Page 19 of One Last Night

“I shouldn’t have any trouble moving things around. What do you need from me?”

I feel a sudden and powerful longing for him. I spent nearly all of my life alone, but since meeting Sean, I’ve grown used to having someone close. It’s challenging to hear his voice and know that he’s not here with me. “A hug would be nice,” I say softly.

“You have to come see me for that,” he replies. “But while we’re waiting for that, what can I do for you right now?”

I take a deep breath. “I need you to follow my employer. Or rather, my employer’s son.”

“Julian Bellamy?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Am I allowed to know why?”

“Well, there have been some strange goings on here. Before I arrived, the winery on the mainland suffered a fire. My first night here, a portion of the estate vineyard was destroyed.”

“Destroyed how?”

“Chopped down.”

“So no fire?”

“No, not here.”

“Interesting. Go on.”

I see movement out of the corner of my eye and glance to my left, but it’s only a family of geese waddling down the path. As I watch, they leave the road and move to a small pond ten yards inside the trees.

“Mary?”

“Yes, sorry. I thought I saw someone. “So the vineyard was damaged, and just this morning, it appears that the Pinot Noir the estate prepared for a wine tasting last weekend was poisoned.”

“Poisoned? With what?”

“Listeria.”

Sean’s breath sucks in. “Oy. That’s a bad one. Anyone taken ill?”

“Yes. I’m not sure how many, but Victoria Bellamy was beside herself this morning.”

“I can understand that. How are you feeling? Did you drink any of the wine?”

“I did, and so did the Bellamys. I suppose it’s possible that we could still get sick.”

“It’s also possible that not all of the wine was poisoned,” Sean deduces. “The saboteur could have targeted specific barrels or been interrupted before he could finish.” He hesitates for a moment, then says almost reluctantly. “Or the wine could have just been accidentally contaminated.Listeriais a very common infection. Frankly, it’s remarkable that there aren’t more outbreaks.”

“That’s true,” I agree, “and if this was the only instance, I would believe that the fire was unrelated, but with that, theListeriaand the destroyed vines… It seems suspicious to me.”

“Suspicious enough to make it worth a look,” he concedes. “Now for the big question: why do you suspect Julian?”

“I’m not sure I do,” I reply. “But he behaved oddly this morning. He didn’t seem overly concerned with the claim, even though it could mean an enormous scandal for his company.”

“Probably will mean one,” Sean says. “If this is traced back to an official company event, then the attendees will almost certainly blow the whistle.”

“Exactly my point. He didn’t seem like he was trying to seem calm, he seemed genuinely calm.”

“That’s an odd reaction, yes,” Sean replies. “But it doesn’t mean that he sabotaged his own means of financial support.”

“I know. As I said, I’m not sure if I suspect him of wrongdoing yet. I just want to rule him out, I suppose.”

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