home.
I maneuvered my Prius around a grape truck that was ready to take another load to the winery.
After pouring the cat food into the new container, I snapped the lid shut, then secured it with two metal snaps. This time, I wasn’t going to be so presumptuous. If the container was still sealed in the morning, then I’d declare victory, but not until then.
Andy watched me open the trunk of my car and did a double-take when he saw me hoist the shotgun out. I smiled and waved at him as I carried it inside to slide it under my bed and wonder just what I’d do with it. I read through the instruction manual but it seemed to be geared toward someone who’d actually fired a gun at least once in their life.
I returned to work on my Zinfandel challenge until everything began to blur and was just about to stop for lunch when there was a knock at my door. I opened it to find Andy standing there, not looking nearly as arrogant as he had all morning. “I need to show you something,” he said.
“What?” I snapped. “The Zen master left the crew unattended?”
He remained stone-faced. He was up to something, I was pretty sure, but I followed him anyway.
“Where are we going?” I asked as I trailed behind him toward the vineyard.
“You’ll see.”
“Come on. Give me a hint.”
“You know you have a cave on your property?”
“Yes. The original owners dug it, supposedly for cold storage, but I think they were actually running an illegal still. It was back during prohibition.”
“You ever been in the cave?”
“Once, when I was thinking of buying the place. What is this about?” Then I had a horrible thought. “Don’t tell me you found more marijuana plants.”
He stopped and gaped at me. “Why, are you missing some?”
“No! It’s just that they found some plants… never mind.”
We hiked to the far end of the vineyard where some of the pickers had stopped for lunch. The cave was on the other side of the vineyard fence, cut into the side of the hill and close enough to the creek to be camouflaged by thick willow growth. We crawled through the fence and I parted the willow branches and started to push through when a strange noise made me stop. It sounded like static on a radio. “What is that?”
“You’ll see,” Andy said.
I broke through to the other side of the willows and gawked at the source of the racket—two baby buzzards just inside the mouth of the cave, swaying and hissing at us like a couple of king cobras. “Oh my God,” I said, smiling at the sight. “They’re just babies.”
They were so ugly they were cute. They still had white fluffy down around the base of their necks but stiff black feathers were just beginning to poke out. Their heads and necks were featherless. They were big for babies and I wondered just how large momma and daddy were, and where they were, and if they’d be angry that we were peeking in on the kids.
“One of the workers wandered up here looking for shade to eat lunch when he stumbled on them,” Andy explained.
“We should leave them alone. Their parents are probably out shopping for dinner,” I said.
“I’m afraid that’s not going to be an option.”
“They’re not hurting anything. Leave them alone.”
Andy frowned and shook his head. “Look in the cave, behind the nest.” He took a flashlight from his back pocket and shined it into the cave.
I squinted and leaned a little closer until I could just make out the object his light was focused on. It was a human body, or what was left of it after the buzzard family had feasted on it.
Chapter Seven
A ll that was missing from my front yard was the big circus tent. Grape trucks were lined up on my lawn. Farm laborers’ cars were parked along the road in front of the house. Six police cars jammed my driveway. A van from animal control blocked my car in under the carport and the
I maneuvered my Prius around a grape truck that was ready to take another load to the winery.
After pouring the cat food into the new container, I snapped the lid shut, then secured it with two metal snaps. This time, I wasn’t going to be so presumptuous. If the container was still sealed in the morning, then I’d declare victory, but not until then.
Andy watched me open the trunk of my car and did a double-take when he saw me hoist the shotgun out. I smiled and waved at him as I carried it inside to slide it under my bed and wonder just what I’d do with it. I read through the instruction manual but it seemed to be geared toward someone who’d actually fired a gun at least once in their life.
I returned to work on my Zinfandel challenge until everything began to blur and was just about to stop for lunch when there was a knock at my door. I opened it to find Andy standing there, not looking nearly as arrogant as he had all morning. “I need to show you something,” he said.
“What?” I snapped. “The Zen master left the crew unattended?”
He remained stone-faced. He was up to something, I was pretty sure, but I followed him anyway.
“Where are we going?” I asked as I trailed behind him toward the vineyard.
“You’ll see.”
“Come on. Give me a hint.”
“You know you have a cave on your property?”
“Yes. The original owners dug it, supposedly for cold storage, but I think they were actually running an illegal still. It was back during prohibition.”
“You ever been in the cave?”
“Once, when I was thinking of buying the place. What is this about?” Then I had a horrible thought. “Don’t tell me you found more marijuana plants.”
He stopped and gaped at me. “Why, are you missing some?”
“No! It’s just that they found some plants… never mind.”
We hiked to the far end of the vineyard where some of the pickers had stopped for lunch. The cave was on the other side of the vineyard fence, cut into the side of the hill and close enough to the creek to be camouflaged by thick willow growth. We crawled through the fence and I parted the willow branches and started to push through when a strange noise made me stop. It sounded like static on a radio. “What is that?”
“You’ll see,” Andy said.
I broke through to the other side of the willows and gawked at the source of the racket—two baby buzzards just inside the mouth of the cave, swaying and hissing at us like a couple of king cobras. “Oh my God,” I said, smiling at the sight. “They’re just babies.”
They were so ugly they were cute. They still had white fluffy down around the base of their necks but stiff black feathers were just beginning to poke out. Their heads and necks were featherless. They were big for babies and I wondered just how large momma and daddy were, and where they were, and if they’d be angry that we were peeking in on the kids.
“One of the workers wandered up here looking for shade to eat lunch when he stumbled on them,” Andy explained.
“We should leave them alone. Their parents are probably out shopping for dinner,” I said.
“I’m afraid that’s not going to be an option.”
“They’re not hurting anything. Leave them alone.”
Andy frowned and shook his head. “Look in the cave, behind the nest.” He took a flashlight from his back pocket and shined it into the cave.
I squinted and leaned a little closer until I could just make out the object his light was focused on. It was a human body, or what was left of it after the buzzard family had feasted on it.
Chapter Seven
A ll that was missing from my front yard was the big circus tent. Grape trucks were lined up on my lawn. Farm laborers’ cars were parked along the road in front of the house. Six police cars jammed my driveway. A van from animal control blocked my car in under the carport and the
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