D is for Drunk by Rebecca Cantrell Read Free Book Online Page B

whimpering, he was swiping at his phone.
    She poured on speed coming out of the curve. Aidan’s Porsche handled the curves as well as her Tesla did. It felt a little heavier, but still stuck to the pavement on acceleration. The road up to the winery was fantastic—twisty, flat, and almost empty. She intended to come up here every week from now on with her car. She’d learned car racing techniques for a movie once, but she almost never got a chance to practice them.
    She made it to the winery gates within twelve minutes of leaving the Marmalade Cafe. Her phone had said it would take sixteen. Probably the person who programmed it drove like Aidan.
    “Do you need a booster seat?” she asked. “Or a blindfold?”
    Aidan didn’t uncurl his hands from the dash or answer her.
    She cut her speed to sedate, drove through the open gates, and cruised up to the Grigoryan Winery. No need to scare the clients.
    Grapevines arranged in curving lines covered the sloping hill as far as she could see. The grapes were so purple they almost looked black, and the leaves shone a brilliant green. She rolled down the windows and breathed in the heady smell of ripe grapes. “Not so bad up here.”
    “Watch the road,” Aidan said.
    She reached the end of the drive. Someone had flattened the top of the hill to build a castle—stone walls, curved towers on every corner, and graceful arched windows looking out over the vineyard. In place of a moat a sapphire-blue infinity pool ran along the front of the castle. She wasn’t interested in the castle, but she definitely could use that pool.
    Unless they were over-leveraged, the Grigoryans would definitely be able to pay the bill from Maloney Investigations. That kind of money often made enemies. Maybe someone besides the Beforts was interested in messing with them.
    The Lemon Drop rolled to a stop.
    “We’re here,” she said.
    Aidan kissed his fingertips and touched the dash. “Thank you, Jesus, for delivering me safely.”
    “You could kiss the ground if you want,” she said. “I’ve never seen a driveway so clean.”
    “I have my dignity,” he said.
    “Not really.” She got out of the car.
    Milena Grigoryan strolled out from a front door thick enough to hold off a battering ram. She wore a flowing white dress the camouflaged her curves and a straw hat perched atop her curly hair. “I’m so glad you came!”
    “Of course, Mrs. Grigoryan,” Sofia said.
    “Milena, please,” she said.
    She folded Sofia in a hug that lasted about two seconds too long. She smelled of vanilla. Sofia wanted to pull away, but she waited it out. Then Milena hugged Aidan. That hug lasted longer. Aidan stood as stiff as a block of wood. His eyes pleaded with Sofia to get him out of there.
    She decided to rescue him. “You certainly have a lovely home, Milena!”
    Milena separated from Aidan and turned to face Sofia. “It’s mostly for show, a backdrop for tastings and events. Tonight we have a wedding.”
    “Then we’d better get started,” Aidan said. “We’d like to turn off your water, then see if the meter is still moving.”
    “We did this already. The water company did this as well. The meter doesn’t move when the water is off everywhere. We checked in the morning, they checked in the evening,” Milena said.
    That didn’t sound like there was a leak.
    Sofia asked, “Maybe it’s only leaking at night? Do you water at night?”
    “We water once a week, and not all of the vines need additional water. You will find no waste here. We are very careful to maximize our precious resources.”
    “We’re here to check, to see how things work. As a first step.” Aidan said. “We’ll be out of your way soon.”
    “Not so soon,” Milena said. “I will show you the house first, then the winery itself.”
    She led them toward the house, getting a few paces ahead. Probably so Aidan would have a nice view of her nice round butt.
    They followed Milena through the grand doors and into the modern