Ellen Crosby - The Merlot Murders

“What do you mean?” One of Eli’s nervous tics was a habit of bouncing one foot up and down like his toes were attached to a spring. Right now his right leg was twitching like an electric current was running through it.

Mason looked at him over the top of his glasses. “Leland left the vineyard to the three of you, just like he always planned.” He’d switched to his courtroom voice. “But he wasn’t sure if y’all would always agree on things, so he named Fitz the director of the corporation that owns it. That would have given him day-to-day control of the business.”

“Who runs it now that he’s gone?” I asked.

“It reverts to the three of you. You each have one vote, except for the person who owns Highland House. This house. That person gets two votes.”

“Who owns the house?” Eli asked.

“Lee couldn’t decide,” Mason said.

“What do you mean, he couldn’t decide?”

“Just that. So he figured rather than play favorites, he would leave it up to the two of you, Lucie and Eli. He wants you to roll dice for it. High score wins Highland House. The other one gets the house in France.” He turned to Mia. “As for you, darlin’, there’s a trust from your momma’s family that passes to you. You can’t have control of the money until your thirtieth birthday, but you will have an allowance. As custodian I can also authorize payment of certain essential expenses like your college tuition, for example.”

“How much…is there?” Mia seemed startled. “I never knew anything about this.”

Mason consulted his notes. “It’s just shy of half a million. You’re well taken care of, child.”

“This is ridiculous,” Eli interrupted. “I mean, I’m glad Mia got the trust money, but everything should be divided equally. I don’t believe this.”

Mia glanced at him wide-eyed.

“That’s not how your daddy set things up,” Mason folded his glasses and set them on top of his papers. “He didn’t want to have to choose who got which house—and there was no way to divide two houses three ways. So he came to this arrangement—on his own, I might add. You know how Lee liked gambling.”

Eli helped himself to more Scotch. “I guess I’d better get the dice.”

“Now?” I stared at him. “You want to do it now ?”

“Why not? You can’t practice for this, you know.”

“Very funny. I’m really tired.”

“Let’s get it over with.”

I looked at Mason, who nodded. “Just as well.”

Eli went back inside the house, the screen door banging noisily behind him.

“Do you want another drink?” I asked Mason.

He reached for the bourbon. “I think I will. You having something, too, darlin’?”

“The white wine must be in the refrigerator. I think I could use another drink, too. Mimi, you change your mind? Want something?”

She was sitting on the love seat Indian style, picking the petals out of her daisy and setting them in a pattern on the coffee table. She looked up. “You haven’t called me that in years.”

“Old habits.”

“Nothing, thanks.”

Eli held the dice, clacking them in his hand when I came back to the porch with an open bottle of last year’s Chardonnay.

“These are the only ones I could find.”

“The Monopoly dice,” Mia said. “Where were they?”

“Are those legal?” I asked.

“In the drawer of the telephone table in the foyer,” Eli said. “And dice are dice.”

“Not necessarily,” I said. “Hand them over.”

He clacked them together again.

“He had trick dice when we were kids,” I explained to Mason.

“I was eight.” He slapped them into my open hand. “Oh, all right. Since you’ve got them, you roll first.”

I blew on the dice, closed my eyes, and tossed them. They sounded like pebbles as they bounced on the glass table. Before I could open my eyes, I heard Eli’s voice and the elation was unmistakable. “Three! You rolled a three!”

So he’d won, after all. Now he had the legal right to sell the house and the vineyard and there was nothing I could do to stop him. His two votes and Mia’s in favor of selling stacked up against my lone vote to hang on to it and run the vineyard ourselves. He’d probably have the FOR SALE sign up first thing tomorrow morning. Sooner, if he could find somebody who’d do it tonight.

“Your turn, Eli,” Mason said, after I sat there, mute, staring at my brother.

“Sure.” He scooped up the dice and winked triumphantly. If we’d been younger and Mason weren’t around, I might have done something to wipe the smirk off his face.

But we were older and I’d just lost my home by throwing a stupid three with a pair of Monopoly dice. Now Eli could have a swan swimming around a big fountain in the front yard of some castle he was building in Leesburg. I picked up my glass and drank long and deep.

The dice cracked against the glass table like bullets before ricocheting off the edge and clattering to the floor.

“Nice move,” I said.

“Where’d they go?” Mia asked.

“Over here.” Mason pointed under an end table. He stood up and peered at the spot he’d just indicated. “It’s too dark. Hand me that lantern, will you?”

Mia gave it to him. “Be careful or you’ll get lamp oil on yourself.”

He bent over cranelike and angled the light nearer to the floor. “If that doesn’t beat all.” He stood up and set the lamp back on the table. “Snake eyes.” He pulled a folded handkerchief out of his breast pocket and wiped his hands.

“What?” Eli said.

“A two. You rolled a two.” He refolded the handkerchief and stuffed it carefully back in his pocket.

“Lucie won ?” Mia sounded incredulous.

“A three beats a two,” Mason said.

“Are you sure it’s a two?” Eli asked. “It’s pretty dark.”

“Check for yourself, son.” Mason looked levelly at my brother and, for a moment, I thought Eli actually might get down on his hands and knees and crawl under that end table. But if he did, it was as good as calling Mason a liar.

He shifted uncomfortably and looked away. “It’s okay. I’m sure you’re right.”

“Well, we’ll talk about all this later, children,” Mason stood and picked up the folder. “I’d best be getting home now.”

“Lucie and I’ll be talking about things, too,” Eli said, glancing at me.

“What’s going on?” Brandi, wide-eyed and alert, stood at the door to the veranda.

“Well, hello there, angel face. Nothing’s going on. Mason just stopped by for a drink.” Eli had jumped up at the sound of her voice. “Did you have a good nap?”

“I’m hot,” she said. “I want to go home.”

“Of course, princess. We’ll leave right away. I’ll bring the car up to the front door so you don’t have to walk too much.”

If he could have, I’m sure he would have driven it right on to the veranda so princess didn’t have to walk at all. I don’t know why it grated on me so much, but Eli’s transformation into the arche-typal touchy-feely sensitive male seemed about as genuine as those publishing house letters announcing you’ve just won $10 million. He hadn’t exactly been in touch with his feminine side when he dated Kit. Back then, his idea of a fun evening was for her to watch him play Formula 1 video games all night with the guys at one of the truck-stop restaurants on Route 29.

As he walked past me, he leaned over and said in a calm, low voice, “You need to be reasonable about all this, Luce. We’ll be talking.”

“I’m always reasonable,” I said quietly, but I could feel the skin prickle on the back of my neck.

“I’ve got to get something upstairs,” Mia said. “Then I’m going, too.”