Of Merlot & Murder (A Tangled Vines Mystery) by Joni Folger

Author:Joni Folger [Folger, Joni]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery, cozy, mystery novel, vintner, vineyard, mystery fiction, of merlo and murder, of merlot and murder, of merlo & murder, winemaking, wine
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2014-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

thirteen

“Grace?” C.C. stepped forward with a confused look on her face. “No. That can’t be. There must be some mistake, Jackson. I just saw her, talked to her a couple hours ago. Tell him, Elise. I had lunch with her, for God’s sake.”

C.C.’s voice was growing more and more frantic by the second, and Jackson could clearly read the disbelief in her eyes. He glanced at Elise and then turned back to C.C. with a sympathetic look. “I’m so sorry, C.C. I know she was a friend, but there’s no mistake,” he said gently. “It’s definitely Grace Vanderhouse.”

“Noooo!” C.C. wailed.

He had to practically body-check her to keep her from racing after the EMTs. This was the hardest part of his job—breaking the most terrible news to friends and loved ones and then having to watch the impact.

He held onto C.C. in a virtual bear hug as she struggled to free herself and tears began to stream down her cheeks. When she finally stopped fighting him, he held her close while she clung to him, sobbing against his shoulder. Looking over her head, his gaze connected with Elise’s and he read the heartbreak in her eyes. She pressed her fingers to her trembling lips as she struggled to hold back her own tears.

“Darlin’, I’m so sorry,” he murmured again next to C.C.’s ear. “I’m going to find the bastard who did this. I promise.”

Madison and Ross walked up at that moment, and both wore concerned looks.

“What’s going on?” Ross asked when he saw C.C. crying on Jackson’s shoulder. “Good Lord, what’s happened now?”

“Grace Vanderhouse was killed,” Elise told them in a quiet voice filled with sorrow.

“What?” Madison turned to Jackson, and her shock was clear. “When? How?”

“We haven’t gotten many details yet,” he said before shaking his head. “It looks like she was strangled in the women’s restroom, but we’ll have to wait for confirmation. Doc Nagle came in with the ambulance and estimates time of death to be within the last couple of hours, three at the outside. Couldn’t have been more than that, since C.C. had lunch with her. But again, we’ll have to take statements, put together a timeline.”

“What the hell is going on around here, Jax?” Ross asked in anger. “This is crazy. First Divia Larson and now Grace? This is a small community. How does something like this happen in a venue crowded with people? And in broad daylight?”

“I don’t know. These are public restrooms, but they’re fairly secluded back here behind the restaurant booths.” Jackson handed his handkerchief to C.C. to wipe her eyes. “Regardless, someone had to have seen or heard something. We’ll follow the evidence from there, see where it takes us.”

“Jax, do you think this could have been some sort of coincidence?” Elise asked. “I mean, it just seems odd that Divia and Grace were so closely related in the past, and both have died violently within days of each other.”

“I don’t know that either, and although I’m not going to speculate, you know how I feel about coincidences.

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