Read A Vintage To Die For (Violet Vineyard Murder Mysteries Book 2) for Free Online

turned to my guests and put on my hostess smile. “Show’s over,” I said as brightly as I could. “And dinner will be served shortly. Until then I want to see some dancing!”
    That got a few laughs and broke some of the tension, but not all of it. My eyes caught on Angela Zorn and Jorge, who were standing together at the front of the crowd. They were both looking at Dimitri, their expressions neither amused nor contrite, but rather nakedly hostile. I saw similar hostile looks on many other faces. It seemed Dimitri didn’t have any friends in the valley.
    I turned to Alexandra.  “Come with me,” I said and waved them toward the house. As we crossed the lawn, me trailing them, I looked back over my shoulder at Hunt.
    He gave me a wink. “You sure know how to throw a party,” he said. “Floor show and all.”
    I rolled my eyes at him and kept moving.

Chapter 5
     
     
    When we entered the kitchen, it was a flurry of activity and a racket of banging pots and pans. Waiters and waitresses were buzzing in and out the back door with serving and chafing dishes while two young chefs in white tunics and colorful slacks were barking orders and shifting food to and from a series of hot plates and in and out of my twin ovens. The floor was littered with foodstuff and the counters and cabinets were cluttered and sticky with spills and splatters. I groaned at the mess, even though the head chef, an attractive young man named Paul Nitti, had assured me the kitchen would be spotless when they left.
    I pointed down the hallway and spoke to Alexandra, “Take him into the living room. I’ll be right there.”
    Alexandra nodded and continued on as I slipped through the catering crowd to the kitchen drawer to the left of the sink. I grabbed a tea towel and opened the freezer for ice, but there was none in the bin. I had to head back out onto the patio to dip a handful out of the galvanized tin wash tub I had filled with soft drinks. The ice supply was low there too, the sodas and bottled water swimming in water. Where was Jessica? She had gone to town for ice more than an hour ago. It was a forty minute drive round trip. I tried without success to suppress a flash of annoyance, something any mother is more than used to.
    By the time I had woven my way back through the kitchen to the living room, Dimitri was sitting on the sofa with Alexandra at his side. I handed Dimitri the ice-towel and returned to the doorway, anxious to get back to the party.
    He leaned back on the sofa and pressed the cloth to his nose with a groan. “It is broken,” he said.
    “She didn’t hit you that hard, Dimitri,” Alexandra said.
    “I can call a doctor—” I began to offer when we were interrupted again.
    “Is it true?” Samson asked, a note of glee in his voice, as he suddenly came up behind me. “I heard his giant beak has been snapped in two!”
    Standing just inside the living room door as I was, I was blocking his view of Dimitri and Alexandra so maybe his crassness can be explained by saying he didn’t know Dimitri was there. Then again, I doubt Samson would have cared. Tact isn’t his strong suit.
    “I will laugh in his face the next time we meet!” he said “I will—” Whatever else Samson wanted to say stopped halfway out of his mouth as he caught sight of Alexandra.
    “Hello, Samson,” Alexandra said, giving him a smile that would have made most red-blooded males swoon.
    The effect on Samson was quite the opposite. He looked stunned for a moment, his face draining of color, turning a bloodless gray. But that didn’t last long before color flooded his wrinkled old cheeks and his eyes flashed with anger. “You,” he spat, the single word pregnant with contempt.
    “It's been a long time,” Alexandra replied, still smiling, though it looked forced and strained. “You look well.”
    Samson's lips worked wetly and he seemed about to bark something more, but instead of speaking he ducked his head and spat on the floor three