A Case of Vineyard Poison Read Free Page A

home.”
    â€œShe can come, too.”
    â€œWhy don’t you join us instead?”
    â€œI want to ask you some bank questions. Nothing serious, but if you eat my food, I won’t feel guilty. If I eat yours . . .”
    â€œI don’t imagine you’ll feel very guilty about that either, J.W. You’re not the guilty type. Come by the house at twelve-thirty.”
    â€œI’ll bring white wine.”
    â€œYou and Mary can drink it. I’ll have to go back to work.”
    â€œI think Mary and I can manage that.”
    She laughed. “I’ll give Mary a ring so she’ll be forewarned. See you in an hour.”
    Hazel Fine and Mary Coffin lived together in Vineyard Haven, a short walk from the bank and an even shorterone from the library. They were attractive women, both fortyish, who had been together for years. They were fond of early and baroque music, and were members of an island choral and orchestral group that I had hired to play at our wedding. Hazel had an excellent voice, and Mary played recorders, the oboe, and other wind instruments. They were also good cooks, so I made sure I arrived on time.
    Mary was wearing a light green housedress and Hazel was in banker lady’s clothes—blue suit and white blouse, low-heeled shoes, and some gold at her throat and wrist. I told them they both looked smashing, which was true as well as being politically correct.
    Lunch was vichyssoise and thin ham and cucumber sandwiches. My bottle of vino verde was just right with it. Mary and I poured glasses for ourselves and iced water for Hazel, and we dug into the soup and sandwiches.
    â€œNow what is this bank business you want to know about?” asked Hazel, touching her lips with a napkin.
    I told her about Zee’s hundred thousand dollars.
    She smiled and shook her head. “We’re installing a new computer system, and there are still some bugs in it. Our ATM’s have their share of those bugs. I imagine that it was probably just a printing error in the machine.”
    â€œBut Zee got the same information from another machine the next day. Could the same mistake occur in two different machines?”
    â€œI wish I knew more about computers, but I imagine two machines can make the same mistake, just like two people can.”
    â€œI can make enough mistakes for two people all by myself,” I said.
    â€œI’ll tell you what I’ll do,” said Hazel. “I’ll look up Zeolinda’s account myself, and check the balance.”
    â€œShe called the bank this morning and the hundred thou was gone.”
    â€œI’m glad to hear that. All right, I’ll double-check the balance and also check all transactions on her account for the last month. If there was an error during that time, we should catch it.”
    â€œIf you find the hundred thousand and it doesn’t belong to anybody, will you just slide it over into my account? I’ll split it with you later.”
    â€œThere are very few hundred thousands that don’t belong to somebody, J.W.” Hazel glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to get back. I’ll call the bride-to-be at the hospital when I’ve checked her account.”
    She went out, and Mary and I finished the wine and sandwiches.
    â€œWell,” said Mary, “in a month you’ll be a married man. How do you feel about that?”
    â€œFine. Anxious. Worried.”
    â€œWorried about what?”
    â€œWorried that she’ll change her mind. If she does, I’ll have to start courting her all over again, and I may not be able to con her into this another time.”
    â€œI don’t think you conned her, J.W.” She smiled. “Relax. The wedding will be a great success and you’ll live happily ever after. It’s good when people find a partner to live with. I don’t think we were meant to live alone.”
    â€œI’ve done more of it than I want to.