Possibly Sam
Chapter 2
Josef is always afraid to talk on an unsecured phone line. His office and house are set up for them, and so is my loft/office, but we didn't know what kind of surveillance existed elsewhere and we were talking across a continent on a cell phone. I pressed the numbers to Sam's cell phone. We had not spoken since I left him at the Montreal airport. As soon as I heard his voice again, I felt good. Funny how that guy affects me.
"Sam, it's Mick."
"Mick! It's great to hear from you. I thought of calling you, but we've been kind of busy with my grandmother dying and all."
I wanted to kick myself. All this time and I finally call him to ask for a favor. How could I be that thoughtless? As Josef would say, that's me. Not thinking. "Oh. I'm sorry for your loss." Dumb thing to say, but nothing else came to mind. "Really, I am. She was a great lady."
"Yeah. She sure was. I'm back in town now, playing again at the Vanguard. How have you been?"
"Well, I'm all right again, but it's been hairy. All those things your grandmother dreamed for me came true. It was amazing. I'll tell you all about it when I see you. You said you wanted to meet some of my friends in Los Angeles." I paused but he didn't interrupt. I was too used to Josef. Sam had patience, one of his shaman abilities, no doubt. I wondered if the mind reading thing worked over the phone or if we had to be in the same room. "My friend Josef really wants to meet you." I had told him a little about Josef. He knew Josef was like me in some regards, enough so that I wouldn't talk about that aspect of our lives on the telephone. Sam would not ask questions that might compromise our secret.
"You're both coming? I don't have accommodations for that." He meant sleeping accommodations, cold ones. "Besides, Francis is here. He'll be staying for the week, so I can't even put you up. How soon are you flying in?"
Josef had been listening. Of course, he heard both ends of our conversation so there was no need for speakerphone. "Josef owns a house on the east side. We'll be fine as far as sleeping is concerned. What I want to know is if you'll have time to be with us. I think we'd both like to meet Francis as well, if he's not too busy with his UN work." Josef threw me a horrified look. If this ancient vampire, this friend of Sam's was in town, we would be impolite to take up Sam's time and not meet his guest. For all we knew, he might be able to help as well, with all that ancient knowledge he must have.
"He'll make time. I told him all about your visit to the reservation and what you did for us. He'd like to meet you too."
"Good," I said with an easy smile. I wanted to reassure Josef. When I hesitated, Sam waited for me to begin again without speaking. I didn't want to say too much, but I had to say enough. "Sam, there's a favor you might be able to do for us, if you would."
"Sure, Mick. Anything I can do. You know that. When will you be here? Where do you want to meet?"
"Just a minute. I have to ask Josef. He's right here. Hold on." I looked at Josef.
"There are some things I need to take care of at the house and the office. We'll fly tomorrow afternoon on my private jet. I'll arrange for a car to be waiting for us. We should be in the city by midnight. I'll have the nurse stock up for us so we won't have to make a stop at the Club for supplies. We'll need privacy to talk with Sam and his friend. You call it, Mick."
I got back on the phone. "Thanks for holding, Sam. We'll come over to your place, between one and two in the morning. You'll be home from the Vanguard by then, but not ready to sleep, right?" I asked.
"You know me - musicians' hours." I could practically see his disarming smile. "What you need, are you sure this is something I can do?"
"I'm not sure, but possibly, Sam. You're our last hope. We'll explain it all tomorrow night when we see you. If nothing else, we'll catch up and you'll meet Josef."
"And you'll meet Francis. I'm looking forward to it." We said our goodbyes and I looked to Josef again.
"I think I can see why you like him," he said. "Now about Francis." I gave him the Sam treatment, quietly waiting with no interruptions. "If he's really that old, and I'm not saying I believe it, we'll be able to tell. Remember to be deferential. We don't want to get on his wrong side."
I grinned. "I don't even want to get on your wrong side, and you're only 400."