London Harmony: Doghouse (15 page)

I paused at the second level, where I saw a man step through a door.  I could see a recording booth in it before the door closed.  Was that Rowan Tisdale in the booth beyond?  He was the latest find by the studio.  The man was pure country.  I had heard rumors that London Harmony had been trying to expand out of just rock and pop into other markets.

I glanced at the signs on the doors and squinted as Jen urged me on.  Two recording rooms?  Was this really where London Harmony did all its production work too?  We got to the top of the stairs and stepped into a large open room with low cubicles.  It was a cacophony of motion.  There weren't many desks, maybe ten or twelve.  Then I could see a conference room beyond.  I whispered, “Is this it, this is all there is to London Harmony?”

She smirked and said quietly, “This is it.  We have a second location that we are currently setting up as we branch out into other music genres.  It should open its doors in the next couple months.  But yes, this is it, well except Fran isn't here, she only works Saturday now that she has to run the studio's interest in the SmartCanvas 3.0 operation.  And nobody can tear her away from the damn Library Archives.”

She started leading me toward the conference room when I heard a squeal and turned just as a goth shaped squid hugger wrapped her arms around me and gave me a silly side to side hug.  She bubbled out, “Liza.  Glad you could make it.”

Then she released me as I gave my grinning response.  “Zilrita.”

Then the goth woman tucked some hair behind her ear and blushed and she said, “Jen.”  As she scurried off.  My grin doubled.  Zilrita was sweet on Jen!

We stepped into the conference room and she motioned to the long table. “Have a seat, June will be with you in a moment.”

I sat as she produced a card from somewhere and handed it to me.  It was snow white with just a phone number in silver-chrome ink on it, nothing else.

She said as she retreated to the door, “If you need anything while you are here, I can be reached by any house phone on the front desk line or by calling that number.”

I smiled at her.  “Thanks, Jen.”

She smiled and inclined her head then stepped out.

I watched for a moment as she swayed toward the stairs, stopping to smile at Zilrita's back, who was in an animated discussion with a couple of the workers.  Hmmm... what an extremely odd pairing that would be.  I liked the idea.

I stood and looked over to the office door on the right which opened and I heard June's amused voice.  “Good lord woman, get your ass in there.”

A grinning Vanessa stepped out, looking back.  “I was trying to hold the door for you to go out first.”

June followed her out shaking her head in bemusement. “I opened it for you first, so woman up and say thank you June.”

Vanessa snorted. “Now you're starting to sound like Paya.”  Then she turned to me and rolled her eyes, nudging her head back at June.  “Women.”

I had to cover my mouth to stop the titter of nervous laughter at their antics from escaping my lips.  Then both of their smiles were wiped away into serious business faces.

June offered her hand.  “Eliza, thank you for coming.”

I shook and Vanessa shook my hand as well.  I patted my bag afterward to make sure it was still closed and she chuckled and told June, “I like this one.”

We all sat and June said into the air, “Zil.”

There was the pop of a speaker and Zilrita's voice came over the intercom.  “On my way J-Dub.”

I looked out the glass wall and saw her give us a little wave from where she was talking with other workers.  Did she have some sort of headset?  Was she listening in on the room?

Zil walked in and as she shut the door, she hit something on her iPad and the whole wall and door frosted over.  It seemed they were trying hard to impress me for some reason.

She looked at the two women then at me, then slid into the chair beside me.  “You don't mind do you?  Three of us on the other side of the table would feel sort of heavy handed to me.”

I shrugged nervously.

Then June said, “Relax Liza.  We have some things to discuss, and two offers that can affect you in a positive way.”

I tried to relax, glanced nervously at Zil, then looked back at June.  “I said I was sorry for lifting your wallet.”

June gave me a sly look.  “You're not the first person in this room to pick my pocket.”  She nudged her head toward Vanessa, “And I went and married this one.”

I blinked in shock then smiled at them.

Then she repeated what she said on the Water Witch, “There are a lot of people looking for you, Eliza Eloise Montrose.”  Her smile twinkled around in her eyes like she knew a secret I couldn't fathom.

Before I could ask her to clarify, she slid an old Seattle Times across the table to me as she explained.  I looked at the date, it was five years old.  Dated just days after Uncle Slade's death.  I kept my breathing level and looked at the title, “Jazz Heiress Missing.”

Then June sat back in her chair and said, “It seems that for years, Slade 'Walker' Evans had spent every penny he made, that wasn't used to raise his niece, to purchase rights to a large catalog of Jazz classics.  It was his nest egg for his niece.  The man was a jazz legend in his own right.”

I gaped at her, not quite processing what she was saying.

She said, “It seems that the missing heiress to that multi-million dollar jazz catalog disappeared before the reading of the will.”

I tried not to cry thinking about Slade's death, I was still attempting to process what she was saying.  “He left the catalog and all of his worldly possessions to his only surviving relative,  Eliza Eloise Montrose.  His lawyers have been trying to locate her for years, but it seems she was last seen getting on an airplane headed to Sweden right after the funeral.  She left no electronic footprint after that, she appears to do everything with cash.”

Then she shrugged. “There have been rumors of a woman backpacking through Europe for years.  Nobody appears to know who she is, but she has been playing some of the biggest jazz venues in Europe with what people swear is Walker's doghouse bass, Audrey.  There is no other bass in the world with Audrey's tone.”

Vanessa, who didn't seem to speak much and was always bumping or touching June's arm with her hand like she was reassuring herself she was there, said, “Rumors have circulated for decades about Walker Evan's bass.”

I stopped breathing, surely they didn't know Audrey's secret.  Uncle Slade made great effort to hide her pedigree. I couldn't read the look in her eyes as she studied me, a mix of understanding and possibly sorrow?

Then she continued, “Very few people know that Stradivarius made more than just violins.  Among the variety of instruments he made were cellos and... double basses.  No complete basses survived as they were cannibalized for parts and materials for other projects.”

Then she exhaled and tried to read my face as I paled.  “Though some records show that one body was salvaged by the company that took over the Stradivarius legacy after his demise.  It was fitted with a more contemporary neck for its time and sold to the famed symphonic bassist, Rolland Demartellio.  It was passed down to future generations of family until it wound up in the hands of one, Slade Evans.”

She shrugged and gave a sly smile. “These, of course, are all just rumors, as the family was always tight-lipped about it.  If it were true, though, and it was now in the hands of Walker's missing niece.  Then she is backpacking through Europe with a string bass on her back worth over one and a quarter million dollars.  Priceless really because of its pedigree.”

I took a deep breath and tried not to show anything on my face.  June tilted her head and gave me a warm smile as she asked, “I wonder if we were to shine a light into the f-hole of your Audrey, would we see the Stradivarius mark branded into her flatback?”

She cocked an eyebrow at me.

I stopped breathing and carefully gave her a single nod.  Confirming the secret that Audrey held inside her.

She beamed a smile at me that could have knocked me on my ass.  “I thought as much.  When we were called down to watch you perform at the rave by Ronnie Marx, Nessie here had a suspicion as to who you might be.  I could feel her reaction when you pulled out Audrey and knew without asking her that it was all true.”

Then she tilted her head and grinned. “I wasn't prepared for what happened when you started playing her.  I've been in the music industry, literally my entire life, and not much surprises me anymore.  But you somehow successfully made a seamless fusion of rock and jazz.  There have been many decent attempts before, but none that made me... feel.”

She flicked her finger and a black plastic card with a gold J embossed on it spun across the table to me.

I blinked at it, knowing what it was.  Everyone in the music industry has heard of the infamous J-cards.  But they were written off as an urban legend.

Her grin became a toothy grin. “I wanted to give that to you on the spot, but then you lifted my wallet. Nessie retrieved it and said we needed to go.  When I told her, I wanted to give you a J-card she gave me a wicked look, showed me your passport and said, 'Make her work for it.'  She's sort of evil that way.”  She shot Vanessa a wink.  The other woman looked like a pleased chipmunk.

Then she finished with, “So I have a series of questions for you.  If you need time to think about the answers, that is fine.  I'm not going to pressure you for answers in any way.”

Zilrita snorted and slapped her hand over her mouth.

June gave her an amused smile, rolled her eyes, and corrected herself, “Fine.  I won't pressure you... much.”  She stuck her tongue out at Zil, who just bobbled her head in mirth.

I caught myself grinning at their interaction.

I realized I hadn't said anything since they started.  I exhaled then asked, “What questions are those.”  And I looked down at the black plastic card in my hand.  I was turning it over and over.  It only had the J on one side and a phone number on the other.

She relaxed into her seat and nudged her chin at the card.  “First is the obvious one.  I don't know how much you know about London Harmony, but we are starting to expand.  We want to represent more genres of music, to expose the world to more unique talents across the spectrum of the music industry.  London Harmony wants you and your jazz-rock fusion.  Question one. How would you like to sign with London Harmony?”

Zilrita slid some paperwork to me like they had practiced this.

I glanced down as my heart started racing.  It was a contract.  I almost choked at the number of zeros on the figures.

June reached across and laid a hand on my white knuckles.  “Don't answer now.”

Then she held up two fingers and said, “Question two.  It seems that the lost heiress to the Walker Evans estate is now the sole owner of one of the most comprehensive catalogs of jazz music in the industry.”

She swirled a finger on the surface of the table as she looked at her hand with a sly smile on her face. “Being able to market those pieces, and reintroduce them to the world to reinvigorate the Jazz market, would be a boon not only to the music world, but to whoever facilitated it.”

She locked eyes with me and said in a no-nonsense manner, “London Harmony would like a non-exclusive license to your entire catalog.  Not limiting you in any way.  We want to reawaken jazz and unleash it to the masses.  Will you agree to that?”

Zilrita slid more papers to me and this time I did choke at the number at the bottom.

June quickly added, “Again, don't answer now.  If you need your lawyers to look it over I would encourage it. If you don't have a lawyer we can recommend some great ones in the music industry like Frank Davenport.”

Then June sat back heavily in her chair and regarded me for a moment as I tried to make sense of what was happening to me at that moment.  Then she tilted her head and nodded at Zil, who took out another much thicker stack of papers and laid them on top of the licensing contract I was still gawking at.

June steepled her fingers in front of her lips and said clearly, “OR.”  She let that word sink in and said, “As I stated earlier, London Harmony is in the process of setting up a secondary location for alternate music genres such as classical, jazz or country.  Hell, even folk music.”

She grinned. “It was cheaper to buy the entire building than to lease the space we needed.  So we found ourselves with twice the space we required.  Then our erstwhile resident goth here...”  She crinkled her nose at Zil, who crinkled hers back. “Came up with one of the most amazing ideas I have heard in a long time.  Though her plans always involve animals for some odd reason, I had to convince her against that.”

She gestured a hand to the smiling goth, palm up.

Zil straightened and smiled at me then flicked her fingers on her iPad toward the frosted glass wall.  A huge screen popped up on it with the picture of an old brick building with lots of history and charm even though it appeared to be an old warehouse.  It is sad how newer buildings just don't have the character of buildings from the past, where they took pride in craftsmanship over utility.  It appeared to be under renovation.

Zilrita started talking.  “One of the main focuses of London Harmony is introducing new artists and new music to the world.  Only a quarter of our resources is utilized in marketing and actual production of music.  The other three-quarters is in the scouting of new talent.  Our scouts...”  She gave a head tilt to Vanessa, who returned the gesture.  “...scour the underground music scene of London.  Attending countless raves, clubs, festivals, concerts, and even coffee houses, in an attempt to find the next new sound.  The next voice to add to the London Harmony family.”

She shrugged and looked a little embarrassed. “I simply asked at one of our brainstorming meetings...”

June interrupted, “To clarify, that means eating pizza and having burping contests while watching cheesy movies at our place.”

Zil shook her finger at June. “As I was saying, at one of our dignified brainstorming meetings...”

Vanessa interjected, “Where you kept asking Fran to pull your finger.”

I snorted.

Zilrita chastised the two.  “Hey now, this is my story.  I didn't interrupt you two evil skanks.”

I blinked, she could talk to the boss that way?

June covered her smile with her hand and Vanessa looked overly innocent.

I swear by the Village Vanguard, these women were a hoot.  They acted more like... family?  Than co-workers.

June started to say something, but Zil shot her the stink eye, warning, “J-dub.”  June held her hands up in surrender and the goth lady smiled in triumph and turned to me.

“As I was saying, I posed the question, what if we had them come to us instead?  What if we used the extra space for a nightclub that featured live music every night.  Have someone from the underground scene, like Ronnie Marx, promote it to the up and coming artists that would normally not get the chance.”

She flicked her iPad and then a black door was superimposed on the building.  Painted on it was a circular blue logo with a building silhouette and some gold lettering that read, “London Harmony Auxiliary, Meetings by appointment only.”  Then the door animated and shrank down to be placed at the far end of the building.  Then a large sign appeared over the main doors of the building, “Some Cool Name Nightclub”.

Then Zil said, “We'd need a theme though all forms of music would be encouraged.  Spend maybe the first two hours of the night introducing new artists of all genres then finish the night out in the theme of the club.”

She smirked at me and said as she flicked her fingers again,  “Say... Jazz?”  The sign changed to “Some Cool Jazz Club Name.”

June took over.  “Wouldn't it be cool if we had a large catalog of jazz to play, and someone with the contacts in the jazz world to bring in seasoned artists to perform?  Gosh, we could even offer a partnership deal if we were to trade non-exclusive license to that same jazz catalog.  Someone like that would be perfect as part owner of the club.  But where oh where could we find a person like that?”

She reached over and started nudging the larger stack of papers closer to me, a inch at at time.

I looked down at the “partnership proposal” and swallowed.

She gave me a wicked grin, “Once again...”

She was interrupted by the other women rolling their eyes and droning out, “You don't need to decide now.”

She waved them off. “Oh shush you two.”  Then she just sat there grinning at me.  Tilting her head as the silence went on.  The others got the same silly look on their faces.

Oh... they expected me to speak.  Ummm... “This is a lot to digest.  I'm a nobody.  Why are...”

June snapped in genuine anger, her voice a dangerous hiss, “You are not a nobody!  Don't ever say that around here again!”

I swallowed, she was serious, I could see it in the hard look in her eyes.

I said, “I'm sorry.”

Then Vanessa added, “Never apologize.”

Dear Lord.  I was fucking it all up.  I took a deep breath and then slowly shook my head.  “I can't even think about any of this until I finish what I started.”

I answered their questioning looks.  “I promised Uncle Slade and myself that I would play Europe.  It was his lifelong dream that he put off to raise me.  It is my dream now.  That's why I'm here, that's where I went when I left the States.”  I dug out my tattered list of jazz clubs and slid it over to the women.

They all looked at it and Vanessa cocked an eyebrow.

I explained, “I've played all the venues on the list that are still in business, all except the Factory here in London.  They won't give me the time of day.  I can't even think of what I'm going to do with my life until I break them and get some heat there.”

It was kind of humorous when both Zilrita and Vanessa turned their gazes expectantly to June, who just smirked and said to me, “Oh, is that all?”  Her smirk got bigger as she said, “I got this shit.”