Murder at the Big T Lodge: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Page 8
It was quite the scandal given that his vineyard is one of the largest and most respected in Italy, and the family is so well-known. Plus, there’s the Catholic angle. Usually men in his position in Italy don’t divorce their wives. They may have a mistress, but the church doesn’t look kindly on divorce. Emilio was evidently quite generous in his gifts to the church, and his marriage was annulled. How a marriage can be annulled after thirty-three years, and when there are three adult children from it, mystifies me. I guess his gifts to his church over the years helped.
It seems Amanda may have looked outside her marriage for a little fun. There were many articles hinting she’d had liaisons with a number of different men, in fact, one even hinted that Milt Huston and she met at a hunting lodge in Texas and continued their relationship from year to year.
From what I read, Emilio is also known for his temper. There’s a reference to him being responsible for the death of the son of a neighboring vineyard owner. Evidently they were both in love with the same woman. She’s the one Emilio was married to for all those years. He was never prosecuted, and there were hints that law enforcement officials were paid off. Every article says he’s devoted to Amanda, and that several times angry words have been exchanged between him and other men when Emilio felt the men were getting too familiar with his wife. She travels with him wherever he goes, so if she is having affairs, she must be a master at finding the time to get away from him in order to conduct them.
Lastly, he’s known to love the grape. One article said something to the effect that it was a good thing he owned a vineyard, or he’d be bankrupt from buying the amount of wine he consumes. Could he or Amanda have murdered Milt? Possibly. Amanda may have been furious that Milt had gotten married and that he’d told her he no longer would be having an affair with her. On the other hand, Emilio could have found out about their affair and decided to kill Milt. If you haven’t talked to either one of them, might be interesting to see what they have to say, but you’re the one who’s so good at sleuthing. Be curious what you find out.
Now to Mac Ward. He’s an interesting man. His family has made a fortune over the years from farming tobacco. He has more acres planted in tobacco than any other tobacco farmer in North Carolina, and he’s passionate about tobacco farming. He’s declared publicly many times that there is no correlation between lung cancer and smoking. He completely denies the possibility that there’s even a nexus. Mac has smoked since he was twelve years old, and he believes everyone should start at a young age. It’s rather amazing given all the evidence to the contrary that he’s turned such a blind eye to the problems that come from tobacco, but obviously it’s in his best business interests to do that.
Over the years he’s gone head to head with different organizations and elected officials concerning the use of tobacco. I found several articles about how much he hated Milt Huston and his proposed legislation which would add an additional tax of $2.00 to each pack of cigarettes. They’ve been on opposing sides of debates throughout the country regarding the subject of the cigarette tax. Mac is the number one spokesperson and go-to person in the United States when it comes to the subject of being pro-tobacco.
“The most recent article I read speculated on what his reaction would be if Milt was able to get legislation passed calling for an additional $2.00 tax and what would happen after it was passed. The author theorized that it might be the end of the tobacco industry in the United States. Would Mac feel threatened enough to take matters in his own hands? Maybe.
Liz, that’s all I could find, but think there’s plenty of meat there for you to chew on. If anything else comes up, I’ll let you know. If you find out something about Cassie Sowers, I’d like to know.
As always, be careful and give my best to Roger.”
Liz looked at her watch and saw that she’d spent over an hour reading and thinking about Sean’s email. She decided to go down to the kitchen and see if Chef Jackson would be willing to tell her how to make the pecan pie they had last night for dessert. While she was there she could see what was for lunch and then she wanted to go to Riley and talk to Cindy Lou.
CHAPTER 23
Liz and Sam walked down the stairs, but as he had been trained to do, Sam laid down in front of the open door to the kitchen. “Good afternoon, Chef. I’m wondering if you have a couple of minutes to talk to me.”
“I need to take a break so, yes, I can certainly make time for you. Are you having any luck discovering what happened to Milt Huston? And secondly, may I interest you in some lunch and a glass of wine?”
“Lunch sounds wonderful. What fabulous thing have you come up with today?”
“There was some leftover ham from a dinner I made last week. I froze it and then defrosted it today. This is a new dish for me, so you can test it. I plan on making a panini type of sandwich with the ham, an Asian sweet sour sauce, grilled onions, and brie cheese. How does that sound to you?”
“Since my mouth is already watering, it’s telling me it sounds divine. Sounds like an interesting combination of flavors. What type of bread do you plan on using?” Liz asked.
“I thought it would go well on rye bread. I’ll make the sandwiches for us, and then I’d really like your opinion.”
Liz sat down at the counter while he assembled them. “Chef Jackson, I have a number of questions for you. First, I’d like to know if there is any way you could tell me how to make the pecan pie we had for dinner last night. I’m a good cook, but pies don’t seem to like me. Do you have any tips?”
He turned away from the range where he was grilling the sandwiches and said, “Liz, I can’t tell you how many people have said that to me. Actually, I got the recipe from someone who had tried for years to make a good pie, and the recipe spells it out with all the tips you’ll ever need for getting the crust perfect. I’ll make a copy of it for you. It explains everything far better than my words could ever do. Would that be all right with you?”
“That would be more than all right. My husband told me if I could learn to make that pie he would be happy for the rest of his life, or it certainly sounded that way to me.”
“Not a problem,” he said as he plated the sandwiches and reached into the refrigerator for two fruit compotes. “Thought we needed something to cut the heaviness of the sandwich, and I think fruit will go well with them. And of course we need a glass of wine to launch the inauguration of my new sandwich.”
“What ae you serving me today?” she asked.
“I thought this pinot noir would go well with it. It’s a light red wine and not too heavy. Try it and see what you think.”
A few moments later she said, “The sandwich is fantastic. I’ve never had anything quite like this and I agree, this wine complements it perfectly. I definitely think you should serve this as a meal, although I know the guides prepare meals tableside for lunch, and the guests probably don’t want a sandwich for dinner. I’ll just consider myself very lucky for not going hunting. Thank you so much. It’s definitely something I’ll make for my husband when we get back to California.”
“Thanks. Now let’s get back to Milt. It may sound weird, but my mother always said I had a gift for knowing when people had more to say than they let on. I can’t explain it any other way, but I’m definitely getting the feeling you’ve found out something about Milt’s death. Would I be right?” he asked.
“Maybe we’re kindred spirits. As I told you yesterday, I always get a niggle that lets me know when something isn’t quite right. Yes, I do know more about his death. No one has told me not to say anything, and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t, but it would make me feel better if you’d assure me that this conversation remains between you and me for now.”
“You sound very serious, Liz. Yes, I promise you I won’t repeat anything you tell me.”
CHAPTER 24
“Liz, before you start, I’d prefer it if you’d call me Wes from now on. Chef seems a little too formal if you’re going to be sharing secrets with me.”
“Let me interrupt, Liz, but as far as I know there is nothing that points to Milt being murdered, so I’m a little unclear as to why you’re telling me this.”
“I’m not very proud of this, but yesterday when everyone had left for the duck hunt, and Milt’s body had been taken to the mortuary, I went into his room. I wanted to pack up his clothes and personal effects and send them to his wife, which I did. While I was in his room, I saw a bottle of red liquid next to his bed. It looked like the same bottle I’d seen him drinking from the night before during the cocktail hour. Actually he wasn’t drinking directly out of the bottle. He poured the contents of the bottle into a cocktail glass and then drank it. Milt told Roger and me that it was beet juice, the miracle juice that the University of Southern California basketball team drinks before every practice and every game for enhanced performance. He said he felt it really worked for him.”
“I know he drank beet juice. I think I even mentioned to you that he used to prepare two bottles in the mornings, and we’d refrigerate them for him. He’d always have a glass of it during the cocktail hour and another one when he went to bed,” Wes said.
“When I went into his room Sam was with me. There was a very strong smell coming from the bottle which was sitting on his nightstand with the top removed. I walked over to it, and Sam stood in front of it as if to block me from getting it. I told Sam I wasn’t going to drink it, but I simply wanted to look at it. I swear the dog understood, because he moved away. I don’t know why I took it, but I did. You may remember I went into town yesterday. Well, I took it to the FedEx store and sent it to Sean. I wanted him to take it to a crime lab he uses and have it analyzed, which he did.” Liz sat back and looked Wes directly in the eye.
“Milt was murdered. Sean sent me an email this morning which said that large traces of potassium cyanide, a deadly poison, were found in the liquid that was in the bottle.”
Wes was quiet for several moments and then spoke. “Liz, my mind is whirling. Let me sort out some of my thoughts by verbalizing them. First of all, Sam very well might have known there was a poison in the bottle. Jack told me once that he got Sam from a guest who worked for a drug enforcement agency. Sam had been highly trained, but he refused to lie down on command, and if a dog fails that test, he can’t work for the agency. The guest thought Sam probably didn’t feel in control when he was lying down. The guest wasn’t sure what he was going to do with him, and Jack told him he’d been thinking of getting a guard dog for the lodge, and he’d like to take him.
“Secondly, and what really concerns me, is that the murderer must be someone here at the lodge, either a guest or an employee. Is that what you’re thinking?”
“Unfortunately, yes. In the short time I’ve been at the lodge I’ve discovered that several people here could possibly have been responsible for Milt’s death. At least they certainly qualify as suspects, because each of them appears to have a motive for wanting him dead. I sent their names to Sean, and here’s what he had to say about them.”
She spent the next half hour telling Wes what Sean had found out about Mac, Amanda, Emilio, Mickey, and Cassie.
“Amanda and Emilio I’ve already discussed with you,” Wes said. “Yes, either one of them could have reason to murder Milt. You remember the conversation or rather, the argument, I heard hours before Milt was murdered. They certainly would seem to qualify as suspects.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” Liz said. “Something else I remember reading is that women murderers tend to use poisons and things of that nature rather than guns or knives. If that’s true, Amanda may possibly be the murderer.”
“I don’t know. If she wasn’t going to leave her husband for Milt, that’s a big risk for her to take just because the affair had been terminated by Milt. I find it hard to accept. She would have an awful lot to lose if she were caught.”
“That’s true, but revenge is a powerful motive, and from what you’ve told me about her and what Sean sent me, I don’t think she would like to be told that a man was no longer interested in her.”
“I’ve always wondered about Emilio,” Wes said, “and whether his love of the grape wasn’t overstated. Yes, he always had brandy after dinner, sometimes several, but he’s a big man, and owning a vineyard, he may simply have developed quite a capacity for alcohol. He could have feigned drunkenness, gone up to Milt’s room, and put potassium cyanide into the bottle of beet juice sitting on the nightstand.”
“Certainly he’s a suspect, but let’s talk about Mickey. Is there anything you can add to what Sean found out? I understand he’s been here several times before. What’s your impression of him?” Liz asked.
“I can’t tell you much. He struck me as a typical politician, glad-handing everybody, and trying to ingratiate himself with everyone, hoping, I suppose, to get a political contribution. He’s likeable, but a bit too smarmy for my taste.”
“Did you notice whether or not there was much interaction between Milt and Mickey? I would almost think there would have had to have been some, given they were both in politics and from the same state. They must have known each other.”
“Liz, I don’t go on the hunts, since I’m here in the kitchen all day cooking the meals and overseeing the kitchen activities. I really don’t see much of the guests. They could have talked and had dinner together, but that’s strictly conjecture on my part.”
“Since Milt usually came at the same time every year, at least that’s what I’m inferring based on his affair with Amanda, that would mean Mickey would have known when he was going to be here.”
“Yes, that’s true, but there’s another way he could have found out. Jack has quite an ego, and he’s really into status and money. On his website he lists who the guests are and when they will be at the lodge. He’s very careful to put something next to each of their names that indicates status or money, such as so and so is a state senator or the owner of the largest tobacco farm in the United States.”
“What you’re telling me is that anyone could have looked at the website and discovered when Milt was going to be here. Am I right?”
“Yes, Liz, that’s exactly right. Something else that probably needs to be talked about is why Mac would come when Milt was here. From what you’ve told me and also from what Jack has said, Mac hated Milt. Don’t you think it’s interesting he’d choose to come here when Milt was scheduled to be here? Maybe he came here at exactly this time so he could murder Milt and hopefully have his tobacco problems go away.”
CHAPTER 25
Wes stood up from the table where he and Liz were sitting in the lodge’s kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. “Would you like one?” he asked.
“No thanks. Let’s talk about Mickey Roberts. I think he’s a very strong suspect. With Milt out of the running, Mickey immediately becomes the frontrunner in the race for California governor. Mickey had to know that Milt would be a very formidable candidate and would have the money to spend to get the word out that Mickey has a couple of unsavory things in his past. It seems like all of these people have, at least in their minds, a reason to want Milt dead, but I think Mickey might have the most to gain from his death. Wes, I just thought of something else concerning Mickey.”
She told him about overhearing Mickey’s phone conversation with someone named Rick and how Mickey had said he knew Milt was dead, because he’d heard Jack ask a guide to
call the lodge and make sure the mortuary had taken the body. “Wes, did Jack or one of the guides call you regarding the removal of Milt’s body by the mortuary?”
“No. I never got a call from Jack that morning. I suppose Cassie could have picked up the phone if I was in the restroom or something, but that’s doubtful. I think she would have mentioned it. She pretty much worships Jack. Liz, based on what you’re telling me, I agree with you that Mickey had a lot to gain from Milt’s death. Let me change the subject. You said Sean couldn’t find out anything about Cassie other than the fact she’d been married. I don’t understand why you even asked him about her. She’s simply my assistant.”
“That may be true, but you did tell me she was furious about Milt’s stand on the Planned Parenthood Clinics. Was she furious enough to kill him? It’s not the first time someone has been killed over the abortion issue. What do you know about her?”
“Quite frankly, not a lot. When I came to work here several years ago I obviously needed to hire someone to be my assistant. I wanted that person to do the prep work, like chopping and getting the ingredients ready for me, so I didn’t have to bother with that stuff when I began to cook the meals. You know, the time-consuming stuff. They didn’t have to be a chef. There’s a newspaper in the area, The Riley Times, that comes out twice weekly. I posted an ad in it for a chef’s assistant. Several people answered the ad, but Cassie was the only one who had experience working in a kitchen. There’s a little diner in town, and I mean little, but it does a fair business, because it’s the only one in town. Cassie had been working there for several years. That’s why I hired her.”