Wilmington, NC 05 - Murder On The ICW

Taxachusets , they levy an excise tax of two fifty-one on a single pack. And folks have got to go out and stand on the sidewalks to smoke.
    "New York is just as bad. Two seventy-five in federal taxes. Then New York City has got a municipal tax of another buck fifty, so they pay four twenty-five in taxes on an eleven dollar pack. Maine, Michigan two dollars a pack. But the one that beats all is little Rhode Island. Three dollars and forty-six cents tax on twenty cigarettes. No wonder they cost so much. Folks don't need none of them patches to quit smoking. They simply can't afford to pay the price. Then we've got the FDA breathing down our necks, taking control of our product."
    David was fuming, had worked himself into a fever pitch. He shook a fresh cigarette out the pack, put it in his mouth, and lit it from the glowing butt end of the one he held in his hand. Then he took a deep drag.
    The nicotine seemed to calm him for he then surprised me by smiling broadly. "Now to get to the real reason we're here," he said. "Crystal and I spent our honeymoon at Borgo Lucchese ."
    He paused long enough to leer at her. What an obnoxious man, I thought.
    "It's a lavish estate in Tuscany near Lucca. We want you to do more than restore my granddaddy's lodge to its original condition, we want you to make it as beautiful as Borgo Lucchese . Think you're up to that?" he demanded.
    "Of course we can," Jon assured him. "They must have a website. I'll download the site, see what we can learn from that."
    "Forget about the internet stuff," David said as he intercepted his drink from the waiter. "I want you to eyeball Borgo Lucchese up close and personal. You're leaving for Italy on Tuesday. Tickets, everything all arranged. You go over there, spend a few days, take pictures, talk to the folks, then you come back here and create me a replica. But don't bother with the furnishings or the decorating. Crystal is a good little decorator and wants to do that part herself."
    I was almost speechless. "Italy? Tuesday?"
    David glared at me. "You got a problem with that, little girl?"
    Melanie could not restrain her temper a minute longer. "Is every woman a little girl to you?" she demanded, pushing back her chair and standing up.
    David's eyes danced merrily. He had gotten to her again. His intention.
    "You got a fire in your belly, little lady," he said. "I like that in a woman. But no, ma'am, to answer your question, some of them are big girls."
    I swallowed and said, "No problem with going to Italy."
    Jon got up, did not bother to shake hands. He was seething. "You can decorate that lodge anyway you like. Early whorehouse if that's your style. But that lodge was designed to look like a four hundred year old Italian villa and that is how we're going to restore it."
    David did not take offense. He reared back and roared with laughter. What a strange man.
    "Our reputations are on the line. We've worked hard to make a name for ourselves as restorers, and one man's whimsy is not going to compromise that. Feel free to find yourself another restoration firm if you want to."
    I was so proud of Jon I could have kissed him.
    "Fair enough," the mercurial David said. "Then you're off to Italy. Think of it as a romantic holiday with a pretty lady. On me. Maybe you'll get lucky, like I did."

11

    "And I thought my clients were bad," Melanie said as we walked her and Cam to the boat.
    "Ashley and I have had our share of nutty clients," Jon said. "But we've survived them and come out on top. Increase Boleyn's hunting lodge is an architectural treasure, important to the area."
    "Was his first name actually Increase?" Cam asked as he headed up the gangplank.
    "It really was," I said. "He was David's grandfather. A successful banker until the stock market crash in 1929. He built the hunting lodge in 1899."
    I continued, "A speculator had bought it from David's aunt for a song back in the sixties and was just holding on to it. David bought it back in the seventies when he was making a lot of money. In fact, he rescued it in the nick of time but paid dearly for land that ought to have been his birthright. The lodge was about to be torn down and the land developed. Then he lost interest and the place sat there deteriorating until just recently. Guess he was waiting to retire before doing something about it."
    "He sure is a funny guy," Cam said.
    "Funny?" Melanie declared. "He's certifiable."
    "Well, none of us have had time for dinner," Cam said. "Why don't I go