Wine, Tarts & Sex

by Susan Johnson

  Shelly’s brows rose. “The phrase combat zone requires some explanation, if you please.”

  Liv rolled her eyes. “This is so far out, I’m not sure you’re going to believe it, but here goes. Think of it as Law and Order meets the mean streets of New York.” Liv went on to explain Janie’s divorce issues that had necessitated Leo sending out wiseguys, which in turn caused their flight to Deer Lake.

  “Wow. That’s not business as usual, is it? Everyone’s safe?”

  “Yep. And Janie et al. are enjoying their stay at the lake.”

  “So your chef has a place on Deer Lake? That’s a pretty nice lake.”

  “Don’t say that like I should reconsider my feelings because he has some high-priced property. It’s not his, anyway. It’s his aunt’s. I’m not looking for a man because he has money. Unlike you, I might add,” Liv said with a grin. “And I say that in the most respectful way.”

  Shelly laughed. “So we’re looking for different things in men.”

  Liv smiled. “Haven’t we always? And it’s not as though your choice of a husband was jim-dandy. Darren might have been a rich, brilliant lawyer, but he couldn’t keep it in his pants.”

  “Maybe I’ll have the next one vetted first; you know, have a detective check out his amusements.”

  “Whatever. Look, I’m not questioning your life goals. Finding the right man’s a crapshoot however you look at it.”

  “You really liked him didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, I liked him. Too much.”

  “But you just fought over your wines-right? That was it?”

  “Hey-that’s enough. It’s not as though I make wines between my duties on the Supreme Court and taking care of homeless cats. This is my life.”

  “I know, I know. I was just wondering if maybe there was some other reason you two had a falling out. Like, in my case, other women-lots of other women.”

  Liv grimaced.

  “I knew it,” Shelly rapped out. “I knew there had to be more.”

  Liv put up a restraining hand. “Don’t get all excited. It wasn’t about a woman per se, although, I admit, the reason I even heard him trash my wines was… I suppose… Okay, who am I kidding? I wouldn’t have heard him criticize my wines if I hadn’t gone downstairs because I was worried about this woman who had just come in from L.A. She’s from Peru, absolutely stunning, and is his-I don’t know- personal something or other. Everyone apparently has some speciality in the kitchen. Anyway, she’s the kind of woman who can literally silence a room when she walks in-”

  “As if you can’t,” Shelly interposed.

  “Believe me, this woman radiates give-it-to-me hot sex. And Jake hasn’t turned it down. I’d bet the farm on that.”

  “You could call him, you know.”

  “And say what? I forgive you for thinking I make shit wines? Come over and screw me?” Liv snorted. “I’m not that hard up.”

  “If you like him, you should at least consider discussing this misunderstanding.”

  “Jeez, Louise, since when did you turn therapist? You threw all of Darren’s clothes out the window and set them on fire when you found out about his extracurricular activities. Then, while his designer duds lit up the neighborhood, you called a divorce lawyer.”

  “That was one great fire, wasn’t it?” Shelly murmured, her smile one of satisfaction. “And with that memory in mind,” she said a tad more briskly, back on track, “I understand you being pissed. Your wines are really good. And he’s an ass. Maybe we should go out tonight and see what’s out there? You know, get right back on that horse-”

  “No way. Right now, the entire male gender is on my shit list,” Liv muttered. “Give me a few days to decompress and reconsider my feelings on the opposite sex. In fact”-Liv glanced at the clock-“I think I’ll do what I like best. I’ll go window shopping at those two new wine shops on Seventh and Eighth and get in a better mood. A little wine tasting, a little wine talk, and life will be good again.” Liv smiled and came to her feet. “What time should I be back?”

  “I’ll quit early. Say four.”

  “Why don’t I buy you dinner on the way home? Considering the balmy weather, how about somewhere on a lake?”

  “That place that makes those fabulous French martinis on White Bear Lake.”

  “You got it. See you at four.”

  Thirty-four

  Roman received a call from Vinnie at noon. “Rolf’s on the line. Wanna talk to him?” “Give me a minute.” Everyone was at the kitchen table eating the lunch Amy had made. “Janie and I have a phone call,” Roman said with a glance for Amy and Chris. “It shouldn’t take long, okay?”

  Amy looked at her husband. “We’ll watch Matt.”

  “Sure will,” Chris said, giving Roman and Janie a thumbs-up. “Take your call.” The next phase of dealing with Leo had been discussed before everyone pulled up stakes for Deer Lake.

  Roman escorted Janie outside and well away from the house before getting back to Vinnie. “We’re ready,” he said. “Put him on.” He handed the phone to Janie. She wanted the satisfaction of personally settling the score with Leo. Even more so since they’d been terrorized by Leo’s hired guns.

  “Hello, Leo,” Janie said, cool and calm. “Do you have the custody papers and my money ready?”

  “Are you some kind of nutcase?” Leo roared. “You’re gettin’ nuthin’!” His voice racheted up higher. “And I’ll have Matt back just as soon as I serve you papers! Nobody fucks with me, bitch! Understand?”

  “Are you finished, Leo? Because I have something to say,” Janie said, her voice smooth as silk. “FYI, I still have several copies of that flash drive. So, send the papers giving me sole custody of Matt to Roman’s office no later than Tuesday. Then wire the fifty million to my personal account on Wednesday at two o’clock. Did you get all that? Would you like me to repeat it so you can write it down? Leo? Are you still there?”

  “You mother-fucking cunt.”

  Ignoring her husband’s murderous growl, Janie smiled. “You didn’t really think you could outsmart me, did you, Leo?” she murmured. “I mean, consider what it takes to get from a trailer, as you mentioned in our last conversation, to my current position. If any fool could do that, Leo, don’t you see-every trailer park in America would have to close. Now, then.” Her voice shifted from soap opera diva to ice queen. “The papers on Tuesday, my money on Wednesday, or I’ll start sending this flash drive to interested parties in the government. Are you still there, Leo?”

  “You goddamn, son of a bitching, no-good-”

  “Don’t waste your breath. Just send the papers and the money ASAP or plan on spending your retirement years in jail. It’s your choice. If I get what I want, you get all my copies of the flash drive.”

  “I’ll see you go to hell for this!” Leo shrieked.

  Janie held the phone away from her ear for a second, then said, “I’m hanging up now. If you have any questions, talk to Roman’s office.”

  Flipping the phone shut, she handed it back to Roman.

  “I’ll give Vinnie a heads-up,” Roman said, punching his speed dial. “You were awesome, baby.” He grinned. “Remind me never to get on your bad side. Hey, Vinnie, listen closely. Here’s the deal.”

  Thirty-five

  While Janie’s party was enjoying a summer day at the lake, Liv was wine-tasting downtown, and Jake was busy with construction; Leo was strategizing with his personal accountant.

  The custody papers were in the works. He’d given orders to his attorneys shortly after talking to Janie.

  But Leo didn’t lose gracefully.

  He planned on suing for custody just as soon as the flash drives were in his hands. If she said she’d give them all back, he was pretty sure she’d do it, because she wanted Matt and the money. Even if she held on to a copy for insurance, it wouldn’t matter, since she was going to be in jail so fast her head was gonna swim. This wire transfer deal Dan had figured out was his insurance against Janie. Stupid bitch
. As if she thought she could put one over on him.

  In fact, Leo and Dan were discussing the means by which to accomplish two objectives in regard to the money. First, Leo didn’t want Janie to actually get her hands on his fifty million. Second, she was going to be implicated in an illegal activity when the fifty million was wired to her account.

  “Now, one of your black-box accounts will source the money,” the accountant explained once again. The discussion had been going over the same ground for some time, Leo’s manic state doing a number on his concentration. “The account is registered in the name of a Panamanian company. It’s perfectly clean.”

  “You’re positive my name’s nowhere on this account?” Leo queried. Again.

  “Each account is just designated by number, Leo,” Dan explained with the patience of a saint-or a man who would profit nicely from this deal. “The bank doesn’t divulge names. Not even to foreign governments who lean on them. We’re talking about offshore banking on some minuscule, unheard-of island in the Pacific. Offshore banking and anonymous corporations are all that sustain the economy on the island since bat guano ran out, if you can believe it. Look, if the Russian mafia likes it, it’s good enough for me.”

  “So once more for the record. You’re telling me this scam is going to work, and not even a whiff of my name will be in the goddamn air-Pacific or otherwise.”

  “That’s what I’ve been saying for the past hour. Relax. This is a simple transaction.” And lucrative; Dan Wygren’s cut was a mil. “One more time, Leo. The money goes into Janie’s account in New York. As soon as it hits the account, we jerk out all but one mil-with Herbie Austen’s help.” Leo had an inside man at the bank. With all his offshore accounts requiring regular laundering, it was a necessity. “Then we call the feds. No names, a throwaway phone.” Dan shrugged. “They’re used to anonymous calls. The feds are told to look for some Colombian drug money sent via Moscow that’s been wired to Janie’s account. Then it’s up to her to deal with the blowback.”

  Leo nodded. “Okay-okay. We’ll go with it. You’re good, Dan.”

  “Thanks, Leo, but it’s all pretty routine. These wire transfers go on millions of times a day. The sheer number of transfers only adds to their anonymity.”

  Leo leaned back in his chair, steepled his fingers under his chin, and smiled for the first time that day. “It should work.”

  “Guaranteed, Leo. With Herbie on the inside cleaning things up, it’s a sure thing.”

  “The bitch actually thought I’d hand over fifty million to her,” Leo muttered. “Cold day in hell.”

  “Two days from now, she’ll find out for herself.” Dan wasn’t a people person; he didn’t empathize. He lived with two cats on the Upper West Side. The cats didn’t care if he didn’t talk or feel what they were feeling and his neighbors in the co-op appreciated a quiet resident.

  Leo lifted the lid on his humidor. “I like when things go smoothly like this,” Leo said, taking out a Cuban cigar.

  “It’s the only way. When you’re dealing with money, you want everything to be a certainty.”

  Leo smiled. “A certainty. Excellent.”

  Thirty-six

  In the interest of safety, everyone stayed at Deer Lake save for Chris, who came back to work with Liv.

  “Apparently the next stage in divorce number four for Leo Rolf is about to take place momentarily,” Chris explained the morning he returned to the vineyard. “Janie’s waiting to pick up signed custody papers at a FedEx in White Bear, then the following day, she’s supposed to get her big chunk of dough.”

  “We hope. Leo’s not the kind who gives away either his kid or his money. Although I realize he’s in a bind this time, but still, I don’t trust him.”

  “Between Roman and Janie’s husband, I’d be inclined to put my money on Roman. I get the impression with him anything’s possible.”

  “Fingers crossed,” Liv said, holding up her hands.

  "If Leo has more money than God, he can afford to pay off his exes.”

  “The problem is, he doesn’t want to. He’d rather spend his money in court trying to fuck them over. But, look, we’re not going to change Leo Rolf nor impact this nasty situation. So, I’m all for wishing Janie the best and getting back to my life. How selfish does that sound?”

  “Not so much. Roman’s there for Janie. She doesn’t need us worrying about her.”

  “Might Amy be back in a few days then?”

  “That’s what it sounded like. Apparently all this divorce stuff is on some fast track-so Leo can get his flash drive back, I suppose. After that, Janie’s talking about going to Europe.”

  “With Roman?”

  “I couldn’t tell. He doesn’t give anything away; talk about a sphinx. And when Janie lapses into her wheedling sweet-talk routine, he really shuts down. But, hey, with her fifty million, she can find lots of friends besides him.” Chris jerked his head toward the fields. “A matchmaker I’m not. Let’s go back to work. I’ve missed these killer grapes we’re growing. Should we call back the crews or wait until we know Leo isn’t going to send out any more goons?”

  “I walked through the vineyards yesterday when I came home. We’ll be good for another few days. I prefer being cautious.”

  Chris didn’t ask about Jake. He’d been warned not to by his wife. But Liv didn’t look as though she’d slept much.

  An hour later, Janie walked into a FedEx office, gave her name, and walked out with an envelope. Ripping it open the second she got back into the car, she quickly scanned the pages of legalese.

  “Here it is: ‘Full and complete custody of Matthew Tabor Carter Nicholas Rolf to Janie Jewell Tabor Rolf,’ she read. “You look,” she added, a note of apprehension in her voice as she handed the document to Roman. “Tell me it’s real.”

  “First, let’s see if it’s signed.” He flipped through the pages and nodded. “Leo’s signature.” Then he scanned the appropriate passages and looked up. “You’ve got it, baby.”

  Janie slumped back in her seat and drew in a deep breath. Slowly exhaling, she turned to Roman and smiled. “We’re halfway home. Now it’s up to you, darling, to pull off the next stage.”

  “Two o’clock tomorrow we’ll know for sure.”

  “Hey-hey.” Janie sat up. “What’s not to be sure of? You told me this was a slam dunk.”

  “Nothing’s for sure until it’s over, baby. That’s all I meant. But I have a good feeling about this one. My man’s in place. Leo’s lawyer, I expect, will be where he’s supposed to be. The second the first keystroke lights up my screen tomorrow, it’s a go.

  “The hand-off of the flash drives should take forty seconds or so. Longer, hopefully; Rudy has orders to stall. But Leo’s stooge is going to want to check out the drive and get back to Leo ASAP. Once Leo knows he’s in the clear, Rudy will give us a call. The wire transfer should begin shortly after, and once it does, we’ll only have thirty, forty seconds tops to shift the transaction. You know what to do now?”

  “When Rudy calls, I wait for him to say, ‘Go.’ If he does, you start looking for the codes you want.”

  “There, you see? It’s gonna be simple. I’ll do the rest.”

  What the rest entailed was using Roman’s considerable expertise hacking into secure Web sites. Not to mention, he had the advantage of having all Leo’s bank account numbers and passwords already coded into his program.

  “I don’t suppose we can celebrate yet,” Janie said wistfully.

  Roman squeezed her hand. “After two tomorrow, baby, we’ll have a real celebration.”

  “Somewhere far away, I hope. I know you’re not afraid of Leo, but I am. Fifty million is more than he gave all three of his former wives. Way, way more.”

  “Don’t worry. I have a charter jet standing by. We’ll fly anywhere you want.” Roman also had plans to tell Leo that if he valued his life, he’d forget he ever knew Janie. He was pretty sure he could be convincing.

  Janie grinned. “Lucky Matt and I
have our fake passports. ”

  “It’s not such a bad idea.” Roman had several, including a Canadian one like Janie and Matt.

  “I’m not going to sleep a wink tonight,” Janie grumbled. “I don’t know how you can be so calm.”

  Roman had meditated on a Japanese mountain for six months once. He knew how to block out the world. An asset in his business-maybe even a necessity. “I’ll stay awake tonight and watch over you and Matt. Will that help you sleep?”

  “Maybe you could do something else for me to help me relax,” Janie murmured, gazing at Roman from under her lashes.

  Roman grinned. “You got it, babe.”

  Thirty-seven

  Janie had been staring at the clock on the car dash so long, her eyes were hurting. “God, I’m seeing stars,” she groaned.

  “Five more minutes,” Roman murmured, not looking up, his gaze trained on the screen of his laptop balanced on his knees. “It’s almost over, baby. Almost over,” he said under his breath, his fingers poised over the keys. “Get ready. Rudy should be calling soon. Four minutes, twenty seconds and counting.”

  Amy was watching Matt at the lake, and Janie and Roman were parked outside Coffee Talk using their Wi-Fi connection, waiting for their two o’clock Wednesday deadline.

  “Here we go! He’s early!” Roman rapped out. “Where the hell’s Rudy?”

  Just then the phone in Janie’s hand rang, and she put it to her ear.

  “Him?” Roman snapped.

  “Yes.” Her heart was beating like a drum. Rudy had said, “Go,” and hung up.

  “This is it, babe.” Roman’s voice was calm now, his fingers were flying over the keys, keeping time with the string of numbers dancing across his screen. “Come on, come on,” he whispered, as though urging on the person keying in the bank routing numbers on the other side of his computer screen. “Come on, asshole, I’m in a hurry. There, there-yes! A few more digits now, dude, and it’s hel-lo Switzerland,” he muttered, keystroking like a fiend. “Now… now… almost finally… finally… yes, it’s in!” he crowed, hitting the power button hard and snapping the lid shut on his laptop.