Grapes of Death by Joni Folger Page A

in my face.”
    â€œI’ve got several interviews left to do and my own timeline for my investigation. I don’t need you poking around to worry about as well.”
    â€œOkay, okay, don’t be so touchy. I’m just sayin’. Anyway, I’ve got my own work to do. Why in the world would I want to take on yours, too?”
    â€œI mean it, El. Stay out of my investigation.”
    â€œNow who’s not listening? Didn’t I just say I don’t have time to do any more poking around in your case?”
    He watched her adopt an air of nonchalance as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.
    Oh, yes. She was up to something, all right. He could feel it. He just couldn’t quite see what.

Eight
    Elise was pretty sure Jackson hadn’t bought her wide-eyed innocent act when she’d told him she wasn’t interested in his investigation. The truth was, she wanted to know exactly what her uncle had been up to in the months before his murder.
    Jackson was wrong when he’d said it was none of her business. Whatever Edmond had been planning had obviously included the vineyard. And the vineyard involved her family as well as her work. In her opinion, that made it her business.
    She’d have to be careful not to get in Jackson’s way and stay as far under his radar as possible. But she had a gut feeling that whatever she was looking for was buried in that rat-hole Edmond had been living in, and she was going to do her level best to find it. That meant going back and doing a better search, no matter how repugnant the thought might be.
    She’d waited until the family meeting had broken up and she knew Jackson was long gone before calling C.C. and recruiting her for some amateur sleuthing. Then she headed over to pick her up the minute she could break away from the vineyard without raising any red flags. The last thing she needed was for Jackson to get wind of her plan to go back to her uncle’s house.
    True to form, C.C. didn’t even blink when Elise suggested she put on her breaking and entering hat. However, the closer they got to Edmond’s place, the guiltier Elise began to feel. It was one thing to place oneself in a hot seat with the law—maybe even in the middle of harm’s way—but quite another to drag a friend there with you.
    â€œC.C., there’s still time to back out if you want,” she said as she pulled her sports car into her uncle’s driveway. “We really shouldn’t be here at all, and Jax will pop a vein if he finds out. I’ll understand if you want to wait in the car.”
    C.C. turned toward her with a smirk on her face and leveled a bland stare in her direction. “So, let me get this straight: if I say I’m backing out, are you going in there anyway?”
    Elise shut off the motor and sat staring at the house as she gathered her thoughts. The last time she’d gone snooping here she’d been alone and hadn’t stayed long. She’d freaked herself out after being inside for only a few minutes. Her search hadn’t been as thorough as she’d wanted it to be, but this time she was going to do a better job. Though she honestly had no idea what she was looking for, she hoped she’d know it if and when she saw it.
    â€œYeah. Yeah, I am,” she finally answered with a firm nod. “I want a closer look and I’m going to take my time, be thorough. I just know there’s something in there that will give me a clearer understanding of what Uncle Edmond was up to before he was killed. There might also be a clue as to who killed him and why. I can’t not do this.”
    â€œUh-huh. That’s what I thought. So, if that’s the case, then you’re not going in there all by your lonesome. And let me just say, if there’s sleuthing to be done, I’m gonna be in on it. Besides, this car is a bright red beacon, and I’d probably be more conspicuous sitting out here