Murdered By Wine: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 13)

by Dianne Harman

  “I’ve never heard of Gold Star Mother’s Day, and if it’s that popular, why does he only serve it in September?” Kelly asked.

  “The chef’s brother was killed in action in Afghanistan a few years ago. The last Sunday in September is Gold Star Mother’s Day which honors women whose sons or daughters died in combat. He honors both his brother and his mother with this dessert.”

  “That’s one of the most touching things I’ve ever heard,” Kelly said as she wiped a tear from her eye. It struck a chord with her since her son, Cash, was in a war zone on a tour of duty. “I’d like to look at the menu for a few minutes, but I know I definitely want that for dessert.”

  “Miss, you can make that two, and I’d like a chance to look at the menu, but I think you had me at the word meat loaf.”

  “Please, take your time. May I tell your waiter what you’d like to drink? This being Sonoma, we have a very good wine list.”

  “I’m sure you do, but a glass of iced tea with lemon sounds good to me,” Kelly said.

  “At the risk of being a parrot, you can make that two,” Mike said as he opened his menu.

  After a few minutes Kelly said, “I think I’m going to try the muffin meat loaf. That’s probably something I could put on the menu at Kelly’s Koffee Shop. Is that still your choice?”

  “Actually, everything on the menu looks good, but yes, I’ve never had a muffin meat loaf before. Sounds interesting. Here comes our waiter with our iced tea. After he takes our orders, I want to hear about your morning, and please, don’t leave out any relevant details.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Kelly spent the next half hour telling Mike about her conversation with Josie, stopping now and then to take another bite of her meat loaf, biscuit, mashed potatoes and green beans.

  “Mike, I’m going to interrupt our conversation about Angela to find out what you think of these muffin meat loaves. Well?”

  “They’re excellent, and what a great idea for lunch. I really like the muffin idea. It’s just like a regular meat loaf, but the muffin shape is unique and you don’t overeat, because it’s just the right size. You could even serve two muffin meat loaves, and then a customer could always take one home. It’s a great idea.”

  “I’ve been seeing more and more things like these get on dinner menus. I think it has something to do with the cupcake craze. This is kind of an extension for people who like the concept, but want more than a sweet. It’s something I’ll definitely have to try when I get home, plus, although I rarely cater events, these would work just as well if they were made in mini-muffins pans and served as appetizers.”

  “Agreed, now back to Angela.” Mike took the last bite of his meat loaf and started eyeing Kelly’s. “I think we need go to the sheriff’s office and save him the trouble of trying to find us. Plus, I can offer my services. We’re kind of at loose ends, what with Julia and Brad gone, and quite frankly, doing wine tasting with them would have been fun because we’d get to spend time with them, but I’d be fine if we didn’t do any more.”

  “So, if I’m hearing you correctly, we’re about ready to get involved in trying to solve another murder mystery, or at least help, if we can.” Kelly placed a protective arm around her plate and swatted Mike’s arm away.

  He was quiet for a few moments, and then he said, “Guess maybe that was the reason we had to come here. I kind of believe in signs…”

  Kelly interrupted him, “You believe in signs? Since when? This is kind of new behavior for you. Are you going all woowoo on me? I thought you were strictly a by the rules kind of guy, not that I’m complaining, I’m just curious.”

  He smiled at her as he reached across the table and put his hand over hers. His touch sent a warm tingle up her arm. “Let’s just say I’ve had a pretty good teacher the last few years.”

  “Thanks. That’s something I never expected to hear from you, and I’ll treasure it.” After a busboy cleared their plates from the table, Kelly said, “I see that our dessert is on its way, and Mike, it’s really beautiful.”

  The waiter placed the red white and blue desserts in front of each of them. “You’ll see that the chef used the red and blue colors of the flag in his patriotic dish with raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. The white is a mixture of melted white chocolate, mascarpone cheese, and whipped cream. Enjoy!”

  They were both quiet for a few moments, enjoying the mixtures of flavors and feeling a bit patriotic. “Mike, this is definitely an I have to have the recipe for this dish if at all possible. Would you see if you can get the waiter’s attention? I want to see if the chef will give me the recipe.”

  Mike scratched his cheek. “Kelly, is that really necessary? You do that everywhere we go. I think you could duplicate it quite easily.”

  Kelly wasn’t taking no for an answer. “That may be true, but if the chef gives me the recipe I can use his name and give him some credit, and I’d like to do that. Anyone who comes up with something like this must be a pretty good guy.”

  When the waiter came over a few minutes later, Kelly said, “Would it be possible for me to get this dessert recipe from the chef? I really like it, and I’d like to feature it at the restaurant I own in Oregon. Of course I’d use the chef’s name and give him credit.”

  “You’re not the first to ask, ma’am, and the answer is yes. As a matter of fact, the chef made copies of it for use by his customers. His name is on the recipe. I’ll be back in a minute with it for you.”

  “Thank you so much.” Kelly winked at Mike. “See?” she smirked.

  As soon as the waiter was out of earshot Mike leaned in and whispered, “Restaurant, Kelly? When did Kelly’s Koffee Shop become a restaurant? Did I miss something?”

  “Nope, it’s sort of like the catch phrase ‘you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar’. Well, I’ve learned you get more people interested when you use the term restaurant rather than coffee shop.”

  “So, is this a way to get me to listen to what you say more carefully, so I won’t be the victim of a smoke and mirrors trick?”

  “Could be, Sheriff, could be. And speaking of sheriffs, let’s ask the waiter where the sheriff’s office is located when he returns, and then we’ll be off on another adventure.”

  “Smoke and mirrors, Kelly.” Mike pointed to something in the street, and when Kelly turned her head to look at it, his spoon pounced on her dessert. “Smoke and mirrors.”

  CHAPTER 17

  They easily drove to the sheriff’s station and parked in the area marked ‘Visitors’. The station was about the size of Mike’s, and from what Mike had found out when he’d done a quick search on the Internet, it serviced about the same number of people.

  They walked up to the front desk, and Mike said to the young man sitting behind the desk, “My name is Sheriff Reynolds. I’m visiting here from Oregon and would like to see the sheriff about the murder of Angela Lucci. Would you please see if he’s available to talk to me?”

  “Of course, sir. Please have a seat over there,” he said indicating a row of chairs against the wall. Kelly and Mike walked over and sat down in the sparsely furnished waiting room. Even the freshly painted walls couldn’t disguise its drabness.

  They could see the young man talking on the phone and less than a minute later a man who could have passed for Mike’s twin opened a door and walked towards them. He was a large man with short salt and pepper hair, a slight paunch, and he carried an air of authority about him as he crossed the distance to where they were sitting. “Sheriff Reynolds, I’m Sheriff Dawson,” he said as he held out his hand.

  Mike showed the sheriff his identification and shook his hand. He turned towards Kelly, “Sheriff, this is my wife, Kelly Reynolds. We’re visitors here in Sonoma enjoying a short vacation.”

  “Glad to have you. We can use all the tourist money we can get,” he said laughing. “Please, come back to my office. You saved my deputies the trouble of trying to find you.”

  When they got to his office
he sat behind his desk and indicated for them to sit in the chairs across from it. “Again, thanks for coming in. I understand from Josie that you were among the last people to see Angela Lucci before she was found dead. I understand she came into the tasting room briefly and spoke with you on her way to see the manager. What can you tell me about that?”

  “Nothing, really. She came in, talked to us for a few minutes, and then left. If she hadn’t died, I never would have given the meeting a second thought,” Mike answered, placing an elbow on his knee.

  “Sheriff, you know the drill, but humor me, I need to ask some questions. Naturally, we’re in the very early stages of the investigation so whatever you can tell me might save us some time.”

  “Of course, Sheriff, we’re happy to help you however we can.”

  “Did you notice anything strange about Angela? Did she seem distraught, nervous, or anxious? Being a sheriff, did you get a sense that something was off? Mrs. Reynolds, I’ve found that women are often more tuned to the nuances of moods than men are. Did you get any vibes from your meeting with the decedent?”

  They both answered in the negative. “Sheriff, I wish we could help you with that, but there was nothing unusual about our conversation with her. She was very calm and likeable. She was one of those people who seemed to be very much at home in her own skin, if you know what I mean,” Mike said.

  “I do, and the others we’ve talked to who saw her yesterday have said pretty much the same thing. Her husband seemed very distraught when he heard the news, but that’s not unusual.”

  “We never met him. Sheriff, this is going to sound kind of strange, but my wife has been very helpful to me in solving some murders that have occurred in my jurisdiction. Actually, she’s also helped solve murders in Calico Gold, Italy, and Cuba. We came here to meet our daughter and son-in-law and do some wine-tasting. Our daughter is a wine scholar and teaches education classes on wine. Unfortunately, one of their children developed a high fever last night, and they left Sonoma to go back home early this morning, so we’re kind of at loose ends.”

  “Is that a roundabout way of telling me that you’d be willing to help me solve this case?” Sheriff Dawson asked.

  “Well, we’re here, and we’ve had quite a bit of experience doing this type of thing. I sure don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, particularly yours, but if you’d like us to, we could nose around and see what we might be able to find out,” Mike said.

  The sheriff looked directly at Kelly. “Mrs. Reynolds, I’m curious. Do you have a background in law enforcement?”

  “I think I can answer that, Sheriff,” Mike said. “My wife has a way with people. They trust her and often tell her things they wouldn’t tell other people. That’s not say it hasn’t led to some situations that have been pretty dicey. As a matter of fact, she’s licensed to carry a gun, and she has a guard dog with her pretty much all the time when she finds herself involved in a criminal investigation. The guard dog and the gun are with her at my request.”

  “That’s one of the more provocative statements I’ve ever heard,” Sheriff Dawson said. “Did you bring your guard dog and gun with you to Sonoma?”

  “No, we flew to Sacramento, rented a car, and drove over here to Sonoma. It never occurred to me I’d need either one, but I kind of wish I had both of them right now,” Mike said.

  “I’m sure you do. That’s the down side of flying. Registering a gun is a pain in the neck which, believe me, I know from personal experience. Okay, Mrs. Reynolds, what’s your take on the death of Angela Lucci? Have you found out anything?”

  “Actually, she has,” Mike said, “although you may already know about these, for lack of a better word, persons of interest. Kelly, why don’t you tell the sheriff about your morning?”

  Kelly told him about her conversation with Josie and ended a half hour later by saying, “I hope I didn’t bore you by duplicating what you’ve probably already found out. If I’ve said anything that helps, I’m glad I was able to be of assistance. I know Mike always says that nothing is insignificant when you’re trying to solve a murder mystery.”

  Sheriff Dawson laughed and turned towards Mike. “Sheriff, you have to be the luckiest man in the world.”

  “I think I am, but what makes you say that?”

  “I spent most of last night with Josie, Jim, and my deputies. Other than the obvious husband, not one person of interest was mentioned. Your wife has found out more in a morning than I could have in several days. You’ve just saved me and my deputies a lot of time and work. At least we have places to start when we finish our preliminary work.”

  “What do you consider the preliminary work, if I might ask?” Kelly said.

  “Right now my people are searching the entire vineyard for any clues that might help. Angela’s office is being searched, and one of our computer experts is going over her computer. We want to find out who she talked to and what she did in the days leading up to her death. I want to get a statement from her doctor, so we can rule out a heart attack or some other health issue that might not make this a case of murder, although we are treating it as one at this time. She was young and from what people have said, including her husband, she didn’t appear to have any health issues.”

  “Since your hands are going to be full sifting through what your deputies find, it might help if Kelly and I see what we can find out about the persons of interest. No one knows us in the area, and we might be able to find out more than someone associated with the sheriff’s department could.”

  Sheriff Dawson was quiet for a few moments and then said, “I think that’s an excellent idea, and I can’t thank both of you enough for volunteering to spend your vacation helping my department. Just sit here for a moment, and I’ll be right back,” he said as he walked out the door, closing it softly behind him.

  “What do you think he’s doing?” Kelly asked.

  “I have no idea.”

  The door opened a few minutes later and the sheriff returned. “Sheriff Reynolds, I’m assuming that if your wife didn’t want to take the time to register a gun with the airlines, you didn’t either. Here’s a gun for each of you. They’re registered to me, so they won’t be a problem. Try not to use them, but we all know there are times when it’s necessary.”

  “That’s very generous of you, Sheriff, considering you really don’t know us,” Mike said.

  “Matter of fact I feel like I do. When Tyler called to tell me you were here, I told him to call the head of the California State Sheriff’s Association and see what he could find out about you. Evidently he knows people in Oregon and when I went to get your guns, Tyler gave me the report. You’ve got an excellent reputation in law enforcement.”

  “If I hadn’t, would you have given us the guns?” Mike asked smiling.

  “Nope, not when my name’s attached to these weapons.”

  “Sheriff, I’m sure you probably collected lots of DNA material, fingerprints, and anything else you thought might be relevant. Any clues or information you can share with us? Obviously, it won’t go any farther.”

  “We got two sets of shoe prints on the steps leading up to the top of the wine vat. We assume that one set belongs to the decedent, but there’s a good chance that the other set is the murderer’s. That’s why I’m tentatively treating this case as a murder. From what Jim and Josie told us, there is no reason for a second set of shoe prints to be on the stairs. For the last few days, no one has been up and down the stairs except Angela Lucci.”

  “When you find out more about that, would you give me a call? That could be really important,” Mike said.

  “Yes. I expect to have something on it this evening. My deputies have impounded all of Angela’s shoes, including the ones she was wearing, as evidence and they’re checking the sole prints now. I’ll let you know. Here’s a pen and a piece of paper.” He pushed them across the table. “Would you write down where you’re staying as well as your cell phone numbers in case I need to get in touch with you? Is th
ere anything else you can think of?”

  Mike started to get up, but Kelly put her hand out, restraining him. “Sheriff, I know this is kind of out of the box, but…”

  “Kelly, it seems like you’ve told the sheriff everything, and I’m sure he has other things to do to get this case moving,” Mike said.

  “No, Mike, I want to hear what Kelly has to say. It sounds like she has very good instincts regarding things. What did you want to say?”

  “Well, I told you about the dog, Foxie, barking, and that’s what alerted Josie that something was wrong. I’m sure she told you the same thing.”

  “Yes, she did.”

  “From what I understand, Angela always left the door to the vat barn slightly ajar so Foxie could see her. That means that while Foxie couldn’t actually get into the vat barn, she would have seen the murderer enter the barn. I seem to remember Josie telling me that was the only way in and out of the barn.”

  “If I’m hearing you correctly, you’re saying that Foxie could recognize the murderer. Is that right?”

  “That’s right, but I’m not sure how she can help you. Even if she could identify the murderer, I don’t think it would hold up in a courtroom. Would that be correct?”

  “Yes, that’s true,” Mike said, “but what’s interesting is that if the murderer was identified that way, it sure would eliminate a lot of other people. It’s an interesting concept, but I have no idea how we would be able to implement it.”

  “Nor do I,” Sheriff Dawson said. “I need to think about that. Thanks, Kelly. I’ll be in touch as soon as we find out about the shoe prints, and if you come across anything, I’d appreciate you giving me a call. Here’s my card, and I’ve written my cell phone number on the back. Again, thank you both for coming in. I know it would have been a lot easier to shop and wine-taste rather than work on solving a possible murder. Glad there are still people like you two around.”