adjust the flame. He turned to her with a smirk. “Go ahead and go to the police if it amuses you. It will only make a sad week more difficult for all of Nathan’s friends, and the headlines certainly won’t make your boyfriend feel any better. I’m sure Andre would love to see Vinifera and wine fraud splashed across every newspaper in the country.”
She tried not to show any reaction. “Tell me more about why you think Nathan would do this. If anyone found out, it would ruin him and both of his businesses. His life in the Valley would be over, and he’d probably go to jail. What you’re sayingdoesn’t make any sense. He wouldn’t take that kind of risk for what amounts to pocket change to a man like him.”
“You didn’t know Nathan,” said Remy dryly. “He liked to play with people, and he liked taking risks, even foolish, pointless risks. It was how he had fun. The money was just an associative benefit. He especially liked to watch people rave about bad wine. I’ve seen him do it on a number of occasions. He liked to play tricks on them, especially if they pretended to know something about wine. I’ve seen him swap labels, funnel one wine into another bottle, lie about what’s in a glass. I even saw him put food dye in a glass of cheap Chardonnay and serve it as a fine Burgundy. He loved to mess with people.”
“Is that really who Nathan was?”
“That’s who he was as long as I knew him, and that’s close to six years.”
Sunny frowned. There was one piece that didn’t fit. She looked at Remy, who was leaning against the mantel with his hands dug in the pockets of his jeans. She cleared her throat. “If Nathan knew the wine-club wine was phony, if he’d gone to the trouble of doctoring its labels, why would he take a bottle of it home?”
Remy smiled as though pleased with the comment. “I’m not exactly sure, but my guess is that he forgot. We can make nice excuses, but in my opinion Nathan was an alcoholic. He drank more or less constantly. The only time he had a clear head was first thing in the morning. He also lied so much that he would forget the truth. After a while, he would believe the lie himself, or at least he couldn’t tell the difference.”
Sunny’s head whirled as she listened to him. She wondered again if the tea had been drugged. The impulse to stretch out on the couch tempted her and it was all she could do to resist it. Shefocused on Remy’s face. Their conversation would be over soon, and she could lie down in the truck. She heard a click like central heat coming on. Already the back of her neck was sticky with perspiration.
“Are you feeling okay? You look ill,” he said. “Let me get you a drink.”
He was right. She felt so tired. Remy came back with a glass of water.
“I need to go,” she said, standing up suddenly. “We can finish talking about this later.”
“My pleasure,” said Remy with a reserved smile. “You know where to find me.”
Outside, the cool air and morning sun revived her for a moment but walking down the pathway to the truck soon became an effort, her feet heavier with every step. She got in and drove a mile fighting sleep before she knew it was pointless, that the desire to sleep would overwhelm her. She pulled over in the middle of the suburban block and killed the engine. Sixties-era stucco houses lined both sides of the streets, each with its carport and allotment of exotic perennial shrubs imported from Southern California. The last thing she remembered was delicious relief as she stretched out in the cab and settled her cheek into her backpack like a pillow.
10
Sunny’s mobile phone woke her up. All she knew at first was that a very loud sound had made her jolt upright. She sat stunned in the cab of the truck. There it was again, farther away now. She looked at her backpack, hardly recognizing what it was, other than the source of the mysterious sound. Gradually the world came back together a piece at a time and she
She tried not to show any reaction. “Tell me more about why you think Nathan would do this. If anyone found out, it would ruin him and both of his businesses. His life in the Valley would be over, and he’d probably go to jail. What you’re sayingdoesn’t make any sense. He wouldn’t take that kind of risk for what amounts to pocket change to a man like him.”
“You didn’t know Nathan,” said Remy dryly. “He liked to play with people, and he liked taking risks, even foolish, pointless risks. It was how he had fun. The money was just an associative benefit. He especially liked to watch people rave about bad wine. I’ve seen him do it on a number of occasions. He liked to play tricks on them, especially if they pretended to know something about wine. I’ve seen him swap labels, funnel one wine into another bottle, lie about what’s in a glass. I even saw him put food dye in a glass of cheap Chardonnay and serve it as a fine Burgundy. He loved to mess with people.”
“Is that really who Nathan was?”
“That’s who he was as long as I knew him, and that’s close to six years.”
Sunny frowned. There was one piece that didn’t fit. She looked at Remy, who was leaning against the mantel with his hands dug in the pockets of his jeans. She cleared her throat. “If Nathan knew the wine-club wine was phony, if he’d gone to the trouble of doctoring its labels, why would he take a bottle of it home?”
Remy smiled as though pleased with the comment. “I’m not exactly sure, but my guess is that he forgot. We can make nice excuses, but in my opinion Nathan was an alcoholic. He drank more or less constantly. The only time he had a clear head was first thing in the morning. He also lied so much that he would forget the truth. After a while, he would believe the lie himself, or at least he couldn’t tell the difference.”
Sunny’s head whirled as she listened to him. She wondered again if the tea had been drugged. The impulse to stretch out on the couch tempted her and it was all she could do to resist it. Shefocused on Remy’s face. Their conversation would be over soon, and she could lie down in the truck. She heard a click like central heat coming on. Already the back of her neck was sticky with perspiration.
“Are you feeling okay? You look ill,” he said. “Let me get you a drink.”
He was right. She felt so tired. Remy came back with a glass of water.
“I need to go,” she said, standing up suddenly. “We can finish talking about this later.”
“My pleasure,” said Remy with a reserved smile. “You know where to find me.”
Outside, the cool air and morning sun revived her for a moment but walking down the pathway to the truck soon became an effort, her feet heavier with every step. She got in and drove a mile fighting sleep before she knew it was pointless, that the desire to sleep would overwhelm her. She pulled over in the middle of the suburban block and killed the engine. Sixties-era stucco houses lined both sides of the streets, each with its carport and allotment of exotic perennial shrubs imported from Southern California. The last thing she remembered was delicious relief as she stretched out in the cab and settled her cheek into her backpack like a pillow.
10
Sunny’s mobile phone woke her up. All she knew at first was that a very loud sound had made her jolt upright. She sat stunned in the cab of the truck. There it was again, farther away now. She looked at her backpack, hardly recognizing what it was, other than the source of the mysterious sound. Gradually the world came back together a piece at a time and she
Similar Books
