Murder & Mayhem

by T Wells Brown

  Sometimes, depending on the person and level of emotion, not very politely, but still, it was kind of nice.

  Before long I watched in a daze as the cars began pulling away as everyone left to go to the reception. It was just us gals and Macho Men left at the grave-site for our final goodbyes to Raquel and Antonio.

  We became aware that Francesca was having a harder time than we realized. She was overwhelmed at the grave site, and anxious to get back to her husband. One by one we hugged her and tried to console her. But honestly, how do you console a woman who has to leave the grave-site of one of her best friends, to rush home to her husband who laid dying in hospice care?

  “Lucas, can you get Francesca home?” I heard Cabe say quietly. “I don’t want her driving.” This prompted a low discussion between the Macho Men. Dark shades covered all of their somber faces and their large bodies were clad in varying styles of dark suits.

  “I’ll take her.” Lucas, I noted, wore a black suit with a black shirt and a black patterned tie, combined with his dark shades and black hair he looked intensely sinister.

  I slipped my hand onto Cabe’s shoulder and asked, “Will she be okay with him?”

  For the first time since I arrived, I saw Cabe’s smile. A big white brilliant smile. And as soon as it came it left. Just like that.

  “You don’t have to worry about Lucas or any of my guys. Well, except maybe Marcus, he hangs with dogs all day. How sane can he be?”

  “Saner than you.” Came a grumble from next to me. Now I knew which one Marcus was.

  “Thank you.” I said to Cabe. I was learning this is what he did; quietly took care of everyone.

  And it was so sweet.

  “Maybe I should go with her?” Jenna said .

  Cabe’s dark lenses landed on Jenna, “Have Lucas give you his number. He’ll come back and pick you up when you’re ready to leave.”

  Sweet again!

  I was so thankful for all of them. The Macho Men and Sydney and the Women of Wine Country tribe. They had executed everything so beautifully, so brilliantly, exactly as Raquel would have wanted.

  But danggit! As nice as they were; Macho Men were also seriously Bossy with a capital B!

  Chapter 4

  In or Out

  After the reception, the Women of Wine Country tribe and both of Antonio’s sisters-in-law stayed to help finish cleaning up. They worked quickly to set the kitchens straight after the catering company left. With the group of this size, it didn’t take long. Once the work was done, the sisters-in-law hugged us all and then escaped to their rooms to be with their husbands.

  I didn’t realize it, but some of the men had stayed as well and were in the courtyard smoking cigars and drinking whisky – this was something they did often with Antonio and it was their own private “send-off” to a man they all respected and would be terribly missed.

  Slowly, one by one, the wine tribe and Macho Men left. It was well after midnight and after the events of the last two days, I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes focused. Sydney was arguing with her really handsome big guy, Roman. and it looked like he was getting ready to drag her off into one of the vineyards .

  I made myself a cup of tea and took it to an empty table in the courtyard. I was just settling in when I felt big hands on my shoulders and a kiss planted on the top of my head. “You know you can go to bed. We can lock up - Syd and I are both staying here tonight.”

  Beautiful Cabe Brown sat down at my table, reached down grabbed my crossed ankles and pulled my feet into his lap. I was so shocked by this whole touchy-feely version of Cabe he’d been laying on me all day. I wasn’t sure what to do next, so I did what I’d been doing all day with him, and sat still as he pulled my shoes off and began rubbing my tired feet.

  Cabe and his band of Macho Men had been shuffling us gals around all day, staying on the outskirts of our emotional group but never too far away. They always had the cars ready; they took care of getting Francesca home and Jenna back to the estate, and took care of any other need we might have. I never once had to ask for a tissue, or water, or cup of tea; Cabe or one of his team of Macho Men were always there thrusting whatever we needed into our hands before we could ask.

  Against my will, I let out a great big giant moan and sank deeper into my chair.

  “Oh My God.” I moaned again as he hit the sorest part of my poor foot. Surprised by my outburst, I looked at him and saw that he was looking down examining his large dark hands on my pale feet .

  It was a fascinating contrast. His hands were way bigger than my feet and I wasn’t a small girl – I wore a size nine and a half, but his hands were so large they completely engulfed my feet.

  “You’re staying here too?” I asked, as he continued rubbing at the soreness.

  “Both Syd and I are.”

  “I knew Sydney was staying, but I didn’t know you were, why are you staying?”

  “I like to make sure Syd is safe.” I waited for him to expand, but since I knew some of what had happened to her, I didn’t ask and he didn’t offer.

  “Did you stay here last-night too?” I asked, curious.

  “I was here. As long as Syd is here, I will be here.”

  “Oh. Okay.” What else was there to say?

  “Your mother is going to show up at some point you know,” he surprised me by saying.

  I dropped my feet from his lap and sat up reaching down to slip my shoes back on.

  “You know about my momma?”

  “I do.”

  “Well, my momma is my problem and I will deal with her when she shows up.”

  “Deal with her like you have your whole life?”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You’ve allowed your relationship with your mother to hold you back from advancing anything in your life. Is that what Raquel and Antonio would want you to do now?”

  What. The. Fuck!

  “You don’t know what I’ve allowed my momma to do or not do,” I said, standing up. He was right, but it was pretty much bullshit that he was calling me out on it …especially now, after just burying my beautiful aunt.

  “I know every single thing your mother has kept you from doing. I know every boyfriend she stopped you from getting serious about; I know about every apartment she got you kicked out of; I know about every job you’ve left because of her and I know you finished your degree secretly just so she wouldn’t ruin it for you.” He’d grabbed my wrist and kept me from stomping off while he was saying this. I was standing and he was still sitting, so I leaned over him pointed my finger in his face and said, “You don’t know ANYTHING about me.” I was shaking and emotional and just didn’t need his shit, on top of all the other shit that had been my life up until this point.

  Still hanging onto my wrist, he stood and pulled me forward until I bumped into his chest and he wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me firm against him.

  “What are you…”

  “Hush,” He said in his deep gravelly voice, giving me a little squeeze. “I wasn’t insulting you. I know all about you. I met you when you were a teenager and have listened to both Raquel and Antonio fret and worry over you for years. I listened to them justify to themselves how you stopped coming to visit because it would cause problems for you with your mother, without once considering what they were going through. You always put her first, to your detriment, and that of everyone around you. Now you’ve inherited this big place. With all this money, don’t you think for a second that mother of yours isn’t going to show up here to get every last dime she can. Along the way, humiliating and defiling you like she’s done your whole life for sport. You aren’t as smart as your aunt and uncle thought you were, if you think any different. And if that’s the case sell Bellini Estate to someone who cares about it and just go away.” He suddenly released me thrusting me away from him. Stared at me a second with his intense gray eyes, turned and walked off.

  I teetered a bit on my heels and sat back down.

  Sho
cked.

  Stunned.

  How dare he! Who did he think he was to speak to me this way and lay this on me the same day we’d buried my only sane family members?

  He pissed me right the heck off …. but I knew why I was so upset... I was pissed because he was RIGHT.

  I had done exactly that!

  Exactly.

  Sometimes, I guess it takes a stranger to show you who you really are – what you look like.

  And it wasn’t pretty. It was ugly. I was ugly.

  It was a sobering moment for me. I was suddenly wide awake and everything was crystal clear.

  Everything.

  My momma.

  My aunt and her friends.

  My aunt and her love for my uncle, this beautiful place and life they had built.

  The fact that Cabe was right.

  My momma was gonna come here and work as hard as she could to destroy it all; she would do it just for sport. For the enjoyment of tearing down everything my beautiful, hardworking, loving aunt had built.

  Well fuck that.

  The least I was gonna do was keep her from destroying everything my aunt had worked so hard for. The most I was gonna do was build on their legacy and do everything in my power to model myself after my aunt and make sure her memory stayed alive. I vowed it right then, the very same night I buried Raquel and Antonio. I vowed it to the heavens; I knew they were both looking down and watching me. I vowed I would not let my aunt, who believed in me more than I believed in me, down. I made a solemn vow to be the woman Raquel always told me I could be and believed I was. I vowed it to her memory, my uncle’s memory and to the land I was standing on and would now call home.

  I was NOT going to let them down! Not one more time.

  I didn’t exactly know how I was gonna pull it off, but I knew I had the tribe and Sydney to help me. I also had Antonio’s brothers and they wanted this winery to continue on, just as I did. They were proud of what their brother had built and I knew they would help me too.

  I got myself and my aching feet to my room, jumped in the shower to wash the day of grief from my body, clear my mind and prepare for the next day, which was going to be the first day of the rest of my life.

  The new me.

  A strong capable version of me.

  I was going to become the woman Raquel had always thought I was. I knew I wasn’t her yet, but I could fake being her until I was her.

  Dressing in shorts and camisole sleep set, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the fluffy pillow.

  I awoke suddenly when I heard a loud banging and sirens. I realized quickly the banging was someone at my bedroom door and the sirens were some type of alarm. I jumped out of bed and flung the door wide open to find one of Antonio’s brothers yelling at me in Italian, which I did not understand. He was yelling and gesturing, and then he took off running down the hall, so I ran after him, down the stairs, and out the front door. What hit me first was the strong smell of smoke.

  Then I saw the blaze in the vineyard.

  “NO!” I screamed and ran as fast as I could in my bare feet towards flames so high, they were lightening up the dark sky.

  A fire!

  A fire was burning my uncle’s prized old vines.

  His treasured vines, the ones he coveted. The vines he loved so much he only handpicked and hand pruned, the same vines that …… Jumpin’ Jezebels!

  The grapes!

  Antonio’s precious grapes were on fire! How could this be happening?

  I ran as fast as I could towards the crowd of men working at the fire, the flames licked violently towards the night sky, consuming my uncles’ precious old vines. The heat coming off of the fire was unbearable and took all my will not to run from it. The smoke stung my eyes and made it hard to breathe.

  How in the heck do old as dirt vines suddenly catch on fire? This couldn’t be happening! Breathing hard, my palms were itching to do something…anything.

  Standing there watching the vines burning and all the activity around me; I was frozen. I couldn’t move, but in my head, I was screaming DO SOMETHING!

  I just didn’t know what I could do. “Okay Isabella,” I whispered to myself, “Get it together and look for what needs to be done.”

  I could see they had hoses coming from all different areas and the watering drip lines had been turned on. But the water was barely making a difference – the fire was continuing to grow. I watched as a flame jumped to a new vine and the leaves immediately began to brown and curl.

  I was close to the fire and the heat was so great, I thought for sure the hair on my arms, legs and face were going to be singed off.

  Suddenly, a large tanker truck skidded to a stop right behind me throwing dirt everywhere and bringing me out of my trance. I watched as a shirtless, shoe-less Cabe jumped from the truck, unwound a huge hose, attached it to the tank, and yelled “All Clear” as he unleashed a wide stream of water hitting the fire and causing a giant mushroom of steam and smoke to choke out everyone present and drive us back a few feet away from the area.

  I watched frantically, my eyes tracking everything at once, my mind toggling back and forth between praying to God for the safety of the vines and screaming silently in frustrated panic.

  It didn’t take long before the water from the truck and the other hoses had the fire under control. And as the last cinders were doused the fire engines arrived with lights and sirens. Well, I guess that explains why my uncle would need his own water truck. Thank God Cabe had spent the night!

  The firemen who arrived went straight to Cabe. He was busy making sure everyone who was pitching in to fight the fire was okay and no one had been hurt. I took note that he went out of his way to check on everyone, shaking their hand or slapping them hard on the back, in that way men do that seems like it hurts, but was a sign of affection.

  As I approached the man huddle, I overheard Cabe saying, “…and I could smell the accelerant when I arrived. It was set purposely. The grapes haven’t been picked yet but the fruit has been sold, so I need to confirm what was used to minimize further damage to the vineyard.”

  “You got it Cabe, Stanford and Cunningham will check to make sure the fire is completely out and there aren’t any chances of re-ignition. We will work as quickly as possible and try to keep from hurting any more vines. This is a real shame. Especially now….” The fire Captain ’s eyes dropped to me and he stopped talking.

  Cabe followed the captain’s eyes to me and squinted.

  “Ma’am, I’m Captain Hernandez.” He reached out his hand to shake mine.

  “I’m Isabella. This is my aunt and uncle’s vineyard.” I said as his large hand engulfed mine in a gentle but firm hand shake.

  “I am very sorry for your loss ma’am. They both were very highly thought of and were big supporters of the fire district.”

  I hiccupped a small sob and said “Thank you very much.”

  The fire Captain turned back to Cabe and said, “I’ll let you know when we complete the investigation.”

  “You’ll let me know.” I said and they both turned to me.

  “Excuse me ma’am?”

  “I am now the owner of Bellini Estates and want to be the one notified as soon as you know anything about this fire,” I replied in as strong and firm voice as I could.

  I watched Cabe from the corner of my eye as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned his full attention to me. The sun was just making break and the sky had become lighter, making it easier to see, than just moments before. His eyes landed on my chest and he suddenly dropped his arms and stepped forward and in front of me and barked “Isabella go back to the house and get dressed.”

  Cabe’s reaction made me look down at my chest.

  Jumpin’ Jezebels!

  My camisole had gotten wet and was clinging to my chest and you could see right through it. Crossing my arms over my breasts, I was ready to say something smart-ass back to Cabe when the sweet, and I might add handsome, Captain Hernandez placed a large
jacket over my shoulders, and pulled it closed over my arms at my chest.

  “Here you go ma’am.” He said.

  “Thank you, that was very kind of you.” I said softly to him and then glared at Cabe, who was now scowling at the fire Captain .

  The fire Captain looked to Cabe, back to me and then smiled a big handsome guy smile and said, “Anytime ma’am. I’ll be happy to call you when I have some information about the fire. Do you have a number I can reach you?” I gave him my number, all the while ignoring Cabe, who had turned his scowl to both the Fire Captain and myself.

  “As soon as the sun is fully up, I will have Rafael and his guys here to take stock on how much we lost and we will need to get with Sydney about the contract sale and see what this means for the winery,” Cabe said through clenched teeth and turned to go.

  I placed my hand on his bare arm to turn him back and said, “Thank you Cabe. Thank you for all of this. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without you”

  Cabe watched me for a moment and then on a deep sigh, draped his arm over my shoulders, tucked me in under his arm and walked me back to the house with his arm around my shoulders.

  Macho Men were handy to have around, but sure were fickle.

  Chapter 5

  Home

  The next morning was a busy frantic experience. The reading of the will was scheduled for five pm. The whole estate was active and bustling, getting set up for harvest and dealing with the events that had already been scheduled. I never went back to sleep after the fire. Instead, I dressed in comfortable clothing; matching salmon colored yoga pants and a tank top, made tea, and went to Antonio’s large old fashioned, heavy wood lined office where the beautiful diffused morning sun streamed in through the old warped seeded glass windows. I sat in his giant Merlot colored high back leather chair, and began writing at his huge antique dark wood desk. I made lists of what I knew I had to take care of, lists of the questions I needed to ask, and lists of the people I thought could and would, help me in designated areas.