“Brice, call the police. Todd’s dead.”
Brice opened his phone and moved toward me. “Where is he?”
“He’s dead.”
“Since when are you a doctor?”
“He’s in the crusher. It was turned on.”
Everyone in the room knew what a crusher could do. Brice stopped and closed his phone. “I’ll go check on him, but I don’t need to call. The fire department will bring the police and paramedics.” He walked through the rear doors.
Hayley came up to me and pulled me close.
I looked over her shoulder at the faces around me. The shock was evident but seemed to hit Chantal hardest. She moaned, turned pale and grabbed for the door to steady herself.
When Brice came back a few minutes later, he silently shook his head, and Chantal’s sobs filled the room.
It felt good to have Hayley’s arm around me. I only had a few moments before the police arrived. All I had was the knowledge that one of them had returned to the house. One of them knew something. I took a deep breath and put the image I’d seen from my mind. “Did any of you go outside within the last hour?”
Silence.
“I was in the library,” Antonia said. “With Connor. The rest of you answer her immediately.”
As the silence resumed, Antonia struck her cane against the cement floor. “Answer her!”
“I was in the breakfast room,” Chantal sobbed, tearstains dark on her red shirt.
“Did anyone see you in there?” The breakfast room had glass doors that led onto the patio, just a short walk from the path.
“I saw her.” Trust Stephen to be able to account for his sister’s whereabouts. “Just as Veronica and I went upstairs. The rest of the time, Veronica and I were both in the west wing.”
“I saw Chantal too,” Marvin spoke up. “I also saw Veronica in the kitchen.” He rubbed his hand across raspy chin whiskers.
Veronica pulled her robe belt tighter. “I came back down to make tea while Stephen was in the shower,” she whispered.
“That’s true,” Marvin said. “She did. I can see most of the main floor from the winery office.”
Veronica looked at him quickly, as did several others. It must have been strange for them to realize Marvin was able to observe them at will.
“’Course, if we have to answer, then you do too,” Marvin said.
I looked at him. “You know where I was. I’m the one that found him.”
“Not you.” He pointed to Hayley. “You.”
Eight
“I WAS at our booth.”
“I saw her down there.” I gave Hayley’s arm a small squeeze. “She was on the festival grounds when I found the body.”
Marvin watched Hayley. “Before that, before you went to the booth, you and Todd were right outside the fermentation building.” He nodded his head toward the kitchen. “I was bringing back my dinner tray, and there you were, just the two of you.”
“That’s where I left him. I walked down the path and he went inside. He said he had something to take care of.”
“Sure. I figured that’s what you’d say.”
“Marvin, I just told you I saw Hayley down the hill, next to our booth.”
“Yeah, after Todd was killed.”
“How would she get there so fast?”
Antonia stamped her cane once again. “That’s enough, Marvin.” Antonia gazed around the room. “Francesca, where were you?”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Francesca shrugged. “No matter. Brice and I’ve been working in the study the entire time.”
“Not the entire time.” Connor looked at Brice. “You walked out the side door at one point. You were out there for at least fifteen minutes.”
“Yes, damn it, but I was just on the porch. My phone doesn’t get good reception in the house and it was an important call.”
That meant Francesca was alone for at least that long as well. Everyone in the house could have slipped away.
Marvin watched Hayley. I tightened my arm around her, but her pale face didn’t respond.
* * *
CYPRESS Cove doesn’t have much of a police force. We don’t often need one, and we like it that way. A loud party or a tourist who’d indulged too much was a busy night. The entire force was Chief Lucas and a few deputies. Lucas was young, around thirty, with sandy blond hair and intelligent blue eyes. I liked him.
When he arrived, he had us return to the house while his men taped off the crushers and fermentation building. As he and one of his men questioned us individually in the breakfast room, the rest of us waited with another deputy in the library.
Since I was the one to find the body, he questioned me first, taking notes as I retraced the evening’s events. Chief Lucas listened without comment until I told him I saw someone enter the house right after I found the body. He put his pen down.
“Do you know if someone in this family had a problem with Todd or might want him dead?”
“No. Chantal’s interest was more than platonic and Marvin is jealous of anyone that shows promise, but Todd was only in charge of the tasting room.” I thought of his wedding day and the photographs I’d never take. “He was engaged to be married.” I thought once again of the sight in the crusher and tried to remember Todd’s smile instead.
Lucas nodded. “Go back to Chantal.”
“Chantal and Todd seemed to be close at one point and, knowing her, I can only imagine it was romance she wanted, but I don’t know the details. Stephen wanted to fire him but Antonia wouldn’t let him.”
Lucas looked up from his notebook. “Boy, that’s an unlikely couple. How’d you hear about it?”
“Thomas told me.”
“What would we do without small-town gossip?”
“Okay, there’s something else you’re going to hear, probably from Marvin. Hayley and Todd were together right outside the fermentation building before she went down the hill. So, they were alone for a few minutes. It doesn’t mean anything, but I wanted you to hear it from me.”
“We’ll ask everyone where they were at the time.”
“Huh,” I took a deep breath. “I sort of did that already, while we were waiting for you.”
Lucas just looked at me.
“It was the flashlight. I’d just seen one of them going back into the house. I didn’t want anyone to have time to come up with a plausible story. I thought the less time they had to think, the better.”
“Did it work?”
I hesitated. “Not the way I would have liked. From the sound of it, any one of them could have snuck away for long enough to kill Todd and get back.” I told Lucas where everyone claimed to be.
He looked up from his notes. “So, let’s put the flashlight going back into the house aside. From what you’ve said, at one point after Ross and Thomas left, it was only you, Hayley and Todd outside.”
I kept my eyes on his. “That’s because someone is lying. Hayley was in the clearing below right after I saw the flashlight on the front steps. Besides, she doesn’t have a motive.”
Lucas looked at me. “Thanks, Penny. I’ll have to check all the leads, but I don’t think you need to worry.”
I didn’t feel reassured. Lucas didn’t have a vested interest in keeping Hayley safe, and I took little comfort in his words.
“Anything else?” I told him about Antonia’s suspicions of someone tampering with the wine. Lucas listened but didn’t ask anything when I’d finished.
“It seems unlikely to kill somebody for that, but we’ll investigate everyone’s motives.”
Connor was the last to talk with Lucas, and I waited with Hayley in the library. I sat on the couch where Chantal had been earlier in the evening, while Hayley stood by the glass doors and watched the events outside. The coroner had just left with Todd.
I checked my wa
tch. It was one in the morning. All of us had been in this room at nine thirty. The last time I’d seen Todd alive was outside, at nine forty. I’d given Hayley the prints and the flashlight to take to the booth. Todd and Hayley had walked away together—Todd to the fermentation building and Hayley to the path. I found Todd around ten after ten. Thirty minutes. Time enough to end Todd’s life and change the lives of those around him forever.
The outside lights were still on and police tape surrounded the building. I wondered if Todd knew what was about to happen when he was pushed into the crusher. Did he hear it being turned on? He might have still been alive. Still aware.
The room started to spin, and I broke out in a cold sweat.
Hayley was by my side in an instant. “You don’t look very good.”
It wouldn’t help either one of us if I told her my thoughts. “I can’t seem to get warm.”
I closed my eyes and pictured Todd in this room earlier. I stood and rubbed my arms against the chill.
Hayley had walked back to the window and stared out at the night. “They keep reminding me I was the last person to see him, before it happened.”
“Everyone?”
“Mostly Marvin, not that he’s said anything more. You can see it in their eyes, though. Now I wish I’d stayed with Todd. I should have followed my instincts.”
“Your instincts? You couldn’t have known what was going to happen.”
“There was something, though. Something about Todd that seemed wrong.”
“Like what?”
“He seemed, I don’t know, nervous. Excited maybe. He wasn’t paying attention, and he stumbled at one point. Just not his normal self. He kept looking at his watch.”
“His watch. Why would he care what time it was, unless he needed to be somewhere? Maybe he was supposed to meet someone at the crusher.”
Hayley turned to me. “I think you’re right. Now that I think about it, he could have been in a hurry to get somewhere. At the time the way he was acting didn’t seem very important. Now I wish I’d been paying attention. I feel guilty, even though I didn’t have anything to do with his death.”
I kicked myself again for the lost opportunity to see who’d returned to the main house.
At the bar, Francesca’s handbag still sat on the counter. My eyes fell on the paperwork that had fallen out. Briefs, motions and a bunch of other stuff I didn’t understand. There was also a copy of her bio. Under “Education,” it said, “Attended Layton Law School, Class of 1998.” It didn’t say she’d graduated, but it was certainly implied. No mention of any other school. If she’d finished elsewhere, apparently it wasn’t as impressive.
Outside, the fog had thickened, and the world was tucked under muted gray. Todd’s death would change things. The festival was to start on Saturday, and Antonia had him scheduled for the Martinelli booth. Beyond that, she would need to hire someone for the tasting room.
Lost in these thoughts, I didn’t notice when Antonia came to stand beside me.
“Stay for a moment. Please.”
“Of course.”
Wisps of hair had escaped from the combs at the top of her head and there were circles under her eyes. It was easy to forget Antonia’s age, with her perfect posture and tireless energy. Not now, though. Not as she stood and looked out the window at her beloved winery, divided in two by police tape.
When Chief Lucas was through with each of us, he called everyone to the library and addressed the group. “We have what we need for tonight. I may have additional questions for each of you, so please let my deputy know where each of you is going to be for the next seventy-two hours. Also, no one in this room is to leave town.”
Marvin mumbled something under his breath.
Chief Lucas held up his hand. “You have anything to add?”
“Just making sure you meant all of us.” Marvin turned and looked at Hayley.
Chief Lucas looked over at Hayley as well. “Yes, I meant what I said. Everyone.” His eyes lingered on Hayley, but it wasn’t a look that held suspicion, and Hayley looked calm as she returned his gaze.
“If there isn’t anything else, I’m finished for now.”
Marvin moved to the sliding doors to return to his apartment, and the rest of the family moved in separate directions through the house.
I touched Connor’s jacket sleeve. “Can you give me a minute with Antonia? She wants to talk.”
Connor nodded, and walked with Hayley and Chief Lucas to the front door.
Antonia and I took a seat on the library couch. She clutched the silver handle of her cane with both hands. Although the skin was translucent and the bluish tint of her veins clearly visible, she grasped the handle with surprising strength.
“What prompted you to go into the fermentation building? Why were you out at the crusher?”
I told her everything. If she had a killer in the house, she needed to know.
“Do you think he was already dead when the crusher was turned on?”
“I hope so. At the very least I hope he was unconscious.” A chill once again coursed through me. “What do you think he was doing out there?”
“Todd was a conscientious worker, but I can’t imagine any reason for him to be out at the crusher, especially at night. His duties were relegated to the tasting room.”
“Hayley said before she left him to go to the festival grounds he was distracted and kept looking at his watch. I think maybe he had a meeting scheduled with someone.”
“If he did, I don’t know anything about it. It certainly had nothing to do with work.”
“Hayley feels like she should have known something was wrong with Todd and she let him down, that somehow she could have made a difference. There’s only one way to help her. I want to know who did this. I need to, for Hayley’s sake.”
“Good. I hoped you’d feel that way. I believe Hayley was the last person to see Todd alive.”
I looked hard at Antonia. “Except for his killer, of course.”
Antonia waved her hand. “I wasn’t listening to Marvin. Of course I don’t think Hayley did it. She’d have no reason. No, Todd’s death is somehow connected to this winery. Someone here gained something from it.”
“Maybe what they wanted was to damage the winery. The sabotage wasn’t enough, so someone resorted to murder.”
Antonia pushed herself up on her cane and walked to the fireplace.
“Could someone want to destroy this winery that much, enough to kill?”
Antonia studied her hands, turning the ring on her finger. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to think at this point. This winery is more than a business. It’s my life. You know what I’m talking about.”
I nodded. Aunt Monique had felt the same way. I saw it in Connor and Hayley. More than a business. Creating a memorable wine was an art, a passion.
Antonia turned. “Maybe the goal isn’t to destroy the winery. Maybe it’s to destroy me.” There was pain in her eyes. “I admit it. I’m a better vintner than an employer. Certainly better than a mother.”
She swept her arms at the glass doors, toward the fields and vineyards beyond. “I realize I’m obsessive about this place. In the early years I had to be. It wasn’t easy, you know. Not back when your aunt and I were the only two women owners in California. When my husband died, the kids were even more aware they came second to the success of the winery.”
Uncertainty shone in those steely green eyes, a look that didn’t suit Antonia.
“Antonia, you might have made some mistakes with your children.” I shrugged. “I wasn’t there and don’t know. Either way, it doesn’t matter now. Adults make their own decisions regarding the directions of their lives. Apologize for the person you were then, if you need to, but don’t take responsibility for their actions now. They’re the only ones who can do that.”
She avoided
my gaze and nodded. “I thought I was doing what was best for them, ensuring they had everything they could want. I thought a comfortable home, a good education, and a solid place in the community was enough. Now I’m not so sure.”
Her cheeks held that same touch of pink I’d seen earlier. Coming to stand in front of me, she rested her hands on the silver head of the cane.
“I’ve never spoken like that to anyone.”
“You need to be careful. There’s someone here you can’t trust.”
Antonia looked at me. When she spoke, there was strength in her voice. “I’m always careful, Penelope. Something here at the winery holds the answer to Todd’s death. Maybe it started with the sabotage. Maybe he found out who it was and confronted them. Perhaps he discovered someone out there tonight and they had to kill him.”
I’d been thinking along the same lines. “When Todd came to see me about his wedding photos, he was upset about something. He wouldn’t talk about it, but there was something on his mind. I just want you to be prepared for whatever we might find.”
Antonia’s hands trembled slightly, but her voice was steady and her eyes held mine. “You said it yourself. People are responsible for their own actions. My children included.”
A few moments later, we joined Connor and Hayley in the hall and Antonia walked us to the door.
The three of us drove home in silence. Hayley turned to me, her eyes full of fear. I squeezed her hand, but she didn’t respond.
I was involved, even if Antonia hadn’t asked for my help. There was a cloud of suspicion over Hayley, and I’d do whatever it took to clear her. Beyond that, I’d found Todd and would forever have that image seared into my memory. Finding the person responsible was the only thing that might help.
Nine
I DRIFTED off sometime near dawn. It was a dreamless sleep, which was probably a good thing. When I got up I went to Hayley’s room, but she was gone. I made coffee and joined Nanook and Syrah outside in the warm morning sun. Connor joined me a few moments later.
“Have you seen Hayley? She isn’t in her room.”
One Foot in the Grape Page 7