White Cloud Retreat Page 3

She walked out to where Lady was standing in the minivan, waiting for her safe return. “Okay, Lady, back seat.” Lady turned and jumped into the back seat, just as Rebel had shown her.

  If I didn’t know better, I’d think these two dogs are telepathic. Then again maybe they are and I don’t know any better.

  CHAPTER 6

  The two brothers sat quietly in the office of Pellino Brothers Vineyard while one of them, Dante, dialed the special telephone number they’d been told to use if they ever needed to privately contact Angelo Rossi at his office in Chicago.

  “Hello. Rossi Exports and Imports. May I help you?” the young female voice asked.

  “Yes, my name is Dante Pellino and I’m calling from the Pellino Brothers Vineyard in Oregon. Mr. Rossi gave me this number to call if I ever needed to talk with him about a private business matter. May I speak with him, please?”

  “He’s pretty busy right now. I don’t know if he can take your call, but since you’re calling on his preferred line, I’m pretty sure he’ll want to talk to you. We don’t get many calls on this line. I’ll put you on hold.”

  “Hello, Dante,” a man with a strong Italian accent said moments later. “Nice to hear from you. How are you and your brother doing with my special vineyard out there in Oregon?”

  “We’re doing fine, Mr. Rossi. I’m calling from the vineyard and I have my brother, Luca, listening in on the speaker phone. You told us to never call you at this number unless there was a major problem here at the vineyard that we couldn’t handle. Unfortunately, a serious situation has developed and we need your help and advice.

  “Not a problem, boys. I’m glad you called. You know I have five million dollars of the Family’s money tied up in that vineyard and I don’t want anything to go wrong. That’s why I sent the two of you out to Oregon from Chicago to run it for me and protect the Family’s investment. All the phony paperwork that’s been filed with the state shows that the two of you are the sole and exclusive legal owners of the vineyard. Neither I nor any of the Family members are shown as part owners of the business. That’s the way we want it in case the FBI ever comes after our assets. Given the popularity of wine in today’s market and the huge increase in wine sales and prices, we’re convinced there are millions of dollars to be made in the wine business. We want to be in on the ground floor of it so we can make that kind money. Plus, it’s a completely legitimate business that helps us unload some of the excess cash we generate from our business operations here in Chicago, if you know what I mean. Now what’s this problem you referred to that’s so important you had to call me on my special phone line?”

  “Well, this is the situation, Mr. Rossi. For the past few years the production results here at Pellino Brothers Vineyard have far exceed our expectations. The total number of cases of wine we’ve been able to produce and bottle per acre of vines is way above the state and regional average. We’ve been able to do this because we’ve been using a lot of pesticides and herbicides that have been banned for use by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA claims these chemicals can cause cancer and pollute the ground water. Also, one of the banned herbicides we use, called Dead Bang, can cause a disease in grape vines called brown leaf spot. If any of this particular herbicide comes in contact with the leaves on the grape vines, the leaves turn brown and the vine eventually dies. I’m sure you’re aware that your company has been secretly providing those chemicals for us to use for a number of years. In fact Rossi Trucking Company delivered thirty fifty-five gallon drums to us just last week. I don’t know how you get the stuff, but I’ll tell you this, it works like a miracle and it’s the main reason the vineyard is doing so well.

  “Here’s the problem we wanted to discuss with you, Mr. Rossi. There’s another vineyard located across the road from our vineyard called White Cloud Vineyard. It’s owned by some Eastern spiritual guy who teaches Zen Buddhist and yoga stuff to people who come to classes at a Retreat Center located in his vineyard. He goes by the name of Zen Master Scott Monroe. He came to our place last week and accused us of using Dead Bang to control the weeds in our vineyard. He claimed it drifted across the road and contaminated his vineyard, which, by the way, is a fully organic vineyard. He doesn’t allow the use of any type of herbicide, pesticide, or fertilizer on his property. Naturally, we denied using Dead Bang and told him his problems must be coming from some other source.

  “We didn’t tell him that we’d sprayed our entire vineyard with Dead Bang about a week before this guy Scott showed up to complain. When we apply it we’re very careful to make sure it doesn’t come in contact with any of our vines. However, it was very windy on the day we sprayed Dead Bang on the weeds in our vineyard and I suppose some of it could have been carried by the prevailing winds over onto his property and contaminated his vines. He said some of his leaves had brown leaf spot on them and it must have come from our vineyard because the only thing that could cause brown leaf spot on his vines was Dead Bang. He told us that in ten days he was going to report us to the Oregon Depart of Agriculture for using Dead Bang unless we provided him with positive proof that we’ve destroyed any and all banned chemicals located on the property. If he reports us as he’s threatened to do and the State officials do tests and confirm that we’ve been using illegal chemicals, they can shut down our vineyard operations without even having to get a Court Order. If that happens, we won’t be allowed to harvest any grapes from the vines in our vineyard for a minimum of three years and perhaps even longer. It will put us out of business.

  “The reason Luca and I are calling you is to see if there’s any way you can help us stop this guy from reporting us to the state agricultural officials. I don’t know, maybe some kind of a financial payoff might work, but from what I hear, the Retreat Center is rolling in money.”

  “I’m glad you boys called. You’re right. It does sound like it could be a real problem. Let me do this. I have a business associate who works for me by the name of Guido who has special ways of resolving business disputes like this one. I’ll have him fly out to Portland tonight. He can rent a car and be at your vineyard sometime early tomorrow morning. Be on the lookout for him. I’ll give him some special instructions on how to deal with the problem. I want you to cooperate with him and do whatever he asks you to do. Got it?”

  “Yes, thanks, Mr. Rossi. We knew you could help us make this problem go away.”

  CHAPTER 7

  “We’re home,” Kelly said in a loud voice as she and Lady walked through the door. Rebel walked over to Lady and sniffed her, making sure she hadn’t been mistakenly given a treat that had been meant for him.

  “Missed you, Babe. I got home late last night and slept in this morning. Thanks for the note,” he said. “That’s a long time to spend at the coffee shop on a Sunday.”

  “Yeah, well I had a lot to do. What with Scott’s murder, we both know it will be a zoo there tomorrow. You know how people love to come to the coffee shop to gossip when something out of the ordinary happens in Cedar Bay, and Scott’s death definitely qualifies as out of the ordinary. We’ll probably be jammed from the time we open until we close. I did as much as I could ahead of time. Charlie’s great as a fry cook, but I thought we might need some extra things if tomorrow’s going to be anything like the day after Amber’s death and Jeff’s death. Profitable yes, but also very exhausting,” she said, taking off her coat and putting it in the hall closet. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you yet about Scott’s murder. Do you have any suspects?”

  “No, not yet. This has to be one of the most frustrating cases I’ve ever been involved in. Rich and I interviewed everyone who was at the crime scene as well as the priests and nuns who live at the Center. Dave and Joe interviewed the rest of the people who were at the Retreat Center and there wasn’t a single person who gave any of us a clue or helped us with the case in any way. It appears that Scott was universally liked, loved, respected, and idolized. I hope when I go people will be that adoring of me, but given my line of work, I do
ubt if that will happen.”

  “If it’s any consolation, I’ll promise to be that adoring.”

  “Thanks, Sweetheart, I needed that. Now that we have that out of the way, what’s for dinner?”

  “A vegetarian casserole. Don’t stick your nose up like that. It will be very healthy for you and as much stress as you’re under, you don’t need to eat a lot of heavy, meaty dishes. They’re not good for you. Anyway, I made one for Luke Monroe and took it to him this afternoon to express my condolences. Since I was already making one, I decided to make two, so we could have one tonight.” She turned away from Mike, pretty sure that the disapproving expression on his face was intended for her.

  “You made a casserole for Luke, took it out to him, and expressed your condolences. How very nice of you. Kelly, how many times do we have to have this conversation? You are not the sheriff. You are not supposed to try and solve my cases. I’m the sheriff and the cases are mine. I admit that you were very lucky when you got involved in Amber and Jeff’s murders and helped solve them, but please stay out of this investigation. Scott was a guy who was loved by everyone and as of this moment, there’s not even one viable suspect. Do we have an understanding regarding this case?” he asked in a very low, stern voice.

  “Of course we do,” she said, mentally crossing her fingers behind her back, “but what about the person who kept calling him on his cell phone and then hanging up? I’d think whoever did that might qualify as a suspect.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She told him about the conversation she’d had with Luke. “And what about the fact that a lot of women found Scott pretty desirable, even though he told me he was celibate. Might want to follow up and see if any of them was a little too attracted to him and became frustrated when their adoration wasn’t being returned. And what about the estrangement between him and his brother? Did you know about that?”

  “All right, I give. Sit down and tell me everything you’ve learned.”

  After she’d finished relating her conversation with Luke, Mike called his deputy. “Rich, first thing in the morning I want you to call the Retreat Center and find out from Scott’s brother what phone company Scott used as a service provider for his cell phone. Once you’ve found that out, call the company and tell them we need to have a record of all the incoming calls on his cell phone for the past month. I put his phone in the evidence locker last night. You’ve got a key. Evidently Scott had a lot of hang-up calls recently. It’s a long shot, but considering we don’t have anything else to go on at this point, we need to try it. I also want you to find out from his brother, Luke, where the two of them grew up. Get as much early childhood and family background information as you can from him.”

  He was quiet while he listened to Rich. “I think I need to look into Scott’s background. That’s always a good place to start. Maybe somebody from his hometown knows something.” He ran his hand over his face in frustration. “Right now we’re just taking potshots at anything that moves, looking for something. See you tomorrow,” he said as he ended the call.

  “Well Miss Crime Solver,” he said turning towards Kelly with a smile on his face, “do you have any more brilliant thoughts regarding my case? And I almost forgot. I got about ten hang-up calls today. Was that you?”

  “Of course not. You know I’d leave a message. Probably somebody kept plugging in the wrong number. Don’t be nasty, but yes, now that you mention it, I do have a few thoughts. Many people think Zen is some kind of a weird Eastern religion and generally speaking, they don’t trust Eastern religions or practices. There’s a church group that comes to the coffee shop every Tuesday at lunchtime after their weekly Bible study meeting. They’re pretty much fire and brimstone Christian believers. I wonder if they’d have any thoughts on who might hate a Zen Master enough to kill him.”

  “I’d like to tell you not to get involved. I’d like you to stick to what you know best, cooking and yes, there are a lot of things I’d like you to do and not do, but I know that’s not going to happen. I’m sure you’re already thinking about the Tuesday group and what you might find out from them. I’m not happy about you interfering, but yes, I would like to know what you find out.”

  “Got it, Sheriff. You’ll be the first to know and maybe if we shared whatever information either of us gets, we could solve this case faster.”

  “We, and I repeat the word we, are not going to solve this case. I am going to solve this case. If you know something that might help me solve my case, I would appreciate it. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” she said sarcastically. “Since that’s understood, time to eat. By the way, the wedding’s less than three weeks away. A little less heavy food might be good for both of us. Remember, all eyes will be on us.”

  You’re wrong, he thought. All eyes will be on you, not on a middle-aged man with a receding hairline who carries about ten pounds too many on his body. They’ll be looking at your beautiful black hair, porcelain–like complexion, and a figure women twenty years your junior would kill for. No, Kelly, I’m simply an addendum to you, but a mighty happy addendum. Just be careful this time if you feel compelled to do a little investigating on your own. Now that I’ve found you, I don’t want to lose you!

  *****

  The man dressed in loose yoga pants, a sweater, and a jacket, looked around the vineyard where he was standing and at the White Cloud Retreat Center located a short distance away. Guess Scott’s sorry now he got mad at me for pruning the vines a little shorter than he liked. The dumb vines will grow just fine no matter how I prune them. Probably not many vines where he is now, so he’ll just have to find something else to criticize. He had to go. There was no way I was going to be the Zen Master as long as he stayed here. It’s a good thing I don’t take my medications any more. Zen Masters probably shouldn’t be taking antipsychotic medications. I never needed that stuff anyway. Rest In Peace Mr. Big Shot Zen Master.

  CHAPTER 8

  Early Monday morning, Kelly dressed in her usual coffee shop attire of jeans and a red T-shirt with the words, Kelly’s Koffee Shop, emblazoned in white on it, and took her keys from the rack near the front door. She motioned for Lady to come with her. For the last few weeks when Kelly left early in the morning for the coffee shop, Rebel had opted to stay at the house with Mike. Mike woke up a couple of hours after Kelly left and took Rebel with him to the sheriff’s office. Rebel was getting older and didn’t mind getting the extra few hours of sleep.

  She parked her minivan in the lot adjacent to the pier and opened the door for Lady who immediately ran down the pier to where Madison, Charlie, and Roxie were waiting for Kelly to open up the coffee shop. Each of them reached down to give the growing puppy an ear scratch. The three of them were well trained as Rebel had let it be known over the years exactly what dogs like. Kelly waved to them, silently giving thanks to the coffee house gods for sending these loyal employees her way.

  Her grandparents had started selling coffee and sweet rolls out of a small little building on the pier many years before she was born. At the time, the lumber industry was flourishing in the area and most of their customers had been lumbermen. It wasn’t long before they started requesting different kinds of food and the little coffee shop had expanded several times over the years, becoming an institution in the small town. At some point, almost everyone in Cedar Bay had passed through the front door of Kelly’s Koffee Shop. When Kelly’s grandparents passed away, Kelly’s parents had taken over the coffee shop and named it Kelly’s Koffee Shop in honor of their daughter. When they retired, Kelly and her husband, Mark, ran it, however, Mark died at a very early age from a rare type of cancer. Since then, the coffee shop had supported Kelly and her children, Julia and Cash. It was open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. On any day of the week a number of the regulars would be there as well as tourists who were exploring the Oregon coast.

  Kelly was certain that a lot of the people who ate at the coffee shop came because of Rox
ie. She’d been with Kelly for over ten years and was one of those people who made you feel good by just being around them. Roxie not only knew everybody by name and everything about them, but she really cared about them. You always felt better after talking to Roxie.

  Charlie was the son of Chief Many Trees and lived on the Indian reservation just outside of town. Even though he was surly and deeply suspicious of anything relating to the government because of the harm he felt it had done to his tribe, he was a very valued employee. Kelly made the signature coffee shop casseroles and a lot of the other things, but Charlie was the one responsible for the short orders and Kelly was always amazed by how many orders he could juggle and prepare at the same time. The newest addition to the coffee shop staff was Madison, who had replaced Amber after she’d been murdered. Madison’s life had taken a turn for the better when her father stopped drinking and she’d started attending cosmetology school in Sunset Bay after she graduated from high school. Kelly knew she only had a few more months until she’d have to replace Madison at the coffee shop. Wanda, the owner of the town beauty parlor, planned on hiring Madison full-time as soon as she received her license. She was already interning at Wanda’s beauty parlor after Kelly’s closed for the day at 2:00 p.m.

  “Morning, everyone. How was your weekend?” Kelly asked.

  “Probably not half as exciting as yours was,” Charlie said. “Rumor around town is that you’re the one who discovered the Zen Master’s body. Any truth to it?”

  “I should know by now that nothing happens in this town without everyone knowing about it, but it still amazes me how fast word travels. Yes, I discovered Scott’s body. You may have heard he was shot. That’s all I know. Mike’s working on the case, but so far he doesn’t seem to have any suspects in mind. The Center is having a service for Scott Thursday afternoon from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., if any of you are interested in attending.”