He snorted to himself at that thought. Not a month ago, he’d been telling his brother Philly that shit festered, and it was better to get it out and deal with it. Apparently, what was good for the goose wasn’t good for the gander.
They halted as a car pulled into the courtyard and parked by the side of the kitchen.
“Greg and Akin,” she said.
“Who’s Greg?” He’d met Akin the day he’d helped with the wedding and liked the easygoing but exacting chef.
“Our kitchen manager,” Helia answered. “He takes care of the supplies, repairs, hiring, that sort of thing.”
“What’s going on?” Greg asked, his gaze darting to the activity in the field as he and Akin joined them. Tall with thinning brown hair and the ruddy skin of either an alcoholic or a Brit who’s had too much sun in his life. The kind of man who tried to appear pulled together but never quite succeeded. Not that he needed to look a certain way to be good at his job.
Helia introduced him to the kitchen manager before giving them a brief lowdown on the events of the past few hours.
“Geez, that’s the second murder in a week. It is murder, right?” Greg asked.
Helia nodded. “Based on what Collin saw, yes.”
Both men turned their attention to him. “I’m guessing you weren’t expecting to start your day with that,” Akin said.
“Definitely not,” he replied.
“Did you see anything else?” Greg asked.
Monk shook his head. He didn’t need to repeat what he’d told the detectives about the blood spatter. He didn’t have strong social skills, but even he knew certain information was best left unsaid.
“Did either of you know Kurt Fisher?” Helia asked.
“The fish broker?” Akin asked.
“Didn’t he move to San Francisco?” Greg added.
“Yes and yes,” Helia said.
“It was him?” Greg asked, his gaze back on the vineyard. They couldn’t see much from where they stood, only the occasional bob of a head as it moved around the crime scene and the top of the coroner’s van.
“We think so,” Helia replied. “At least that’s who the detectives asked us about.”
“I saw him the other day,” Greg said. “Maybe four days ago. He was having dinner with Kelly at that new place over on the river. Do you think I should mention it to the police?”
“I’m sure they’ll track his movements and figure it out, but if they reach out to you, it might not hurt to mention. Maybe they talked about something that could help shed some light on what happened,” Helia replied. “Kelly is the social media manager for a lot of wineries, including Bacco,” she added for his benefit.
“You okay?” Akin asked. His gaze taking in both him and Helia.
Helia waggled her head. “It’s been an interesting morning.” Akin’s gaze landed on him, and he nodded in agreement.
“On that note, what are you all up to this morning?” Helia asked. As the three chatted about work for a few minutes, he took the opportunity to study the two men. Akin, the more intense of the pair, held Helia’s gaze as they spoke, never looking away. Although Monk didn’t get any vibes other than professional ones from him. Greg, on the other hand, looked as if his mind was bouncing in a thousand directions—from the goings-on in the vineyard, to the upcoming events, to the scratch on his car he kept eyeing. Watching him was exhausting.
“We have some errands to run in town, so don’t let us keep you,” Helia said, bringing him back to the conversation. “If you need anything, text. We’ll be out for a while.”
Curiosity flared in both men’s eyes, but Helia didn’t give it a chance to go any further. Taking his hand, she led them back to her place, where they found a nervous but not panicked Kendall.
“Come on, kid, we’re busting you out of this joint,” Helia said. “Well, really, we’re going to get you some more clothes, but that sounded better.”
Kendall’s shoulders eased and she rolled her eyes but smiled. Monk didn’t know what the rest of the day would entail, but he enjoyed seeing Helia charm the abandoned child.
Four hours later, they’d visited two box stores, three thrift shops—which Kendall delighted in far more than Monk would have thought—and the grocery store. With a café stop for pastries and drinks in between.
“I’ll drive you to Bacco and maybe we can make a late lunch before I head home?” Helia suggested as they traveled north out of the city of Napa.
