“Relax, Cen. Antonio’s contest wine was legit. The only magical wine is the stuff I sold at my roadside bar. I made it exactly like his, so everybody will be happy. Let’s just say I automated the process. I’m not breaking any rules because I’m giving him all the profits.”
I doubted the WICCA council would agree with that logic, but I kept my mouth shut.
Aunt Pearl continued. “Back to my story. Like I said, Antonio left right after Richard. He practically followed him out of the parking lot.”
“Were they both headed in the same direction?” Tyler asked.
“Yes. Aren’t you listening, Sheriff? Antonio was following Richard. Toward Lombard Wines.”
“Even more incriminating evidence against Antonio,” I said. “But if they were meeting, why didn’t they just do it at the wine festival?”
“Maybe they wanted their meeting kept secret,” Aunt Pearl said. “They both seemed in a hurry. At any rate, I don’t see how Antonio could have discovered Richard’s body. Antonio was following Richard in his car, practically tailgating him. Richard was very much alive from what I could see, and Antonio was the last person to see him.”
Tyler nodded. “Antonio called minutes later to report Richard’s body in the cellar. The timeline fits. Enough time to kill someone. Barely enough.”
“Nobody saw Richard after that,” Aunt Pearl gasped. “You realize that I’m the star witness? What if the killer comes after me?”
Tyler shook his head. “I’ll keep you safe, Pearl. Just don’t talk about this to anyone. I’m not publicly releasing the news until after the wine festival. I’m only talking to you right now to get your eyewitness account. Can I count on you?”
“Of course, Sheriff. But how did Richard die?” Aunt Pearl asked.
“I’m not releasing the cause of death yet, Pearl.”
“Not even to me?” Her lower lip stuck out in a pout. “I bet you told Cendrine, didn’t you?”
His mouth turned up ever so slightly into a trace of a smile. “Sorry, Pearl. I’m not releasing that information to anyone. Not even to you.”
My chest was suddenly heavy as the evidence against Antonio mounted ever higher. It was hard to think otherwise. He had the means, motive, and opportunity. He had discovered the body, putting himself at the crime scene. And the short time frame meant it was almost impossible for anyone else to have committed the crime. Only Antonio had access to the wine cellar.
Richard was about to steal the winery out from under Antonio and ruin his entire life. I didn’t want to think of Antonio as a killer, but desperation could drive the nicest people to commit despicable acts.
I had always thought that I knew Antonio quite well. But it was getting harder and harder to quell the seeds of doubt that sprouted in my mind.
Chapter 19
“I need your help, Pearl. Can I count on you?” Tyler asked.
Aunt Pearl eyed Tyler suspiciously. “Count on me for what? Is this some kind of trick?”
Tyler shook his head. “Not a trick, no. You’re a woman of many talents, and only you can help me with this important assignment.”
“Is that so?” Aunt Pearl looked thoughtful. “What do I get if I say yes?”
“Seeing justice served,” Tyler replied.
“At a minimum I want my Dateline segment to last longer than yours, Sheriff. I should really be Antonio’s co-star, if not the star. I’m the one who cracked this case wide open.” Aunt Pearl extended her bony arms, almost smacking me in the process.
“Antonio is innocent until proven guilty, Aunt Pearl. He hasn’t been charged with a crime, at least not yet. Tyler is the chief investigator and there’s no way you’d have more air time—” I stopped myself mid-sentence as I realized that I sounded as ridiculous as she did. “On the other hand, you could provide background commentary. I’m sure the producers would fit you into the story.”
Tyler nodded. “If you’re involved in helping to solve the crime, obviously they’ll want to interview you. The key word is help, Pearl. Can you do that? There’s no fame or money involved, but you would be helping to catch a killer. Do that and I’ll make you an honorary deputy.”
“I’ll consider it. What do you want me to do?”
Chapter 20
Tyler didn’t tell me what he had asked Aunt Pearl to do and I didn’t ask. I’d rather not know, though I suspected his request was mostly a ruse to prevent her interference in the investigation. Which, in a way, was helping out.
I pulled my laptop from my purse and resumed my SecureTech research. The company’s website was sparse on information, probably to thwart any would-be criminals. There was plenty of information online about various security technology in user forums, though. Apparently, the locks were popular. I gleaned quite a lot of knowledge on the biometric fingerprint feature from several forums. From what I could see, Antonio was right. The lock actually was foolproof. Just like Antonio, a few users had set up a single user with no backup plan. Those cases had all ended the same. The lock and bolt locking mechanism had to be cut out of the door, ruining both in the process. It was theftproof but not idiot-proof.
The combination lock was another story. Like any lock, it could be defeated. Not that it mattered with the hack-proof fingerprint scan. I left a message at the number on the website for someone to call me first thing Monday morning. It couldn’t hurt, but I already knew we couldn’t wait that long. In the next few hours, I had to learn everything I could about SecureTech or die trying.
I rose from my chair and poured two cups of coffee from the ancient-looking Mr. Coffee coffeemaker behind the desk. I found an almost empty carton of milk in the fridge and poured it into my cup. I carried the two cups into Tyler’s office and handed him the black coffee.
Tyler
