d seen the adorable little puppy for sale at a vineyard down the road, she knew she had to have her.
Foxie and Angela had bonded from the moment she brought her home, and she’d been relentless in her training. As a result, Foxie was heel trained and even when they walked the rows of vines in the vineyard, she stayed next to Angela. Matteo had never been very thrilled with Foxie, and it was one of the stresses in their marriage, but the primary one was Angela being the head winemaker at the Moretti Winery.
When she arrived home, Foxie ran around in joyous circles, certain that treats and walks were to follow. Angela’s face lit up. It was hard not to relax with Foxie around. “Okay, girl, I have a little time. Let’s take a walk. You’ve been fenced in long enough.” She took Foxie’s leash off the hook on the kitchen wall and attached it to her collar as she put some dog cookies in her pocket.
Half an hour later, a very tired Foxie and her master returned to the house. Angela knew she had a lot of paperwork which needed to be done that afternoon. With all the frantic work involved during the time of the crush, she’d gotten behind, and when she’d gotten out of bed that morning she made a vow that nothing was going to interfere with her need to catch up on her paperwork. She bolted down a sandwich and drank a glass of iced tea, then hurried back to her office at the winery.
CHAPTER 3
The afternoon went by quickly for Angela. Her office was located on the ground floor behind the vat room and twice she had to go up the steps leading to the first floor and to the vineyard manager’s office for some paperwork she was missing.
The second time she walked down the hall to his office she noticed four people in the priva
te tasting room maintained for tour guests. They were with the winery tour guide, Josie, who was explaining the differences between the wines that were being served. Angela had always thought if she was someone who just enjoyed having a glass of wine, coming to the Moretti Winery and going on a private tour would be an excellent way to learn about wine.
Josie, a bubbly blond, waved her into the room and introduced her as the Moretti Winery’s winemaker. “The reason the Moretti wines are so well-known throughout the world is all due to this woman, Angela Lucci, our winemaker,” Josie said, beaming. “If you enjoy the wines you’re tasting, and who wouldn’t, Angela is the one who decides exactly what grape and what blends of grapes go into each bottle of wine we produce. It’s an incredibly difficult job, but no one does it better than Angela.”
They applauded, and Angela smiled at them. “I hope you enjoy your visit with us, and of course, I hope you enjoy the wine. You’re very fortunate to have Josie as your guide. There’s none better in Napa or Sonoma. She’s one of the few,” she looked at Josie and said, “maybe the only one in our area who has received a diploma from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust. Right, Josie?”
A red-faced Josie grinned and said, “Yes, I was very fortunate.”
Angela looked at the group and said, “I need to take care of some paperwork, but I assure you that you’re in the hands of the best tour guide in the valley. Enjoy your afternoon.” She waved to them as she walked down the hall to the office of Jim Barstow, the manager of the Moretti Winery.
“Hi, Jim,” Angela said as she walked in through the open door of his office. “Guess I’m being quite the pest today, but I need one more file. It’s the one on the tests from last week. Signor Moretti likes them daily and with the crush, I haven’t had time to send them to him. He’ll probably be over here tomorrow to see how the primary fermentation is doing, so I want to show him the test results and assure him that there aren’t any problems.”