“Oh no,” Athena said. “We went to school together, but we weren’t friends. We ran with different crowds. But when I opened Circe here and found out that Allison was dating Bradley, we connected. We’re all different people now. She comes by often to visit me in the tasting room. How could her husband be a suspect? It’s just not possible! And why is this reporter calling for a boycott? Why?”

  “When Lucy Argyle did this last time during crush season, it had no effect,” I said. “The fall festival saw no dip in attendance.”

  Athena didn’t seem to hear me—or at least she didn’t acknowledge me.

  “I have to get going for the day,” she said, tucking the newspaper under her arm and shaking her head. “This is just terrible. It gets more and more terrible with each second.” And with that, she turned and walked toward Circe’s tasting room front door without saying goodbye.

  We watched her disappear inside.

  “She’s not wrong,” Jules said. “A newspaper article suggesting anyone from OV had something to do with this—whether Bradley or Elita’s family—can’t be good.”

  With our morning run effectively over, we walked down the street again, each of us peeling off toward our homes. About halfway through my hike through the vineyard toward Aldo’s house, I realized I had forgotten to tell Fitts about seeing Katie go into Entonces right after her fight with Bradley the night she died. It was a minor detail, but since Elita wasn’t even in Entonces at the time, maybe it was important. The detective probably had to trace all Katie’s steps leading up to her death, right? So he’d need to know that.

  By the time I reached Aldo’s front door, I had the morning’s to-do list hammered out in my mind. First, call Detective Fitts about Katie’s extra trip into Entonces. Second, find out if Daniel still wanted to show me and Nico the apartment. Third, find out if there was going to be a memorial for Katie. Fourth, maybe get an early lunch with Nico before starting my afternoon shift pouring wine at the tasting room.

  And fifth, avoid getting involved with the investigation. That was more of a promise to myself than an item on my to-do list, but I liked having it pictured on my list, anyway—especially after I indicated to Fitts that I’d stay out of it. It was one thing to be curious, but it had to stop there. Nico would have my head if I got involved the way I did with the winery death months ago.

  The house was quiet when I let myself in. Nico was probably already at Entonces, taking care of whatever administrative tasks were on his plate for the day. Aldo was probably already down at Vendemmia having his eighth cup of coffee with his buddies. And Holly, no doubt, was still sleeping.

  I showered and got dressed. Back out in the kitchen I grabbed a banana and poured a cup of coffee. Sticking my head in the fridge, I searched for coffee creamer to no avail. Were we really out? I couldn’t drink coffee without creamer. No wonder the coffee pot was still half full. Nico didn’t like coffee without creamer either, so he had probably skipped his morning cup of joe as well. I looked at the mug on the counter, steam curling off the top. I could just pour it back and leave it for Holly.

  Amendment to the morning’s to-do list: stop by Amy’s shop to pick up some coffees for me and Nico.

  As I made my way back down through the vineyard to Via del Corso, I called Fitts. He didn’t answer.

  “Hi Detective,” I said when prompted to leave a message. “It’s Jill D’Angelo. I just remembered something about the last time I saw Katie. It might be nothing, but I wanted to pass it along just in case. Please call me back.”

  It wasn’t a particularly thought-provoking message, but it was probably good enough to get a call back. If I knew Fitts—and I thought I was getting the hang of him—he didn’t like people wasting his time, and he wanted to control when and how much time he spent with anyone vying for his time.

  When I entered Amy’s book-slash-coffee shop, she was standing behind the counter and holding up her phone, staring at it with a blank expression. A couple patrons sat at tables reading papers, drinking coffee, and enjoying the jazz music filtering in through the shop’s speakers. Everyone looked peacefully settled.

  I approached the coffee counter. “Hey, good morning,” I said.

  She looked up and smiled. “Hey, how are you?”

  “Good.” I glanced at her phone. “Everything okay? You look like you were in deep thought.”

  She set her phone down and shook her head, golden curls swaying like an aftershock across her shoulders. “I just got a weird text from Will saying he couldn’t meet for lunch today. How many coffees?” She picked up two cups from the nearby stack. “Two?”

  I nodded. “Yep.”

  She walked over to the espresso machine, and, already knowing the order, began making the drinks.

  “It’s not really weird that he would cancel lunch,” she continued, reflectively musing about her husband’s text. “It was just strange how he explained the reason.” She inclined her head toward the counter where she had left her phone. “Read the text. What do you think? Maybe I’m the one being weird.”

  I picked up her phone and turned it on.

  Hey, the message began. I can’t meet for lunch today. I have to see a man about a dog. I’ll come by later in the afternoon, k?

  She had then responded with okay, talk soon.

  I returned her phone to the counter and halfway smiled, thinking. “A man about a dog? I’ve heard that phrase before.”

  Amy put the two mochas on the counter next to the phone. “Me too. But I’ve never heard Will say it. That’s not one of his normal sayings.”

  I handed my credit card to Amy. As she ran the charge, I said, “I don’t think you’re being weird. That is sort of strange. Are you going to ask him about it?”

  She handed the card back to me. “Yeah, when I see him I’ll just play along and ask him how the dog was.”

  “Maybe you’re getting a pet.” I put my credit card away and grabbed the coffees.

  Amy laughed. “Maybe. Have a good day, Jill.”

  I turned and zigzagged through tables toward the front door. Walking down the street, I wondered where I had heard that phrase about seeing a man about a dog. I couldn’t place it. Maybe I’d ask my sisters if they’d heard it.

  Really, though, chances were that I’d forget about it before I saw them.

  As I passed Chocolat, I noticed Bradley and Allison standing inside the shop near the front window. The door was propped open.

  Interesting.

  I stopped on the sidewalk right next to the path leading into the shop. There on the window were Chocolat’s hours of operation, which indicated the shop wasn’t opening for another two hours. I didn’t think I had ever seen the front door propped open so early before. And part of me had assumed Chocolat would be closed today—for the sake of mourning Katie at the very least.

  But I wasn’t very business-minded. Maybe that’s not how most places operated—especially four days before Christmas.

  I hadn’t seen Bradley at all the day before, and I still needed to offer condolences. I walked down the pathway to the front door and poked my head inside. Sensing the movement, Bradley and Allison looked in my direction.

  “Good morning,” I said. “Are you opening today?”

  A quick look around the store provided an answer to my question. The display cases were stocked with truffles, bark, and chocolate-dipped fruit as usual, and the back marble counter where Bradley made his creations looked like it had been put to good use that morning.

  Neither Bradley nor Allison looked happy to see me, and I halfway regretted poking my head in. But turning around and leaving now would be awkward.

  I could come up with something gracious to say, right?

  TEN

  I stepped through the door and held the coffee cups out to Bradley and Allison. “Would you like some coffee? I have two mochas here from Amy’s shop.”

  Bradley’s less-than-welcoming facial expression didn’t change. A salt-and-pepper stubble ran along his jawline, matching his hair and making him look not only unfriendly but also tired. “We have our own espresso maker,” he said. He tilted his head toward the counter behind him.

  I lowered my arms slightly and nodded. “Oh, okay.”

  Come on, Jill, something gracious. Say something gracious.

  A simple “sorry for your loss,” would have sufficed, but by the time those words started forming, my eyes had landed on the espresso machine. New, completely unrelated—and arguably inappropriate—words overpowered the gracious ones.

  “Oh, did you just get that espresso machine? I remember you didn’t have it this summer when that crazy bachelorette party was staying here. They all came banging on your door one morning for their caffeine fix, but no espresso machine at the time, right?” Inwardly I cringed as I heard myself speaking. Why was I so distracted by shiny things?

  It was all right. I’d keep smiling, get back on track to offer my condolences, and then get out of here.

  Allison’s eyes narrowed slightly. She glanced at Bradley before settling on me. “Yes, it’s new,” she said through gritted teeth. “Tell us, Bradley, is it the top of the line? The two-thousand-dollar model? Or did you go for the cheap two-hundred-dollar model?”

  Oh no. I had stepped on a marital landmine. Definitely time for a quick subject change.

  Bradley kept his gaze fixed on me and remained silent, not acknowledging his wife.

  I kept smiling. “Okay, well, I know you are busy, so I’ll get out of your hair. I just wanted to stop in and offer my condolences. I’m so sorry about Katie. I’m sure it’s been devastating for you.”

  A muscle twitched along Bradley’s jaw. Allison’s face remained stony.

  “Did you see this morning’s paper?” Bradley asked.

  I nodded and shifted uncomfortably. After my espresso misstep, I didn’t want to say the wrong thing here. “Yes. It was ridiculous—absolutely insane. No one is going to believe anything that writer publishes.”

  While a moment ago Allison was staring daggers at her husband, now he did the same to her. Put his hands on his hips, which somehow seemed to intensify his glare. When he turned back to me, he said, “Thanks for stopping by, Jill.”

  As I backed through the door, I said, “If you need anything, please let me know. Anything at all.” I lifted one of the coffee cups up in a make-shift wave goodbye. “See you later, Bradley. Bye, Allison.”

  They didn’t wave back, and I hurried down the front walk, hoping to disappear before I could put my foot in my mouth any more. At least I didn’t mention Elita flirting with Bradley or call Allison by the wrong name this time.

  I continued toward Entonces, wondering what had upset them. It could have been any number of things. Katie’s death, the article in the paper, stress over Christmas, something completely unrelated—it could have been anything. I bet the espresso machine just put whatever it was over the top.

  And, it was none of my business, so I just needed to stop wondering.

  Through Entonces’ big front window, I saw Nico sitting at one of the high-top tables. He must have sensed me approaching because he looked up from his stack of papers and then met me at the entrance.

  As he opened the door, I heard Elita huffing and sputtering somewhere in the back of the building.

  “What’s wrong with her?” I asked, stepping into the tasting room and handing Nico a coffee cup.

  He shrugged. “She’s on the phone with the detective yelling about how she can’t find her keys. Thanks for the coffee. There wasn’t any creamer at Aldo’s this morning.”

  I followed Nico to the table with his papers and watched him separate the spreadsheets into two stacks. “Elita can’t find her keys?” I asked.

  “Yes. Her keys to the tasting room, the restaurant, and the bed-and-breakfast are missing. Oh, and she also had the key to her apartment over the restaurant on the same ring. So she’s freaking out.”

  I sat at the table and looked toward the back offices. “Does she know when she lost them?”

  Nico shook his head. “I don’t know. She’s been screaming for fifteen minutes, and it took me half that time to figure out that she was talking about lost keys.”

  I sipped my coffee. “I just saw Bradley and his wife at Chocolat. It looks like the shop’s going to be opened today. I kind of figured they’d be closed.” I thought for a moment. I had told myself that this was none of my business and that I needed to butt out, but here I was musing and speculating. I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “Then again, the store’s not a crime scene, so maybe there’s no crime-related reason to close.”

  Nico turned his coffee cup in a circle on the table. “That’s interesting. It might not be a crime scene, but Katie still died. I think I’d close for a couple days if I were the owner. I mean, she died.”

  “The display cases were full of product, too,” I said. “It’s like Bradley didn’t even miss a beat without having an assistant there to help him.” I cringed inwardly. Stop talking about it. Just butt out and let it go. Why was it so hard to do that? “We all mourn differently, I guess. Maybe Bradley mourns by throwing himself into his work.”

  Nico looked around the empty tasting room. His eyes landed on the fireplace for a prolonged moment before turning back to me. “I wanted to close Entonces today, but Eduardo said we needed to open as soon as we got the go-ahead from the detective. I think he wants to move forward as though Entonces had nothing to do with Katie’s death.”

  Elita appeared in the back doorway and let out a shrill, “You!”

  Her eyes were fixed on me as she stormed across the tasting room. I pointed to myself. “Me?”

  “Yes, you!” She halted next to our table, invading my personal space. “How could you tell Detective Fitts that I had a fight with Katie before she died? How could you tell him that?” She stamped her foot.

  I couldn’t keep my eyebrows from rising. Elita and Katie had argued, hadn’t they? I was pretty sure I hadn’t imagined that. And while it wasn’t a happy fact, wasn’t it important for the detective to know? Yesterday I had felt uncomfortable telling Fitts about the argument, but there hadn’t been a way to avoid it.

  I glanced at Nico, and he nodded as though reading my mind and confirming my thoughts.

  “Fitts asked me what happened,” I said. “Did you want me to lie?”

  “No!” she said with another foot stamp. “But no one else thought it was important enough to mention. Why did you bring it up?”

  “Elita,” Nico said calmly, “The detective needed to know why Jill was here when we found Katie. There was no obvious reason for her to be here, so of course he would ask about it. She told him that she was here to apologize to you, and then he asked why you needed an apology. If you and Katie hadn’t gotten into a fight, you wouldn’t have canceled girls’ night. If you hadn’t canceled girls’ night, the others wouldn’t have gotten together to watch a movie. And if they hadn’t gotten together to watch a movie, you wouldn’t have been demanding apologies from them. It’s all connected, right?”

  “I didn’t demand apologies,” she whined.

  “My mistake,” Nico said. “But you can still see how it’s all connected.”

  Elita didn’t answer right away, but eventually she groaned and rolled her eyes. “But telling him has caused me so many more problems.” Her voice was softer. Resigned.

  “Elita,” I said, trying to sound reasonable. “I’m sorry it’s caused you problems, but I had to be truthful.”

  “He thinks I had something to do with her death.”

  “I sincerely doubt that,” I said. “Just tell him where you were that night so you can be crossed off the list. Okay?”

  “There’s a list?” she gasped. “I’m on a list?”

  “No, no, no, that’s not what I meant,” I said. “It’s a figure of speech. Just tell him where you were, and all this will be over.”

  Elita leaned toward me and rested her forehead on my shoulder. She groaned again. “My keys are missing now,” she said. “You know what this means?”

  I glanced at Nico. He looked wary.

  “No, I don’t,” I said slowly. “What does this mean?”

  She pulled away from my shoulder, her eyes wide. “It means I’m next! First it was Katie, and next it will be me. Whoever killed her stole my keys so that he could sneak into my apartment and get me. I just know it! That awful detective thinks I’m overreacting or trying to deflect attention from myself, but I’m not. I’m next!”

  Elita didn’t wait for us to answer. She stormed toward the back offices and disappeared through the doorway.

  “Whoa,” I said. “She’s next?”

  Nico stared at his coffee cup. “This is mindboggling. She’s managed to make this all about her.”

  We sat in silence for a moment. Finally, I said, “So, you didn’t tell Fitts about Elita and Katie’s fight when he interviewed you?”

  Nico shook his head and sipped his coffee. “Fitts’ questions all revolved around finding Katie, and it didn’t occur to me to bring up the night before. It was all so surreal.”

  It sure was surreal. No argument there. “I hate to leave you here all day with Elita in such a state.”

  Nico shrugged at his coffee. “Once wine tasters show up, it’ll go fast.”

  I nodded and slid off my chair. “I don’t start working until one o’clock. Want to meet for lunch before then?”

  Nico gave me a strange, almost-pained look. “I’m sorry, I can’t today.” He paused. “I have to see a man about a dog.”

  I did a double take.

  “You have to what?” I asked.

  Before he could answer, Eduardo’s voice boomed through the room, followed shortly by his appearance in the back doorway. “Nico! I need you here.” Eduardo’s eyes landed on me, and he gave a curt nod before focusing on my boyfriend. “I have a very important task for you.”

  Nico stood and looked at me apologetically. “Sorry about lunch. I’ll come see you this afternoon, okay?” He gave me a quick hug and then turned toward his boss.

 

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