Chapter 46

 

She’d goofed off long enough. It was time to get back to work. Thea looked through the phone book and dialed the number of Les’s winery.

“Hello, can I talk to Lindsay please?” she asked the young woman who answered the phone. Les employed several of his friend’s teenagers during college break to serve as receptionists and guides. She should look into that, too, if Lindsay wasn’t Lacey’s sister.

“She’s on vacation right now,” the receptionist informed her. “Could I take a message?”

“No, it’s personal. I found some information that I know would interest her.”

“Would you like to leave your name?” the girl asked.

“It wouldn’t mean anything to her, but a friend from town told me that I should call her. Do you know when she’ll be back?”

“Early next week. Mr. Smith was going to leave next month, so Lindsay took her vacation so that she’d be here to cover things when he’s gone.”

“Poor Les. Does Lindsay know?”

“Yes, but she couldn’t get back in time for the funeral.”

Thea held her breath before asking, “Could I talk to Lacey then?”

There was a brief pause. “Lacey doesn’t work here anymore.”

“Do you have a forwarding address so that I can reach her?”

The girl’s voice became tense. “She left rather suddenly. We don’t know where to reach her.”

Thea decided that she’d pushed her luck enough. “Thanks for your time. I’ll try Lindsay again when she gets back.”

“Are you a friend of the family?” the girl asked.

“I was a friend of Les’s, and I met Lacey a couple of times.”

“You did?”

“Nothing formal. We just bumped into each other.”

The girl spoke before she thought. “Lacey hated it here. She hated Emerald Hills. She hardly ever left the winery, and when Les talked her into going to the club, she snubbed the rest of us. Can you imagine? Her, snubbing us?”

“She seemed pretty high-strung when I met her. Maybe she was too upset to be friendly.”

“Was she friendly to you?”

“Not a bit.”

The girl let out a breath. “You see? She wouldn’t let any of us be nice to her. She didn’t want anything to do with us. I tried to tell Lindsay that it wasn’t us, it was her sister.”

Jackpot. Lacey was Lindsay’s sister. “It must have been hard for Lindsay.”

“She’s worried sick. I mean, to just . . .” The girl caught herself. “If you’d like to try Lindsay early next week, you should be able to reach her.”

“Thanks again,” Thea said. “I’ll tell Lindsay how helpful you were.”

“You don’t need to do that,” the girl said.

“Lindsay will be grateful that you helped us connect,” Thea assured her, “and I’ll be careful how I word it.”

“Thanks.”

That settled it, Thea thought as she replaced the receiver in its cradle. Lacey was Lindsay’s sister. They could start looking for answers there. And Lacey must have disappeared suddenly and without a trace. That meant that Lindsay might not have any more answers than she did, but if they put their heads together, they might come up with something.