Read Online Of Merlot & Murder (A Tangled Vines Mystery) by Joni Folger - Free Book Online Page A

organizers like Lita Washington.”
    “No offense, but why do you think she called you?” he asked. “I mean, why not call her husband or her son?”
    “I asked her that as well. She said Garrett had gone into Austin for a meeting and wasn’t due back until late. Toby was still out at the festival.” She shook her head. “I advised her to wait for one of them to get back, but she was adamant. Said she needed someone she could trust—someone who wasn’t connected.”
    “Not connected?” Jackson repeated. “What did she mean by that? Connected to what?”
    Again, Abigail shook her head. “I don’t know . She wouldn’t say any more over the phone. She plain wore me down and I finally said that I would come, but God help me, I didn’t want to.” Abigail’s voice broke as she continued and Jackson’s heart went out to her. “Oh, Jackson, I putzed around and didn’t get out here until after eight. Maybe if I’d gotten here sooner Divia would still be alive.”
    Elise hugged her grandmother close. “You don’t know that, Gram. We don’t even know what happened yet, but Jackson’s going to find out, right?”
    “That’s the plan,” he answered, then addressed Abigail. “Miss Abby, tell me the rest. Take me through what happened when you got here?”
    She pointed toward the parking lot where her Buick was parked. “I pulled in, parked, and walked straight here. I wanted to get whatever this was over with quickly and get back home. When I got closer I could tell the door was slightly ajar—I could see the purse stuck in the jamb. That didn’t seem odd to me, though. People do that all the time, right? Stick something in the jamb to keep from being locked out when they run to the car or go get ice.”
    Jackson pointed to the purse that he’d moved to a spot beside the door when he’d gone into the room. “You mean that’s not your purse?”
    “Hell no, it’s not mine. I wanted in and out as fast as possible, so I left mine in the Buick.”
    In that case, he figured it probably belonged to the deceased, but he’d have the crew bag it when they got here. “Okay, go on.”
    “Well, I did pretty much what you did. I pushed the door open and saw her immediately. I called out to see if anyone else was inside and when I got no answer I went in as far as her body. After I checked for a pulse and realized she was dead, I called you, grabbed a chair, and came back out the way I went in. Then I sat down and waited. That’s it.”
    “One last question, Miss Abby. Did you bring anything else into the room with you?”
    “Anything else?” Elise asked with a frown. “She just told you she left her purse in the car, Jackson. What else would she have had?”
    “Miss Abby?” he repeated, ignoring Elise’s testy outburst.
    Abigail shook her head in response. “No, Jackson. I had my keys in my hand, and that’s all I had with me. I didn’t bring the wine.”
    “What wine?” Elise asked in confusion. “What are you two talking about now?”
    Reluctantly, Jackson answered. “There’s an open bottle of Merlot sitting on the dresser. It’s River Bend Reserve.”
    “Really, Jackson! Anyone could have gotten that bottle at the festival, or at the Wine Barrel, for that matter,” Elise pointed out. “How many cases did we take out to the venue at set-up, Gram?”
    “We had four cases of the Reserve: two of the Cab and two of the Merlot when the festival opened yesterday. And before you ask, Jackson, as of today when I left, we’d sold almost a case of the Merlot.”
    “See, almost a case,” Elise said, jabbing a finger in his direction. “Anyone could have purchased that bottle and brought it out here.”
    “Okay, okay.” He put up a hand in surrender before she really got going. “Calm down, would you? I had to ask.”
    Just as he was about to send them home, Jackson looked up to see a couple of vehicles pulling into the parking lot. One was the CSI SUV, and the other one was Toby Raymond’s