Annie drove up the gravel road toward North Faire, and stopped at the cottages. Both were dark. She parked her car behind Celia’s cottage out of view from the road, and walked up over the rise until she could see Taylor’s house. Like the cottages, it was completely dark. A tiny sliver of new moon shining through the clouds cast light on the house and the bam, giving their white exteriors an eerie glow.
It was a long shot, hoping to see someone meddling with North Faire’s wine shipment, but she couldn’t think what else to do. Unless Jed could find some clue in the documents, there would be no way of proving who was behind the plot that Steven Vick had discovered. Going back over the pieces of the puzzle, Annie was virtually positive that she knew who was responsible, and why, but a hunch wouldn’t stand up in court.
For a brief moment, Annie saw a flicker of light inside the winery, near the front of the barn in the vicinity of the roll top desk. There were no vehicles parked anywhere near the building.
She walked slowly, toes first to keep the gravel from crunching. Keeping to the shadows, she was able to get closer to the barn, thinking that if she could get to the far side, she could look in the window to see who was inside. It looked like the double doors at the front of the barn were slightly ajar. She rounded the corner into almost total darkness, the thin light of the moon blocked by the barn.
In dismay, she looked up at the window, its edge half a foot above the top of her head. There were few moments when Annie wished she were tall, but this was one of them. She had remembered the windows were at eye level inside, but had forgotten that the barn’s floor had been raised.
She inched along the side of the building, feeling with her foot in the dark, hoping to find a box or a used part to stand on. Her foot landed only on dry dirt and weeds.
Annie heard the sound of a file drawer slamming. She glanced up. The light was moving, with the sound of footsteps going toward the loading dock at the back of the barn. Annie held her breath to listen, but the footsteps had stopped.
If the building had had only one exit, her choice would have been simple. She could simply wait in the shadows in the dark until whoever was in the building came out. But she remembered there was a side door as well, opening only twenty feet from where she was standing. If she waited where she was, she ran the risk not only of missing the person when they came out, but of being seen if they exited through the side door. There was no single vantage point where she could see both exits, but not be seen herself.
Unless, of course, she went inside the building. She pictured the interior of the winery. If she stayed in the shadows just inside the front door, she should be able to have a clear view of both exits.
Annie listened from the top step before opening the door. She heard no sounds from inside the barn. She crouched low and peeked in. A vague shimmer of light—it couldn’t be more than a penlight—was visible from behind some crates in the back. Moving slowly, Annie was able to open the door enough to squeeze in, then close it behind her without making a noise. She could still see the glow of the penlight near the loading dock, moving slowly. She couldn’t risk going any closer.
Annie moved to her left and bumped into a table that had not been there before. Feeling blindly ahead of her, she felt a metal contraption on the table, with a V-shaped basin and tubes running out of it. To her right was the wine bar and behind it, the roll top desk.
She slid under the plank that formed the wine bar and crouched low until she was hidden in the shadows. By craning her neck, she should be able to see both the loading dock and the side door, once her eyes adjusted to the dark.
Suddenly there was a loud thump on the floor next to her. Annie jerked but didn’t make a sound. Colonel Bob had awakened from his bed on top of the desk and jumped to the floor. He sensed her presence and turned to investigate. Annie held her breath.
She doubted the cat would make a fuss, but couldn’t be sure. He sauntered over to where she crouched, extended his nose for the briefest of sniffs, then flicked his chewed-off tail and ambled off in the other direction. On the other side of the room, she could hear the cat crunching on a midnight snack of dry food. Annie slowly let out her breath.
Time passed, fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. The person with the penlight was still moving slowly around the cases of wine ready for shipping. Afraid she might be visible, Annie lowered herself into the space under the desk, while trying to keep the glow from the penlight within view.
Suddenly there were heavy footsteps coming from the back of the barn. It sounded like boots, but she couldn’t tell if the footfall was made by a man or a woman. She leaned sideways to see which exit the person would use, then ducked back under the desk when she saw the light moving toward her. She pushed herself farther back into the shadows to wait as the figure passed. The footsteps came closer, paused in the middle of the room, then started walking back toward the side door.
It was too dark. Annie had waited for her eyes to adjust, but there simply wasn’t enough light. Clouds must have blocked what meager light was coming from the moon. Annie couldn’t distinguish a face.
The penlight flashed on at the side door. She heard what sounded like a key in the lock, turning a deadbolt. Then she heard fiddling with the windows.
The footsteps drew nearer again, slowly. Annie forced herself to open her eyes. The penlight was off. She couldn’t tell if the person was looking around. It was still too dark from her vantage point on the floor to discern any features. The feet came parallel to the wine bar, and she could finally make out some detail. That was when she saw the boots.
Annie stared in disbelief. Gray eelskin cowboy boots. Galen Rockwell’s gray eelskin cowboy boots.
The boots weren’t moving. Annie prayed that there wasn’t anything else in the filing cabinets Galen wanted to look for. Why was he standing so still?
Finally, after minutes that seemed like hours, Galen moved toward the front door. Annie could barely see the silhouette of his broad-brimmed felt hat as he took a last look around. Then quietly, he went out the front door and shut it behind him. She again heard a key in the lock. No problem, Annie had noticed that the lock on the front door could be opened from the inside. But the next sound was more ominous. It was the sound of a chain being looped through the exterior door handles and fastened with a padlock. Annie was locked inside.