Page 73 of A Vineyard for Two

‘Thanks for coming out on such short notice.’

‘It’s been a quiet night,’ Constable Graves said.

‘I wish I could say the same,’ Brookes said.

Harper looked over at the dog. He was no longer sleeping. Instead, eyes wide open, he was watching everyone in the room.

‘Can I get anyone a cup of tea? Coffee?’ Harper asked.

‘No, thank you, ma’am. Can you take us through what happened?’ Sergeant Norris said.

Harper gathered her thoughts and recollected the afternoon, ‘I was working here in the office. I didn’t hear anything or anyone outside. Rover was by my side the entire time. It was getting late, and I thought I’d get some fresh air and grab a bottle of wine from the cellar door. I fed the dog, refilled his water, and went outside. I thought I saw someone, but then Brookes drove up and whoever was there ran off. Then Brookes wanted to move my car but it wouldn’t start. It’s one of those press the button and accelerator at the same time starts and it refused to budge. He tried multiple times, but the engine wouldn’t start.’

‘Are you sure it wasn’t a deer or a kangaroo that you saw?’

Harper shook her head. ‘No. I mean, it was dark, but at that level, it had to be a person. Especially given what’s happened to my car.’

‘It was dark, though. Things don’t always appear as we think they do.’

‘Yes, it was, but I know what I saw. Brookes let out Rover, and the dog ran after whoever might have been there. He came back limping after we heard a car screech behind the bush and drive off.’

Constable Graves turned towards Brookes. ‘You didn’t see anyone in the vicinity as you were driving back? Any parked cars?’

‘No, and I’d notice. These parts are fairly quiet. You pay attention when you see an unfamiliar car. Tourists don’t stop by the side of the road in the evening. They’re usually parked at the bed and breakfasts and being driven around by the wine tour buses.’

‘Brookes checked the car, and it looks like the battery cable was pulled and there’s an oil leak,’ Harper said.

‘Let’s take a look,’ Sergeant Norris said.

They went outside.

‘Is this light usually out?’

‘No, it was working yesterday,’ Brookes said. He paused and reached for the lightbulb. A moment later, it was in his hand. ‘Looks like it wasn’t screwed in properly.’

There was a deep feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. Could someone have purposely unscrewed the bulb so that it wouldn’t work if someone turned the light on? But surely, Rover would have heard an intruder if they were that close. Maybe Brookes had forgotten he was changing the light bulb. But Brookes didn’t forget things, not things like that.

They walked to the car, and she let Brookes unlock it and open the hood again as she stood back. Both the Constable and Sergeant had their flashlights out and were pointing them in various directions. She knew that whoever had been here earlier was long gone, but there was a chance they might have left something behind.

‘Did you touch anything?’ Constable Graves asked.

‘Yeah, when I had a look around to see what the issue was.’

She watched as they looked around the car, under the hood and under the car itself. Sergeant Norris walked around the area, his flashlight covering the ground, searching for something, but she knew it was unlikely they’d find anything at all.

‘It’s possible that whoever manipulated the battery could have done so away from the property, when it was parked somewhere else. Can you recall where you were today prior to coming here?’

‘You think it might have come loose on the way?’

‘It’s possible. I gather you don’t check under the hood each time you take a trip?’

‘Of course not.’

‘All four tyres are punctured, too,’

‘Whoever did this wasn’t messing around,’ Brookes said, coming around the other side of the car.

Harper looked to Brookes, her heart sinking with every beat. Could he have done this before he left? It would explain why the dog didn’t bark. He had ample time when she was inside engaged in the never-ending trail of emails coming through.

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