Blind Tasting

by A. C. Houston

  "Yeah. Let's meet at that coffee bar. I'm calling Dawn right now."

  Dawn feels a private relief at Cory's news. It further negates her crazy Toby hypothesis. And the bite on the hand makes it far less likely that Snoots was captured. He attacked the intruder, jumped out of the car and maybe even chased the guy driving away.

  But the likelihood of finding Snoots seems remote after so much time. They've already cast a wide net, effectively exploited all the information sources available in the digital age and still they have nothing, really.

  If Snoots were hit by a car, a likely possibility, someone might have called Cory from the information on Snoots' collar. But not necessarily, depending on where it happened.

  If someone found him and tried to keep him, he would certainly try to escape at some point, but the long way home would be perilous, life-threatening.

  How can she get Cory to start accepting the likelihood that Snoots is not coming home? She knows there's a real danger that Cory will keep expending his emotional and intellectual resources on this search until there isn't any left for other things. Or other people.

  As she drives past Yountville heading south, she blinks back sudden tears, remembering Snoots begging in Cory's kitchen for hot gougères. She and Rob had flirted with each other through the dog, touching hands when they petted him, walked with him together before the first wine tasting. Would anything be different right now if she had gone with Rob and Snoots that night, instead of staying with Toby? Impossible to ever know.

  Cory needs to find himself in his real work again, his research. It's her own advice for herself, too. She'll never regret their adventure with Blind Tasting, although the unexpected financial success of it came with such a terrible price.

  But she needs closure, they all need closure on this. It's time to think about the future, the problems that she can solve, not the ones she can't. Her phone rings, but it's not Cory.

  "Hello, again. I guess I should stop calling you like this."

  Toby? If he's flirting, his sense of timing is terrible.

  "I'm on my way to San Francisco,” she tells him curtly. “There is new information about Snoots, it's not much, but the police have in custody the guy who stole Julie's car. Snoots bit him on the hand during the incident."

  "Your dog is not in San Francisco."

  "How can you know that?" She feels her guard going up, her instincts seeking tendrils of deception in the air.

  "Because he's over at Trella. Joe just called me."

  "Toby! Are you sure?"

  "Joe recognized him at once. His collar is gone and he's apparently dirty and rather thin, but otherwise fine."

  She trembles from the emotions welling up in her. "Please don't let him get away! I'll call Cory, if you're really certain. I'll go there now and then call him. No, he needs to know this before anything, Don't let him get away!"

  "Dawn, he's fine. They've got him in the tasting room. Duane the groundskeeper is taking care of him, probably spoiling him with treats."

  "Thank you for this, Toby."

  All sorts of feelings are swirling through her. She pulls off the road and turns the car around, headed for Trella. Then she calls Cory.

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Dawn is the first one to arrive at the winery. She jumps out of her car and runs up the steps to the tasting room and opens the door without knocking.

  In a heavenly ecstasy of recognition she sees the furry, wiggling body of Snoots charging at her. She falls to her knees and lets the dog lick her face and push up against her, back and forth, yelping, his big tail high, wagging furiously. It's his joyous dance welling up through ancestral instincts, united again with his pack after a long solitary hunt.

  She buries her face in the matted, dirty fur of his ruff and cries. She finally pulls herself together to acknowledge the bemused blonde guy who is watching her.

  "So you two know each other," he comments, smiling broadly.

  "God, thank you!. How-where did you find him?"

  Duane, the groundskeeper, shrugs. "I was pruning the Italian cyprus and this guy comes trotting up our drive and pees on one of my trees right in front of me. Frankly, he acted like he owned the place."

  She gives a giddy laugh, tumbling back as Snoots pushes his snout against her cheek. "I'm sure he thinks he does."

  "I called Joe and he recognized him as the dog that went up against Leonard Pillar."

  Dawn looks into Snoots' dark eyes. "How in the world did you get here, boy?"

  Suddenly, the dog looks intently beyond her, his muscles taut. He bounds toward the door, emitting a series of howls. There is Cory with Rob right behind him. The dog launches into Cory's arms and nearly knocks him down, but Cory swings around and the dog jumps off and leaps back up, paws on Cory, snout stretching upward to lick Cory's face.

  "Jesus, Snoots. You scared the hell out of me." The words are soft, choked. His hands are all over the dog, touching his fur, his wet nose, his ears, affirming his existence. Cory feels nauseous with joy.

  Snoots cannot be subdued, his body is curved sideways in a wriggling arc of fur and he prances and leaps from Rob to Cory to Dawn and back to Cory and back to Rob, howling, whining, emitting short imperious barks that convey where the hell were you guys? But he's living completely and joyously in the immediacy of the moment in the way that only dogs know how.

  He calms down long enough to sit and be petted, panting happily and heavily, his big tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, a wolfy grin exposing his white fangs. The calm ends when Julie arrives and Snoots leaps at her and begins howling again.

  Dawn's radiant smile is wholly unconscious as she watches Cory and Julie hugging each other, their happiness re-won, while Snoots pushes his nose between them, wanting to be in the center of the affection.

  "Nice to see you all again. Especially under such happy circumstances." Joe Trella has just returned from inspecting a block of his stellar vines down the road.

  "How in the world did he get from San Francisco to here?" Dawn asks, not really expecting anyone to have an answer.

  "That was some toot you were on," Rob tells Snoots, taking a turn at ruffling his fur, just enjoying the warm proximity of the dog. "You could sure use a bath, buddy."

  "Yeah!" Cory laughs, flashing his old smile that Julie had doubted she'd ever see again.

  Toby comes through the front door and he, too, gets a happy welcome from the dog. It's a party and Snoots is meeting and greeting.

  Dawn knows now with certainty that her former lover did not instigate foul play. The dog wouldn't respond this way if Toby were guilty, had tried to abduct him. She feels a moment of shame that she entertained such thoughts, but seeing Toby's face now, she realizes he bears no malice toward any of them.

  Their eyes connect for a long moment and her expression tells him he's absolved. His smile is warm and ironic. She smiles back at him, then glances at Rob quickly, worried that he's read her intention wrong. A little sadly, she realizes he hasn't noticed her exchange with Toby at all, he's focused wholly on Snoots, a broad smile on his face.

  With Toby's unexpected arrival, Joe is wondering whether he ought to open a bottle of Trella's sparkling chardonnay to celebrate.

  "I can't stay," Toby says, "I'm on my way to Carneros. But, I wanted to stop by and make sure that Cory got his dog."

  "We may never know how he got up here," Cory says, "But, thanks for being the guy who told us the great news." Cory offers his hand to Toby. "And, in case you don't know it, I think you make great wine."

  Cory does learn more about Snoots' journey. As he arrives home, he receives a call from a farmer in Vacaville. He relays the story to his friends while they celebrate with a large pizza and a bottle of Two Ravens zinfandel.

  "So this farmer was delivering produce to a wholesale market not far from the Mission District," Cory says, filling four wine glasses. "Snoots came up to him, looking hungry and lost."

  "Why didn't he call you?" Dawn asks.

&nb
sp; "He says the dog wasn't wearing a collar."

  "He could have lost that anywhere," Rob adds. "Somebody might have tried to grab him and he just slipped his neck out of his collar. He actually did that to me once when I tried to pull him away from some spilled garbage in the street."

  "Oh yeah." Cory laughs, taking a minute to pet the dog, who is excited to be back in his own house, having already made a rapid inspection of all the rooms, his bed and his bowls.

  "So the guy decides to take him home, see if his kid wants a dog." Cory shakes his head, pondering the alternative reality where his dog pursues a new life with a twelve-year-old boy in Vacaville.

  "I'm a little surprised Snoots would get into a strange vehicle, especially after what happened," Julie says.

  "The guy probably fed him something. He saw a meal ticket." Rob laughs.

  "Probably," Cory says. "Anyway, the boy liked him a lot. He stayed for a week."

  "Snootsy!" Dawn squats down to address him eye to eye. "You were running around with another pack while we were worried sick about you!"

  Snoots regards her with a wolfy grin.

  "So then the farmer and his son drove to Yountville and Snoots went along for the ride. But when they parked the truck, Snoots jumped out and ran off." Cory frowns. "The boy was pretty upset."

  "From Yountville, he might have headed toward Lake Hennessey," Rob says, "It might have seemed like a more familiar direction than other places."

  "Seems plausible," Cory says. "And from there, he might have gone to St. Helena. You said you drove that route with him."

  Rob nods.

  "And he was at Trella twice," Julie adds. "He was just trying to find his way home, connecting the familiar dots in a strange environment."

  "It's still a miracle he didn't get hit by a car," Dawn marvels, shaking her head.

  "He's smart. And lucky." Cory smiles indulgently at his dog.

  "Why did that farmer call you?" Rob asks.

  "He heard through someone about the 'wine dog' that seemed to fit the description. He didn't know that Snoots had been found, but he heard about the sighting in St. Helena and got my number from someone up there. He explained it to his kid."

  "I guess Snootsy will need to visit his fans in Vacaville at some point." Dawn laughs.

  Snoots barks suddenly at a knock at the front door.

  It's Tanya and she's looking for Rob.

  "I thought I'd try down here when I saw your car and realized you weren't upstairs," Tanya explains nonchalantly, walking into Cory's kitchen. Her blue tank top is tight and displays perfect muscles.

  "Want some pizza?" Cory offers, trying to be polite.

  "Thanks, but I can't." Tanya turns to Rob, who has so far given her only a casual smile. "There's a surprise birthday party for Bruce and it's at his house. I assume you're coming."

  Cory thinks Rob looks a little ill at ease, because Dawn's here.

  "When?" Rob asks.

  "Right now. We need to get going before he gets home. Sorry to be so abrupt, but you've been a little hard to get hold of recently."

  "Yeah, we were looking for Cory's dog. We found him."

  "That's so chill!" Tanya smiles seductively at Rob.

  Dawn is beginning to feel sick to her stomach.

  Tanya moves closer to Rob; she has noticed that there are two other females in the room and one might be with him. "So, Valentino, my car or yours?"

  "Mine," he says quietly.

  "Ciao!" Tanya tosses out cheerfully.

  Rob doesn't make eye contact with Dawn as he walks out with Tanya.

  Dawn is too miserable to express her feelings after they leave. They are going in one car which means Tanya will be back here tonight. Very late probably.

  "Is that Rob's girlfriend?" she asks finally, knowing she's not concealing anything to either Cory or Julie.

  "I think she's a friend from college," Cory tells her. "I met Bruce at a party. Rob raced Lasers with him."

  "Valentino," Dawn parodies Tanya. "What a stupid, obvious nickname. I guess she has more muscles than brains."

  Cory eyes her evenly; he wants to smile, but knows that Dawn is in pain. "Rob actually tried to invite you to that party, but I guess you were working that night."

  "I listened to his voice mail," she admits glumly. "At three o'clock in the morning."

  Cory, who noticed something when Tanya arrived, goes to the table by the front door and picks up a book, the volume on chaos theory.

  "When did this turn up? I thought I lost it."

  Julie smiles. "Becca brought that by the morning I was going to the city the day my car was stolen. She said it was sweet of you to lend it to her."

  Cory shakes his head dismissively. "I'd be surprised if she ever opened it. I forgot she had it."

  "Cory, this dog really needs a bath," Julie says. "Want to help?" she asks Dawn.

  "I'm going home, I'm so behind on everything." She doesn't want to be here when Rob comes home later. If he comes home.

  "I'll get his bath bucket." Cory opens the broom closet in the kitchen.

  Snoots, who is lying on the kitchen floor perks up his ears and gets up, walks over to Julie and presses his head deep into her lap, trying to hide from the impending event.

  She laughs at him, stroking his head. "You know you get a treat after your bath," she tells him. "And this is your welcome home bath."

  "Have fun, you three." Dawn sighs as she walks toward the front door.

  Chapter Sixty

  Trella Guest Cottage. The same night Snoots gets a bath in his own backyard, Joe and Toby share a quiet evening together drinking Toby's late harvest zinfandel, sitting in the hot tub of Trella's guest cottage.

  "Joe, it was rash of me. But, as pissed off as I was about the scam, I couldn't bring myself to actually taint the wine." Toby shakes his head emphatically. "I put skunk drops only in the glasses."

  Joe leans back in the tub, enjoying a sip of the zinfandel as he looks up at the starry sky. "So, we'll see what comes of this Heubler deal with dogs as wine indicators. I don't know whether to be concerned about it or not."

  "People have tried a lot of things. Some of them work. Sort of."

  "Are you thinking of that UC Davis spin-off? The mass spectrometry analyses?"

  "Exactly that. You know Charlie Nagel paid big bucks for their service, but I don't think it's changed his business any, or his winemaking."

  Joe nods. "You're right. I know a couple of vintners who deny using it, but I'm pretty sure they've tried it. This is a new technology angle, though. The dogs."

  Toby takes a long sip of the sweet zinfandel. There is real pleasure on his face. "Cory Wilder is an okay guy. I get that he's a computer geek, and the whole stunt makes sense in retrospect when you realize that about him. And dogs have great noses. But he's one man with one dog."

  "Didn't he train more? I thought Stefano was pulled in on something before that deal went through."

  Toby nods. "Okay, they've got a few dogs maybe. Will winemakers really find value in this? I love dogs, but I don't need one to tell me how to blend my grapes."

  Joe laughs. "Point taken." He grins mischievously at Toby. "But, tell me you wouldn't love a dog that could work the vineyards sniffing your Brix levels and point at the clusters that were good to go."

  "Now you're talking!" Toby laughs, then becomes more serious. "You know, it's an interesting idea. I wonder."

  The two winemakers laugh and toast glasses. They know the entire process of winemaking from grape to glass is filled with risk. That's life, whether it's winemaking or high tech, and winemaking is the life they've willingly, passionately chosen.

  And harvest time is upon them, the most critical time of the year.

  Mil Toro's. Dawn is the first to arrive. She finds a spot at the bar to wait for her friends and orders a glass of New Zealand chardonney, enjoying its crisp minerals, the absence of oak, the fruity mouth. Tonight, the former members of Blind Tasting are finally celebrating closing their deal wit
h Price, Goodwill and Darington.

  Dawn is dreading that Rob will show up with Tanya and tries not to think about it as she sips her glass of wine. She has dressed up for the occasion: a short white dress and contact lenses, and her dark hair is brushed and shining.

  More than one guy notices her sitting by herself, but none has dared to approach.

  Cory and Julie appear at the entrance and Dawn waves to them. Julie is alluring in a green camisole, black jeans and strappy Italian heels. Cory is wearing his Zinfidel T-shirt, but also a casually stylish jacket. Julie's influence no doubt.

  Cory glances at her wine. "How is that?"

  They find a table and decide to order a bottle of viognier from South Africa and plates of tapas.

  "Rob! Over here!" Cory gives a signal toward the front of the wine bar.

  Dawn forces her eyes to the doorway and feels the tension in her stomach release as she realizes Rob has come alone. He looks graceful and handsome as always, dressed in jeans and a red polo shirt.

  As he walks across the room, Dawn notices three women at a table watching him in ogling admiration. Cougars. They are dressed for a girls' night out, and laugh quietly together as they track him with flirtatious eyes. She fantasizes walking over to their table and throwing their drinks in their laps.

  Instead, she downs the wine in her glass.

  Rob greets everyone with his usual unpretentious cool, but his eyes linger a moment on Dawn and he sits down next to her. He has a freshly-scrubbed soap-and-shampoo scent.

  Cory fills Rob's wine glass, then holds up his own. "Okay, we did it. But, without Snoots, there would be no joy in it. So, here's to providence, dumb luck, and just plain wolf smarts."

  "To Snootsy, who forever raised the bar on blind tastings." Dawn looks at each of them, locking eyes for a moment with Rob. Then, she adds, "And to Cory, who proved it could be done."

  Cory shakes his head emphatically. "You figured out the blotters. And I wouldn't have stood a chance without Rob's rock star wiring."

  "You're just the three musketeers, aren't you?" Julie laughs.