A Good Day for Chardonnay (Sunshine Vicram #2) by Darynda Jones

Her stomach flip-flopped and clenched. She couldn’t move. Just when she’d convinced herself it was probably a mannequin, the breeze shifted and the putrid scent of death hit her like a wrecking ball.

Her lungs seized and she went completely still, suddenly scared that whatever had happened to the person lying in the ravine could happen to her. She was, once again, smack-dab in the middle of a crime scene. A crime scene that had to be secured.

Glancing around, she lowered the brightness on her phone, now scared she would attract attention, and brought up her contacts. With shaking fingers, she dialed her mother’s cell.

Her mom answered, her tone teasing. “It’s late. And you are grounded from your phone for all eternity. This better be good.”

“Mommy,” she said, her voice as small as she could make it.

Auri could hear the alarm in her mom’s voice when she said, “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

“I—I think I found a dead body.”





18


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Instead of accompanying Levi to the cabin to look for Elliot like she’d wanted, Sun spent the last few hours going over the case files and the trial records for Matthew Kent’s conviction. Levi went without her. He promised to call the minute he knew something one way or another, but she didn’t know if he had cell service. If he had a way to contact her.

Matthew Kent refused to name any of his accomplices, the people he said were actually pulling the strings, exclaiming to anyone who would listen that they would kill him. He played the fall-guy part for everything it was worth. And with Elliot’s disappearance, he very nearly got away with it.

Investigators lost the money trail after it left a bank in the Caymans. Tens of millions of dollars. Money didn’t just disappear. Someone had it, but by the looks of Addison Kent, it was not her or her husband.

In the pictures from the trial, Addison looked exhausted. Her dark hair unkempt. Her pale face hollow. She’d been through the wringer thanks to her husband. The fact that they were still married baffled Sun, but maybe Addison just didn’t want to file for divorce while her husband was in prison.

She looked over at Rojas. He was still there, going through the footage from both the bar and the Quick-Mart, hoping to catch a glimpse of the men in the pickup. Without it, they had nothing.

“Rojas, I was impressed with you before I blackmailed you into joining the team. Go home. This can wait until tomorrow.”

“What’s your excuse then?” he asked. “You know, if it can wait.” He stood and walked over to her. “You want me to make a fresh pot before I go?”

She smiled like he’d just offered her a little slice of heaven.

Headlights filtered through the front glass of the station. Levi pulled up and parked. He must not have found Elliot.

“I got it,” Rojas said, going to let him in.

Her phone rang. She looked at the clock. Eleven thirty on a school night. Her daughter had better have a good excuse for staying up so late.

She clicked on the green button. “It’s late. And you are grounded from your phone for all eternity. This better be good.”

“Mommy,” Auri said, her voice so soft she almost didn’t hear her.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

“I—I think I found a dead body.”

Sun scrambled to her feet and followed Rojas out the front. “Where are you?”

“I fell.”

She snapped her fingers at Rojas and signaled him to get to his cruiser. He nodded and took off toward his parked SUV while she commandeered Levi’s vehicle. “Where, baby?” she asked.

Levi didn’t hesitate. He climbed back into his pickup while Sun got into the passenger’s side.

“You know that little bridge on Sunrise?”

“Saviata. Yes. I’m almost there.”

Levi backed out and had her on Sunrise in less than two minutes. Rojas followed with his emergency flashers on.

They skidded to a halt and Levi was out the door faster than Sun could get unbuckled.

“Don’t come down here!” Auri shouted.

Rojas brought out a flashlight and searched with the beam until it found her.

Levi started down the ravine.

“Don’t come down here!” Auri shouted, giving it another shot. “It’s a crime scene.”

The smell hit Sun about that time and served only to spur her panic into hyperdrive. She followed Levi down.

“Crime! Scene!”

Ignoring Auri, Levi replied as eloquently as ever, “Bite. Me.” He skidded to a halt on the incline, maneuvered around to her, then looked up at Rojas and clapped his hands once. Rojas tossed him the flashlight while he called for an ambulance.

“Levi,” Auri said, visibly shaking.

“What the hell, Red?”

Sun kicked up enough dirt to bury them both when she tried to stop on the incline beside Levi.

“What part of crime scene is no one but me understanding?”

“Auri, baby, what happened?”

“I fell,” she said. “And my bike came with me.”

Levi shined the light. “Can you stand?”

“My foot is caught in the chain. Nothing is broken though. I’m not experiencing any nausea or extreme pain. I’m also not experiencing any dizziness or other signs of a concussion. I’m just tangled up. And there is a shooting pain in my ankle every time I try to move.”