Dandelion Dead (22 page)

“Forget that for now,” Jackson said. “Get me the ladder.” Simon carried it over with Scott's help. “I hope it's long enough so he can get out.”

“We'll try it and see,” Jackson said. Simon and Scott handed him the ladder, and he lifted it up and put it into the tank. “Okay, David, now that the wine is drained out, make sure it's secure on the bottom, and I'll steady it from up here. When it feels stable to you, start climbing.”

“I think it's good, Jackson.”

Jackson grabbed the top section of the ladder. “Okay, I've got it up here. Start climbing. Just go slow.”

“Coming up.”

Moments later, David's head appeared, and Jackson grabbed his one good hand and arm. “Now you're going to move over the edge and come down.”

Carefully, David maneuvered his way out of the tank and onto the ladder. Jackson climbed back down
and spotted David as he did the same. When he got down, he collapsed, but Jackson caught him before he hit the floor. “He's out. Call 911 and tell them to hurry up.”

But before I could take out my phone, the paramedics burst through the door with a gurney, followed by Detective Koren and his partner, Detective Coyle.

“Over here,” Jackson said, still
holding David up. The paramedics ran over and helped him onto the gurney and then checked his blood pressure and his pulse and examined his left arm. A few minutes later, longtime volunteer Herbie Swanson, wearing an EMT vest and a Yankees baseball cap, said, “I think his left arm is broken, in more than one place, the shoulder and the wrist. We're taking him to the ER.”

“I want to go with him,” Simon said. “He's my partner and my friend.”

“You can go,” Detective Koren said. “Ms. McQuade, Mr. Spade, and Mr. Peters, stay put. I want details.”

After the paramedics rolled David out, with Simon following, Detective Koren said, “I guess I should be surprised to see you two, since I specifically told you to stay out of this case, but here you are, again.”

“Detective, we came for the seminar about wines and for the haunted Halloween maze,” I said. “That's why we're here.”

“Sure it is.” He pulled a pad out of the inside coat pocket of his tailored suit. “Okay, now tell me the truth.”

I looked at Jackson, who said, “Simon asked us to look into the threats against David.”

“We're looking into the threats,” said Detective Coyle, who wore his police jacket over a budget-friendly suit. “And we don't need any help.”

I pointed to the vat. “We just found him in there. Obviously you aren't doing a good enough job.”

“I suppose your investigating hasn't stopped there,” Detective Koren said. “Are you also sticking your nose into Amy Lord's death?”

“The two sides of an investigation often converge,” Jackson said. “You know how it works.”

“You know why? Because we are the police,” Detective Coyle said, sneering. “You are a cop wannabe.”

“Koren, after all of this time, can't you keep this guy on a leash?” Jackson said.

Detective Coyle stepped toward him. “That's it. I'm arresting you for, for . . .”

“Shut it, Coyle,” Detective Koren said. “Just start with tonight's chain of events, Spade.”

Jackson related a sanitized version of what had happened, leaving out Lily's arrival and, of course, the breaking into Gerald's office, again. “When we reached the end of the maze, we hadn't found him, so we headed back here. His car was in the parking lot, so we thought he was still here and we started looking. When we got back here, we heard this tapping coming from the wine vat. It was David, and he told us that someone had knocked him on the back of the head and thrown him in the tank. When he landed, he broke his arm.”

Detective Koren turned to Scott Peters. “Scott, what is your role in this?”

“He's
playing bodyguard,” Detective Coyle said. “That's what I heard.”

“Yes. Jackson contacted me and I took the job of bodyguard to David Farmer starting Thursday morning.”

“You didn't do such a great job, did you, Peters?” Detective Koren said. “We expect more of our former cops.”

Scott shrugged. “I did what I could. Things happen. Farmer took off without my knowledge.”

“That may be true,” Jackson said. “But I'll be recommending to David that he let you go. I'll find him someone else.”

“So be it,” Scott said, stoic.

“Do you have anything to add to what Mr. Spade had to say?”

Scott shook his head. “No. I must have been right behind them in the maze, and I also walked back through the field to Pure. I spotted David's car and began looking for him and ran into Simon outside the barn as he was getting a ladder to help David get out of the vat they found him in. That's all I know.”

“Okay, you can go,” Detective Koren said. “But stay local, for now.”

“Right.” Scott turned to Jackson. “Sorry it didn't work out.”

“Me, too.”

“A few more questions, and you two can go as well.” Detective Koren made a show of flipping through his notebook as if he was looking for something. But he landed on this: “Was Lily Bryan here tonight?”

I looked at Jackson. “Yes, briefly. But then she went home.”

“At what time?”

“I think she got here about nine twenty and left a few minutes later.”

“Why didn't she stay longer?”

“I didn't think it was a good idea for her to be here, so I suggested she go home, and she did.”

“I walked her to her car and watched her leave,” Jackson said.

“Keep going.”

“I headed for the entrance and saw David in front of Pure. He was smoking a cigarette and talking to someone on the phone. We didn't talk, though. I just waved to him and came back here. Willow and I were waiting for Simon when he ran in and was in a panic. He told us that David had disappeared.”

“How long was it between the time you saw David in front, and when Simon ran in?”

“Probably ten minutes or so.”

“Why didn't you go to the car with Mr. Spade and Ms. Bryan, Ms. McQuade?”

“Simon and I were talking, and then he needed to catch someone before they left. So I waited for him, and for Jackson to return, so we could both say good-night to Simon and thank him for the evening,” I said. “He is a good friend to both of us.”

“We're very interested in your other friend, Lily,” Detective Koren said.

“Yes, we know that,” I said.

“I shouldn't say this, but as you may have realized, she is looking very good for Amy's death.”

“Just because she was here and made the appetizer isn't enough reason to charge her,” I said.

“David had also just dumped her,” Detective Coyle said. “That's as good a motive as you can get.”

“So you're not even looking at anyone else?”

“Okay, I'll humor you, Ms. McQuade,” Detective Koren said. “What exactly are we missing?”

“David's brother and father have a very contentious relationship with David. They blame him for leaving the business, and for the foreclosure proceedings on their property. And Carla Olsen, the owner of Sisterhood Wines, was also in a relationship with David, and he just broke it off with her. Maybe she put him in the vat.”

“A woman couldn't do that, not all by herself,” Detective Coyle said.

“But it's safe to assume that you think Lily put him there,” Jackson said. “What's the difference?”

Detective Koren scribbled something in his notebook. “Who else?”

“There is a lot of bad blood in the winemaking community,” I said. “Camille and Carter Crocker are second in line to win the
Wine Lovers
magazine contest, and their business is in big trouble. Recently, they lost their winemaker and are trying to hire Gerald Parker, Pure's assistant winemaker. I think it's safe to assume that they are hoping he will bring some of Pure's magic to Crocker Cellars.

“But in the past, they did try to hire David. He said no and went on to create Falling Leaves, the top contender for the prize. It's reasonable to think that Camille and Carter might want to get rid of the competition. Money is a terrific motive to knock someone off. You know that.”

“Yes, we know that, Ms. McQuade,” Detective Koren said. “Anyone else?”

“I think that Gerald Parker also has a good reason to want David dead,” I said. “He was pushed out of the way by David when Simon bought this place. Since Amy's death, he's been actively looking for work elsewhere.

“And finally, there is Ivy Lord. It's obvious that her marriage to David is troubled. We have confirmed rumors that both of them are having affairs, not just David.” I left out the part about Ramsey Black because I didn't want it to affect the
Wine Lovers
magazine judging.

Detective Koren put the pad away. “It sounds like despite my warning, you've gone ahead and become very involved in our case.”

“It was difficult not to,” I said. “Lily is my employee and my friend and so is her uncle, Wallace, and Simon and I are friends as well. I also like David, and he's had a bad go of it lately.”

“You should have stopped her, Spade,” Detective Koren said.

“Not possible.” Jackson smiled at me. “I'm proud of her.”

“Isn't that sweet?” Detective Coyle said.

“You're a real head case,” Jackson said. “Don't ever change.”

“Ignore him,” I said.

“Despite your efforts, Ms. McQuade, and Mr. Spade, we are close to coming to a resolution to this case,” Detective Koren said. “I'm afraid your friend Lily Bryan is going to face charges.”

•  •  •

Detective Koren released us a
few minutes later. “I can't wait to get home,” Jackson said as we got into his truck.

I took his hand. “Sorry we didn't make the jazz concert, honey.”

He smiled at me. “And miss all of this?” He patted the seat next to him. “Come to me.” I scooted over, and we drove to his house, snuggled together.

Qigong, Columbo, Rockford, and Zeke went nuts when we got to his house, barking, running around, wagging their tails, looking for treats. Ordinarily, we didn't leave them alone for more than four hours, max, but this had been a long night. They did have full run of the house, although they usually all got up on the living room couch by the doggie steps and went to sleep in front of the TV, which we left on for a little noise, until we returned.

After we gave them each a few treats, we took them outside into the fenced-in yard to run around. While they did that, Jackson did his nightly check on all his rescues to make sure they all were okay, especially the new arrivals and the ones that had been ill. One of the volunteers had done a walk-through at nine o'clock. Jackson had also installed in the kitchen an alarm, motion sensors, and an intercom to the barn.

Once he was satisfied all was well, and after our dogs had sniffed to their hearts' content and done their business, we went back inside, and Jackson made a fire in the bedroom's fireplace and drew the blinds.

While he did that, I took a hot shower and changed
into my flannel pj's, went into the kitchen, and put an organic gluten-free pizza with a flaxseed crust in the oven. It wasn't vegetarian or vegan, but I wasn't perfect. While it baked, I whipped up green salads with balsamic-vinegar dressing. We'd eaten early, and both of us were ravenous.

Since my muscles still felt sore, I reached into the cabinet over the stove and pulled out a bottle of homeopathic arnica. Interestingly, research has shown that it's the helenalin, an active compound in arnica, that curbs the inflammation that comes when you're injured or overdo it, by stopping the release of NF-
K
B, an immune system regulator.

I took five tablets of 6X strength—the lower the number, the stronger it is—and would repeat that four times over the next twenty-four hours. I also had arnica cream, which I'd rub on my legs three to five times a day.

That taken care of, I checked the pizza, which was halfway done. While I waited, I washed up a few dishes in Seventh Generation dish soap and straightened up the counter. We spent more than half our time here, but also had hectic lives, so it was important to stay on top of household tasks.

The pizza still needed a few more minutes, so I watered all my plants on and near the windowsill that overlooked the front yard and received the morning sun and exposure from grow lights. I'd planted all the usual herbs in small pots, including basil, chives, cilantro, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme, for salads and cooking. Most of these had
naturally powerful antioxidants in them. But I'd also added my favorite edibles, including a dwarf avocado tree, whose fruits were full of vitamins A, E, and B
⁶
and carotenoids; a dwarf mandarin orange tree with fruits with antioxidants, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and fiber; and a dwarf lemon tree with fruits chock-full of vitamin C.

In addition, I'd planted superfood garlic greens that I used such as scallions, carrots with vitamins B
⁶
, A, C, and K, and antioxidant-rich mushrooms and tomatoes, not to mention microgreens that are a great source of vitamins A, C, K, and folate. Having fresh herbs and fruits and veggies at hand made whipping up a healthy meal super-easy.

By then, the pizza was done, and I put it, two plates, two microgreen salads with lemon-dill dressing, two Honest peach iced teas, and napkins on a tray and carried it into the bedroom. Jackson toweled himself off from his shower and got in a T-shirt and sweatpants, and both of us climbed on the bed. I put the tray between us, and the dogs settled down at the foot of the bed to go to sleep.

“What do you want to watch?” Jackson said, picking up the remote.

“Something light and funny. I need to wipe away the memories of that gruesome Halloween maze.” I put a piece of pizza on one of the plates and handed it to him.