Ellen McKenzie 03-And Murder for Desser (18 page)

“Dan Dunham, Jolene tells us you have arrested Carlton Carpenter for stealing Mark’s wine. Is that true?”

Dan mouth was too full for him to do anything more than nod.

“Swallow that right now and tell us what’s going on.”

Aunt Mary’s instructions get followed. Dan looked longingly at the half sandwich and remaining salad on his plate, but refrained, at least for a moment.

“Jolene’s right. We did arrest Carlton. Mark, we found your wine up in Napa. It’s safe, and the winery that called us is taking care of it. They were going to buy it from Carlton, thinking he represented Silver Springs, and would probably still buy it from you, if you want to sell.”

“Really?” Gloom was gone; hope was back. “It’s all right?”

“Which winery?” asked Frank.

“How did they know to call you?” asked Sabrina.

“We sent out a statewide bulletin, thanks to the information Mark gave us. We figured it had to be offered for sale somewhere. Some smart person in their office actually read it and put two and two together. The driver claims he didn’t know the wine was stolen; that Carlton hired him to pick it up, and didn’t tell him where it was going until the next day. He had all the right paperwork.”

“I can’t believe the driver didn’t think something was wrong. Someone is always there when we move wine. How did he get into the building?” Sabrina asked.

“Carlton gave him the gate combo and the key earlier that day, told him no one could make it that night, could the driver handle it.” Dan paused long enough to grab a mouthful of salad, glanced at Aunt Mary, and put the sandwich down. “The driver is a freelancer, goes all over the state, said, of course, he could, and he did.”

“How did Carlton get the keys?” Sabrina asked, visibly upset.

“No idea,” Dan replied. “We asked, of course, but he’s not saying.”

“Who is the driver?” Mark wanted to know.

“Guy by the name of Cassidy. Sean Cassidy. You know him?”

“Yeah. He’s done a little work for us. Seemed an all right guy. And we do keep weird hours, especially this time of year,” Mark conceded.

“But what about Otto?” pressed Sabrina. “Did Carlton…do you think…what are you going to do about that?” The last of that sentence came out in a rush.

Dan didn’t say anything for a minute. “He certainly had a motive, and he had the opportunity. We’re looking at it.”

“It was Carlton. I know it. It’s the only possibility.” Sabrina was beaming, shining her smile all around the kitchen. Mark looked about as happy. Why not? He had found his wine, and his wife was no longer a murder suspect. Neither was he. All in all, a good day. For some of us.

“You certainly have been busy, Dan.” Jolene left the cupboards and moved in for the kill. The only thing that kept her from hanging over Dan’s shoulder was Paris, who sat beside Dan’s chair looking hopeful. What a good dog. “I never would have suspected Carlton was that kind of person.” She moved around the table away from Paris. “Just gives me chills to think I spent all that time with a murderer.”

“I didn’t say that,” Dan told her firmly. “I only said we’re looking at possibilities. All kinds of possibilities.”

“It had to be Carlton,” Sabrina said. Nothing was going to dent her euphoria.

Frank didn’t look quite so convinced. “If he was going to kill Otto, why not do it before he put out all the money for that lot?”

“I doubt Carlton planned it,” Aunt Mary said. “I don’t think he’s the type.”

Dan had been watching me out of the corner of his eye, but now he turned toward Aunt Mary.

“You’re most likely right. Otto’s death was bizarre, but nothing about it seems planned. Probably whoever did it finally had enough, there was a full bottle of wine in his—or her—hand, and before they knew it, Otto was in the tank, followed by the empty champagne bottle.”

“My. That sounds just awful.” Jolene gave a graceful little shudder and moved closer.

Dan gave her a long look, then turned toward Mark. “Come on,” he said, pushing back his chair. “I’ll get you in touch with the people who have your wine, and we’ll see what we can do. Can I take this with me?”

He wrapped the half sandwich Aunt Mary hadn’t let him eat in a napkin, and put the top back on the water bottle. He didn’t get far.

“I was just wonderin’, Dan honey.” Jolene was almost on top of him, long lacquered nails lightly touching his arm. “Since we didn’t get to do lunch, maybe we could get together for dinner?”

Dan honey? I couldn’t help it. The words were out before I could choke them back. “Dan already has a date for tonight,” I told her, in my sweetest sugary voice. “One he’s had for some time.”

Oh boy, now I’d done it. We’d had a date all right, but I doubted Dan planned on keeping it. For the first time since he’d come in, I looked him in the eyes, but I couldn’t read what was there. I held my breath, waiting, for this wasn’t about Jolene.

After an eternity, Dan smiled. “That’s right. We have a date. See you about six o’clock?” Then he gestured to Mark, who followed him out the front door.

Chapter Nineteen

“I’m going to have to change that gate combination,” Sabrina stated. “I don’t know how Carlton got it, but I can’t take the chance someone else might have it.”

“He probably found it when he was driving your office people crazy, demanding all the records,” I said, but my mind wasn’t on Carlton or gates.

“Oh, I’ll bet you’re right. We keep a set of keys on a nail inside the roll-up door, and the gate combo is on a card right by them.” Sabrina’s eyes were wide with surprise. “Why, that—my office people. That’s how he got the paperwork. He kept after them to show him everything, what we had to fill out for ATF, what kind of documentation we needed for a sale, who we normally traded with; they couldn’t figure out why he wanted any of that. Ha! That…”

“Who’d have thought little ol’ Carlton would be that enterprising,” Jolene drawled. She sank into the chair Dan had vacated, smiled at Frank, and twirled her empty glass in her fingers. Frank didn’t take the hint, but Paris did. He moved over to stand beside her and sniffed at her glass. “Augh,” said Jolene, just like Lucy in
Peanuts
. She got to her feet and moved away from the dog as quickly as she could. “I think I’ll just run along.” She set her empty glass down on the counter, looked at each of us in turn, letting her eyes rest longest on me. There was the faintest trace of a smile as she turned to go.

“I’m goin’ to have to think up somethin’ interesting to do this evening, and that might take me a few minutes. Frank, honey…” You could see the speculation in those almond-shaped eyes, speculation that was dismissed almost immediately. “I’ll see you later. Maybe we can have a little glass of wine while you tell me all your plans for next Saturday night. Or maybe I’ll just ask Larry. See y’all.”

I wondered if she noticed no one asked her to stay or offered any ideas for her evening’s entertainment.

Frank gathered up his bowls and put them in the refrigerator over Sabrina’s protests.

“No, no, you won’t want to cook later, and who knows when Mark will be back. I have to go, lots to do. Mary, I’m afraid I won’t be over this evening. Tomorrow maybe? Sabrina, tell Mark how happy I am that they found his wine, and also the thief. Everything is working out fine, isn’t it?” Frank was out the door before any of us could react.

“Well, that was fast.” Aunt Mary stared at the closed door, then shook her head a little. “Not that the idea of an evening by myself isn’t welcome, but, how odd.”

“Frank’s always been odd.” Sabrina dismissed Frank with a wave of her hand. “The whole time Mark was growing up, all Frank thought about was his precious restaurant. That was one of the reasons Mark’s mother left him. He was never there for Mark, until he found out Mark was going to be a winemaker. Next best thing to a chef, I guess. I was afraid he’d have nothing to do, now that the restaurant is gone, so let’s be grateful Otto’s project is keeping him occupied and out of our hair.”

“She’s got a point. That’s what you wanted, Frank out of your hair,” I told Aunt Mary, giving up any attempt to keep a straight face.

“I know, I know. Still, I wonder what he’s planning on doing tonight and why he’s acting so mysterious.”

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think it includes Jolene.”

“It’s not,” she replied tartly, “and speaking of tonight, I think you need to make some plans of your own.”

How right she was. Dan was coming over at six, presumably for dinner, and I hadn’t bothered to go to the market. Not to mention make time for a badly needed shower and shampoo. I looked down at my nails. Nope, they were beyond hope.

“Hadn’t you better go to the store?” Aunt Mary reads minds.

“If I’m going to feed him,” I said grimly. “Otherwise he’s going to get hot dogs and beans. How about you two? Will you be all right?”

“We’ll be fine,” Sabrina said. “You’ve done too much already.”

“Go, go.” Aunt Mary handed me my purse and car keys. “Dan deserves a good meal, and if he gets something better to look at than those old jeans and that filthy tee shirt, you might get yourself engaged again. If that’s what you want, of course.” The front door closed on their cheerful chatter, both expressing wonder that it had been Carlton all along.

Mark and Sabrina’s troubles were behind them, Aunt Mary had at least one night’s reprieve, Paris was settling into her new life by trying to dig up an ancient camellia bush, and I was on my way, I hoped, to put my own life back together. Because, wonder of wonders, I had finally realized, after much agonizing the last few days, that being engaged again, ending with a wedding on New Year’s Eve, was exactly what I wanted. Fingers crossed, I got into my car and headed for the market.

Chapter Twenty

The closer it got to six, the more I worried. What had I done? My little outburst had clearly told Dan I wanted, at the very least, our relationship to continue. But how? Should I come right out and say, ‘I love you, and I want to marry you’? Or should I let him lead the way? Make the first move? Maybe he’d changed his mind; maybe he wouldn’t want to marry someone he thought didn’t trust him.

I’d worried about what Dan thought, what he wanted, all through the grocery aisles, all the way home, and all the way through a shower and shampoo. Finally, as I blew my hair dry, I stared in the mirror and wondered what I thought, what I wanted.

“Are you positive you’re ready to make the commitment Dan wants, Ellen McKenzie? Do you want it, too? Because if not, you had no right to trap him into coming back over here,” I told my reflection. That was when the doorbell rang.

“Hi,” was what I got, along with a small peck on the cheek.

“Hi, yourself,” I said, trying to sound breezy and normal. “How did it go?”

“How did what go?” His reply, coming out of the refrigerator, where he was rummaging for a beer, was a little muffled.

“Everything. Mark’s wine truck, Carlton’s arrest, Otto’s murder investigation.”

“Fine. Everything’s going fine.”

“Really,” I said. “Everything’s fine.”

Dan popped the lid of his beer can and took a healthy swallow. “Ah, that’s better. Yep, Everything’s fine.” He took another sip and stole a look at me over the top of the can. “Did you want something? Wine or something?”

I knew that look. It was the same one he’d had when we were kids. Dan’s guard was up. Now what did I do? Keep it light, I decided. Light and friendly.

“Wine,” I said. “I’ll get it. How about some chips? I have some new ones I thought we’d try. Got them at the health food store. No fat and no salt. By the way, I was thinking of a large salad for dinner. With non-fat dressing. And maybe yogurt for dessert?”

“Okay,” Dan laughed. “I’ll tell you. But I’m not giving in to threats. I can smell pot roast. Living room okay?”

I sighed as I followed him. He’d never asked before where we should sit. He’d always just gone in and plopped himself down on the sofa, making sure he left plenty of room for me to cuddle up beside him. This time he took my reading chair. There was only room for one.

There wasn’t much to tell. Mark knew all kinds of people in Napa, and his tanker truck, complete with wine, was being well looked after until the winery either decided to buy it or return it. Carlton had hired an attorney and was out on bail.

“Who’s his attorney?” I asked.

“Someone from San Luis Obispo.”

I didn’t need to ask what Dan thought of him. His tone told it all.

“What happens next?” I stretched out my legs to make a lap for Jake. He purred as he settled himself. Nice to know someone wanted to be close.

“Carlton’s arraigned, a trial date is set, he’s convicted and goes to jail.” Dan made it sound easy, but I had a feeling it wasn’t.

“How can you be so sure he’ll be convicted? It doesn’t look that easy on ‘Law and Order.’”

“They have to make it look hard or you wouldn’t watch. Anyway, Carlton gave the driver a key to the winery overhead doors, as well as the gate combination, and all the supposed paperwork for the sale. He also gave the driver a false name, but he let the guy see him. Not smart. The driver picked him out of a group of pictures immediately. And, just to make things better, Carlton used a local locksmith to have the winery key copied. The locksmith knew who he was and will testify. No, our friend Carlton Carpenter is going to jail.”

“How about the murder? Will this lawyer, whoever he is, defend Carlton for that as well?”

“We haven’t charged him with that.”

“But you’re going to, aren’t you? It couldn’t be anyone else.” I could hear the urgency in my voice and felt my neck muscles tighten. “Unless you think Frank might have…he was looking for Otto. Do you think it was Frank?”

“I don’t think anything yet. Evidence, Ellie. We’re collecting evidence. Speaking of collecting, I think I’ll collect another beer. What’s that I smell? Not the pot roast, is it?”

“Oh my God. My roast.” I dumped Jake on the floor and headed for the kitchen, Dan following.

“Just in time,” I told him.

He popped the top of another beer. I handed him the bottle of wine I hadn’t bothered to open and a corkscrew.

“Open this, will you, and pour me a glass? I’m going to start the potatoes and you get to snap the beans. If you’re lucky, I’ll let you mash. Don’t you dare stick your fingers in the frosting of that cake. That’s for after dinner.”

The evening passed quickly. We talked about everything. Local politics, local events, the funny and not-so-funny things that happened in real estate, how Susannah, my college-aged daughter, liked her classes, when my roof might need replacing, and how best to prune my fruit trees. We didn’t talk about his job, Carlton, or murder. And we didn’t talk about us.

Dan had brought a Steve Martin movie, which we watched over chocolate cake and hazelnut coffee. When it was over, he put Jake, who’d deserted me for Dan’s lap, on the floor, stretched, and stood up to leave. He pulled me to my feet, and for a second did nothing. Then he kissed me, gently and feather light.

“It was fun, Ellie. A nice evening. Thanks.”

“It was fun,” I said, a little disconcerted. “Ah, you’ll call?”

“Do you want me to?”

“Of course.” It came out a little tentative.

“All right. Shall I take that movie, or can you drop it off tomorrow?”

“I’ll take it.” I wondered what else I should say.

“Great. Good night. Lock the door after me.”

He was gone.

I turned the deadbolt, feeling awful. Here I was, ready to do exactly what Dan wanted, make a huge commitment that still made me nervous, and I wasn’t going to get the chance. I walked back into the living room and glared at my reading chair. But it wasn’t its fault. It was mine. No, it wasn’t. It was Brian’s. Because of him, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d emotionally get the stuffing kicked out of me somewhere down the road if I committed again. But, I’d gathered up enough nerve to give it a try. So what happens? I can’t even get the guy to kiss me! Because that peck I’d gotten as he left wasn’t even second cousin to the one I got on the washing machine.

“What do you think?” I asked Jake. “What does that mean?”

He looked at me and started to purr.

“Thanks a lot,” I said bitterly and started slowly up the stairs. About halfway up, I stopped. What was it that Dan had said that awful evening we fought? Something about how good the silence sounded. I listened a moment, then kept on going. It didn’t sound so good to me.