Murder in Calistoga: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery

by Dianne Harman

  “I didn’t want you to leave without saying goodbye,” Liz said. “I’m glad I had a chance to meet all of you, but I’m sorry it was under these circumstances. If you ever decide to do another reunion, I’d love for you to come to the Red Cedar Spa. Have a safe drive back to the San Francisco.” She waved goodbye and walked down the hall to her suite. An idea had been forming in her mind, and she wanted to jot down some notes before she met Judy for dinner.

  She walked into the kitchen at 6:00, started the oven, then put the chicken into the oven after she’d made the sauce. Liz took the cheese and crackers into the living room and opened a bottle of white wine she’d found in the wine refrigerator. A few minutes later Judy walked into the room and said, “This looks wonderful. I could use a little downtime. What did you think of La Spa? Did you meet Simone LaSalle?”

  “No, but first here’s a glass of wine and a plate for the cheese and crackers. It’s been a very interesting day.” She told her about her conversations with Renee, Antoinette, and Amber. “Judy, I made a bunch of notes. Let me use you as a sounding board. I’m not exactly sure where I’m going with this, but I’d like to run it by you and see what you think. If you feel it’s too bizarre, I won’t go any farther with it.” She spent the next half hour outlining some thoughts she had.

  When she was finished, she looked at her watch and said, “Dinner’s ready. We can talk some more while we’re eating.”

  A few minutes later Judy said, “Liz, this is delicious. Did you bring the recipe with you?”

  “No, it comes from years of cooking. You kind of learn what goes well with what. I thought it would work, and I’m happy to say I think it did.” She continued, “Judy, as you can tell from the loose plan I outlined to you, I don’t think Nikki’s death had anything to do with her personally. I believe it really was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whoever was in the sauna at that time would have died. She was literally an innocent victim, and the reason I say that is her husband and Amber have pretty rock solid alibis.”

  Judy put her fork down and looked at Liz. “You really think this happened because someone wants my spa to be unsuccessful, don’t you? And from what you told me, Simone doesn’t want to see it become successful, because she’s afraid it would affect her spa adversely. Mac doesn’t want me to be successful because he wants to get my land, so he can turn the land into more vineyards. It’s nothing personal against me, it’s economics. Does that about sum it up?”

  “Yes. That definitely is what I think. So, we need you to be successful or at least for them to think you’re successful. Do you see what I’ve been getting at?”

  “It’s kind of like a sting you’d see in some movie or on television. What makes you think it would work?” Judy asked in an excited voice.

  “I think Simone’s reasons for wanting to see you fail is based on her ego. I’ve not met her, but La Spa is a testimony to opulence and good taste. If her spa became unsuccessful, I think she has so much of her ego wrapped up in it, she would do about anything to keep it from being anything less than what it is. From what I understand from Antoinette, it’s kind of the premiere one around here, and Serenity represents a real threat to her.

  “Mac’s ego is at stake here too. His wine is the best in the valley for now, but how long can he continue to produce award winning wines? I did some research on the Internet today and found out that his cousin is his viticulturist, and he oversees the winemaking at Red Stallion Winery. I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that someone who’s responsible for making award-winning wine would be highly in demand in a region known throughout the world for its wine. I’d even think he could probably ask and get whatever salary he wanted, and I’d bet some of the larger wineries would pay whatever he asked to have him work for them. Blood matters, but money talks. In other words, Mac’s viticulturist, his cousin, is getting too big of a reputation for Mac to afford him with the rather small winery he presently has.

  “If his cousin left, it would probably mean that the caliber of the wine would diminish as would Mac’s reputation as a premier winemaker. So, while ego plays a part in his motive, it could also be fueled by economics. At some point, he’ll be unable to afford his viticulturist who will leave to go with one of the big wineries. Human nature being what it is, I imagine that time isn’t too far off.”

  As she had the night before, she’d put her purse next to her chair when they sat down for dinner. When she heard her cell phone ring, she opened her purse and looked at the monitor. It was the police chief. “Hello, Chief. Excuse me for just a moment.” She turned to Judy and said, “You’re heard all this, so I’ll go back to my suite and talk to him there. Why don’t you take the dishes into the kitchen? I saw some ice cream in the freezer, and that might be a nice way to finish dinner. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  CHAPTER 28

  “How’s the family reunion doing? Everyone still getting along?” Liz laughingly asked the chief.

  “Better than I thought they would. I think everyone’s having a great time. How are you doing? Did you find out anything today?”

  “I would say that today was very productive. I think we can rule out a couple of people, and although I’m not in law enforcement, I think we’re down to two suspects. Here’s what I discovered.” She related the conversations she’d had with Renee, Antoinette, and Amber, concluding with why she thought Simone and Mac could both be considered viable suspects.

  Chief Oliphant was quiet for some time and then he said, “I pretty much agree with everything you’ve said, but the problem becomes how do we determine which one did it? I don’t think either one of them will admit to anything, and although each of them has a motive, we can’t put them near the sauna at the time of death. In other words, we can certainly speculate, but we have nothing solid to go on.”

  “Chief, I made some notes late this afternoon, and I have an idea for a plan that’s so off the wall, it might just work. It’s kind of a sting operation. I’m thinking if word gets to Mac and Simone that instead of the Serenity Hotel and Spa losing business, it’s gone viral, if you will. Judy could say she’s even had to hire additional spa personnel because, in addition to the people staying at the hotel, she’s also been fully booked with day spa people.”

  “How do you plan on getting the word out to Mac and Simone?” he asked.

  “I was hoping you might have some thoughts on that. Mac should be easy. I can have Judy call him and tell him she has no intention of selling to him or anyone else, since her hotel and spa have been filled to capacity for the next few weeks. I’m not sure how I can let Simone know. Do you have any ideas?”

  He was quiet for several minutes and then he said, “My brother-in-law is the editor of the Calistoga News. I’ll bet he’d write up an article for it. From what Jim Michaelson told my deputy, we know Simone reads it. We could even have a supposed reporter interview Judy and ask if the problems with the sauna have been fixed, and she can say something like, ‘No, the owner of the company that has to fix it is on vacation until Tuesday, but we’re being very careful or some such thing like that. When were you thinking about doing something?”

  “I think the sooner the better. I’d like to do it tomorrow. I’m a little unclear how I can accomplish the second part. We’ll need the parking lot to be filled with cars, because you can’t say a hotel and spa are filled to capacity and then there aren’t any cars in the lot. I was thinking Judy could rent a bunch of cars for a day, and she and I could drive them here and have her assistant ferry us back to the car rental place.”

  “I have a better idea. Calistoga’s a small town, and I’ve lived here most of my life. During that time, I’ve done things for people who, how shall I say it, owe me. One of the people I helped by keeping his son out of the headlines and jail for selling drugs is a car dealer here in town. The agreement was that his son had to prove he’d turned over a new leaf and was no longer involved in any way with drugs. This was several years ago. In ret
urn, I told him I wouldn’t pursue the case against his son. His father has told me many times how grateful he is that I handled it that way, and he would like to repay the favor by helping me whenever and however he could. This might be the time to collect.”

  “I don’t quite understand what you have in mind, Chief.”

  “I’ll ask him if we could borrow some cars tomorrow, beginning in the morning and keep them at your hotel during the night. He has a bunch of car jockeys that drive the cars wherever they need to be delivered, and they could bring them to you. One of his employees could drive them back to the car lot until they’d delivered all the cars you need. He also has a used car lot, so we could get a number of different kinds of cars. I’ll call him and see if that would work for him.”

  “That would be wonderful.”

  “If one of the suspects we talked about was to do something, when do you think it would be?” the chief asked.

  “I would think in the early evening, when it’s dark. Neither one of the suspects would want to be seen around here during the day, and probably the only reason the killer was able to murder Nikki during the day is because he or she figured the spa was so new there wouldn’t be many people around. I want to be sure that something gets in the paper about the popularity of the day spa, because it would be Simone’s main competition, since there’s no hotel attached to La Spa.”

  “Liz, I think your plan might work. I’ll want to have some of my deputies at the hotel and spa when this sting operation of yours goes down. Actually, they could masquerade as guests. Let me make some calls, and I’ll get back to you. This needs to be orchestrated very carefully to make it work, but I think we can pull off our part. Let’s just hope Mac or Simone cooperates and Liz, even if it doesn’t work, you’ll know you tried.”

  “Thanks, Chief. I really want to help my friend Judy, and in order to do that the murderer has to be found, otherwise there’s a good chance her hotel and spa, and really her life savings, will be lost.”

  “As soon as I work out the arrangements, I’ll be in touch. Have a good rest of the evening and with a little luck, we might be able to wrap this case up by this time tomorrow. Believe me, with everything else my police force is trying to handle, that would take care of a huge problem for me.”

  CHAPTER 29

  Liz walked down the hall to the dining room after she ended her call with the chief. Judy had just placed a dish of ice cream in front of where she’d be sitting. “Liz, I bought this from a new ice cream vendor in town. He supposedly makes fresh ice cream every day, and from the tastes I had of different kinds when I visited his shop, it’s better than any ice cream I’ve ever had. I’d like to hear what you think.”

  Liz took a spoonful and tasted it. She looked over at Judy and said, “I agree. Hands down, this is definitely the best ice cream I’ve ever had. It’s kind of salty with a caramel taste.”

  “I certainly hope so,” Judy said laughing, “because I bought the caramel salt ice cream, and I think his ice cream has just become the benchmark for all the others. It’s wonderful. I was thinking of having it available for my guests if they want a late-night snack. What do you think?”

  “I think it’s a terrific idea, and I’d probably be first in line.”

  “What did the chief think of your plan?” Judy asked.

  “He liked it, and because of all the people he knows in town, he had some great suggestions.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like having his brother-in-law put an article in the local newspaper about how the murder at the hotel has not resulted in any negative publicity, and that the hotel and spa have been fully booked for the coming weeks. He also suggested that there be a blurb in the article about how the actual controls to the sauna can’t be fixed until Tuesday, because the man who owns the sauna repair company is on vacation.”

  “So, you’re thinking whatever happens will probably happen tomorrow or tomorrow evening.”

  “I am.”

  “What did he think of your idea that I rent cars, and you and I drive them here?”

  “He had a better idea. Evidently a few people in this town owe him favors for things he’s done in the past for them or their families. One of them owns a car dealership here in town, and he’s sure the owner will loan us the cars we need to fill the lot, so it looks like the hotel and spa are successful.”

  “Liz, it sounds like it might work, but what about the non-existent guests I have here. I mean, we can fill up the parking lot, but if there’s nobody in the sauna or the jacuzzi, there’s no bait to catch the murderer in the act of doing anything.”

  “Chief Oliphant is going to have some of his personnel act as guests, so make sure you have plenty of robes, slippers, and towels available.”

  “That I can do. Actually, I probably should schedule appointments for some of them with my spa personnel, so the whole thing looks like it’s authentic.”

  “You’re absolutely right, Judy, I hadn’t thought of that. You’ll have to pay them, but I think that’s an investment you’re willing to make in exchange for saving the hotel and spa.” She looked down at her purse and said, “My phone’s ringing. It must be the chief.”

  She picked it up and looked at the monitor. “Hi, Chief. That was fast.”

  “Well, I didn’t want to waste time with this. My brother-in-law is going to press shortly with tomorrow’s paper, so he’ll be calling Mrs. Rasmussen in a few minutes. My friend’s car jockeys will start bringing cars to the parking lot at the hotel tomorrow morning around nine. They’ll stagger a few more in during the day, so it looks like people are checking in. He even has a couple of female employees who will help, and I have a couple of my deputies doing the same. That way, if anyone is watching, they’ll simply see couples and individuals checking into the hotel and for their spa appointments.”

  “That sounds great. Thank you so much. Do you have anything specifically in mind for the actual sting?” Liz asked.

  “What I told my chief deputy, and what he’s telling the men and women we’ll be using, is that particular attention should be paid to the sauna area since that’s where the murder took place. Naturally, we can’t have my people in a sauna for several hours at the normal temperature a sauna would be set at, so please have Mrs. Rasmussen keep it lower than usual and provide them with plenty of bottles of water.”

  “Chief, Judy is calling in some of her spa personnel to provide treatments for your people. Why don’t you have your deputy call in the morning, and Judy can match up spa appointments with your people?”

  “Will do. Liz, I’m sorry I can’t be there, but my people are very well trained, and let’s hope for Mrs. Rasmussen’s sake, this works. Naturally, I’ll be in touch throughout the day and evening. My staff has my number, as do you. Feel free to call me and let’s keep our fingers crossed that this works.”

  “Thanks again, Chief. Let everyone know we’ll be here all day, and we’ll do everything we can on our end to make this successful. Good night.”

  She turned to Judy and said, “I know you heard that, so it’s definitely a go. I think we need to get a good night’s sleep, since it looks like tomorrow may be a very busy day.”

  Judy reached out and put her hand on Liz’s arm. “Thank you for doing this and just being here for me. I never would have come up with a plan like this on my own. If it is Mac or Simone, and at this point I hope it is, I think we, actually the police, stand a very good chance of catching him or her.”

  “Me, too. Now I need to take Winston out and call Roger. Sleep well.”

  When she returned to her suite she called Roger. “Hi, Liz. How’s my favorite female sleuth doing?”

  “Very well, thank you. I just got off the phone with the chief, and we’ve devised a plan, kind of a sting, that will take place tomorrow.” She spent several minutes running it by him. “Roger, do you think I’ve overlooked anything?”

  “No, it sounds pretty thorough. I’m concerned about your safety, but since the police a
re going to handle it, and I assume you and Judy will be staying in the hotel during the evening, you should be fine. I would like you to keep your gun and Winston with you, even though there will be police on the premises, but strange things can happen. Promise you’ll call me tomorrow night and let me know what happens. I’ll be thinking about you the whole time. I’d come over and be there with you, but the trial that’s starting tomorrow will probably last several days. Be careful, Liz. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Roger, and Winston says the same. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”

  CHAPTER 30

  When Liz woke up the following morning she looked out the window and thought it was a perfect day to catch a murderer. The sun was shining on the morning dew that had formed on the lawn overnight, creating a fairyland of sparkles.

  She took Winston out, fed him, and walked down the hall to the kitchen. “Well, hello, Mary, I didn’t expect to see you this morning, since I think I’m the only guest here, unless someone came late last night.”

  “Mrs. Rasmussen called me last night and asked me to come in. She told me what was planned for today. She wants everything to look like we’re completely filled, and she also asked me to make some food for the police and the people from the car dealership. I’d be happy to make you an omelet, if you’d like. Nettie’s even here, and she’ll bring you some coffee in a minute.”

  “An omelet sounds wonderful, thanks,” Liz said, “I’ve thought of a few things I want to write down about today, so I’ll be in the dining room.” She sat down at the big table and made a list of things she and Judy needed to do to ensure that the sting would work. The first thing to be done was to have Judy call Mac and tell him how the hotel and spa had become an overnight hit. Since Mac could see the parking lot from his winery, she wanted Judy to wait until a few of the cars had been delivered.