Cabernet Capers

by Dan Kelly

  “That’s got to be the nicest compliment I’ve ever been paid and I thank you and my ego thanks you too.”

  “You’re welcome and now let’s go eat before I say something stupid and make a complete ass of myself.”

  When they settle in at their table, Derrick tells her about his run in with the Paganelli brothers. Julie says, “It looks like you accomplished what you set out to do, you’ve stirred up the hornets’ nest.”

  “We’ll have to wait and see if they’re goaded into a stinging frenzy and do something we can net them for. If the father and grandfather continue to probe and snoop around, they just might do our job for us and come up with the proof we need to put an end to all of this or at the very least prove to be the catalyst for the twins opting to do something stupid and incriminating, something we can nail them for.”

  “Okay, let’s put the Paganelli brothers on the back burner for the rest of the evening and talk about something else. Why did you want to become a detective?”

  “I don’t know. I just somehow gravitated into it. Like a lot of kids I wanted to be a cop or a fireman when I grew up and unlike a lot of kids the urge didn’t leave me when I grew up and I took the plunge. The idea of catching bad guys and putting them in jail was always appealing to me and I guess that was the root cause of my inclination towards becoming a cop. I’ve always liked to solve puzzles and was addicted to mystery books and Who Dunnits while I was growing up, still am, so I guess that was the genesis of my leaning towards becoming a detective. I guess my primary motivation for continuing in the job is the good feeling I get when I’ve closed a case and made the bad guys pay for what they did.

  “Julie, being a detective isn’t for everyone even if you have the smarts and the proper motivation as you certainly do. It requires an enormous amount of patience and ability to deal with danger, frustration, disappointment, boring routine and tragedy.”

  “How do you know whether or not you possess these abilities without becoming a detective?”

  “That’s the sixty-four dollar question which I don’t have the answer to. As you know, personality tests are given to all candidates for a deputy sheriff position, but I don’t know how reliable they really are in identifying the things I’ve pointed out to you. I’m certainly no expert in that arena, so don’t go by anything I say. I’m just expressing my opinion.”

  “And I appreciate you doing that. I believe I can deal with the challenges of the job and I hope I’ll get the opportunity here. If not, I’ll have to try someplace else.”

  “You’re that determined?”

  “I am.”

  “Well then, I’ll do everything I can to help you get that opportunity. You’ve earned it.”

  “Thanks, Derrick, and I hope you don’t regret the offer because I can be a real pain in the ass when it comes to asking questions.”

  Laughing he says, “Thanks for the warning. Now let’s move on to the main reason we’re here, to eat.”

  Forty-five minutes later, talked out, their appetites sated and sipping on a chardonnay that is the best Derrick has ever tasted Derrick says, “You are right on about this place. The food is out of this world and this wine could be addictive. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a pleasant evening. Thanks for asking me to join you. Perhaps we could do it again sometime.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ve had a nice time too and when you’re in the mood for some company you know how to get in touch.”

  Laughing Derrick asked for the bill which Julie insisted on splitting and when they settled up with Pedro they headed for the parking lot.

  Chapter 19

  Over the next few days nothing helpful develops to point Derrick in a specific direction. The ear ring only gave up a partial print, not enough to be identifiable, and although Julie sat with a sketch artist, copies of which were distributed to all of the wineries in the Valley, there’s been no positive feedback from that effort as yet either. A couple of copies were also left with Basilio Paganelli’s wife to be given to her husband and son when they returned from a fishing trip, so nothing good or bad can some from that quarter until they get back. Maury Hoagland is still in the process of trying to find out who the source of the funds the Paganellis are receiving is, so at the moment Derrick is treading water as far as his investigation is concerned.

  On a gloomy Friday morning, frustration has Derrick pondering about what he might have overlooked that could open a new avenue for speculation if nothing else. He’s not above grasping at straws if nothing more concrete is available. He’s getting kind of desperate for something new to hang his hat on. His concentration is broken by his phone ringing. It’s the Desk Officer, Gene Farley. “Derrick, there’s a Ms. Audrey Aragon on the line who wants to talk to you. She says it has something to do with your winery investigation.”

  “Put her through, Gene. I know who she is.”

  “Good morning Ms. Aragon. What can I do for you?”

  “Good morning, Sergeant. I’ve just picked up a bit of news off our grapevine that I think you should look into. A couple of Napa Valley wineries that have been staunchly resisting the recent acquisition attempts just acquiesced and agreed to sell out. Something is really way out of whack here because I’ve known the owners all my life and know they love what they do and would never voluntarily opt to sell out. I believe something scared them into it, what I can’t imagine, but it has to be something pretty bad to force them into selling.”

  “Thanks for calling, Ms. Aragon. Give me the names of the wineries and I’ll see what I can find out. It won’t be easy. The first thing that pops into my mind is the possibility that a very ugly new strategy has probably been added to the mix, blackmail. There’s a good chance the people behind what has been going on lately have managed to come up with something that has given them a lot more leverage in getting their targets to throw in the towel and the owners aren’t going to want to let the cat out of the bag when it comes to what is being held over their heads, especially to the police if they’ve broken the law sometime in their past.”

  “It’s hard for me to believe that these people would have done anything illegal, but I’ve lived long enough to know that not everything is what it seems. Since blackmail is illegal, if you can prove this is being done and who’s doing it you can put an end to everything that has been happening. Good luck.”

  “Thanks again for calling, Ms. Aragon. I’ll let you know where this leads. Good bye.”

  “Shit! Visitors 2, Home Team zip.”

  Turning to Julie who is now working from a desk alongside his he says, “Grab your hat. We’re out of here.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I’ll tell you in the car. Bring it around while I give Bemis the lowdown on what I just learned.”

  Five minutes later with Julie behind the wheel they’re pulling away from the station when Derrick’s cell phone rings. “Chandler.”

  “Derrick, it’s Maury. I got a name for you as a source of funds for the Paganelli brothers, Nofri Nuzzoli. According to my source at the Polizia di Stato, he’s a very upper crust player in Italy’s organized crime arena which translates as very rich, very powerful, very clever and beneath a veneer of refinery and sophistication very dangerous when pissed off. It appears the Paganelli brothers are in bed with some very nasty people.”

  “Thanks, Maury. I wonder if the Paganellis know who they’re dealing with and if not would they care if they knew. I really don’t think these twins have many scruples and firmly believe they would use just about any means to get what they want, including blackmail.

  He told Maury about the phone call from Audrey Aragon and concluded with, “Since sabotage and one murder has so far had no one backing down from their adamancy, it doesn’t surprise me that one of the only two means of persuasion left, threats of physical harm or blackmail, is now being tried. I’m on my way out to the wineries that folded to see what I can ferret out. I’ll continue to keep you in the loop. Thanks again for the info. Bye.”
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br />   After filling Julie in on the new development she asks, “Who folded?”

  “The Mel Del Meglio Winery and the Valentini Winery, the last two I would have thought would bite the bullet. They’ve been the most vociferous with their anger and frustration over the harassment and sabotage. Something has scared them into relenting. Audrey Aragon agrees with me.”

  “Why do you feel you have a chance of getting these people to open up to you? I heard what you said to Maury Hoagland about them not being very likely to tell you what is being held over their heads, especially if it’s something illegal.”

  “If I can convince them to open up to me by promising to intervene on their behalf with respect to whatever they are being threatened by, they might be willing to cooperate with me in my investigation. These folks love what they do, love the life style it provides. If they see a glimmer of a possibility to get out from under the cloud of doom that’s hovering over them, they just might reach out and grab the lifeline I’ll be tossing to them. I think it’s worth a shot.”

  “Even if you manage to convince them to trust you and open up, what can they tell you that will help you identify who is behind this mess?”

  “I’m hoping these creeps made a mistake in the way they obtained the black mail material and/or the means used to contact the owners with their threats. I have some key questions to ask regarding whom would be the most likely source of the black material and were they contacted by phone, email, snail mail, whatever. The answers to these questions might reveal some new doors for me to knock on.”

  “It looks to me like you’re walking into the aftermath of a landslide with everyone and everything buried beneath the rubble, the truth and the willingness to share included. What’s our first stop?”

  “The Valentini Winery.”

  “Traffic’s light this morning. We should be there in twenty minutes.”

  Chapter 20

  Stefano Valentini, a man of considerable height and girth which he is trying to use to intimidate Derrick and Julie but to no avail, is not happy to see them and refuses to answer any of Derrick’s questions.

  “Sergeant Chandler, I don’t have to tell you why I changed my mind and I resent you trying to butt in on my business. Changing my mind is not illegal and therefore why I did so is none of your damn business.”

  “Mr. Valentini, I’m not here to pry into your business affairs out of mere curiosity. I came here to see if I can persuade you to hold off on selling out to give me a chance to help you out of what I suspect is a surprise predicament that is forcing you into selling. I’m pretty sure I can help you if you’ll give me the chance. Look, let me see if I can make this a little easier for you. I’ll tell you what I think is the reason for you changing your mind and you can confirm or deny. If I’m wrong, I’ll get out of your hair pronto. If I’m right, the only chance you have of keeping what you’ve worked so hard to achieve is me. The way I see it, you have nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain. Anything you share with me will stay with me. We can talk where there will be no witnesses, so I will have no way of proving what we discussed. What do you say?”

  Other than staring at Derrick very intently, Mr. Valentini is showing no sign of how he is reacting to Derrick’s offer of help. After a minute of silent staring, the man lets out a long sigh and says, “Follow me, but the Deputy stays here.”

  Nodding at Julie he says, “Okay, the Deputy stays here.”

  Mr. Valentini leads him down a long hallway to a door that opens onto a small covered patio for his exclusive use only. “This is the most private place we can talk without being interrupted. No one comes out here unless they are invited, including my admin. If she sees me out here, she knows I do not want to be disturbed. So, tell me why you think I changed my mind.”

  “There are only two possible answers to that question, sir. You have either been threatened with physical harm to yourself or to someone close to you or you are being blackmailed with something that happened in your past that you don’t want to be revealed. For the moment, a nod or a shake of the head will do.”

  Expecting another long stare, Derrick is surprised by the quick but barely perceptible nod.

  “Physical harm or blackmail?”

  “Blackmail.”

  “Does the blackmail involve an illegality or an indiscretion or both?”

  “What I did was certainly both.”

  “Okay, here’s where we get down to the nitty gritty. You have to decide to trust me to keep my word and help you deal with what you’ve done and therefore nullify the threat being made or stay the course you’re on, sell out and move on to who knows what. What’s it going to be?”

  “You’re asking me to make a tough choice. Trust you and maybe wind up in jail or give up everything I’ve accomplished and leave a life I love.”

  “At least you now have a choice.”

  Valentini starts pacing as he begins to wrestle with the options open to him. It takes a good ten minutes for him to make up his mind, but when he does the flood gates open.

  “Not many people know that before I started this winery I was a distributor for upscale wines in Manhattan. However, ever since I can remember I’ve always wanted to establish my own winery. I studied everything I could get my hands on to learn how vintners developed hybrids and how to operate a successful winery. During my teen years and twenties I worked for numerous wineries in Italy to learn as much as I could about their operations. When I managed to save up what I thought was enough seed money to start a winery of my own, I decided to come to America to open a winery here. When I got here though I found out I was seriously short of the required capital, so with the money I had been socking away I started a wholesale wine and liquor operation of my own.

  “On a visit back home in Italy, I was introduced to someone who had an idea about how I could raise the needed startup money for my own winery. This individual had access to top of the line Italian wines which he suggested that I could take on consignment and pay him when the wine was sold. My percentage was a lot more than the markup I was getting on my other wines and liquors. The wine would be shipped by sea and I would pick it up at the docks in Manhattan after paying the required import duties for which I would be reimbursed. On the surface, everything looked on the up and up, however, it wasn’t. The good stuff was concealed in false bottoms of crates containing cheap table wines, thereby avoiding the much higher import duties. I would deliver the cheap stuff to another distributor named by my supplier, and there were several, and I would sell the high class merchandise myself. In short, I was engaged in smuggling Italian wine into the States. I did that for six years until I had enough money saved to walk away. Although I have no proof, I’m pretty sure from rumors that were floating around at the time that some of the wine was stolen from warehouses of wineries in Italy.

  “Somehow these people who want my winery found out about my involvement in the smuggling operation and have threatened to report me to the authorities and to let the media know as well which might generate serious repercussions on the winery.

  “There you have it. I’m not proud of what I did and have tried to make up for it by contributing substantial amounts of money to a variety causes in an attempt to compensate for what wasn’t declared all those years ago. So, now what?”

  “Mr. Valentini, except for the embarrassment you’re experiencing by admitting to me what you did when you were a young man, things are not as bad as they seem. There’s a five year statute of limitation on smuggling activities here in the U. S., so you can’t be prosecuted for those crimes and it seems to me that you have done your very best to atone for what you did.

  “As for dealing with the negative publicity, if we can nail these people and reveal them for what they are there’s a good chance their actions will discredit anything they might tell the media. Since what you did happened a long time ago, any allegations they might make will be very hard to substantiate. Besides, they’ll be too busy dealing with their own problems to spend ti
me on looking for revenge on you.