Christmastime Danger

Published by: eXtasy Books

Author : Donna Del Oro

ISBN :978-1-4874-4257-6

Page :15

Word Count :3442

Publication Date :2024-12-20

Series : #

Heat Level :

Available Formats :

Category : Coming Soon , Contemporary , Mystery and Suspense

Product Code: 978-1-4874-4257-6

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Can a simple blind date at Christmastime go horribly wrong?

Tracey, a young, deaf woman with low self-confidence agrees to a blind date with an older man at his own winery in Northern California because he knows American Sign Language and wants to practice with her.

Little do they know that someone is out to poison the man with a bottle of his own wine. And Tracey is there to witness the horrible event. Will her disability prevent her from helping him and finding his attacker? Not if she has anything to do about it!

With her nursing degree and sharp eyes, Tracey rises to the occasion and proves that indeed, Fortune favors the bold.

After the first bottle of wine—a Pinot Grigio—appeared and was poured by the bartender, Dan raised his glass, and I dutifully followed his lead. Although much older than I, Dan put me at ease with his easy charm, his quick smile, and his nervous quirks as his eyes darted around the room as if afraid of being caught with his pants down, or something. Then I noticed his twisting of his wedding ring, a sign to me that his wife probably wasn’t aware of this date.

I signed to him that I hadn’t known he was married and he signed back that his wife was out of town that weekend. It was no concern of hers that he wanted to meet with a pretty, young woman and practice signing. Even as I smiled in return, I decided to cut this evening short. Needless to say, I felt uncomfortable sharing an evening with a married man.

This was not my first wine tasting, and the experience had a disquieting effect on me. I recalled my last date with my sweetheart Jake before he announced he was leaving California to work in New Mexico. Jake was my first non-deaf boyfriend who’d learned ASL just to communicate with me. He also helped me improve my ability to read lips and was working on an AI device to turn texting into computer-generated human speech. I miss him so much!

Dan and I signed/chatted at the third-grade level of ASL while we sipped the Pinot Grigio. We got acquainted, and I listened about his younger brother’s challenges growing up, employing him as his company’s accountant, trusting no one but him to help him grow his vineyards in Sonoma County, his orchards in Placer County, expanding into a winery-resort like this one, which he called Leroy’s Villa Winery of Granite Bay.

Hors d’oeuvres arrived on silver platters, and we indulged ourselves, causing a lull in our signing as our hands were occupied. There was delicious bruschetta and pita bread squares topped with fig preserves and arugula. Along with Spanish Manchego cheese slices served with rounds of spicy chorizo and piquillo peppers.

Before we knew it, the bottle of Pinot was empty, and Dan LeRoy called the bartender for another, a red wine this time. I couldn’t drink anymore and signed so, but that didn’t deter Dan from ordering a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. I don’t like red wine so I declined, mentally searching for a polite way to leave. Needing time to think of one, I excused myself and asked where the restrooms were. Dan pointed, and as I walked past the bar, I noticed the bartender fiddling with the cork on the bottle of red wine. He’d removed the melted wax and was fingering the cork in a strange way.

Not wanting to stare, I moved on and found the ladies’ room. During my ablutions, I came up with an excuse to leave. A massive headache from the wonderful wine and rich food.

By the time I returned to the private room, Dan was slugging down his Cab wine. The bartender stopped me and handed me a glass of Diet Coke, having overheard Dan repeat my insistence that I didn’t drink red wine aloud.

I sat down, scanning the scant remains of our meal, the Cab bottle and its cork lying near Dan’s plate. A quick glance over Dan’s shoulder at the bartender gave me the chills. The expression on his face as he stared at Dan’s back was a combination of fear, hatred, and glee. I wondered what emotional dynamics were in play and why. What had Dan done to the bartender to invoke such venal emotions?

All of a sudden, Dan clutched his throat, then pounded his chest, his mouth agape as though he were struggling for air. Seconds later, he collapsed out of his chair onto the tiled floor. It took a moment for me to react, but I punched 9-1-1 on my cell phone, squeaking out, “Emergency! Come to—” I texted the LeRoy Villa Winery and private bar/dining room and flung the phone down on the table. Without realizing why at that moment, I grabbed the cork and put it in my jacket pocket.