Free 5 Blue Period by Melanie Jackson Page B

processed, though even with the doors having been opened most of the day, the odor of old wine was still overpowering.
    Her flashlight was kept on a low setting and she had to move carefully among the carelessly stacked crates that seemed to have been abandoned precipitously and then forgotten. Had she not been looking for it, Juliet might not have found the old narrow door that opened onto a firebreak that ran between the building and the Blue Period and Trefoil properties. There were stacks of empty crates piled on an old table and one would think that nothing had been disturbed for years, except that there were fresh marks in the dust on the runnelled floor left by the flaking paint on the worktable’s uneven legs and hand-size smudges in the dust on the tabletop.
    Someone had moved this table in front of the door. Probably after Carl Owens was killed.
    If the shooter came and went through Trefoil land then who would have moved this table to cover their tracks? The same person who had supplied a gun? Or was it someone covering up things later?
    Or had it been moved that afternoon while Edward was exploring the old winery ? Juliet wanted to kick herself for not getting inside the building earlier.
    “Your door?” Esteban asked softly.
    “I think so. Help me move this table. I want to make sure that the door can actually open. If it’s been painted shut then we will have to go into the other building as well.”
    They both took a corner of the table and picked it up with care, being sure they didn’t add to the marks on the floor.
    Juliet pushed up her dangling sleeve and tried the latch. It lifted easily. A sniff told her that it had been recently oiled. The door opened silently. Outside were the encircling arms of the vineyard, old vines and ways pitted against the young and modern. The old vines would happily coexist with the new but she doubted the old ways of making wine would have survived being taken over by Carl Owens.
    “So, definite premeditation,” she said to Esteban , closing the door carefully.
    They worked quickly to put the table back.
    Esteban opened a small cupboard by the door.
    “It has been recently opened. The webs are broken. It is about the right size to hold a rifle, yes?”
    “Yes.” Either Owens’ gun or the one that had killed him.
    Juliet wondered at what point they should go to the police. Surely they had searched all the buildings after the murder. They could have been the ones who opened the cupboard.
    “You are thinking of the law?” Esteban asked.
    “Yes. Reluctantly.”
    None of them were inclined to involve themselves since they didn’t know the local law and couldn’t guess if they were just looking for an easy way out. Certainly, they hadn’t been overwhelmed with their care and speed in the investigation thus far. Though perhaps if they were laggardly it was Talbert’s doing. Maybe they had been warned away.
    “Nothing here makes me think of a professional hit,” Juliet said softly.
    “No, but we never really believed that was the case, did we?”
     
     

Chapter 9
     
    From the terrace Juliet and Raphael could see a few of the Blue Period employees enjoying their bagged breakfasts and coffee at the scattered picnic tables while the fog burned away from the few remaining rows and furrows of unharvested grapes. They had no help from the morning wind which was on vacation somewhere in Hawaii, perhaps conserving its strength for the early spring when it would appear out of nowhere to attack sunhats and loose skirts of those foolish enough to let their Easter clothes emerge prematurely from the closet.
    She also had a good view of Carissa and Edward fighting on the porch of the old house. At least Carissa looked like she was fighting. Edward seemed to be attempting an explanation. Juliet would have put hard money on the argument being about Edward starting up a second, boutique winery and perhaps using cash Carissa was expecting instead of waiting for a