DUMPSITE, Page 29

  “I understand. I have a lot to tell you. I just landed at the Atlantic City airport. My friend Fredrick and I will be coming to see you.”

  “I’m at the Atlantic City hospital visiting Mother, have you read the papers?”

  “I have. Fredrick and I decided to fly to AC and see you so we can straighten out all that has happened.”

  “Fantastic,” Jonas said, “my friends and I have a suite at the casino. We’ll be heading there shortly.”

  “We’ll meet you there, grandfather.”

  Mother was still listening to Mutty spew out his plans for a money-making visit to all the television shows and a trip around the world.

  Muddy entered the room. He had heard Mother may be released this evening.

  “Are you ready to get out of here?”

  “You bet I am!”

  “Now you’re talking,” Mutle replied, as he fist pumped the sky.

  Mutle left the room taking long strides as he walked; Muddy turned and looked at Mother, wondering if he was ready for all this stuff.

  “Are you feeling up to this,” he posed, “it sounds stressful.”

  Have you ever tried to say no to Mutty?”

  “Say no more.”

  Weisman entered the room to wish Mother good luck. He was about to head back to the Newark office to coordinate an FBI dragnet which hopefully ensnares Mickey McGrath.

  The room emptied. M&M sat quietly for a while. Mother asked if Mudd had become acclimated to being a millionaire?

  “The phone is ringing off the hook, I’m hearing from people I thought were dead. Is that possible?”

  “No!

  “I haven’t even cashed the check.”

  As they were laughing, Jonas came into the room. “I have some incredible news,” he said. “Belle, my Belle, just called. She’s at the airport.

  “Great news,” said Mother.

  This incident would help all concerned. Mother would interview all over the world and talk about the book and the music and the movie. Muddy would convince his kids he had loads of talent still ready to be used. Jonas would go back to the name all his blues fans remember him by, Vernon Stallings.

  Solly entered. “I’m about to head home. I’ve been released from duty. Jonas is safe, Jewel’s gone for good, Svetleva is in jail and a dragnet is out for Mickey aka Lucian Santana Gerald, whatever he calls himself. I need some rest.

  “Good for you Solly,” Mother said. “Thanks for all you did at the chateau. You’re welcome to come for dinner anytime you don’t feel like cooking.”

  “Could be everyday.”

  “Then everyday it is!”

  “What about you, Muddy, are you ready to get back to the music. We still have plenty to do. Carl will be coming by next week to update us. He wants to use what happened here in AC. He thinks it will be a great ending for the movie.”

  “I’m ready,”

  The holidays are coming and we’ll have three weeks off.”

  “Great,” said Mudd.

  “Here comes the doctor, let’s see if he releases me from this fine hospital and its tasteless food.

  Mother was released. The local weather girl wheeled him to the exit door of the hospital. Mother thanked her and entered the taxi where Jonas and Muddy were waiting.

  “What’s with this crazy man stuff, Muddy?”

  “The news people are calling you crazy man. We’ve always known you were crazy, now the whole world knows it.”

  “What do you mean I’m crazy?”

  “Where do you want me to start?”

  “Never mind, Mudd, I believe you!”

  As the cab pulled onto the cobblestone driveway it was followed by another taxi. They both parked one behind another. The trio exited their cab when a voice behind them said, “Grandfather, it’s you?” Belle had arrived. Jonas and Belle hugged. A long hug.

  “I’d like you to meet Fredrick, grandfather,”

  They exchanged pleasantries as Jonas introduced his newfound friends. He could tell there was more to Fredrick and her than just friends.

  Belle was happy to see Jonas. She wanted to tell how her trip from Georgia was interrupted but she would hold off until they were alone. Her memories were…

  She was putting air in her tire, as the garage man had suggested, when she was subdued. There was at least one woman and two or three men. She was given a needle and quickly passed out. The next memory she had was Fredrick, he had found her sitting on the curb near the air pump mumbling. Slowly she came around. Fredrick helped her into the small restaurant where she had some toast and coffee. She thought she should call the police but Belle didn’t remember what had happened to her. Fredrick suggested she go to a hospital. He drove her. The emergency room was busy. When she was examined she couldn’t remember anything. Rest was suggested and a visit to her family doctor. She didn’t remember where she was from or how she had made her way to the rest stop. Fredrick suggested she stay at his family’s farm here in Virginia while he helped her sort out her missing memory. Belle was given a beautiful guest room. She met and instantly liked Fredrick’s parents. Fredrick and Belle would spend many hours talking.

  During the next month Belle would get memory flashes but nothing logical. She knew she was from the south. Where else could she be from with her southern drawl. Fredrick would question her after each visit to the doctor. She was getting frustrated.

  One morning she picked up the newspaper and there was a picture of Jonas with two other men. She read the story, looked at Fredrick and said, “that’s my grandfather.” Belle immediately started searching the Internet for more information. The news was on television again that evening. She remembered more. “I was living in Georgia,” Belle said, as more memory returned.

  As they entered the lobby they found it full of newspaper people, television crews and radio personalities. They wanted to talk to all of them. Mother was the center of attention, but Muddy with his gregarious outgoing personality was hogging the air waves. The self-proclaimed, shy, unassuming, back of the crowd guy was in the center of it all. Muddy was having a ball. He was telling all who would listen.

  “I’m his best and oldest friend. I taught him everything he knows and more. Whatever you need to know I’m the guy to ask.”

  And ask they did. For the next half hour there was a buzz which could be heard at the top of the escalator. The casino security finally came down and broke up the impromptu meeting. “We need to open up this space for our guests or the fire department will site us; please disperse at once.” Slowly but surely the crowd dissipated.

  “Is this the way it is all the time?” asked a bewildered Belle.

  “No, not at all,” replied Jonas quietly, “it didn’t start until the crazy man decided to hog the show.”

  “You too Jonas, thanks a lot!” Mother said.

  He was loving it. What a way to get noticed. He would use his temporary fame for the good of all concerned. The music, the movie and Chateau 54. The recording studio would get some publicity as well. Everything would do well thanks to the crazy man. He was getting to like the new handle. Yeah, crazy man! Mother turned around, his youngest daughter with his grandson were standing by the door. They had just arrived.

  “Hey Erika, hi Bodhi, how’s the little man doing,” Mother called.

  “Pop Pop,” said Bodhi, as he asked to be picked up. His arms were outstretched and ready to be lifted.

  “You feeling okay?” asked his daughter Erika. “Suzanne is right behind me with Lindsay, Amanda and Melanie.

  “Hi, Dad,” greeted Suzanne, Mother’s daughter who lived up the road from the Chateau 54.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” Mother said.

  His three granddaughters hugged him; they wanted to hear the story straight from the horse’s mouth.

  “Let’s go up to the suite so we can talk. I want you to meet a new friend from the past. He’s been working with Muddy and me while we were recording the mu
sic for the movie.”

  They all headed up to the huge suite the casino had given them for the publicity they were bringing to the place.

  The next few hours were filled with storytelling and questions.

  “Pop,” asked Melanie, “will Crazy Man be your new name or should I still call you Pop?”

  “Call me Pop, please!”

  Bodhi was the center of attention. At 18 months he was already a lady’s man. Muddy was watching to see if he could pick up any new techniques from the little guy.

  “Mother, check out the little guy. He has the ladies eating out of his hand. I wish I could figure out his secret.”

  “Try, 18 months! For a start,”

  “Oh, yeah, I get it.”

  FortySeven — Fancy Meeting You Here

  Mickey McGrath, the infamous Lucian Santana Gerald, had caught the flight to Holland. As he boarded the plane he headed to the first-class area where he was greeted by Patrick Allenby Quinn.

  “Mr. Kreslow, sir it’s good to see you.”

  Mickey looked down his nose through his glasses but had no idea who Quinn was. It didn’t stop him, “How do you do my good man.”

  “Are you in first class,” asked Quinn.

  “Certainly.”

  “Then we will have to speak when things settle down.”

  “Wonderful.”

  I must have done a really good job with the makeup thought McGrath. I need to think, who is this man. He looks familiar, but…I know he’s the diamond consortium director. I’ll ready myself so when we talk I can pump him for information. I wonder what he’s doing here? In the meantime, I’ll have a brandy the same as Kreslow would. After all he’s who I am. Ha, he’s who I am.

  The plane had just reached 32,000 feet. Patrick Allenby Quinn got up from his seat and strolled by McGrath alias Gerald alias Kreslow.

  “Do you have a minute to talk?”

  “Please, sit here I’ll move over a seat. No one is sitting here,” Kreslow told him.

  They talked about normal things first and then Allenby Quinn asked if he was going to see his children. Kreslow told him he was.

  “I was very surprised you recognized me so quickly. As you can see I put on some makeup to hide some of my features, but not enough to spoil the passport picture. I try to see the children without any fanfare,” Kreslow told him to cover up for the makeup he was sure Quinn had noticed.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, but I have something which may pique your interest.”

  “It’s no bother, I’m happy to speak with people I know,” Kreslow responded. “What are you referring to?”

  McGrath was very interested in hearing something which could further his needs. He listened as Quinn spun the tale McGrath had seen on television in the airport lounge. He felt badly about Jewel but knew she was an impetus person and sooner rather than later would meet such a fate. He was surprised Svetleva had followed her to Atlantic City. She, he thought, was smarter then her sister. Oh well, nothing he can do about it now. When Quinn was about to finish his story, he hesitated, looked around to see if anybody was in earshot as he whispered to Kreslow. “I have the Star of LaMar in my possession.”

  Kreslow kept a cool demeanor as he whispered back to him, “Wonderful, I heard you were on a mission for many years to locate the fantastic diamond.”

  “Yes, and I finally found the elusive stone.”

  “Wonderful, wonderful,” Kreslow calmly spoke, as he thought how he could possibly move it from Quinn’s possession to his. “Thank you for telling me. It sounds like you were in on a little excitement at the same time.”

  “Only as a bystander,” shared an elated Allenby Quinn.

  Mr. Quinn went back to his seat and left Kreslow with new thoughts spinning around like a carousel in his fertile mind. Where is the diamond being kept and how could he possibly get it for himself? It had to be after the flight landed and disembarked so he would have a chance to escape before the Dutch police would apprehend him. This is so exciting, he thought, so exciting!

  As the plane was about to land in Holland the pilot gave the passengers a heads up. Mickey McGrath picked up his small carryon bag and headed to one of the rest rooms at the rear of the plane. He had stashed a luggage-handlers uniform and some needed makeup in the bag. Within a minute he was ready to make his way to the baggage section. He had done this deed before and had no problem finding his way as he swiftly descended to the lower level of the plane. He would make his way out via the baggage truck to the streets of Amsterdam and fly the coop!

  ~

  The first day back at The Chateau was hectic, to say the least. All had survived the onslaught produced by Mutle Blumberg and his staff. There was still traveling to be done, shows to appear on and a schedule to follow. The boys from AC, as Mother called them, were visiting Chateau 54, talking movie and music. Vince was ready to make his debut CD. Mother would tell his story and what people thought afterwards was on them. Mutty’s premise was working well. Mother would be making a bundle of cash. He was willing to do whatever it takes until the golden goose stopped with the eggs.

  Carl was also at the chateau telling his father, “Crazy Man fits perfectly! Only an insane person would jump over a car to try and subdue a woman with a gun. Even in my most flagrant scripts I would never write such a scenario.”

  “Now you can!”

  Carl shook his head, “right, you win.”

  Solly suddenly appeared out of nowhere. “What are you doing here?” asked Mother. “This is a pleasant surprise or are you just here for dinner?”

  “I’m not here for dinner but now that you mention it, I am a little hungry. Kidding aside, they’re still searching for Gerald.”

  “And what does all the gibberish mean?” Mudd chimed in.

  “Who said that?”

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  “Don’t let it happen again!”

  “Are you mad at me, Solly?” Muddy asked in a mousy voice.

  “Gotcha!”

  “You…you hardnosed copper, you got me!”

  “Where are you with this Gerald thing?” Mother asked.

  “They’re checking at the office in Newark and in Washington. Interpol is on it as well.”

  “I guess it’s pretty tough to try to fly today with all the checking which goes on at the airports,” Jonas injected, “you need to be desperate, I would imagine.”

  “We think Mickey McGrath alias Gerald is very desperate.” Solly said as he felt hunger pangs appear. “While I’m here I think I’ll eat.”

  “I knew that’s why you came.”

  “One of the boys from AC came up and said, “We have reserved a table for all of us to gather for a meeting of the minds. If we still have our minds after these last few weeks of excitement. Solly are you staying?”

  “Yes”

  “We’ll have another chair put in place.”

  “Thanks, James.”

  They all meandered into the dining room. The lighting was just right for a quiet meal. The boys walked straight to a brightly lit room at the back of the dining area.

  “We had this storage area changed to a small dining room so we can eat in peace. This way we can meet without bothering the rest of the paying customers and no bugs,” Chuck said.

  “Very nice, gentlemen,” Solly told his ex-bosses. “Are you guys gonna miss me?”

  “Na, we already have a replacement who’s great,” Vince quickly responded, trying to be funny. “We’ll miss you, you scoundrel.”

  “Aw shucks,” Solly said.

  “What are you going to do now?” asked Chuck.

  “Planning to do some fishing to clear my mind.”

  “Good for you,” Jonas cheered, “you want some company?”

  “Love it.”

  “Let’s get down to business,” James said as he interrupted the chatter, “we have a plan for the movie. The…”

  Carl calmly walked into the
room and asked, “Am I late?”

  “Right on time,” James said. “Just about to tell everyone here the schedule and talk to your father and Muddy about…well, we’ll get to it, but first.”

  “Get to what but first,” Muddy asked, “am I being fired? What did I do now? Can we talk about it?”

  “Sit tight, Muddy we’ll get to you and Mother in a minute.”

  James passed a copy of the proposed schedule to everybody and started to read his copy aloud. When he finished he asked for concerns, additions, and time line. There was quiet for the next few minutes.

  One by one all decided the schedule looked pretty good.

  “What’s the grand opening going to be like,” asked Mother.

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you and Mudd about,” James told him. “Do you think you can come up with a short 20-30-minute musical extravaganza we could use to open the movie debut?”

  “I don’t see why not,” said Mother.

  “I told you he would do it James,” Carl responded smugly.

  “What kind of extravaganza?” asked Mudd.

  “We want you and Mother to perform your old Norsemen songs and then have the new material played with some really hot singers doing the vocals for, Long Road Back and Helen Oh Helen, what do you all think?”

  “I would love to do it,” said Muddy.

  “Great, it will be broadcast live to 44 theaters across the country. East coast and Midwest will be live but west coast will be delayed three hours.” We should have full theatres in every city. After your presentation is done the movie premiere will take place. How does it sound?”

  “I can’t do it,” Muddy jumped in without a second thought, “I’ve never performed for more then 300 people at one time.”

  “You’ll only see the ones who are live at the theatre in New York City,” Chuck chimed in.

  “New York?” Mudd continued. “My knees are already shaking.”

  “Cut it out old man, you’re making too much of this,” Mother injected.

  “Easy for you to say.”

  “We’re working on a half hour TV spot for the pre-movie showing to stir up interest in the movie,” James told them.