“Beniamino Kosinski. His family and mine have been at daggers drawn for years. A feud that dates back to the eighties. I actually thought he was the one who busted my window last night, though now it seems I was wrong. But I certainly wouldn’t put it past him to kill Jeff. The man is ruthless and will stop at nothing to get back at us.”
“Even commit murder?”
“Oh, absolutely. No doubt about it. In fact it surprises me it’s taken him so long. He’s been hurling threats at us for years, and minor acts of sabotage.”
“Sabotage, sir?” asked Odelia.
“Well, he opened the taps of one of the big fermentation tanks once. We lost gallons and gallons that night. Couldn’t prove it, of course, but who else would do such a thing? And then there was that infestation of vine weevils, of course.”
“Vine weevils?”
“Nasty bugs. Eat away at the vines, severely damaging young vines. One spring morning they were suddenly everywhere. Larry figured the Kosinskis must have brought them in to infect our vines. Lucky for us Larry is a genius, and he managed to get the pests under control before they could do too much damage. That little stunt could have cost us the entire crop that year.”
“And you think it was Kosinski?” asked Chase.
“No doubt in my mind that he was behind it. So you see, the man is dangerous.”
“There’s a big difference between scattering weevils across a couple of vines and murdering two people, though, Mr. Stewart.”
“He’s escalating, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. Every year it gets worse, and if he’s not stopped, he might murder us all in our beds one night. Jeff was just a warning, you see. Part of the family but not really. He’s telling us that we’re next. He’ll go after the kids first,then me and my wife. But I’m taking no chances.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve taken the necessary precautions. I’m installing an alarm system—something I should have done years ago—and I’ve told Larry to hire some extra men to stand guard at night. Make sure Kosinski doesn’t stand a chance.”
The door to the office opened and Steph’s mother walked in. “Oh, I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” she said.
“Please join us, darling,” said Ian. “I was just telling Detective Kingsley and his wife about Ben Kosinski, and how I’m convinced he’s the one who killed Jeff.”
“Do you agree with your husband about the role Kosinski played in the death of your son-in-law, Mrs. Stewart?” asked Chase.
“Oh, absolutely. The Kosinskis are bad news, both Beniamino and his son Dominic. Dirty tricks and sabotage and now murder. Wouldn’t surprise me.”
“See? I told you,” said Ian. “Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you.”
“The gun that was used to kill Jeff and Miss Cilke… we have reason to believe there is an organized crime connection,” said Chase.
Ian turned to his wife with a triumphant expression on his face.“Didn’t I tell you? The Kosinskis are in bed with the mafia—I’ve been saying it for years! They’re being bankrolled by the Polish mafia, and have been doing their bidding. Laundering money, possibly drugs—and guns, of course.” He nodded seriously. “Look, I’m not saying Beniamino or Dominic personally pulled that trigger. But they know people—mobsters—who’d happily do the job for them. Can’t you see? This proves what I’ve been saying all along: the mafia is trying to take over the Long Island wine industry, and if we let them we’ll all perish.” He tapped his desk with an insistent finger. “We have to stop them in their tracks, detective. Before it’s too late. Or else you’ll have a whole spate of killings on your hands soon.”
Suddenly we heard a voice behind us, and when we turned around, we saw a young man standing at the door opening. He looked angry, and his eyes were blazing as he took in the scene. He must have been listening for a while, and overheard the conversation, for he now said,“I don’t believe this!” And stomped off without another word!
“Kevin!” Mrs. Stewart yelled. “Kevin, come back here!”
“Oh, just leave him be,” said Ian. “Can’t you see what’s going on?”
“What’s going on?” asked Chase, who was as bewildered as we were.
“Just family business,” said Ian. “You’ll have to forgive Kevin. He’s young.”
“So that was Kevin,” said Odelia as she got up and headed to the door. But before she got there, the loud roar of a car engine being turned over sounded. It was so loud it made the windows in the office rattle.
Odelia hurried to the window to look out, and so did Dooley and me. We were just in time to see a bright red Ferrari race off at considerable speed, the tires spitting up gravel as it did.
“And he’s off again,” said Ian with a touch of exasperation in his voice. “As usual when things get hard.” He shook his head in dismay. “I hate to say this, detective, but my son isn’t the most mature person in the world. Then again, like I said, he’s still young. I’m sure he’llgrow out of this phase eventually.”
“He’s been in this phase for a long time now,” said Raimunda, who looked distinctly concerned.
“He’ll be fine,” Ian said. “He has to get it out of his system, that’s all.”