Grapes of Death (20 page)

A sob escaped the woman as she shook her head. “Everyone has been so kind.” She looked up at Ross as the tears streamed down her face. “After Carlos had to tell Señor Jackson about the argument you had with your uncle, we were both sure you would send us away.”

Ross sat down next to her and took her hand. “Darlin', we would never fire Carlos for doing something he thought was right. I don't blame either of you for that. I should have been honest with Jackson early on, so I'm the one who should be sorry for putting Carlos in that position.”

Elise sat on the other side of the woman. “There is something that's been bothering me, Sancia, and I'm hoping you can clear it up for me.”

“
Sí
. If I can. What is it?”

“Well, Carlos told us yesterday that he didn't want to go to Jackson with what he saw, but he didn't have a choice. Just now, you said, ‘after Carlos had to tell'. Why did he feel he had no choice? Did someone force Carlos to come forward?”

The older woman's face crumbled, and she began to silently weep again.

“Sancia, if you know something, you have to tell them,” Caroline said from the doorway. “They only want to help, but they can't if they don't have all the facts.”

Caroline crossed the room, set the glass of water she carried on the coffee table, and knelt in front of the housekeeper. Taking her hands, she gave her a gentle smile. “Please let them help you.”

After a few moments, Sancia nodded and wiped her eyes. “
Sí
, I will tell them what I know.”

“Good girl,” Ross said.

The housekeeper took the glass from the table and sipped before speaking. “Neither of our families have much money, but Carlos's family comes from a very poor town in Mexico. His brother, Arturo, came across the border two years ago hidden in the back of a delivery truck. He's here illegally.”

Elise sat forward.
This must be the root of the blackmail scheme we found out about from the journal
, she thought. “Where is Arturo now, Sancia?”

“Carlos got him a job at the Kohler Winery. He works for Señor Henry.”

“Does Henry know that Arturo is here without papers?” Ross asked.

“
Sí.
He pays Arturo under the table, so there won't be any records.”

Elise nodded. “Was Henry Kohler the one who made Carlos come forward yesterday?”

“
Sí.
He makes Carlos do things he does not want to do all the time! When my husband refuses, Señor Henry reminds him that Arturo is here illegally and threatens to call Immigration.”

“That's despicable,” Caroline said, anger firing in her eye. “What kind of person does that?”

Sancia turned to Elise. “Señor Henry wanted Carlos to steal the notes on your new vines.”

“My hybridization process?”

“
Sí,
but it was the one thing Carlos would not do, even to save his brother. When Carlos said no, Señor Henry was very angry and was going to call Immigration right then. But Señor Edmond made him stop—I don't know how—but we were so grateful for his help. He was very kind to Carlos.”

“Uncle Edmond? Kind?” Ross said in amazement.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Caroline got up to answer it, and when she came back she was followed by Jackson.

Ross stood. “Jax? What are you doing here? Is there news? Did you find fingerprints on the wallet?”

Jackson shook his head and twirled his hat in his hands. “No. The wallet had been wiped clean.”

“See! I told you,” Elise said. “Someone is setting Carlos up.”

Sancia looked up at Jackson, a hopeful look on her face. “Will my Carlos be coming home soon?”

Jackson paused, and by the look in his eyes, Elise had a terrible feeling that things were about to take a turn for the worst. “I'm sorry, Sancia, but Carlos won't be coming home just yet.”

“Jax, what's going on? What's happened?” Elise asked.

“In the interview this morning, Carlos told us that he and Henry had met with Edmond about twenty minutes after his argument with Ross. And he's admitted to assaulting Edmond with a rock.”

Twenty-One

“Nooo!” Sancia cried and
slumped over, sobs wracking her small frame.

At once, the room erupted in shouts and denials, everyone yelling at once over Sancia's wailing.

“I don't believe it for a minute,” Caroline said. “Carlos wouldn't harm a flea, much less kill anyone.”

“You're out of your mind, Jax!” Ross shouted. “Where in God's name was his lawyer during this interview? Ingram was supposed to make sure Carlos was protected.”

Jackson finally let out an ear-piercing whistle to get everyone's attention. “Just hold on a minute, y'all. I didn't say he killed Edmond; matter of fact, he swears he didn't.”

“Then what are you talking about?” Ross asked in anger.

“Well, if you'll sit your ass down and shut up for one minute, I'll explain.”

Ross sat back down, but he didn't look happy.

“Jax, Sancia just told us a few things that could have a huge bearing on the case,” Elise said. “Henry Kohler was blackmailing Carlos because his brother is in the country illegally. He was threatening deportation.”

Jackson nodded. “I know. Carlos told us all about that. I had Jim pick up Henry for questioning this morning after we spoke with Carlos.”

Elise handed Sancia a fresh tissue and patted the woman's back in an effort to calm her fears. “See, Sancia? Jackson's going to figure this out. Carlos will be coming home very soon.”

“What did Kohler have to say when you brought him in?” Ross asked. “Did he deny the allegations?”

“At first, yes, but when he realized we knew that he'd met with Edmond just before his death, he was visibly shaken and fessed up pretty quick.”

“No doubt in an effort to cover his own sorry butt,” Caroline commented in disgust. “I'll just bet that pathetic excuse for a human being tried to shift all the blame onto poor Carlos.”

“Actually, his version of what happened closely matched what Carlos told us. However, he adamantly denied the blackmailing allegation. Said he wasn't blackmailing anyone—that Carlos must have
misunderstood
.”

“Lying bastard,” Ross said.

“Anyway, he swears that Carlos only hit Edmond once with the rock, and then they both hightailed it out of there.”

“Then why are you still holding Carlos?” Elise asked. “Hitting Uncle Edmond once with a rock wouldn't have done the kind of damage we saw that morning when he was found.”

“Even though they both
say
Carlos only hit Edmond once, it doesn't make it so.” Addressing Sancia, he gave her a sympathetic look. “I'm sorry, Sancia, but I can't just take their word on this. I have to be able to rule the rock out as the murder weapon. Until then, Carlos will remain in custody.
”

Sancia nodded and blew her nose. “I understand, Señor Jackson, but my husband is a good man,” she insisted. “There must have been a reason for him to do this terrible thing.”

“Did Kohler say what went down in their meeting and why Carlos hit Uncle Edmond in the first place?” Ross asked. “By Sancia's account, Carlos didn't have a beef with him.”

“No, Señor Edmond was very good to Carlos,” Sancia added.

“Evidently, when they met that evening, Edmond was royally pissed off. Seems he and Henry had struck a deal earlier to go into business together, but Edmond had found out somehow that Henry was doing some double-dealing on the side.”

“Wait—what business?” Ross asked.

“Edmond was buying into Kohler's operation, making it a partner-
ship.”

Ross scoffed and gave a short burst of laughter. “Then the joke's on Kohler, because Uncle Edmond didn't have squat in the way of funds.”

“The missing money!” Elise said with surprise. “That's where the money went that he got from Pam.”

Jackson nodded. “From what Henry said, Edmond gave him almost six thousand dollars as a down payment, which would have been just about what he would've had left after paying off Denny Rodriguez.”

Elise drew her brows together and pursed her lips. “But where was he going to get the rest of the money he needed? Six grand wouldn't be nearly enough to buy into a deal like that.”

When Ross spoke up, it was obvious that he was having an aha moment: “He was bringing property to the arrangement.”

“What?” Elise asked.

“Well, think about it, El,” he continued. “It makes perfect sense now, him badgering Mom to give him part of River Bend. He wasn't going to sell it like he told her. With the money he gave Henry as the down payment, River Bend
property
would be his buy-in.”

Elise's mouth dropped open. “That's also why he was specific about wanting the south quadrant. Those fields are where we put the first crop of my hybrids, which is probably what Henry was counting on. That would have been very enticing to him.”

“Except Mom wouldn't give in to Uncle Edmond's demands,” Ross said with a shake of his head. “So that would have put the kibosh on his grandiose plans.”

Elise thought about the journal notes she'd deciphered with C.C. the evening before. “Sure, but I'm guessing that was where the theft of my notes came into play.” She glanced over at Jackson with a sly look. “Am I right?”

“Yes. Edmond agreed to get them in lieu of the property. Henry was also pressuring
Carlos
to steal anything he could on your hybridization process.”

“But my husband refused to do it,” Sancia insisted. “And when Señor Henry was going to call Immigration to turn in Carlos's brother, Arturo, Señor Edmond stopped him.”

“Jax, you said Uncle Edmond found out Henry was ‘double-dealing'. What did you mean by that?” Elise asked, remembering what her uncle had written about the possibility of others involved in the scheme. “And how did Uncle Edmond find out?”

Jackson sat down in the wing-back chair and crossed a booted foot over his knee. “It seems Kohler's operation was in financial trouble. I don't know how your uncle found out—we may never know—but Henry was trolling for investors. I think Edmond thought Henry was trying to cut him out of the loop, just waiting until he got his hands on your hybridization process to do it.”

“And that's what the final meeting was about that night?” Ross asked. “But that still doesn't answer the question of why Carlos assaulted Uncle Edmond.”

“Like I said, Edmond was furious and feeling double-crossed. In the meeting, he told Henry he was backing out of the deal and that he was going to come clean with the family about the whole thing.”

“I can imagine how Kohler took
that
news,” Ross muttered.

“Yeah, Henry was less than happy when he spoke about it in the interview,” Jackson replied. “Then again, he and Edmond weren't friends to begin with, and your uncle pulling out of the deal before Henry could get his hands on Elise's notes didn't go over well.”

“So at what point in this meeting did Carlos hit Uncle Edmond, and what made him do it?” Elise asked.

“From what Carlos told us, after Edmond told Kohler he was reneging on the deal, a very heated argument ensued. Kohler was enraged and threatening all sorts of stuff. Carlos panicked,” Jackson said with a shrug. “He was afraid Henry would take Edmond's withdrawal out on him by having Arturo sent back to Mexico. He says he picked up a rock and hit Edmond over the head before he even realized what he was doing.”

“Then what? They just ran off and left Edmond there?” Caroline asked. “Henry had to know Edmond would spill everything the moment he came to.”

Jackson shook his head. “Henry convinced Carlos that Edmond was bluffing when he'd said he was going to tell the family about any of it,” Jackson replied and stood up. “In his mind, Edmond had just as much to fear from the scheme going public as he did. He says he and Carlos skedaddled at that point, leaving an unconscious but very much
alive
Edmond lying there on the riverbank.”

“And what about Henry?” Elise asked. “How long do you intend to hold him?”

“We're not. I had Jim take him home after his interview. No formal charges will be brought against him—for now.”

Caroline sat forward and bristled. “How is
that
fair? Why should Carlos be the only one in jail? Henry Kohler is in this mess up to his eyeballs.”

“That very well may be, Caro, but I have no real evidence that he's done anything wrong. And Carlos has admitted to the assault.”

“But what about the blackmail?” Caroline asked.

“Unfortunately, it's hearsay—Carlos's word against Henry's.”

“When do you think you'll know if the rock was the murder weapon or not?” Elise asked. “Carlos must be so scared.”

“I could hear anytime now, I'm just waiting on a call from the ME. Speaking of which, I need to get going. I just wanted to come out and tell y'all the news face to face and keep Sancia in the loop.”

“Thank you, Señor Jackson. I know you'll take care of my Carlos.”

Grabbing her purse and keys, Elise walked Jackson out to his cruiser. As she did, she thought about her uncle's journal again and wondered if Jackson had deciphered any of it yet. She knew she should tell him about what she and C.C. had discovered, but he'd probably blow up at her yet again.

Still, until she could decode more of the pages herself, giving him a gentle push in the right direction couldn't hurt.

“Jax,” she began as they got to the cars. “Have you had any time to look at Uncle Edmond's journal?”

He turned and gave her a narrowed glance. “Some. Why do you ask?”

She hedged a bit, trying to find the best way to give him that nudge without blurting out what she'd been up to. “I was just wondering if you'd figured out the code yet.”

“Elise—”

“No, Jax, come on, there could be some real clues about what happened in the days leading up to Uncle Edmond's murder! It might even reveal the killer's identity. I think you should take a closer look.”

Jackson sighed. “I have been looking, El. I figured out that Edmond used a number code. It's pretty simple, but time consuming. And, as you may know, I haven't had much time to spare lately with all the other fires I've had to put out.”

“I know, but this is important. I just know it. You should really dig into it—decipher some of the pages. I think there were more people involved in this scheme they were plotting than just Henry and Uncle Edmond.”

Jackson leaned back on the door of the cruiser and folded his arms. “Spill it, pal. What aren't you telling me?”

She gave him the wide-eyed look of innocence. “What do you mean?”

“I know you, El. You know something, and you're trying very hard not to say it.”

So much for a gentle push without confessing your sins.

“Oh, you think you're so smart,” she said in a huff—then caved. “Okay, I've been looking at the pages that I photocopied, and I've decoded five or six of them.”

“I knew it! You just can't help meddling, can you?”

She growled and mirrored his stance. “Nobody likes a wise-ass, Jackson.”

He laughed out loud and shook his head. “And yet I like you just fine. Go figure.”

She tried hard not to smile but lost the battle. “You're such a dork, you know that?” Laughing, she shook her head. “I don't know why I even bother with you.”

“Because I'm irresistible, that's why.”

They stared at each other for a few moments. When Elise began to feel that familiar pull, she stepped back. “At one point, Uncle Edmond wrote that he wondered who was actually pulling the strings on the deal, and he didn't think it was Henry.”

“I know. I've gotten quite a bit farther than that.”

“Really? Anything interesting pop out?”

“A few things. And no,” he said before she could ask, “I'm not going to discuss it with you. I have a little more to decipher before I'm ready to talk about what I may or may not have found.”

When the pout she gave him didn't make a dent, she rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you weren't forgetting about the notebook.”

“I haven't. Don't worry. I'm still working on it.”

Feeling awkward and oddly shy, she searched for something to say. Failing, she jingled her keys in the air. “Well, I should get to the greenhouse. I still haven't completely cleaned up the mess Stuart made of my files.”

“Yeah, I need to get back to the office.”

She started to turn away and then swung back around. “And Jax?”

He opened the car door and turned to look at her over the frame of the window. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for coming out to give us the news in person, rather than calling. Sancia is wrecked over this whole thing. Sounds like they've been living in fear of Henry Kohler for quite awhile. But your coming out here like this … it made a difference, you know?
”

“Just doing the job the only way I know how, darlin'
.
” He smiled and climbed into the cruiser.

She watched him back out and then went to her car. Sliding in behind the wheel, she closed the door and then sat staring out the windshield.

Henry Kohler.

The more Elise thought about the man and his conniving, the angrier she got. And that he would blackmail a River Bend employee that way—over something as heartless as possible deportation—disgusted her.