Plum Island

southern France, or Italy or California. But here on the North Fork, as in Bordeaux, you have to strike a balance between leaf cover and sun on the grapes.'

He went on. And on.

And yet, I found myself almost liking the guy, my first impression notwithstanding. I don't mean we were ever going to be big pals, but Fredric Tobin was a man of some charm, though a wee bit intense. You could tell he loved what he did; he seemed very much at home among the vines. I was beginning to understand why the Gordons might like him.

He said to me, 'The North Fork is a microclimate. Different from the surrounding areas. Do you know that we get more sunlight than they do right across the bay in the Hamptons?'

'You're kidding. Do the rich people in the Hamptons know that?'

He continued, 'More sunlight than right across the Sound in Connecticut?'

'You don't say? Why is that?'

'It has to do with the bodies of water and the prevailing winds around us. We have a maritime climate. Connecticut has a continental climate. It can be ten degrees colder over there in the winter. That would damage the vines.'

'Goes without saying.'

'Also, it never gets too hot here, which can also stress the vines. The bodies of water all around us have a moderating influence on the climate.'

'Warmer, sunnier, ospreys coming back. That's great.'

'And the soil is very special. This is very rich glacial soil, just the right nutrients, and it's drained by the sand stratum below.'

'Boy, I'll tell you, when I was a kid, if anyone had said to me, 'Hey, John, this will all be vineyards someday,' you know, I'd have laughed in his face and kicked him in the balls.'

'Does this interest you?'

'Very much.' Not a bit.

We turned into another row where a mechanical harvester was beating the crap out of the vines, and the grape bunches were getting sucked into this contraption. Jeez. Who invents these things?

We got into another row where a couple of nubile young things in shorts and Tobin T-shirts were doing it by hand. Baskets of grapes sat in the row. The Lord of the Vines stopped and bantered with them. He was on his game today, and the nubes were responding well. He was probably old enough to be their father, but girls paid attention to money, pure and simple. I had to use all my charm and wit to get the little undies off, but I know rich guys who say less clever and charming things to young ladies-things like, 'Let's fly Concorde to Paris this weekend.' Works every time.

After a minute or so, we moved on from the little grape pluckers, and Mr. Tobin said to me, 'I haven't heard the news this morning, but one of my employees told me that she heard on the radio that the Gordons had possibly stolen a new miracle vaccine and were going to sell it. Apparently they were double-crossed and murdered. Is that right?'

'That seems to be what happened.'

'There's no danger of a… a plague, or some kind of epidemic-'

'None at all.'

'Good. There were a lot of worried people the other night.'

'Worry no more. Where were you Monday night?'

'Me? Oh, I was at dinner with friends. In my own restaurant, right here, as a matter of fact.'

'What time?'

'About eight. We hadn't even heard the news yet.'

'Where were you earlier? Like about five, 5:30.'

'I was home.'

'Alone?'

'I have a housekeeper and a girlfriend.'

'That's nice. Will they recall where you were at 5:30?'

'Of course. I was home.' He added, 'That was the day of the first pick. I arrived here about dawn. By four I was exhausted and went home to nap. Then I came back here for dinner. A little celebration to mark the harvest. You never know when the first pick will be, so it's always spontaneous. In a week or two, we'll have a big harvest dinner.'

'What a life.' I asked, 'Who was at dinner?'

'My girlfriend, the estate manager, some friends…' He looked at me and said, 'This sounds like an interrogation.'

It should. It was. But I didn't want to get Mr. Tobin agitated and have him calling his lawyer, or Max. I said to him, 'These are just standard questions, Mr. Tobin. I'm trying to get a picture of where everyone was Monday night, what everyone's relationship was to the deceased. That sort of thing. When we have a suspect, then some of the friends and co-workers of the Gordons may become witnesses. You see? We don't know until we know.'

'I see.'

I let him settle down awhile, and we did grape talk again. The guy was smooth, but like anyone else, he was a little jumpy around the fuzz. I asked him, 'When and where did you see the Gordons last week?'

'Oh… let me think… Dinner at my house. I had a few people over.'

What was your attraction to the Gordons?'

'What do you mean?'

'Just what I said.'

He replied, 'I think I indicated it was the other way around, Detective.'

'Then why would you invite them to your house?'

'Well… in truth, they told some fascinating tales about Plum Island. My guests always enjoyed that.' He added, 'The Gordons earned their dinner.'

'Did they?' The Gordons rarely spoke about their job to me.

'Also,' he said, 'they were an exceptionally attractive couple.' He asked me, 'Did you… I mean, I suppose when you saw them… but she was a rare beauty.'

'Indeed she was.' I asked, 'Were you popping her?'

'Excuse me?'

'Were you sexually involved with Mrs. Gordon?'

'Heavens, no.'

'Did you give it a try?'

'Of course not.'

'Did you at least think about it?'

He thought about if he thought about it, then said, 'Sometimes. But I'm not a wife chaser. I have enough on my plate.'

'Do you?' I guess champagne works when you own the vineyard, the chateau, the fermenting vats, and the bottling plant. I wonder if guys who own microbreweries get laid as much as vintners? Probably not. Go figure.

Anyway, I asked Mr. Tobin, 'Have you ever been to the Gordons' house?'

'No. I don't even know where they lived.'

'Then where did you send the social invitations?'

'Well… my public relations person does that. But now that I think about it, I recall that they live… lived in Nassau Point.'

'Yes, sir. It was in all the news. Nassau Point residents found murdered.'

'Yes. And I remember they mentioned they had a place on the water.'

'Indeed they do. Did. They commuted to Plum Island often. They probably said that a few dozen times at dinner parties along with the Plum Island stories.'

'Yes, they did.'

I noticed that Mr. Tobin had little beads of sweat at the base of his hair weave. I had to keep in mind that the