Completing The List

24. Take Lizzy To The Vines

     Gary only had a couple of days left as his leave from the base but he was determined to make the best of it. He spent a whole day doing research online and calling friends to help him look into it. He even called in a favor to a former recruit of his that was a private investigator to look into it for him as well. He was determined to finish one more item on the list before heading back to base. Lizzy was just out of bed and making up a pot of coffee when Gary got the call to his cell that had all the answers. Gary listened for a moment before finally jumping up in celebration, dancing around the living room like he had just scored the winning touchdown at the Superbowl.

     "I got it!" he called out to her.

     "Got what?" Lizzy asked as she patiently waited for the coffee machine to work.

     "I know where the vines are!" Gary called back to her.

     Lizzy came out of the kitchen with shocked look on her face. "I can't believe it! How did you find this out?"

     "Now don't get mad." Gary said as he tried to soften his explanation. "I had a friend of mine who is a private detective fiddle with your computer. I had him track all internet traffic from here, but only for the few months leading up to Hayden's death."

     Lizzy seemed a little stunned, but it made sense. Hayden did use the computer to look for things so it seemed like the right place to look for answers.

    "Alright." She said calmly. "What did you find?"

    "We found out that he was looking at this website for a vineyard that offers retreats for couples in California. You do wine tasting, tours of the vineyard and how the wine is made, romantic dinners and all that stuff. It's quite a nice place, but it's called 'The Vines'. I'm pretty sure this is the place Hayden was referring to in the list."

     "So why was he looking at this place?" Lizzy quickly asked.

     "My friend found out by calling the place up. It turns out that Hayden was on the wait list for a specific weekend. He was trying to book something for the weekend of August 29th of next year." Gary pulled out a printed form and handed it to her. Hayden was still on the list but hadn't moved in a quite a while as few people were willing to cancel their reservation for that weekend.

     "That's our anniversary." Lizzy said, "He was trying to book this for our sixth year."

     "Yeah, this place is super booked when the vines are in season, and I called the place to book a weekend. The earliest they could get us was two months from now." Gary tossed the info on the desk. "So I can't make the trip. It's beyond my leave time."

     "I'm sorry to hear that." Lizzy said with a frown. "I was hoping you'd be able to help me finish at least one more item before heading back to base."

     "Well, just because we can't book a spot at the vineyard doesn't mean we can't visit." Gary said as he walked back in with two cups of coffee. "We just book a local motel, then just take a regular tour and dinner at the vines without having to stay there."

     "Sounds like a plan." Lizzy said as she took her coffee and sipped it. "So do you have any hotels lined up?"

     "I managed to call around but only found one with a vacancy. There's a small bed and breakfast that only has one room available with one queen sized bed." Gary paused for a moment to watch Lizzy's reaction.

     She didn't seem too fond of the idea. "I don't think I'm comfortable with that."

     "Neither am I." Gary conceded. "I'll take the couch, or if it's took small the floor. I'm used to it, so I'll be fine."