Page 22 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

“Somebody’s controlling this from behind the scenes.”

I nodded. “The trustee is an LLC.”

When the bartender delivered the shots and beers, Pete raised his glass. “To three hundred and sixty-five days in East Aurora. May you make the best of them.”

“Cheers,” I responded before downing what was in mine.

“Now, let me tell you what I know about the Schultz brothers. They’re some rough customers. You might want to watch your back.”

“Understood.”

“What I’ve heard is they’ve been contracting with wineries, distilleries, and brewers around thestate. They look for outfits that aren’t doing well, typically mom-and-pop places. They promise them big returns with no upfront costs, saying they can turn their business around inside of a few months. Then they negotiate a monthly management fee and bleed the business dry.”

“You’d think it would catch up with them.”

Pete took a drink of his beer. “That’s where the rough stuff comes in. They threaten the family, saying they’ll bury them if they pursue legal action. I’m not talking about criminal. This would be civil stuff. Of course the family has little left as it is, so the idea of hiring a lawyer and facing a court battle is enough for them to drop it. There have been a few who tried to take matters into their own hands.”

“What happened to them?”

Pete leaned forward. “Obviously, there’s not enough evidence to get a conviction, but at least one guy is in a coma after the Schultz boysallegedlybeat the shit out of him.”

“No witnesses?”

“Only seeing the victim leave a bar. Nothing after that. But some of his family members gave statements saying Schultz did, in fact, threaten him.”

“So they somehow got the owner of the Lilacs to hire them? I heard she’s pretty old.”

“Miss Cena will turn one hundred in a few days—on Christmas. Unfortunately, her health is so bad we’ve been unable to question her. However, according to a lawyer here in town, there’s a bona fide agreement in place.”

I studied the beer in my glass, then looked up at him. “You’re not telling me all this just so I’ll watch my back.”

“You catch on quick.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I doubt very much Schulz is behind you reporting to the Lilacs for a job. Whatever’s driving that is something else entirely.”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

“There are a couple of things I want,” he admitted.

“Let me hear them.”

“First, keep an eye on what’s going on at the estate. If it looks like someone’s sabotaging the operation, letme know.”

“Next?”

“Your eyes and ears. Anything you see or hear that might lead us to make an arrest, I want to know about immediately.”

I took a sip of beer, wishing we’d ordered a second round of shots. “I mean no disrespect by what I’m about to say.”

Pete nodded. “Go on.”

“What’s in it for me besides an ass-kicking if they catch on?”

“I’d think that would be obvious.” He was grinning, so I did too.

“If this has anything to do with Juniper, I’m out.”

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