Grapes of Death

by Joni Folger

  “Fine. Whatever,” Ross grumbled. “But this is a colossal waste of time. Our conversation—”

  “Don’t you mean argument?” Darrell interrupted awkwardly.

  “Yancy, you’re not helping,” Jackson said without so much as a glance in the man’s direction.

  Ross, on the other hand, glared at the deputy but continued speaking to Jackson. “Our conversation, though heated, was just a rehash of the same old crap with a couple of new twists. And he was very much alive when I walked away. Any witness who says otherwise is a damn liar.”

  “Be that as it may, I’ll need an official statement. And Caro, you should ask Sancia to sit with the kids for a few hours because you need to come too.”

  Caroline nodded and left the room to speak with Sancia Madera.

  If Elise thought to make a clean getaway after Ross had ratted her out, she was mistaken. Jackson snagged her by the arm as she tried to slip out.

  “Exactly where do you think you’re going?”

  “Me?” she squeaked.

  “Yes, you. I think it would be a good idea if you rode back to the office with us as well.”

  “Are you joking? Why? What did I do? I wasn’t even on the property that night.”

  “It’s more what you didn’t do that concerns me,” he said as he hauled her toward the door. “And as I recall, your whereabouts that night are still unsubstantiated.”

  “Jackson! Stuart told you we were on the phone.”

  “Yeah, well, at the very least you can corroborate Ross’s statement by telling me all about this conversation you failed to mention on Friday.”

  Ten minutes later, they all piled into the cruiser, and the ride into town was uncomfortable at best. Ross grumbled most of the way about being treated like a criminal, while Elise and Caroline sat in the back seat on either side of him, making the trip in stony silence.

  Things didn’t improve much when they arrived at the station. They were escorted into separate rooms to wait. Jackson obviously didn’t trust them not to compare stories, which was humiliating enough, but that she felt she’d disappointed him made her feel terrible.

  Over the next couple of hours, they each had their turn at being grilled. Of course, Ross’s interview lasted much longer than hers or Caroline’s, as neither of them knew much more than what Ross had already told them—that a meeting had taken place. However, the longer they waited for him in the lobby, the more concerned they both became that things were not going well.

  “Why do you think it’s taking so long?” she asked Caroline. “Did he tell you what he and Uncle Edmond argued about?”

  Caroline shook her head. “He wouldn’t say. When he got home, he was actually more disgusted than angry. But he didn’t give me any details.”

  Elise looked down the hall toward the interview rooms. Oh, to be a fly on that particular wall right about now.

  Nineteen

  In Interview Two, Jackson sat down opposite Ross at the table and leaned back in the uncomfortable plastic chair. “Okay, so walk me through it from start to finish.”

  “Dude, I’ve already told you what happened, and you have it on tape. That isn’t enough?”

  “Humor us,” Jim Stockton said.

  Rubbing his eyes with his fingertips, Ross blew out a breath and relented. “Okay, fine. I got a call from Uncle Edmond about five thirty saying he needed to talk to me right away, and could I meet him down by the river.”

  Jim nodded and scribbled in his notebook. “That was Monday, the afternoon before his death. And you said he seemed anxious?”

  “Yes, he was jumpy. He said he’d made a big mistake and needed to talk to me. I was reluctant to go, because I’d just about written him off after he argued with Mom at the house, but something in his voice … I don’t know. He seemed almost desperate.”

  “So you met him down by the river. What happened next?” Jackson asked.

  “He told me that when Mom hadn’t given in to him early on he’d been angry, and because of it, had made a deal he was regretting. He said he’d betrayed the family—told me how sorry he was, blah, blah, blah.”

  “Betrayed the family how?”

  “He didn’t say, Jax. To be honest, I thought it was just another one of his ploys. But he wouldn’t explain himself, even when I got a little physical.”

  Jackson sat up and leaned forward. “What exactly do you mean when you say ‘physical’, Ross?”

  “I told you before, I shoved him—he shoved back, and that was the extent of it. I said I wouldn’t let him screw with the family and all that we’d built. He told me he didn’t intend to go through with the deal, but that we should ‘watch ourselves’. He was concerned because the plan—whatever it was—was already in motion, and he didn’t know what the reaction was going to be when he backed out.”

  “So he was worried about the family?” Jim looked up from his notebook.

  “I guess. When I thought about it later, that’s the way it seemed.”

  Jim looked up from his notepad. “And that was it? That was the point you walked away?”

  “Yeah. Well, I started to, but then he called my name. When I turned around, he looked kind of sad and apologized again. He said he knew he’d been a pain, and he was sorry for the trouble. The last thing he said was, ‘be careful, Ross, and take care of the family.’ Then he turned and walked down to the river and I went back to the house. That’s it. He was alive and well the last time I saw him.”

  “Okay. I think that’s all we need,” Jackson said as he reached over and turned off the recorder.

  Rolling his eyes, Ross asked, “Are you sure? Maybe I should go through it one more time for good measure.”

  Jackson gave him a narrowed look. “Be careful what you wish for, bro. Because going through it again is definitely an option.”

  Ross made a face. “Very funny.”

  Before Jackson could reply, the door opened and Darrell Yancy stepped in. “We’ve had an interesting development, Jackson. I just took a phone call with an anonymous tip.”

  “What kind of tip?”

  “The kind where the caller told me where we could find Edmond Beckett’s missing wallet.”

  Jackson stood. Adrenaline began to pump as he wondered if this could be the lead he’d been hoping for. “And where is that?”

  “In Carlos Madera’s truck—the glove compartment to be exact.” Darrell turned to give Ross a look of disgust. “Pretty convenient, if you ask me.”

  “What?” Ross looked astonished. “Well, hey, don’t look at me. I’ve been here for the last couple of hours.”

  The seating arrangement in the cruiser on the way back to River Bend was much the same as it had been on the way into the station. Jackson drove and Darrell rode shotgun, with Elise, Ross, and Caroline scrunched into the back seat. However, the mood was much more thoughtful in light of the latest wrinkle in the case.

  Elise’s mind spun with the numerous possibilities that the mysterious tip presented. Whether Carlos had meant to or not, he had cast the suspicion of murder in Ross’s direction with his earlier statements.

  Now the finger was being pointed back at him—but by who?

  Carlos and Sancia Madera had been with River Bend for several years, with him working the land and her taking care of the houses. Sancia also watched Ross’s boys on a regular basis.

  Ross and Caroline continued to insist that Carlos would never be mixed up in something so heinous. Elise hated to think it might be true, but she’d seen enough to know that anything was possible. The only thing consistent about human behavior was its inconsistency, and even someone you thought you knew well could surprise you when you least expected it.

  It was something she’d found out the hard way with Stuart’s recent behavior.

  Still, she was having a difficult time believing it herself and was highly di
strustful of the timing of this so-called anonymous tip. Maybe Carlos had been put up to making the statement and was now being sabotaged by the same person who’d encouraged him to come forward—perhaps the real killer. But again, that would mean Carlos was connected in some way to whatever scheme her uncle had been planning.

  She thought about what had been said following Ross’s interview. Edmond had been caught up in something shady involving River Bend. And he was worried enough about it to warn Ross on the very day he’d been murdered.

  With these new clues in mind, she needed to scour his journal more thoroughly as soon as possible. Maybe he’d written something about it there, hidden in his weird coding.

  Harmony’s murder also weighed heavily on her mind. What part could it have played in this whole mess? Like Jackson, she was starting to get the feeling there was a connection somewhere, and they just weren’t seeing it.

  Her thoughts were interrupted when Ross sat forward as they turned onto River Bend property. “Don’t bother running us home, dude. We’re going with you.”

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Jackson said from the front seat. “This is police business, Ross.”

  “And this is our land, Jax. We’re going with you whether you like it or not. I want to make sure Carlos is treated fairly, no matter what you find.”

  “Ross, honey, Jackson may have a job to do, but you know he would never do anything to compromise Carlos’s rights,” Caroline said in a quiet voice.

  “It’s not him I’m worried about,” Ross replied with a nasty glance in Darrell’s direction. “Besides, that anonymous call is bullshit. Carlos would never be a party to something as horrible as murder.”

  In truth, Elise had expected Darrell to be the one to put up a fuss. But surprisingly, the other deputy hadn’t said a word and had been quiet the entire trip.

  She figured he was still smarting from the reprimand he’d received from Caroline earlier. With him continuing to carry a bit of a torch for Ross’s wife, it couldn’t have been easy to be reamed by her in front of everyone that way.

  “Fine.” Jackson finally relented. As they pulled up in front of the cottage, he shut off the engine and turned to address the three of them. “I guess I don’t have to tell y’all that you need to stay in the background here. Carlos was feeling pretty bad about telling us what he’d seen between you and Edmond, or so it seemed.”

  Ross huffed. “Don’t worry about us. We won’t interfere with your precious investigation, Jackson. As for him coming forward, I don’t hold that against him. I’m sure he was just doing what he thought was right.”

  Elise noticed Carlos’s truck in the driveway. Jackson would have to get his permission to search it without a warrant. For Carlos’s sake, she really hoped there was nothing to find.

  They all got out of the cruiser, but she, Ross, and Caroline hung back on the sidewalk, letting Jackson and Darrell go up to the door. After a few moments, it opened and Carlos appeared.

  “Señor Jackson, what are you doing here?” he asked. When he looked around Jackson’s shoulder and saw Ross, worry blossomed on his face. “Does this have to do with what I told you earlier? Am I going to be fired?”

  Jackson shook his head. “No, Carlos. We’re here for something else entirely. I’d like your permission to search your truck.”

  “My truck?” Carlos looked puzzled for a moment. “Why would you want to do that?”

  “Because we got a call stating that we’d find Edmond Beckett’s wallet in your glove compartment,” Darrell said. “Any idea why someone would say that?”

  “No. Who would say that?” he began to shake his head. “It’s not true. Why would I have Señor Edmond’s wallet?”

  “That’s a good question,” Darrell agreed. “Since it wasn’t found on his body, you understand that it would look very bad for you if we found it in your truck.”

  Elise didn’t like Darrell’s tone and was just about to say so when Jackson put up a hand in the other deputy’s direction. Darrell stepped back.

  Jackson spoke calmly. “Look, Carlos, I need your consent to check it out. Now, I can get a warrant, but I’d prefer to do this in a friendly way, if possible, and put an end to the speculation.”

  Carlos stuck his hands in his pockets and nodded. Fear was evident on his face, regardless of his denial, and Elise’s heart went out to the man.

  “Sí, go ahead,” he said after a moment. “But you won’t find what you’re looking for.”

  Jackson nodded, and he and Darrell went back to the cruiser for latex gloves. Carlos slowly walked toward the group.

  “Señor Ross, I’m sorry about going to the police. I never meant to cause you any trouble.”

  “I know you didn’t, Carlos. I should have told Jackson about the meeting right away. Then you wouldn’t have been put in that position in the first place. But don’t worry about that now, okay?”

  “I wouldn’t have done it at all, but I didn’t have a choice.”

  Elise stepped forward and spoke in a low voice. “What do you mean you didn’t have a choice, Carlos?”

  “I had to protect—”

  “Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Darrell’s voice carried across the yard, interrupting the conversation. He held up his hand; perched between his fingertips was a wallet.

  Carlos’s mouth dropped open, and he shoved both Elise and Ross aside as he ran toward the deputy yelling, “No, no, no!”

  Jackson caught the man before he could make a grab for the wallet and held onto him while Darrell opened it, confirming that it was indeed Edmond’s.

  “That can’t be!” Carlos screamed. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t kill Señor Edmond. I didn’t, I tell you!”

  With a sinking feeling, Elise watched Darrell slip her uncle’s wallet into an evidence bag. Had they all been wrong about Carlos, or was he being set up to take the blame for someone else?

  “We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise you,” Jackson told the man. “But right now you’re going to have to come with us. Carlos Madera, I’m arresting you on suspicion of murder.”

  The man continued to protest his innocence as Jackson read him his rights and put him in the back seat of the cruiser.

  Ross took out his cell phone as he walked toward the car. “Carlos, don’t say another word. Do you hear me? I’m calling Lyle Ingram. He’s the vineyard’s lawyer and a damn good one. So, don’t worry. He’ll take care of everything, okay?”

  “I didn’t do this, Señor Ross. Please make them see. I didn’t kill your uncle, I promise.”

  While Ross called Lyle, Elise pulled Jackson aside. “Jax, you can’t seriously believe that Carlos killed Uncle Edmond.”

  Jackson rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a grim look. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter what I think, El. I have to follow the evidence whether I like where it’s going or not.”

  “I know, but that’s what I’m talking about. Don’t you find this just a little bit too convenient? I mean, come on. Do you really think Carlos would be dumb enough to keep that wallet in his glove compartment if he’d just murdered the man?”

  “It is troubling, but the fact is, people do dumb things all the time.”

  “Yes, but you found that wallet via an anonymous call. The caller couldn’t have known it was there unless they put it there themselves to set Carlos up.”

  “That’s a definite possibility. Or maybe the caller was an accomplice who’d been with Carlos when he put it in his own glove compartment.” Jackson put up a hand when she opened her mouth to argue. “Regardless, I do find it awfully coincidental, and you know how I feel about coincidence. But if that wallet comes back with Carlos’s finger-prints on it, it won’t look good for him. And I’ll tell you right now, at that point, how we found it won’t matter much to the DA.”

  Elise’s frustration grew as she watched
him climb into the vehicle and drive away. Jackson’s hands might be tied, but hers certainly weren’t. She was going to figure out what had Carlos so terrified and, hopefully, the identity of the anonymous caller. And she knew just where to start.

  Glancing up, she realized that Ross and Caroline had already started walking down the long driveway back toward the residence. Following them, she opened her purse, dug for her phone, and quickly punched in a number.

  “C.C.? It’s Elise. How soon can you meet me at my apartment?”

  “We’re not going to do anything to get us in hot water with Jackson this time, right?” C.C. asked when Elise opened her front door forty-five minutes later. She traipsed past her and headed for the living room. “Because I do not want that gorgeous hunk of man pissed off at me again.”

  “Please. Don’t be such a whiny baby,” Elise replied as she shut the door and followed. “And no, we’re not doing that kind of sleuthing. We’re just going to do some … research, that’s all. Jax doesn’t even need to know about it unless we find something.”

  “Research. Uh-huh.” C.C. gave her a skeptical squint. “I’m intrigued. What kind of research?”

  Elise grabbed her briefcase, pulling out a sheaf of papers and dropping them on the coffee table. “We’re going to do some decoding.”

  “Holy crap! Girl, are these what I think they are?” When Elise just smirked, C.C. burst out laughing. “Oh, you sly thing, you. I’m impressed. You made photocopies of your uncle’s journal?”

  “Well, one must always be prepared, right?”

  “Does Deputy Sweet Cheeks know about this?”

  Elise laughed out loud at her friend’s description of Jackson. “Yes, and he was none too pleased about it, let me tell you. He gave me a good ration of crap on the subject.”

  “He was so steamed at finding us at Edmond’s house that day I’m surprised he hasn’t come over to confiscate these.”

  “He probably would have if he’d had the time. I knew he’d hot-foot it over here the minute he found the journal missing when we left the house. And knowing him as I do, I figured he’d demand that I give it up. So I took out a little insurance by making photocopies on the way home.”