Death by Merlot

Sheriff Parker pulled onto the dirt road that was the only access to the spit of land that was home to five houses. Detective Hommes of the city police force homicide department sat next to him.

- -Laird Long

A front-end loader was clearing away the remaining sand, which had drifted onto the road during the nighttime windstorm.

Finally, they made it to the communal gravel parking lot that served the five oceanfront homes. Claire Adley, Felix Montaine’s girlfriend and next-door neighbor, was waiting in the kitchen of the house.

“When he didn’t respond to my knocking this morning, I let myself in,” she said. “And I found Felix down in his wine cellar, tied up and... murdered!”

“A well-stocked wine cellar?” Hommes asked.

“Yes. From the cheapest brands to the oldest, most expensive wines. Felix had—”

“A heart condition.”

“Yes. How did...”

Hommes gestured to the nearby counter. “I recognize the blood thinner and beta blocker brand names on these prescription pill bottles.”