Recollection Rick

Chapter 45

George pulls Rick aside before the contestants take their podiums for the next segment of the Recollection Tournament of Champions. "I have some bad news. The article that came out about Stop the Poison made the producers very nervous. We'll be editing any mention of it out of the previous show before it airs."

"George, that story was pure trash. Those kids haven't done anything wrong, and neither has Professor Gilly. That ugly fairytale was planted as part of a smear campaign."

"Rick, I'm sure that's true," George soothes. "But MG Enterprises depends on the show for over $100 million a year. They don't want the slightest whisper of anything that might jeopardize that. I'm sorry. But you know, the more you win, the more interviews the press will want from you. Keep it up, and you'll get your message out without any help from the executive suite."

Rick's eyes harden. "I assure you, George, I'm damn well going to do my best."

"I wouldn't doubt it, Rick. But please remember not to use that language on camera." George claps him on the shoulder. "We wouldn't want to have to edit out anything else."

Rick never feels good about losing at anything, but now he's more determined than ever to keep up his winning ways. He'd been hesitant to respond too much to the "Recollection Rick" appellation his fans on social media hung on him, but now he's going to play to it. Unfortunately, first, he has to beat two other champions who made it this far. Even with all his coaching and cramming, it won't be easy.

The light on the camera focused on the host glows red. "Welcome to the Recollection Tournament of Champions quarter-finals," George announces. "Our three players today are credit consultant, Tim Mathers, exotic dancer, Melanie Whistlethwaite, and our Celebrity champ, Richard Castle, or as Recollection fans now affectionately call him, Recollection Rick. Let's jump right in, shall we? The first round categories are Serials, note the spelling, Soap, Spuds, Love, Hate, and Relationships. Richard, you had the high score last round. You go first.


As applause rolls through the studio, Rick moves off-stage toward his family. Lily wriggles in joy reaching out for him, and Kate loads the rapidly growing baby into his needy arms. "You were on fire today, Babe. You hardly let anyone else answer a question."

Burying his face in her silky locks, Rick gives Lily a long hug before settling her in her stroller with Gamoee. "If you'd heard what George told me before I went on, you'd understand why I went after the win so hard. I'll tell you in the car, and then I want to call your father."

"All right," Kate agrees. "I haven't seen you look this serious in a long time."

"Not so much serious as furious."


Jim Beckett meets Rick and Kate at the loft, watching with a wistful smile as they put Lily to bed. He gestures toward the door and leads the way out of the nursery. "I get why you're pissed off, Rick. I'm pissed off too. But I understand corporate culture. Recollection is owned by an entertainment conglomerate with an army of lawyers tasked with minimizing exposure to any kind of scandal, real or imagined. It takes a lot less than that bull in the newspaper to have them scurrying around like Chicken Little. I've already sent out letters to The Ledger and other media outlets that picked up the story, demanding a retraction. I included certification of successful peer review and acceptance in the journal that will be publishing the early results of the study."

"Do you expect them to comply?" Kate asks.

"Honestly, no," Jim admits, "at least not all of them. But it's a first step. It's also misdirection while Bart Wygard and his people help me track down the real offenders. We're working our way through subsidiaries with distribution rights around the country, but the SQUZ Group is at the hub of the wheel. The CEO is Palmer Chase. The problem is, he has a squeaky clean reputation."

"Those are the ones you have to watch," Kate asserts.

"It's never the grubby slob with the beer belly and a copy of Playboy under his mattress who's the ax murderer," Rick adds. "The guy with the bodies buried in his backyard is the one everyone thinks is the sweetest fellow in the neighborhood. He supports his church, gives to charity, and always keeps his yard neat. Or in this case, his company neat."

Jim nods. "I think you've got Chase pegged. The company's quality statistics, or at least the publicly released ones, are too good to be believed. Fortunately, we may have a source with inside information. Bart was able to trace the email Alexis received. It was sent by Lee Anne Petrie. She's a member of the SQUZ quality team, at least the official one. But we can't afford to spook her. I ran a credit check on her. She's paying off student loans from a degree from Hudson and barely getting by on her salary. She has resumes out, but I don't think she's about to poke her head up without a safe place to run."

"How about if we give her one?" Rick proposes.

Jim strokes the stubble forming on his jawline. "What did you have in mind, Rick?"

"She wants a new job, right? She might be just the person to organize all the information and analyses that Stop the Poison gets on products around the country. Alexis and Dana are in school full time. That's way too much work for them. And it might be better for Gilly to take a step back for a while. We were going to get someone anyway. It could be a match made in heaven."

"That could work," Jim considers. "For her sake, we'd have to run the whole thing through a third party. But I have someone in mind. And keep concentrating on your game. The cause can use the money."

"Roger that," Rick agrees.


"What the hell is this?" Publisher Kathryn Reid demands holding up a letter from the Law Offices of James Beckett. "It says that our front page was used to libel innocent students, planting rumors and innuendo to discredit legitimate science. From the research I had time for, Mr. Beckett appears to have a point. I also received a fuming call from Richard Castle, who has written and occasionally ghosted some excellent features for us. The girl involved is his daughter. At the moment, all the actual evidence appears to be on the side of these two kids. How did this ever end up in our paper, let alone on our front page? Whatever happened to double-checking your sources?"

Senior Editor Bella Tucci blanches. "Dave Crockett brought it to me. He claimed he had your OK. Your initials were on it, and you'd left for the meeting in Chicago. And we have been trying to raise circulation."

"Not at the expense of putting out a reputable paper. And since when do I just initial something for the front page?" Reid presses. "I always add my comments. You know that damned well, Bella. And anything we run from Crockett's department is supposed to be clearly identified as an ad, even if it's a full-page or a spread. This whole affair is a thoroughgoing debacle. I want you to write a retraction –yourself – don't staff it out. I'll go over it personally before it goes to print, and we'll run it in the same space we ran the hit-piece. Now get out of here before I throw you out for good."

Kathryn picks up the phone as Bella is leaving. "I want to see Dave Crockett. He did? When?" She slams the receiver into its cradle. Crockett is out of touch on vacation in the mountains. No cell service. What a mess!