Thirteen

“THERE was a note. There was a note!” She stood and, for the first time, didn’t seem to notice the appreciative glances she received. “I’m telling you there was a note!”

Her voice carried across the garden and Connor swam to the pool’s edge.

“Of course there was a note,” I said. “Nobody is questioning that. Otherwise there wouldn’t have been any reason for you to be in the caboose.”

“Okay. I’m glad you believe me.” She shivered. “It’s getting cold and I want to change out of this wet suit.” She glanced at Connor. “See you later.” She walked through the lobby, every man in sight watching as she disappeared down the hall.

“Thank you for reassuring her,” Antonia said.

“I believe her about the note,” I said. “It’s another matter whether the police do.”

“Yes, well, thank you nonetheless.” She stood. “I think I’ll be going in as well. Maybe I can find something to read in the library.” She walked slowly, and for the first time her ramrod posture was missing, the worry heavy on her shoulders.

“I need a break from all of this. Want to grab a bite?” I asked Connor as he dried off and pulled a T-shirt over his head.

“I already promised Chantal I’d go for a trail run with her.”

“Tonight? In the dark?” My voice sounded high and squeaky, each word dripping accusation. Very attractive. “I just mean,” I dropped the pitch, “I’m surprised Chantal is up for it.”

“A good workout is the best thing for reducing stress. At least I think so, and I know Chantal does too.”

I knew exactly what kind of good workout Chantal would like to engage in with Connor. She might be accused of murder any time now, but she had her priorities, after all.

“So that’s what she meant when she said she’d see you later. She meant literally for this moonlight-run thing. Well, you need to eat afterward.”

“We plan on going right through town. We’ll pick up something there.”

“Of course. How nice.” The words came out so hard I almost chipped a tooth. I sighed. “Look, you know I have history with Chantal. She stole my high school boyfriend just because she could and didn’t look back. She brings out the worst in me and every other woman that meets her. I know in my heart she isn’t capable of murder, and I’ll help her, but she isn’t the easiest person for me to be around sometimes.”

Connor rolled his eyes. “Really? Your high school boyfriend? That’s all childhood stuff. A long time ago. She’s actually not a bad person.”

“I realize that.” I fought to keep my voice calm. “She isn’t evil. She’s just, uh, a pain.” I threw up my hands. “The way she puffs up, swells or melts when a man is anywhere in the room.”

“I’m curious, Penny, if you’ve asked yourself why it bothers you, my spending time with Chantal.”

Was it that obvious it bothered me? “It doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t bother me in the least. I just know she chews up guys and spits them out.”

“Your lack of confidence in my ability to navigate the dating world is remarkable. How I’ve managed to survive all these years without your advice is amazing.” He stood.

“Well, since my spending time with Chantal doesn’t bother you, I need to go get ready for my run.”

He draped his towel around his neck and cut across the lawn to his room. After the door slid shut behind him, I stood and stomped into the library. Antonia watched as I paced around the room, running my fingers across the leather bindings.

“All classics. Why don’t you find one and settle in?” Antonia said.

“I can’t. Doesn’t it bother you that Chantal isn’t taking this more seriously? She could be arrested for murder and she’s out running around.” Boy, I bet that’s been said a few times. “In this case, I mean she really is out running. Around. With Connor. You would think she’d be more concerned.”

Antonia turned a page. “I don’t think her getting a little exercise means she isn’t taking it seriously. She might as well get some fresh air. I mean, what else can she do?”

“For one thing, she could help us figure out what happened.” What was I saying? Chantal would only be in the way. But still. “I’m just not sure why she gets to go for a moonlight run, and I’m stuck thinking about how to get her off a possible murder charge.”

Antonia snorted. “Like you’ve ever in your life wanted to go for a run, at night or any other time. No, I don’t think you’re bothered by the run. I think you’re bothered by the company she has during this run.”

“Connor can run with whoever he wants. It’s of no consequence to me, and I’m not bothered in the least.”

Antonia raised her brow. “Yes, I can tell by the way you’re circling the room.”

The door opened and Kim stepped into the library. She shut the door with a good swing before she turned and spotted us. “Oh, I didn’t know anyone was here. Can I join you?”

“Of course,” Antonia said. “How are you holding up?”

“This hasn’t been the trip we had in mind, any of us, but there are worse places to be stuck and, considering what happened to that poor girl, I don’t suppose I should complain.” Kim crossed her arms. “Jim still wants to continue with the investment. He says her death doesn’t have anything to do with the train, so why should it change our decision to invest? I honestly don’t know what to do. That’s why I’m here now. He brought it up again, and I didn’t want to listen anymore.”

“It looks like the police think it was murder, which lets Bill and the train line off the hook,” I said.

“I wonder how much longer they’ll keep us here,” Kim said.

“Perhaps another day or two,” I said.

“I hope it isn’t longer than that. Jim needs to get back to Chicago for work. You’d think since he deals with trains all day it’d be the last thing he’d want to invest in.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” I said. “Part of this investment is knowing the wine business and if tourists will like the venue. The other part is whether the trains and infrastructure are working. Jim would know that better than any of us.”

“Jim claims the land up here alone is worth the investment,” Kim said.

“Well, there you are then,” Antonia said. “Information like that can be invaluable. I’d like to talk to him about it at some point.”

“He loves talking about trains. I’m sure anytime you’re interested, Jim would be willing.”

“Ah, I found you. What would I be willing?” Jim stood in the doorway and looked around.

“Antonia wants to know more about the trains, and I told her you wouldn’t mind.”

“Sure, sure. No problem.”

“We don’t need to do it now.” Antonia started to get up.

“Now is as good a time as any.” Jim watched as I backed toward the door. “You might be interested to hear about how this model has the advanced coupling system. It was used for the first time on these very trains.”

Snore. “Maybe tomorrow.” Or never. “I’m going to go on up. Have fun.”

I gave Antonia a little finger wave, Chantal’s irritating trademark, and went back out on the patio, taking a seat at the pool under one of the gas heaters. The full moon had settled low in the valley, and I could just make out Mount Saint Helena against the night sky.

Apparently the water was warm enough to swim in, despite the chill in the air. Adults swam laps on one side while children splashed together on the other side, their efforts sending billows of steam off the water’s surface.

The heater’s warmth and the sound of water splashing were soothing, and I must have dozed off. The next thing I knew, the pool was empty and the night was chillier than when I’d sat down. As I shook off sleep, voices carried across the garden. With the moon and garden lights, it was easy to see the couple coming up the path. Connor wore a white running shirt and dark shorts, while Chantal had on yet another red workout outfit. Her hair was once again in a ponytail, this one high on her head. They were laughing and looked like they were having a good time. They stopped in front of me.

“Penny, what are you still doing out here?” Chantal raised a brow. “Wait, let me guess. Were you waiting for us?” She turned to Connor. “I think you might have a chaperone.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said in a huff. Very adult. “It’s a beautiful night and I was just sitting here enjoying it, although your mother did say to ask you to join her in the library if I saw you.” Good enough. Hopefully she’d get stuck learning all about train couplers.

After she’d gone, Connor took a seat next to me.

“So, did you have a good run?”

“Like you said, it’s a great night to be out.”

“How was your dinner and where did you eat?” I didn’t sound causally interested. I sounded cranky. “It doesn’t matter. Never mind.”

Connor raised his gaze to the sky. “We just grabbed a bite. Some Italian.”

I sat in silence until Chantal’s laughter filtered outside from the open library doors. I bet Jim wasn’t talking to her about trains.

“She doesn’t seem to be very worried,” I said. “If I were all but accused of murder, you wouldn’t catch me acting like I didn’t have a care.”

“Everybody copes differently. Chantal just pretends the problem doesn’t exist, whereas you face problems head-on. It’s part of who you are and probably why you chose a career in photography. You want to see everything, know everything.” Connor knew that I’d been a photojournalist before returning to the winery. “You ever miss it?”

I tried to remember what my life had been like a little over a year ago. At the time I wasn’t sure I’d been ready to leave behind a life of travel, living out of a suitcase, and the many nights just like this one in beautiful foreign locations. Now the travel seemed difficult, the suitcase heavy and the nights lonely.

“I haven’t missed it for a single minute.”

I thought about Chantal. “I’ll concede everyone acts differently in these situations. And besides, how often is a person accused of murder? It’s not like you can actually prepare for such a thing.”

“Then what are you doing out here, really?”

“Believe me, I wasn’t waiting for you.” Not consciously. “I’ve just got a lot I’m trying to figure out. This afternoon we saw Bill and Vance in town. Vance is trying to get back the money Tara invested. Bill was worried enough about it to stop in at his attorney’s office.”

“How do you know he went to see an attorney?”

“I followed him.”

Connor raised an eyebrow.

“Then at lunch Antonia and I made a list of suspects. There are plenty of people the police chief should be looking at besides Chantal.”

Connor listened while I went over the likely suspects and motives. When I’d finished, he just sat looking at me.

“What?”

“You followed Bill? Into the attorney’s office?”

“He was just standing in the lobby.”

“If he hadn’t been in the lobby, what were you planning on doing?”

“Not a clue. Good thing it didn’t get that far.”

“Glad to see you’re so prepared. Do you think you can figure out who killed Tara?”

“I’m going to try. They’ve got the wrong suspect, and I’m not going to let Antonia see her daughter arrested for a murder she didn’t commit.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Of course I have a plan.”

“What is it?”

“I figure Vance is the likely killer. He’s the one with the most to lose, and he didn’t like Tara one bit. He’s shown he’s capable of the anger necessary to do such a thing. He has the best motive. I’m going to lean on him. See if I can make him crack.”

“That’s the extent of the plan?” Connor put “the plan” in air quotes.

“The plan is in the development stages. I’m working on it.”

“The first problem I see is that Vance isn’t going to take kindly to you trying to make him crack. People get angry at being leaned on, and you just said he’s got a temper.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we need to help Chantal. She doesn’t have a clue how much trouble she’s in. I think the police have their minds made up. If we don’t come up with someone else for that police chief to sink his teeth into, he’ll arrest her. He isn’t fond of winery people, and here’s a wealthy one from outside his area that looks good for this murder. He gets his killer without ruffling local feathers.”

Connor stood and I followed.

“I think Chantal is lucky she’s got you on her side. I’m not saying don’t lean on Vance or anyone you think may have done this.” He rested his shoulder against the pole of the gas heater and turned toward me. “I’m just saying I want to be there.”

“You want to be where?” I was too close to the heater and my face felt flush.

“I want to be there when you’re leaning on people.” He smelled like cinnamon. Who goes for a run and smells even better after?

“Why?” My voice came out a whisper. My best effort. Very sexy.

“Because”—Connor turned his head toward me, his face inches from mine—“at some point you’re going to get in over your head. You always do.”

I pushed him away and turned right into the edge of the heater. It caught the center of my forehead. I hopped around for a full minute, trying not to fill the night air with expletives.

“Am I bleeding?” I felt dizzy. “I’m bleeding!”

“Here, let me see.” Connor tried to remove my hand and I slapped him away.

“Forget it! I won’t get in over my head. And if I do, I won’t ask for your help.”

“You see the problem with that? If you’re in over your head, by definition, it’s too late to ask for help.” He had that playful little smile he gets sometimes. “Come on. Let me see your head.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled my hand away. “That really hurt.”

“You aren’t bleeding. It’s a tiny little bump. It’ll be gone in an hour.”

“I’ll be gone much sooner than that.” Very dramatic. I turned to go.

“For someone who has a habit of finding killers, you have very thin skin.”

I didn’t respond, not realizing how quickly that comment would be tested.