“I don’t want to do that. It feels so icky wrong,” Simon said.

Marco nodded. “It does feel wrong, Nikki. I do not think that it is a good idea.”

“Oh yeah. Here are your choices, boys. Let a killer run loose on the vineyard. That’s one choice. Or help me help the police and I won’t tell Derek about the hundred thousand dollars you spent to become members of this group.”

“You wouldn’t,” Simon said.

“Try me.”

Marco looked at Nikki, then to Simon. “I think she would.”

“See you in the morning. Coffee is at seven. I’ll have the list already made.”

Marco turned and smiled, giving her a little wave. Simon slammed the door behind them. She laughed, knowing that both the boys of summer were as in on this as she was. They just had very different ways of expressing themselves. Simon liked to use his dramatic flair and Marco played coy and sweet, but she knew when the coffee was steaming hot in the morning, her pals would be right there with her going over her list of suspects and ready to track a killer.

THE boys had joined Nikki for coffee as she’d predicted. She’d gotten up earlier than usual, even though she’d had only a few hours of sleep. It was just past six when she woke up, much to the dismay of Ollie, who’d slept on Derek’s side of the bed. Nikki hadn’t fought him. She’d been too tired and he was a warm body.

She hemmed and hawed about calling Derek. It would have been past nine in New York. He’d gotten in, in the middle of the night, so she justified holding off giving him a call and apprising him as to what had happened. It was possible, even likely, he was still asleep. She knew that he wouldn’t be meeting old man Vicente until lunchtime. Deep down she knew that the real reason she wasn’t making that phone call just yet was because of the reaction she would likely get on the other end; Derek was going to come unglued when he heard about what happened.

She’d had time alone while drinking her first cup of coffee to consider what she knew about the murder.

First, there was Alan Sansi. It seemed like the logical place to start. She opened up her laptop and set up a new document that she titled YAMIMOTO MURDER. Aunt Cara would be proud. She really should call her and get her professional input, but she wasn’t even sure which country Cara was in these days. Since her retirement, she’d become a whirlwind traveler. Her aunt saved a lot of money during her years on the force and had herself a nice sum in her 401(k). She deserved to be enjoying it. But it was times like these that Nikki really missed her and wished she could get her input.

She typed in Alan Sansi’s name and her first impressions of him: TRUE TO HIS CAUSE. Then she asked herself the question she would ask herself about each one of the members. What could be a possible motive? With Alan, Nikki wasn’t sure. But he’d behaved oddly and had had that argument she’d witnessed with Iwao. And it seemed to have something to do with his daughter, who, from all angles, Nikki figured had to be Sierra. She’d been in that photo with his son. Iwao’s son. Nikki would have to get in touch with Robinson and tell him the latest she’d learned and that he needed to find out where Jen Yamimoto was located. She should have tried to ask Mizuki if Jen was in Japan or the United States.

There was another thought that came to mind about Alan, but it was so far out there. Then again, nothing about murder was ever really logical. Maybe so in the killer’s mind, but not for anyone else. Could Alan Sansi have killed Iwao because Alan knew Iwao didn’t believe in his theories? Could Alan’s ego be the culprit? Wouldn’t that be ironic?

Maybe he knew that Iwao thought his philosophies were “horseshit,” as the dead man had so eloquently put it. Could that have bothered someone like an Alan Sansi, a man who supposedly had no ego and lived only from the soul? It was a thought she’d have to dig deeper into to see if there was any merit to it. There were a few angles with Alan Sansi, but first she’d have to find out if the guru had even disappeared long enough from the train car to murder Iwao.

She listed everyone else she could think of, and the next suspect to stand out was Juan Gonzales. Not because Nikki knew of any concrete motive, but because of the way Iwao had reacted toward Juan. There had been some kind of underlying irritation coming from Iwao toward Juan. She wasn’t sure if Juan had even been aware of the hostility Iwao seemed to be emitting, but she was pretty sure Lulu and Alan had picked up on it, and she would find a way to bring the subject up with them and see what they had to say. There was also this business of a note that Iwao had received from Juan when he arrived in the hotel. Nikki would have to ask any of the Housekeeping staff if they had seen a note.

Juan had acted clueless when it came to the note. If she could get inside Juan Gonzales’s head, maybe she’d learn something. Or better yet, she would get into Iwao Yamimoto’s room to see what she could find. She thought she’d made a decent impression on Mizuki and that in itself should get her in the door. But the snooping around could be another story. Maybe she could send Alyssa in as Housekeeping. No. Probably not a good idea. She’d already employed the boys in this situation; she couldn’t risk Alyssa getting herself into a bad spot.

Once she’d made the list and the boys had gone over it with her, Simon looked up. “You seriously want us to infiltrate these people’s lives?”

“I wouldn’t call it that. Give me a break. Get to know them. That’s what you’re here for anyway, and then report back to me with anything you learn, like oddities, their idiosyncrasies, fears. Their lives, basically. If you fill me in, then I can analyze them and maybe come up with something.”

“This is bad karma, Snow White.”

“Karma shmarma. Face it, boys, I’m not the next Dalai Lama. Now, let’s get out here and get this hike going.”

Simon stood from the table. “I can’t believe you gave me Rose Pearlman to pally up to today. She’s so unpleasant.”

“That’s what you get for being nasty to me.” She gave a flippant toss of her dark hair.

“Wait. Remember that we do have a purpose here and that is to enlighten ourselves,” Marco said. “Have an open attitude toward Mrs. Pearlman, Simon.” He crossed his arms. His melodic voice and accent always sounded so sweet no matter what he said.

Nikki shook her head. “You two throw me off. What? Do you change identities when you sleep at night? You know one day, you’re the sage.” She pointed to Simon. “Then the next day it’s Marco’s turn.”

“We do balance each other out nicely.” Marco laid a hand on Simon’s shoulder.

“Yes, we do.”

The three of them headed up to the conference area, and before long, Nikki’s plan was rearranged because Alan Sansi had formed his own groups. She figured that the boys would know to roll with it and investigate whomever they were grouped with.

Alan came to her outside the bus that intended to take them to the park where they would begin their journey.

“With Iwao gone, I would like to have even numbers in the groups so everyone can participate fully in today’s event. Is it possible for you to be a team player today?”

“Well, I guess I can do that, but I thought you wanted me to lead the group on the hike and point out the various sites.”

He laid a hand on her shoulder. “There are no specific leaders. I’m not even a leader necessarily. We are all each other’s teachers.”

Nikki really didn’t want to hear any more of the “I teach you and you teach me” rhetoric. If there were no leaders in the world, it would be total anarchy. “Sure. I can do, be whatever you need.” Agreeing was far easier than trying to argue her point.