Page 55 of Juan

“The bedding set in the primary bedroom is different. It’s hunter green now but used to be navy and white. Two of the three pictures above the mantel in the living room have been switched. The one on the left used to be in the middle and the one in the middle used to be on the left,” she clarified without waiting to be asked. “He’s also, apparently, started collecting coins. The framed nickels right there,” she said, leaning forward and pointing out the small wall hanging, “are new. As is the wallpaper behind it. And last, he has a new coffee maker.”

“Did Toni check inside the framing of the paintings and the nickels?” Callie asked.

Amber nodded. “And the new coffee maker, although that acquisition doesn’t surprise me. The coffee machine we had when I lived there was five years old and, as you can see, only the best is good enough for him.” All three of them looked at the picture Callie brought up. A marble countertop, the machine in question standing proudly in the middle.

“Technically, it’s not the most expensive residential machine on the market, but still, it’s an $8,000 espresso maker,” Amber said. Two heads swiveled her direction. She wrinkled her nose. “I know, seems dumb to me, too. Then again, it’s also in character that his ill-gotten gains go to something so…superficial. It’s not as if he’d donate his money to charity or use it for something useful.”

“Toni found nothing in the coffee machine, and nothing hidden in the frames of the new picture or nickels?” Leo asked. Amber shook her head, and their attention drifted back to the screen as Callie continued scrolling through the images. “Of those changes, does anything seem out of character to you?”

“Are we certain his murderous activities only started after I left? I assume that’s why you’re asking if anything changed? Because some of those changes might reflect his new life of crime?” she asked.

Leo considered her question. “You’re right, it’s possible he’s been doing what he’s doing for longer than you’ve been gone, but his relationship with Johanna only started a few months before you left. And based on what Callie found in his financials, the income he receives from the accounts in the Caymans is fairly new.”

“But there was always money,” she pointed out. “If he’s getting most of his income from selling scopolamine in the past year, where’d his money come from before that?”

“He started out as a legit investment adviser,” Callie said, her eyes still fixed on the screen. “He made a bunch of money about fifteen years ago, when the markets were really hot, but he was never able to replicate or sustain that success. He’s been burning through it ever since. You brought some money into the marriage, too, but mostly his income has been dwindling.”

She sat back. “I didn’t know that. He never let me look at the finances.”

Callie sat back, too. “Not a surprise for a personality like his not to allow that. Not only would he want to control the income, but he wouldn’t want to risk you noticing how bad he was at managing it. Now back to Leo’s question. Changes are interesting because they can indicate a change of lifestyle—like newly acquired expensive art and things like that. But also, if he started all this after you left, he may have needed a few new places to hide things.”

“Like the drug,” she said. “Or maybe even the money he’s receiving.”

Callie nodded. “Given what I’ve found, it’s unlikely to be money. But it’s possible he keeps the drug somewhere in the house. Or even evidence of his ‘clients,’ which makes for good blackmail material should the need arise. Now, of the changes you noticed, does anything seem really out of character?”

She crossed her arms as she mulled the question over. “The watercolor surprised me, but then I looked up the artist and saw it’s someone who’s well known in the area. Anthony never liked watercolors before, but it would be something he’d buy at a charity auction—the only way he did donate money—”

“Because everyone could witness his generosity,” Callie said.

Amber nodded. “Because of that, it both surprises me and doesn’t. Same with the nickels. Not really his thing, but if they are rare or valuable, which I assume they are, then displaying them is right up his alley.”

“Anything else?” Leo asked when she paused.

“The sheets. A small thing, but again, he never liked monochrome color schemes. My theory is that they make it harder for him to see flaws. Whereas with contrasting colors, especially if one of those colors is white, it’s easier to see an improperly tucked corner or an unevenly folded comforter. And seeing flaws is one of the greatest joys in his life.”

Leo leaned back, lifting his arms overhead and stretching. “Okay, let’s call it a night. I’ll log into the live cameras when I get home later and have the computer run the data on what’s already been collected. It will pick up patterns and anomalies. Tomorrow we can reconvene to go over any developments.”

“You think we’ll find enough by tomorrow to take the next step?” she asked.

Callie and Leo shared a look, then both grinned. “Oh, we’ll have something,” Leo said. “We’re calling in the big guns.”

Chapter twenty-six

“Ican feel you thinking,” Amber said. Her head rested on his chest, and the warmth of her breath brushed over his bare skin. Curled up in her bed, sans clothes, well sated, was his new, and not surprising, favorite place to be. Spending a few hours in the garage with Zoe came in a pretty close second. Although he’d kept her out too long past her snack time and paid the price. He’d expected her to show some signs of hunger as they played with the tools. She hadn’t given a hint of it until a full meltdown occurred. Lesson learned; he’d now carry snacks at all times.

“It’s nothing,” he said, running his fingers through her hair. It wasn’t nothing, but he didn’t want to push her. She already had so much on her mind that another discussion about how to make her new job, Zoe, and their relationship work wasn’t something he wanted to add to her plate. They’d covered a lot of ground the night before. They could figure the rest out once Anthony and the custody situation were sorted.

She shifted, resting her chin on his chest, her eyes meeting his. “Now I know it’s something.”

He cupped her face and raised his head, placing a soft kiss on her lips. “Fine, it’s something, but we can talk about it later. Just mulling over our conversation last night and ways to make all this work,” he said, adding the last part so she wouldn’t worry and start making up even more reasons to worry.

“I’ve been thinking about that, too,” she said. He drew back to look at her. “We agreed I’ll need to split my time between here and Napa. But I’m only in charge of cooking dinners, and we’re only serving those Friday and Saturday nights.”

“I thought you were going to do some of the breakfasts, too.”

“Sunday brunch. I’ll set the menus for the weekday breakfasts, but Elena is going to run the kitchen during the week.”

The club had decided that, at least to start, Bacco would serve breakfast to guests during the week and dinner only over the weekend, with priority seating given to guests. Brunch was the same. Depending on how that went, they might decide to expand the service, but they all preferred sneaking onto the wine country food scene rather than arriving in a blaze of glory.