Aged for Mayhem by Fiona Grace

Author:Fiona Grace [Grace, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fiona Grace
Published: 2020-09-25T00:00:00+00:00

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Vino Sul Mare winery did indeed overlook the sea. The stately buildings had a clear view of the waters which, that morning, were gray and restless looking. Olivia loved a moody sea. She could have watched the crashing waves all morning, but she had an important mission to fulfill and could waste no time.

Olivia parked outside the tasting room. The doors were closed, but as she watched, a tall, gangly young man who looked about fourteen years old swung them open. He gave her a friendly smile.

“Good morning,” she greeted the young assistant. “Are you open for sales yet?”

“We are,” he nodded. “My mother is inside, preparing the tasting room. Please come in.”

When Olivia walked in, she was surprised to recognize the attractive, dark-haired woman who was setting out glasses behind the counter. She’d definitely seen her at La Leggenda before. Had she visited Nadia? Olivia thought she might have. And the sommelier clearly recognized her, too. She regarded her with a puzzled yet welcoming frown.

“I’m from La Leggenda,” Olivia said.

“Of course!” The woman beamed. “Now I remember you. I am Venetia, and know your winery well. Nadia is one of my best friends. We play briscola together on the first Sunday of every month.”

“Oh, really? I’ve seen it being played. Is it difficult?” Olivia asked, remembering what fun the card game seemed to be.

How fascinating that Nadia was a lover of such games, she thought. For some reason Olivia hadn’t pegged her as a patient enough personality to strategize her way through a game. Briscola, she recalled, was similar to bezique.

“It’s easy to learn, but difficult to master and become truly skillful. However, it is a lot of fun. We use the traditional forty-card deck. One of the most exciting parts of the game is signaling—in most of the rounds you are allowed to signal to your partner what cards you hold. It can be a challenge to do that and not be caught out.”

Olivia thought it sounded the perfect game to play with friends, whether old or new. Perhaps one rainy winter afternoon, she could ask Nadia to teach her and Jean-Pierre the basics of the game.

She dragged her attention back to the problem at hand. Her job, now, was to see if Venetia would answer her questions openly, or appear to be holding back. Olivia hoped Venetia’s expertise in briscola wouldn’t give her too much of an advantage.

“I came to buy a bottle of your Sangiovese,” she said. “I’m going to give a gift to a friend.”

As she spoke, Danilo’s dark-eyed, smiling face came into her mind. Her story didn’t have to be fiction. She could give this wine to Danilo as a thank-you for all his help and support. In fact, she wondered if Danilo would be free that evening. Perhaps she could invite him around for a drink, to discuss the investigation.

Sleuthing, Olivia realized, was lonely work. Detective Caputi had an entire team to support her. Olivia only had Erba who, though multitalented and endlessly entertaining, was not the ideal partner to bounce ideas off.

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