Page 41 of Bit's Bliss
“I’m going to request your uncle to stay with you. Will you agree to it?” he asked as if he’d read my mind.
“Of course. I mean, if he doesn’t mind.”
“He will not.”
13
BIT
For the second time in my short tenure, I requested an emergency meeting of Los Caballeros members, both current and theviejos. The two exceptions were Malcolm Warrick, for obvious reasons, and Michael Oliver, who’d agreed to stay with Eberly.
Zin had agreed to give the legal rundown of her father’s recent actions while I supplied the chain of events Decker Ashford had pieced together.
Brix, who was the eldest member of the current group, led the meeting once those expected arrived. He prefaced it by saying Warwick had been “missing” for thirty-six hours, and that while Vader had begun his own investigation, he’d encouraged thecaballeros—as well as Decker Ashford—to start their own. Given everyone in the room knew Vader well, it came as no surprise that his suggestion was off the record.
Next, Zin reviewed this afternoon’s legal proceedings, which were met with stunned looks on most ofthe faces in the room. I hoped what I had to share would mitigate some of it.
“Go ahead, Bit,” said Brix when Zin was finished.
I stood and handed out a printed timeline based on Decker’s estimates.
“As you can see, Malcolm Warwick’s financial troubles began in the months before his wife, Belinda, passed away. That her death was so closely followed by a global pandemic created what I believe is the perfect storm of what led to his taking out a loan on their home as well as merging Eberly Winery with the Wine Consortium.”
I gave everyone the chance to look over the handout.
“May I?” Tryst asked.
“Of course.”
He stood. “There is a logical assumption that can be made based on my own experience,” he began. I watched as he met Baron Van Orr’s gaze. I realized he too would understand. “I believe my nephew means to suggest that Belinda’s terminal illness may explain the significant cash outlays in the months before she died. As I can attest, experimental cancer treatment can be quite costly and is rarely covered by insurance.”
Those in the room murmured their agreement.
Tryst turned to me, then took his seat.
“The same thing occurred to me,” I said. “Given most of you have known Malcolm for years, there’s little else that makes sense. There were more murmurs and head nods. “The urgency, now, is finding him, and that is the reason for the emergency meeting. I’ll begin by asking if anyone in the room knows where he is?”
Instead of nodding, everyone shook their heads or murmured their negative response.
Brix suggested forming teams made up of current and past members to brainstorm where he might have gone. “Bit, if you want to take off, I can give you an update once we have the first steps nailed down.”
I shook my head. “Before I leave, there’s something else I want to address.”
“Go ahead,” prompted my brother.
I cleared my throat. “Anyone who was in attendance at this year’s Wicked Winemakers’ Ball knows that I left suddenly and inexplicably.” There were a few chuckles. “During the auction, I saw a man come in the side door, not far from the stage, where I stood. He scanned the room, and when our eyes met, I was sure he was the man who’d tried to kill me in these very caves last year. Subsequently, I learned it wasn’t thesame person. However, they share a unique physical trait that makes me think they’re related. Their eyes.”
Snapper stood, and when I signaled for him to go ahead, he spoke. “I checked, and Eddie Grogan is still in prison. However, as Bit pointed out to me, less than five percent of the world’s population has amber-colored eyes.”
“The man I saw Saturday night has been identified as Tiernan Burke, Eberly Warwick’s former fiancé,” I added. “Ashford is looking for a connection between him and Grogan as well as between him and either FAIM or the Killeens.”
“Someone who obviously wasn’t arrested in the FBI raid last year,” said Brix.
“That’s right,” Snapper responded. “One possibility is he may have been in prison on other charges at the time. I’ll research that angle.”
“Since Vader caught him on surveillance footage, I’m assuming he was also able to see the vehicle,” said my youngest brother, Rascon, who everyone called Kick.
“I believe so,” Snapper responded.
