Dead on the Vine: (Violet Vineyard Murder Mysteries #1 (A Cozy Mystery)) by JM Harvey Page A

longing for a nice cool shower, jeans and a T-shirt.
    Ben shuffled along beside me, eyes on the sidewalk, saying nothing as we neared my Mustang. The meter had run out, but just barely.
    “Lucky you didn’t get a ticket,” Ben commented as I unlocked the door and dropped my purse on the passenger seat.
    “That’s okay,” I laughed as I dug under the seat and grabbed the hand-lettered bottle of Vintner’s Reserve cabernet. “I’ve got connections.” I winked at him as my hand found the bottle. I pulled it out and closed the car door.
    “A gift,” I said, handing the bottle to Ben, “not a bribe.”
    Ben smiled, but he looked pained. “You might not be in a giving mood after you hear what I have to say.”
    My smile evaporated. “What is it, Ben?” I asked.
    “Well,” Ben began. “I should let Priest handle this, but he has the impression you don’t like him very much.”
    “I don’t like or dislike him,” I told Ben, “I wouldn’t waste my time.”
    Ben laughed. “That’s what I thought. Well, there’s no easy way to go about this, so let me just spit it out. I’m gonna need you and Jessica to come in to the office and be fingerprinted. Samson and Victor too.” He watched my expression, looking for a reaction I suppose, but his request didn’t seem out of line to me. After all, the murder had happened in my vineyard and Victor had found the body.
    “Did you find fingerprints on the shovel?” I asked, curious at the progress of the investigation.
    Ben nodded slowly. “Some partials and one good palm print. The blood on the blade was Harlan’s.” I shuddered at the image.
    “I’ll go over right now if you like. But why would you think that I’d be upset? I don’t have anything to hide.”
    “Well, I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I’ve known you a long time, Claire.” He looked at me intently for a moment, seeming to inspect my face for signs of poor character, then sighed and ran his fingers through his already messy hair. “Saw Stanley Kostyol this morning.”
    “Oh,” I said.
    “Had a wreck on the freeway. Drunk. He’s in the hospital. Out on bail. His parents don’t have sense enough to let him sit in jail for once,” Ben continued while he looked across the street at an antique store that was spewing junk out its door and across the sidewalk. “Reason I mention this is that Stanley admits to throwing the rock through your window, but he says he saw Jessica in the rows with Kevin. Says they were arguing.”
    “What? Jessica and Kevin? Impossible,” I said, shaking my head. “This is just more of Stanley’s crap, Ben. Jessica broke up with him and now he’s trying to hurt her any way he can. I’ll wring that little bas—“
    “Claire,” Ben cut me off, holding his hands up, palms out. “I don’t know all the facts, and I’m not accusing Jessica of anything—“
    “You know Stanley Kostyol better than I do, and you know what he’s like. He’s a little bas—“
    “Calm down, Claire,” Ben cut in again, and he was actually grinning at me as I fumed and spat. “I just need Jessica’s prints, we’ll compare them and that will be the end of it.”
    “Have you compared Stanley’s prints?” I asked, as a man in cut-off Levis and ugly rawhide sandals glanced at me, letting me know that I was talking too loud.
    “Yeah. No match.” Ben assured me. “Like I said, we can have this cleared up tomorrow afternoon. Our evidence technician, Midge, is out today. How about two o’clock tomorrow?”
    “Fine,” I replied, wiping sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. Not very ladylike, but I didn’t care, I was too irritated with Stanley. Would we never be free of that idiot?
    “Want your wine back?” Ben asked.
    I had to laugh. “No, but save it for us to drink together. By the time this mess is sorted out I’ll need a drink.”
    “You and me both. Well, I better get back there before Priest pisses the DA off. Nothing like lunch with a pair of