“Lance, why did you call me? We need to call the police.” I didn’t bother trying to keep my voice down. This was too much, even for Lance.
“They’re already here, darling.” He pressed a finger to his lips.
“What?” I checked the other side of the stage and the seats. There was no sign of the Professor, Thomas, or Kerry.
Now I was really confused.
He used his fingers like a flight attendant directing passengers to their seats to point all around us. “They’re spread throughout the vineyard.”
“Why did you call me, then?”
“I didn’t want you to miss out on the action, darling.” He sounded incredulous that I would even ask. “What a terrible friend I would be to leave you out just as things are getting good.”
“Wait, the Professor is here?” I stood on my toes to try and see through a sliver of the open curtain.
“Yes, along with Thomas, Kerry, and two or three other squad cars.”
“Where are they?” I hadn’t seen any police activity on the drive to the vineyard.
He twisted his hand in the direction of the vines. “They parked at the orchard down below so as to avoid tipping Olive off that they have her surrounded.”
“Where’s Carlos?”
“He’s positioned at the tasting room.”
It had taken me a minute to process what he had said. “Olive killed Jimmy?”
Lance continued to speak in hushed tones. “It seems that way. The Professor found an unsent email on Jimmy’s phone confirming that Olive threatened him. Jimmy wanted a cut of Olive’s profits. That gives her a clear motive for killing him. The Professor has been looking into her side gig of selling off valuable costumes and set pieces to other theater companies and on the black market, for lack of a better phrase.”
“‘The black market’ for costumes seems pretty over-the-top,” I agreed.
“She made quite the profit, according to the Professor.” Lance sounded strangely impressed. “He checked her bank records, and she’s pulled in nearly five figures just last month.”
“What?” As far as I had heard, the Fair Verona Players were operating on a fairly lean budget.
As if reading my mind, Lance answered my question for me. “It wasn’t just us. She’s been doing this with every production she’s been hired for in the last year. Jimmy caught on and warned her that he was going to inform me and the entire cast and crew if she didn’t pay up. It’s your classic blackmail operation. She must have decided she wasn’t going to share her profits and she had to kill him before he had a chance to send the email.”
I couldn’t believe it. Olive?
Nor could I believe that we were in the midst of a police operation.
“Should we get out of here?” I suggested, moving away from him.
“Never. Banish the thought. This is about to get good.” Lance rubbed his hands together and then yanked me toward him. “Plant your feet and prepare for fireworks.”
“I don’t understand. Are you saying that you caught Olive? Did she get away? That’s when you called me?”
“I would never have ‘let her get away,’ as you put it. I demanded that she stop. She refused my command. Can you imagine? I didn’t realize in that moment that she was the killer. But when she took off at a breakneck pace like she couldn’t wait to be rid of me, suddenly everything clicked—the missing costumes, her behavior, her interactions with Jimmy. I placed the call to Doug, and they arrived in record time.” He sounded impressed. “I must apologize for not looping you in immediately. There was a bit of a frenzy. Now we’re playing the waiting game. We’re watching our prey, waiting to pounce.”
I shuddered. “We should leave that part to the authorities.”
“Semantics.”
“Carlos knows about this?” There is no way Carlos would have suggested that Lance and I insert ourselves into the investigation.
“Yes. Well, not technically speaking.” Lance smoothed his shirt and brushed an imaginary fleck of dust from his hand. “I wouldn’t say we discussed the part about calling you, but we’ll keep that as our little secret, won’t we?”
I couldn’t make out his facial expressions in the fading light, but I could only imagine the impish look he must be giving me.
“Olive, it’s Olive,” I said out loud. “I was convinced a few hours ago that Bertie did it. I hope that they’re able to catch her.”
“I believe you misspoke. Don’t you mean we’re able to catch her?”
I rolled my eyes. Where was everyone? It was odd that the only sounds I could hear were the cries of red-tailed hawks circling the vineyard and the evening breeze blowing in through the trees.
I had no sense of whether Olive was a threat. “Does she have a weapon? Is she dangerous?”
Lance shrugged. “Not when I saw her, but I have no idea what that woman is capable of. If she was willing to end Jimmy’s life over a few thousand dollars, I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
I gulped down a swell of fear rising in my throat.
“You know what is odd?” Lance tapped a long, bony finger to his chin. “I would have put my money on Tom.”
“Tom, really?”
“As promised, I investigated his financial situation further, and he most certainly is in way over his head. I was able to confirm from a reliable source that he indeed has overborrowed and overspent his trust.”
“All clear! All clear.” Shouts from the police interrupted our conversation. “That’s an all clear, everyone.”
Lance jumped off the stage and offered me his hand as a commotion broke out in front of the barn.
“Suspect is in custody, all clear,” another police officer repeated.
Lights flooded the vineyard.
The Professor must have coordinated that with Carlos, because the strings of Edison-style bulbs, pathway lights, and the deck lighting illuminated at once, casting a soft glow on the grounds. We watched as Thomas emerged from the bottom section of the grapevines with Olive in handcuffs.
Adrenaline pulsed through my body.
I hadn’t realized quite how stiff I’d been holding the muscles in my neck and arms.
Was this really happening?
Olive had killed Jimmy, and the police had caught her.
“Well, that’s a shame,” Lance said with a long sigh, helping me off the stage. “It’s anticlimactic, don’t you agree? I was hoping for something a bit more … stageworthy, shall we say.”
“At least they’re arresting Jimmy’s killer.” I let go of his hands as my feet touched the ground, but my body still felt like it was floating.
“I suppose, but I was holding out for fireworks, or at the very least a sword fight.”
I knew this was his way of trying to lighten the mood.
“I wasn’t aware that the Ashland police wielded swords,” I teased, relieved for the break in tension.
The situation could have gone south quickly. I was thankful for the Professor, Thomas, Kerry, and the entire police squad for their prompt and professional response.
It took a while for them to finish their sweep of the vineyard and bring Olive up to a waiting squad car.
Darkness ushered in a band of stars and a chill to the air. Living in the mountains meant that once the moon replaced the sun, the temperature plummeted. I shivered.
Lance wrapped a protective arm around my shoulder. “I’d say we should go inside for a nightcap and a chat with that devilishly handsome husband of yours, but I am under strict orders by Doug not to move a muscle until he informs me that it’s safe to do so.”
“I can’t believe you’re following orders.”
“Moi?” He saluted with two fingers. “I’m ever the model soldier.”
“Okay, now you’ve gone too far.” I chuckled.
The Professor released Lance from his dutiful post a few minutes later. “Juliet, I wasn’t aware you were on-site.”
“It’s a long story.” I raised my eyebrows toward Lance.
Lance jumped in. “It appears you’ve arrested Olive. Is it safe to say that the case is officially closed?”
“As for the case of missing costumes, props, and set pieces from the company, yes.” The Professor hesitated. “Regarding the murder investigation, I’m not convinced.”
Lance let out an audible gasp. “You don’t think Olive killed Jimmy?”
“Time will tell. Her behavior this evening is certainly of interest, as is her side business, shall we say? We’re bringing her into the station for further questioning now, but I’m not prepared to close the case yet.”
He excused himself to consult with his team. Lance and I stood in silence for a minute. If the Professor didn’t think that Olive was responsible, could that mean that Jimmy’s killer was still at large?