Murder & Mayhem

by T Wells Brown

  He sat watching me and it was starting to get uncomfortable when he said, “It wasn’t fair, me playing with you. I already knew you were becoming something to me, so I worked to keep you at arm’s length because I’d prefer not to be involved with anyone. But I realize looking back, many times I couldn’t stop myself from touching you, or going fucking caveman anytime you’re involved – especially when I see other men sniffing around you and I’m already thinking of you as mine…”

  My stomach dropped. What the heck was happening here? I nodded my head, too afraid to say anything and screw up whatever this was.

  “I don’t share. So, I’d like to ask that you make an effort not to see other men while we play out this little drama we’ve got going on. It works out between us, great – it doesn’t, no harm, no foul. We figure out a way to work together here at the estate and navigate each other without making it too difficult. Sooner or later I will be getting back to my business, and it takes me out of town more times than not, so I won’t be under your feet.”

  “Are you saying to me you want us to become romantically involved exclusively?” I asked .

  “It’s the only way I’m going to fucking survive this, Isabella. I can’t stand the thought of another man putting his hands on you.”

  I looked at him, waited a beat, and said, “Let’s just take this one day at a time. We need to find out what’s going on with people ramming cars I’m driving with SUVs and shooting at me. Also, did you find out anything about Raquel and Antonio’s car accident?”

  “Not yet, but Isabella, I don’t want you going anywhere or leaving the estate unless I’m with you. Can you promise me that?”

  Okay, maybe things might just work out after all. I needed things to smooth out, not become more complicated. I wasn’t sure seeing Big Bad Cabe Brown was going to be a comfortable ride, no matter how hotty hot hot he was, how good he smelled, or how shiny his dark hair was.

  “Yes.” I didn’t want to get shot at again! That was scary and I hurt. I was going to avoid repeating that event with every part of my being!

  “Another thing Isabella,” He had my full attention.

  “I am not a nice man. It’s no secret, and I don’t want you to go into this thinking I’m nice, thoughtful or will ever be sensitive. If you want something from me you are going to have to be very clear what you want. You can’t expect me to know what you’re thinking or feeling. I am just not built that way.”

  Jumping Jezebels! That was just about as honest as anyone could expect .

  “Okay. Let’s just get past the ‘my life is in danger’ part and then deal with our feelings or lack thereof, okay?”

  “Okay.” He replied. He didn’t seem like it was okay, but I didn’t have any other answer for him. “I have something for you.” He pulled out a small jewelry box, opened it and took out the silver charm Antonio had made for Raquel of the old twisted grape vine, but instead of a bracelet, it was on a delicate silver chain.

  “I noticed you weren’t wearing your charm bracelet like the other ladies. But realized while watching you knead dough, that you wouldn’t be able to wear it much, due to your baking and cooking schedule. I thought this would be nice alternative for you and you’d be able,” he extended his arms to me and slipped the chain around my neck, closing the clasp, “to keep Raquel and Antonio with you all the time.”

  I touched the necklace laying against the base of my throat, and, with my eyes full of tears whispered, “Thank you.” Cabe leaned towards me and rested his forehead against mine and whispered back, “You’re welcome.”

  This man was going to drive me to drink, and y’all know how much this girl hates to drink.

  That night I slept fitfully; my mind kept playing over and over, the voice saying “shoot her”.

  I hadn’t needed to tell Cabe anything: one, he was in the hospital room silently listening to my account with the police detective who came in to take my report while I was waiting for my release paperwork to be processed, and two, they’d all heard the OnStar recording.

  Why were there people out there trying to shoot me? It had to be because of Bellini Estate. I hadn’t lived an exciting enough life for it to be anything else, and also, no one had ever tried to kill me before.

  And if people were willing to kill me, was Raquel and Antonio’s car accident even an accident? I needed to talk to the police about this, as well as Sydney, and let them know my fears. Didn’t Cabe say something about taking another look at my uncle’s car? I needed to find out what was going on.

  Obviously, I was in danger. And since I liked living, I wanted to do whatever I could to find out who was trying to kill me, so I could make sure and stay that way, living that is.

  ******

  After Cabe’s declaration to Isabella, he felt a little more certain she would not try to push him away. He knew it was dirty to play with her heart, but he also knew if she didn’t stay close to him, he wasn’t going to be able to protect her. After the accident and hearing the recording of the men shooting at her, he wasn’t taking any more chances. She could be mad at him, but alive after this was all over and she was safe.

  He made a call to Juan the forensic mechanic he’d hired to go over Antonio’s car.

  “Hey Cabe, my man, what’s shaken?” Juan greeted.

  “Seeing if you’ve found anything on the car?”

  “WWOOOOWWEEEEEE did I ever! Whoever these poor souls were, someone wanted them gone in a big way.”

  Cabe’s heart stopped. “Are you saying the car was sabotaged?”

  “I’m saying this car was so sabotaged, bro, that even if they hadn’t gone over the side of a mountain, they would have hit something – the brakes went first, but the steering was next. They just never got the opportunity to experience all the little gifts that were left for them.”

  “What the fuck.” Cabe responded. He knew the accident wasn’t just an accident but he had no idea the extent these fucking people were willing to go – guess now he knew.

  “Bro that’s not all, I have a list of systems that were tampered with, including the driver’s seat belt being disabled. I can email it to you or you can swing by, up to you.”

  “I’ll swing by – any possible indication of who sabotaged the vehicle?” Cabe asked.

  “Nope. Whoever this guy is, he’s good. Seriously good.”

  “I’m on my way.” Cabe said and hung up. He felt even more justified for leading Isabella on. Keeping her safe was one of the last things he was able to do for Antonio.

  ***** *

  After a week of bed rest, I was starting to get around, but moving gingerly, due to my being sore literally everywhere, when Jenna dropped off a new phone for me to replace my old phone that was destroyed when the SUV rammed me off the road.

  I was setting the phone up when all of my momma’s crazy texts started flooding in. She flipped back and forth from being distraught at her only child’s bodily injuries and then back to being pissed off about the inheritance. I didn’t even bother listening to any of her voicemails as they started loading into the phone shortly after I set it up.

  Checking the dates, I could tell my momma’s text tirades had trickled down. She also never showed up at the hospital. I didn’t ask her why. But I am not going to lie, it hurt. It has always been hard with her, but she had a strong mothering way about her anytime I was sick or injured. It’s like all of her maternal instincts only kicked in when I was hurt or scared, and those instincts must have been concentrated because they were fierce . It would have been nice to have momma bear on my side – even just for a little while.

  My phone dinged with a new text notification. Thinking I’d conjured my momma again, I looked at the phone. The text was Lance checking in on me. I obviously never made it to our date, because well, someone tried to kill me. He wasn’t mad and had been checking in on me pretty regularly, sent several bouquets of flowers. He probably figured out the flowers had worked pretty good for him last time. He paid attention and I liked th
at.

  But I had basically committed to Cabe, and even though I really wasn’t sure what I had committed to exactly, I didn’t want to be someone who kept a nice guy like Lance waiting in the wings. I would not want someone to do that to me.

  I texted him back that I was fine and would meet him for coffee in a week or so, when I’d recovered, and it was probably best if he didn’t come around.

  According to Jenna, when he had tried to get into my room to see me at the hospital, Cabe didn’t like that so much, and he and Cabe got into a huge fight, probably leaving Lance with the correct assumption that Cabe had feelings for me. Jenna and I both thought it said something about Lance that even with Big Bad Brown after him, he still kept checking on me.

  Another thing that happened while I was in the hospital was my uncle’s brother Francisco and his wife had to go back to Italy due to another family emergency.

  This upset them and we all were very suspicious of the timing. Not that I thought Francisco or Sophia had done anything, but I was suspicious of all the accidents happening around me, and more specifically, the estate.

  Francisco hired a winemaker to take his place from the Napa wine region. What I would have asked was why there was a winemaker available so close to harvest, but I was in the hospital and didn’t have any opportunity to even meet the guy before he was hired and Francisco and Sophia left for Italy.

  Sydney had been eerily quiet and didn’t even show up when I was at the hospital, nor had she returned – Cabe said she was fine and had Roman to watch after her.

  I was worried.

  No one thought I needed to be bothered with the truth of what was happening, so I figured it was time to take matters into my own hands.

  Chapter 11

  Macho Men Multiplying

  I decided my first action was to research all the wineries and vineyards and who owned what, and where everyone sat in relation to Bellini Estate, so I spent the week studying the region from bed with the laptop I found in my aunt’s desk. I made spread sheets, maps, and strategized, while Stacy kept me up on the happenings at the estate - which was running great without me. The tribe took turns helping out with the scheduled events and some light baking.

  After that week on bed rest, I was fit to be tied. I needed, almost as much as I needed oxygen, to get up and move around and there wasn’t anything that was gonna keep me outta my kitchens.

  With that thought, I realized I had already begun thinking of Bellini Estate’s as mine. I needed to talk with Sydney about the trust, changing ownership, all the corporate documents and legalities, as well as everything we needed to switch over. I discovered during my research it was going to be a lot .

  I had a solid plan and felt much more like myself. I called the wine tribe to my kitchen and prepared for them an amazing lunch of chicken salad sandwiches on freshly baked bread. I’d perfected the most amazing recipe of broiled seasoned chicken breast with fresh herbs from my window garden. My recipe substituted cream cheese and sour cream for the mayo. I knew they would go nuts over it – which they did. I also served a lovely chilled Sauvignon Blanc that paired beautifully with the chicken salad to loosen them up a bit before hitting them with my proposal.

  “Ladies,” I began, after they had all eaten and were on their second glass of wine, “as y’all know I have been run off the road and shot at.” I looked around, making eye contact with each of them. I needed to make sure had everyone’s full attention. “And that is just bullshit in my opinion and also not cool at all. It’s also made me seriously begin to wonder if my aunt and uncle’s accident was in fact an accident.”

  Jenna, Becca, Juliette and Terra were the gals who could make it for lunch. When I delivered that last statement, the women went still and set their glasses down in unison, giving me their full attention.

  “I checked in with Gloria this morning from Italy, and found out their tank room had caught on fire. How can that be a coincidence? I don’t believe it was; I believe it was set on purpose to lure Sophia and Francisco back to Italy, which left a hole in our staff, and conveniently enough, there was an available winemaker for hire. I want to look into him, start there and try to fit the pieces together. Cabe is having someone look at Raquel and Antonio’s car, but I don’t feel confident he will share everything he learns with me, especially if he thinks it would put me in any further danger.”

  Jenna leaned forward and said, “Honey, you’ve got our full attention. What do you need from us?”

  “I need y’all to reach out to anyone and everyone who might have info on this new winemaker we hired, and the beef with the wineries and the old vine grape sales. If my hunch is correct, whoever this is has a long reach and I don’t know anyone here, so I don’t have those connections, but y’all do.” I spent the next hour bringing them all up to speed on all that I knew from Cabe and Sydney.

  When I got to my momma showing up at the will reading with Mark Sephos, Becca sat up straight and yelled, “Are you shittin’ me?! Tell me you’re shittin’ me!” We all jumped and her outburst made my heart beat quicker.

  “I’m not shitting you Becca! Geez!” I said, slapping the island top with my hand.

  “I saw Mark having a heated discussion with Rafael on the way in today. It looked like Mark was chastising him.”

  “What?” I yelled.

  “Yep. Not more than two hours ago I saw him and Rafael having a discussion, and let me tell you missy – Rafael did not look happy - not one bit.”

  I pulled out my phone, called Stacy, and asked her to find Rafael and bring him to me in the house kitchen.

  While we waited, the ladies and I went over who could do what, assigning each lady a task that best fit their skill set and or social advantages, and I was not surprised how quickly we all formed a plan. These women were amazing. Every last one of them was furious that I was attacked. But they were beyond outraged at the notion that their stunning and beloved Raquel and Antonio might have been murdered. May God help the poor souls who might have done this deed, cause let me tell you, these ladies were spittin’ mad and gunning for blood!

  “We’re going to need Sydney. Has anyone spoken to her?” I asked. They all looked at each other and made a silent decision – Jenna spoke up and said, “Let’s try to get done as much as we can without bothering Sydney for as long as we can. She really has lost so much and she needs some time to find her way back.”

  Well, that was cryptic, and just as I was about to ask what the heck she was talking about, Stacy and Rafael entered the kitchen.

  I could tell right away Rafael was furious – so furious he was visibly shaking and immediately started speaking loud rapid Spanish at me and all the ladies in the room.

  “Wait!” I shouted. “Please speak in English so I know what’s going on. What happened, Rafael? ”

  “Sí, señora, I work for el Señor Bellini for many years. He teach me everything I know about the wine grapes, sí ?” I nodded my head eagerly in agreement.

  “This new enólogo does not do right for the grapes. He’s ruin this year’s fruit if he’s not stopped. And to have that cabrón tell me I have no choice or he will fire me! Who is he to fire me?”

  Still not really understanding what the heck he was talking about, I asked, “First, is el enólogo the new winemaker?”

  He nodded and said, “Si”

  “Ok, now who is it that said he would fire you? The winemaker?” I asked.

  “¡No! ¡El cabrón is el Señor Sephos. He was here talking with el enólogo and when I asked what they were doing and he va y me trata como si fuera un peón, un viejo jornalero!” He finished this last part off with a stomp of his foot. I basically got the gist – Mark has spoken to him like a laborer and not the farm manager, and he was seriously offended. Rightfully so: Rafael had worked hard to learn everything he knew and earned his status and title.

  I reached out, taking Rafael’s hands in mine, and said, “You will not be fired. You always do what’s best for this vineyard, always have.
I love you; I trust you, and you are family here. I love your loyalty to Antonio, and will never forget how much he loved you. Never forget that, and never let anyone else tell you any different. If they do – you come straight to me. Okay?”

  His agitated body straightened with pride, shoulders going back. I could tell this was exactly what he needed to hear, so I said, “I want you to go along with whatever this new winemaker does, but do not let him ruin the grapes; you and your men watch him. I need to see what he is up to before he learns we are on to him.”

  “Sí, señora.”

  “Thank you, Rafael.” He started to turn away and I said, “Oh Rafael, text me the next time Mark is here, have your men alert you and text me if any of them see him lurking around. I don’t want him on our property and I want to call the police if he is caught here again.”

  “Si .”

  “You need to let Cabe know right away Mark was here.” Jenna said to me. I agreed with her and sent a short text to Cabe saying just that, which resulted in an immediate phone call from Cabe that I answered on speaker. The call became a long lecture on why I, and the Women of Wine Country tribe, needed to stay out of the sleuthing and leave it up to him and his big strong Macho Man brigade.

  My words, not his.

  Of course, I disagreed with his take and that led to an even more in-depth conversation where he reminded me, I was just out of the hospital from being rammed and shot at, and, with that point made, I was starting to agree with him when Becca yelled, “Fuck that girl! You don’t need any man to take care of you – you’ve got us and we will straighten this mess right out our dang selves!”

  At this, Cabe became even more agitated and eventually hung up on me. Honestly, I wasn’t even arguing with him. I didn’t want to get rammed or shot at again; I was just worried what the next awful thing was going to be.