The Caspian Wine Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Series

by Maggie Thom

  “He wants to see you.”

  Chapter 13

  August stopped at the receptionist’s desk. “Hi. I have an appointment with Dorothea Lindell. I’m August Renner. But I really need to see her about something else. Right now.”

  Karen, the blond receptionist, eyed him for a moment. He’d met her in the first week but she’d been anything but friendly. He’d been so busy with getting the equipment up and running and figuring everything out, he hadn’t had much time to get to know too many of the staff, something he was going to have to change, if he was staying.

  “Have a seat and I’ll let her know.”

  August wanted to remain standing at the desk but it was obvious she wasn’t going to do anything until he moved ten feet away. So he did and sat down in one of the comfortable looking chairs in the waiting room. Once he was seated he could hear her talking quietly into the phone. A few minutes later, Guy and Graham came out to get him.

  “Hi August. You’re early. Sorry to call you in on your day off.”

  August knew that he had crossed a line by insisting to see her immediately. Both men were standing in a way that let him know he’d have to go through them. August stood up forcing each to take a step back.

  “Yes. Actually, all of you. I said her as I knew this review had been set up for her benefit. If we can go? I’ll explain why.”

  “Alright.” Graham led the way. And Guy fell in behind him letting him know it had been done on purpose. They were very protective of the owner. He wondered if what he had to tell them was linked to why.

  They entered a medium-sized room that looked small because it was swamped by a large boardroom table. Dorothea was seated at the end of the table while LJ was seated to her right. Even though they were both technically his boss, he’d dealt with Guy and Graham for the most part. August walked to the end of the table, quite aware that Guy and Graham were right behind him.

  “Mrs. Lindell—”

  “Thank you for your manners but it’s Dorothea. And you’re August.”

  He smiled as he took her hand, liking her directness. He’d met her briefly only once as she’d told him a bit about Caspian and its high standards. He’d gotten the message immediately. “Nice to see you, Dorothea.” He then turned to the other woman.

  “Good morning, August. I understand you have our roosters down the road beat.”

  August turned a bit red; it seemed to be a thing that he was an early bird. He much preferred working when it was quiet so he could get so much more done.

  “Good morning, LJ.”

  “I also understand none of your additional hours are being reflected in your timesheet.”

  “We agreed on 40 hours a week—”

  “Yes, but you’re doing more like 60. I know your excuse is that you want to get things caught up and rather than ask for the time you’ll just do the work. I know that we’ve fallen way behind in fixing equipment around here. So I get it. But from here on out, you tell me when you are going to be putting in those long days. And they will be on your pay.”

  Graham laughed. “Damn it’s good to see someone else get hell—only you get it for doing something good. Jolly good chap.”

  August was never quite sure how to take Graham; he was a walking brain but he also had quite a quirky sense of humor. At times like this, though, he appreciated it.

  Dorothea looked pointedly at him. “You heard her. She’s in charge.”

  “In title only. Really, second in command but please don’t tell Dorothea I know that.”

  August smiled at the byplay. He knew that she held nothing but respect for the older woman. Dorothea had taken the reigns from her father and had turned the place from a small winery to a world class one. They produced and shipped wine worldwide, which was not an easy thing to do. At least he’d surmised as much from the bit of snooping he’d done on the Internet about how wineries worked and the provincial and federal laws that regulated how and where they could sell them. LJ was truly a stunning woman but there was no doubt that she had the same backbone as Dorothea. He could understand why she had been chosen, even if her previous business wasn’t one that many would normally consider appropriate.

  “Look. Sorry to barge in but I just ran into some characters on your property that I thought you should know about. I know this is supposed to be a review or a reporting of where we’re at and where we need to be but I felt this was more important.”

  “Sit, please.” Dorothea waved her hand. “Tea or coffee?”

  “Coffee is fine. Thank you.” August sat a few chairs away down the side of the table. Guy sat between him and Dorothea, while Graham and Tarin sat across the table from him beside LJ. Waiting wasn’t one of his strong suits; when he saw something that needed to be done, he did something about it. He started drumming his fingers on the table, not really aware of it until Graham burst out laughing.

  “Ole chap, I do believe you’re one of us.”

  The others chuckled. Unsure what that meant, August smiled and shrugged.

  Dorothea shook her head. “Impatient. You do fit right in. Okay, now tell us what this is about.”

  August leaned forward. “There were this couple and well this woman. But the two people, the man and woman, were talking about Caspian. I didn’t hear everything they said but they did mention that there was a hooker running—” August’s eyes opened wide as they gravitated toward LJ, which was whom he was sure they had been referring to. There was no secret that she had run a high end escort service. That information was all over the Internet. There weren’t a lot of details as to what that meant or looked like though.

  He hadn’t really thought through what he had been going to say. “I’m sorry. I’m just—”

  “And?”

  August turned to look at Dorothea, whose lips were stretched thin and whose pleasant demeanor had vanished. “And that they wanted to make some trouble for her.”

  “LJ, is something going on?”

  “Thank you for your concern Dorothea but nothing new, at least not that I’m aware of.”

  “Then why is someone targeting you? Do you think it’s someone from your old business?”

  “We can look into it if you don’t mind us snooping a bit into your past?” Guy spoke up.

  “Right, like you didn’t do that before I was hired. I’m quite sure you know more about my past than I do.”

  “Uh. I don’t think this is aimed at LJ personally. It’s aimed at Caspian Winery. At least, that was the feeling I got. I didn’t hear everything. That other woman I mentioned, I think she heard a lot more than I did.” August interrupted their conversation.

  “What woman?” Graham rested his arms on the table.

  “Well, I’m not sure. I was trying to bring her in here when we met one of the security guards, that new guy, and she cried ‘wolf’. I’m quite sure she left. She did not seem to want to meet with you. So I don’t really know if she was with them, just happened to hear something she shouldn’t, or was here to cause her own trouble. She seemed to be sneaking around when I caught up with her.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Maybe that new camera we installed at the front of the building is angled enough that we can see what she was driving?” LJ suggested.

  “It’s not. We were more concerned about ensuring that no one could approach or leave the building without being seen. After those break-ins and the trouble last year with the wine and shipments being tampered with, we were more focused on the buildings.” Guy sighed. “We might have to install more.”

  “We’ll still be able to get her picture off the camera. August can confirm which woman it was.”

  “For sure.” Suddenly everyone went quiet. August realized that Guy, Graham and LJ were all on their phones tapping madly. Dorothea, despite appearing amazing for someone in her 80’s, suddenly looked very old and tired.

  “Are you alright?” August asked. It was as if he’d set off the sprinkler system the way the other three jumped up and were soon hovering
around Dorothea, encouraging her to lie down.

  She looked around them at August and smiled. “Your meeting was not what it should have been. As my granddaughter would say, it’s been a bit of a bust. Please excuse me; I really do need to get some rest. Guy?”

  He took her arm and escorted her from the room.

  August felt guilty for laying that bit of news at her feet. The stress was obviously too much. “Hey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I mean I should have told you but not in this way. I hope she’s going to be okay.”

  Graham shrugged. “Honestly, some days I think she’ll live forever and others, it scares me. She’s such a driving force. And don’t worry, you did the right thing. She would have been ticked if you hadn’t included her.”

  LJ smiled. “Yes. And I would have been the one to tell her which would have been much worse. She knows she can’t do the CEO role anymore but she doesn’t really want to give it up. By the way, she’s impressed, as am I, with the work you’ve been doing. I don’t think we’ve had our machines up and running so far in advance of harvest time.”

  “I don’t have them all—”

  “No. But you have a few things fixed that have needed to be for a while, even the large garage door which wouldn’t open all the way. That wasn’t on your job list but you did it. That is what impresses us most. Thank you.” LJ stood and offered her hand before turning to Graham. “We need to step up security.”

  She smiled at them both and left. August stood slowly, feeling like he’d stepped onto foreign soil and he wasn’t really clear on the language.

  Graham laughed. “Don’t worry; you’ll get used to the quirky way people here work. Be straight with them and you’ll never have a problem. Good job, mate. Only been here a few and already you’ve got several gold stars.”

  “Did you hear anything back about a job interview?” Tarin asked.

  August had applied for the position as head mechanic at C-Lite Hotels, although he’d wondered if he’d known what he was getting into. “No. Nothing. I don’t know if I’ll even get an interview.”

  “Maybe I need to get a hold of my father and see if I can somehow bring up this position.”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea connecting us in any way. If your dad is as savvy as you’re telling me, it could alert him to me being some part of your life. So far, I understand that I’m not really on the books here so if he does check he won’t find that out. I’ll follow up and see if they are doing interviews yet.” Shaking his head, he was more confused than ever by what he was getting into.

  It did remind him though that he had originally had a plan for finding his father. After hearing so much about Tarin’s it made him wonder if he wanted to. His dad had abandoned him at age nine. That had to be a pretty cold man who would do that. It still baffled him as to why his mom had reached out to these people; people who swore they’d never met his mom and yet they’d hired him. Why? Had his mom just been taking care of him like she’d always felt she’d had to? Or was she leading him somewhere?

  Chapter 14

  Startled, the cup of coffee went flying as Tijan jerked back. She wasn’t sure which freaked her out more, the size of the guy in the suit or his macho stance.

  “W-who?”

  “Let’s go.”

  “Uh, I think you have the wrong person. I really am busy. Hey, let me go. Do you mind? Hel—” Her attempt at yelling was quickly squashed by the man who forcefully shoved her into the car, slamming the door in her face. The chht of the locks being engaged had her grabbing for the door but no matter how hard she pulled on the handle or slammed against the door, nothing happened.

  “Really, Tarin. As if your behavior wasn’t bad enough, what are you wearing?”

  Tijan’s head snapped around while her body jerked back to the relative safety of pressing hard against the door. Slipping her hand behind her back, she yanked on the door handle. Nothing happened. She stared at a middle-aged man, who had a light sprinkling of grey around his temples. He was dressed impeccably in a three-piece suit that didn’t appear to have a single wrinkle in it. She stared at him with eyes peeled.

  “Who—?” She stopped talking as she realized he’d called her Tarin. Although it was burning a hole in her head trying to figure out who he was, she figured it was best not to ask. He was talking to her in a way that suggested he knew her well. Tijan remained quiet and stared. If she could find something out about her sister, then this might be worth it.

  “If this is something new to annoy me, it’s worked. Now you can stop. That’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”

  “Abduct me, you mean.”

  “God Tarin, stop the melodrama. What’s with you? I want to talk to you because I want to buy Caspian Winery. I need you to get me some information. What will make that old lady sell? I’ve offered her a good price, a great price well above market value and she won’t even contemplate negotiating with me. I had planned on calling you later but when my driver saw you in that ridiculous get-up on the street, I figured now was as good a time as any.”

  Tijan glanced toward the front of the car, only to realize that a darkened glass partition effectively cut off the front from the back.

  “W–w—” She wasn’t sure what to say or how to figure out who he was. “Why do you want it?”

  “For you, of course. It would be my present to you. You can run it. Tear it down. Show me you can run it and you’ll be the next CEO of the C-Lite Hotel chain. That is, until your son is old enough, anyway. I have to go.”

  The door behind her opened silently, almost causing her to tumble out backwards. Flailing her arms out she was able to plant her hands on the interior and prevent herself from sprawling outwards onto her back. As soon as she felt stable, she didn’t waste time but quickly turned and stepped out awkwardly as she grabbed the door to hold herself upright.

  “I’ll pick you up tomorrow, Tarin. And stop wearing those ridiculous clothes. You’ve made your point.” He coughed. It was deep and throaty and sounded very painful.

  “Hey, are you alright?”

  “Leave it, Tarin. Now isn’t the time for your concern.”

  She stared into the dark cavern barely able to make out the man who was talking to her, the man who apparently felt he had some control over her. The door closed, forcing her to move her hand. The car pulled away and drove down the street.

  The bizarreness of the situation wasn’t even registering. In fact, she wasn’t sure what was making sense. She stared at the limo that soon vanished from sight around the next corner. Her brain felt like it had been stuffed with cotton so she couldn’t even absorb anything she’d just heard. She drove back to her hotel, never quite sure how she made it. The first thing she did was head to the liquor store across the street and grab a case of beer.

  This was going to be a lot harder than she’d thought. The event revealed way too much that she wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with.

  All she’d wanted was to know if her sister was alive, and if things worked out, meet her and find out why she’d never reached out. But now she wasn’t sure. Some middle-aged, wealthy man who seemed to know her well was ordering her around like she was his property.

  Was her sister married to the old guy? Were they estranged?

  That thought made her gag. If it was true, she and her sister were so very different. The man obviously had enough money to buy and sell anything he wanted. He was going to pay her to get dirt on someone. What kind of sister did she have? Was she an informant? Was he some high government official? He seemed too sleazy for that.

  Was he Tarin’s stepfather?

  Tijan pressed her hands to her head. Who was she? She didn’t even have her sister’s last name.

  Tijan flopped down on the bed in her room. She just wanted the thoughts to stop. They didn’t make sense and they just kept her head spinning around and around. Was she even going to like her sister if they ever met? She had a son?

  Her mind would not stop. Jumping up, s
he opened a beer and downed half of it. The man said he wanted Caspian Winery for her. Was he trying to buy her?

  Who the hell was he?

  Chapter 15

  “When’s the next shipment?” Mr. T sat back on his plush leather sofa, drinking his scotch. There was a splash from the pool. He glanced up and couldn’t help but smile. There was just something about scantily clad women frolicking in water. And they were so easy to find. Flash a little money and they came running. His four bodyguards that were always stationed strategically around the veranda and pool all seemed quite happy with their jobs; especially on days like this.

  For Mr. T, it was a reminder that he’d made it. The scrappy kid from the streets who’d had to use his smarts to eat and stay alive had made it. He was now a very successful businessman. Even though most wouldn’t see it that way, he was happy with the dynasty he’d created. However, it was time to expand it. He wasn’t at the top. He was still seen as the scum of the streets, the street hustler. What he wanted was the respect and the acknowledgement that the true mafia kings got. He deserved it and was going to get it. C-Lite Hotels was key to his plan. Even though he’d been using them for years to run drugs, it was time he stepped things up and showed them all who was boss.

  “There’s nothing booked.”

  The man swore. “There is always one happening. You’ve been stalling for weeks. I don’t like that. I have things that need to be moved across the border. And now. So give me the date and time.”

  “I am telling you there isn’t one. I don’t know what is happening or why but there isn’t anything, at least that I can find.”

  “Have they figured out what you’re doing? Are you a problem?”

  The woman gasped. “No. No they haven’t and no I’m not. I’ve done a lot for you over the years.”

  She was begging; he liked that. She knew what he was capable of; it had helped to keep her in line and helping him over the years.

  “Look, Mr. T. I’ve never let you down. I’ll find out what’s going on and why something hasn’t been arranged. I think some of the problem might be that there have been complaints about the linens that we’re getting. The last few batches were cheap, had some stains and smelled like coffee.”