and all the landowner had to do was improve the infrastructure and create a grand entrance, the cost would be far less.”
Toni’s eyes went wide. “What?”
Nico looked confused. “Are you saying—?”
“I’m saying you need to look more closely at the plans.” Baxter pointed to the blueprints. “What Professor Njoku noted are these large studs.”
“Aren’t those just part of the support?”
“No. They are seismic retrofitting. Earthquake retrofitting would only be done on older structures, particularly those built prior to 1980.”
“We didn’t own that land in the 80s,” Toni said. “It still belonged to the old Hungarian guy.”
Nico sat back in his chair. “Are you saying that that weird little strip of land my dad and I bought at auction has a wine cave dug into it?”
Baxter smiled. “I believe that is the case, yes.”
“Holy shit.” Nico’s eyes were wide as saucers. “Toni, are you hearing this?”
“I’m hearing this.” She looked at Drew. “That certainly explains why Fairfield wanted to buy it.”
“Holy shit.” Nico seemed to be frozen in shock. “It’s just been sitting there empty for thirty years?”
“Perhaps even longer,” Baxter said. “And if these plans are recent—which they appear to be—with a moderate investment to update the structure, you could have functional wine storage caves with very little trouble.”
There was a rapid knock at Nico’s door.
“Come in!”
Henry opened the door, frowning when he saw the crowd gathered in Nico’s office. “Hey… sorry. So many people.” He seemed scattered.
Nico said, “What’s up?”
Henry turned to Nico. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting, but I need you to see something.”
Nico stood. “What is it?”
“Nothing’s wrong with the guys or the equipment.” He shook his head. “Danny and I had to trade trucks, and I found something in his that I… I don’t know what to think.”
Chapter 25
The blood-covered shirt was balled up and creased; the spatters were dark brown and smeared over the previously white cotton button-down. It was sitting on the floor behind the driver’s seat in Danny Barba’s pickup truck.
Henry stood with his arms crossed at the open truck door. “Danny needed to borrow my truck because it has a trailer hitch. I forgot that I’d ordered some new lines that were supposed to be in today. The store just called, so I figured I’d borrow his truck to go pick them up. We’ve traded trucks before. I’m a lot taller than Danny, so I tried to move the seat back and it made a ripping noise.”
Drew returned to the half circle that had formed around Danny’s truck with a large evidence bag. “Did you touch it?”
“Yeah. I reached under the seat—figured it was just a T-shirt or a rag or something—but when I pulled that out, I dropped it on the floor there.”
“Okay.” Drew pulled on gloves and lifted the shirt from the floor into the large plastic bag. “I may need a DNA sample to rule you out, but we’ll see what the lab has to say.”
“Okay.”
Toni stood next to Henry, and he had his arm around her, rubbing her shoulder. She could feel his emotions; they were everywhere. He was angry, confused, and worried all at once. Layered over all that was a blanket of guilt.
She tugged on his shirt, and he leaned down to her. “You did the right thing.”
“I can’t believe Danny would be involved in anything violent,” Henry said quietly. “He’s my friend.”
“I know, and maybe that shirt means nothing.” She rubbed her thumb over his cheek. “Maybe it’s all a misunderstanding. Or maybe something did happen that he got involved in and he doesn’t know how to come forward.”
Henry looked skeptical. “Maybe.”
“However that shirt got in his truck, you did the right thing, okay?” She kissed his cheek. “Don’t question yourself.”
Nico was standing on her other side, staring at the truck and the shirt while Drew searched the rest of the vehicle. The detective had already called for backup.
“I can’t believe Danny would get involved in any of this,” he said.
Toni looked up at her big cousin. “You and Henry both.”
“I have to admit though…” Nico sighed. “Someone might be able to convince him. He’s not a ringleader, but he can be a follower.”
“Do you think he was responsible for the sabotage?” Toni asked.
Nico shrugged. “It’s possible. Maybe it’s even likely. He had access to all the equipment. Hell, no one would think twice of him working on a tractor or messing with one of the tanks. That’s his job.”
“But why?” Henry ran his hands through his hair. “Danny’s been here longer than me. I