“I’ll get it.”
“Then come back. I need your opinion.”
“Opinion on what?” Connor stepped in through the open glass door.
I handed him the list. “Well, what do you think?”
“I think you’ve listed a lot of decent reasons to stay away from these people. The problem is I don’t think one of them is going to let you.”
“That’s what I think. So my best defense is to go on offense, right?”
Hayley and Connor looked at me.
“Offense? After what happened last night? What exactly do you have in mind?” Connor asked me.
“At the moment, I can’t think of a single thing, but I’m working on it.”
* * *
CONNOR drove to the festival while I dug the list out of my bag. Any one of them could be capable of murder, if pushed.
After a couple of minutes, I put the list back down. I wasn’t going to find the answer between here and the festival grounds.
“How can some people read and drive? Now I’m carsick.”
Connor slowed and rolled down the front windows. Putting the list back into my bag, I looked up just as a beige Cadillac entered the intersection right in our path. As I braced myself against the dash, the driver swerved to the right, just missing us.
Thirty-two
“THAT’S Stephen! If we hadn’t slowed down, he would have run right into us. Is he crazy?”
“Haven’t you seen him behind the wheel before? Everyone in town knows you need to be careful when he’s around. He always drives like he doesn’t know what traffic signals mean,” Connor said.
“Why doesn’t someone do something?”
Connor shrugged. “We’ve learned to live with it. He caught me off guard this time. Good thing you got carsick and I had to slow down.”
“Yeah. Good thing.”
“All a part of small-town living. Local color.”
“What did you say?”
“Small-town living. Get used to it. Why?”
I looked out the window. “Nothing, I guess. Just a feeling I’ve had for most of the last three days. Like I’m missing something. I wish I knew what it was.”
Connor pulled onto the grounds, found a space up front near my car and turned off the engine. I gathered my bag and started to open the door. Connor put his hand on my arm and waited until I turned to him.
“What?”
“No being alone with anyone from the Martinelli family.”
“I won’t.”
“No being alone at all, for that matter.”
“Got it.”
“If anything unusual happens, I want you to find me. Lucas is going to be here today too. Watch for him.”
“No problem.”
He looked at me. “You’re being too agreeable.”
“Connor, I really get it. Someone’s trying to kill me. Dead. I get it.”
“So, nothing stupid.”
“GOT IT.”
Connor muttered something about why hadn’t I followed this same advice five days ago, and we made our way into the festival. Hayley was in the booth, stacking cases of Cabernet. As I ducked under the counter, she pointed to the ground around the booth.
“Trouble with the Christmas ornaments?”
I shrugged, but she held my gaze.
“Be careful.”
“Got it.”
Hayley looked at Connor. “She’s being too agreeable.”
Geez. It was a wonder I’d avoided death this long. “Listen, you two. I promise I’ll be careful. Now let’s concentrate on getting through the rest of the festival.”
We worked for a while in silence, stopping to take a break when Thomas, again dressed as the town fool, brought us steaming espressos.
“Glad to see you’re still with us. Just don’t do anything stupid.”
“GOT IT.”
Thomas did the big eye-roll thing. “Ouch. Someone’s a tad testy.”
I gulped the coffee and grabbed his arm. “Let’s go get me a refill on the java and I’ll feel better.”
“Stay with Thomas,” Connor said.
I looked over at Thomas, complete in jingle bells and tights. “Right. I feel much safer.”
Leaning close, Connor whispered, “What’s that saying? God protects babies and fools?”
I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, so we walked down the row of tents, now filling up with exhibitors. As on the previous day the coffee was the big draw at the Sterling booth.
Ross read my mind as we walked up. “Nothing like a fabulous cup of coffee and a fruit pastry to draw a crowd.”
Thomas patted his shoulder. Sighs of the single women sounded in the crowd as Thomas and Ross smiled at each other in obvious affection. Just not fair.
I took the coffee and scanned the crowd. The tone was more relaxed this morning. The judges finished tasting everything yesterday, and today was focused on donations for the hospital and having fun. Tonight at seven, an hour before the close of the festival, the winners of the competition would be announced.
Lady Godiva was handing out chocolates and a list of the day’s activities. I grabbed one of each as she went past. At nine the center ring was again open for fencing. I walked over to the railing where the participants warmed up.
“How you feeling this morning?” Annie stood at my side. Her usually smiling face was void of emotion and she was pale, a grim reminder last night was real, and very close to home.
“I’ve been better. Sorry to get you into this.”
“Stop. You couldn’t have known. We were careful and it still happened. Don’t forget, you also got us out of it. Besides”—she took my arm—“what are favorite cousins for?”
I gave her a smile. “Buy you a cup of coffee?”
“I can’t. I’ve got to get to the clinic. I have a Pomeranian that needs surgery. I just stopped by to see how you were doing. Don’t go having any more fun like last night without me.”
“Believe me, I’ll try. I just keep thinking fun’s going to come looking for me.”
“I’m getting that feeling too. It wouldn’t hurt you to stick close to Connor today. Come to think of it, it might hurt you if you don’t.”
“I know. I just hate feeling scared. And if someone is determined, sooner or later I’ll be alone, and that someone will get their chance.”
Annie opened her mouth, and I raised my hand to stop her next words. “Don’t get me wrong. I’ll be careful. I won’t make it easy on anyone. Now go.”
I gave her a quick hug and headed back to Sterling for a refill. As I walked away, Antonia was ahead in the crowd. I didn’t want a repeat of the same discussion regarding my safety.
The moment she stopped in front of me, I began speaking. “I’m fine, Antonia, and if it’s all the same to you, I’d really rather not talk about it.”
Antonia looked me up and down and stamped her cane. “What nonsense. Of course you’re fine. Anyone can see that.”
“I thought you might want to talk about last night.”
“What for? If you’d seen the person, you would have told the police, and we’d be standing here having a much different conversation. As it is, nothing was accomplished.”
“There’s only one thing that could have happened last night. Someone watched us walk you back up the hill. They knew we’d return and be alone on the festival grounds.”
“When I saw the lights were out, I immediately called the police.” Antonia paused. “I don’t know exactly when they were turned off. At that point, of course, I tried to find out where everyone was, but it wasn’t easy. Francesca and Brice weren’t planning on coming back to the house, so I don’t know where they were.”
“What about everyone else?”
“Veronica said she was in her car driving back from t
own, and Stephen said he’d already returned and was working in the fermentation building.” Antonia looked away. “Chantal is unfortunately still sleeping in. I have no idea where she was last night. Believe me, I’ve thought about it. Nothing I can tell you about last night will help.”
“Do you think you might be too close to everyone involved to be objective?”
Antonia shook her head. “I’ve understood from the beginning, since Todd was killed, not to mention what happened to Marvin, that someone under my roof was responsible. Nothing is that random in life. Nothing.”
“I’m close to finding the answer. I know I’m close, otherwise last night wouldn’t have happened.”
Antonia patted my arm stiffly. “I know you are, and so does someone else, but I wouldn’t think of joining the hordes and telling you to be careful. Surely you know that. Just find them, before they find you.”
I wished she’d just settled for telling me to be careful. “Right. I’ll try and do that.”
Thirty-three
I SPENT the rest of the morning with Connor and Hayley in the booth.
Lucas stopped by and asked how I was, but anyone could tell he was there to see Hayley. He gave her a hug and smiled. “I’m allowed. Off duty.”
“Did your guys find anything to help figure out who was shooting at us last night?”
Lucas started to shake his head.
I grabbed his arm and held his gaze. “The thing is, I’m a little spooked. Anything you can tell me would be nice to know.”
Lucas started to rub his eyes, something the men in my life seem to do a lot. “Penny, even if we were going to have that conversation, do you think this is the place?”
I looked around. Pretty much every suspect was within two hundred yards of where we stood. “Yeah, okay. I get it. I could come down to the station . . .”
“You’re fine here. It wouldn’t hurt you to stay put for a change. For now, mind if I borrow your assistant manager for a while?”
“Sure. Go enjoy yourselves. Don’t mind me. I’ll just try to stay alive in the meantime.”
Connor raised his eyebrows. “Go ahead, Hayley. Penny can stay here and help me. We’ve got enough out for the rest of the afternoon, if you want to take longer.”
“Thanks, Connor.” Hayley looked at Lucas. “I know he’s got the afternoon shift, so either way, I’ll be back.”
They looked so happy together and Hayley deserved the time off. My irritation passed. “Go have some fun.” Lucas was doing what he could.
Lucas leaned toward me as he passed by and whispered, “Red high heels are hell to wear through the woods at night.”
“Maybe they weren’t being worn. Maybe they were just dropped.”
“Maybe.”
“Thanks.”
“You’ve earned the right to know. Anyway”—he smiled at Hayley—“I almost feel like you’re sort of family . . . more than Hayley’s aunt, sort of an older . . .”
The smile froze on my face.
“Not that you look old . . .”
“Skip it.”
Lucas, with wisdom beyond his years, grabbed Hayley and disappeared into the crowd.
Connor was laughing.
“I didn’t want to hear the next words out of his mouth. If they included the word ‘old,’ then he can keep them to himself, in my opinion.”
“Well, if that’s your opinion, then you stick with it.”
“You aren’t funny. Hayley’s only twelve years younger than me. That isn’t all that much. I mean, we like the same music, the same designers. We even have the same hairstylist.”
“The same silver streaks . . .”
“Don’t even go there.”
Still laughing, he turned toward the counter and a group that approached the booth.
I could still see Chantal in that red dress yesterday as she danced with Thomas, her brunette hair gleaming in the sun. She’d worn red heels.
“Penny!”
Startled, I looked over at Connor.
“You think maybe you could help me over here?”
There was a crowd of tourists surrounding our booth, all decked out in the same shorts and hats and with the same cameras. There was one guy up front waving a tall plastic sunflower around. The tour guide.
“Ah, sure. Sorry.” Over the next several hours we were kept busy. Connor and I were as much an attraction as the wine. They were fascinated that we actually grew the grapes that made the wine they were buying. And drinking. With a heavy hand.
I looked around the booth. We’d brought more than we’d hoped to sell and had gone through almost all of it. A winery is never an easy business, and it’s one you go into as much for love as money. The smile on Connor’s face left any words unnecessary.
Things were decidedly looser than the day before. The music was loud and dancers shed outer clothing in spite of the chill in the air. The sky had darkened and clouds were rolling in. I pulled a strand of hair over my shoulder. It looked like a corkscrew. Rain was definitely on the way. Hopefully it’d hold off until after the awards ceremony this evening.
Hayley returned happy and relaxed. Lucas left the festival and Hayley’s eyes followed him as he made his way through the crowd.
Connor was next to me. “Want to grab a late lunch? Hayley can handle the buyers now. Besides, we don’t have much left.”
“Let’s go.”
“Hayley, you know what to do.” Connor grabbed a half bottle of last year’s Chardonnay off the counter. Quiche Lorraine from Sterling completed the meal, and we moved to the same table we’d eaten at the day before. Connor took his jacket off and offered it to me as we sat.
I took a bite of the quiche. “I don’t know if I’m just hungry or if this is amazingly good.”
“I think it’s just the company.”
It caught me off guard. “Thanks.”
There was a twinkle in his eyes. “I meant my company.”
I swatted him on the shoulder and went back to watching the crowds, now separated into two groups: the ones still dancing on the center stage and those beginning to make their way to the large tent where the awards ceremony was to be held.
I glanced at my watch. “Just a couple of hours before the end of the festival.”
Connor nodded. “I wonder how this will turn out, especially for Martinelli. There isn’t a year I can remember that they didn’t dominate. We’ve got three wines entered, and at the risk of sounding immodest, they’re really strong vintages. Still, it’s rare for a first-year entry to win.” He shrugged, but I could feel his excitement. It was contagious.
“Don’t count yourself short. If anyone can pull off a first-year win, it’s you.”
“It’s us.”
The breeze was stronger now. I pulled the jacket closer to me.
“Cold?”
“Just a bit. I think they’re going to be glad they’ve put up the tent.” I raised my glass. “I wouldn’t want you to get wet while accepting the award for this.”
Thirty-four
WHEN we returned to the booth, Hayley had finished packing up the few cases left. She handed me a small pile of postcards. “These sold as well as anything else at the festival.”
“I need to get back into the fields and get some new shots.” I looked at the pictures. Again, the shot of the Martinelli Winery was on top and again, the feeling returned that I couldn’t see something that was right in front of me.
I raised my eyes to the top of the hill, toward the same view as the picture. The time of day was different. In the dusk there was a glow of lights from the windows. The weather was certainly different, the glorious blue of the sky in the print now replaced with dark, ominous clouds hovering over the winery.
The wind whipped the flags on top of the tents, bringing me back to the present. “Come on. Let’s get in and grab s
ome good seats.”
“Penny’s right,” Connor said. “We can wait and come back tomorrow to clean out the booth. Most people are doing that.”
I looked around. The dancing had stopped and there was music from the main tent. Ross was busy in the Sterling booth, having the oven and roaster to contend with, but the remainder of the booths were completely empty. We needed to get inside. Ross was thinking along the same lines and shouted that Thomas had saved seats for all of us.
The three of us walked into the brightly lit tent, with its cheerful stripes and garlands of grapevines twirled around the supporting posts and the canopy of the center stage. The ceiling was completely hidden behind bunches of oversized grapes and leaves that draped above the crowd. The effect was that I had somehow shrunk and was out in the fields under the vines. The wind outside made the contrasting warmth all the more welcome, as did the beat of the rain, big drops that hit the ground right outside the tent.
Connor looked back over his shoulder. “Just made it.”
Thomas waved at us from the fourth row and we worked our way through the crowd. It took some time, as other winery managers and owners stopped us along the way, some to talk about the festival in general and others to ask if we were finished with our harvest. It was a friendly competition, unlike some of the other awards wineries vied for, and the conversation was amicable.
We managed to get to our seats just as the lights dimmed. The judges were seated to the left of the stage, and to the right a table held numerous trophies and ribbons.
While the judges introduced themselves, I scanned the program. We were entered in three categories: Best in Cabernet, Best in Syrah and Best New Entry. The first two were long shots, and would likely go to one of the larger wineries. Best New Entry was our strongest chance to walk away with a trophy.
The judges began the presentations, going through the list of white wines first. Stephen was in the second row, with Veronica on one side and Chantal on the other. Veronica leaned forward, toward the stage, but Chantal tugged at a strand of her hair and scanned the crowd. She perked right up when she glanced over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of Connor. She tossed her hair and gave him a little finger wave. Connor nodded in her direction then studied the program.
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