CHAPTER 1 RUN FOR YOUR LIFE

Rob Lorenz was running. He'd never run faster than today, not even when he ran track at UC Davis. This race was for his life. As he zigged zagged through the vineyard, he heard the John Deere Gator slowly following him. It was just slow enough behind him to keep him running. Slow enough to make him feel he had a chance. The cloud of dust that suddenly rose from his feet and the sound of a ricochet indicated his options might not be as strong after all. The sound repeated itself, and then the bullets were coming fast enough that he was getting hit by dirt clumps kicked up by the bullet's ricochet. Semi-blinded, he put his head down and kept running. He pushed through the vines to get to the next row. If he'd done this right, he was just a few rows from his car. He heard the Gator come closer; Lorenz plunged through the next row. Fifty feet away was his car and freedom. He could get to the cops in Sonoma, and this madness would be stopped. Then he stopped. The Gator was in front of him. In the early evening light, he could see the glint of a rifle barrel.

"Robbie, Robbie, Robbie," the voice sang. "You never should have told me you knew how we got the new grapes. You should never have known about how cooked the books were. You should never have told your drunken friends you were going to the cops."

"Look, I got money. You know I got money. I pay you, and I get outta your life forever. Never talk to anyone about this."

The gun barrel swayed. Maybe he had a chance to buy his life.

"Eight large, and I walk away." He gambled.

"Where's the money?"

Immediately Lorenz knew he'd made a bad gamble.

The gun barrel swayed again. "Where's the flash drive?"

"Hidden, man, where it's safe. Away from you and anybody else that wants it. Only I can put my hands on it. That's my key to freedom. You keep the money, and I'll send you the drive when I know I'm safe. I live, and you have all the evidence about this place. It won't go to the cops.

The barrel swayed. The barrel flashed twice. "No, I can't chance it." The voice continued. "You're a liability not only to me but to the winery. One night, you'll get drunk or bored and tell the story about how we got our good grapes. Rob Lorenz felt surprised when the bullets hit his chest, and his knees collapsed. He never knew he had hit the ground.

The gunman made a cursory inspection of the dead man's pockets. Finding nothing, he ran from the scene towards the road.

"There, I think the tables are ready at last." Kate Ironside sighed. She looked at the sizeable oak-planked table, weighed down with her husband's orchids, stacks of assorted plates, wine glasses of all shapes, flatware, napkins, and serving dishes. The other half of the table was crowded with crudités, cheeses, pâtes, and other hors d'œuvres.

"Kate, if this table could make a sound, it would be a groan. I don't believe for a moment you have room for anything else out of fear that the table will collapse, but from the smells coming from the kitchen, I deduce that Greta has even more food ready."

Ironside rolled to the patio doors, opened them, and stared out on the patio with tables loaded with bottles of red wines, ice-filled troughs holding whites and sparkling wines, and other tables bearing desserts.

"Do we have any room for people to sit down and eat, or is this one of those chi-chi stand-ups and try-to-be comfortable parties when they're really not?"

"Robert, there are plenty of tables and chairs for people to sit, eat, and talk at."

"All the neighbors will be here tonight?"

"Oh yes, my love, it appears no one sent regrets this year."

"Yes, Greta's cooking brings them all out for this. What about tomorrow?"

"It's all set. Ed and Eve both called. They're coming in late tonight. They're staying with Marion and Howard and will arrive late morning."

"Are the kids coming? Sarah? Patrice?" He asked.

"Patrice and Sarah are caring for the twins. Oh, and Catalina called yesterday. She will spend this week with Eddie and Sachiko, see us for a couple of days, and then stay with Emma in Chinle for a week. Fran insisted that Catalina spend time with her grandparents on this trip.

The Chief smiled. "Her 'Tio' is anxiously waiting for her too. I'm glad she's spending time with Eddie, Sachiko, and Emma. How's Fran doing? Did he say?"

"They all think Fran returned to work too soon after Maggie and Robbie were born. She has to adjust to a lot now that Catalina is with them and the twins, not to mention recovering from their birth. I remember how I felt after Jonathan and Madelaine were born, and she's doing it times three and two of them babies at the same time. Sarah says she needs some time alone with Ed but is unwilling to do so. It's been rough on them these past months."

"It has been indeed. First, Catalina enters their lives. Ricky Welles returns to settle old scores, and at the end of this, Ed and Fran find themselves the parents of twins. She takes after her father, too stubborn to listen to good medical advice and far too headstrong to admit she needs to slow down."

"You should know a great deal about both of those things yourself, Robert."

Her husband ignored her comment. "She has Sarah in the house, and that's a blessing. That leaves Mark and Diana."

"They're having brunch with his mother and the girls tomorrow morning but will join us in time for dinner. Sandy and Cyndi will be off doing their various things with their spouses. Have I accounted for everybody, Robert?"

"I assume that Suzanne Dwyer and Jerry Abbey are personally responsible for the public safety of Denver this week."

"You assume correctly."

Ironside rolled out onto the patio facing the vineyard. Katherine walked behind him. Ironside's right hand came up alongside, and she took it in hers. He pressed it against his cheek.

"You miss them, your children," Kate said softly.

"At the risk of sounding maudlin, I do miss them. We haven't been together for quite a while, but they're not my children. They never have been. We're very close friends, and you, my dear, know that."

"If you say so, Robert." She broke out in a silvery peal of laughter.

"I say so, Kate." His voice was emphatic, but Kate knew how he truly felt for his former associates and their families.

"How long before the musicians show up?" He asked.

"An hour, but Jamie will take care of that and all the other last-minute details."

"Well, let's make the most of our quiet time. Shall we walk in the vineyard?"

"We'd be fools not to."

Grabbing the wheelchair's handles, Kate pushed her husband along the gravel paths of the vineyard. As they 'strolled,' Robert Ironside suddenly shifted his weight forward.

"Listen, do you hear that, Kate?" He said, throwing up his right hand to have her stop pushing the chair.

"Fireworks?"

"No, they're gunshots and very close by. Someone's shooting on our property."

"Maybe Pasquale has caught up with those rabbits at last."

"No, he uses a shotgun. These are different. Automatic rifle, coming from the east side."

"Shouldn't we call the sheriff, Robert? After all, there are gunshots on our property."

"Tom Martinez will not want to be bothered with a call about gunshots unless there's good reason to call him."

"And you want to see if there is a good reason to call."

"I do." He removed his Detective's Special from a side coat pocket and laid it on his lap. He looked up at his wife. "Just in case those were very large rabbits."

The two kept moving along the path. When they saw the body sprawled in the middle of the gravel, Kate left her husband's side unasked to see if there were any signs of life. She checked for a pulse and looking up at her husband, shook her head no.

Her husband pulled out his cell phone and punched three numbers on his keyboard. "This is Robert Ironside. I need to report a murder at my property."