Read Online White Cloud Retreat by Dianne Harman - Free Book Online

and was
located adjacent to the White Cloud Retreat Center, separated by a county road.
Luca was the president of the Oregon Wine Growers Association and had recently
made a presentation at the annual conference. One article stated that they were
well known for doing a high volume of business with discount chain stores.
    I think I need to go over
there tomorrow after work. Both jealousy and cutthroat business competition
could possibly provide a powerful motive for murder. Maybe I’ll get a sense of
whether or not one or both of them could be the killer. And if nothing else, I
can always pick up another bottle of wine. Now off to a glass of wine and
dinner. Along with the manicotti that Mike ate the last of, we served baked
burritos at the coffee shop for lunch, and they were a huge hit. I brought the
leftover chicken mixture home and I’ve got the rest of the ingredients for
them. I’ll make a green salad and I’ve got time to make Mike’s favorite ricotta
cake. It’s about the easiest thing in the world and he loves it. Might help
make up for the vegetarian casserole I served him last night.
    Two hours later Mike
finished his piece of cake and looked over at Kelly. “Sweetheart, I don’t know
how you manage to do it, but it seems like every meal is better than the last
one. You know how I love Mexican food and those burritos were as good as any
I’ve ever had. And the cake! If I dropped dead right here at the dinner table,
I’d die a happy man because of that cake.”
    “Well, if you did, I
wouldn’t be very happy about it. That would give a whole new meaning to the
term, being left at the altar. It would be more like he never showed up at the
altar because he overdosed on food two and a half weeks before the wedding.
Don’t think that would help my coffee shop business.”
    Mike took his buzzing
phone from its holster. “This is Sheriff Mike. Can I help you?” He listened to
the voice on the other end for a moment. “Of course I don’t mind you calling me
at home, Doc, and I don’t think your question is the least bit strange. I’m
going to be wearing a dark suit at the wedding, so the same would probably be
appropriate for you. Let me ask Kelly.”
    “Tell him that would be
fine.”
    “The boss says that would
be fine.” He listened to Doc and then raised his eyebrows and looked over at
Kelly. “No, she didn’t tell me that, but I have to say in her defense that we
haven’t discussed the case this evening. I’ll look into it tomorrow. Thanks for
telling me. I’ll ask her about it now. Talk to you soon.”
    He put his phone back in
its holster and looked at her. “I’m going to give you the benefit of doubt on
this one…”
    She interrupted, “If Doc
was talking to you about the guy Scott mentioned when he went to see Doc, I was
going to tell you all about it. Honest. We just haven’t had an opportunity to
talk about the case tonight.”
    “Like I said, I’ll give
you the benefit of doubt. Doc said you could tell me about it. I’d like to hear
it.”
    “Well, Doc came in for
lunch and told me he’d heard about Scott’s death and was really sorry. He said
Scott came to the clinic to see him recently because he’d gotten a cut from a
rose bush in his vineyard and it wasn’t healing properly. He mentioned to Doc
that he was really angry at one of the men who was taking part in the
residential training program at the Center. You probably remember from when you
interviewed people at the Center that the people who are in the program have to
work in the vineyards. That’s how they pay their tuition for the program. It’s
kind of a trade-off thing. Anyway, Scott told Doc that the guy pruned the vines
too short and he was worried that the grapes from those vines wouldn’t be very
good this year.”
    “I think that’s a pretty
far stretch. I don’t see someone who’s doing Zen residential training being mad
enough at the Zen Master for correcting him to kill him. I’ll look into it,