Cabernet Capers

by Dan Kelly

  When they arrive at the winery and introduce themselves they ask to speak with the owner or manager of the winery. The receptionist is a little unnerved to have two deputy sheriffs standing at the desk and haltingly asks, “May I tell him what this is about?”

  Derrick asks, “Who’s him?”

  “I’m sorry. Mr. Hans Arlinghaus. He’s the son of the owner and manages this winery operation.”

  “Just tell him we want to talk with him about some troubles some of the other wineries in Napa Valley have been having.”

  “Okay. I’ll try to round him up for you. He’s constantly roaming all over the place and cell phones don’t work that well around here for some reason.”

  It takes a good ten minutes for the receptionist to locate the man and when they return to the lobby Derrick and Julie are somewhat taken back by the man approaching them. He’s got to be at least 6 feet 10 inches tall and weigh a good 250 pounds of what looks like solid muscle. This coupled with his wavy platinum blonde hair and handsome face has Julie whispering to Derrick, “There’s a hunk that’s broken a lot of hearts. He can break mine any time. Whew.”

  Whispering back he says, “I’ll bet when he passes gas they have to call a fumigator. You could handle that?”

  Softly laughing she says, “Where there’s a will there’s a way.”

  Before Derrick can come back with a clever retort, Hans Arlinghaus is within hearing distance, so he just chuckles and shakes his head.

  “Deputies, I’m Han Arlinghaus. How may I help you?”

  Derrick asks, “Is there somewhere more private we can talk?”

  “Sure. Please follow me.”

  They’re led to a rather large and nicely appointed office with some beautiful art work hanging on the walls. Instead of sitting behind the desk and having Derrick and Julie take the seats in front of it, Herr Arlinghaus guides them over to a comfortable seating area furnished with a soft leather sofa and armchairs that had to cost a small fortune and a beautifully carved glass topped ebony coffee table in the center of the seating area. Adding to the aesthetic impact of the coffee table are some beautiful pieces of Swarovski colored crystal arranged in a haphazard manner on the glass top. It is very impressive.

  “Okay, as you Americans say, ‘let’s cut to the chase.’ Why are you here?”

  Derrick tells him what has been going on at some of the other wineries, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation by giving a detailed account of the two murders that have taken place and the attack on him and Julie on their way here today. He also told the man about what put his winery in the spotlight.

  “Have you been experiencing any harassment or sabotage of your operation that you haven’t reported for whatever reason?”

  Staring at Derrick for a couple of seconds he answers with, “I received two calls from this Pelegrinno person with offers to buy our winery. The first time I politely told him that the winery was not for sale. The second time I was not so polite and threatened him with bodily harm if he called me again. Some people just won’t take no for an answer unless you get mean. I haven’t had any more calls and I’ve forgotten about them until now.”

  “Is any of what I’ve told you today old news to you or is this the first time you’ve heard about what’s been going on?”

  “I’ve heard some rumors and I heard that someone from the sheriff department gave a presentation to the Napa Valley Vintners Association in St Helena about something going on with some of the wineries in the valley awhile back, but to be honest with you I’ve just been too busy running my own winery to get involved with anyone else’s problems.”

  Derrick responds with, “I can appreciate where you’re coming from, but, sir, I must warn you these people have you on their list of potential acquisitions and these kinds of trouble could be heading your way. I strongly suggest you get plugged into the winery network here in Napa Valley and take measures to protect your business, yourself and your employees. These are not nice people. I have some security information that you might find helpful which I’d be happy to pass on to you. I’ve done so with most of the smaller wineries in the valley and they have been very appreciative.”

  “Sergeant Chandler, I don’t go out of my way to look for fights, but I don’t run from them either. I spent eight years in the KSK, Kommando Spezialkr̈afte, the German equivalent of the U. S. Special Forces. I know how to fight and will not hesitate to do so if the need arises.”

  Both Derrick and Julie notice that Herr Arlinghaus’s accent has gotten noticeably stronger with this comment.

  “I don’t doubt that for a minute Mister Arlinghaus, but these guys won’t come at you from the front. They’re devious bullies who won’t hesitate to shoot you in the back as evidenced by what happened to us on the way here today. Anything you can do to make things tougher for them to access your premises, your computer system and to sneak up on you and catch you off guard would be a smart thing to consider.”

  “That’s good advice and I will thankfully accept your offer. Sometimes I rely too much on my size and training and not enough on my common sense.”

  This got an understanding smile from both Derrick and Julie with Derrick ending the interview with, “I’m glad we had this chance to talk and I’ll see to it that you get that security info emailed to you ASAP.”

  On the way back to the station, Derrick keeps his eyes constantly scanning the road, looking for likely places for an ambush off the shoulders and being on the alert for any danger that might be awaiting them around any overpass, turn in the road or crest of a hill while Julie keeps her eyes glued to their rear. They’re convinced that what happened earlier was just the opening salvo.

  When they arrive back at the station house, Bill Bemis, having seen them pull into the yard, greets them with, “What the hell happened to your car?”

  Derrick tells him and gets the expected reaction. “And you didn’t think getting shot at was important enough to immediately report it to us here? We could have put out a BOLO for a speeding vehicle answering whatever description you could have provided even if you didn’t have a plate number.”

  “I thought about it, but figured since there was nothing to distinguish it from any other black Honda it would be a waste of time. Besides, Bill, these guys aren’t stupid. They know a car tearing up the road is going to be noticed. As soon as we were out of sight, they’d slow down and get off the road ASAP.”

  Shaking his head Bill says, “You’re probably right, but in the future don’t drag your feet in notifying me or someone here at the station when you’re in situations like this. You know, Derrick, occasionally I get some ideas that actually produce good results. Like in this case, in addition to the BOLO I would have immediately had a chopper in the air looking for a car answering your description, speeding or not, in the area where the shooting took place. Are you paying attention, Styversant?”

  “Yes sir.”

  A little embarrassed at getting a dressing down in front of Julie, Derrick is thinking, “Damn, I should have thought of that.”, but responds with, “It won’t happen again, Bill.”

  “Good.”

  After Bill storms off still shaking his head, Derrick looks at Julie and says, “I don’t think the man is happy with me right now.”

  “Sounding off like that is not like him. He’s in a pressure cooker right now with the brass hounding him for results in the winery investigation.”

  “I agree, but I think it would be a good idea for me to wait a while for him to cool down a little before I brief him on our discussion with Hans Arlinghaus.”

  “I think that would be a smart move. While you’re waiting, what do you want me to do?”

  “Touch base with the tails on the Paganelli twins. I haven’t heard jack squat from them and I liked to get some input on what those winos have been up to.”

  “Will do. Do you think they had anything to do with the attack on us today?”

  “I’m thinking that there’s a good possibility they’re inv
olved somehow. It’s just a hunch. I don’t have any solid reasons to back it up. There’s just something about those two that doesn’t smell right.”

  “I’m with you on that. They definitely acted odd when we were interviewing them. Well, later.”

  Chapter 29

  The Paganelli brothers have been cautiously seeking someone to carry out their plan to dissolve their partnership and have now got a name and contact info of someone in San Francisco that might be the ideal person to do the deed. The individual’s name is Benjamin Cordell and he owns a trucking company, Acme Transport, which hauls goods all over the Northwest. They have a phone number, but want to do all of their talking face-to face with no witnesses or eavesdroppers. Also, without any advanced warning there’s less chance of Cordell pulling anything that would jeopardize them in any way.

  They show up at Acme Transport’s office around ten o’clock on an inappropriately gorgeous sunny morning for the intended topic of conversation. They are greeted by the man himself who is an unassuming antithesis of what they were anticipating. He looks more like an accountant or some kind of clerk than a hit man. He’s in his forties somewhere, stands about five feet nine inches tall and probably tips the scales around 175 pounds with a midriff that’s starting to swell. He sports a full head of curly brown hair cut and would be a decent looking guy but for the palest, lifeless eyes they’ve ever seen. They are almost colorless with just the slightest hint of blue.

  Riccardo opens the conversation with, “Mr. Cordell, we’ve been told you provide some special removal services if the price is right. We’d like to talk with you about the possibility of you assisting us with a problem that has arisen at our company.”

  The drastic change in Cordell’s appearance and demeanor is startling. His eyes seem to shrink to the size of peas, his mouth assumes a contemplative pucker, his voice seems to drop an octave and his stance becomes more aggressive. “Who referred you to me?”

  “I only have a street name, Scratcher. Why he’s called that I have no idea.”

  Judging from the way he’s adjusted his stance to a less threatening one and the way he’s let his facial muscles relax a little, the twins are assuming Cordell recognizes the name.

  “What’s your problem?”

  “Is there someplace more private we can talk?”

  “Not inside. This is the only office. We don’t need much office space. There’s a small park down the street a ways. We can talk there.”

  “We’d like that.”

  “Follow me.”

  Thirty minutes later they’re all sitting in the park and Riccardo has put all their cards on the table, including the two unauthorized murders. “We know this isn’t a slam dunk and we know it’s going to take someone special to pull it off. We’ve been told that you fit the description. You have a reputation for getting the job done without any screw-ups and you don’t play both sides of the street. We’ve been told we can trust you to take your money and keep your mouth shut. Are you interested?”

  “I am, but my services don’t come cheap and I don’t run a pay as you go operation. I get half of my fee up front and the balance when the job is done.”

  “What will be your fee for this job?”

  “Since I don’t know how many targets there will be, I will have to charge you on a per capita basis. I’ll assume there will be at least three, including this Petrillo character, so I will calculate my initial upfront advance using that number. I’ll amend that number when I learn the actual number of people involved and you will then advance me the additional amount. Nothing gets done until I receive these payments which will be in cash at locations I will specify at the appropriate time. I will determine when and how these people will be terminated and will not share this information with either of you. Those are my terms. Do we proceed or forget this conversation ever took place?”

  Duilio says, “We have no problem with your terms, but we may have a problem with your fee. What is it?”

  They discuss the fee, rather Cordell states it with the clear indication that he doesn’t haggle and the Paganellis accept the arrangement with one caveat. “Asking for this much cash at our bank is going to raise a lot of questions and it will be remembered. We don’t need or want that kind of attention. How about we give you a cashier’s check made payable to Acme Transport for each fee bought by a dummy corporation we’ve set up for our acquisition program. If anyone gets nosy, these payments will look like legitimate payments for trucking services rendered.”

  Cordell thinks about the suggestion for a long minute and then says, “Okay, that makes sense to me, but nothing gets done until I’ve deposited these checks in my account. None of this ‘the check’s in the mail’ nonsense for me.”

  During the entire conversation, Cordell has assumed a business like persona, as though he were discussing a shipping contract with a client. The man definitely has a repertoire of facades to choose from. Wrapping things up he says, “Before I set things in motion, I will first need to verify that you are who you say you are and establish a secure way of communicating with you.

  “Secondly, I will need any information you have on this Nick Petrillo, how you come across him, how you communicate with him and where he is located.”

  Riccardo answers with, “We only have a phone number. The area code, 312, is a Chicago area code, but that’s all we have on his location. We learned about him through a friend of mine who is related to someone in the upper circles of organized crime. He talked to his relative about our expansion plans and we soon received a call from Nick Petrillo.”

  “What’s your friend’s name, address and phone number?”

  “I don’t want you to hurt him in any way. He was just doing me a favor.”

  “I have no intention of hurting him. I have ways of gathering information without resorting to violence. I just need some basic info to start with.”

  “Okay.”

  Riccardo gives him the info on his friend and Petrillo’s phone number and Cordell says, “It won’t take me long to verify your ID and you’ll soon be receiving a throw away cell phone via FED EX and it will have a number stored in its memory which will be the number of my throw away cell. When we talk on these phones, I’ll be Tom, you’ll be Dick and your brother will be Harry. These are necessary precautions, so don’t take them lightly.”

  Duilio responds with, “We understand. The sooner you can get started the better as far as we’re concerned. These jokers are not playing by the rules we agreed upon and who knows what they’ll pull next and when.”

  Standing up Cordell says, “From now on, don’t call me at my office phone. Only use the throw away cell. Give me a few minutes to get back to my office and then you can walk back to your car and take off. It’s not smart for us to be seen together from here on out.”

  Nodding their heads in agreement, the twins remain seated as Cordell walks away.

  Riccardo says, “I think we’ve found the solution to our problem.”

  Duilio says, “He sure appears to know what he’s doing and he certainly sounded confident that he could do the job.”

  After waiting a good ten minutes, they walked back to their car and headed back to their offices.

  Chapter 30

  After waiting an hour or so for Bemis to cool down, Derrick cautiously approaches his office, sticks his head around the door jam and asks, “Do I need my vest or is it safe for me to enter as is?”

  “Don’t be a smartass. What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy fuming?” He said this last with a hint of a smile, so Derrick chances entering, but is ready to duck if the need arises.