Page 58 of Now or Never

“Robin don’t seem to be stealing packages off people’s porch anymore,” Lula said. “I guess that wasn’t a real efficient use of his time.”

“Hijacking trucks and breaking into stores is also more challenging,” Herbert said. “It requires some skills and I imagine it would appeal to someone who enjoyed the game.”

“Like he keeps needing to one-up himself,” Lula said.

“Yes,” Herbert said. “There’s also the entertainment aspect. This person might enjoy having an audience. This is a phenomenon we’re seeing with the explosion of social media. One can in essence become famous by creating one’s own personal reality show.”

“So, you think this Robin Hoodie thing is all about a big ego trip,” Lula said.

“I was presenting one possibility,” Herbert said. “I would like to think Robin Hoodie has the best of intentions. That he cares about the homeless, and he’s found a way to help while drawing attention to the problem. I prefer to see him viewed as a hero.”

“Eugene doesn’t look like much of a hero,” Lula said.

“Those are the best kind,” Herbert said. “Peter Parker is the perfect example.”

“I like him better when he’s Spider-Man,” Lula said. “Sometimes he’s kind of wimpy when he isn’t in the suit.”

“You’ve put some serious thought into Robin Hoodie,” I said to Herbert.

“I think a lot of serious thoughts. I have a genius IQ,” Herbert said. “I haven’t actually been tested but I’m sure I’m exceptionally smart. And I’m smart in many directions. I’m musically adept and I’m superior at analyzing situations. Plus, my mechanical and electronic skills are like nothing you’ve ever seen before. I can even work my Apple products after they’ve been updated. And I can follow product instruction sheets for kitchen appliances. Once I fixed my Dyson after it became clogged with dirt.”

“That’s impressive,” Lula said. “Can you work your TV?”

“Mostly,” Herbert said. “Voice recognition doesn’t like me and sometimes I get a blank screen for no reason, but I’ve been able to crack the code that gets rid of closed captions.”

“I wouldn’t mind knowing how to do that,” Lula said.

“You need to have extremely quick eye-to-hand reflexes,” Herbert said.

I got onto the New Jersey Turnpike at exit 7 and headed north. This felt like progress. In less than an hour, I’d be crossing the George Washington Bridge and I’d be in New York. Then I’d take the Cross Bronx Expressway and the Throgs Neck Bridge to Long Island. Once I got to Long Island I hadn’t a clue. I was at the mercy of the GPS lady.

I had half a plan for when I got to the vineyard. If I could separate Jug from the herd, I thought I could talk him into coming back to Trenton. We’d get back late, after the court was no longer in session, but I might be able to find someone who could setbail. Then I had to find someone who would write the bond since Vinnie wasn’t interested. If I got Bruno alone and couldn’t talk him into returning to Trenton, I’d stun gun him. After I stun gunned him I’d have to move to New Zealand because when he came around, he’d put a contract out on me.

I’d set out this morning feeling confident that I knew what I was doing. The closer I got to Bruno Jug’s lawyer’s house, the less confident I felt. This could turn out to be a big wild goose chase. I suspected that Lula and Herbert were having similar feelings because we were approaching the North Fork of Long Island and conversation had stopped. Lula was sitting next to me with her hands clenched in her lap, staring straight ahead. I had no idea what Herbert was doing in the back, but he was quiet, and he was no longer breathing on my neck. For all I knew, he could have fainted or had an aneurism.

“This isn’t a big commercial winery,” I said. “Connie did some research for us, and I did some more last night. Jug’s lawyer, Anthony Bordelli, owns thirty-one acres. He uses twelve acres for his grapes. There are several outbuildings on the property and a large mansion-type house and a smaller guest mansion. We’re coming up on his driveway. I saw it on Google. There’s a small sign at the start of the driveway and an elaborate iron gate. You can’t see the house from the road. He has the property surrounded by a greenbelt of trees and shrubs.

“Here it is,” Lula said. “I see the sign. It says ‘ABCL Vineyard.’ And the gate is open.”

“ABCL are the initials for Anthony Bordelli and his wife, Charlotte Loch,” I said. I pulled to the side of the two-lane road and parked. “We need a place to launch the drone,” I said to Herbert.

“I’m on it,” Herbert said. “I’ve got Google Maps up on my laptop. We’re in an area of large houses set on fairly large pieces of land. Bordelli’s is one of the larger ones. Difficult to see because they all have these hedges bordering their property. It looks like there’s another vineyard backed up to Bordelli’s. If you take a left at the next road, we should be able to access it. The driveway doesn’t look gated. Looks like they have an outbuilding with a parking lot. Maybe it’s a wine store or a restaurant. It’s in a good location for the drone. It’s well within its one-mile range.”

I drove to the intersection, turned left, and almost immediately came to the driveway with a sign advertising wine tasting. I followed the drive to a parking lot and a rustic-looking barn-type building. There were a couple cars in the lot. There was a sign on the barn door that saidOPEN. Beyond the barn I could see a vineyard.

I parked at the back end of the lot, away from the other cars. “Set up here,” I said to Herbert. “If someone comes asking questions, let me talk. I’ll say we’re fromWine Loversand we’re doing a piece on North Fork vineyards.”

“I wouldn’t mind looking in the barn,” Lula said. “I might buy a bottle of wine or a cheese board or something.”

“Don’t talk to anybody,” I said. “I’ll text you when we’re ready to leave.” I called Connie, told her we were on-site, and asked her to check on the lawyer’s location. Was he at his Trenton office?

I hung up with Connie and watched Herbert assemble his drone. When he was done, he gave me an iPad.

“I have an app on the iPad that allows you to see in real time what the drone sees,” Herbert said. “I have a screen on my controller that shows me the same thing. I’ve got about an hour of flight time, and I’ve got a backup battery so I can recharge and still fly.”

Connie texted me that Bordelli was in his office and would most likely be in Trenton for the weekend. He was holding a political fundraiser at his Bucks County house on Saturday.

Herbert launched the bird and I saw it fly away, over the treetops. The drone cleared the trees and flew over an open area with a helipad.

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