A Flair for Chardonnay

by Deborah Garner

  Sadie was relieved to see the woman turn away to greet her approaching friend. As the two women settled in at the counter and chattered hellos to each other, Sadie perused her menu. Although the range of dishes looked appealing, the dinner special on the chalkboard won out. The rich fettuccine alfredo with garlic bread was sure to be filling, and the carbs promised a decent night’s sleep. If the following day went the way she hoped it would, she would need her rest. She placed her order and took a green olive for herself from the petite plate of appetizers, as well as a slender carrot stick, which she casually slipped into her tote bag.

  “I think she’s guilty.”

  The sudden comment from the woman next to her surprised Sadie. Looking up, she realized the woman wasn’t speaking to her, but to her friend. Always eager for a chance to eavesdrop, Sadie took another olive and listened.

  “I don’t think so,” the second woman replied. “There are other Tremiatos who seem like more obvious culprits to me.”

  “How do you figure?” the first woman asked. “Stefano’s wife discovered the body – can you even imagine? – and I heard they found evidence in her bed and breakfast.”

  “That tiny little goody-two-shoes? She’s not strong enough. Didn’t the news reports say the victim was hit over the head? Maybe it was Stefano. He’s got some muscles on him.”

  “I certainly hope it wasn’t him. Locking up eye candy like that would be a crime!”

  Both women giggled. Sadie rolled her eyes.

  “Then again, it could have been Luisa. Everyone knows she and that lawyer have been fooling around together. Maybe the man who died saw him sneaking out of her place one night and confronted her. Luisa might have panicked, worrying that Elena would find out. You know, that old-fashioned mother of theirs? The one who never misses Mass?”

  The second woman responded. “I can’t see it. Luisa was always icy, even back in high school. But murder? That’s too far-fetched.”

  Sadie, too, had considered that the Tremiato sister could have done the killing. Like all of the family members, she had the opportunity and she had a more powerful build than Tina. Luisa had sided with her mother against the sale, which would have made Flanagan’s persistent pressure to sell aggravating, but by the time of the murder, the Tremiatos had already decided to keep the winery in the family. Once Matteo ended the negotiations, Flanagan didn’t have any power. Luisa had no reason to see him as a threat. Sadie doubted Nick Perry was sneaking in or out of Luisa’s back door even if they were an item. Also, Matteo hadn’t told anyone he was meeting Flanagan in the fermentation building, so Luisa wouldn’t have known to be there. Only Matteo and Flanagan knew about the meeting. Which brought Sadie right back to the one possibility she least liked. Was Matteo guilty after all? Or…could someone else have known about the meeting?

  A small salad of arugula and red leaf lettuce, topped with thinly sliced cucumber and fresh cherry tomatoes, interrupted Sadie’s thoughts. She drizzled feta vinaigrette dressing over it from a miniature pitcher with a deep blue glaze. Taking a bite, she closed her eyes and sighed with content. She loved food. There was no way around it. Fancy, plain, calorie-laden or healthy, she never tired of the infinite combination of flavors that could be found in an edible creation.

  The women beside her pulled her out of her gustatory reverie when she heard the name “Tremiato” again.

  “You know,” said the one who had caught Sadie talking to her tote bag, “I wouldn’t put it past any of those Tremiatos to kill someone. Except for Luisa, they’re all a hot-blooded bunch.”

  Her friend laughed. “You think? Even Angelo?”

  “Yes, even Angelo.” She paused to sip her wine, and Sadie wondered if she were drinking the Tremiato chardonnay. “I dated him in high school for a couple of months.”

  “No! Really? I’ve always thought of him as a milder, geekier, oilier version of his older brothers.”

  Sadie pretended she was consumed with dabbing her bread into her sauce rather than memorizing every word.

  “I know he comes across as being nearly as much of a cold fish as his sister, but Angelo has quite the temper, especially when he doesn’t get what he wants. At least he did when he was seventeen.”

  And that was the end of it. The friends started gossiping about other people they dated in high school, other people they used to know, retold stories about cheerleading pranks and then moved on to a debate about some person on a reality television show.

  Sadie wasn’t interested in such silly subjects, and she stopped listening. As she pondered the possibility that the impassive Angelo might have the heart of a killer, she wound her way through the fettuccine, enjoying every last swirl of her fork. She passed up the server’s dessert suggestion, knowing she was almost past her limit with the parmesan-crusted garlic bread that accompanied the pasta.

  After she paid her bill, she left for The Vintage Vine. Impulsively, she decided to detour by Vines and Tines on the chance that Stefano might be working late, though she wasn’t sure he had anything more to tell her about the events at the winery last weekend. If nothing else, she could do some window shopping at the cute pet store next door. She hadn’t yet been able to stop in to see if she could add to Coco’s rhinestone collar collection. She only had pink, purple, silver and gold to choose from. Or maybe she’d catch a glimpse of a new toy, an alternative to the much-loved red rubber hedgehog and the octopus that traveled with them…a stuffed frog, perhaps?

  Sadie pulled over to the curb and parked. As she turned off her engine and prepared to climb out of the car, she noticed a faint light coming from inside Vines and Tines. The front lights were all off, and the store was obviously closed for the night, but when she looked through the front window she could see that the office door behind the sales counter was open. She could make out the silhouette of a figure inside. Nothing strange about that, she thought. It’s just Stefano working late. Tina had said Stefano spent most evenings away from the inn. Maybe his staying away wasn’t personal at all. Could the business not be doing as well as everyone thought? Had Stefano needed the money from the sale more than he’d let on?

  When Sadie got out of the car, she closed the door gently then walked up to Vines and Tines and tapped lightly on the glass to see if she could get Stefano’s attention. Maybe she’d be able to catch him in a more vulnerable mood, one that would help her get more information out of him than he would get out of her. She thought she heard voices or at least a voice, and she waited. But the light went off, and no one came to the front. Her tapping must have been too faint, and he must have left by a back exit into the alley behind the row of shops. Sadie felt on edge as she started up the car and went back to the inn, all thoughts of window shopping for pet attire forgotten.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  As Sadie entered the inn through the back door, she heard voices coming from the front room. She settled Coco into her palace in the Merlot room and made her way down the hallway. She felt a charge of pleasure at the thought that Tina had a walk-in guest. The lack of customers since the murder had to be a financial drain. Perhaps that was why Stefano was working after hours?

  Sadie followed the voices to the dining room, where she found Tina and Stefano seated, just finishing a meal. Seeing the almost empty plates in front of the two puzzled her until she realized it meant just what it appeared to mean: Stefano had been at the inn for some time. He couldn’t possibly have been the figure inside Vines and Tines. If not Stefano, then who?

  “Sadie, have some coffee with us,” Tina said as Sadie entered. “We’re just finishing up dinner.” Tina stood to remove plates from the table. “And I have a key lime pie for dessert.”

  “I couldn’t eat a single bite now,” Sadie laughed. “That fettuccine alfredo and garlic bread at The Grapevine was enough to last me all week. Well, at least until tomorrow.”

  “Oh, yes, very filling. It’s one of my favorite specials there,” Stefano said. “But you’ll want your appetite back for the Harvest Festi
val. Luisa always puts out a great spread for visitors.”

  “Yes, I remember,” Sadie answered. “Maybe a cup of coffee would be nice.”

  She hated to disturb what seemed like a rare evening of camaraderie between the two of them. Maybe their marriage wasn’t as much of a mess as she’d thought. But she felt obliged to let Stefano know she’d seen activity at his shop.

  “Stefano, I was wondering, did you leave Vines and Tines to someone else to close up tonight?”

  “Did you hire someone new?” Tina asked as she returned from the kitchen with three steaming coffee mugs on a tray.

  “No. I always close up. I’m a little controlling when it comes to cashing out and making sure everything is locked. Why do you ask, Sadie?”

  Sadie sat down and pulled one of the mugs to her though she didn’t feel like drinking coffee. “I drove by your store on my way back to the inn just a few minutes ago, and could have sworn I saw a light on and someone moving around in your office.”

  Stefano and Tina exchanged a glance that Sadie couldn’t quite interpret.

  “That’s not possible. I’ve been here for at least two hours, and I’d already locked up myself. Are you sure you saw someone?”

  Sadie was starting to get a headache from all the seemingly unconnected bits of data swirling around in her brain. “Yes. I mean, no. I don’t really know, but I thought I saw a light and a silhouette of a person in your store.”

  Tina put down her mug with a firm clink. “Maybe we should go check, Stefano. Or call the police.”

  Stefano waved away Tina’s suggestion. “I would think you’d had enough of the police, my dear. I can go on my own.”

  “Why don’t we all go,” Sadie said.

  They left the cooling mugs of coffee on the table and all piled into Tina’s Honda, Sadie in the back where she watched the younger people for signs that they knew something they weren’t saying aloud. She wished Coco were with her, though she would have hesitated to consult with her canine partner in front of the couple.

  Tina parked on the street in front of Vines and Tines, and the three of them stood on the sidewalk for a moment, peering through the shop’s clean window.

  “I think the office door is open, Stefano, though I could just be seeing a shadow,” Tina said.

  “Well, I might have left that door ajar. I was eager to get home to you.”

  Sadie stifled a snort. She wasn’t completely buying this sudden change in Stefano’s attitude toward his wife. “Why don’t we go inside to see if anything is missing or moved,” she said.

  Stefano jingled his keys on their ring until he found the one that unlocked his shop. He opened the door and stepped inside. “I know ladies should be first, but in this case….”

  He flipped on the lights and called out. “Anyone here? It’s Stefano.” He crossed behind the counter and went into the office, Sadie and Tina close behind him.

  Stacks of papers and trade journals spilled onto the floor near a desk cluttered with pens, scraps of note paper and a travel mug tilted on its side.

  “It looks like someone has been rifling through the things on your desk, Stefano,” Sadie said.

  Tina clutched Sadie’s arm and looked behind her as if a shadow might leap out at them from one of the corners. Polished tables and elegant china became monsters in the low light.

  Stefano laughed. “No, no, my desk is just the way I left it. I don’t think anything is out of place.”

  “How can you tell?” Sadie asked as she backed away from the mess.

  “What’s that on your chair?” Tina moved around both Sadie and Stefano and plucked a silver Cross pen from one of the leather folds. She waved it in the air at her husband. All Sadie could think was, Tina! You’re getting your fingerprints all over that glossy surface. “Is this yours? Did one of your little groupies give it to you?”

  Stefano slapped his right hand against his chest over his heart. “I’m wounded! You know you are my only one. I just like … to …”

  Sadie finished for him. “Flirt?”

  “Yes! And, no, that is not my pen, though I may have accidentally borrowed it from a customer signing a credit card slip. I get so busy I sometimes don’t know what one hand is doing while the other waves. It might even be Angelo’s. I think he has one like it. I might have pocketed it by accident.”

  Sadie dug into the pocket of her slacks and found a folded tissue. “Here. Why don’t we wrap this up just in case someone broke in and left it here? The police might be able to dust it for prints or something.” Sadie folded the pen into the tissue like it was a wine goblet and tucked it away. She looked around the small office and noticed that despite the mass of paper and array of junk, there was a kind of an organization to it. The filing cabinets each had a label marked with letters on a crisp white card. One of the drawers was open slightly, and Sadie could see the edge of a blue file folder.

  “Do you tend to forget to shut your file drawers, too, Stefano?” she asked.

  He frowned and looked where she pointed. “No. That I do not do. My financials are in those cabinets, and other confidential information related to the business.”

  “Maybe we should call the police, after all,” Sadie said.

  “No!” Stefano and Tina said the word simultaneously. “It’s fine,” Stefano said. “I probably was just being careless. I think everything is fine here. We should go back to the inn to get some rest so that we can all enjoy tomorrow’s festival.”

  Sadie had no choice but to follow Stefano and Tina out of the store and back into Tina’s car. While they drove the short distance back to The Vintage Vine, Sadie pondered their behavior. Maybe they were just tired of police intrusion in their lives, as Stefano had suggested. Maybe they were afraid Stefano’s files would reveal something embarrassing or incriminating. Maybe Stefano had never tried to set up Tina. Or maybe Stefano and Tina were in on some kind of plot together.

  Back at the inn, Tina gathered the mugs full of cold coffee and returned them to the kitchen. “Would you like me to brew a fresh pot of coffee?” she called.

  “Sure,” Stefano said.

  Sadie didn’t answer. She sat at the table resting her chin in her hands feeling suddenly exhausted.

  “I am looking forward to the Harvest Festival,” she said, wondering if the chocolate-covered cream puffs had been ordered again. Not that she cared all that much at the moment, love of chocolate aside. She was far more interested in seeing if the killer would return to the scene of the crime. “I think I’ll pass on more coffee.” She pushed her chair back and stood. “I think that visit to your store wore me out, Stefano. A solid night’s rest sounds good right about now.”

  “I understand,” Tina said. “By the way, Stefano has convinced me to go to the festival tomorrow.” She poured coffee into mugs for Stefano, as well as herself, and set the third mug aside.

  “Yes,” Stefano said. “Tina shouldn’t have to miss it just because of rumors and media coverage. I trust Nick to cover all the bases.”

  Sadie watched Stefano as he spoke. He sounded sincere. She was ever more certain that he had not framed Tina or set her up to take the blame for Flanagan’s death. Whether he was guilty of murder or not was another question, but nothing in Stefano’s behavior now indicated he felt Tina should be considered at fault. He cared about her too much to make her take the fall for something he’d done. If he’d actually done anything.

  “You’ll be there tomorrow, right, Sadie?” Stefano took a sip of coffee, eyeing Sadie over the rim of his mug. He laid his free hand gently on Tina’s arm.

  Sadie looked back and forth between the two, wondering what had instigated this shift in their treatment of each other but glad for it. She faked a yawn.

  “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t miss it for all the chocolate in Belgium.”

  Back in her room, she traded her day clothes for leopard print pajamas and made just one phone call, reaching voice mail. She left a quick message before slipping into bed.

  “
Detectives, I think you’re going to want to be at the Harvest Festival tomorrow.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Fresh squeezed orange juice and a plate of baked goods greeted Sadie when she arrived in the breakfast area the following morning, but there was no sign of Tina. Instead, next to the coffee urn, Sadie found a note saying the innkeeper would see her at the festival. Sadie was to help herself to anything else she needed from the kitchen. It struck Sadie as ironic that Tina would choose to venture out before the event was scheduled to begin, seeing how it had backfired so dramatically the week before. Personally, Sadie would have hesitated to repeat the unlucky pattern.

  After juice, coffee and two raspberry scones, Sadie took Coco out for a short walk and then returned to the Merlot room to prepare for the day. Reassuring Coco that she’d be taking her to the festival, Sadie set out clothes for the event. She’d packed for the season, bringing silky brown slacks and a matching gold belt and shoes. Three clattering strands of glass beads in sunset hues added variety to a bright coral blouse, as did additional beads dangling from her earlobes. She finished the outfit off by wrapping a multi-colored silk scarf around her head, knotting it over one ear and letting its leafy print trail down over her shoulder.

  “Here you go, Coco.” Sadie set the Yorkie in her lap and traded her pink rhinestone collar for one in gold. “Now we match each other, except you are far cuter.” She kissed Coco’s head and got her situated in the tote bag, making sure the velvet pillow inside was adequately fluffed. Receiving an enthusiastic wag of approval, Sadie gathered her things, including the tissue-wrapped pen, and left for the festival.

  * * *

  An active scene greeted Sadie at the Tremiato Winery. Between the usual draw of the event and the recent media coverage, it was clear most everyone in search of good food, good wine, or good gossip was going to be there. Arriving only ten minutes after the festival’s opening time, Sadie found the parking lot outside the tasting room already full. Additional parking for the day in a dirt area allowed her to grab a space. If she’d arrived fifteen minutes later, she would have been faced with parking alongside the long driveway and walking back up to the main grounds. It appeared people would be parking out on the highway soon.