Chapter 6
Nikki called Isabel
several times on Sunday, leaving messages on her machine. She was
very worried about her friend. Late Sunday night Isabel returned
Nikki’s call and explained to her that she’d gone for a long hike
in Skyline Wilderness Park, needing the fresh air.
“I would’ve gone with
you,” Nikki told her.
“I am sorry. I needed
to give myself time alone. I wanted to think. Andrés does not
understand why I am as saddened as I feel with concern to the
wedding and the death of Susan. You have to promise to me, Nikki,
that you will not tell my brother that Kristof and I had a
relationship.”
Nikki bit her lip and
sat down at her kitchen table, looking outside her window at the
hills of grapevines now beginning to flourish with the first hint
of sugared bulbs, soon ready to turn from fruit into wine. “I think
you should tell him. He loves you and he’s your brother. He’s not
stupid, Isabel. I think he’ll figure this all out eventually. You
two had to have been spotted by someone around town and the rumors
will spread.”
“I do not feel that
way. I told you that Kristof told me stories to keep everything in
regard to us quiet. He said that it was important for us to grow
our relationship in that way and keep it from the eyes of the town
gossips.”
Nikki rolled her
eyes. “You were a sucker, my friend.”
“I do know
this.”
They chatted for a
few more minutes and Nikki finally got off the phone, feeling
better about Isabel’s mental state. A hike through the wine country
air could do wonders for a person.
Nikki woke up Monday
morning and found herself swamped in work. The week before she’d
gotten behind, what with her daydreaming over what was supposed to
be the perfect not-real date on Saturday. Oddly enough, she really
didn’t have any complaints, except the part about finding Susan’s
body. That had put a damper on things. With Derek out of the
office, she not only had to make her calls for the day, she also
had to clear his agenda and follow through with a few extra items
he’d laid across her desk. Around four o’clock a handful of bigwigs
from San Francisco were scheduled for a visit to the winery. They
were considering carrying Malveaux wines in their restaurants.
Derek usually liked to deal with the rich and pompous; he had a
good way with people and knew how to handle them. Today, however,
Nikki had to play the game.
She put together a
cheese and appetizer tray to complement the wines she planned on
having the group taste.
Of course, they
arrived fifteen minutes late and the leader of the group,
David-pronounced-“Daveed” Kistler, Nikki immediately mentally
dubbed him Kiss Ass. On Daveed’s arm was a slinky, blond
Playboy-looking model, who walked in
asking to buy a set of crystal goblets she’d spotted in the gift
shop as they came in. Daveed’s immediate response, “Of course, baby
girl, whatever you want.”
“Nice to meet you.
I’m Nikki Sands.” Daveed took her hand and shook limply like she
might break if actually given a real handshake. God, how she hated
that.
The model nodded.
“I’m Angel. Just Angel.”
Daveed let out a
stupid sounding laugh. “Isn’t she adorable? I love a woman with one
name. Angel. Wow—it’s so fitting.”
Was there a barf bag
around anywhere? Nikki went behind the counter provided for private
tastings. Angel giggled like a little six-year-old girl. How was
Nikki going to get through this tasting without either vomiting or
cracking up? There was only one answer. Drink with them, because
apparently they had already been having some fun throughout the
wine country.
As she started to
pour, another man came in. “Sorry I’m late,” the man said. “I’m
Daveed’s partner, Roman Pangilini,” he said.
Nikki was soon
pleased that Roman had joined the group, because while Daveed was
playing showman to his playmate, Roman was the only one really
absorbed and interested in Nikki’s wine display and
tasting.
After several tastes,
talk turned to the events over the weekend. “Did you know the bride
who died out at the Waltman Castle over the weekend? Someone at one
of the other wineries was telling us about it.” Roman took a sip of
the red wine Nikki was now pouring.
“I’d met
her.”
“Me, too, briefly, in
the city when I was working the deal to buy out the
chain.”
This sparked Nikki’s
interest. “Really? How?”
“I was only
introduced to her while I met with Antoine Ferrino about buying out
his restaurants. He was married to her friend Martha or Megan. God,
what was her name? You know, she kind of made it big for awhile in
the Victoria’s Secret catalogue and then one day you just didn’t
see her anymore.”
“Pamela?”
“That’s it. Pamela.”
Roman snapped his fingers.
“Pamela Leiland was
married to Antoine Ferrino?” Nikki hadn’t known that tidbit.
Antoine Ferrino had started a chain of gourmet Italian restaurants.
There were a handful sprinkled across the country in cosmopolitan
cities.
“Oh, yeah. Part of
the reason he wanted to sell was because they wanted kids and since
Antoine wasn’t exactly a young guy, he and Pamela wanted to get
moving on it. He figured he hadn’t been around to see his other
kids grow up, because he’d been so busy starting his restaurants,
so if Pamela was going to get pregnant, he wanted to have a second
chance to do it right. I met her and the bride, Susan, I think it
was, over dinner at the restaurant one night.”
“That didn’t happen.
The pregnancy thing,” Daveed interrupted. Angel had spread herself
out in one of the oversize lounge chairs and was more than two
sheets to the wind. “Right after the buyout, the poor guy died of a
heart attack. Pamela was devastated. Weird, but I think she really
loved him. It was like ‘Beauty and the Beast’—but an old beast and
a young beauty.”
Nikki turned around
to grab another bottle of wine to open. And, hmmm? You are
considered what, now? She faced back around with a smile on her
face. “That’s horrible.” She was wondering if Daveed didn’t realize
that he appeared to be in the same class as Antoine Ferrino, or at
least almost. Daveed had to be in his midfifties. Angel not over
twenty-five. From what Nikki had seen of Pamela, though, she was
fairly bright. Nikki knew that Angel couldn’t even hold a candle to
Ollie the dog in the brains department.
“Pamela made out
okay, money wise. There wasn’t as much there as anyone thought. We
bought him out at a good price, but Antoine was a bit of a gambler
and not just with horses and poker. He’d made some bad investments
in the stock market and lost. What he had left, his kids and Pamela
divided. It was too bad, about a couple a mil is what I
heard.”
“A couple million,
that’s it?” Angel sat up.
Even drunk the word
million meant something to the wannabe
starlet. She sounded mortified. Then she laughed. “That would only
be enough for a year’s worth of shopping. A real woman couldn’t
live off of that for long.”
Daveed joined her
laughter and went to her side. Couldn’t this sucker see how he was
being played? Probably. The sad thing was he more than likely
didn’t care. The scene was almost pitiful. How empty the two of
them had to be. And was it likely that Pamela Leiland wasn’t
exactly like them? Nikki got the feeling Susan had been like them,
only she’d gotten lucky with Kristof—not only was he filthy rich,
but young and handsome. Well, she hadn’t been that lucky because
she wasn’t around to reap the rewards.
After Nikki made a
huge sell to the May-December couple and their sidekick and said
her goodbyes, she headed back to her cottage and drank a tablespoon
of Pepto Bismol to ease the nausea they’d caused. But it had been a
worthwhile visit, both financially and mentally
stimulating.
Just as she sat down
on her couch, threw her legs up on the coffee table and picked up
the latest Jennifer Crusie novel, the phone rang. She let it go to
the answering machine, until she heard Andrés’ voice come
across.
“Nikki? You
there?”
She grabbed the
phone. “Hi. What’s up? You sound a bit off?”
“It’s Isabel. She’s
been arrested for the murder of Susan Jennings.”