A Killer Margarita (Nikki Sands'/Wine Lover's Mystery Series) Read online

  “Uh oh,” she gasped.

  “Fuck you,” Villa Man said as he struggled to get back up. Derek rolled his eyes and shook his head.

  Tattoo Timmy held a hand out to his friend. “Hey man, let’s just get out of here.” He then looked at Derek. “He didn’t mean no offense.”

  “Well, too bad, I take offense when some jackass starts making crude remarks about my wife,” Derek replied. “Drunk or not, that’s no excuse. And, I do believe that he was politely asked to leave by…” Derek gestured toward the guitar player.

  “Guillermo.” The young man stepped forward. “Thank you. As I told you before, señor, it is time for you to leave.”

  “Yeah, whatever the fuck. This place was a waste. Totally sucked. And both of you can have your uptight pieces of ass. Look at your broads. Think they could use some schooling by a real man.” Villa Man stood and stumbled his way out, making sure he bumped into Derek as he did so. Derek kept his cool, but Nikki did notice his palms balling up into fists. She also saw that Susannah was holding Guillermo back and speaking softly to him in Spanish.

  Derek turned to Juanita. “My apologies. I should have asked that clown to leave much sooner. And I will pay for any damages here.”

  “No, no. It is not your fault. I needed to do so, but we could use the money,” Juanita said. “I owe many bills right now.”

  “I am so sorry,” Nikki replied. She wanted to ask Derek what had happened, but couldn’t ignore what this sweet lady just said. She and her daughter represented the familial bonds that were such a large part of the Mexican culture. Nikki hated seeing them upset by obnoxious jerks like Villa Man.

  “Yeah, and Mama, pinche gringo didn’t even pay us,” Susannah said.

  “Don’t talk like that,” she told her daughter.

  “I’m sorry.” The young woman’s eyes looked down. Guillermo wrapped an arm around her and whispered in her ear. She nodded and again apologized.

  “I’ll cover their dinner,” Derek said. “And here, this should cover the damage.” He opened his wallet and handed her several $100 bills. “Can we help you clean up?”

  “Oh no. I can’t ask you to do that. If anything I should take care of you for having to listen to them all night long.”

  “No. It’s fine. The food was excellent. The atmosphere here without them was great. We all enjoyed ourselves. And, I should have kept my cool.” He pulled Nikki in tightly. “Right?”

  “The dinner was fantastic,” Nikki said. “Definitely fantastic.”

  “It won’t take long to clean up. I can do that for them. Only some broken glass,” Guillermo said.

  Nikki glanced around the restaurant. Patrons were trying to return to their meals. But she noticed that some of the groups were getting up to leave. “Please excuse me. I need to give some customers their checks,” Susannah said.

  “Of course.”

  Nikki noticed three people in the corner. Something about them just looked…well, out of place. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but in a weird way she thought they seemed dangerous.

  There were two men and a woman. They were all late twenty-somethings, or early thirty-somethings, all of them attractive. One of the men was golden in the way that her Derek was. The other man had a kind of artistic look about him. Wavy dark hair that curled down around his ears, dark eyes that Nikki was sure took note of everything—including her at that moment, which made her turn away. Then, the woman: petite and lithe, but she looked like she could kick some serious ass. Nikki got that from the penetrating look in her eyes. She seemed to be feigning amusement at whatever the men were saying to her, but to Nikki, the woman looked intense, or possibly just really pissed off.

  “I can’t take your offer,” Juanita repeated, bringing Nikki back to the moment.

  “We insist, and we will be back,” Derek said. “And, I am very sorry.”

  Juanita sighed. “Thank you so much.”

  Guillermo shook Derek’s hand and nodded toward Nikki. “Thank you for your help.”

  They said good night and Derek took Nikki’s hand. She looked back, seeing that the table of three had already left. She glanced up at her husband. “I kind of missed what happened there because I was trying to help Villa Man’s girlfriend out.”

  “Villa Man?”

  Nikki explained her afternoon by the pool with Simon. Derek laughed. “Ah. I have another name for the guy and it starts with a capitol A.”

  “I would agree.”

  “I guess he was being rude to Susannah, saying inappropriate things all evening. Then he grabbed her butt and she flipped out.”

  “Rightfully so,” Nikki replied. “But you beat him up. What did he say about me?”

  “It doesn’t matter what he said. The fact is that he shouldn’t have said it.”

  Nikki thought about pressing him for the details, but after a few seconds thought better of it. She’d witnessed the way Villa Man behaved. She knew he was a jerk of the jerkiest kind, and in all honesty, she kind of liked that her winemaker husband had gone completely chivalrous on her. Not that he wasn’t always like that, but this next level was sort of cool. It was just a real good thing that the federales or local police hadn’t arrived.

  She sighed. “I hope the girlfriend is okay. I think she got into someone else’s car. I have to wonder what they argued about. I mean, they seemed to be living it up all night and then…bam.”

  “Who knows, honey? Who cares? They are out of our hair now and we don’t ever have to think about them again. But I know something we do need to think about.”

  “Really? What might that be?” she asked coyly.

  “You know we skipped dessert back there.”

  “Yep. We agreed to have it at the hotel.”

  “That’s right. I almost forgot in all of that chaos.” He laughed. “What do you think we should have at the hotel?”

  “Hmmm. Let me think. Well, I did say that I was kind of stuffed, but you know, I might still be a little thirsty.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. And you know that saying about what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?”

  “But we’re not in Vegas,” he said.

  “Ah but we are in Mexico. “Que hace en Mexico, es en Mexico. Or something like that. I think that’s loosely translated as what happens in Mexico stays in Mexico.”

  “Very loosely. But so far, this sounds good. What did you have in mind?”

  “Now, I never did this back in the day,” she said.

  “Did what?”

  “But I did see a few friends do it and I just never found anyone I wanted to let do it to me.”

  “You’re making me a little insane here, Nik.”

  She laughed. “You ever watch that show Girls Gone Wild? He didn’t answer. “Oh come on, everyone’s watched it just for the jaw drop factor. Even I’ve seen it when I couldn’t sleep at two a.m. flipping through the channels.”

  “Okay, yes. I’ve seen it.”

  “Oh?”

  “Am I getting in trouble here?”

  “Yeah, a lot of trouble. Because I am going to be your girl gone wild. Now let’s get a bottle of tequila, some limes, and we’ll pretend we’re twenty-one and it’s time we get a little wet and wild.”

  He shook his head, a slow grin spreading across his face that she could see in the moonlight. “Man, am I grateful I married you. You come up with some of the best ideas. Come on Girl Gone Wild. I’ve got some ideas of my own.”

  Grilled Lobster with Mojo Sauce

  Nikki and the family just had one amazing dinner. Garlic mojo is simply one of the best sauces to go over seafood. It is also great on poultry. It’s too bad that the night ended in a brawl with the hoodlums across from them, but pretty sure that Nikki and Derek won’t let that get to them!

  This recipe is sure to delight guests and it makes a special New Year’s dinner for four.

  Serves 4

  INGREDIENTS:

  1/3 cup olive oil

  1/4 cup of butter


  12 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

  1 cup chicken broth

  A large pinch of salt

  1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper plus more for seasoning the fish

  1 (or more) canned chipotle chilis en adobo, seeded and thinly sliced

  4 5- to 6-ounce lobster tails (if frozen, defrost them in the refrigerator overnight)

  1/2 cup chopped cilantro

  1 large lime, cut into wedges

  Directions:

  Light a gas grill, setting the temperature at medium-high; or light a charcoal fire, letting the coals burn until they're covered with white ash but still very hot.

  While the grill is heating, prepare the mojo. In a small skillet or saucepan, warm the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft, and lightly brown. This takes about 3 minutes. Pour the garlic and oil/butter mixture into a food processor or blender jar, add the broth, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Blend until smooth, then pour about a quarter of the mixture into a small bowl; pour the remaining mixture back into the skillet or saucepan and stir in the chipotle chili; keep warm over very low heat.

  With a large, heavy knife, cut the lobster tails in half lengthwise. Using the smaller amount of garlic mixture, brush a generous amount over the flesh side of each lobster tail half. Sprinkle with salt. Lay flesh side down on the hot grill. After about 2 minutes, when the lobster has browned a little, flip them over and cook shell side down until the meat is done, usually 3 to 4 minutes longer.

  Remove the meat from the shell.

  Plate the lobster and spoon the warm mojo over the top. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro. Garnish each plate with a lime wedge.

  Chapter Four

  The next morning, a sated Nikki Sands Malveaux kissed her husband on the cheek and quietly slid out of bed.

  Derek groggily muttered, “Where are you going, baby?”

  “Morning run. I can’t sleep.”

  He patted her side of the bed. “I can help put you back to sleep. It is a vacation, you know.”

  She stroked the top of his head, his golden waves of hair mussed up the way she liked. “Tell you what, I’ll go for my run on the beach, you get a little more rest and when I get back, we can pick up where we left off last night. Only, how about in the shower?”

  He closed his eyes. “Mhhm…shower. Perfect. I like it. Be careful. We’re in a foreign country and you don’t have Ollie with you.”

  “I know. I miss him.”

  “Me too, but he’s in good hands.”

  Nikki knew that was true. Ollie and the vineyard, along with Violet, had been left in the care of Alyssa and Jonah.

  She got dressed and left her happy husband dreaming about more vacationing.

  The morning air felt good: crisp and clean, with the promise of warmth to come later on in the morning. It was early enough that only a few guests and employees were out on the grounds of the hotel. Nikki jogged down to the beach. She ran daily in Napa and loved the scenery of rust-colored earth and intertwined vine stalks that spread out into a shimmering green and violet landscape. Those stalks sprouted grapes eventually to be harvested and turned into wine. But the change of scenery was refreshing and just as lovely in its own way as the view back home.

  With a slight gray cloud cover settled above the coastline, the water reflecting from the splash of rays coming through produced a monochromatic image against the cream-colored sand. The air smelled of salt and a hint of jasmine wafting down from the nearby jungle.

  Nikki kicked off her tennis shoes and placed them behind a large rock. She wanted to feel the sand between her toes. God, she felt good. She hadn’t been this relaxed in ages. She was beginning to realize how the day-to-day stresses of life could weigh her down. However, she knew that her major stressor was the fact that she hadn’t been able to conceive. That one truly weighed her down. She didn’t discuss it with anyone, because for some strange reason the fact alone made her feel as if she were a failure in some way. She knew that was ridiculous but she couldn’t help it. What kind of woman couldn’t get pregnant? That was such a crazy, stupid question. There were women all over the world going through the same thing, and she knew it—toiled with it, tried to reason with all of it. But while living it, she felt like she was on an isolated island that left her and only her—barren. It certainly wasn’t due to lack of trying. They’d made love three or four times alone just last night. Maybe by relaxing more, the fertility gods would smile down on her. Nikki couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that thought. At least she could still laugh at herself.

  She headed down the coastline toward Juanita’s restaurant. The poor woman. Maybe she’d be around and Nikki could give her a little support. She seemed to need it. As she headed north, a slight breeze kicked up off the ocean. A swag of palm trees set against the mountains swayed as the sky darkened just slightly. The sun would peer through eventually; Nikki knew that. It was, after all, the tropics, and there seemed to be a little daily rainfall since they’d arrived. A warm raindrop landed on her nose, then one on her cheek and another on her toes. She picked up her pace, still heading toward Juanita’s. A loud rumble of thunder echoed off the mountain range and in the distance a flash of lightning bolted through the sky. Rain began to pour down, as if the sky had opened up. Nikki laughed. The water felt good and she found herself at the edge of the ocean, arms spread out, face turned skyward as the rain came down on her—a feeling of being cleansed ran through her and she twirled around as a child would, dancing beneath Mother Nature’s tears.

  The waves on the ocean picked up as whitecaps came in at a faster pace than only moments before. Up to her calves in water, she took another turn to spin around, then nearly tripped as her foot bumped into something hard, startling her. She took several steps backward, clambering out of the water quickly. The rain began to lighten, but the skies remained dark as Nikki took a closer look at what she’d nearly fallen over. She gasped and shook her head. Blinking her eyes several times, the word “No” escaped from between her lips. “Oh my God. No. no!” She stumbled backwards and turned to run back to the hotel. Her perfect morning had turned into a storm of a nightmare as the rain, sand, ocean and jungle blurred into a pall of grey.

  Nikki Sands Malveaux had nearly fallen over the dead body—throat slit, eyes bugged out, face beginning to bloat—of Villa Man’s girlfriend, Dream.

  Chapter Five

  An hour later a crowd had gathered down on the beach. Police had arrived and the body of the young woman had been covered up. Although word spread quickly through the hotel, Villa Man was nowhere to be found.

  Tattoo Timmy and his lady were at the shoreline amid the group of lookie-loos, and Nikki paid close attention to their reactions, wondering what happened last night after the fiasco at Juanita’s restaurant. The girl appeared truly upset by the murder, but Timmy was difficult to read.

  Nikki knew the police would be questioning her soon. She wasn’t sure how investigations were run down here, but she figured that at the very least she’d be in the line of fire.

  After all, she was the one who found the body, and there were also a number of people who could place her and her family at the same restaurant the night before-the same restaurant where her husband had gotten into a brawl with Villa Man. It was going to be an interesting morning.

  Nikki felt the answer to be pretty obvious regarding who the killer was—the man that the girl had argued with the night before, the one who wasn’t down on the beach watching the spectacle of the body being covered up and hauled away—Villa Man. The whole thing snaked a shiver all across her nerve endings.

  Nikki tried to inch her way closer to Tattoo Timmy and his gal pal. They were whispering something to each other. If only she could hear what they were saying… Then, she spotted her fair-haired man walking toward her and she couldn’t help but feel a bit nauseous. Derek was not going to be happy about any of this.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Well…”r />
  He held up a hand. “Just tell me by nodding. Okay?”

  She nodded.

  “Was there a murder?”

  She nodded.

  “The young woman at the table next to us last night at dinner?”

  She nodded.

  “Okay.” He sighed. “I overheard a description of her from one of the other guests, so I figured. Now tell me, you had nothing to do with finding her body, right?”

  She cringed and shook her head.

  “Right.” He grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

  “Wait. What are you doing?” Nikki asked.

  “We are leaving.”

  “No, we can’t.”

  “Yes we can and we are.”

  “Why? No we can’t. I found that girl. I need to talk to the police.”

  He turned and faced her, grabbing her shoulders. “I don’t know why, but dead people seem to really like you. We can’t even take a vacation without one turning up. I mean, what the hell are the odds?”

  “Yeah. I know what you’re saying. Like a bazillion to one. Sometimes I feel like I’m either in a weekly TV show or written about in a mystery series.”

  “Yeah well...” he shook his head. “Here we are on vacation and you find a dead girl. Normally I would be freaking out and asking if you’re okay. Are you okay?”

  She shrugged.

  “Right. But since this isn’t your first rodeo, I say we pretend that it didn’t happen and go back to our vacation.”

  “Derek! That’s cold. That’s wrong. No.”

  “Honey, listen to me. First off, it is horrible that someone murdered that girl. It really is. It’s awful that you are the one who found her. But here’s the deal: you and I both know that the people she was hanging around with seemed like trouble and we don’t know any of them and we don’t owe any of them anything. The best thing that you can do is pray for that poor girl’s soul and that the police down here find her justice. The system here works very differently than it does at home, and I don’t want you caught up in it.”