Grapes of Death

by Joni Folger

  Then there was silence for what seemed like an eternity.

  What is he doing?

  Her heartbeat was so loud in her own ears that she was certain he would hear it too. In her mind’s eye she envisioned him staring at her hiding place, convinced that any moment now he would jerk the chair away and discover her there.

  As the seconds ticked by, she could tell he was still in the room but had just stopped moving. When she heard the sound of gravel crunching outside, she knew why.

  A car was coming up the driveway.

  And her hope soared.

  “Dammit! What now?” he muttered to himself. She heard him climb up onto the credenza to look out the window. “Well, well, Deputy Do-Right, and his trusty sidekick. And Ross too. Why, it’s just a party, isn’t it?”

  Oh, thank you, Jesus, she thought, as relief poured through her.

  Jackson and Ross were here. They had come for her, and this nightmare would soon be over. But the happiness she felt at their arrival was short-lived. With Stuart’s next words, it became clear to her that he had no intention of giving up or running away.

  “Come on in, boys,” he said then giggled like the lunatic he’d become. “I’ve got enough ammo for everyone.”

  In that moment she knew with certainty that the decent man she’d once known had completely lost his mind.

  She heard him climb down then, his footsteps getting softer as he left the room and headed down the hall toward the front door.

  Dear God, they had no idea what they were walking into. He would kill them all.

  twenty-five

  She had to warn them. That one thought kept circling Elise’s brain. Jackson, Ross, and whoever was with them had no idea they were walking into a trap. She had to do something and fast.

  But that meant leaving her hiding spot, which she was terrified to do. She had no idea how far away Stuart had gone, and if she revealed herself too soon, they would all be done for. Unfortunately, she had no choice; if she did nothing, the guys wouldn’t stand a chance.

  Slipping off her sandals, she set them on the seat of the chair in front of her. Whatever plan she came up with would need to be executed with the utmost silence.

  Drawing her threadbare courage around her like a shield, Elise held her breath and pushed the chair far enough away from the desk to slither out of the knee-hole. Peeking up over the lip of the desk, she listened for any sound or movement.

  Nothing.

  Hoping Stuart wasn’t doing the same thing and just waiting for her to emerge, she stood up and skirted the desk, tip-toeing her way to the door. Holding her breath, she took a quick look into the hall.

  She spotted Henry, lying on the floor along the wall just outside the processing room. He appeared to be unconscious, but she had no way of knowing how badly he was injured. She couldn’t worry about that now. Warning her loved ones and thwarting her evil ex-boyfriend was her top priority right now.

  Stuart was nowhere to be seen, but she wasn’t taking any chances. He might have been distracted by Jackson’s unexpected arrival, but Elise suspected he hadn’t gone far. She didn’t know if he actually believed she’d escaped, though she was sure he wouldn’t have forgotten about her either way.

  Just as she was working up the nerve to move into the hallway, Stuart came out of a room on her side of the corridor. She ducked back into the office and held her breath. She could hear him muttering to himself, but from where she stood, she couldn’t understand what he was saying.

  Sneaking another quick look, she watched him open the front door a sliver and peer through the crack. He was obviously checking Jackson’s location, planning to get the drop on him and the others when they found the residence empty and came this way.

  She’d be damned if she would allow that.

  Pulling her head back out of Stuart’s sightline, she turned and went to the open cabinets. She was going to need a weapon, or at least something she could use as one. But after a brief search of the shelves, she found nothing that would work.

  Then an idea struck her. She remembered seeing something here in the office that would fit the bill quite well. Whipping around, she stared across the room and zeroed in on a lone golf club standing in the corner behind the desk.

  Hurrying to its location, she snatched it up with a satisfied grin spreading across her face. It was a driver with a good-sized head and sturdy shaft. Perfect. Now all she had to do was get close enough to Stuart to use it. She flexed her fingers on the handle and tried a few practice swings, imagining his head as a target.

  Get ready, you homicidal lunatic. Mama’s lookin’ for a hole-in-one!

  Going back to the door, she peeked around the corner and saw Stuart leaning over Henry. She figured he was checking to see if the man was lucid enough to fight back anymore. When he was satisfied, Stuart got up and went back into the room she’d seen him come out of moments before.

  She assumed he was going back and forth between the door and the window in that room to keep tabs on the progress of their visitors. She only hoped he would be in there long enough for her to make it closer to the front door.

  The problem was cover. She wasn’t sure she was stealthy enough to sneak up the long hallway and surprise Stuart without getting caught mid-stream. She’d have to do it in increments.

  There was another door between where she was currently holed up and the room he’d gone into. Although it was only a fifteen- or twenty-foot dash from the office, if that door was locked she would be screwed. She had no way to check and time was ticking away.

  It was a chance she’d have to take.

  Elise left the relative safety of the office before she could change her mind and scurried up the hallway, holding the club at the ready and keeping a close eye on the front of the building. When she got to the door at the halfway point, she held her breath. Taking pains to make no sound, she turned the knob to the right. To her relief, the door opened without so much as a squeak. She quickly slipped inside and let out a shuddering breath.

  The room turned out to be a small storage closet. Though it would provide good shelter for the moment, she was only halfway there. The last twenty feet would be the hardest—and, she suspected, the longest—sprint of her life.

  While she listened for Stuart’s return, Elise closed her eyes and tried to imagine her approach. With any luck, she would be on him before he knew what was happening, but even the best laid plans could fall apart in a heartbeat. Her timing would have to be impeccable.

  Just as she was fantasizing about bashing him with the golf club, she heard movement in the hallway. She opened her eyes, and after counting to ten, peeked around the doorjamb.

  Stuart had moved back to the front door. With it cracked, he was peeping through the opening with his face plastered against the jamb.

  “Come on, boys,” he said and then giggled to himself. “That’s right; nobody’s at the house, so come down and check the winery. Uncle Stu’s got a surprise for y’all.”

  Dear Lord, Jackson and Ross must be leaving the residence and heading this direction, she thought. It was now or never. With her pulse racing, she stepped out into the hallway, feeling exposed and vulnerable. Her eyes were glued to Stuart’s back as she began to carefully close the distance between them.

  Twenty feet. Fifteen feet. Ten feet …

  She was as silent as a prayer, certain she was going to make it. Unfortunately for her, Henry picked an inopportune time to come around. When the older man moaned, Stuart turned toward the sound.

  And caught sight of her in his peripheral vision.

  Time shifted into slow motion as she watched Stuart’s head begin to swivel toward her. They each raised their respective weapons simultaneously. Terrified she would be a split second too late, she swung the club with all her might like Babe Ruth swinging for the outfield.

  Maybe it was fate—or maybe
it was just dumb luck coupled with a system pumped full of adrenaline—but the golf club connected full force with the side of Stuart’s head before he could get off a shot. The pistol flew out of his hand, and his body did a neat spin before crashing face first into the metal door.

  She raised the club for another shot but then realized it wasn’t necessary. Just like that, Stuart had crumpled to the floor and looked to be out cold. Frozen in place, Elise stared down at him watching for any sign of movement, amazed that her plan had actually worked.

  “I hope that was as good for you as it was for me, you homicidal douche bag,” Elise told his unconscious form after a moment. “’Cause let me tell you, it felt mighty fine from this end.”

  Wanting to keep her distance—just in case he was faking—she eyed him carefully as she stepped around his inert body to retrieve the gun.

  “Is it over?” Henry asked. Although his voice was barely audible, it held a note of rebellion she had to admire. “Did you take that crazy bastard out?”

  When she was confident Stuart was no longer a threat, she moved to Henry’s side. With an incredible rush of energy still flowing through her system, Elise dropped down next to the vintner. “So it would seem.”

  “Good job, little girl.”

  Though the man had made some terrible choices and would soon have to pay the price for them, she couldn’t find it within herself to condemn him. It wasn’t her place to judge his part in this mess. That would be a job for someone else. For the moment, she was just so glad they were both still alive.

  “How are you feeling, Henry?” she asked, trying to put the distressing thoughts out of her mind.

  “I’ve been better.” Henry cleared his throat and when he spoke his voice sounded rusty. “SOB clocked me with the butt of his gun a couple times before I lost consciousness. My head’s poundin’ and my vision’s fuzzy, but I s’pose I’ll live.”

  “That’s good to know,” she replied with a gentle smile. “Hang on. Help is on the way. We’ll get you to the hospital and all patched up before you know it.”

  When she made to get up, the older man grabbed her arm. “Elise. I’m so sorry about … everything. Please believe me when I say that this was never my intent.”

  “I know, Henry,” she replied with a nod. “I know.”

  “Everything just seemed to spiral out of control before I knew what was happening.”

  Elise felt pity for him. He was a decent man who’d lost his way. “Don’t worry about that now, okay? Let’s concentrate on getting you some medical treatment.”

  In the next moment, she was startled as someone tried to open the door, only to smack an unconscious Stuart in the head. Though she knew it was probably Jackson or Ross, she jumped up, gripping both the gun and her club a bit tighter.

  “El?” It was Jackson’s voice, and she’d never been happier to hear it than she was in that moment.

  “I’m here,” she said, leaving the weapons with Henry and scrambling over to Stuart’s body. “Hang on a minute.”

  She grabbed him by one foot and dragged him away from the door. “Okay, it’s clear.”

  Jackson entered the building first, followed by Ross and Jim Stockton. “What the hell is going on in here?” Jackson asked, taking in the scene. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, but Henry needs an ambulance.” With adrenaline still coursing through her veins, she couldn’t hold back the hysterical laughter that bubbled out of her. “Stuart could probably use one as well. He killed Harmony and Uncle Edmond and was going to kill me and Henry as well. I put a stop to his plan with a golf club.” At Jackson’s dumbfounded look, she shook her head and added, “It’s a long story, and I’ll be happy to give you a detailed statement. But could we do it somewhere else? I have got to get out of this building.”

  While Jim went back to the cruiser to call for an ambulance, Jackson zip-tied Stuart’s hands and feet together before pulling out his cell phone. “Ross, take your sister out to the cruiser. I’ll be along as soon as backup arrives.”

  Thirty minutes later, Elise had completed her statement of the afternoon’s harrowing events and stood watching as two ambulances left the property. One carried Henry, and the other carried Stuart with an armed officer on board. Her high-energy rush was nearly gone, replaced by an incredible exhaustion, chills, and a heart full of grief.

  The worst part was that she couldn’t get the idea out of her mind that she’d brought this mess down on her family. She’d been the one to introduce Stuart to River Bend.

  As she and Jackson walked toward the cars to finally leave, a horrible guilt over everything that had happened began to build inside her. When she stopped walking and tugged on his arm, Jackson turned to face her with a perplexed look.

  “El?” His eyes were full of concern as he searched her face. “What’s wrong?”

  The compassion in his voice tore at her, making the remorse she felt seem a hundred times worse. Tears welled up in her eyes as everything hit her at once, and she put her free hand to her lips to stifle the sob that rose up in her chest.

  “Oh, hey now. Don’t cry, baby. It’s all over and we’re okay. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

  “No. It’s not that. It’s … I’m so sorry.” She blurted it out as tears began to trail down her cheeks. How could he be so kind to her when the entire thing had been her fault?

  “Sorry? About what, darlin’?”

  Swiping at her tears and working to rein in her rioting emotions, she gave him a miserable look. “I did this, Jax. I brought a madman into our lives, and I can’t tell you how horrible it makes me feel. How am I going to make this up to everyone?”

  “For crying out loud, El, that’s not even good conversation,” he murmured, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “And it doesn’t merit a response, because you’ve done nothing wrong. You’re in shock, that’s all. It’s to be expected after what you’ve gone through. None of this is your fault.”

  “Yes, it is,” she insisted. “This would never have happened if I hadn’t hooked up with Stuart. Uncle Edmond, Harmony—they’d both still be alive. And Henry wouldn’t be on his way to Austin with a skull fracture as we speak.”

  “Stop it, right now. Do you hear me?” Taking her by the shoulders, he gave her a gentle shake. “You’re not responsible for Stuart’s rampage. That’s just bullshit.”

  “But he wouldn’t have been here in the first place if I hadn’t been dating him!”

  “You don’t know that. And besides, since when does dating someone make you responsible for their actions?”

  “Jax—”

  “No, El.” He cut her off with another quick shake. “You said yourself that the man you saw today wasn’t the one you knew. Something just went haywire in Stuart’s head. Who knows what set it off, but I do know you couldn’t have predicted it; no one could have.”

  She heaved a sigh as Jackson gathered her into his arms and held her tight.

  “I’m just thankful that it’s over and no one else was killed,” he murmured. After a moment he pulled back and tipped her chin up with a finger. “I think you were incredibly brave today, pal.”

  “You do?” She gazed up at him thinking how lucky she was to have him in her corner. And wondering why they’d wasted so much time.

  “Yes, I do. You did good.”

  She sniffed and choked out a laugh. “I was so scared. All I could think about was the three of you walking into Stuart’s trap—not knowing he was waiting with a gun. I was terrified he would—”

  Jackson put a finger to her lips before she could finish her sentence. “But he didn’t because of your quick thinking.” He gave her a wry smile. “Now come on, let’s get you home.”

  Twenty-Six

  That evening after dinner, with the entire family gathered around the dining room table, Elise gave an account of the afternoon’s events. S
he began with the outrageous story of Stuart’s gradual meltdown and how it was tied to the scheme to steal her hybridization process. She ended with her luck in finding the golf club and her cockeyed plan to save them all.

  Abigail gave a bloodthirsty cackle when she got to the part about bashing Stuart in the head with the club. “Ha! Serves the little pissant right.”

  “Mom!” Laura said in a disapproving tone.

  “What? He killed two people and could very well have added another five to the list had it not been for Elise’s quick thinking. I say he got what he deserved.”

  “And I’m not disagreeing with that,” Laura said. “But you don’t have to sound so pleased about it.”

  Abigail crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow. “Well, it does please me, and I’ll show it however I want, thank you very much. I’m proud of Elise.”

  Madison giggled. “I’m with you, Gram. I only wish I could have seen Elise in action.”

  “Yes.” Abigail gave a satisfied nod. “She was very brave.”

  “That’s what Jax said, Gram.” Elise glanced over at him and grinned.

  “Well, he’s right,” Abigail said and got up to get more coffee from the sideboard.

  Jackson smiled. “Brave, yes, but don’t ever do that to me again, do you hear? You scared the crap out of me.”

  Laughing, she shook her head. “I won’t. I scared the crap out of myself.”

  He sobered then and gave her a stern look. “I mean it, Elise. No more poking around in police business. Promise me you’ll stay out of trouble from now on.”

  She sighed and crossed her heart then held up her hand in a solemn oath. “I promise, Deputy Landry. Besides, I have too much work to do. Maddy, C.C., and I are helping Gram with our booth for the next Lost Pines Food & Wine Festival. I doubt there’ll be much mischief there to speak of.”