Chardonnayed to Rest Read online

  Finding a murderer requires 100% proof.

  In Seneca Lake, New York, Norrie Ellington’s Two Witches Winery has been selected by the local vintner community to host the annual Federweisser, a celebration of the season’s first fermentation of white Chardonnay grapes. But the festivities are spoiled when Norrie learns that landowner Roy Wilkes has raised her neighbor Rosalee Marbleton’s rent so high, she may have to close her vineyard.

  Before the rent hike could go into effect, Wilkes is found dead on Roslaee’s property—stabbed by a flowerpot stake—and she becomes the police’s number one suspect. To clear her friend’s name, Norrie conducts her own investigation. But as she gathers clues, Norrie finds herself targeted by a killer, and if she’s not careful, her desire to see justice done may die on the vine . . .

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  The Sophie Kimball Mysteries

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  Staged 4 Murder (July 2018)

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  The Wine Trail Mysteries

  A Riesling to Die

  Chardonnayed to Rest

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  Chardonnayed to Rest

  A Wine Trail Mystery

  J.C. Eaton

  LYRICAL UNDERGROUND

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  Copyright

  Lyrical Press books are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2018 by J.C. Eaton

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  First Electronic Edition: September 2018

  eISBN-13: 978-1-5161-0799-5

  eISBN-10: 1-5161-0799-3

  First Print Edition: September 2018

  ISBN-13: 978-1-5161-0802-2

  ISBN-10: 1-5161-0802-7

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  Books by J.C. Eaton

  Chardonnayed to Rest

  Copyright

  Contents

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Meet the Author

  Staged 4 Murder

  Chapter 1

  Dedication

  To Federweisser lovers everywhere, enjoy this mystery as much as you do the wine!

  Acknowledgments

  If ever a “ground crew” deserved thanks, it’s ours. We are indeed indebted to Beth Cornell, Larry Finkelstein, Gale Leach, Ellen Lynes, Susan Morrow, Suzanne Scher and all the way across the continents to Australia, Susan Schwartz.

  None of this would ever have been possible without our agent, Dawn Dowdle from Blue Ridge Literary Agency, and our editor, Tara Gavin, at Kensington. We thank our lucky stars you believed in us and took us on for this amazing ride. You’re phenomenal!

  Our production editors, Robin Cook and Renee Rocco, deserve a shout-out, too, for the incredible job they do.

  It’s definitely a team effort at Kensington and we are so appreciative.

  Chapter 1

  PENN YAN, NEW YORK

  Catherine Trobert, owner of Lake View Winery, brushed the honey blond bangs away from her eyes with one hand and leaned across her chair to pat my wrist with the other. We were the first ones to take our seats at the semi-monthly Women of the Wineries meeting held at Madeline Martinez’s establishment, Billsburrow Winery. It was the week before Labor Day and everyone was anxious for the fall winery events to begin.

  Well, not everyone. I certainly wasn’t. I was anxious to hear from my script analyst regarding the screenplay I had submitted for review. I was under contract with a Canadian film company that specialized in TV romances. Managing my sister’s winery for a year while she and her husband, Jason, were off chasing after some elusive bug in Costa Rica was something I agreed to do in a weak moment. I had no intention of making it permanent. Besides, the study grant my entomologist brother-in-law got from Cornell’s Experiment Station was supposed to be for a year. Even though I had heard a nasty rumor from Godfrey Klein, who worked with Jason, that the grant might be extended.

  Bite your tongue, Godfrey.

  For the past five years I had earned a decent living writing screenplays, and I intended to keep it that way. Overseeing Two Witches Winery was simply a favor. A favor that was due to expire in ten months, at which time I’d be back in Manhattan saying adios to the person who had sublet my apartment.

  Catherine gave my wrist another pat and sighed. “I’m so sorry to break this to you, Norrie, but Steven won’t be able to make it for Labor Day Weekend as planned. You wouldn’t think his law firm would have such a big caseload, but it does. I suppose the state of Maine gets its fair share of crime, too.”

  “Huh?” All I’d heard were the words “Labor Day Weekend” and “Steven.” I kind of pieced together the rest in my mind. Catherine Trobert had grand designs of fixing me up with her son, even though I’d hardly known him in high school. He was a few years older than me and hung out with the jocks and future leaders of America on the student council. I was too busy writing poetry for the literary magazine and articles for the school newspaper to take much notice of him.

  “I know. I know,” she said. “You haven’t seen Steven since high school, but I’m certain the two of you would enjoy getting reunited.”

  Reunited? We were never united. Never ever. “Um, that’s too bad. Send him my regards.”

  “I will, dear. I most certainly will. On a positive note, Gladys Pipp is back
at work from her hip replacement. Moves around as if she was sixteen and not sixty.”

  “Um, is she one of your workers?”

  “Oh, heavens no. Gladys is the secretary for the Yates County Department of Public Safety. Unlike those dour deputies over there who can barely utter a single syllable, Gladys is a wealth of information, if you need her. Shh! Don’t tell anyone, but she gave me the heads-up about that nasty little speed trap just past Snell Road.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Just then, Stephanie Ipswich from Gable Hill Winery and Rosalee Marbleton from Terrace Wineries came into the room. I immediately greeted them. Anything to stop Catherine from lamenting about Steven or bringing up people I didn’t know. Speed traps or not.

  Madeline Martinez followed and placed a tray of scones, chocolate filled croissants, and butter cookies on the large coffee table. “Coffee and tea are on the credenza. Help yourselves, ladies. This should be a really short meeting. We’ve only got two things on the agenda—the Federweisser Festival and the inclusion of the Grey Egret Winery into our WOW association.”

  Rosalee moved her wire-rimmed glasses farther up her nose and sat up straight. For a small, stout woman in her early seventies, she looked as if she could command an army. “Let’s be honest. If it wasn’t for the Grey Egret, our West Side Women of the Wineries, which most of us simply refer to as WOW, abbreviated or not, wouldn’t exist. And neither would the ‘Sip and Savor’ event or the Federweisser. It was Angela Martinelli who got the whole ball rolling.”

  “True, true,” Catherine said, “but Angela no longer owns the Grey Egret. She sold it to Don and Theo a few years ago. They’re the owners now. How can we have a winery women’s group if two of the members are men?”

  Stephanie selected the tiniest butter cookie from the tray—God forbid she eat something that would destroy that knockout figure of hers—and took the smallest bite. “Who says we have to be a women’s group? Let’s face it, the Grey Egret takes part in all our west side functions and that means endless phone calls when one of them could be at our meetings. I say we let them join the group.”

  “I second that!” I shouted.

  “It’s not a parliamentary procedure meeting, Norrie,” Catherine whispered.

  I shrugged. “I still think we should let them in. Don and Theo are great guys and amazingly supportive. When Elsbeth Waters’ body was discovered in our Riesling vineyard this past June, it was Don and Theo who helped me get through that whole mess.”

  “That whole murder, you mean,” Rosalee said. “I happen to agree with you.” Then she turned to the others. “Invite them into our group, for heaven’s sake, and let’s get on with this meeting.”

  I’d never known Rosalee to appear so agitated, but I figured she had lots on her plate, so to speak, with the grape harvest starting and the fall tourist rush only days away.

  Madeline nodded and gazed into her coffee cup. “Hmm, then what do we do about the name? WOW is so catchy.”

  I did at least three mental eye rolls and one silent scream. “Can’t the initials represent something else? Drop the west side part of the title, since no one uses it anyway, except for my sister, and have the WOW stand for Winery Owners of the West. That would work, wouldn’t it?”

  “Norrie, you’re a genius,” Stephanie said. “So? Is it agreed, ladies? The Grey Egret joins our group?”

  Everyone said “Yes” and Madeline announced she’d call Don and Theo to let them know the news.

  “I hope the Federweisser portion doesn’t take too long,” Rosalee said. “I’ve got some pressing business to deal with.”

  “Everything okay?” Catherine asked.

  “Not really, but I don’t want to take up all of your time.”

  Madeline looked at each one of us. “It’ll be fine. Go ahead.”

  Rosalee clasped her hands together and squeezed them tight. She sat up even straighter than before. “It’s our water situation. At the winery, not the house. Fortunately the house is located close enough to the road in order to get its water from the village waterline. The winery wasn’t that lucky, and the village has no intention of expanding its waterline. Anyway, we’ve been getting the water for our vineyards from the lake, and we truck in potable water for our own use at the winery. Lots of lakeshore wineries use a surface water source as well as a commercial one.”

  She paused for a moment and none of us said a word.

  “We paid for a special waterline that went through the Baxters’ property. For years we paid them for the land use. No different than someone owning a mobile home but renting the lot. It was a fair and reasonable price. Then, a few months ago, the Baxters sold their property and moved to Texas. The new owner jacked up the price to an astronomical level. He said if we don’t pay, he’ll cut off our water access.”

  “My God!” Madeline put her coffee cup down and covered her mouth.

  “How can they do that?” Stephanie asked. “That’s highway robbery.”

  Rosalee’s voice sounded shaky. “I’m afraid they can and they will. Without water, our vineyards will be destroyed and our winery gone for good.”

  My heart began beating faster. “Isn’t there anything you can do?”

  “There are stopgap measures, like having non-potable water trucked in and placed in huge holding tanks. We’ve already started to do that, but it’s an awfully expensive way to get water. That’s why I’m headed into Geneva to see our attorney. Maybe we have legal rights. If not, we’re doomed.”

  Catherine made a strange chortling sound. Something in between clearing her throat and gargling. “What kind of a selfish thug would do a thing like that? Terrace Wineries has been in the Finger Lakes since before I was even born. This isn’t right. Clearly, there must be something we can do.”

  Rosalee gave a halfhearted smile. “Thanks, dear. I’m hoping my attorney will have an answer. Or even a decent idea. Anyway, I really must go. I’m sure you’ll all get on fine with the rest of the meeting. Thank goodness the Federweisser event is at Two Witches this year and not my place. I’m sure Norrie will do a splendid job.”

  With that, Rosalee picked up her floral pocketbook, which looked as if it could double as a carpetbag, and headed out of the room. The rest of us sat there in silence for a few seconds before Madeline spoke.

  “My husband’s a county board representative. I’m going to see what he has to say about this. Rosalee was right, you know. About the wineries on the lake having to get their water from the lake. What if some of them are in the same predicament she is? Putting in pipelines and paying for land use because they don’t own the property rights. A greedy landowner could really put the screws to them.”

  “I think we should call Henry Speltmore. He’s in charge of the wine association. Maybe he has an idea or two floating around in his head,” Stephanie said.

  Madeline laughed. “If he does, that would be a first. But yeah, give him a call. He’s a nice enough guy. It couldn’t hurt. Well, I suppose we should get on with the last piece of business—the Federweisser.”

  I squirmed around in my seat, certain they were going to ask me what we had planned for the event. I knew I should’ve paid more attention to Cammy, our tasting room manager, when she went over the food menu for the Federweisser, but I didn’t. I was too busy trying to get a dialogue straight in my mind for a scene that had to be worked out for my screenplay.

  Same thing with Franz, our winemaker. He must’ve explained the process for making Federweisser to me at least three times, but I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure I understood. Something about adding yeast to grapes so they fermented quickly. Oh, and the sugar. I remembered that part. The sugar in the grapes turned into alcohol and carbon dioxide and when it reached four percent, it became Federweisser, a really cool drink that tasted like a champagne soda. The thing was, the alcohol percent kept growing so the Federweisser had to be cons
umed within a few days. Otherwise, the stuff just became regular wine.

  “Entertainment. Didn’t you hear me, Norrie?”

  “Huh?” I looked at Madeline and knew she had asked me a question, but I was too busy trying to recall the last two conversations I didn’t pay attention to.

  “Um, can you repeat that?”

  Stephanie jumped in before Madeline could reply. “She asked if you were having any entertainment at the Federweisser. Last year, when it was held at Rosalee’s, they hired a polka band.”

  I don’t suppose watching Alvin, our Nigerian Dwarf Goat, spit at people constitutes entertainment. “Uh, yeah. We’re working on that. But everything else is all set.” And if it’s not, it will be.

  Madeline nodded and gave me a thumbs-up. “That sounds fine. Let us know if there’s anything you need. We’ll all make it a point to advertise for you and we’ll be sure to drop by for the festivities. Goodness. That’s only three weeks away. My, how time goes by.”

  Not fast enough, judging by the length of this meeting.

  “Well, ladies,” Madeline said. “That about concludes the meeting for me unless anyone else wants to bring up something.”

  My eyes widened and I held my breath.

  Madeline clapped her hands together, startling us. “Okay then. We’ll meet again right before the Federweisser. And if my husband has any bright ideas about how the county can help Rosalee, I’ll let you know.”

  The next few minutes were spent commiserating about the mess Terrace Wineries was in before we all left Madeline’s place. Stephanie motioned for me to chat with her once we got to the parking lot. I walked over to her car as she clicked the door open.

  “You’re a good sleuth, Norrie. Think you can dig up the dirt on that new landowner who’s bilking Rosalee?”

  “Me? I’m not an investigator.”

  “No. You’re better. You get answers. They get red tape. Look, I’ll be willing to do some checking, too, as long it’s on the Internet. Between the winery and two first graders, I’m lucky I can get through the day with a coherent thought. Not to mention, we’ll be closing on the Waters’ property in a few weeks.”