A Vintage Murder Read online

  “Is that possible?” Nikki asked. “Everyone insists it was the snakebite.”

  “Anything is possible. It could be she died from something else, I suppose, although doubtful. But say the snake bit her only an hour ago. Then she could feasibly still be alive and therefore he has to be sure that the bite is indeed the cause of death.”

  “What would it be like, dying from a snakebite?”

  “Not like what you think, unless she realized she’d been bitten, and if that was the case, we would’ve all known about it. I’m sure she would’ve come unglued and screamed like a banshee. But if you’re not aware, a brown snake can bite you and it may only feel as if you brushed up against something. What happens is that a person looks down to see what they’ve brushed against and, lo and behold, it’s a snake. They panic, the poison courses through them and if they don’t get the antivenom, they get very sick over the course of a few hours and die. The victim will ache, go into shock, become dizzy and confused, and nauseous. However, what likely happened here is she slept through it. We had a bit of a rough night after the party. Hannah, Lucy, and one of the crew crashed Grace’s car. They’d all been drinking. Everyone was okay, but we had a time of it. Grace hashed it out with the three of them. I had to calm her down. And now this. With . . . everything else that’s going on.” He looked at Derek, and something in his eyes made Nikki think that he’d said something he hadn’t meant to. Derek appeared to understand what he was talking about.

  Derek patted his shoulder. “If you need anything at all from us, please let me know.”

  Derek took Nikki’s hand. She stood there surveying the scene, with a nagging feeling that, although everyone kept insisting this was an accident, it was anything but. It may be true that the Barossa rarely had murders occur in its quaint valley, but Hollywood definitely had its share, and she had a feeling that Hollywood had come to the Barossa in more ways than one.

  Chapter 7

  Detective Von Doussa and his crew had exited the RV. Nikki now saw him nodding and talking into a cell phone. He flipped it shut and approached them. “My job is finished here for now. I called the pathologist, who said he’s fine with my findings. Warre is calling the funeral director. We’ve bagged her, so once they show up she can be moved.”

  “You say that you’re okay with your findings. What are they?” Nikki asked.

  “She died from the bite of a brown snake. Of course, we took DNA swabs. I mean, DNA is so useful these days, we might as well use the technology. I would like to take DNA from Andy Burrow’s snake just to rule out that it was not his snake.”

  Nikki didn’t say her next thought out loud, but if he planned to talk with Andy to be certain that it wasn’t his snake, then he was not ruling out the possibility that Andy or someone could have planted it there. This was going to be interesting. And where was Andy anyway? He’d sure been gone a long time.

  “What if his snake isn’t in the terrarium, as he insists?” Nikki asked.

  “Yes, well, I suppose I’ll attend to that if that’s the case. I will have to ask how the snake did get out.” He nodded.

  Nikki faced Von Doussa. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Surely.”

  “Even if death by a snakebite isn’t super uncommon, how would the snake get into the RV?”

  “Oh, they are wily creatures. And we will be looking into that further.”

  Derek shot Nikki another one of his looks. “I told you. There’s a reasonable explanation.”

  “But was Lucy in bed? I mean, do you think the snake bit her while she was asleep?”

  The detective pondered her question. “Well, I would say that would be likely, as her head was resting on the pillow and the covers were pulled up. Yes, she was in bed.”

  Nikki nodded. “Isn’t it peculiar? I mean, Lucy was asleep in her bed, the snake somehow got into a locked RV, made its way into her bed, bit her, and there you have it.”

  No one said anything for a moment. The detective finally chuckled. “Yes, that is what I would say. If I had to guess, I think the snake somehow got inside the RV when the door was open. Once inside, he probably fell asleep. The girl came in, went to bed. Maybe he’d gone to sleep in her bed. He sensed some warm blood and took a bite out of her and . . . there you have it. I understand your aunt being a detective might make the way we conduct our investigations of interest to you, but are you sure there’s nothing more to it, Miss Sands?”

  Derek started to say something, but she cut him off. “I think it’s kind of strange is all. I have to wonder if someone didn’t plant that snake in Lucy’s bed with the intent of the snake biting her, killing her, and having it look the way you theorized, that it was all an accident.”

  Von Doussa appeared to be amused. He then clapped his hand on Derek’s shoulder and pointed at her. “You’ve got yourself a sheila with some spunk now, don’t you?” He laughed and shook his head. “Miss, do you know something that I don’t? Because this is good stuff.”

  “She’s a regular sleuth,” Derek grumbled, squeezing her hand with the obvious intention to get her to shut up.

  Fat chance. Nikki had gut instincts and no matter what the detective thought, this whole thing stank big-time.

  Before she had a chance to continue her inquisition, Andy Burrow finally appeared. He looked distraught, his eyes bulging, his face ashen. “It was my snake. He’s gone. I’ve been searching the property, looking all over for him and he’s gone. And, I tell you, I would bet my life and soul on it that I locked all the terrariums and cages last night. I’m conscientious about that. In fact, you can ask Hannah.”

  Liam looked at Andy. “My daughter?”

  Andy nodded. “Yes, your daughter. It’s nothing sinister. She was upset after last night and she’d mentioned to me that she wanted to study zoology at the university. I asked if she’d like to come down and help me make sure the animals were safe for the night. She’ll tell you that they were all there, locked up.”

  Detective Von Doussa eyed Andy. A wave of discomfort overtook the group. It did seem kind of strange that Hannah would go out to check on Andy’s creatures before going to bed, especially considering the circumstances of the evening, but Andy came across as a decent guy. He was well known and respected in his field. Derek idolized him.

  “What time was that?” Von Doussa asked.

  “Late, about midnight. I always make a late-night check and ran into Hannah out on a walk.”

  Von Doussa jotted all of this information down on a notepad.

  “Not only that,” Andy continued, “but there’s a problem with my suit. The one I wear when I handle the snakes and crocs is on a different peg than usual. You know the suits I’m talking about.” He nodded his head at Derek. “They were switched. I’m very specific on where things go, and that suit I let you wear yesterday is the one I let others wear. They were switched. I know it.”

  “Did you have anything to drink last night?” Von Doussa asked.

  “Sure. I had some wine.”

  “Maybe after a glass of wine or two you thought you put the suit in one place and then set it somewhere else,” Liam said.

  “No. I have routines that I follow. And I am sure it was moved.”

  The detective raised his eyebrows and glanced at Nikki, then back at Andy. “If this is true, we need to bag that suit,” he said to the cop standing near Andy.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Well, I’d say that it is possible your spunky little lady here just might not be so crazy after all.” He winked at Derek. “Come on, let’s have a look at where this snake is supposed to be. The rest of you need to wait around here, in case we need to ask any more questions.” He tromped off with the other policeman.

  Derek looked at Nikki and shook his head. She smiled back at him and gave him a shrug of the shoulders. “Sorry.”

  “Not this time. You will not get involved this time. Right?”

  “Right,” she agreed, but she also had her fingers crossed behind her back. C
ome on, she was Nikki Sands, and she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to get involved in what looked to be one helluva mystery.

  Chapter 8

  There was nothing left for them to do after the police went to work trying to figure out if what had happened to Lucy Swanson was a crime or not. Nikki felt in her gut that it was, and as much as she wanted answers to quench her own curiosity, she knew that Derek was right. This time, if it was murder, she really should mind her own business. Keep practicing that new mantra—It’s none of my business. Sure. Everyone who knew her, had to know that Nikki would never simply mind her own business, no matter how many times she tried to affirm this.

  Liam suggested that they all go up to the house, where Grace was preparing lunch. In the golf cart, Liam chattered on about what had happened. “This won’t be good for Grace. She’s still so upset about last night with Hannah and all.”

  “Are you sure she wants us for lunch? We can always go into town and then come back if the police need us,” Derek said. “I can’t imagine that they would. None of us were even here when Lucy died. In fact, I’ve been thinking that maybe we should postpone some of our business for a while until things settle down, like I said before. Until everything settles down.”

  Liam frowned. “No. The timing works now. You understand. I know you do. I can’t hold off.”

  There it was again—Liam and Derek speaking in code. Nikki was going to get to the bottom of their secret.

  “As far as my Grace, lunch was her idea. She’s been making Hannah help her all morning. She wanted to keep her away from Lucy because she feels that Lucy has been a bad influence on our daughter. All three of them—Hannah, Lucy, and the makeup kid—keep insisting they were run off the road last night, but I don’t believe it and neither does Grace. They were liquored up and that’s what it was. I keep trying to get Hannah to take responsibility for her actions. Oh goodness, listen to me, I sound insensitive.” He sighed and shook his head. “Neither of them are aware of what’s happened to Lucy. Her death makes me think I shouldn’t be concerned about the kids having a good time last night or the car. Of course, I don’t want anything to ever happen to Hannah, but all the same, I did some dumb things in my youth.”

  “We all did,” Derek said.

  “As far as our business is concerned, what has happened is terrible. I’m sure there’ll be some kind of fallout because it occurred on my property. If you want to pull back on negotiations because you’re afraid of some kind of negative publicity, Derek, I understand. But really, I don’t think this tragedy should affect our business dealings, which are completely separate from the movie, and now Lucy’s death,” Liam said.

  “I’m not concerned over possible fallout. I’m only concerned for you and your family and the timing of it all. I don’t want to add any further stress.”

  “I appreciate your concern,” Liam replied. “But it would be best if we try to run life as close to normal as possible. You can put this bad business behind you and go and see some sites later today. I think we should be able to come up with a licensing and distribution deal that satisfies the two of us today and then I’ll have the papers drawn up. And, by tomorrow if you want to head back to the States or travel the country here, you’ll be free to do so.”

  Derek nodded. “Sounds good then.”

  Nikki shrugged. Well, one thing was for sure: even though that itch in her brain was nagging at her to see what answers she could discover about Lucy’s death, she wouldn’t get the chance. It sounded as if the business between Liam and Derek would be dealt with by the end of the day and they would likely be back on the jet tomorrow. But she did wonder if they would be heading home, or if Derek had any other plans. He had mentioned during their flight over that the trip would be part vacation, and they’d be gone for about a week. It had only been a few days. In light of things though, would he rush them home?

  They pulled up in front of the house. “I know this probably goes without saying,” Liam said and looked at his three guests, “but I would be grateful if no one mentioned what happened to Lucy. I’d like to tell Hannah and Grace myself.”

  They all agreed and piled out of the cart.

  As they entered the foyer, Hannah hurried toward them. “Daddy?” Her face was tearstained, mascara smeared across her face.

  “What is it, love? What’s the matter?”

  She started crying. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ve done something horrible. Please forgive me!”

  Liam pulled her into him and stroked the top of her fair head. He glanced at his guests, all of whom had the sense to retreat toward the front door. “What is it? What did you do, Hannah?”

  Grace appeared, a grave look on her face. “Oh yes, she’s done something terrible and we are going to have to do something about it. She lied about the car accident last night.” Then she spotted Derek, Nikki, and Simon, and she stopped. “But it’s nothing we can’t take care of as a family later.”

  “But, Mum—”

  “Go wash up, Hannah. Lunch is ready. We will deal with this later. Now, come in. Nice to see you all again. Lovely day, isn’t it?”

  “What is going on, Grace?” Liam asked.

  “Later, dear. We have guests.”

  “Yes, well, the day is not so lovely. I was going to hold off a bit before I said anything, but Lucy Swanson has died from a snakebite.”

  Grace’s face lost all color. “Oh my God.”

  Nikki heard a gasp from the stairs and looked up. She saw Hannah turn and continue down the hall, but not before Nikki thought she saw a smile on the girl’s face.

  Chapter 9

  Nikki was having a hard time not thinking about the scene that had taken place at the Hahndorfs’. It had been uncomfortable there, and as soon as Liam broke the news to Grace, they decided it would be a good time to leave. Nikki could not get the picture out of her mind of seeing Hannah smile when she heard about Lucy. But had she really seen that? Was her mind playing tricks on her? And, what was the deal with Hannah supposedly lying about the car accident she’d been in with Lucy and Johnny?

  Nikki kind of agreed with Simon, who’d blathered on in the backseat of the car while driving back to town. He had been saying that the whole lot of them seemed totally dysfunctional, and that Derek should just cancel any business dealings he’d already begun with Liam. He finally shut up when Derek reminded him of their own family’s dysfunctional propensities, which included Simon’s mother and Derek’s stepmom, Patrice, who’d taken the title of stepmonster to the nth degree. Once Derek started in on their family history, Simon didn’t say another word, and when they got back to the hotel he said that he was determined to find another room so that they could have their privacy. Nikki felt bad for Simon and she started after him, but Derek caught her by the hand and insisted she allow his brother to sulk.

  “We—you—can’t keep rescuing him. Marco is right. It’s time Simon does some growing up, and he needs to go through his own growing pains to do so. We’ll invite him for dinner with us tonight, but for now, let him be. Maybe he can work some things out in his head, and who knows, he might actually pull himself out of it for once. But you can’t do it for him. Besides, I want to spend some time alone with you. Let’s do some window-shopping. Maybe take a drive out to Eden Valley. I’ve heard it’s beautiful, and after what we’ve been through the last couple of days, I’d like to see some sights and just be with you.”

  Okay, how could anyone walk away from that? Simon would have to sulk, and even though it left a hole in her stomach to know he was feeling isolated and lonely, she also knew that Derek was right. Simon had to figure some of this out on his own.

  They took a driving tour of the three towns that made up the Barossa Valley: Angaston, Tanunda, and Nuriootpa. The towns were only about five miles apart from one another and were serviced by bitumen roads. The scenery was beautiful in between each town with vineyards, wineries, and Australian native trees. They spotted plenty of active wildlife along the way.
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br />   They decided to stop at one of the more interesting-looking wineries and see what they had to offer. “I’ve heard of this place,” Derek said. “They do small, boutique wines. Limited editions.”

  The sign on the front read “Fritz Winery.” “What is it with all the German names?” Nikki asked.

  “From what history I know, the inhabitants of the Barossa descended from free migrant German and Austrian stock. Supposedly, the Eastern States of Australia like Victoria and New South Wales were colonized by convicts from Scotland, Ireland, and England.”

  “Interesting. Should we go in? I love these boutique wineries.” In Napa and Sonoma there were hundreds of boutique wineries. They couldn’t compete with Malveaux as far as sales went, because Malveaux had wide distribution and funds to advertise. However, the smaller wineries seemed to maintain an artisan’s viewpoint on the effort that went into making wine. Nikki felt many of them produced better-tasting wines than some of the more commercialized wineries. But she wouldn’t tell Derek that.

  Walking into the small winery gave Nikki a feeling of going back in time. Maybe it was because they were in a different country, or because the winery itself was an actual barn.

  There were a couple of tables. A group of five people sat around one and appeared as if they’d been enjoying a tasting all afternoon. They chatted, laughed, and continued to pour the wine. A woman with long bright, almost orange hair who looked to be in her fifties walked around a long wooden bar, where she took out three bottles of wine and placed them on top. “G’day,” she said. “I’m Sarah Fritz. I own the place. I expect you’re here for a tasting.”

  Nikki noticed the woman had a long scar across her right cheek. Whatever had happened to her looked like it had been painful.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Derek said, pulling out his wallet.