Grapes of Death (3 page)

This second batch of hybrid vines she'd been working on was coming along nicely and would soon be ready for transplanting alongside the first wave. They would be much more drought-tolerant, reducing the cost of extensive watering during stressful weather situations like they'd had this summer. It was a step that would eventually give River Bend an edge over their competition.

Of course, the new vines wouldn't bear a full crop of fruit for a number of seasons to come, and they wouldn't produce a profit for several years after that. With the economy in a down-swing, it had been a tough year, but every vineyard along the Colorado River was in the same boat. She felt certain that things would turn around. They always did.

Stop projecting, Elise, and wait for the meeting,
she mentally admonished herself.
You really don't need to borrow trouble.

As she fussed with her starts and documented their growth, she lost track of time. When she finally checked her watch, she had to run to the house to avoid being late again. All family gatherings took place in the spacious dining room, and she was out of breath when she arrived just as the meeting began.

Ross fairly scowled as she sat down at the table next to him. “Nice of you to join us, El.”

“Sorry, got held up in the greenhouse.” She shot him a sour look. “Sounds like I'm not the only one who got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

“No, I'm sorry.” Ross gave her a sheepish grin. “Caroline and I fought last night. We both went to bed angry, which is something we swore we'd never do.”

“Oh, Ross.” Elise rubbed his shoulder. “You guys talked it out though, right?”

Ross shook his head. “Didn't have a chance. She's covering for Gram and Madison at the shop during the meeting and was up and out the door before I got out of the shower.”

“Sancia's at the house with the boys?” Elise asked. Sancia Madera and her husband, Carlos, both worked for the vineyard and she was happy to watch Ross's sons when needed.

At her brother's nod, Elise continued. “Then the minute this meeting is over, you high-tail your sad self down to the shop and straighten things out.”

Ross laughed at that. “Yes, ma'am.”

“Let's get this meeting started,” Laura announced as she breezed into the room. “I've got a full schedule today, and it's already quarter after, so I can't waste any time.”

“What's on the agenda?” Abigail asked as she set out two plates of scones and poured a pot of tea to steep. “I'm assuming Edmond and his nonsense is one topic.”

Laura nodded. “Yes, I need to make a decision about that, and I want everyone's input.”

“You know where I stand,” Ross spoke up. “I say put the restraining order that Jackson mentioned into place. And that's just for starters. Uncle Edmond has threatened to take legal steps, and even though that will get him nowhere, perhaps we should fire the first shot.”

Surprised at his venomous reaction, Elise glanced over at her brother. “Wow. When did you become so hateful toward Uncle Edmond? I mean, he's been a pain lately, but he's still family, Ross.”

Ross threw her an angry look. “You wouldn't know it by his actions. He's made it clear he has no use for this family.” He shrugged and continued with a bit more calm. “I simply have no use for him. Let him live with his choices.”

“Sadly, I've begun to feel the same way,” Laura put in. “I've tried to be reasonable and fair with Edmond and told him on many occasions we would welcome him moving onto the vineyard and working with us. I would gladly share everything with him in that way. But he's refused the offer each time it's been extended.”

“I love Uncle Edmond,” Madison offered. “I mean, like you said, El, he
is
family.” She glanced up from the doodling she'd been doing in her event planner and smoothed her French braid with a free hand. When her sister was creating an event at Lodge Merlot, Elise knew she hated for anything to disturb her focus. And her next sentence emphasized that irritation. “With the Adams-Wilkinson wedding coming up, his behavior is unacceptable. It could affect our bookings at the lodge and spoil the whole affair for our client.”

Laura nodded. “That's a real possibility. The mayor could have gone to half a dozen other places, but she chose Lodge Merlot for her daughter's big day. We need to make sure it goes off without a hitch; Edmond could be a very
big
hitch.”

“So, what
does
Uncle Edmond want?” Madison asked.

“He wants everything handed to him on a silver platter,” Ross spat.

“Ross, you're not helping,” Laura admonished and then turned to Madison. “He made a new proposal last night that is as unacceptable as all his schemes have been in the past.”

“And that is …?” Abigail asked.

“It started out basically the same as the others. He wanted me to deed him six hundred acres—half of the vineyard—free and clear. Which of course, he would then sell.”

Ross barked out a laugh. “What a shocker.”

“All right,” Elise said, with a frown. “But what's different about this new proposal? Sounds like the same old song and dance as before.”

Laura sat back in her chair. “The difference this time is that he's got a buyer lined up, though he wouldn't say who.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “And he wants a specific six hundred acres … in the south quadrant.”

“
What
?” Elise jumped up so quickly that she knocked her chair over backward. “But that's where the first batch of my hybrid vines is planted!”

Three

“He can't be serious!”
Elise shouted. “I've spent the last few
years
working on those hybrids. They were designed to give River Bend an edge over other wineries. How could he think this would be acceptable?”

“Well, golly, El, let's just think about that for a minute,” Ross said sarcastically. “Oh, wait—this is Uncle Edmond we're talking about.”

Laura frowned. “That's enough, Ross.”

“But this makes no sense,” Elise insisted. “I understand Uncle Edmond's motivation, I do, but what could possibly be the incentive for us to agree to something like this?”

Laura put up a hand. “Calm down, Elise. I realize this is disturbing, but at least now you can understand why I was so troubled last night.”

Abigail poured herself a cup of tea and chose a scone from the plate. “I'm with Elise. That deal makes no sense, even for a nutjob like Edmond.”

Elise righted her chair and sat down. There was something missing, something her mother wasn't saying—but what? “Mom, last night I asked you what Uncle Edmond meant when he said his plan would solve your problems as well as his own. You told me then that it was all just talk, but that's not the truth, is it?”

Laura sighed. “No, sweetheart, I'm afraid not.” She shifted a glance to Ross before continuing. “I know I should have called this meeting sooner, explained the situation long before this, but we felt it would just upset y'all prematurely.”

Elise looked back and forth between Ross and her mother. She was starting to understand why her brother hadn't seemed the least bit surprised by this development. “So you two decided to keep something from the rest of us? Is that it?”

“Sweetheart, Ross is the business manager for the vineyard, after all. We were only trying to protect you, but I realize now that was a bad call. We should have discussed the problem as a family.”

“You think?” Abigail gave a disgusted grunt. “Well, we're all here now.” Folding her arms, she spared her daughter a narrow glance. “Spit it out while we're all still breathin'
.
”

Clearly displeased, Laura shot her mother a you're-not-helping glare. “The vineyard has a balloon payment coming due on the loan we took out when we built Lodge Merlot.”

Ross finished the bad news. “Unfortunately, with sales down like they have been, we might not have the money to make the full payment by the date required.”

“What the heck does that mean?” Madison asked. “If we default on the loan we could lose the vineyard?”

“No, we won't.” Ross shook his head. “It would never come to that, sis. We do have some reserves, and if need be, we can make up the difference there. But with the overly dry conditions requiring more extensive irrigation, and the crops yielding less than we'd previously forecasted, it means more dollars going out than coming in.”

“That's what Edmond was talking about last night,” Laura explained. “I gathered from our conversation—or should I say his hollering and carrying on—that he owes money somewhere. And I mean a whole lot of money. He told me that if I agreed to deed him half the vineyard, his portion of the sale would get him out of hot water.”

“Well, why in the world would he think you would ever agree to a stupid idea like deeding him half the vineyard?” Abigail asked. “Even his own brother knew the folly of
that
. No, that man had his chance when you proposed a partnership early on, Laura, and if memory serves, he thumbed his nose at the offer.”

“Yeah, so why go back to that now?” Elise asked, unable to put the thought of losing her hybrids out of her mind.

“Somehow he found out about our upcoming loan payment and thought to capitalize on that information,” Ross said, then snorted. “In his twisted way of thinking, he assumed we would jump at the chance to pay off the loan—even at the expense of losing half the vineyard.”

“And giving away a lion's share of my research and development to the buyer in the process,” Elise snapped.

It was all so sordid and disappointing. How could Edmond even
think
about doing this to them? And there she'd been, defending him at every turn, because he was her uncle. What a fool she'd been. Well, no more. Ross was right, the man had made his choices and now he'd have to live with the consequences.

“As much as I hate the thought of barring a family member from the property, I say we implement the restraining order for now. Then see how it goes from there,” Elise said at length.

Laura ran a hand through her short, dark crop of curls. “Then I want a show of hands. If you disagree, now's the time to speak up. Is everyone on board with this first step?”

Elise looked around the table at her family members as each in turn raised a hand.

“Then it's settled,” Laura said with a quick nod. “Ross will call Jackson and have him come out first thing in the morning. I'd like everyone on site for that, so we all hear it at once and are on the same page. Now, if there's no other business to discuss …”

Stuart's offer popped into Elise's head. A life change of that magnitude was something she would normally discuss with those closest to her before making any decision, but now was definitely not the time. With the vineyard facing these new issues, Stuart would just have to wait for his answer. No way was she going to add to her mother's stress level by suggesting she might be jumping ship.

When nobody spoke up with any new business, Laura blew out a breath. “Then we're done. I have a mountain of paperwork to tackle, so I'd better get to it. Ross, when you have some time, I need help with that new accounting program you installed on my laptop.”

“Sure, Mom.” Ross shot a glance at Elise before turning back to his mother. “Uh, I need to run down to the shop for a few minutes, but hopefully it won't take long. I'll help you with that as soon as I'm finished there.”

Elise watched him go as the wheels turned in her head. She thought perhaps a trip out to the Pit Barbeque for a late lunch and a chat with Pam Dawson might be enlightening. If she could run down her uncle in the process, even better.

The rest of the family would probably think she was crazy—heck, she probably was—but before she completely wrote off her uncle, she wanted to hear his betrayal from his own lips.

My timing is impeccable
, Elise thought as she drove into the parking lot at Pam's restaurant just after one o'clock. A pulled pork sandwich would be the perfect excuse to surprise her uncle's girlfriend and have that friendly chat.

But it seemed that the surprise was on her. When Elise
went inside to order, she found Pam was sitting at a booth in the corner having what looked to be a very chummy conversation with Henry Kohler. Henry owned the Kohler Winery, and though his vineyard was smaller than River Bend, he was one of their biggest competitors.

Delphine might be a small town, but this appeared to be more than a chance encounter.

When Henry looked up, Elise thought he looked a bit guilty before he smiled and waved her over. “Hello, Elise. How are things at River Bend?”

“Aside from a little dry, just fine, Henry. How are you faring out your way?”

The older man chuckled. “Oh, we're getting by. Although the extra irrigation has added more expense than I'd like. But we'll all manage, right?”

Elise laughed. “Do we have any other choice?”

“I've found there's always another choice,” Pam added with more than a touch of sarcasm.

Elise was sure she would say something more, but Henry quickly put a hand over the Pit owner's forearm, and she clammed right up.

What is up with that?

“Well, I should be getting back,” he said. Standing, he leaned heavily on his ornate oak cane. “We'll talk later, Pam. And quit worrying; it will all work out. You'll see. Elise, it was a pleasure to see you. Give my best to your family.”

Elise watched him go and wondered what Henry's comments to Pam had meant. She hadn't realized they were that well acquainted, but the meeting seemed to suggest otherwise. Sliding into the booth opposite Pam, Elise contemplated the best way to get the woman talking.

“I spoke to Darrell Yancy today, and he said he'd run into you and Uncle Edmond.”

Well, El, that was a lame opener.

And of course, Darrell hadn't actually said that in so many words, but his earlier reaction at her guesses had told her she was on the money.

“Is that so?” Pam eyed her with suspicion. “And what did the fine deputy have to say?”

“Just that you two thought things were going to somehow change at the vineyard in the near future,” Elise reported with mock innocence. “You know, I can't imagine what that would be.”

“Oh, just you wait. Change is coming, all right.”

Elise blinked and gave Pam another clueless look. Maybe just a little nudge of information was in order. “Do you mean the restraining order? You know, I tried to talk them out of that, but Uncle Edmond behaved so badly last night that the rest of the family wouldn't listen to a word.”

Pam's head snapped up sharply at that little nugget, a shocked look on her face. “Restraining order? What restraining order?”

Gotcha!
Elise smiled inwardly and glanced at her watch. “Uh, the one that's going into effect this afternoon or early tomorrow morning at the latest. It will bar Uncle Edmond from vineyard property. I thought you knew, being that you two are so close and all.”

Elise watched Pam's face go red and mottled with anger. She also thought Mrs. P. might have been wrong about Pam; there was a whole lot more than bipolar going on here, for sure.

“That dirty, rotten, no good son-of-a—”

“Pam?” Elise interrupted. “What's the matter?”

“If Eddy Beckett thinks he's going to screw
me
over, he's got another thing comin'
,
” the other woman yelled. Heads turned all over the restaurant.

“I don't understand,” Elise leaned forward with false concern. “What has Uncle Edmond done?”

Pam scrambled out of the booth, babbling madly. “I will not watch my business go under because of that
loser
, I'll tell you that right now.”

“Where
is
Uncle Edmond, Pam?” Elise asked as the owner turned to stalk away.

Pam spun around and glared at her. Elise held her breath, thinking the woman might have a complete meltdown right then and there. But after a moment she shook her head. “I haven't seen him since this morning, but if he comes back here, I just may choke the life out of him with my bare hands.”

Once Pam was out of range, Elise let out the breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding.
Yep, crazy lives right there behind Pam's eyes
, she thought.

Another glance at her watch told her she had plenty of time to order some lunch. When she was finished she could even run a few errands and be right on schedule to drop by her uncle's place before heading home for the day.

Her phone later rang while she was in line at the post office, but it was Stuart and she let it go to voicemail. She didn't have the energy for another push-pull conversation at the moment.

Her next stop was dropping off some soil samples at the Extension Service, where her friend C.C. Duncan worked in the office. They'd been meaning to make plans for a girl's night out anyway, so she spent thirty minutes chatting and piddling around there before heading out to her uncle's.

Edmond lived in a small house on the outskirts of Delphine, and it was just shy of four o'clock when Elise pulled into his driveway.

She didn't see his truck and decided it couldn't hurt to take a look around. As she crossed the small wooden porch, she glanced through the living room window. Though she thought she heard something inside, she saw no movement.

When her knock went unanswered, Elise rationalized her next action as something anyone would naturally do. She tried the door and found it unlocked. She convinced herself she should at least go in for a minute, make sure everything was okay.
Seriously, like the old commercial said, what if he's fallen and can't get up?

She giggled at her own joke. At least that's what she'd say if she got caught snooping around!

Slowly she eased the door open. “Hello? Uncle Edmond? Anybody home?”

When she got no answer, she entered the house. Her first thought was a flashback to a line from an old black and white movie:
What a dump
. Empty pizza boxes and beer bottles littered the living room, along with dirty clothes that looked as if they'd been dropped where they'd been removed. Old newspapers and unopened mail covered the dining table, and the smell of stale smoke seemed to permeate the walls.

Good Lord
, she thought.
Could this be any more disgusting?

The idea that her uncle would prefer to live like this rather than to move out to the vineyard as her mother had suggested was dumb-founding. The air in the small space was as humid as outdoors but without the benefit of the occasional breeze. How the Texas air could be so humid and the soil so dry, she'd never understand.

Picking up a ballpoint pen, Elise poked around in the paperwork on the table. There were lots of unpaid bills, and a few hand-written receipts for what looked to be sports bets. That couldn't be good, but her mother had said he owed money.