The 45th Parallel

by Maureen Hands

  “Lots of reasons, for starters, he is my boss.”

  “He’ll only be your boss until you go back to school.”

  “That’s another reason. Why start a long distance relationship? He’ll be here and I will be in Chicago.”

  “I thought that was exactly the type of relationship you were looking for,” Anna said as she gave Helene a knowing smile.

  Greg rested the pruning shears against the brick wall, wiped off his feet, and came into the tasting room.

  “Good morning,” he said as he came in the winery.

  “How are the grapes doing?” Helene asked.

  “The weather is cooperating nicely this year. If this keeps up, we will have a long growing season.”

  Helene thought that Greg seemed tired and preoccupied. Normally he would stop and chat with them but today he walked through the tasting room and started to go downstairs. He paused on the top step and looked over at Helene.

  “Helene, you weren’t, by chance walking out in the vineyard about midnight last Friday?” Greg asked tentatively.

  “Why in the world would I be wandering in the vineyard in the middle of the night?” She laughed. Her laughter died off when she realized that Greg was serious.

  “It must have been a dream. Never mind, forget I mentioned it.”

  “Well,” Helene paused, “I hope it was a good dream, at least.”

  “Oh, it was a good one. At least the parts I can remember,” Greg said and smiled weakly.

  Helene’s face reddened slightly. “Oh, I almost forgot,” she said. “Robert West left you a message. He said he would be by today to pick up his case of wine.”

  “Great,” Greg said angrily as he walked off suddenly. Helene, looking puzzled, watched him go downstairs to the blending room and shut the door. She noticed Anna had stopped putting away the wine glasses and stood frozen, her eyes closed.

  “Anna, what’s wrong?” Helene asked.

  “He’s hiding something.”

  “What are you feeling?” Helene asked.

  “Guilt, anger, fear, exhaustion, and…desire.”

  “What could possibly make him feel all that?”

  “I don’t know. I only get the feelings, not the reasons for them.”

  — •●• —

  Greg stood in the blending room and stared at the case of wine boxed up next to the outside door with “Robert West” written in black marker on the top of the box. What could West possibly want with that wine? Would he give it to someone without their knowledge? Greg closed his eyes and tried to block out the dark memories flooding his mind. When he opened them again Robert West was standing in the doorway.

  “What the hell,” Greg said startled.

  “I thought it would be easier to just come to the back door.” West looked down at the box. “And I see you have it all ready to go.” He reached down and opened the lid of the box. “Where is the thirteenth bottle?”

  “It takes time to make the Deadly Nightshade,” Greg said.

  “I hope you are not stalling Mr. Tilmas. I would hate to have to call your old friends. I’m sure they would be very disappointed in you.”

  “I told you it takes time,” Greg’s voice rose in anger.

  “The next time I pick up an order, you will have the Deadly Nightshade.”

  The sound of West’s icy voice sent a chill down Greg’s back. “I did some checking on you,” Greg said. “You aren’t originally from Northport, are you?”

  West looked over at Greg and smirked. “I doubt you will find anything in my background that will give you the answers you are seeking, and I would recommend you stop digging.” With that, West picked up his box of wine and left.

  Greg went over to the door, locked it, and leaned against it. He had searched the Internet and checked with Jerry Nelson, a local P.I. They found nothing suspicious. West had grown up in Indiana, gone to college, and upon graduation, started working for the bank. He never married or had any children. Seven years ago, West was transferred to Northport where he took over as president of the bank. Everything seemed very normal. So how did he know about the Lethe family winery? He knew who Robert West was on paper, but what kind of a man was he?

  The fact Greg knew so little about the type of man Robert West really was and he had just given him a very powerful drug, a magical wine, made Greg feel nauseous.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I’d like to welcome everyone to the Night Hike sponsored by the Great Lakes Conservation Group,” Robert West said as he smiled warmly at the group of approximately thirty people gathered. “We have wine donated by one of our local wineries, so feel free to grab a glass and don’t forget to bring your flashlights. Jerry Nelson, one of our board members will lead the first group of hikers and I will lead the second. We will start at ten o’clock.”

  Robert West made his way through the crowd, greeting those people he knew and introducing himself to those he did not, until he reached Dora Sampson who was handing out wine.

  “We will take one group through the trail and give them a fifteen minute start before bringing the next group through. Can you make sure anyone not drinking wine is placed in the first group?” Robert said as he patted Dora’s bottom.

  “Oh yes Robert.”

  “I’m going to go check the trail to make sure there are no tripping hazards,” Robert said as he turned and walked toward the darkening woods. As he ventured down the path, away from the crowd, the woods became very still, no animals moved or breeze stirred. West stopped and looked into the forest and waited.

  “Are you bringing my dinner?” West heard her say.

  “Where are you?” West called. Then he saw the yellow glowing eyes coming toward him through the dense trees.

  “We are very hungry. I hope you are bringing a selection.”

  West watched anxiously as she appeared on the path twenty feet in front of him. She looked just like the girl he had been secretly in love with in college, only better.

  “You are so beautiful,” West whispered. “I am bringing the ones who drank the wine, just like you asked.”

  “Good boy,” she said as she moved closer to him. “We will reward you once we are free.” She reached out and touched his face. West moaned and dropped to his knees.

  “Please, make love to me again. I don’t think I can wait any longer,” West pleaded.

  “Bring them down the trail that leads to the clearing. We will be waiting there,” the woman said as she stepped back and disappeared into the trees.

  When West returned from the woods, Jerry was getting ready to take the first group for a hike. The group drinking wine was getting friendlier with one another.

  — •●• —

  Cole Harris, feeling lightheaded and giddy from two glasses of wine, found himself flirting with a woman twenty years his senior. The sun had just set when Cole heard Robert West announce it was time for the hike. He followed everyone over to the start of the trail and into the dark woods. Even with the flashlights they all carried, Cole found the dark very disorienting and wondered if he were drunk from just two glasses of wine. He stopped to rest against a tree and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he realized that he was no longer with any of the other hikers. He began to walk quickly in an attempt to catch up but his flashlight went out, and he stumbled over a root and fell.

  “Shit,” he muttered. “Is anyone else’s flashlight working?” No one answered. “Hey, where is everyone?” Again, no answer. Cole could hear branches snapping. Something was moving quickly toward him. All he could see was a pair of glowing eyes. They would appear, disappear, and then reappear. I have to get out of here. Cole shoved himself to his feet and spun around, not knowing which direction took him back to the start of the trail and which one took him deeper into the woods. Then he heard a low, deep growl.

  Cole began to run blindly. He could hear the animal getting closer. He thought he could see more pairs of yellow eyes in the darkness. Wolves hunt in packs.

 
He felt the animal’s large paws, one on his back and one scraping its nails down his arm, as he fell forward onto the ground. Cole flipped around onto his back before the animal had him pinned and stared into its snarling mouth and black eyes. The animal ripped into his shirt and tore it open. What Cole saw next he could not explain. The animal began to twist and change shape. Now there was a naked woman on top of him. She looked down on him with yellow glowing eyes, her hand pressed against his chest.

  “Kat?” Cole said weakly. The woman looked like Kat from the bike club but those eyes…they were not human.

  “Is this what you like?” she said seductively.

  “What is going on? Who are you?” Cole asked.

  She smiled and stroked the side of his face. Intense desire reverberated through his body. She slid down, undid his pants and pulled them off, his erection springing free.

  “You will taste better this way,” she said as she slid him into her and began to move. She tossed her head back looked up through the trees toward the moon and began to laugh. As Cole began to climax, she put her mouth over his and started to feed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Since Kat worked the closing shift on Friday night, she slept in a little later than normal on Saturday morning. By the time she showered and went downstairs, Mary was already at the shop. Kat toasted a bagel and made some coffee. As she was eating, she wondered if John was going to call her to go sailing. It was disturbing to her she had only gone out with him once, yet she could not stop thinking about him.

  She wasn’t working until this evening and she needed a distraction to get her mind off John. Then Kat remembered Patrick’s offer to give her a crash sailing course and gave him a call. Patrick told Kat to come down to the sailing school around two. That would give her plenty of time to go for a jog and stop by Muldoon’s and pick up her check.

  Kat decided to confine her run to town as opposed to jogging down quiet country roads. The experience at the lighthouse still had her spooked. She ran about three miles and finished up in front of Muldoon’s.

  Kat went in the front door and stood for a moment allowing her eyes to adjust. Jack was working behind the bar.

  “Are you looking for this?” Jack said as he held up an envelope containing her check.

  “Oh thanks Jack,” Kat said as she went over to the bar and sat at one of the stools. Jack handed Kat her check as well as the schedule for the next seven days. Kat looked over her schedule and glanced around the restaurant to see if she knew any of the patrons. Cole from the bike club sat at a table by himself picking at his lunch.

  Kat walked over to where he was sitting. “Hi Cole, how was the Night Hike last night?”

  Cole looked confused and said, “Oh, yes…it was fine.”

  “Are you feeling all right?” Kat asked. He was pale and drawn. There must be something going around.

  “Yes, I just…I think I may have had too much wine last night.”

  “I didn’t realize the Great Lakes Conservation Group members were such big partiers.”

  “Were you there?”

  “No, I was working,” Kat said giving him a strange look. They had talked about this on the bike ride yesterday. “What happened to your arm?” Kat noticed scratches down the back of his right arm.

  “Oh…I guess I must have fallen.”

  “It looks like some animal got you,” Kat said.

  Cole looked like he was trying to remember something but then went back to picking at his lunch.

  “Maybe you will feel better after you eat,” Kat offered.

  “Yes, I probably need to eat.”

  “Are you going to ride Monday?” Kat asked.

  “I’m planning on it,” Cole said.

  “Well, I’ll see you then. I hope you feel better.” Cole gave Kat a weak smile.

  Kat left Muldoon’s and started walking back to Mary’s house. Kat passed Denise Sakal on the street. Denise seemed pale and drawn and had the same vacant stare as Cole. Either there is something going around, or there is some wild partying going on at GLCG events.

  She decided to stop by the winery to see if Anna and Helene were working. Since John was in Chicago, she could check out the North Light Winery without worrying he would think she was stalking him.

  Kat showered and changed into shorts and a T-shirt and drove to the winery. By the time she got there, the tasting room was already busy. Both Anna and Helene were pouring wine for groups lined up to taste. Kat noticed three children running around unattended. They were getting dangerously close to knocking over a wine display. The parents were somewhere in the line of tasters ignoring the children.

  Kat watched Helene and Anna’s varying styles with the customers. Helene was no nonsense. She went down the list of wines quickly only stopping if asked a specific question. Anna, on the other hand, was much more concerned about the customers’ likes and dislikes. Spending time to help them pick the wines that would best fit their taste. Finally, Helene finished with her group of tasters and came over to say hello.

  “Did you come to try some wine or check out my employer?”

  “I came by to see if you wanted to sail with Patrick and me at two. I also wanted to check out your place of employment. As for your employer, I know he is in Chicago.”

  “Both Anna and I are scheduled to work until six, otherwise I would love to come,” Helene said. “Since you are here, would you like to taste some wine?”

  “A little early for me, I usually like to eat lunch before I start drinking heavily.”

  The three children were now playing a loud game of tag. Helene eyed them nervously as they darted in and out among the wine bottles.

  “Hey kids,” Helene called. “Would you like some chocolate?” The children stopped in their tracks and came over to where Helene and Kat were standing. Helene reached over and pulled a basket of Hershey Kisses off a shelf and let the children each grab a handful. Then she bent down so she could talk to them on their level.

  “We have a fat orange cat named Opie, who just had six kittens,” Helene whispered. “She is in a basket on the porch just outside the door. If you’re really good, maybe your parents will let you take one home.”

  The children’s eyes grew large and they disappeared out onto the back patio. Kat looked at Helene curiously. Helene nodded her head toward a sign on the wall that said, “Unsupervised children will be given sugar and a free kitten” and gave Kat a devilish smile.

  “Did you go to the Night Hike last night?” Kat asked.

  “No why?”

  “I ran into Cole from the bike club today. He didn’t look very well. He said he had too much wine at the Night Hike. When did the GLCG start serving alcohol on their hikes?”

  “That’s the first time I have heard that. Now that they are serving wine, maybe I will attend the next one,” Helene said.

  Kat glanced down at her watch and said, “I better head over to sailing school. I promised Patrick I would pick up lunch.”

  “Make sure you wear a life vest. You know how Patrick is,” Helene warned.

  Kat said good-bye and stepped out onto the porch. She noticed the three children, who had been running around the winery, holding two little kittens. One was all orange and one was black and white.

  “Please, please, pleasssse, we will never ask for anything again,” Kat heard them begging their parents.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Kat drove down to the sailing school in Traverse City to meet Patrick. He told her on the phone that morning he would be available to sail after his last class ended at noon. As a thank you for taking her sailing, Kat picked up some sandwiches for lunch.

  Kat walked past a small white framed building that housed the sailing school and down to the docks where Patrick was sitting in the cockpit of a J24 sailboat, chatting with a young woman with short, curly, dark hair. The young woman seemed very intent on whatever Patrick was saying. Patrick waved when he spotted Kat and the young woman turned toward her. Kat could see the woman’s
blue eyes narrow as she approached.

  “I brought sustenance,” Kat said.

  “Great, I’m starving. Kat, this is Rachel. She is also an instructor here,” Patrick said.

  “Hi Rachel. Are you going out with us?” Kat asked.

  Rachel looked surprised and said, “No, I have to teach another class.” There was an edge of snippiness to her voice.

  “I promised my cousin I would give her a refresher course,” Patrick said.

  “Oh…Kat is your cousin,” Rachel said. The tone of her voice suddenly got much friendlier.

  “Yes, she has a hot sailing date coming up and needed to brush up on the basics,” Patrick explained.

  “Well you’re in good hands then,” Rachel said. She turned back to Patrick. “I’ll see you later?”

  “Sounds good,” Patrick said.

  Rachel hopped off the boat and walked up to the sailing school building.

  “I think she thought I was your date,” Kat said.

  “She did seem a bit jealous, didn’t she?” Patrick grinned. He took the bag of sandwiches from Kat and held her hand while she stepped onto the boat. “I can go over some sailing terms while we’re eating then we can go out on the water.”

  Kat got out their sandwiches, some chips, and two bottles of ice tea, and they sat down to eat.

  “The sailing school boats are bare bones with no motor. John’s boat will have a motor and the sails will be on furling systems so you won’t have to hassle with taking the sails on and off,” Patrick said.

  “I think I’ll be fine if we just go through some basics,” Kat said before taking a bite of her sandwich.

  “I’ll pretend you are one of my beginning students. The bow is the front of the boat, and the stern is the back. Port is the left side of the boat and starboard is the right. The jib is the front sail and the mainsail is the large sail connected to the boom,” Patrick said with a sarcastic tone.

  “I do remember that much.” Kat rolled her eyes.

  “Since you are much more advanced than my twelve year old students, I will move on to points of sail and wind direction. Remember, not only is sailing physically challenging, but it is mentally challenging. You have to be able to trust your senses and read the waves, current, wind, and clouds. Tell me, Ms. Collins, what direction is the wind coming from now?”