CHAPTER TWENTY: Such Nice Boys
Harold went to Peter Grimes’s office. Ursula greeted him before he went in. She ran her fingertips through her curly hair and cracked a smile. She had a crush on Harold.
“He’s pretty upset, Harold. I thought I’d better warn you,” she said. He took a deep breath then walked into the office. Peter was pacing the floor.
“It’s about time you got here, Rogers,” said Peter. “He called.”
“It must have been right after I saw him today,” said Harold.
“Where did you see him?”
“He was on the side of a 7-Eleven in the Village. I saw him right before you called. He was having some words with some undercover cop.”
“That would have to be Gerome Elderberry. He’s our only problem. I hear he’s one relentless son-of-a-bitch.”
“I’m pretty sure the old man noticed me,” said Harold.
“Well, he said he saw evil lurking around in the darkness,” said Peter. “I guess he meant you.”
Harold laughed. “What else did he say?”
“He said that dark clouds would cover our operations, and something about the devil being in our bathrooms.”
“He’s one crazy old man,” said Harold.
“We have to make sure he stays that way,” said Peter. “How did your lunch meeting go?”
“It was fine. Keeping an eye on Andie is going to be an easier job than I could have imagined.”
“I envy you, Rogers. That Andie is one sweet piece of meat.”
“And I want to thank you for giving her to me for this project. I’m sure there are going to be a lot of fringe benefits, if you know what I mean.”
“How about that Deborah Bailey chick?” asked Grimes.
“She’s the icing on the cake. All I did was plant the seed and she did all the gardening. She’s practically throwing Andie in my lap.”
Peter smiled. “I bet you can talk yourself into a little three-way action, if you know what I mean.”
Harold laughed. “I wouldn’t mind that one bit.” He really meant it. He was a certified sexoholic. He hadn’t had a chance to find a new therapist since he moved to New Lake City.
“I just want you to keep close tabs on her. Keep her close to the Verona file only, and don’t – under any circumstance - let her find out about the old man. I’m counting on you.”
“No problem, sir. By the way, how much longer will Mr. Wainwright be on his – safari?”
Grimes laughed. “That bastard may never come back. Maybe he got eaten by a pack of wild lions.”
Harold laughed along with him. “Hasn’t he been gone for almost a year now?”
Peter stopped laughing. “You know, you’re right. Maybe it’s time he comes back from Africa. It was supposed to be for just a year. It’ll look suspicious if he doesn’t.”
“How about a plane crash?” asked Harold.
“That could be arranged. We’ll need some more time, though. This Apocalypse Records arrangement could take some time.”
“Speaking of which,” said Harold, “I saw the woman who’s taking over the company today.” He made air quotation marks. “We had lunch right next to them.”
Peter was confused. “What woman and who is them?”
“Her name is Jamie O’Malley, I think. She has some kind of connection with Andie’s friend, Nick. They were there, having a meeting – her, Nick, and Ben Myers.”
“We didn’t arrange any meeting. How can somebody be taking over when we’re handling the transition?” Peter was outraged. “We didn’t put in a dummy figure head yet. Somebody is working on this deal that isn’t supposed to be. We need to find out who it is.”
“I’ll be right on it,” said an eager Harold. “I guess I’ll just have to spend more time with Andie.”
Peter calmed down and grinned. “You son-of-a-bitch. Make sure you give me all the details.” He had complete trust in Mr. Rogers.
Jamie was sitting in her new office when the phone rang.
She answered, “Hello, this is Jamie O’Malley - yes, sir. I just took care of it. He’ll be on a plane tonight – No, sir. He doesn’t suspect a thing – Chicago, for about three days, then New Orleans – yes, sir. I’m sure he’ll be contacting me soon.”
Jamie’s secretary peeked in the door and said, “Excuse me, ma’am. There’s a Gerome Elderberry waiting for you out here. He’s rude and claims it’s urgent.”
“Speak of the devil, sir,” Jamie said to the caller. “He’s here now. I’ll call you right after – yes, sir.”
She hung up the phone and said, “Send him in.”
Elderberry sashayed in. “I guess you’re the new HDIC.”
“Excuse me?” demanded Jamie.
“Oh, my mistake. I guess it would be HCIC.” Gerome was as rude as he was thorough.
“How can I help you - sir?”
“Cut the crap, lady. You know who I am. I saw you staring at me today at lunch. What kind of operation are you running here?”
“I don’t understand what you’re getting at,” Jamie said. She gave Elderberry a smirk, which she knew would tick him off. Elderberry caught his breath.
“Okay, you want to know what I’m getting at? Here it is. The autopsy report hasn’t arrived, but I don’t need it. Zipper Down didn’t commit suicide and it wasn’t an accident - it was murder.”
“And this concerns me, how?”
“You think that this change of command will hide the fact that somebody in your company committed the murder? Well, missy, you’re screwing with the wrong guy. Let me ask you – how are you going to handle this situation?”
“We’ll issue a press release and go from there.”
“Will you exploit it?”
“I wouldn’t call it exploitation.” She was relishing toying with him.
“Then what would you call it?”
“I would just call it a statement regarding the state of a band who just released an album, who just lost a drummer, and who are grieving.”
“Do you think it will increase album sales?”
“Sir, this is a media-driven business we’re in. Sales are generated by the quality of the product and the popularity of the group.”
“And needless to say, the band’s popularity will probably soar after this incident.”
“Yes, it probably will.” Putty in my hands, thought Jamie.
“Who is in charge of this band?”
“That would be Nicholas Peltier.”
“Pel-tire,” said Gerome. “I should have known. Where is he now? I’d like to ask him a few questions.”
“He’s getting ready to go to Chicago.”
“Chicago? Oh, I see. Send him out of town until this mess is over with. Well, you’re not going to get away with this. What time does his plane leave?”
“Sir - and I use that expression loosely - what gives you the impression I would like to give you all this information? You have been rude, obnoxious, unprofessional, and downright mean. I’m sending Nicholas Peltier on the seven o’clock American Airlines flight to Chicago to start looking for a replacement drummer. He’ll be staying at the Hilton Chicago and Towers. I think you’re wasting your time, Elderberry. Nick didn’t kill Zipper Down, he didn’t arrange a murder, nor does Apocalypse Records have anything to do with it.”
“You are so easy,” said Gerome. “Thank you, so very much. I’ll let myself out.” As he walked away, Jamie heard him say, “What a dumb bitch.”
Jamie smiled, called the previous caller, and said, “Sir, this is O'Malley again. He will definitely be on that late flight tonight.”
The Devil's in My Bathroom Page 21