The Death of Stuart Bailey
Chapter 1Stu first heard about the World Trade Fair from Roy Gilmore. Every once in a while the two men got together for coffee and touched base with each other, just so the police would know if there was anything going on in the Bailey and Spencer realm they should know about. That street ran both ways, of course, and Gil kept the P.I.s aware of what was going on out in the big world known as Los Angeles. This passing of information was strictly confidential, but it seemed to work.
Stuart had been working on an insurance investigation . . . usually Jeff handled most of those; he seemed to be particularly good at them. Jeff, however, had been on vacation, one that he sorely needed, and Stu was picking him up at LAX this evening. Because of the insurance work Stu hadn't been paying much attention to the world of trade and finance, so news of the Trade Fair hadn't reached his ears until Gil brought it up this morning.
"There's gonna be a lot of corporate bigwigs, as well as financial gurus, and the majority of them are the most paranoid people you're ever gonna meet. Plus I understand that several of the African and Middle Eastern potentates are coming to see what they can spend their money on. I'd imagine with Bailey and Spencer's reputation you'll be getting all the business you can handle."
"Doing what, for heaven's sake?" Stu asked, genuinely curious.
"Bodyguard work mostly. Could be quite pleasant if they bring their wives. As long as you don't get friendly with the slave girls. Don't look at me like that, Bailey, most of them still have slave girls."
"That's awful, Gil. Aren't they aware that the United States doesn't recognize slavery? That it was outlawed here some time ago? If any of those girls decide they want to be free, they have that right as long as they're here. What do we do if one of them decides to run away? I'm sure not going to stop any of them, or turn them in. Jeff won't either."
"Sounds like you've got a problem."
"What's the official LAPD stance on runaway slaves?" Stu wanted to know where he stood with the law before he got involved guarding anyone with slaves. Slavery was repugnant to him, but not everyone in the world thought the same way. If the United States allowed foreign royalty in and did nothing about the slave girls, what could Bailey and Spencer do?
"We call the State Department and let them handle it. "
"Wouldn't we – "
"Nope. You're a private firm. The State Department won't touch it."
"So what do we do? Besides not accept any of the business?" As far as Stu could see, the firm would be squarely between a rock and a hard place.
"You've hit the nail on the head. Don't accept any of the business if the party that wants to hire you has slaves."
"As long as they tell us the truth."
They talked about trivial things, finished their coffee and went back to work. Stu chewed over the World Trade Fair and the possibility of their services being requested, but he still couldn't abide the idea of slaves. Stuart was relieved Jeff was coming home tonight; he'd been sorely missed. The office was much too quiet without his best friend and confidant there.
Stu wrapped up the insurance investigation and offered to take Suzanne to lunch; he wanted to get out of the office and clear his head. Dino's was quiet for a change and they were almost done when she rested her hand on his arm. "What is bothering you, Stuart? You've been much too quiet all day."
"What do you think of slavery, Suzanne? I mean modern-day slavery, the kind that still exists in some African and Middle Eastern countries."
"I don't like it, Stuart. I don't like it at all. I don't believe it should still exist, but it does. You are thinking about the people coming to the World Trade Fair?"
"Yes. I had coffee with Gil this morning and he told me that some of the royalty coming to the Fair have slaves, and are bringing the slaves with them."
"And you don't like that?"
"Not one bit. I don't think Jeff will, either. I'm absolutely against taking on any client that has slaves with them. Do you think I'm being too . . . ?"
"Narrow-minded?"
"That's it, narrow-minded."
"No, Stuart, I don't. Whether it's in Africa or the Middle East or the United States, slavery is wrong. And I'm sure Jeff will agree with you."
Stu left the office about six o'clock and went straight to LAX. Jeff's flight was arriving from the French Riviera and Stu met him at gate sixteen. Jeff was tanned and smiling and Stuart was ever-so-glad to have his partner back. He grabbed the suitcase from Jeff and carried it down the concourse.
"Uh-oh. Does that mean trouble?" Jeff asked with a lilt in his voice.
"No, no trouble. Why do you ask that?"
"Because whenever I'm carrying something and you take it away from me, there's a problem somewhere."
"I'm that transparent, am I?" Stu asked with a slow grin.
"Like glass."
"There is something I want to discuss with you, but it can wait. Are you coming into the office tomorrow?"
"I was," Jeff answered. "Should I stay home?"
"You might want to." There was no mistaking the look of concern on Stu's face.
"Maybe you better tell me now."
Stuart shook his head. "Let's wait until we're in the car."
Jeff decided to pry a little. "Other than whatever this is that's bothering you, how is everything? How'd the rest of the Provident case go?"
"It went fine. I don't know why you don't find those things boring. Maybe that's why you're so much better at them than I am. You actually enjoy them."
They reached the car and Stu deposited the suitcase into the back seat, then climbed into the driver's seat. "We missed you, you know. I missed you. And poor Suzanne really missed you. I drove her to distraction."
"She missed me?"
"Almost as much as I did. You look great. I hope that means you had a good time." Stuart felt guilty for not having asked Jeff about his vacation sooner.
"It does and I did. Now, we're in the car. Tell me what's got you so agitated."
"Slaves."
"Slaves?"
"Slaves."
"Stu, did you miss the memo? Lincoln freed them a while back."
"Not that kind." Stu had to grin, in spite of himself. "Do you know anything about the World Trade Fair?"
"Sure. It's opening the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena next month. Why? What does the Trade Fair have to do with slaves?"
"I had coffee with Gil this morning. He told me that some of the royalty from the Middle East and Africa is coming to the Fair. The kind of royalty that still has slaves. And they're bringing the slaves with them."
"And we're letting them in?"
The famous Bailey head nodded. "We are."
"But we don't allow slavery. "
"My thought exactly. Which means if any of the slaves ask for asylum, we will give it to them."
Jeff lit a cigarette. "You want one?" he asked his partner.
Stuart shook his head 'no.'
"What's the official LAPD stand?"
"According to Gil, if they catch an escaped slave they're to call the State Department."
Jeff took a draw on his cigarette and blew the smoke out. "I'm afraid to ask. What does all this have to do with us?"
"Bailey and Spencer? Gil says that most of the royalty is anxious about their state of health, or as he puts it, paranoid. They're going to want private bodyguards. In other words, us."
"So what's the problem? Why can't we just . . .?"
"Call the State Department? We're an independent firm. We're on our own."
Jeff finished his cigarette and threw the butt out of the car. He was unbelievably quiet for almost three minutes before he made the connection. "I see. You never asked me how I felt about slavery itself."
Once again, Stu shook his head. "I didn't have to. I knew how you felt."
"So we have to be very careful who employees us for this bodyguard job."
"That's it exactly. No one that's brought slaves with them. No matter how much they offer us. You're on board with that?" Jeff laughed and caused Stu to glance his way. "What's so funny?"
"You shouldn't have had to ask me that, either."