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.”

 

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.”