Murder Before Moscato_A Vineyard Winery Culinary Cozy Mystery

by Christie Waters

  “This is the office, I think.” Shelly said, opening a small door.

  “There has to be something with her home address on it in here.” I replied. “Look around…”

  The office was small, with one desk and two chairs. There were photos of cheese all over the walls, including some of Emily herself holding bottles of milk and squares of butter. Each time with a big smile on her face as she looked into the camera. Looking at the photos I realized I’d never spoken to the woman.

  Unless of course you were to consider the short interaction we had when I found her kneeling down in the back room of the wine club, crying her eyes out. I still hadn’t figured out what that was about and whether or not it had anything to do with what was happening.

  Maybe she was just crying at seeing Conner Ford dead, if she’d even seen it that is. No one ever mentioned her being there. Perhaps she’d sneaked into the club for one reason or another. Maybe she was involved with one of the members, perhaps even Conner Ford himself. Though he did look to be quite a bit older than her.

  “Look.” Shelly said. “Here’s something.”

  Shelly handed me a small piece of mail. It was an invoice for some cooking supplies addressed to Emily.

  Emily Walls 1332 Wallhorn Ave. Salt Creek, CA. 28562

  “Where is Salt Creek?” I asked.

  “Salt Creek is a town about forty-five minutes from here. Straight up the coast.”

  “Well.” I said. “I guess I know where we’re headed…”

  “Now?” Shelly asked.

  “Yes.” I said. “We can’t afford to wait any longer. Emily Walls is involved in this somehow and we need to figure it out. And even if she isn’t behind this she might still be in danger.”

  “What makes you so sure it’s her?” Shelly asked.

  “I don’t know.” I said. “It’s just a feeling. There’s something not quite right about this. She keeps popping up, her name, this cheese shop. All of it. And then her going to that abandoned vineyard, saying my aunts name…”

  “I don’t like this.” Shelly said.

  “I don’t like it either.” I said. “But we can’t just keep waiting for the next shoe to drop. We need to act.”

  “Alright.” Shelly said. “Let’s go.”

  Salt Creek was a small town, even smaller than Hillside Grove. But with its many hills, valleys and mountain views the two looked basically identical. Salt Creek sat perched at the top of a large plateau, rising high above sea level. It was too dark and overcast to tell at the moment, but I was sure the location made for some pretty stunning views.

  “Alright.” Shelly said, typing the address into her phone. “We’re only four minutes from this place.”

  “Okay.” I said. “Just pull over here. I don’t want anyone to see us coming.”

  “You got it.” She smiled, guiding the car into a small grassy area.

  I couldn’t help but realize just how much time I’d spent walking around in the middle of the night lately, which for the kind of girl that likes to melt into a warm bathtub no later than nine o’ clock was definitely out of character. I’d never expected my life to take such an unusual turn, but I guess no one ever does.

  Three weeks ago my biggest concern was a local wine competition. Now I had dead bodies piling up around every corner and a business on the line. So much had happened over the last two weeks and almost none of it made sense. At least not in a way that answered any questions. My aunt almost died, and now so had Daniel’s sister. I had to put a stop to this.

  “What do you think we’re going to find here?” Shelly asked.

  “I’m not really sure.” I said. “I just know she’s up to something. Maybe she’s the one who broke into my house and stole all the wine.”

  “Why would she do that?” Shelly asked. “What does any of this have to do with her?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out.” I said as we came to the edge of a driveway. “This has to be the house.”

  “We can hide in that tree-line.” Shelly pointed. “It’s pretty dark over there.”

  “Good.” I said.

  The house was a small thing, with a high-pitched red shingle roof and white siding. It looked as though it had been built some time ago, but was still in pretty good shape. Someone had been taking care of this place for a while it seemed. Though, I doubted it was Emily, since she’d only moved out here a couple of years ago.

  “She must be asleep.” I said, noticing the house was in total darkness.

  “It’s pretty late.” Shelly said.

  “Look!” I said, pointing to a set of train tracks near the back of her house.

  “Yea… so?” Shelly replied.

  “I have an idea.” I said.

  I reached down and pulled a small piece of paper from my pocket.

  “What’s that?” Shelly asked.

  “It’s the note that I found in the wine club. The one I saw Emily leave behind…”

  I grabbed my phone and began dialing the number listed on the note.

  “There!” I said, snapping my fingers.

  The soft sound of a ringing phone emanated from the house, gliding across the cool night air. I was right, it had been Emily that I’d seen at the wine club. She was the one crying in the back room. The number on the paper was her phone number and these tracks belonged to the train I’d heard in the background when I called.

  “It’s Emily.” I said. “She’s behind all of this!”

  “Oh my goodness…” Shelly answered. “But why?”

  “One way to find out.” I said, walking toward the house.

  “Wait!” Shelly said. “What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?”

  “Maybe.” I said. “But I can’t let this continue.”

  Steadying myself and taking a deep breath I rang the doorbell.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  “Did you hear that?” I asked Shelly.

  “I did.” She said.

  I couldn’t say I’d had much experience with the sound, but I could swear what I heard coming from inside that house was a muffled scream. As if someone needed help but there was something placed over their mouth.

  “We have to go in.” I said.

  “It’s unlocked…” Shelly said, turning the handle.

  “Good.” I said. “At least we won’t have to break a window. Let’s go.”

  The house was in complete darkness with not a single lamp or candle, not even the soft glow of late night television. I walked slowly through the house with Shelly following closely behind me, holding my arm for guidance.

  Suddenly, out of the darkness I heard the sound again. The same muffled tone as before. A small bit of moonlight bled through the windows and from that I could make out a door on the far side of the room. The sound seemed to be coming from the other side of it, slowly I walked closer.

  All the while I could feel my heart rate increasing, pumping blood though my body with enough pressure to knock me off my feet. I felt my senses heightening, my ears began to tingle, my hearing grew in sharpness.

  “There…” I said, pointing to the door. “It’s coming from the other side.”

  I slowly wrapped my hand around the cold metal door handle, then with one careful movement turned it and pushed the door open. The same muffled cry immediately broke through the silence. Then suddenly light filled the room.

  Sitting in a chair, with her hands tied behind her back and a strip of silver tape over her mouth was Rebecca Knight, the waitress from the café. Her eyes were puffy and red, her face wet with tears. She had been bound and gagged, only I had no idea by whom.

  But as quickly as the question popped into my mind I found my answer. I turned to see Emily Walls slam the door behind me.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “You’re breaking into my house.” Emily said. “I don’t need to answer your questions. Give me your phones. Both of you.”

  “No.” I said.

  “Then eat bullets.” S
he held her gun in the air.

  “Just do it.” Shelly said, sliding her phone across the floor.

  “Fine.” I said, following suit. “Now tell me what’s going on?”

  “You.” She said. “All you needed to do was stay out of this. It has nothing to do with you. At least… it wasn’t supposed to. But you just had to keep digging, didn’t you… you couldn’t leave well-enough alone.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “I’m talking about you.” Emily said. “You’re not supposed to be here. You know next to nothing about this business. You were supposed to fail, not go running around trying to solve crimes that have nothing to do with you…”

  “Fail?” I asked. “Why should you care what I do?”

  “HA!” Emily said. “Please! As if you don’t know!”

  “I don’t.” I said. “Really… I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Then you’re even more stupid than I thought.” She snapped back. “But it doesn’t matter now. The competition is in the morning. Soon enough everything will be fine.”

  “Why is she tied up?” I asked, looking at the young woman.

  “Ask her yourself.” Emily said, leaving the room and locking the door behind her.

  Shelly quickly ran over to Rebecca and began pulling the tape from her face and hands. She was a mess, her emotions were one edge and her nerves were frayed but I was hoping she’d be able to collect herself and give us a little information.

  “Thank goodness you came!” Rebecca cried. “I really thought she was going to kill me for a moment.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “She’s crazy!” Rebecca said. “She’s the one that poisoned that old guy.”

  “I knew it!” I said. “Why?”

  “She’s trying to ruin the vineyards.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Something about her grandfather selling the land for much less than its value. She thinks the winery belongs to her. Or… at least part of it.”

  “Which vineyard?” I asked.

  “Glass Rose.”

  “That’s Daniels vineyard.” I said. “That’s why she put all of my wine bottles there. To frame him.”

  “Right.” Rebecca said.

  “What do you have to do with any of this?” Shelly asked.

  “I’m a good person…” Rebecca broke down. “I promise.”

  “Oh honey…” Shelly began rubbing her head.

  “In the beginning I didn’t know what was happening. I thought I was just helping deliver orders. But then…” Her voice broke. “Then… I tried to break away from it. But she threatened my life. I was afraid… for both of us.” She rubbed her hand across her belly.

  “She threatened you how?” I asked.

  “She majored in chemistry, I think.” Rebecca wiped tears from her cheeks. “She said she could poison me and I wouldn’t even see it coming. I came here tonight to tell her I refused to do this anymore. That I was going to the police. Then… I don’t know what happened. She touched me and I woke up in this chair.”

  “How did she know we were here?” Shelly asked.

  “When the phone rang… she looked outside and saw the light from your cellphone. So she unlocked the door. I’m so sorry… I was trying to warn you, but I couldn’t speak.”

  “That’s okay.” I said.

  “No…” Rebecca said. “It isn’t. We’re trapped in here and she’s going to poison half the wine community come morning if we don’t get out of here and stop her.”

  “How is poisoning half the wine community going to help her?” Shelly asked.

  “The value of the land will drop.” I said. “Then she’ll be able to buy it back.”

  “What if no one will sell?” Shelly said.

  “She’ll still have destroyed the reputation of everyone in town. Either way she wins…”

  We were trapped in a small room with just one tiny window that only a five year old could possibly squeeze through. That combined with the fact that sunrise was only a few hours away made us getting out of here an absolute priority.

  “This is bad…” I said. “The police aren’t even going to be expecting anything.”

  “Not with Daniel Haddish in jail.” Shelly said. “As far as they’re concerned they have their man.”

  “Alright.” I said. “We’re getting out of here!”

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Back in New York I’d locked myself out of my apartment more than a few times. Phillip worked a lot and wasn’t always able to accompany me to and from my restaurant reviews, not that I wanted him to. I was happy walking the city alone, catching cabs, hopping the subway… just living the life of a city girl.

  Often times I’d get home before him, having misplaced my keys again. The first few times it happened I just sat down in the hallway, sometimes for hours waiting on him to return. Luckily though, after seeing me do this a few times a neighbor decided to intervene. Turns out he’d made a living in the city by staying a little under the radar and a little further under the law.

  He may have not been the best person in the city, but he was a nice kid and in that moment his knowledge came in pretty helpful. I was a little surprised to see him coming down the stairs, barreling toward me, but there something sweet about the look on his face that subsided my fears.

  “Not the best at keeping track of keys, are you?” He asked.

  “You noticed…” I smiled.

  “It’s like you’re in a relationship with the hallway or something…”

  “Well…” I answered. “At least I can always count on him to be here.”

  “Would you like some help?” He asked.

  “You have a key?”

  “No.” He said. “But I rarely need them. Do you have a hair pin?”

  “I… don’t.” I said, running my fingers through my straight hair.

  “Wow!” He chuckled. “That almost never happens.”

  “Yea…” I replied. “I buck trends pretty often, just usually not on purpose.”

  “Luckily I keep a few in my back pocket.” He pulled one from his jeans. “A piece of advice though… keep some in your hair, if history is any indicator you’ll need one again soon.”

  “Not a bad idea.” I said, watching him stick the pin into the lock.

  “Here.” He said. “Watch me…”

  I spent the next few minutes chatting with the guy, who ended up introducing himself as Timmy. He was young with a sweet smile, short brown hair and a good personality. I ended up needing his help a few more times, until finally mastering lock picking myself. I hadn’t done it since leaving New York, but even still I kept a few pins hidden in my hair, just in case.

  “What are you doing?” Shelly said to me.

  “Picking the lock.” I replied.

  “Picking the lock?” She exclaimed. “Since when can you pick a lock?”

  “Long story…” I said.

  I pulled a pin from my hair, knelt down and began working my magic. It was a little harder than I remembered and the locking mechanism seemed a bit more complicated but I was sure if given enough time I would manage to unlock it. I had no choice really, if we didn’t get out and stop that wine tasting from happening then half the town would end up six feet under.

  “Still no luck?” Shelly asked after a few minutes.

  “Almost.” I said, feeling the pin make contact with the mechanism.

  “I can’t believe she’s so upset she’s going to poison the whole town…” I said. “And she’s using my wine to do it.”

  “She’s so angry. She’s not thinking straight…” Rebecca chimed in.

  “Obviously.” Shelly said.

  I spent the next two hours fruitlessly trying to get through the lock, but it seemed no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t make it through that mechanism. The door was old, and so was the lock and I was just too rusty to do any good.

  “I can’t…” I said. “The lock is
too good.”

  I felt like a failure, which I suppose I kind of was. I know it wasn’t completely my fault, seeing as how I wasn’t the one that locked the door. It was my idea to drive to the house though, just like it was my idea to sneak in. That’s one thing I was never short on, bad idea’s…

  “Zara!” I heard a familiar voice calling from the other side of the door.

  “Daniel!” I replied. “We’re trapped. Help!”

  “What’s going on?” He said. “Where is Emily?”

  “Gone!” I yelled. “We have to hurry. The sun is almost up!”

  “Back away from the door!” He said.

  “What?”

  “Back away from the door!” He repeated as Shelly, Rebecca and I all grabbed hands, piling into the far corner of the room.

  “Alright…” Sheriff Grammar said. “Tell me what’s going on here.”

  Thankfully we’d managed to make it to the competition in time to stop the judges from ingesting poisoned wine. All we had to do now was make sure we found Emily Walls before she skipped town. As if Shelly and I hearing her admission of guilt wasn’t enough we also had Rebecca’s story to fall back on.

  There would be no way to deny everything she’d been through. Rebecca knew things about the case no one should know. Besides, she was a scared pregnant girl and I doubted anyone would put up much of a challenge against her story, especially given the fact that it was all the truth.

  “Emily Walls.” I said.

  “Emily Walls is nowhere to be found.” He replied. “But you all better get talking. How is it that nearly every bottle of wine in our fine county is poisoned?”

  “I’m telling you.” I answered. “Emily Walls.”

  “She’s upset.” Rebecca chimed in. “About the sale of the land.”

  “Her grandfather’s land?” The sheriff asked. “That was years ago.”

  “Yes.” Rebecca answered. “That doesn’t do much to dampen her anger though.”

  “Well unless you all have some idea as to where we can find this lady, then…”