100 Proof Murder Read online

  Jill waited for Alexis to defend her mother, but she didn’t. ‘Do you ever drop by the distillery to see how things are running?’ she asked.

  Sadness washed over the old man’s face. ‘I used to, until my son-in-law discouraged my impromptu visits. I couldn’t help but make suggestions when I spotted something I didn’t like.’ Robert winked at Jill. ‘You know how old people don’t like change.’

  Jill snorted. ‘I’m only in my thirties, but I’m not big on change either.’

  ‘I like you, Jean,’ he said. ‘You can come back any time, with or without my granddaughter.’

  ‘Thank you, sir. I will if I have more questions.’ She nibbled a cookie.

  ‘Right now, we’d better let you rest.’ Alexis stuck two cookies in her jacket pocket and then carried their mugs to the sink.

  ‘Don’t be shy. Fill your pockets.’ Robert pointed at Jill. ‘You never know when you’ll get hungry.’

  ‘Thank you, sir. It was lovely to meet you. You too, Buster.’ Jill grabbed several cookies and followed Alexis out the door. ‘Golly, Alexis,’ Jill said once they were away from the house. ‘I wanted to kiss his forehead too. What a sweet man.’

  ‘He really is.’ Alexis readily agreed. ‘That’s why I get so annoyed with my mother … or at least, that’s one of the reasons. She has no patience with him, especially with Grandpa’s increasing forgetfulness.’

  ‘What a shame,’ Jill said as they reached her car.

  ‘That’s life, I suppose.’ Alexis glanced at her watch. ‘I’d better let you get back to Michael and Nick, while I start writing thank-you cards for the people who sent flowers to the church.’

  ‘I’m sure your mother will appreciate your help.’ Jill climbed in her car and rolled down the window.

  ‘My mother?’ Alexis squawked. ‘She would instruct her personal secretary to do it, but I feel they should come from a Parker Scott. Stay in touch, Jill, and call me after your tour of the distillery.’

  On her way back to the hotel, Jill picked up a burger and fries from a drive-through. According to his text, Michael was still at the second distillery on their list, so she had time to transcribe the interview with Mr Parker into her laptop. The historical context that Grandpa Parker had provided was exactly what the article needed for the human angle to bourbon-making. Jill had just finished correcting her typos when her partner walked into their suite.

  ‘Look who’s home.’ Michael slung his equipment bag onto a chair.

  ‘This is not our home. And I hope you had a productive day, because I sure did. I interviewed Robert Parker, Alexis’s grandfather, who built that gorgeous estate and made the distillery into what it is today. And I learned interesting tidbits about his father during Prohibition and the Great Depression.’

  Michael pulled a Coke from the mini fridge. ‘I thought alcohol production screeched to a halt during Prohibition.’

  Jill stared at him over her laptop. ‘Do you live under a rock when you’re not at work? Haven’t you seen any of the movies about bootleggers or Elliot Ness or Al Capone? Booze production and consumption didn’t die during those thirteen years. It merely went underground.’

  He slouched into a chair and drank half the contents of his Coke. ‘Sorry, I hail from a long line of abstainers.’

  ‘So do I, but I’m still aware of twentieth-century history.’

  ‘Let me take a quick shower, then you can educate me over dinner. I’ve got a taste for garlicy pasta, so find us something appropriate.’

  Jill reread her article about Parkers Estate, then found them an Italian restaurant a short walk from their hotel. She allowed herself one glass of Chianti while they shared antipasti and discussed how they had spent the day. Michael had done well with the narrative. He had asked the correct questions and received answers that might turn a ho-hum distillery article into something memorable.

  ‘Well done, Mikey. If your video footage is half as good as your article, you’re looking at a Pulitzer.’ She lifted her wineglass in toast.

  He scoffed at her extreme exaggeration. ‘The video is fine, but I might need help polishing my prose. You’ve got a way with words.’

  ‘It would be my pleasure to tweak the narrative.’ Jill smiled at him. ‘Now, as soon as we shoot video inside Parker Estate distillery on Wednesday, that segment will be finished too. They are resuming public tours. We’ll have two distilleries under our belt.’

  ‘I suggest we hit number three tomorrow, before we run short on time.’ Michael refilled his wineglass from the bottle.

  She hesitated before answering. ‘Sure. Sounds like a plan.’ Jill still didn’t feel comfortable admitting she was helping Alexis solve her father’s murder. ‘Let’s order our entrées, OK? I’m thinking eggplant parmesan.’

  The two partners enjoyed a delicious meal while Jill filled Michael in on everything she’d learned from Alexis and her grandfather about the brand’s early days. She also filled him in on the toxicology results they had learned from Detective Grimes.

  ‘You’re saying the master distiller, William Scott, had been injected with a poison? He was murdered?’ he asked after swallowing a bite of lasagna.

  ‘I am. Louisville homicide detectives have been officially assigned to the case.’

  ‘Good,’ he concluded. ‘That means you’re free to work with me like you should before Mr Fleming wonders what’s taking us so long.’

  Jill smiled as she dragged a piece of bread through the herbed olive oil. ‘Absolutely, but I must admit I’m in no hurry to leave this town. I’ve grown rather fond of Louisville.’

  ‘Or maybe, you’ve grown fond of one of its home-based investigators.’

  ‘One or the other, Erickson.’ Jill reached over to fork up some of his lasagna. The partners had shared each other’s food since day one of working together.

  On the walk back to their hotel, Jill’s phone buzzed in her pocket. ‘What’s up, Mr Harris? Are you enjoying your vacation?’

  ‘I’m a tad lonely. Where are you?’ Nick asked.

  ‘Waddling back to the hotel with Michael. We dined on Italian cuisine tonight. Care to eat my leftovers?’ Jill meant the question as a joke.

  ‘I would love them. I’ll be at your hotel in fifteen minutes. Meet me on the roof. There’s a lovely garden up there.’

  ‘And how would you know that?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m a local and I subscribe to the newspaper. Come alone and bring the takeout box.’ Nick promptly hung up.

  Jill chuckled. ‘Looks like I have a late-night rendezvous on the roof of the Thurman House Hotel.’

  Michael laughed. ‘Don’t blow it, Curtis, with work chitchat. And please, brush your teeth first. You reek of onions and garlic.’

  Taking her partner’s advice, Jill brushed her teeth, sprayed on cologne, and reapplied lipstick. With the leftovers in an insulated cooler, she took the elevator to the floor labeled ‘R’ and approached the only other person appreciating the view of the city.

  ‘Hey, Nick, how’s it going?’

  ‘It’s going well, considering.’ Nick motioned to two plastic chairs that had seen better days. ‘Don’t worry. I already cleaned the mildew off yours.’

  ‘As a token of my appreciation here is some eggplant parmesan with garlic bread for your dining pleasure.’ She placed the cooler by his feet.

  ‘Thanks, but I thought you’d be back from Alexis’s earlier than this.’ Nick’s expression remained unreadable.

  ‘Sorry. I had planned to, but an opportunity came up for me to interview her grandfather, Robert Parker Jr. So I jumped on it. His name brand certainly has had an intriguing history.’

  Nick sat down and leaned back in the rickety Adirondack chair. ‘Yes, it certainly has, and I’m glad you got to interview Robert. But keep in mind I’m looking into these so-called suspects solely for your sake, Jill.’

  His statement and tone of voice surprised her. ‘I know that, and I’m grateful. After the interview, I’d planned to spend the rest of th
e day with you. But Michael reminded me I promised to have dinner with him.’

  Nick reached over and patted her knee. ‘You seem to be burning your candle at both ends.’

  ‘I am, and I don’t like it. But I don’t quite know how to fix this.’ Jill picked up his hand and kissed his fingers. ‘Please don’t give up on me.’

  ‘It would take more than two days of avoiding me for that to happen.’ He brought her hand to his lips. ‘How about we spend tomorrow together? I’d like to take you to Lorraine to meet my mother. Then you could help decide if her memory is failing or not.’

  Jill considered the memory loss in Robert Parker Jr, but talking about Alexis’s grandfather wouldn’t help with the dilemma regarding his mother. She also thought about her promise to accompany Michael to a distillery tomorrow. But that might seal her fate with Nick. Suddenly, every failed relationship of her life flashed through her mind, leaving her paralyzed with fear. Jill uttered the only logical words in such a circumstance, ‘I would love to meet your mother.’

  ‘Great.’ Nick’s smile expanded across his face. ‘We’ll leave first thing in the morning and grab breakfast along the way.’

  ‘Super,’ she said. ‘Now, have you made any headway on the list Alexis sent you?’

  ‘Actually, I have. How could I not with all this time on my hands?’

  Jill swallowed the guilty taste in her mouth. ‘Great, what have you found out?’

  Nick withdrew the list he’d printed from Alexis’s email. ‘One of the recently fired employees stood out for me. Mr Otto Bach was fired two weeks ago and certainly wasn’t happy about his dismissal. The man had to be dragged off the premises by security guards and a restraining order. William Scott, Alexis’s dad, had filed a restraining order because Mr Bach issued several verbal threats against William and his family.’

  ‘Wow,’ Jill murmured. ‘Otto Bach sounds like a loose cannon.’

  ‘He does, indeed. What’s more, Bach has a criminal record of poisoning the neighbor’s dog. From what you told me, the medical examiner feels Mr Scott fell victim to some kind of toxin. Apparently an injection of the substance finished him off.’

  ‘You are awesome, Harris.’

  ‘This is what I do for a living, Jill. Wait, there’s more.’ He lifted her chin with one finger. ‘While you were talking to Grandpa Parker, I contacted a friend of mine in the Louisville PD. He told me, off the record, that a search warrant has been issued for Mr Bach’s house.’

  ‘Holy cow,’ she blurted out for a lack of something more profound.

  ‘Keep in mind, off the record means you can’t share this with Alexis.’

  ‘I promise, I won’t.’ Jill drew an X across where she imagined her heart to be. ‘I can’t wait to hear what they find inside Bach’s home.’

  ‘Wait no more, pretty woman. Louisville’s finest found plenty of poison and miscellaneous toxins in both the house and the garage. Apparently, Otto purchased them legally online, which is a very frightening thought. Bach also recently visited websites which detail a particular toxin’s effect on the central nervous systems. The police arrested Bach and will hold him for twenty-four hours to see if any of the collected samples match whatever toxin killed Mr Scott once full results of the tox screen are in.’

  Jill leaned over and planted a kiss on Nick’s lips. ‘You are unbelievable, Magic Man.’

  ‘Like I said, share none of this with Alexis. The homicide detective in charge of the investigation will bring the family up to speed in due course. I’m hoping this break in the case will grant me a bit of your time, Miss Curtis. I am on vacation this week.’

  ‘I believe it will, Trooper. How about tomorrow, starting at eight a.m.? Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.’

  Nick leaned over and kissed her squarely on the lips. ‘Perfect. I’ll pick up breakfast sandwiches to eat along the way. In the meantime, let’s get you back inside. I’ll eat my leftovers when I get home. You’re starting to shiver.’

  Jill exited the elevator at her floor, opened the door with her keycard and announced in a loud voice, ‘Erickson, are you still awake? We need to have a heart-to-heart chat.’

  Her conversation with Michael went better than she hoped. At least the part about spending the day with Nick instead of working. Her partner understood this was her only chance to see if they had a future together. And since Michael hadn’t had any more success with long-time relationships than she’d had, he cut her some slack. However, he still didn’t like the fact she’d stuck her nose into Alexis’s personal life.

  ‘Haven’t you learned anything at all?’ Michael demanded. ‘You got yourself kidnapped and nearly killed while trying to play Nancy Drew in Roseville. Let the police handle William Scott’s murder.’ With that Michael walked into his room and slammed the door. He would’ve been so pleased to know Nick agreed with him wholeheartedly.

  Right then and there Jill made up her mind not to mention the words ‘murder’ or ‘Alexis Scott’ or ‘poison’ at all tomorrow. The day would belong exclusively to Nick and his mother.

  When Nick screeched to a stop in front of Thurman House the next day, Jill was waiting under the awning at the entrance. ‘Good morning, beautiful. Lovely weather we’re having, no?’

  ‘Rain won’t dampen our little excursion to Lorraine. What’s in the bag? I’m starving.’

  He checked his side mirror before pulling into traffic. ‘Fried egg sandwiches with bacon and cheese on croissants. Hash brown patties and coffee.’

  ‘Sounds wonderful. Did you make them yourself?’

  ‘Sure I did,’ Nick teased. ‘Don’t believe what you read on the wrappers or the bag.’

  Jill partially unwrapped one for him, then started nibbling on hers. For a few minutes they ate in silence. Once they left the busy Louisville streets behind, she packed up the trash and pivoted on the seat. ‘According to Google, we have just under two hours. I want you to tell me everything about the Harris family – your parents, your sisters, every pet you’ve ever owned. Don’t leave out a single juicy tidbit. And on the way home, I’ll do the same for you. Before we fall head-over-heels in love, we’d better learn about the skeletons in the closet.’

  Nick smiled, thinking how close to head-over-heals he already was. While nursing his cup of coffee, he considered exactly how much to tell. Would he mention how his father always had a difficult time keeping a job? That every time his mother had tucked away a bit of money for Christmas or an emergency household expense, Dad had decided he couldn’t stand another day in the repair shop and quit? Would he mention that if their house hadn’t been left to them by grandparents, they probably would have landed on the street? Should he tell Jill that his mother often used to drive to the food bank and Goodwill in the next town where she wouldn’t be recognized? Or that she often went hungry to make sure her kids had enough to eat? Was this the picture he wanted to paint before Jill’s first visit? In the end, Nick kept his narrative sweet and simple, suitable for all ages.

  ‘Let’s see,’ he began. ‘Dad worked as an auto mechanic, while Mom stayed home raising three girls and one obnoxious son.’ That prompted a giggle from Jill. ‘Money was usually tight, but we always had clothes to wear and enough food to eat.’ No lie there. ‘My older sisters all opted for vocational training and married young. Today one is a hairstylist, one works in a local bakery, and one sells cosmetics from home. All are married and mothers.’

  ‘You’re the only one to graduate from a four-year college?’

  ‘I am, but only because I had a football scholarship for two years, and worked full-time during the other two.’

  ‘You were ambitious.’ Jill studied him over her cup of coffee.

  ‘I was, but I also didn’t need much sleep back then.’

  ‘What position did you play?’

  ‘I was a running back for the Louisville Cardinals, but after two years they cut me from the team since I wasn’t fast enough.’

  ‘And that’s when you met Alexis?’
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br />   Nick glanced at her, not wishing the conversation to go in that direction. ‘I suppose so. But my greatest joy was when my family showed up at away football games in high school. Grandpa raised tobacco, so he wore a wide-brimmed straw hat and drove an old pickup truck. Grandma wore these flowered housedresses straight from The Waltons. They were a hoot from another era and I loved them so much.’

  ‘I’ve never seen a tobacco plant. How’s it grown?’ she asked.

  Grateful for the benign topic, Nick launched into a description of everything he knew about planting, harvesting, and selling the formerly profitable crop. Next he told Jill everything he could remember about his nephews’ and nieces’ accomplishments in sports and academics. Not because he wanted to brag, but because he didn’t want to talk about Alexis. By the time Jill finished asking questions, they had reached the sign Welcome to Lorraine – Friendliest town in Kentucky.

  ‘Let’s drive by the high school,’ she demanded. ‘Then show me where you went to church, got a pizza, or ate an ice cream cone. I find small towns fascinating.’

  Nick easily fulfilled the three requests by circling one city block, then pulled into his mother’s driveway. ‘Here we are … home sweet home.’ Suddenly Nick noticed the peeling paint, one shutter hanging lopsided, and several shingles missing from the roof.

  ‘What an adorable Cape Cod,’ Jill exclaimed, jumping from the car. ‘I can’t wait to meet your mom.’

  Jill’s fourth wish was soon granted when Julie Harris stepped onto the porch, wearing a sweater, slacks, and a touch of make-up. ‘You must be Jill. Nick told me you were coming. Nice to meet you.’ Julie stretched out both arms.

  ‘The pleasure is mine.’ Jill stepped into her embrace. ‘Your rosebushes are gorgeous. Are they tons of work?’

  ‘No, not really.’ His mother offered pruning tips as they entered the living room and sat down where nothing was out of place. Even the stack of magazines was perfectly straight. Nick settled on the couch and tried to relax as the women chatted about gardens and flowers. At least for a little while.

  ‘Nicky, why don’t you get us something to drink?’ Julie asked. ‘I have soft drinks and a pitcher of iced tea.’