Ripped From the Pages (10 page)

“We recently excavated one of our storage caves to expand its
size,” Guru Bob explained. “Behind what we thought was a solid stone wall we discovered
a chamber that had been sealed off for the past seventy years. Inside we found the
body of a Frenchman. Jean Pierre Renaud. Did you know of him?”

Felix laid his head in his hands. He muttered a few words in French, then glanced
up, his eyes wet with tears. “He was a friend. When I arrived here and sought him
out, I couldn’t find him. So I thought perhaps he’d moved away and lived a good long
life elsewhere.”

“I am sorry for your loss,” Robson said. “The sheriff’s department is investigating,
and I will be happy to pass along any information I receive from them.”

He nodded.
“Merci.”

Guru Bob took a deep breath and let it out. I could tell this wasn’t easy for him.
And I had a feeling it was only going to get worse.

“We discovered a number of other items behind the stone wall. I’d like you to see
them.” He passed a few photographs to his left, a few to his right, and a few to the
people sitting across the table. The looks on their faces ran the emotional gamut
from devastation to delight.

“Gerard, look,” Beatrice whispered. “It is my father’s escritoire.”

“The Botticelli,” Solange cried. Tears formed in her eyes, and she pressed a hand
to her lips.

I didn’t dare look at Derek, but I knew what he was thinking. It really was a Botticelli
painting! My next immediate thought was,
Gabriel needs to beef up the winery security right away.

“These are my mother’s candlesticks,” Henri said, slapping the photograph with the
back of his hand. “She died of a broken heart, knowing she would never see her beautiful
things again.”

“While my words cannot possibly ease the pain you feel, please know that I am truly
sorry.” Guru Bob’s compassion for the other man was clear in his voice.

“That’s not good enough.” Henri fumed for a moment, sniffing loudly like an angry
bull about to strike. But one sharp glance from Felix had him gritting his teeth.
He sat back in his chair, and his breath slowed. Was he trying to chill out? I hoped
so. The man was a loose cannon.

But abruptly he stood again and focused on Guru Bob. “My friends think I’m wrong to
direct my anger toward you, sir. But I look at you, and I see a man whose family has
been in possession of our most precious heirlooms for several generations. All that
time, we had nothing. So how are we to be made whole again? Will you simply return
our trinkets and that will be that? No. You owe us more. Your family owes us more.
Perhaps we should pay them a visit and see what appeals to us.”

Sophie grabbed hold of her husband’s arm. “Henri, no!”

Felix made a guttural sound of contempt, but Henri ignored both of them and continued
talking. “I may not have the money or means to take you on personally, sir, but suppose
I call the newspapers and tell them my story. How much is it worth to avoid negative
publicity?”

Guru Bob was able to maintain his usual Zen-like calm throughout the diatribe, but
Gabriel was seething and asked, “Are you talking about blackmail, Henri?”

Alarmed, I exchanged a glance with Derek, who was quick to address the cooler heads
at the table. “You’re all free to seek
whatever counsel you wish in this matter. However, I’ll caution you that the more
publicity you seek regarding these valuable objects, the greater the possibility of
break-ins and thefts.”

“Ah,
écoutez
, Henri,” Felix chided. “
Réfléchissez avant de parler à nouveau.”

I leaned closer to Derek. “What did he say?”

He whispered in my ear, “He told Henri to listen and think before he speaks again.”

“Good. He’s a hothead.”

Guru Bob stood once more to address everyone at the table. “Again, I am very sorry
to have caused you pain. All I can do to mitigate your years of suffering is to return
everything as quickly as possible. I would ask that you each make a list of the items
your families gave to my grandfather. As quickly as I receive your lists, I will see
that your belongings are delivered back to you with all speed.”

“Merde,”
Henri said with a guttural snarl. “You can take that freaking list and shove it.”
He glared at his friends around the table. “How can we trust him? I say we go over
there and take what belongs to us.”

“You need to mellow out, friend,” Gabriel said, walking up behind him. “You take one
step onto Dharma winery property and you’ll be looking trouble right in the eye.”

Derek took my hand and nodded discreetly at Guru Bob. We stood, and Derek handed Monsieur
Cloutier a business card. “Please call me if you need anything.”

“Merci, Monsieur Stone,” he murmured.

Guru Bob bowed his head briefly to Solange. “Thank you for your warm hospitality and
wonderful food. I look forward to welcoming you into my home in the future.” He pulled
Monsieur Cloutier aside for a brief, private word.

I thanked Solange, then turned and smiled at the others. “It was lovely to meet all
of you.”

I could hear Henri grumbling still, trying to incite his friends to challenge Guru
Bob. We were close to the front door when I heard footsteps pounding after us.

“You are the grandson of a thief!” Henri shouted. “Why should we take your word for
anything?”

Two of the Frenchmen grabbed hold of him, giving us time to walk swiftly out of the
house, slip into our cars, and drive away.

“We have to make sure Guru Bob’s okay,” I said, trying not to wring my hands as we
raced away from Frenchman’s Hill.

Derek reached over and took hold of my hand. “I’ve already planned to follow them
home.”

“You’re the best.”

“Yes, I am.”

I laughed as he knew I would. But he could tell I was still tense, so he squeezed
my hand lightly. “Things will be fine, love.”

My jaw clenched. “That guy was so angry.”

“Henri has all the qualities of a real troublemaker, but you must’ve noticed that
the others weren’t backing him up.”

“I did, and I was grateful for that. But even if Henri doesn’t incite any more discord,
it was still difficult to watch him attacking Guru Bob.”

“Yes, it was,” Derek said with a pensive frown. “But Guru Bob handled it well.”

“He did. I just hope he won’t feel guilty about it.”

“He won’t,” Derek said. “He’ll take action.”

I squeezed his hand. Sometimes he said the best things.

Derek pulled to a stop at the curb, right behind Gabriel’s BMW. I jumped out of the
car and followed Guru Bob halfway up the walkway leading to his elegant Queen Anne
Victorian home at the top of the hill. “Robson.”

He paused and turned, looking surprised to see me. “Brooklyn, is something wrong,
dear? You seem upset. What happened?”

“That man called you names and accused you of horrible things. I just wanted to make
sure you’re all right.”

“I am fine.” He peered at me for a long moment. “You must not suffer on my behalf,
gracious.”

“I’m not.” I frowned at myself for lying. “Well, maybe a little. I didn’t like the
way Henri spoke to you.”

Guru Bob sighed and touched my shoulder to console me. “Henri is in pain. I did not
take his harsh words to heart, and you must not, either.”

“I’ll try not to.”

He pressed his lips together in thought. Finally he said, “My grandfather was a complicated
soul. I never met him, but I had hints of him in my own father, who was a good man
but not a happy one.”

“I’m sorry.”

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t acknowledge my comment. “I wonder, did Anton take
the treasured items strictly to help his friends and neighbors in the village? Was
his purpose always altruistic? If so, why did he betray them in the end? Or did he?
If he truly had no conscience, would he not have sold off the pieces? Or brazenly
displayed them in his own home? He did neither. He hid them away in a cave. What does
it mean?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

“And the body in the cave.” It was almost as if Guru Bob had forgotten I was there.
He was talking to himself, trying to work through many thoughts. “We must be asking
ourselves, did Anton Benoit kill another man?”

“No,” I said. “Absolutely not. I don’t believe that.”

His focus returned to me, and he smiled. “You have more confidence than I, gracious.
Remember, I did not know my grandfather.”

“If he was yours, he was a good man.”

“Someday we might know the truth.”

I flailed my arms out. “Now I’m worried about you all over again.”

He reached out and held my shoulders, and in an instant I felt reassured. “You are
an angel and a bright light in my life. Because you and Derek are here with us in
Dharma, I know that all will be well.”

“We’ll make sure of that,” I promised. “We’ve got your back.”

He pressed his hands together in what I called his
Namaste
pose, as though he were praying. Then he bowed slightly. “Good-bye, dear.”

I lifted my hand in a wave. “Bye.”

He walked a few steps, then turned and grinned. “And thank you for having my back.”

I laughed softly and jogged back to the car.

*   *   *

A
n hour later, Gabriel showed up at our place with a six-pack of beer. I opened a bag
of pretzel sticks, and we sat down at the kitchen table to commiserate.

“Well, that went well,” he said after popping open three bottles and handing them
out.

“Oh, just peachy,” I said. “That guy Henri is going to burst a blood vessel one of
these days.”

Gabriel shook his head. “Dude’s got some anger-management issues to work out.”

“In some ways, I can’t blame him,” Derek said. “But he can’t go around threatening
Robson. He doesn’t realize who he’s dealing with.”

I chuckled. “I think he might’ve gotten a clue after seeing you guys flex your muscles
a few times.”

“We do what we must,” Derek said with a shrug.

Gabriel just chuckled and grabbed a handful of pretzels.

I told them what Guru Bob had told me earlier when we were standing in front of his
house.

“Sounds like he’s not sure if his grandfather killed Jean Pierre Renaud,” Gabriel
said.

“That’s what it sounded like to me, too,” I said. “But I can’t imagine anyone related
to Guru Bob actually killing someone, especially his best friend from childhood.”

“It’s hard to picture,” Gabriel agreed.

I frowned into my beer. “You know how Guru Bob can present something as though it’s
a riddle to be solved? That’s what it sounded like when he talked about his grandfather.”

“Then we’ll just have to solve the riddle,” Derek murmured.

“Yes, but we also have to keep him safe in the meantime.”

“We will, darling.” He pointed his beer bottle at Gabriel. “From what I’ve seen, Gabriel’s
got almost all of Dharma wired into his security systems.”

Gabriel winked at me.

“Okay, good.” I took a quick sip of my beer before getting up to pull a triangle of
creamy Brie out of the refrigerator. I arranged it on a plate with some water crackers
and set it on the table.

“Perfect,” Derek said.

“We needed more sustenance than pretzels,” I said.

“Thanks, babe,” Gabriel said, and reached for a cracker.

“I have a question,” I said as I sat down again. “What does
blaireau
mean? Henri called Guru Bob a
blaireau
.”

Gabriel grinned. “Literally, it’s French for
badger
.”

“A badger?” I shook my head, baffled. “What kind of an insult is that?”

“Have you ever seen a badger? Not a pretty animal.”

I chuckled. “You have a point.”

Derek said, “I believe Henri was calling Robson’s grandfather a
blaireau
, not Robson himself.”

“Oh.” I thought about it. “Yeah, maybe.”

“It’s like calling someone a dweeb or a moron,” Gabriel explained.

“In England, we prefer the term
plonker
,” Derek said. “Means the same thing. Dimwit, idiot.”

“I like plonker myself,” I said. I tried to recall all of Henri’s insults. “He also
said something like
coquin
. What does that mean?”

“Rascal,” Derek said, shrugging. “Scalawag.”

“For real?” I was puzzled. “As fired up as Henri was, that’s an awfully weak slur.”

“There were women present,” Gabriel surmised. “If he’d used stronger terms, the men
would’ve kicked his ass.”

“I wanted to slap him,” I said, my fists bunching up at the memory. “I mean,
rascal
isn’t the worst expletive in the world, but how dare he say anything like that to
Guru Bob. It’s not his fault his grandfather never gave that stuff back. And hey,
Guru Bob went over there to let those people know their stuff was still safe and they
could have it anytime. So gee, Henri, maybe you should’ve said,
Thank you, Badger
, instead of calling him all those rude names.”

Gabriel snorted while Derek leaned over and gave my hand a comforting stroke. “Robson
deliberately put himself in that role, darling. He knew what was coming, even predicted
there would be some confrontations. I’d say we got off easy if Henri was the only
one attempting to stir up trouble.”

“There’ll be more,” Gabriel warned.

“I agree,” Derek said soberly. “The others might have longer fuses, but a few of them
will end up taking potshots, too.”

I let out a little moan at the thought of more clashes with the French families. “The
sooner we get rid of all that stuff, the better.”

“Agreed.” Derek drained his beer. “I didn’t care for Henri threatening to go to the
newspapers, either.”

I turned to Gabriel. “How do you plan to protect the caves from Henri and rude reporters
and any other troublemakers who come along?”

“The usual way,” he said nonchalantly. “Satellite technology, surveillance drones,
big guys with guns.”

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, you don’t have to tell me. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Derek bit back a smile. “I think he just told you, love.”

I frowned at the two of them. “Drones? Are you kidding?”

Gabriel shrugged. “They work. It’s a good way to keep an eye on things. I’ve also
installed motion sensors that’ll activate closed-circuit cameras.”

“You’ve already installed them?”

“Babe,” he said, and left it at that.

“Right. Of course you have. You know what you’re doing. But drones? Wow.” I took a
long sip of beer. Times had changed.

“Brooklyn,” Derek said as he tossed his beer bottle in the plastic recycling crate,
“we’ve got to return those calls from the media people who want information.”

I winced. “With everything else going on, I forgot all about that.”

“We’ll split up the list. You call half and I’ll call half.”

“That’ll help ease the pain.”

He smiled. “And while I’m thinking about it, I’d like to get those photos you showed
to the French folks. I want to scan them and send them to Interpol in case any of
the items have been reported stolen.”

I pulled the pictures from my purse and handed them to him. Gabriel was smart enough
to take off then, and after he’d left, Derek and I discussed our strategy for dealing
with the media. I wanted to make sure we had our stories straight in order to present
a united front for the sake of the Fellowship and for Guru Bob.

“Not that he has anything to hide,” I said quickly. “I mean,
none of us do. We just happened to find Mr. Renaud’s body. And thank goodness, the
sheriff’s detectives are convinced that nobody living here today could’ve killed him.
End of story.”

“We both know it’s not the end of the story,” he said.

“No, of course not, but we’re not going to discuss anything about the artwork and
furnishings we found, right?”

“That’s right,” he said as he cleared the table. He wrapped the remaining cheese in
plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge. “At least, not during this first round of
calls. It’ll come up eventually, though.”

“Sooner than we think,” I muttered.

“Now that the French families know, it’s only a matter of time.”

“And who can guess what fresh hell they’ll stir up.” I folded the paper with Guru
Bob’s notes, tore it neatly in half, and handed Derek one of the sheets. “Here are
your names. I guess we should get started.”

“All right. I’ll make my calls in the office.” He studied my face. “Something’s bothering
you.”

He knew me too well. I held up the paper with the list of names. “I’m concerned that
one of these guys on the list will try to turn the story into another Robson Benedict
exposé.”

“You still feel the need to protect him.”

“I do,” I said, unsure how to explain my feelings. “He’s . . . vulnerable. It’s because
he has so many followers and they’re all thriving up here. People can be weird about
that. It’s as if they don’t approve of all this positivity. They don’t understand
it.”

“I see your point. He’d be a good target for some unscrupulous reporter.”

“It’s happened before,” I said. “Every few years, some reporter will get a bug up
his butt to do an in-depth story on the Fellowship. They rehash old newspaper articles
and conflate us with other so-called spiritual groups that have been in trouble with
the law.
They attack his character and refer to Dharma as a cult.” I glared at Derek. “You
must know how ridiculous that is.”

“Of course I do.”

I sighed. “Of course you do.”

He pulled me up out of my chair and wrapped his arms around me. “We can’t worry about
things that might not happen. As long as we’re prepared to tell the truth about what
we saw, how we found the body, and then direct any other questions to the sheriff’s
office, we’ll get through this with little or no fuss.”

“No fuss, no worries.”

“That is to be our mantra,” he said, planting a soft kiss on my forehead. “I’m hopeful
we can handle most of these phone inquiries within the next few days, but some of
the reporters are going to want to come up here for interviews. Let’s try to put them
off until next weekend.”

“They’ll want to come sooner,” I said, sitting back at the table.

“We have a perfectly legitimate reason to hold them off. This is a spiritual community,
and the members aren’t available at the spur of the moment.”

“True enough. We should arrange to have them all come here at the same time and do
a press conference. Say, at two o’clock next Saturday afternoon.”

“It might be better to do it the following Tuesday or Wednesday instead. It’s so busy
here on the weekends. We don’t want to draw more of a crowd than we can handle.”

“Good thinking. I’d hate to draw a huge crowd of bystanders while we’re talking about
the caves and the body and all that.”

“Exactly. Now, how do you feel about telling the reporters a small white lie? We can
be vague about it, but we’ll let them know that, say, a week from Wednesday, at two
o’clock is the first time the commune members will be available to talk.”

“That’s a long time from now.”

“I think we’ll need the time to prepare for this.”

“You’re probably right. It’s not like I’ve ever given a press conference before.”
I wrote down the time and date, but then stopped. “There’s nothing to keep them from
coming up to the winery anytime they want to.”

“They’re welcome to do so, but they won’t get the information they need for their
stories until Wednesday at two o’clock.”