Cabernet Capers

by Dan Kelly

  It’s a perfect night for jazz and blues. There’s not a single cloud around to spoil the panoramic view before them. The black sky is a beautiful backdrop for the full yellow moon and the gazillion twinkling bluish white stars spread out in every direction as far as the eye can see.

  The broad spectrum of colors coupled with the mellifluous medley of aromas in the air emanating from the potpourri of blossoms surrounding Julie’s complex are the perfect accompaniment for the scene above them. Everywhere you look there’s some kind of flower, wisteria, jasmine, roses, magnolia trees, lily-of-the-valley to name just a few.

  At 7:30, Derrick is pulling into the parking lot at the Center, but the lot is packed and he’s figuring he’s going to miss the musicians warming up looking for a place to park someplace else.

  However, in addition to the moon and stars, Lady Luck is shining down on him. As they’re touring the lot looking for a place to park, Julie spots an open space in a far corner of the lot. Derrick tromps on the Mercedes’ accelerator, determined to beat anyone else who might have spotted it. Fortunately, he has no competition. If he had, there probably would have been an accident as he was really moving and he would have missed a lot more than the musicians warming up.

  Looking at him with an amused expression Julie says, “Boy, you really don’t want to miss the warm up do you?”

  A little embarrassed over his Daytona imitation he gives her his best sheepish look and apologizes by saying, “I’m sorry about that. Every once in a while the gas pedal sticks. I’m going to have to bring it to the dealer to have it checked out.”

  “Uh huh, I’ll bet it only sticks when you’re in a hurry. Every once in a while I have that problem too.”

  “You’re not buying it, right?”

  “Not even if it was on sale.”

  Laughing, they both get out of the car and make a beeline for the entrance which is a challenge with all the cars in their way.

  It is an evening they’ll remember for a long time. The musicians and vocalists are performing for a sellout crowd who show their appreciation and enthusiasm by standing, clapping, whistling and shouting for such long periods of time that the performers respond with medleys and improvisations that aren’t part of the program. When the Jamboree finally winds down, it is almost eleven o’clock and Derrick and Julie’s throats are parched from yelling out their kudos for the performers.

  As they’re filing out into the parking lot Derrick asks, “How about we stop off at Henry’s on Main Street for a cocktail to put the finishing touch on a fantastic evening before we call it a night? Our throats and vocal chords should be delighted as well.”

  “I think that’s a great idea.”

  Even though it’s getting late in the evening, Henry’s still has quite a crowd. Derrick asks, “Do you mind sitting at the bar?”

  “Not at all. With this crowd we’ll probably get served faster too.”

  With Duke and Champ at their sides, it didn’t take long for the hired help and a lot of the customers to notice them. Before they can sit down the bartender comes over and says, “I’m sorry, folks, but no are pets allowed in here.”

  Derrick introduces the dogs to the bartender, explaining that they are the pride of the Napa County Sheriff Department’s K-9 unit and are on duty watching their backsides. The bartender has been around the block a few times and has been bamboozled before, so he asks Derrick for some ID. Derrick complies and then the bartender, suddenly realizing who he’s talking with, says, “Say, aren’t you the deputy that was on TV the other night?”

  “Yeah, that was me.”

  “Well, I was glad to see someone finally getting into the face of this scum that’s been messing with those wineries. Some of them are our suppliers. You and your dogs are most welcome here. What’s your pleasure, folks?”

  Julie says, “A Grey Goose and tonic with a twist of lime please.”

  Derrick says, “Make it two.”

  “What should I get for your colleagues?”

  Laughing Derrick says, “Some water in a bowl would be nice.”

  “You got it.”

  The drinks are promptly served along with a big bowl of water and two smaller bowls containing some hamburger meat for the dogs. Derrick nods his thanks and turning to Julie picks up his glass and offers a short toast. “May your luck be like the capital of Ireland--- Always Dublin.”

  Not to be outdone, Julie comes back with another one. “May your joys be as deep as the ocean and your misfortunes as light as its foam.”

  “Well now, it looks like I’m not the only one here who has spent some time around some Irish pubs.”

  “My college roommate was as Irish as Paddy’s Pig, brogue and all, but she wouldn’t like to hear me say that. A lot of the Irish take offence at the phrase. She knew every Irish pub in San Francisco, bar none, pun intended.”

  They spent the better part of the next hour enjoying each other’s company and for a brief while were able to put the dangerous predicament they were in on the back burner. After enjoying a second drink, Derrick settles up with the bartender and they head for his car with Duke and Champ, now on alert, at their heels.

  They have only taken a half dozen steps outside the door when the dogs freeze and start to softly growl. They are looking in the direction of the parking lot which is well lit, but in a direction opposite to where they are parked. Derrick and Julie don’t see anyone and at first think the dogs have picked up the scent of an animal of some sort. But they’ve learned to trust the dogs and when they’ve been with them on other occasions there have been dogs, cats, squirrels and even skunks in the vicinity and the dogs barely gave them a glimpse. They didn’t react like they’re reacting now.

  Using the other cars in the lot for cover, they slowly advance towards where the dogs are looking. The property surrounding the lot is bathed in darkness and they’re both thinking there are a lot of places for a sniper to hide. It would be easy to pick them off as their car is parked directly underneath one of the lights in the parking lot.

  Julie whispers, “It sure would be nice to have Forrester and company show up about now.”

  Derrick whispers back, “I told him where we were going and that we’d have the dogs with us and he thought the four of us could take care of each other in those surroundings, but with such a big crowd he didn’t think it was likely anyone would try anything. My suggesting we come here was a last minute idea. If he knew we were coming here, he would have felt differently about taking the night off I’m sure.”

  “Well, it is what it is, so let’s go see what has the dogs’ attention.”

  As they get closer to the property line, the dogs become more agitated and start to growl more loudly. Derrick and Julie are ducked down behind the last line of cars parallel to the aisle that leads to the entrance to the parking lot up front on Main Street. It’s not as well lit here and they’re thinking that they can cross the aisle without being seen. That probably would have been the case if a car hadn’t come down the aisle with its high beams on when they broke from the cover of the cars. Zig zagging to make more difficult targets they make it to the middle of the aisle before the sounds of shots ring out, one round grazing Derrick’s shoulder and another missing Duke by inches and ricocheting off the tarmac. The deputies dive for the other side of the road and find cover behind a dumpster and the dogs take off like bolts of lightning, heading for where the sound of the shots came from.

  Derrick and Julie draw their weapons, but they’d be firing blindly if they returned fire and they’re afraid they’d hit the dogs.

  A minute later, there’s another shot then a lot of barking and the sound of a car peeling rubber. Derrick and Julie run towards the sounds of barking, fearing one of the dogs has been wounded or worse.

  Fortunately, the dogs are unharmed, but whoever was shooting at them got away. Julie spots a wooden shed nearby and what appears to be a bullet hole in its door. Taking a closer look, she finds the door unlocked and when she opens it she see
s bags of fertilizer stacked from floor to ceiling and one of the bags at the bottom of one of the piles has a hole in it. Digging through the fertilizer she finds the spent bullet. Walking over to the road that runs along the adjacent property, they see the tire marks from the vehicle that has beat a hasty retreat. Looking around the area, Derrick finds three shell casings and looking at them says, “There might be prints on them. I need something to pick them up with and something to put them in.”

  Reaching into her purse, Julies retrieves a knitting needle and a small plastic baggie. Smiling, Derrick says, “It always amazes me what you ladies carry in those things.”

  “It’s no more amazing than what some of you guys carry in your pockets.”

  “I guess.”

  Picking up the casings with the knitting needle and putting them in the baggie he says, “That was a close call. It’s obvious someone has been tailing us, but I didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary on our way to the jamboree or to Henry’s. I guess I’m going to have to take a refresher course in Tailing 101.”

  Smiling, she notices him grimace a little as he puts the baggie in his pants pocket and her smile is replaced with a look of concern as she looks him over for the cause of his discomfort. Seeing a patch of blood on his shoulder she says, “One of those bullets found its mark. Your shoulder is bleeding. Why haven’t you said anything?”

  “I remember a burning sensation when the shots were fired, but I was too busy hitting the dirt to give it much thought. It doesn’t hurt that much. It’s just a graze. I’ll be ok.”

  “Oh, so now you’re a doctor. Let’s have a look.”

  Derrick takes his shirt off and it’s obvious it’s more than a graze. There’s a small furrow in the muscle of his shoulder which is still bleeding, but not a lot. “Derrick, we should go to an emergency room and have a doctor look at that. That could get infected and there might be more damage than we can see.”

  “Okay, you drive and I’ll moan to get your pity.”

  “I’m glad to see your sense of humor is still intact, but can the macho man. That has got to hurt like hell.”

  Rounding up the dogs, they head for the car without anyone else taking a shot at them. Surprisingly, the commotion has attracted no curious onlookers. It might be because of the late hour or simply because nobody gives a damn.

  Waiting to see a doctor in the emergency room at Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Derrick and Julie are engaged in the guessing game of who was shooting at them. Derrick’s expressing his opinion saying, “The spacing of the shots has me thinking there was more than one shooter. It had to be a condoned mafia shooting. The tails on the twins would have come to our aid if the Paganellis were lying in wait for us. We would have had some kind of warning.”

  “Not necessarily. What if the Paganellis gave the tails the slip? They have to be hypersensitive to local law enforcement after getting all those tickets and might have figured out a way to duck out without anyone being the wiser, including the tails.”

  A nurse calls out his name so Derrick says, “Give Forrester a call and ask him to check with the tails.” Giving her his cell he says, “I have his cell number in my Contacts list. Give him a call, clue him in on what has happened and ask him to check in with the guys watching the Paganellis.”

  Fifty minutes later, his shoulder has been x-rayed, his wound has been cleaned, an antiseptic cream has been applied to the area, the gash has been sewn up with twelve stitches, he’s been injected with something for tetanus and other types of infection and he now knows there was no bone, tendon or ligament damage. The doctor says, “You’re lucky you’re in such good shape. That wound is more than a graze. That muscle mass on your shoulders saved you from more serious damage. The area is going to be tender for a while and no rough stuff with that shoulder until those stitches come out which will be in about ten days to two weeks. I’m going to give you something for pain if you need it, you can shower but go easy around the stitches and on the way out make an appointment with the front office to see me in ten days so I can check on how well you’re healing. Any questions?”

  “No, nothing comes to mind.”

  “Well, I’ve got one. Is there any end in sight as far as catching these bastards is concerned?”

  “It’s still a ways off, but it’s getting closer every minute.”

  “That’s good to hear, just don’t get yourself killed in the process.”

  When he returns to the waiting room, Julie is looking at him and shaking her head. “You’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you. The Paganellis aren’t in the house and the tails never saw them leave. When they scouted out the grounds, they found a path that cut across the adjoining backyard of the house behind theirs. It leads out to the street behind theirs and they must have arranged for a ride from there to who knows where.”

  “Damn it! Why wasn’t one of them watching the back of the house?”

  “Jim said they told him there isn’t a door at the back of the house or windows big enough for the twins to climb through. There’s a side door which can be seen from where they were staked out and they figured they had everything covered. However, this house is somewhat of a rarity for California in that it has a basement, part of which is a root cellar. It has access from the house and from the backyard. Evidently, a former owner had a fairly large vegetable garden and some fruit trees and he used the cellar to store his crops. It looks like the twins exited through the root cellar.”

  “They either had someone in a car waiting for them or they called a cab to pick them up there. However, knowing what mode of transportation they had access to won’t do us a damn bit of good. They didn’t break any laws. They could lie through their teeth and say they went anywhere by some made up means and did so deliberately to avoid getting any more tickets.”

  “Yet their whereabouts is unknown for who knows how long. The transportation they used for the sniping attempt could have been stolen, a rental, borrowed, whatever. It could have been them that took those shots at us.”

  “I know, but we don’t have a shred of proof. They picked the time and place for their ambush quite well. They were well concealed and they were prepared to make a fast getaway when we were history.”

  “Yeah and even if the twins were on the loose, it still might have been some of Arrigoni’s people who pulled the triggers. Nuts! It looks like we’re right back to square one…again.”

  “Hang in there, Julie. These people are dancing to our tune now, they just don’t know it yet. We’ve got them sticking their necks out to deal with us. Doing that they run the risk of screwing up big time or of fate taking a hand to bring them crashing down and that’s what we’ve been looking for.”

  “I know, but that still doesn’t make me feel much better. You know, I’ve been thinking about how they managed to get away from Duke and Champ so easily. Those dogs were really flying when they took off. The only thing I can figure is the shooters had to be firing from inside their vehicle, one in the front and one in the back from the side windows facing the parking lot at Henry’s. If we’re lucky, maybe we can find the vehicle they used and there will be enough gun powder residue and fingerprints to give our lab people a natural high.”

  “We’d have to set a record for luck for that to happen. There was nothing at the scene to give us any kind of clue about the vehicle they were driving. Besides, if they were firing from inside the vehicle, how did the casings wind up where they were, well off to the side of the road.”

  Julie has a ready answer for that. “They could have been deliberately tossed out of the car to mislead us somehow.”

  Taking a long hard look at her Derrick’s thinking, “A looker, a fighter and a thinker. What a package.”

  Responding to her suggestion he says, “That’s a possibility. One thing that immediately crosses my mind is there might be prints on the casings, but if the intention is to mislead us they could belong to some innocent dupe. There are probably other ways the casings could be us
ed to mislead us, but nothing else is popping up in my mind at the moment except for a headache from all this postulation. Let’s get out of here. Hospitals aren’t my favorite place to hang out.”