by Dan Kelly
This has caused him to do some research into the kinds of security programs available that might make it much more difficult for the unwanted bidders to carry out their assaults and he’s learned a lot. He’s learned that there are a variety of very sophisticated systems on the market that monitor access to the premises on site or remotely, that make computer networks more immune to hacking via such methods as the installation of sophisticated firewalls and encryption and that provide real time monitoring of product in transit. Some of the tools used to permit access to premises by some of the systems are referred to as biometric, fingerprints and eye scans. Other systems employ card readers. In short, to do it right a company must do its homework, but there are ways to make it extremely difficult for someone to get in where they are not authorized.
The four main factors to consider when looking for the right kinds of access systems to install are the notification time, response time, system reliability and cost.
After putting his finding in a report along with a list of company names, addresses and phone numbers, he runs it by Bill Bemis for his approval to pass it on to all of the wineries in Napa Valley.
“This is a great idea, Derrick, and it should give us some much needed positive PR to boot. Let me know what their reaction is.”
The next item on his to do list is to try to rattle the cages of Maria Conti of Investors Anonymous and the business broker Giuseppe Pelegrinno. He’s convinced one or perhaps both of them have lied to him regarding who the referral source to Pelegrinno is and who the investors represented by Industrial Ventures International are.
After several attempts to reach Maria Conti and Giuseppe Pelegrinno by phone, leaving messages on their voice mail and not receiving any call backs, he’s getting the strong gut feeling that he’s being avoided, so he gets approval to fly down to San Diego to confront Conti in person. He’s going solo as he and Bemis think that Derrick showing up unannounced and planning to be in town for only a few hours would rule out the necessity and the additional expense for Julie to accompany him to watch his back. When he returns he plans to confront Pelegrinno face-to-face as well.
Showing up unannounced at the office of Investors Anonymous gets him off to a good start with his cage rattling game plan. Maria Conti is definitely shaken up when she greets him in her office after she’s told he’s in the reception area. She is clearly flustered when she offers an apology for not returning his calls. “It’s been one problem after another around here lately and I’ve been hard pressed to just tread water and not drown in their wake.”
“Well, as of now I’m your biggest problem. Since we last talked things have gotten much more serious at the wineries that have been approached with offers to buy them out. Two people have been killed and if the wineries continue to refuse to sell there will likely be more killing if I don’t quickly get to the bottom of this mess. To do that I’m going to need the name of your client that referred you to Giuseppe Pelegrinno along with the names of the investors seeking to acquire these wineries.”
“I told you I don’t remember the name of the client that referred me and I am not made privy to the names of potential investors unless it’s absolutely necessary and that wasn’t the case with the wineries.”
“I know what you told me before, but that’s not going to fly this time around. Search your records with the hope that seeing a name will spark your memory regarding the referral source and communicate to your superiors in Italy that failure to comply with my request and cooperate with me in my investigation could get all of you in serious trouble.”
Stammering slightly she says, “It will take some time for me to review our client files and I might not be able to reach my boss in Italy right away. Can I call you when I’ve got the information you’ve requested?”
“Ms. Conti, time is of the essence here. People are being killed. It shouldn’t take that long to review your files and get in touch with a decision maker in your home office. I’ll wait out in your reception area while you do what you have to do.”
“Okay, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to come up with the information you’re looking for.”
“If that’s the case, your problems are going to get a lot bigger believe me.”
Sitting in the reception area Derrick’s thinking, “Threats are two edged swords. Some people will cave and others will become more resolute. Conti looked nervous, but looks can be deceiving. She may stick to her story and say she still doesn’t remember who referred her to Pelegrinno and her head office people may instruct her to tell me to take a long walk off a short pier. No matter which way this turns out, it’s worth a shot.”
Forty-five minutes later he’s both disappointed and pissed off. He now has a name, but Conti is balking at giving him access to contact information for the individual. “Sergeant Chandler, the source of my referral was not a client. I was mistaken. My head office sent me an email instructing me to contact Mr. Pelegrinno and avail myself of his services to represent us in making our initial offers to acquire the wineries on an attached list. The names of the wineries and the respective offers were on the attached list. The same email also informed me that subsequent offers if required would be sent to me by someone named Nicolas Petrillo via email here in the States because of the time difference between here and Italy and the need to close the deals quickly if offers were accepted before the sellers could change their minds for whatever reason.
“I found a copy of this email in my files which I had completely forgotten. I have not been able to speak with anyone at my head office who could provide me with the investors’ names and is authorized to do so.”
“How do I get in touch with this Nicolas Petrillo?”
“I don’t know. I have no contact info for him.”
“The emails he sent you would have his email address.”
“When I tried to reply to acknowledge receipt of his messages and ask some questions about the wineries, I received ‘Undeliverable’ messages.”
“Give me a copy of those emails and I’ll run them by our tech folks to see if they can track them back to where this guy is located. Also, give me a copy of the email you received from your head office instructing you to use Pelegrinno. I’ll need it for my case file.”
“I don’t think I should do that without a warrant or something that forces me to do it. I don’t want to lose my job.”
His exasperation showing he says, “I could get one, but you could save me some time and as I pointed out to you earlier time is something we don’t have a lot of. I will remember your cooperation when all is revealed and the case goes to trial. Right now losing your job is the least of your worries. If you’re willing involved in all of this or are being innocently used, either way, you’re in the middle of a deep pile of manure and having someone like me going to bat for you is not something you should turn your back on.”
While she’s pondering over what she should do Derrick’s thinking, “I’m not buying her story about forgetting about the email. She’s trying to cover her butt regarding the lie she’s been telling about the source of the referral. She’s been trying to keep her head office out of the spotlight if she can, but I’ve forced her to own up to the real source of the referral. Why they resorted to the use of such a subterfuge is beyond me.”
“Okay, I’ll give them to you, but I sure hope you’re not handing me a line about bailing me out of any jam I might wind up in.”
“Good and I’ll keep my word. One more thing and then I’ll get out of your hair. Why didn’t you tell the truth to Pelegrinno about the source of the referral instead of telling him it was a mutual client that referred you to him whose name you couldn’t remember? What difference would it have made to tell him the truth?”
Giving him a knowing stare she says, “You’re a clever one aren’t you? You’ve pegged me for a liar and if I answer that question truthfully I’ll be admitting it. If I respond with the same lie or come up with another, I’ll only be digging a bigger hole for myself an
d you know that I know that…. Okay, you got me. My head office plays its cards very close to its vest in just about every circumstance. If you don’t have a need to know, you won’t be told and I have to play by their rules. What I told you about not knowing who the investors are, however, is the truth and a perfect example of their philosophy.”
“Okay, I’ll assume you’re now telling the truth, but I still need the names of the investors. They may be innocent of any wrong doing, but I still must check them out. The culprits behind what has been happening at these wineries could be someone else acting on their behalf without them knowing it.
“Something else for you to consider is someone at your company could be the culprit or one of the culprits behind what’s been going on. So, I’ve also got to talk with senior management at your company as well as the investors to try to identify all of the possible players in these acquisition attempts.
“You’ve got to convince someone in the know at your home office to give the investors’ names to you and also let your bosses know that if I don’t get the appropriate cooperation I’m going to have to bring the Italian authorities into the picture and then things could really get dicey for your bosses as well as the investors. Ms. Conti, we’re dealing with bullies, blackmailers and murderers here. Whoever is guilty must be taken down and quickly.”
“I have an organization chart which includes position responsibilities and contact information. That will help you with contacting company personnel. All I can do about getting the investors’ names is to keep bugging people and stressing the urgency and consequences involved. I can’t think of anything else to do.”
“That will do for now. If you’ll give me copies of the emails and the org chart, I’ll head back to Napa, hoping to hear from you soon with some names and contact info.”
Fifteen minutes later he’s in a cab heading for the airport wondering if the trip has been a waste of time. “Investors Anonymous may be as crooked as a cork screw, but my gut is telling me that Maria Conti is in the dark about what others in her employ might be doing behind her back. She’s the ideal front person and has no blemishes on her reputation that I’ve been able to find and her role in the U.S. operation is most likely to handle all of the legitimate deals. If she keeps her word, she’s going to have to bang on a lot of doors and raise a huge fuss and she still might strike out in her attempt to get any investor names and the tech people might not be able to perform their magic and come up with a location for Nicolas Petrillo.
“The trip wasn’t a total waste though. I got Maria Conti to fess up and now have a name that might get me off the dime and lead me to something useful. One thing’s for sure though. Maria Conti is going to be stirring up a gigantic hornets nest and if Maury Hoagland’s info on Investors Anonymous and by association the parent company is correct it’s a decent bet that they’ll be concerned enough to make a move on me. Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to arrest someone who I can get to roll over on the people I’m looking for.
“If I’m all wet and nothing happens, my last chance to shake something loose lies with the word I’ve put out with my informants. From here on out it looks like I’m going to be playing a waiting game, waiting for something new to happen and, damn it, I hate that game.”
Chapter 28
Another week goes by without anything new showing up on the horizon except for a lot of thank you calls from the wineries he’s sent the security research to which shed some light on his dark mood because most of them have opted to pursue his suggestions. He and Julie are once again going over every aspect of the investigation to see if they might have overlooked something.
Throwing up his hands in frustration Derrick says, “We haven’t missed anything to check out that warranted a closer look. We’re just spinning our wheels and getting nowhere.”
Julie shakes her head and says, “I don’t agree. One of the things you set out to do was use yourself as bait to tempt the people behind this to make a move on you so you can nail someone who might open some doors for you. I think you’ve accomplished this in spades.
“You convinced the wineries who had agreed to sell out to renege on their intent to sell and persuaded the other wineries to stay firm in their determination not to sell and have even given them the means to make things a lot more difficult for the bad guys to harass them. You’ve enlisted the assistance of some knowledgeable street channels and if the bad guys are tapped into these same channels they’re going to learn you’re gaining access to some information that might lead you to them. Lastly, you have someone making a lot of noise in the lions’ den for information on potential perpetrators.” Shaking her head again she adds, “Derrick, you’ve put a huge target on your back and it’s lit up with blood red neon lights.”
Thinking hard about what she’s just said he says, “If you’re right, Julie, I don’t want you to forget that working with me has put the spotlight on you too. We’re going to have to be on guard all the time and watch each other’s back until this situation is resolved. That includes constantly looking over our shoulders when the other one isn’t around.”
Nodding her head she says, “I realize that and won’t forget. I have an idea though for when we’re off duty. It might take some of the strain off us.”
“Fire away.”
“Why don’t we see if we can get a couple of dogs from our K-9 Unit to watch over us when we’re alone? We can pick them up when we go off duty and return them when we come back on.”
“I don’t know if we should go that far. You know, we might be overreacting here. These guys just might back off; figuring getting these wineries to sell by killing cops is too high a price to pay.”
“They might, but then again they may not. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
“You really want to do this?”
“I do.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to Bemis and ask him to set it up.”
A couple more days drag by without incident, but on the third day as they are heading out to talk with one of the wineries on the list attached to the email Maria Conti received from her head office, the only one they haven’t had any contact with up to now, their rear window and the driver’s side window are shattered by a hail of bullets fired from a car that has pulled up on their right rear bumper in the driver’s blind spot. Fortunately, all but one of the bullets missed them. The one that had Derrick’s name on it was deflected by his head rest and missed him by a fraction of an inch. Derrick jammed on his brakes and the car flew by them. Derrick pressed his accelerator to the floor so he and Julie could return fire, but were soon cut off by a semi making a slow sharp turn into a driveway, preventing them from continuing their pursuit. When the road was clear, there was no sign of the car they were chasing.
“Well, it looks like I’ve accomplished something. I’ve definitely gotten under somebody’s skin. This might have been the break we’ve been looking for if that damn semi hadn’t blocked the road. I didn’t get a look at the license plate, did you?”
“No, I was too busy ducking and praying.”
“Damn! It looks like our bad luck streak is alive and well.”
“Yeah, but this time it got nicked a little. None of the bullets found their targets.”
Nodding his head he says, “You know, you have a way of finding silver linings in the damndest places. I like that. I’m on the other side of the coin. Murphy and I are joined at the hip. You know, Murphy of Murphy’s Law. If something has the slightest chance of going wrong, I strongly believe it will.”
Smiling like someone smiles when they’re thinking pleasant thoughts she says, I get it from my mom. Her philosophy in life is to always bust your butt to think positively and smile a lot. That way you’ll age gracefully. If you take the other road, your face will look like a prune by the time your fifty and the rest of you will be starting to fall apart. There must be something to it because she’s just turned 51 and she still gets looks from men a lot younger.”
“That kind of attitude will
serve you well if you become a detective because in this kind of work things can look pretty bleak at times.”
Pausing for a few seconds to let what he’s just said sink in, he gets them back on track by saying, “Okay, we’ve goofed off enough. Let’s get to the Arlinghaus Winery and see what we can learn there. This will be the first German winery we’ve visited. We haven’t received any complaints from them about any kind of harassment, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been experiencing the same kinds of trouble the other wineries have been facing.”