Stone the Crows
Chapter 1
Things in the agency had been going pretty well when the call came in. Stu was just back from Denver and a very pleased client; Jeff had handled a contentious child custody case and helped the mother retain full custody. Needless to say she was overjoyed with the work performed by Bailey & Spencer. Suzanne was her normal cheerful self and, as usual, Roscoe was broke. Kookie had gotten two days off and would be back on Wednesday.
Jeff had just left to pick up something at the printers, so the call was directed to Stuart. It was a Mr. Arthur Klein. "Yes, this is Stuart Bailey. Yes, I'm familiar with your work. I was in the audience for the last concert that Ferrante and Teicher gave at the Hollywood Bowl. Spectacular, I must admit. You're doing what? And who is the artist? A rock and roll band. Well, that will certainly be different. You want us to do what? For how long? I can't guarantee you anything, Mr. Klein, but my partner and I would certainly be willing to listen to you. Can you come in this afternoon? Three o'clock works well. Alright, I look forward to meeting you, too. See you at three."
Stu buzzed Suzanne. "When's Jeff due back?"
"Any time, Stuart."
"Alright, we've got a three o'clock meeting here in the office with Arthur Klein."
"The Arthur Klein that – "
"Yes, that Arthur Klein. Is Roscoe out there?"
"Of course."
"Send him in, would you please."
Roscoe knocked once and walked in, then made himself comfortable in a chair. "There's a gelding running in the claimer race at Santa Anita, Stu. If I had –"
"Roscoe, since Kookie's out of town today, I need you to find out something for me."
"But Stu, if I – "
"Roscoe, if you bet on a horse, it finishes last. I need you to see what you can find out about Arthur Klein, and I need to know by two thirty. Today."
"Who's Arthur Klein?"
"The biggest music producer in the industry right now. Now go."
Roscoe laughed. "The things I do for money." He pulled Stu's door shut as he left.
Bailey pulled out his pipe and lit it; he needed time to think. The call was certainly unexpected. When you produce the kind of music Ferranti & Teicher perform, what are you doing with a rock and roll band?
It was almost ten minutes later when Suzanne buzzed him again. "Stuart, Jeff's here."
Stu got up and knocked on Jeff's door. "Come on in, Stu."
"We've got a meeting at three o'clock with Arthur Klein."
Jeff blinked and gave Stu a blank look. "Who's Arthur Klein?"
"Big music producer. Ferranti & Teicher, Vic Damone, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Ella Fitzgerald, to name a few."
"Oh. What does he want with us?"
"Don't know yet," Stuart replied. "I sent Roscoe out to see if there's anything we should know about Mr. Klein."
"Your office?" When there was a small meeting, they usually used Stu's office. For a big meeting, they booked the conference room down the hall.
"Sure. Suzanne can buzz us when he's here."
The afternoon passed faster than Stu expected, and Roscoe arrived five minutes before Arthur Klein. "As far as anybody knows, he's clean. Either that or he's got it well hidden. No, there's nothing on him."
"Thanks, Roscoe. You make a good substitute Kookie."
Suzanne buzzed both Stu and Jeff five minutes later. "Mr. Klein is here for the three o'clock meeting."
Jeff came through the door between the offices, and Stu buzzed her back. "Send him in, Suzanne."
Stu directed Klein to a chair, Jeff took the other one. "I'm Stuart Bailey and this is my partner, Jeff Spencer."
"Mr. Bailey, Mr. Spencer. It's good to meet you two finally."
"You know of our firm, then?" Jeff asked.
"Know of you? I've heard nothing but 'Get Bailey & Spencer' 'You Need Bailey & Spencer' for days."
"Well, it's nice to know we're needed," Jeff remarked.
"But what are we needed for?" Stu asked bluntly.
"Gentlemen, I'd like to hire Bailey and Spencer for a multitude of things. The pay will be quite lucrative, I assure you."
"What multitude of things, Mr. Klein?"
"Oh, lots. Like vetting every one of our employees, setting up security at the Hollywood Bowl concert, and personally handling security backstage both before, during and after the group performs."
"And who would be performing, Mr. Klein?" Stuart asked the producer.
"Oh, I thought I told you over the phone. They're a brand new band and they're going to be worth millions. They're called The Crows."
"The what?" Stu asked, knowing that he must not have heard the producer correctly.
"The Crows."
"That's what I thought you said."
"Pardon me, Mr. Klein," Jeff interjected, "but when I hear the word crows I think of cornfields and dead snakes."
"You must have had an interesting childhood, Mr. Spencer."
"Please, it's Stu and Jeff." Jeff had already heard enough "Mr. Spencer and Mr. Bailey."
"Then you must call me Arthur."
"I did have an interesting childhood, Arthur. Y'see, we had a cornfield and one day I found a dead snake in it. By morning the crows had picked that snake clean. Nothing left but the ribs and the backbone."
"When is this concert, Arthur?" Stu asked the producer. He'd always been impressed with the name Arthur Klein, but there was little that was impressive about the man. He stood about five foot eight, with brown hair and brown eyes, and was fairly average looking. The only thing impressive about him was his suit, which Stu guessed was Italian Silk and very expensive.
"A month from today, on July twenty-third."
"We have plenty of time if we decide to take the job," Jeff assumed.
"Not really, Jeff. We have over three hundred and fifty employees, and that's not counting the band."
"Three hundred and – "
"Fifty." Klein finished for Jeff.