“You just made a sale,” I said, holding up the bowls, the bag of pasta, and the jar of sauce.
She laughed again. “Hurray.”
“You’re awfully chipper. How’s it going?”
“It’s going great. Life is good.”
“That’s so nice to hear. Oh, hey. How was your date?”
“It started out great, but then Josh had to cut it short. He got some message about a deadline.”
“That’s too bad. What time did you get home?”
“Around nine o’clock. Maybe nine thirty.”
“Do you know what he was working on?”
Annie gave me a frown. “What is this, twenty questions?”
“Sorry, just wondering. No big deal.”
But Derek had seen Noland Garrity sneaking up to the storage cave around that time, and then he’d been attacked. The timing was about right, if Josh Atherton left Annie and drove to the winery.
I was grasping at straws again. Josh Atherton specialized in antiquities, so he was researching the cave discoveries and maybe even the caves themselves. He seemed like a really smart guy. Would he honestly care enough to get caught stealing a Renoir? And what could possibly connect him to Trudy? I was only suspicious of him because I was protective of Annie, and that wasn’t fair. So I brushed those thoughts away, paid for my pasta, and went to meet China for lunch.
*
On Saturday the winery held its big Pre-Harvest celebration of the fall season. We had made plans to take Trudy with us, but then Elizabeth wanted to go, too. And since Gabriel refused to let Trudy out of his sight, he was in, too. He drove the two ladies, and Derek and I met them all in the parking lot.
I waved at Annie, who had arrived with Josh. They did indeed make a cute couple, and I felt a twinge of guilt for discouraging her about him. When we walked into the tasting room, Robin and Austin were both at work at the bar along with Jackson and Dad. Mom joined us five minutes later, and it was officially a party.
We’d been tasting wine for fifteen minutes, laughing and chitchatting about everything under the sun—but mostly about wine and the attack on Noland Garrity. Robin noted that some of the winery employees were a little nervous about it, but Derek and Gabriel assured her that the attack was an isolated incident and they had nothing to worry about.
It was interesting to watch Jackson with Elizabeth. There was definitely sexual tension ringing between them, although they barely made eye contact. I took a quick trip to the ladies’ room, where Robin cornered me.
“What’s going on between Jackson and Miss Universe?”
I laughed at her title for Elizabeth. It fit the statuesque woman, but she was so much more than a beauty queen. I couldn’t say too much, but I managed to tweak her interest. “Apparently they knew each other in a past life, so there’s some residual smoldering.”
“Smoldering,” she said, nodding slowly. “Good word. Darn, I’ve got to get back, but we need to do lunch.”
“Absolutely. We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”
“Yippee.”
As we walked back into the tasting room, the heavy French doors swung open and a well-dressed couple walked in. I was taken aback as I recognized Monsieur Cloutier and his charming wife, Solange, from Frenchman’s Hill. We’d had lunch at their home with Guru Bob that first day when we went there to tell them about the cave discovery.
Seconds behind them, Henri and his wife, Sophie, entered, followed by Felix, the old man who had the habit of smacking Henri to keep him in line.
“Bonjour,” I said, greeting them all politely since they had been civil with Derek the other day when he went to talk to them.
“Bonjour,” Solange said, and her husband nodded. The others greeted me in a friendly way, and I felt the beginnings of a rapprochement. The thought made me smile.
“Welcome,” Austin said jovially, and set five wineglasses on the bar in front of the visitors. “Your tastings are on the house today, compliments of Robson Benedict.”
“No, no, that is not necessary,” Henri protested.
I walked over to Henri and gave him a big smile. “Please, we insist. You are our honored guests.”
Felix smacked his arm. “Imbécile. When someone offers you free wine, you take it.”
Everyone laughed, including Henri, and I figured this had to be their regular routine.
As I walked back to the bar, Annie stopped me. “Josh and I were just talking about you.”
“Me? What’s up?”
“I think we should all go out some night this week.”
I glanced at Josh, who was biting back a grin. The action only made his dimples more prominent. “It wasn’t my idea,” he said.
I gave him the benefit of the doubt, especially since he seemed to make Annie happy. “Okay, I’ll see what Derek’s schedule looks like and I’ll call you.”
“Super,” Annie said.
I started to walk away, when Josh pulled me aside. Pointing at Trudy, he said, “Is that the woman who was attacked last week?”
I frowned. “Yes.”
“Please don’t think I’m being crass, but do you think she would be willing to talk to me?”