Murder Uncorked (30 page)
Authors: Michele Scott
She started to yell, but stopped suddenly as a dim glow of light shone up ahead, and she could hear a woman’s voice. Meredith.
“You’ve basically ruined my life.”
“Ruined your life? You’re the one who thought it would be fun to play ‘screw the men of Napa Valley’ behind my back.”
“Please. A little transgression, and you couldn’t forgive me? All I needed was one thing from you, and you couldn’t accomplish it. I was trying to get knocked up, you idiot. It was all my mother’s plan. Get pregnant, have a kid, divorce you, hold the kid over your head in an ugly custody battle, and knowing what a
good
guy you are, trade you the kid for the vineyard. But I’m not exactly patient. I wanted my share sooner rather than wait for all that, plus ruining my body is not all that exciting to me.”
good
guy you are, trade you the kid for the vineyard. But I’m not exactly patient. I wanted my share sooner rather than wait for all that, plus ruining my body is not all that exciting to me.”
“You’re delusional, Meredith. Now untie me, and let me go before Cal gets back to finish me off. You can get out of town. No one has to know anything about your involvement in this. Let Cal take the fall. I know you, Meredith. You’re a good person.”
It was Derek.
Now it clicked for Nikki. The conversation she’d overheard between the Botox buddies made a helluva lot more sense now. Their deceitful plan was to lure Derek back into Meredith’s bed, thus making “his purpose” one of getting Meredith pregnant. Waiting to implement their plan at the right time, they had to continue to keep their true relationship under wraps, because if Derek ever found out, he would’ve never fallen into Meredith’s trap from the get-go.
Now it clicked for Nikki. The conversation she’d overheard between the Botox buddies made a helluva lot more sense now. Their deceitful plan was to lure Derek back into Meredith’s bed, thus making “his purpose” one of getting Meredith pregnant. Waiting to implement their plan at the right time, they had to continue to keep their true relationship under wraps, because if Derek ever found out, he would’ve never fallen into Meredith’s trap from the get-go.
“You expect me to believe that’s what you think? Am I talking to the same man who has called me every name in the book? I don’t recall ‘good person’ being in that book. Call me stupid, but how can your opinion change so rapidly and drastically? The funny thing is, Derek, Cal didn’t murder Gabriel or Minnie. Wrong. I killed them. Cal protected me. He is my brother, and blood is thicker than water. However, Cal is as capable of murder as I am. He’s at the vineyard right now, taking care of Miss Busybody. Your hopefully new
employee
. If she’d minded her own business, I may not have gotten quite this impatient. She’s a problem. And, my brother and I know how to deal with problems.”
employee
. If she’d minded her own business, I may not have gotten quite this impatient. She’s a problem. And, my brother and I know how to deal with problems.”
“What have you done, Meredith? What is Cal going to do to Nikki?”
“Exactly what I’m going to do to you. I want it all, and that imbecile
mother
of mine is going to get it all when you’re gone, and well, need I say more? I know all about your father’s provisions for the vineyard. What he left you, and what he left Patrice and Simon. Simon is easy to deal with. I know that if you’re dead, the vineyard, according to your father’s wishes, falls back into the hands of Simon and Patrice.”
mother
of mine is going to get it all when you’re gone, and well, need I say more? I know all about your father’s provisions for the vineyard. What he left you, and what he left Patrice and Simon. Simon is easy to deal with. I know that if you’re dead, the vineyard, according to your father’s wishes, falls back into the hands of Simon and Patrice.”
“This is crazy. Leave Nikki out of it. She doesn’t know any of this.”
“She’s smarter than she looks.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Nikki inched her way closer to the flickering light only a few feet ahead of her.
Nikki inched her way closer to the flickering light only a few feet ahead of her.
“I believe she knows about Cal’s and my DNA, and that’s enough to ruin all of this for us,” Meredith added.
“Okay, since you know so much and have this all figured out, why didn’t you kill me in the first place? Why murder Gabriel and Minnie?”
“Those, lover, were unfortunate events. My temper got the worst of me. It all had to do with that four-letter word.”
“Excuse me?” Derek asked.
“Love. Yes. True love. I killed them because I fell in love with Gabriel.”
Aha!
Nikki’s initial theory about Meredith being the killer and her reasons for doing so was right after all. Go figure.
Nikki’s initial theory about Meredith being the killer and her reasons for doing so was right after all. Go figure.
“Gabriel and I did have a thing. The rumors were true about us. It may have been only a few nights, but it was love. Guaranteed. The kind of love that lasts forever. But then Miss Lark had to seduce him, and he didn’t want anything to do with me after that.”
“Sounds like true love to me all right,” Derek angrily remarked. “True love doesn’t usually walk out on you when the next pair of legs go cruising by.”
“What do you know about true love? Not a lot, or you would’ve paid more attention to me. Gabriel had his reasons for walking out on me. He said it was all wrong for us to be together. He felt guilty about
you
. Not so guilty he couldn’t steal money from you, mind you. What you don’t know is that your trusted Minnie was ripping you off. I know you were suspicious of me. But I never planned to
steal
your money. I was going to get it legitimately, by killing you and extorting it from my mother.”
you
. Not so guilty he couldn’t steal money from you, mind you. What you don’t know is that your trusted Minnie was ripping you off. I know you were suspicious of me. But I never planned to
steal
your money. I was going to get it legitimately, by killing you and extorting it from my mother.”
“Real upstanding of you.”
“Thanks. Anyhow, I wasn’t pleased that they were trying to make it look like I was the thief. It pissed me off. The bitch takes my lover away, and then she wants to frame
me
for her crimes. I didn’t think that was very nice. On the day I killed Gabriel, it was out of rage because he’d ended things with me and had partnered in more ways than one with the conniving numbers broad. I snapped.”
me
for her crimes. I didn’t think that was very nice. On the day I killed Gabriel, it was out of rage because he’d ended things with me and had partnered in more ways than one with the conniving numbers broad. I snapped.”
“What happened exactly? Don’t you think I’m at least entitled to know, since you’re going to kill me?”
“Sure, why not? You are after all a nice guy, and you do have some assets that I continue to think fondly of, even now, and probably will after you’re gone. Gabriel and I were in the barreling room. He broke it off. I started to leave, but instead grabbed a bottle of wine, came up behind him, and smacked him on the back of his head with it. I knocked him out cold and called Cal to tell him what I’d done. He came to the rescue and finished the job for me with the grape vines. He’s a smart one, my brother. The next afternoon when it seemed like all was quiet on the vineyard, Cal placed his body by the pond. That was what your gal pal, Nikki, saw.
“After she found the body, we had to think fast. Cal came up with the idea to set up the poor Mexican worker because it was easy to do. Apparently, Cal had seen him one afternoon a few weeks ago, drunk and sketching his pitiful drawings at a café in town. At the time he didn’t think much of it, but it became of use to us. All I ever wanted was true love. Cal tried to steer Nikki in a different direction because she was asking all sorts of questions. He thought he had her believing that Simon may have done the evil deeds. But after tailing her around town, he realized she was still snooping. That’s when I plunked her on the head inside the offices the other night. We were trying to scare her off. I didn’t need the bodies adding up.
“Minnie was easy to knock off. The woman steals my man and tries to frame me for stealing your cash. I called her before the party and told her I knew she was cooking the books and trying to frame me. She said that she’d meet me at the party. I told her to meet me in your mother’s old room. I thought it would work nicely and make it look like the killer was some psycho nut.”
“You
are
a psycho nut,” Derek said.
are
a psycho nut,” Derek said.
“You need help. Let me ask you, do you give it up to every man who asks?”
Nikki now had a view of both Derek and Meredith. Derek was tied up, his back against the wall of the cave. Meredith held a gun on him. She watched as Meredith slapped Derek hard across the face with her open hand.
Nikki’s blood boiled, and without thinking, she charged Meredith, low and fast. She took the surprised larger woman down, the gun flying out of Meredith’s hand.
“You really are a bitch,” Nikki said, pinning Meredith to the floor of the cave with every ounce of strength she could muster.
Meredith brought her knees up, and in a rocking motion, swung Nikki off of her and back to the ground. Uh-oh. The tables were turned as Meredith pounced on Nikki’s smaller frame, pushing her arms down. “And you really are as trashy as white trash comes. My mother is an idiot, but she was right on that account. You were stupid not to take her check and run. No one would’ve ever bothered you after that.”
“Sure,” Nikki groaned.
Meredith released her grip on one of Nikki’s wrists, leaning to the side to grab the gun, which was now within her reach.
With her left arm free, Nikki gathered all her strength and smashed Meredith on the side of the face, just as Meredith picked up the gun. Nikki used her body weight to roll onto her side before Meredith could aim and fire the gun at her. She squirmed forward just enough to be able to kick Meredith in the stomach. Meredith fell to the ground beside Nikki, giving Nikki enough time to stand up. She didn’t think, the adrenaline was pumping through her, and the rigorous physical training she’d taken when doing her TV show paid off as she brought her foot down onto Meredith’s arm, pinning it to the ground. With her other foot she kicked the gun to the side.
A bark echoed through the cave as Ollie bounded in and landed on top of Meredith, laying his tremendous body across hers, further pinning her to the cave floor. Sirens could be heard in the distance.
Out of breath, Nikki turned to Ollie. “You’re a little late, Scooby, but thanks.” Nikki picked up the gun and held it on Meredith, in case she tried to get out from underneath Ollie.
Derek laughed. Nikki went over to him and bent down. Blood trickled down the side of his lips. She reached out and wiped it with the palm of her free hand. “Turn around.” Nikki set the gun down for a minute, keeping an eye on Meredith and Ollie while working Derek’s hands free from the ropes.
He shook out his hands. “Thanks.” He brought both hands to the side of her face.
His touch was warm and brought tears to her eyes. She wiped them away, as Jeanine Wiley and Mark Anderson rushed into the back of the cave, guns drawn.
“You found us,” Nikki exclaimed.
“Tara Beckenroe phoned us from a tow truck up the road. Seems she was on her way to get us at the station, when her car broke down,” Jeanine replied.
Sure.
“She told us everything that happened. Chief Horn is on his way now to the Malveaux Estate to arrest Cal.”
“Interesting,” Nikki said.
Derek looked at her quizzically.
“Tell you later. Right now we need to get you checked out at the hospital.”
“There’s an ambulance on the way,” Jeanine said.
“I don’t need an ambulance.”
“Let’s play by the rules,” Nikki said, as an EMT technician arrived on the scene.
Derek grumbled. Jeanine asked him to tell Ollie to get off of Meredith, who was in a whimpering heap on the cave floor. A few minutes later, Derek was put into the back of the ambulance. Nikki told him that she’d meet him at the hospital.
“There’s a shortcut to the main highway,” he said, then explained to her how to get there.
On her way to the hospital, Nikki passed by Tara’s car being hooked up to a tow truck. As she sped by, Tara glared at the tow truck driver, hands on hips, looking more disheveled than a whirling dervish. She caught sight of Nikki driving by, who thought about stopping and giving Tara a lift. Payback for the coffee?
Nah
. Nikki smiled to herself and sped toward the hospital, cranking up the stereo to an old Eagles tune—“Witchy Woman.”
Nah
. Nikki smiled to herself and sped toward the hospital, cranking up the stereo to an old Eagles tune—“Witchy Woman.”
Chapter 23
Nikki and Derek drove back to the estate after he was treated at the hospital for some minor scrapes and bruises.
“Why don’t you stay at my cottage tonight? After all that’s happened, I’d like some company,” Derek said.
“Okay,” Nikki replied hesitantly.
They stopped by her cottage first. Nikki turned off the stove, horrified at the black, shriveled pork roast. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starved, and I think the dinner I’d planned is ruined.” She laughed, pulling the roast off the pan with a turning fork. “I’m sure I can whip up something for you in your kitchen.”
She was right. He had all the ingredients to make what she coined “Simply Pasta Salad.” Seeing that it was approaching midnight, she renamed it “After Hours Pasta.” It’s amazing what a savvy woman can do with some Italian dressing, a few veggies, and some pasta, and only in a matter of minutes. And, at that moment Nikki felt damn savvy.
“What are you fixing in there?” Derek called from his chaise longue.
“Nothing much.”
“I have to ask, after all that’s happened, do you still plan on coming on board here at the winery?”
She came around in front of the kitchen counter. “Do you still want me to take the job?”
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