Heard it Through the Grapevine

by Lizbeth Lipperman

  “What did Colt say about the note?” Deena asked.

  “I think it shook him up a little. People around Vineyard want to believe whoever killed Tessa had a grudge against her, Colt included. The note moved it out of that category and into more sinister motives.”

  “Like what?” Kate grabbed the Irish whiskey and poured a dollop into her coffee. “Porter was the only one who wanted the vineyard, and from what he said at the bar, he was about to get it, with or without Tessa.”

  “I don’t know.” Lainey rubbed her forehead. “Maybe it really was someone Tessa pissed off.”

  “What about the security camera at the hotel? Surely a hotel like the Conquistador has one on every floor?”

  “They do,” Lainey replied. “Unfortunately, someone spray painted it black. You can’t see anything.”

  “Jeez! Didn’t the desk clerk notice that?”

  “Apparently he was on the phone to his girlfriend for two hours. He didn’t realize it until the cops showed him the camera. Needless to say, he is no longer a Conquistador employee.”

  “That brings us back to square one, but it doesn’t make it any safer for you, Lainey.” Kate sipped her coffee. “Actually, it probably makes it more dangerous.”

  Lainey swiveled her chair to face Tessa. “We have to be missing something, Tessa. Who wanted you out of the way badly enough to kill you? Think about it. How could someone poison you without you knowing how they did it?”

  “Ask her to tell you everything she ate starting with dinner that night. Colt said cyanide works fast, so it couldn’t have been lunch,” Maddy said.

  Just the Chinese food, but I wasn’t very hungry. I barely tasted it.

  “A little Chinese,” Lainey told her sisters before turning back to Tessa. “What were you drinking?”

  Tessa’s forehead crunched. I remember I wasn’t feeling so great. I was dizzy and I could hardly catch my breath.

  “That’s what cyanide does to you,” Deena said after Lainey repeated Tessa’s comment. The other sisters stared at her. “What? I Googled it!”

  The Viognier! Tessa exclaimed. I had a glass of Viognier.

  “Viognier?”

  It’s a new white wine we were researching to see if we wanted to add it to our catalog.

  “Where’d you get it?” Lainey straightened up in the chair, visibly excited.

  Tessa shook her head. It wasn’t the wine.

  “Where’d you get it, Tessa?” Lainey repeated the question, her voice escalating an octave.

  Tessa looked up and took a slow deep breath before blowing out the air. A few years ago, I tasted the wine at a small vineyard in northern California. I was so impressed, I knew it would be a big seller here in Texas. Convincing Jerry to import the grapes wasn’t so easy, though. He had this macho thing about only using our own Texas-grown crop. We nearly came to blows over it. She paused. Our vintner was extra careful to keep the oxygen out of the barrels because it would have ruined it. He was as excited about it as I was. Tessa smiled. It turned out fantastic, almost as good as the one I sampled in California. I knew we were on to something.

  “Tessa,” Lainey interrupted, her voice harsher than she intended. “Who brought the wine?”

  It was straight out of the barrel. Tessa’s eyes clouded over with sadness. Jerry dropped it off.

  THIRTEEN

  COLT REREAD THE REPORT Flanagan had laid on his desk a few minutes earlier. It was the final toxicology report from the ME’s office. As he suspected, Tessa had enough cyanide in her blood to kill a small village.

  “What?” he asked when he glanced up to see Maddy standing over his desk.

  She handed him another report “This just came in. It’s the laboratory analysis of Tessa’s stomach contents.” Despite trying to sound detached as if she were discussing another victim instead of her dead sister, the slight catch in Maddy’s voice said otherwise.

  He met her stare before he began to read. He knew that look. She had something on her mind, and she was not about to leave until she said it. Quickly, he scanned the new report, not in the mood to hear the latest office gossip.

  Tessa had a small amount of undigested chicken and rice in her stomach. No surprise there since Lainey mentioned Tessa had Chinese food delivered that night. Chicken fried rice had always been her favorite.

  A conversation two days ago with Joey Winters who’d delivered the food had verified Tessa’s food choice, and after a chat with both Joey and his mother, Carolyn, Colt had reached the same conclusion as Lainey when she and her sisters decided to track down Tessa’s killer on their own. His gut told him the Winters family had nothing to do with the poisoning, but he wasn’t ready to cross either of them off his list just yet.

  Lainey and her sisters were a whole different headache. After what happened at the hotel the other night, hopefully the Garcia girls would move out of police work and into something less dangerous. It would sure make his job easier.

  He smiled, thinking how nice it was having Lainey in the guest house. He loved watching Gracie get so excited in the morning waiting on Lainey to come to the house for coffee. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear the two of them shared some kind of secret, the way they giggled when he was around. Truth be told, he looked forward to the mornings more than he liked to admit.

  He glanced down at the paper in his hand, embarrassed Maddy had seen the smile that tipped his lips. Thankfully, she had no way of knowing what had made him grin. He cleared his throat and concentrated on the report. Tessa had consumed a small quantity of some kind of white wine. Again, no surprises. His ex-wife was in the winemaking business and preferred white over red.

  He looked up to find Maddy still leaning over his desk. “You gonna tell me what’s on your mind, or you just gonna stand there all day?”

  Maddy pursed her lips and shrugged before she turned and stepped toward the door. “They were researching a new wine to see if they could market it,” she said, pivoting to face him again. “That’s what Tessa drank that night.”

  Colt laid the file on the desk and squinted. “Now, how would you know that, Maddy?”

  She chewed on her lower lip, as if she were measuring her words carefully before she spoke. “I talked with Tessa about seven that night. She was waiting on dinner to arrive, and she mentioned the new barrels of wine. She was really excited because she was going to try it for the first time.”

  Colt eyed her suspiciously. “When’d you say you talked to her?” He rummaged through the file for a report. When he found it, he frowned, lines creasing his forehead. “Your number doesn’t show up on her phone records.”

  Maddy looked away, shifting uncomfortably from her left foot to her right. If he were a gambling man, he’d bet the farm this woman was lying through her teeth, and he was determined to find out why.

  “Maybe it was earlier when I talked to her,” Maddy said. “I stopped by on my way home from work to see if she wanted to go to dinner with Jessie and me after Jessie’s soccer game.”

  Colt observed her shifting her weight back to her left leg.

  “And you think maybe the cyanide was in the wine?” He made a mental note to Google winemaking as soon as he was alone. Although Vineyard was famous for its wineries and even had an annual grape stomping festival, he knew nothing about the mechanics of his own hometown’s number-one industry. Was it possible an entire barrel had been contaminated somehow?

  “I don’t know, Colt. I never really got into all that technical stuff with my sister. All I know is the grapes were imported from California, and Tessa was about to get her first taste.”

  Colt’s eyes narrowed. “Seems strange she didn’t invite you in.”

  Again Maddy shifted. “She did. Like I said, Jessie had a soccer game that night, and I was already running late.”

  “So did you at least taste the wine with her?”

  He saw a look of panic flash momentarily in her eyes. “She didn’t have it yet when I was there.”

  Colt straight
ened up. “Where’d she get it?”

  “I can’t be sure. I didn’t stick around to find out.” Maddy leaned farther across the desk and lowered her voice. “I really think the poison was in that wine.”

  “Until the lab confirms it, we can’t be sure.” He picked up Tessa’s phone record again and studied it. Other than the original call to the Chinese restaurant, there had been no phone calls in or out.

  “You should talk to Jerry about this.”

  That got his attention, and he leaned forward, his hand on his chin. “Why Jerry?”

  Maddy glanced down at the floor and licked her lips, a maneuver he recognized as her stalling technique when he asked something she didn’t want to answer. “Tessa couldn’t go out to dinner that night with Jess and me because she was waiting on him. He was supposed to bring over a bottle of the new wine after he tapped the barrel.” She turned and walked out the door before he could question her further.

  Reaching for the file, he flipped through the police reports until he found his notes on the initial interview with Jerry Moretti. He didn’t remember Jerry mentioning he’d stopped by Tessa’s the night of the murder, and he wanted to make sure before he confronted him. After rereading the report, he leaned back in his chair, eyebrows furrowed. This was strange. Not only had Moretti not mentioned it, he’d made it a point to say he went straight home from the office that day because he’d hurt his back lifting barrels. He’d mentioned it three different times.

  Colt definitely needed another face-to-face with Mr. Moretti. He was reaching for the phone just as Landers opened the office door and stuck his head in.

  “Better put a hold on that call, boss. The head honcho at the Conquistador is on the other line waiting to talk to you. You need to hear what he has to say.” He pointed to the blinking light on the phone. “You’re not gonna like this.”

  Colt blew out a whiff of air. The day had not started out great after they discovered the security tapes from the Conquistador were useless. They weren’t any closer to finding out who put the note under Lainey’s door than they were the night it happened. Hell, for that matter, it had been nearly a week since Tessa was killed, and they still had no one who even remotely looked good for the murder. From the sound of it, his day was about to get worse.

  He picked up the receiver and punched the blinking button. “This is Sheriff Winslow.”

  “Sheriff, this is Joel Lakota at the Airport Conquistador. We spoke yesterday when I gave you the tapes from the sixteenth floor …”

  “Yes, we’re still examining them, Mr. Lakota. I’ll get them back to you as soon as I can.”

  “That’s not why I’m calling, Sheriff. One of my housekeepers made a gruesome discovery a few minutes ago.”

  Colt braced himself. “Go on.”

  “She attempted to clean one of the rooms even though it had a Do Not Disturb sign on the door. When she went in, she saw a body on the floor, blood everywhere. She freaked out. We’re still trying to calm her down.”

  “Keep the door shut, and make sure no one touches anything until we get there with the crime scene guys. Don’t let the housekeeper leave, either, Lakota.” He made eye contact with Danny Landers who was still half in, half out of the room, a knew-you- wouldn’t-like-it look on his face. “Any idea who the dead person is?”

  “The room’s registered to a Quinton Porter from Houston.”

  So much for the day getting better.

  _____

  Lainey parked the rental car in the visitor spot at Spirits of Texas, even though Tessa’s empty space at the back of the building was closer. Making her way to the front door, her mind was already formulating what she’d say.

  Last night, after Tessa revealed Jerry had brought over the bottle of wine that possibly contained the poison, the sisters had chosen Lainey as the one to confront him, given her experience with interviews. Later today, Maddy was going to tell Colt about the wine, allowing Lainey time to question Jerry first.

  Carrie Phillips glanced up from Tessa’s desk, unable to hide the surprise in her eyes when Lainey walked through the door. With the phone cradled between her tilted head and her left shoulder, she motioned for Lainey to sit as she resumed flipping through a pile of reports.

  “I know you were supposed to get the new wine last week, but it wasn’t ready. It’s in the bottling phase now,” Carrie said, rolling her eyes when she looked up. “Probably another couple of weeks,” she continued, tapping her fingers on the desk. “I’m sure the substantial discount you’ll receive on the first shipment will more than make up for your continued patience.”

  After a few more minutes of conversation, she hung up and faced Lainey. “Why do people always want everything yesterday?”

  Lainey laughed. “The story of my life.” She glanced around the outer office as Carrie stood and walked to the beverage bar.

  “Coffee?”

  Something was different about the room, but Lainey couldn’t say what. “No thanks. I’m meeting Deena and Maddy later for lunch.” She pointed to Jerry’s office. “Is he in yet?”

  Talk about the story of my sex life with that man!

  It shouldn’t have surprised Lainey to see Tessa sitting beside her since her sister appeared at will, but she jumped anyway.

  “Are you okay?” Carrie asked staring at Lainey with a confused look on her face.

  You gotta work on that startle reflex, sis. You should be used to me by now.

  “I’m fine,” she answered Carrie, ignoring Tessa. She pointed again at Jerry’s office. “I need to talk to him.”

  Carrie pushed back a stray curl that had fallen over her right eye. “He’s pretty busy this morning.”

  “This can’t wait,” Lainey responded, more emphatically than she wanted. She met Carrie’s stare until the older woman turned away and picked up the phone. Tessa’s best friend seemed nervous, not her usual bubbly self.

  She looks like she hasn’t slept in a week. Tessa commented. Wonder if she and David are on the fritz?

  “I know you told me not to disturb you this morning, Jerry, but Lainey Garcia is here and insists on seeing you,” Carrie said into the receiver.

  Like he’s doing something worthwhile. The man spends his days surfing porn on the Internet.

  Carrie held her hand over the phone and looked up. “Jerry won’t be free until after lunch. Wants you to come back, say two-ish?”

  Lainey crossed her arms and leaned forward. Dan would say this was her get-comfortable-and-hang-onto-your-ass position. She’d interviewed a ton of arrogant men in Savannah. One more rich boy would be a piece of cake.

  She smiled, allowing a swoosh of air to escape. “Could you remind your boss I own half this place? Then tell him I’ll just wait in Tessa’s office until he can see me.” She picked up a Wine Country magazine and pretended to read the cover before glancing back up. “Oh, and could you ask him to bring me the books for the past year? It will give me something to do while I’m waiting.”

  Hot damn, Lainey. You’re better than I thought. I almost feel sorry for my ex.

  _____

  The minute Colt walked into Room 817 at the Conquistador, he knew who the victim was. Even with half his skull exposed, there was no denying the loud cowboy shirt or the skin-tight jeans. “Obvious head trauma,” Colt deadpanned. “Got anything else?” He bent down to make eye contact with Mark Lowell, the crime scene expert Vineyard shared with four neighboring cities.

  Mark picked up a fragment of skull from around the dead man’s head with tweezers and deposited it into a clear plastic forensics bag. “Not so far. Looks like this guy put up a good fight, though. I’ll scrape his nails and run a DNA on the blood all over his hands. I’m betting it’s not his.”

  Colt watched Mark roll the body over. It was definitely Quinton Porter. “Time of death?”

  “Not sure,” Mark responded. “My best guess would be sometime between midnight and six this morning.”

  A knot formed in Colt’s gut. He and Lainey had lef
t the hotel around one. It’s possible they may have crossed paths with the killer. He racked his brain trying to remember if anyone looked suspicious. Except for the drunk who couldn’t find his room, there was no one. An uneasiness washed over him and had him wishing once again he had questioned the guy.

  “I can narrow that timeline down a bit, Mark,” he said to the CSI. “I saw Porter around one. Granted, he probably would have blown a point 02, but he was very much alive and still drinking.”

  He’d glanced into the bar one last time on his way out to make sure Porter hadn’t snuck up to Lainey’s room and put the note under her door. He’d heard him even before he’d looked in, laughing with two or three other drunks at the bar.

  “I’ll make a note of that.” Mark stood up and motioned to the man near the door. “Tell Jacko he and Rollins can take the body to the morgue,” he said before turning back to Colt. “We’ve printed everything in the room that we could. Probable scenario is there was a violent struggle, and this guy was pushed into the night stand at just the right angle with a lot of force.” He pointed to the edge of the oak stand, still covered with blood and hair and obvious gray matter.

  Colt turned as Flanagan and Rogers walked into the room.

  “The night clerk said Porter left the bar alone around one-thirty this morning. The manager is pulling the security tapes now,” Rogers said.

  “Shit!” Colt raced to the door and flung it open. Halfway down the hall, his suspicions were verified. The camera at both ends of the long hallway had been spray-painted black just like the ones on Lainey’s floor.

  “Have our guys print the cameras,” he said as he walked back into the room, knowing it was probably useless. “Is that Porter’s?” He pointed to a cell phone in another forensics bag.

  “Probably. It was on the desk.”

  Colt picked up the plastic bag and turned it over, hoping to see something on the screen that might identify the phone as Porter’s. Only the date and time were displayed.

  “Hand me some gloves,” he commanded. When he had the gloves on, he pulled out the phone and flipped open the receiver. He clicked Calls Sent. Along with several numbers with a Houston area code, there were a few with Dallas interchanges. The last call was made at one in the morning.