Secrets in the Cellar

The following Monday, Chloe pulled into the vineyard parking lot with a knot in her stomach. She hadn't heard any update from the police over the weekend, but rumors among the staff were flying about Mr. West's suspicious death. As she made her way nervously towards the main building, Martha intercepted her.

"The police released Cottage 3 back to us yesterday," she informed Chloe. "Aidan's down there now doing a deep clean. Why don't you lend him a hand?"

Chloe swallowed hard but nodded. She headed down the tree-lined road towards the cottages, each charming bungalow looking tranquil in the morning light. But she couldn't erase the image of West's body from her mind.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked gently on Cottage 3's door. Aidan opened it swiftly, a bandana wrapped around his wavy dark hair.

"Hey, you," he greeted Chloe warmly. "Come to help me scrub away the creepiness?"

She smiled weakly and followed him inside. The main floor of the cottage looked pristine again, if a bit too heavily fragranced from cleaning products. With some trepidation, Chloe descended the polished wood stairs to the basement behind Aidan.

"I'll tackle down here if you want to start upstairs," Aidan suggested kindly. "It's okay if you still feel uncomfortable..."

"No, I'm fine," Chloe said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. "It's silly, but I keep feeling like we're missing some clue to what happened."

Aidan nodded. "I know what you mean. I keep replaying finding his body in my mind, trying to figure it out."

They got to work, Chloe scrubbing the basement floor while Aidan re-organized storage boxes. She kept glancing around, looking for anything amiss. Her gaze landed on the far corner behind the stairs, completely shrouded in shadow.

"Can you shine your phone flashlight back there?" she asked Aidan, crawling over to get a better look. His light revealed a section of loose floorboards. Heart racing, Chloe pried them up, revealing a hidden cavity under the floor.

"Whoa," Aidan murmured, kneeling beside her. The hole contained a laptop, several file folders, and large stacks of cash banded together. Shocked, they locked eyes.

"We need to call the police back," Chloe said firmly. Aidan nodded, pulling out his phone. Chloe's mind reeled. What had West been hiding down here?

Within the hour, the police had returned to document and collect the secret stash as evidence. An officer interviewed Chloe and Aidan about the discovery. Chloe noticed Aidan omitted their informal speculation about West's death, simply stating they immediately alerted the police about the strange find.

After the whirlwind morning, Martha sent them home for the rest of the day. They walked down the driveway together toward the parking lot.

"Well, that was...something," Aidan exhaled. "Nice sleuthing, by the way. You have a regular detective's instinct, Chloe."

She blushed. "Oh, just lucky I noticed that corner. What do you think West was up to, though?"

Aidan shook his head. "No idea, but clearly something shady. I better get home to process all this. See you tomorrow?" He squeezed her shoulder gently before turning towards his pickup.

That evening, Chloe's mind raced as she tossed in bed. Unable to stand the mystery any longer, she grabbed her laptop. She had to learn more about West - it was time to do some serious digging.

Scouring real estate records, she discovered West had been buying up properties throughout the county under different shell company names. Several of the parcels were right near Sweetwater Vineyard.

Chloe then used an online records search tool that allowed her to access legal filings. She found lawsuits between West and former investors alleging fraud and unethical business practices. None had succeeded - perhaps why West had stacks of cash hidden away.

But how did all this connect to Sweetwater Vineyard? And West's suspicious death? Eyeing the clock reading 1:30 AM, Chloe knew sleep would have to wait. She had an idea that just might reveal some answers.

Early the next morning before her shift started, Chloe pulled into the vineyard parking lot. The place was still deserted. Perfect. She hurried quietly down the road toward Cottage 3.

Using the spare key Martha had provided for cleaning, Chloe carefully opened the front door and slipped inside. The cottage still held an air of foreboding to her, but she tried to focus on her mission.

Descending the creaky stairs to the basement, Chloe went straight to the loose floorboards she had pried up yesterday. She ran her hands along the surrounding foundations, feeling for any additional hidden latches or secret compartments.

Just as she was about to give up, her finger bumped a tiny protruding object under the last step. Heart pounding, Chloe gingerly pressed and heard a distinct click. Reaching deeper into the recess she had found, her hand met a cool metal box. Hands shaking, she pulled it out and opened the lid.

Nestled inside were an unlabeled folder overflowing with documents, a cheap pre-paid cellphone, and a house key attached to a Sweetwater logo keychain. Shocked by this new evidence, Chloe quickly replaced the box and reassembled the floorboards, making sure no sign of the hiding spot was visible.

She had just crept back upstairs when she heard the cottage's front door opening. Panicking about being caught snooping, Chloe darted across the hall into a closet. She held her breath listening to footsteps walk around the cottage's main floor before mercifully fading again.

Chloe finally exhaled in relief. But who had been here just now? Cautiously, she cracked the closet door back open. Seeing no one, she slipped out and raced for the safety of her car.

Adrenaline still pumping, she grabbed the burner phone from her purse - the one object she had daringly taken from the metal box that seemed most promising for clues. Turning it on, Chloe scrolled through the call history. Every incoming and outgoing number was simply listed as "Blocked".

She was about to give up on the mysterious phone when it suddenly started buzzing in her hands. She nearly dropped it in surprise. Taking a deep breath, Chloe answered.

"Who is this?" a man's low voice demanded. "How did you get this number?"

Chloe ended the call immediately, hands trembling. Who had just tried to contact West on his secret phone? And had they possibly spoken before his death? She knew one thing for certain - this changed everything.

Chloe's mind was reeling as she drove to work. She kept glancing down at the prepaid phone laying ominously in her passenger seat. Should she go to the police with this new evidence? Tell Aidan about the secret compartment she had found? She wasn't sure who she could trust.

Chloe was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the vineyard's parking lot was already full of police vehicles until she was pulling in. Dread filled her stomach. This couldn't be good.

She hurried inside to find Martha speaking urgently with several officers. Her face seemed pale.

"Ah Chloe, there you are dear," she said anxiously when she noticed her. "We seem to have had another...incident."

Martha regretfully informed her that a guest staying in Cottage 2 had been found dead that morning - a clear homicide according to police. Chloe felt like she might be sick.

The day passed in a blur of police interviews, comforting frightened staff, and fielding concerned calls from guests. Chloe barely had a moment to speak privately with Aidan about her own disturbing discoveries. His brow was furrowed with worry and confusion.

"Meet me after sunset at the old barn," he whispered urgently before being pulled away by an officer's questioning again.

Chloe anxiously awaited nightfall. The 100-year old barn stood abandoned at the west edge of the vineyard property. As dusk deepened into darkness, Chloe parked behind the decaying structure and slipped quietly inside.

A moment later, Aidan appeared from the shadows. "Any updates on the new murder?" Chloe asked him worriedly without preamble.

Aidan shook his head. "The police aren't saying much yet. But two deaths now...this is getting dangerous, Chloe." His eyes reflected the gravity of their situation.

Chloe hesitated only briefly before confessing everything she had uncovered about West and the secret compartment. Aidan looked stunned.

"You shouldn't have taken that risk," he admonished gently. "But I'm glad you found this." He turned the prepaid phone over in his hands. "We make a good team, rookie detective."

Chloe smiled weakly, but sobered again thinking of the new death. "There must be a connection between West and this latest victim. But what?"

"Let's find out," Aidan said. Pulling out his own laptop, he remotely accessed the vineyard's guest database. Quick searching revealed that both deceased men had made reservations within 24 hours of each other a week prior.

"That can't be a coincidence," Chloe breathed. She met Aidan's grim gaze. "I think it's time we took a closer look at exactly who's staying in our quaint little cottages..."

Using the guest records as a reference, Aidan and Chloe left the cover of darkness to discreetly peek through windows. Cottage 1 housed a young couple, seemingly normal. Cottage 4 was empty per the database.

When they approached Cottage 5 though, the last bungalow, Chloe noticed the window blinds snap shut suddenly, as if the occupant didn't want to be seen. Her heart hammered. She and Aidan shared a look.

"I'll lure whoever's in there out while you go search the place," Aidan whispered, barely audible. Chloe wanted to protest, but knew they were running out of time if they hoped to solve this mystery. She reluctantly agreed.

Aidan picked up a large rock from the landscaping border and lobbed it onto the cottage's tin roof with a massive bang. Seconds later, a middle-aged bald man emerged looking around angrily. Chloe seized her chance and slipped inside.

Ransacking the living room and kitchen yielded nothing unusual. The bedroom and bathroom were similarly nondescript. Chloe was about to give up hope when she shoved aside the clothing in the closet, revealing a safe embedded in the wall. Heart racing, she spun the dial, relying on muscle memory from her high school job at a gym. Miraculously, it clicked open.

The safe contained stacks of hundred dollar bills, casino chips, and little baggies filled with white powder she assumed was illicit drugs of some kind. Hidden beneath all this was a folder labeled "Sweetwater" in West's now-familiar scrawl. Hands shaking, she opened it and gasped.

The folder was full of property deeds and contracts relating to Sweetwater Vineyard. Flipping through, Chloe realized with dawning horror that Benjamin West had quietly purchased the mortgage to the vineyard through one of his shell companies.

According to a demand letter in the files, he had intended to call in the loan and seize the property if the owners didn't pay him an exorbitant sum within a week's time. Chloe now understood why West had stacks of cash - he had been blackmailing them.

Heart pounding, Chloe also found a printout of an email exchange between West and someone named Carl Freeman. They were arguing about splitting proceeds if they managed to successfully take over Sweetwater. So West's partner had turned on him, Chloe realized.

She jumped as the closet door was ripped open. The bald man stood fuming in the doorway. Thinking fast, Chloe sprayed him in the face with the mini hairspray can from the closet shelf, darting past his arms as he bellowed in rage and shock.

Sprinting outside, she nearly collided with Aidan who gripped her shoulders urgently. "Are you okay? Did you find anything?" he asked breathlessly as they ran for cover.

"I know who killed West!" Chloe panted. Reaching the safety of the empty barn, she quickly explained to Aidan about the ownership scheme, blackmail, and West's former criminal partner who was still here under another name.

"It all makes sense now," Aidan said slowly, rage simmering beneath his disbelief about his family's vineyard being targeted. "We have to take this to the police immediately. But without proof..."

Biting her lip, Chloe considered their options. She still had the burner phone and could try tracing the blocked number. But that would take time they likely didn't have.

Suddenly, she remembered the Vineyard logo keychain attached to the house key in the metal box she had discovered. "The key!" she exclaimed. "It must be to that thug's real home. If we can track the address..."

Aidan's eyes lit up. He grabbed the laptop and within minutes had found a listing for one Carl Freeman. The house location matched the Sweetwater keychain. This was their proof.

As Aidan fired off emails to the police chief, Chloe stood watch by the barn window. She glimpsed a shadowy figure hurrying up the road toward the main building. Freeman was making a run for it.

"He's getting away, we have to do something!" Chloe cried.

Thinking fast, Aidan dialed the emergency vineyard land line used for accidents. "Fetch some trucks and block the road now!" he commanded urgently. "I'll explain later!"

Moments later, they watched with relief as two vineyard pickup trucks pulled across the road, cutting off the driveway exit route. Freeman had nowhere to run now. Justice would finally be served for Benjamin West and the other poor victim.

Thanks to Chloe's quick wits and their teamwork, Sweetwater Vineyard had been saved, its secrets brought to light at last.