Aaron Elkins: Dying on the Vine

“And so, your conclusion,” Gideon said, summing up for him when Rocco seemed to have finished, “is that, having gone to the cabin at Cesare’s request, and having found Pietro’s body, he’d already made up his mind to kill Nola and make it look as if she were the one who died first. So he had to lie like crazy— Pietro was there, sure, but don’t go near him, you’ll ruin everything! —to keep Cesare away.”

“Right. And then, as for killing Cesare, you know, I wondered at first why he took so long to get around to that. But then I realized there was no reason for him to do it, not until, well—”

“Yeah, I know. Not until we blabbed to everybody that Pietro had died long before Nola did—which suddenly made Cesare a threat to him, on account of those exchanges. Until then, there was nothing in them that contradicted the Pietro-killed-Nola fairy tale.”

“Yup. We broke the news to them—including our boy Nico—on Friday afternoon. Saturday morning, Cesare was dead. So . . . that’s the story. What do you think?”

“Rocco, I think you’ve nailed it.”

“Me too, buddy,” Rocco said happily. “And the public prosecutor says it’s a go. Thanks a million for your help. And thank Julie!”

• • •

“THAT wasn’t Betty,” Julie said, coming back outside after answering the phone.

It had been two weeks since they’d returned home to Port Angeles. It was late September now, so the gloomy rainy season couldn’t be far behind, and they’d been taking advantage of what might be the last of the sunny, golden evenings of fall and sitting out on their deck before dinner, watching the big Black Ball auto ferry from Victoria do its usual smooth, impressive job of pulling—backward and sideways—up to the ferry dock, when they’d heard the phone ring inside the house.

“I’ll get it,” Julie had said, getting up. “I’m pretty sure it’s my sister.”

Gideon had been more than content to continue to remain outside in the mild breeze, sipping his martini on the rocks and munching on an occasional shrimp or little wedge of Gorgonzola from the plate of appetizers they’d brought out with them. The call had taken a surprisingly long time—twenty minutes—and as he’d just learned, it hadn’t been from Julie’s sister Betty.

Julie dropped into the deck chair she’d been sitting in before and dipped a shrimp into the cocktail sauce. “That,” she said, chewing, “was Linda.”

“And what did she have to say? I can tell from the look on your face that it was something interesting. Something about the trial?”

“No, nothing about that. Gideon, that night at the Vino e Cucina reception—do you remember a woman we were talking to? Tall, kind of imposing . . .”

He raised his voice to an imperious mezzo-soprano “‘So what is it that a Skeleton Doctor does exactly, anyway?’ Was she somebody important? She seemed to think so.”

“She is important. She’s a TV producer, and she works with the Food Network. She was there to look Luca over as the host for a possible cooking show.”

“Was she? He’d be great at that.”

“That’s what she thought. Luca’s got himself a show. Guess what it’s called?”

“I have no idea.”

“Sure you do. Take a guess.”

He thought for a moment. “ La Cucina di Nonna Gina ?”

“That’s it. La Cucina di Nonna Gina with Chef Luca Cubbiddu .”

“Well, good for him. He’ll love it. And they’ll love him. Here’s to Luca and Grandma Gina.” He raised his glass and they clinked.

“They’ve been filming right there at Villa Antica since yesterday. First show airs here October 19. He’s starting with a tricky dish to make right; I messed up when he tried to teach us in the class. But I’ll record the program this time. He says it’s one dish you can freeze— if you do it at the right stage—so I can make enough for a few meals. It’ll be a wonderful one-dish dinner on cold winter nights.”

“Sounds good. What is it?”

“ Ossobuco. I’ll make a ton of it.”

Gideon downed the rest of his martini, choking just a little, and rose with his glass. “You know, I believe I’ll have another.”

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Other titles by Aaron Elkins

Gideon Oliver Novels

DYING ON THE VINE*

SKULL DUGGERY*

UNEASY RELATIONS*

LITTLE TINY TEETH*

UNNATURAL SELECTION*

WHERE THERE’S A WILL*

GOOD BLOOD*

SKELETON DANCE

TWENTY BLUE DEVILS

DEAD MEN’S HEARTS

MAKE NO BONES

ICY CLUTCHES

CURSES!

OLD BONES*

MURDER IN THE QUEEN’S ARMES*

THE DARK PLACE*

FELLOWSHIP OF FEAR*

Chris Norgren Novels

OLD SCORES

A GLANCING LIGHT

DECEPTIVE CLARITY

Lee Ofsted Novels (with Charlotte Elkins)

ON THE FRINGE

WHERE HAVE ALL THE BIRDIES GONE?

NASTY BREAKS

ROTTEN LIES

A WICKED SLICE

Thrillers

TURNCOAT

LOOT

THE WORST THING

*Available from Berkley Prime Crime

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DYING ON THE VINE

Copyright © 2012 by Aaron Elkins.

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