Bitter Finish Read Online Free PDF Page A

shoulders, started to massage the base of her neck. She tensed at the first contact, but didn't pull away.
    " When did you last see Lenny?" he asked.
    She counted on her fingers. "Three days, four days . . . Sunday night."
    " Doing what?"
    "He wasn't dying, Spraggtie, if that's what you mean."
    He pressed dovm firmly on her shoulder blades.
    "Relax. Did he say anything about taking a trip, about anyone he wanted to see?"
    " No. Not that I remember?
    "Is your memory failing?"
    " No," Kate snapped.
    " Then you weren't paying attention to what Lenny said."
    " Maybe not."
    He moved his thumbs in a circular pattern down her spinal column. She sighed and flexed her shoulders.
    " Where were you?" he asked.
    "In the house. The kitchen, to be exact."
    " Eating?"
    "We had coffee."
    " And there was nothing unusual about your conversation? As far as you could tell, Lenny planned to be out in the vineyards first thing Monday morning."
    Spraggue kept rubbing her back, feeling the taut muscles under the thin shirt. He wished he could see her face.
    " Yes?" he prompted.
    "We had a fight, Spraggue."
    " Ah."
    " Yeah."
    " Great," he said. "You went a few rounds with Lenny right before he mysteriously disappeared. A real screamer, I suppose."
    She turned and looked up at him. The corners of her eyes crinkled. "Do I scream?"
    "A real screamer," Spraggue repeated.
    "Ouch! Not so hard."
    " Sorry. Loud enough for any passing patrol car or nosy cellar-crew kid to get an earful. Lenny gets mad, takes off. You call the cops. They find a body. You're candidate number one."
    "I didn't plan it that way," Kate said. "More to the right"
    " Here?"
    "Mmmmmmm."
    " What did you fight about?"
    She turned again. This time her eyes were hard black diamonds. "Technology, Spraggue," she said, over-pronouncing each syllable. "We fought about the harvest. I wanted to take a sugar level twice a day for the next week, and Lenny—you know him and his damned artistry'—he didn't want me to. Didn't want any 'chemistry' involved. Wanted to go on the look and the feel and the taste of the grape. Why did I hire him if I wanted a chemist? You know. I got the whole Lenny-European-wine- grower-crush-the-grapes-with-his-own-feet routine."
    "You knew he'd pull that when you hired him."
    "I knew it, but I didn't really believe it. I didn't agree not to fight with him about it! There's got to be a balance between art and craft somewhere! Lenny was impossible."
    " Was?"
    " Was then, is now, I assume. I doubt he's suddenly gotten religion and become a humble monk at Christian Brothers." She pulled away, turned, and lay back on the grass. Spraggue thought she was even more beautiful at thirty-two than she'd been at nineteen. The shadows under her eyes gave her a bruised, vulnerable look. The longing to hold her, to accept her offer of easy, uncomplicated coupling came over him so suddenly he had to glance away. The moment wouldn't happen again. If they slept together, if they even stayed in the same house, it would be on uncertain terms now, delicate ground.
    "Could you stick around, Spraggue?" she asked, shading her eyes with her palm. "Until Lenny gets back? I'm not sure I can handle the crush alone."
    " You're just tired."
    " No. Really."
    "You could get Howard to come in."
    " Ruberman? You think he'd fill in for Lenny?"
    " Maybe."
    " Not if I asked him. He took it hard when I let him go."
    "I could ask."
    " Go ahead. But I'd rather have you,"
    Spraggue smiled. "I've done my stuff. You're out of the clink, and I've got location shots to film in Boston."
    "You said the movie didn't start until Sunday."
    "Your memory's coming back."
    Kate rolled over on her stomach, pushing herself up into a kneeling position. She placed a hand on each of his thighs, peered into his eyes until he wondered what she could see. "Find Lenny," she said softly. "Stay long enough to find him. I really am worried."
    " Where would I look? Who would I ask? I don't know my way around here anymore."
    " I'll