The Downtown Deal Read Online Free Page B

brothers?"
    "Shit!
Were they there?"
    "They
were. Who are they?"
    "What
were they doing at the house?"
    I held
up before answering. I didn't want to derail our conversation before it got
started. But then, I figured, he's paying me. He's got a right to know.
    "They
were just removing some of their items from the house."
    "Items?
What items?" His right hand tensed, folding over into a fist.
    "Well,
one of them had some … some clothes over there. Then there was this wine. It
was —"
    "Don't
tell me. The wine in the wooden box?" I nodded. He said, "Shit, those
god-damned thieves."
    The
line around his jaw tightened through clenched teeth. His right hand contracted
again into a hard, tight fist, which he pounded once into his open left hand.
    I
said, "I got the distinct impression it didn't belong to them."
    "Hell,
no! I got it a little over a year ago. When Sandra and I divorced, I kind of
forgot about it and just left it in the house when I moved my things out. Those
slimy moth —"
    I
threw him a reassuring palms-down gesture. "Okay, okay, keep your shirt on,
Mr Blake. The wine is still there. I didn't let them take it."
    "You
… you didn't?" His body loosened.
    "No.
I didn't. It's safe." I noticed he let out a big breath, releasing lots of
the tension that had gripped him. "Safe for now. But I suggest you get on
over there and recover it, if it's that important to you."
    "Can
you do it?" he asked.
    "Can
I? You mean, can I go back out there and get that wine?"
    "Yes."
    "Well
…"
    "Come
on, Jack. I've got meetings all the rest of the day, and I'd feel a lot better
if I knew it was secure. I'm no wine expert, but it's probably worth a few
thousand dollars."
    "You
paid that much for it? For a case of wine?"
    "No,
not really." He moved around a little in the booth, trying for a little
more comfort. He found the sweet spot, then he opened his hands to begin his
explanation.
    He
said, "It was given to me. Baron Rothschild — the winery belongs to
his family — was over here from France early last year, and I steered him
into a deal on some condos. He flipped them a few months later, and wound up
making millions. He was extremely grateful to me. So grateful, in fact, that
when he got back to France, he sent me the case of wine as a thank-you. He said
it was among the best wine his family has ever produced."
    "I
noticed the case was still sealed. How come you never drank any of it?"
    "Neither
Sandra nor I are big on wine. I mean, we're not connoisseurs. She likes —
liked a glass of Chardonnay with dinner, that kind of thing. But this stuff is
red, or so the Baron told me, and she preferred white. We had that little wine
pantry to keep a few bottles in there for her, and for company. You know, for
dinner parties and whatnot. I just put it in there down on the floor and forgot
about it. Then, before we could use any of it, we divorced."
    "Speaking
of your divorce, was it amicable?"
    He
shrugged. "It was as amicable as these things can get, I suppose. I mean,
we weren't spitting on each other or anything, but it did take a lot out of me,
both monetarily and emotionally. I really don't want to go any further into
it."
    I
exhaled. "All right, I'll go get the wine. I've got a key, compliments of
Ryan Farrow."
    "Great,"
he said. "Just be very careful with it, okay? It's expensive stuff."
    "Yeah,
I know. So I'm told."
    "I'll
let you know when I want to pick it up."
    "You
mean, you're not coming to get it anytime soon?"
    He
said, "If I kept in my house, someone could break in and steal it."
    "Steal
it? Out of your house? Why would anyone do that?"
    "If
someone wants it badly enough, they'll do it."
    I
leaned forward in the booth. "By someone, you mean the Farrow
brothers?"
    "Them,
or … whoever."
    I
scratched my head. "Isn't your home safe? I mean, you must have a pretty
good security system."
    "Oh,
I definitely do. But if someone wants that wine, they'll break in and take it,
security or no security. So will you keep it for me? For