White Cloud Retreat

by Dianne Harman

  “I was getting to that. Evidently their parents were very wealthy. About a year before Scott bought the property and moved here, his parents died in an automobile accident. I spoke with the attorney who handled the estate and he told me Luke and Scott had a violent argument in his office when the wills were read. Luke was furious that Scott was to receive half of the estate outright because Scott wasn’t a businessman and Luke felt he’d squander his inheritance on some fly-by-night spiritual thing. He thought Scott’s half should have been held in trust for him. That way he would get a modest portion of it every year instead of one large lump sum payment.

  “From what the lawyer told me, they had a shouting match right there in his office and he had to step between them to prevent them from getting physical. Luke left his office, furious, and told Scott he never wanted to see him again. The lawyer told me Scott was just as mad. I asked the lawyer if he could tell me how much money Scott and Luke had inherited. He told me it was approximately ten million dollars for each of them.”

  “Wow, that’s a huge amount of money! No wonder Scott was able to buy the Center. I understand Luke worked in the securities business and lived in New York until he suffered a burnout from stress.”

  “That’s partially true, but there’s a little more to it than that. From what the attorney told me, Luke squandered away his inheritance by getting involved with a lot of marginal companies that went bankrupt or had owners who embezzled the company’s funds. His work history isn’t too great either. There was a scandal when one of his clients accused Luke of embezzling some of his assets, but it never could be proven. Nevertheless, the brokerage company he was with let him go and he left under a cloud of suspicion. That was almost a year ago, about the time he came to live with Scott at the Center. They must have had some type of reconciliation, although I couldn’t verify what happened between the two of them.”

  “Well, I’m glad. I always liked Scott so much and I like his brother, too. I remember Scott was so happy when Luke agreed to come to Oregon and run the business side of the Center so Scott would be free to pursue the spiritual aspect of his life. He told me he didn’t enjoy the business part of the Center which had become, in many ways, a large money-making machine,” Kelly said.

  “One of the other things I found out was that the Center was the recipient of a large number of donations. One man who attended one of Scott’s retreats and studied with him for a long time afterwards was so taken with Scott that he donated two million dollars to the Center. That was just a few months ago. I haven’t been able to look into the records of the Center, but given the nature of Luke’s suspicious past and two million dollars of new cash flowing into the Center, it’s on my list of things to do. If someone had a problem handling money in the past, and had previously been accused of embezzlement, they might have a real problem with that kind of a temptation.”

  “Mike, you can’t be serious. Luke? I don’t think so. When I saw him yesterday, he was devastated.”

  “He was the same way when I talked to him right after Scott’s death, but keep in mind the old crime solving adage. That’s the one that says the majority of people who commit a murder are often very close to the victim, frequently a spouse or a relative. In this case, Scott didn’t have a spouse, but he had a brother.”

  “I refuse to believe it could be Luke. From what I saw, they seemed to be very close.”

  “Appearances are often deceiving, Kelly. I’d like to think Luke didn’t do it, but at this point I can’t rule anyone out. I wish I had some solid motives and solid suspects. So far Luke seems to be the only one who could be a suspect.”

  “Sorry, can’t agree with you on that.” She stood up and took his plate and coffee cup off of the table. “To change the subject. With all the talk of the Center and their wine and a rainy night coming, I’m going to stop by The Crush on the way home and pick up a bottle of White Cloud Pinot Noir. We can drink it when the storm hits tonight. What do you think?”

  “Sounds great. I need to go to the office for a couple of hours and then I’ll be home. Rebel, come.” Kelly was busy writing out the menu on the chalkboard for the next day and pretended she didn’t see Mike slip Rebel a treat from his pocket. Mike stood up and took his signature white Stetson hat from the coat rack and gave her a mock salute as he opened the door with Rebel expectantly following him.

  She shook her head. I can’t believe he’d think for a minute that Luke did it. Doesn’t make any sense at all. Maybe I can find out something from Jesse down at The Crush that will make Mike look in some other direction.

  *****

  He took out the ledger that he kept hidden behind the files in the bottom drawer of his desk. Probably ought to put this in a safer place. That sheriff was asking a lot of questions when he called today. If he decides to get a search warrant, I could be in trouble. The good thing is that Scott’s dead. I think he was becoming suspicious. Glad I was able to take that call from the bank manager about him having the checks that Scott had requested. If Scott had taken the call, who knows what might have happened. Yeah, sometimes you just have to take fate in your own hands. Once I get rid of that pesky sheriff and his hash-slinging girlfriend, I’ll be just fine. A few more weeks here and off to Mexico I go. Little tequila, warm little Mexican girl, and no rain. I’m just about there. Even if someone discovered that money was missing from the Center’s bank account, don’t think Mexico abides much by that extradition treaty they signed with the good old U.S. of A. Just as well. A person can get real lost in Mexico when they have enough money. So long, little brother.

  CHAPTER 11

  “Come on Lady, time to go. One stop and then we’re home to snuggle in for a rainy night.” Lady got up from her bed, wagged her tail, and pranced to the door. I swear that dog understands everything I say!

  A few minutes later she pulled into the parking lot at the rear of The Crush. Kelly had always loved the simplicity of the name and thought it reflected the man who owned the shop. Jesse was unpretentious and so was his shop. There was an old wooden bar where twelve bottles of wine were always available for tasting. Several wooden chairs and tables also provided a comfortable place for customers to sit while they sampled some of the wines that were being featured that day. Although The Crush had wines from all over the world, the main focus was on the wines of Oregon, particularly the pinot noirs. Photos of the annual fall wine crush were prominently displayed on the walls, several dating back to the prior century. This part of Oregon had been growing grapes for a long time and was just now becoming known for the excellent quality of its pinot noir wines.

  “Hi, Jesse. How goes the wine business?” she said to the tall man with his grey hair pulled back in a ponytail and a diamond stud in his left ear lobe. She noticed he was dressed in his customary jeans and blue denim shirt. “Sorry I didn’t have a chance to talk to you when you were in the coffee shop last week, but I trust Roxie took good care of you.”

  “Absolutely. She always knows what I want to eat before I know what I want. What can I do for you today?”

  “I’d like a bottle of the White Cloud Pinot Noir. Scott Monroe gave me a bottle a few months back and it was delicious. I understand a big storm is coming, so I thought Mike and I might hunker down for the night and enjoy a good bottle of wine.”

  “Perfect choice for this kind of weather. I heard about Scott’s murder and I’m sure sorry. He often came in here and we’d talk about wine. Scott was a lot more knowledgeable about his wine than some of the other vintners who grow pinot noir grapes. Matter of fact, I’m sure a couple of them are hoping his death might put a stop to the Center’s ability to produce the top selling pinot noir in the region. It’s one of the most popular wines here in the shop and from what Scott told me, all over Oregon.”

  “I’m surprised to hear that there were bad feelings among the wine growers as it relates to Scott. I don’t know much about the wine industry, but I always had the feeling the vineyard owners were kind of like a brotherhood that all
shared information and helped one another.”

  “Most of them do. I only know of two who don’t and they’re brothers. Their vineyard is next to the Center on the south side of the county road. They’ve got about thirty acres planted with vines. I’ve never liked them. They’ve been in here a number of times and said things about Scott, the Center, and the wines produced there that were not very complimentary. Matter of fact, they even tried to bribe me once. Offered to pay me quite a bit of money if I would sell their wine instead of his, but I refused. I told them Scott’s White Cloud Pinot Noir was a big seller for my shop and their pinot noir couldn’t match it. They weren’t very happy about that.”

  “I’m sure they weren’t. Jesse, do they produce other kinds of wine besides pinot noir?”

  “No, their vineyard is planted exclusively with pinot noir grapes. I hear they do a pretty good business selling to a lot of the discount stores at cheap prices. I was talking to one of their employees who stopped in to see what other pinot noirs I sold and he said they were trying to break into the high end wine market with a new pinot noir. I haven’t tried it yet. Matter of fact, I really don’t want anything to do with Dante or Luca. I just don’t care for them.

  “Here’s your wine,” he said, handing Kelly a light brown wine bag with the word “The Crush” emblazoned in bold black letters on the side. “Enjoy it and tell Mike hi for me. I got the invitation to your wedding and I’m planning on being there and at the reception as well. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to bring the wine and provide it at cost. Call it my wedding present to both of you.”

  “That would be wonderful, Jesse, thank you so much! With everything that’s happened, I haven’t really had much time to put the final touches on the food and wine. Yes, please, I’ll definitely take you up on your kind offer. I think we’ll have about one hundred people, although a number of them probably won’t drink wine. I’ll have some soft drinks as well. I’ve tried to keep the list down to close friends. You know, in a town this small, you could end up with everyone in the entire town coming and that would be a nightmare.”

  “Consider it done, Kelly. Glad I can do something for you. My family has never forgotten when you brought Dad his favorite foods when he was getting near the end. It was the only thing he looked forward to.”

  “I was happy to do it. Your father was a wonderful man and every time I serve a customer at the corner table where he always liked to sit, I think of him.”

  “Well, he thought just as highly of you, believe me. Enough talking. You better get out of here. The wind’s really starting to pick up and the sky is starting to look pretty ominous.”

  “Thanks, and if I don’t see you at lunch one of these days, I’ll see you at the wedding.”

  She got in her van and put the bottle of wine on the floor behind her seat. “Okay, Lady, now it’s time to go home. Better let you out before the storm comes. Wet fur is not my favorite thing to deal with! Plus I need to get on the computer and find out what vineyard owners in the region have the first names of Dante and Luca.”

  CHAPTER 12

  “Mike, I am so glad to be home. The skies look like they’re about ready to open up. I decided we need a fire and like I told you I was going to do earlier, I stopped by The Crush and bought a bottle of White Cloud Pinot Noir. It sounded perfect for a rainy night.” Rebel walked over to where she and Lady were standing and looked up at her, hoping for an ear scratch. Kelly bent down and obliged.

  “Give me about an hour and then I’ll be more than ready for a glass of it. I need to finish up some thoughts on what I have to do tomorrow on the Monroe case. I don’t have a handle on it and with every hour that goes by, statistically it gets harder to find the killer. Maybe if I write some things down, I’ll get a little clarity. I sure don’t seem to have any right now.”

  “Actually, that would work out well. I need to do a little work on my computer, so I’ll see you then.” She walked into the bedroom she’d made into her office. It was cozy and inviting with the large couch piled up with pillows she’d needlepointed over the years, the white walls filled with paintings by local artists, and the vase of fresh flowers she always kept on her old-fashioned desk. Books overflowed out of the corner bookcase and she once again made a promise to herself to go through them and donate some of them to the library.

  Kelly booted up her computer and Googled “Pinot noir growers Cedar…” Before she could even type in the word “Bay,” three vineyards popped up on the screen as well as the names of the owners of the vineyards. It only took a moment to learn that Dante and Luca Pellino were the owners of the Pellino Brothers Vineyard, specializing in pinot noir wines. She scrolled down their web site and read for a few minutes. Just as Jesse had told her earlier, their vineyard wasn’t far from Cedar Bay and was located adjacent to the White Cloud Retreat Center, separated by a county road. Luca was the president of the Oregon Wine Growers Association and had recently made a presentation at the annual conference. One article stated that they were well known for doing a high volume of business with discount chain stores.

  I think I need to go over there tomorrow after work. Both jealousy and cutthroat business competition could possibly provide a powerful motive for murder. Maybe I’ll get a sense of whether or not one or both of them could be the killer. And if nothing else, I can always pick up another bottle of wine. Now off to a glass of wine and dinner. Along with the manicotti that Mike ate the last of, we served baked burritos at the coffee shop for lunch, and they were a huge hit. I brought the leftover chicken mixture home and I’ve got the rest of the ingredients for them. I’ll make a green salad and I’ve got time to make Mike’s favorite ricotta cake. It’s about the easiest thing in the world and he loves it. Might help make up for the vegetarian casserole I served him last night.

  Two hours later Mike finished his piece of cake and looked over at Kelly. “Sweetheart, I don’t know how you manage to do it, but it seems like every meal is better than the last one. You know how I love Mexican food and those burritos were as good as any I’ve ever had. And the cake! If I dropped dead right here at the dinner table, I’d die a happy man because of that cake.”

  “Well, if you did, I wouldn’t be very happy about it. That would give a whole new meaning to the term, being left at the altar. It would be more like he never showed up at the altar because he overdosed on food two and a half weeks before the wedding. Don’t think that would help my coffee shop business.”

  Mike took his buzzing phone from its holster. “This is Sheriff Mike. Can I help you?” He listened to the voice on the other end for a moment. “Of course I don’t mind you calling me at home, Doc, and I don’t think your question is the least bit strange. I’m going to be wearing a dark suit at the wedding, so the same would probably be appropriate for you. Let me ask Kelly.”

  “Tell him that would be fine.”

  “The boss says that would be fine.” He listened to Doc and then raised his eyebrows and looked over at Kelly. “No, she didn’t tell me that, but I have to say in her defense that we haven’t discussed the case this evening. I’ll look into it tomorrow. Thanks for telling me. I’ll ask her about it now. Talk to you soon.”

  He put his phone back in its holster and looked at her. “I’m going to give you the benefit of doubt on this one…”

  She interrupted, “If Doc was talking to you about the guy Scott mentioned when he went to see Doc, I was going to tell you all about it. Honest. We just haven’t had an opportunity to talk about the case tonight.”

  “Like I said, I’ll give you the benefit of doubt. Doc said you could tell me about it. I’d like to hear it.”

  “Well, Doc came in for lunch and told me he’d heard about Scott’s death and was really sorry. He said Scott came to the clinic to see him recently because he’d gotten a cut from a rose bush in his vineyard and it wasn’t healing properly. He mentioned to Doc that he was really angry at one of the men who was taking part in the residential training program at the Center. You pr
obably remember from when you interviewed people at the Center that the people who are in the program have to work in the vineyards. That’s how they pay their tuition for the program. It’s kind of a trade-off thing. Anyway, Scott told Doc that the guy pruned the vines too short and he was worried that the grapes from those vines wouldn’t be very good this year.”

  “I think that’s a pretty far stretch. I don’t see someone who’s doing Zen residential training being mad enough at the Zen Master for correcting him to kill him. I’ll look into it, but I have a hard time buying that one. What’s wrong? You look like you’re squirming.”

  “Well, there’s a little more to it. Scott also told Doc that a couple of the local wine growers would love it if the White Cloud Pinot Noir wasn’t so popular. Scott said he’d made enemies with a couple of them because the Center’s wine was considered by wine connoisseurs to be much better than theirs.”

  “That doesn’t seem like anything that would make you squirm. What are you leaving out?”

  She stood up and took some dishes over to the sink and began speaking rapidly while her back was turned toward Mike. “Well, I just happened to be talking to Jesse at The Crush, you know where I bought the wine we drank tonight, and he told me that there were two brothers who are vintners and they’d tried to bribe him to sell their wine and not Scott’s. Here’s the thing. Their vineyard is next to Scott’s and Scott was an organic vintner. He didn’t believe in using any pesticides or herbicides on his vines. Jesse said it’s the new trend for a lot of vintners in this area. He said these two brothers used all types of chemicals on their vines and Scott was always worried that the chemicals would drift onto his property and damage his vines.”

  “Let me get this straight. You just happened to be talking to Jesse. Strange, you haven’t been to The Crush for a long time from what I can remember. No wonder you were squirming. You went there to find out who the wine growers were after you talked to Doc, didn’t you?”