“Thatwomancould have figured it all out,” Eloise agreed. “Which means she’s already gotten everything that’s coming to her.”
“Insist on taking such opinions any further,” Sol warned, “and you receive nothing whatsoever from these proceedings.”
The quarreling faded to sullen muttering between clan members and their legal teams. Jenna sensed the old man stepping back and turning toward the door. Actually walking toward the exit, as if he still needed a physical way out. She felt her throat burn at his departure. Missing him and loving him all over again.
As if in response, Dino seemed to turn back. Offer her a merry jester’s grin. Only this time, Dino was no longer the bedridden old man whose final spark of humor and secrecy had departed with him.
He was young. Vibrant. Handsome. Full of life and good cheer and a certain dark edge that she had often sensed but never truly witnessed. As if Dino felt a need to show her who he once had been. How he still saw himself. Right to the end.
He tipped a finger to his forehead in a mock salute and turned away.
She could actually sense the moment he departed.
* * *
Jenna agreed to drive down to Santa Barbara and return to Dino’s home for the simple reason that if she didn’t get it over with, she would only be forced to endure their bitter greed another day.
Sixteen of the clan members and their attorneys accompanied them back to Dino’s home. She and Sol waited on the top step until all the cars had unleashed their angry mob. Jenna coded in the entry lock, stepped into the foyer, and applied her thumb to the electronic master switch. The gathering tossed what Jenna considered their standard barbs when the wall monitor chimed confirmation that alarms and locks were disarmed.
She and Sol descended the central stairs, entered the vast stone-lined wine cellar, then waited as all the others fought for space around the walls. With a nod from Sol, she knelt on the cool tiled floor. Below the wine racks ran a wainscoting made from the wooden boxes of famous vineyards. Jenna felt her way around the central segment, displaying the shields of first-growth Margaux. The panel was about four feet wide and three high.
When Sol moved up beside her, she asked, “What do I do now?”
Eloise snorted. “As if she didn’t already know.”
“Try pressing,” Sol suggested. When nothing happened, he said, “Harder.”
She did so and heard a faint click.
The entire panel came away, displaying a broad metal door with an electronic keypad at its heart.
Sol asked, “Would anyone care to code in the required numbers?”
“Oh, get on with it,” Laura snapped.
“Very well.” Sol counted the numbers aloud as he pushed them in: 02021919.
The door opened, revealing . . .
The gold bars gleamed ruddy yellowish-red. So many. Five drawers, set on rollers, easily four feet deep.
The bars were stacked like dominoes, each about the size of Jenna’s hand. Slightly thicker than a cell phone. Each stamped with some emblem she did not recognize. Laid out and slanted so all of them were visible from where she knelt.
Sol touched her arm and rose to his feet. Waited until she joined him. Released another fraction of his smile. “As far as I can tell, there is no room for any more bars. Every space is taken. Which I think we can all assume means the lady in question has not taken anything. Can we agree?” He gave it a moment, long enough for him to step farther away and draw Jenna with him. Another. “Splendid. I suggest the sharing of these particular assets take place now, while the recipients are still gathered.”
Neither of them spoke until they were standing on the front portico. Jenna asked, “Am I done?”
“We are indeed.”
“I don’t mean today. I mean permanently finished with that lot.”
“You can’t possibly tell me that wasn’t at least a little bit fun.” Sol was free now, and able to reveal his full grin. Stretching his face from ear to ear. He slipped on his sunglasses and started down the front steps. “I can almost hear Dino laughing.”
CHAPTER17
The next morning Jenna left her home and skirted around Miramar, heading to Noah’s. She had slept well and awoken filled with a sense of calm determination. She was certain of the next steps. That is, if Noah agreed.
This day was not ruled by the logic that dominated her life. Jenna considered this a good thing. It was time to move beyond the boundaries of her careful existence.
