Murder at the Big T Lodge: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery (9 page)

Liz looked down at the
screen to see what else Sean had written.

“Amanda and
Emilio DeLuise are interesting people. Emilio met her when he went to Napa,
California, for a wine conference several years ago. Her family owns a boutique
winery in Napa, and she attended the conference. I can only assume that one
thing led to another. She’s quite a bit younger than he is, probably by at
least thirty years. He’s sixty-one. From the photographs I saw of her, she’s
stunning. Anyway, he went back to Italy and divorced his wife of thirty-three
years.

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.

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.”

“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.”

“All right,
Wes, I don’t think these are secrets, but as I said, I would like to keep what
I’m about to tell you confidential. As a matter of fact, I’m not real sure what
they are. Let me start from the beginning. My husband is a partner in a large
law firm in San Francisco. One of the top private investigators in the United
States works for his firm, and he’s been very helpful to me in the past. I
think I mentioned I’ve been involved in helping solve several murder cases in
the past. Sean, that’s the investigator’s name, has become not only a friend,
but a go-to person when I’d like to get some information about something or
someone.”

“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.”