Sedona Law 6: A Legal Thriller

by Dave Daren

  I nodded slowly. “You know Johnny Hawthorne?”

  His eyes lit up. “Yeah. He’s the frontman. Good guy, I guess. Well, I don’t know. I say that. He’s kind of a…well, how do you know him?”

  “I used to be his lawyer,” I said. “I represented the whole band. Negotiated the deal with Arista. Are they still with Arista?”

  His mouth dropped. “Nah. They left La Vista about a year ago. They’re not signed to anyone anymore. Oh, wait..Henry...Irving. Sanchez Law Firm. I like...I like know you. Yeah, you’re that guy.”

  I laughed at the blast from the past of my old L.A. firm. “Well, I’m not that guy anymore.”

  “No, I remember you,” he snapped his fingers and then stroked his chin. “I was there when we met you. You took us all out to dinner, and there were a lot of people there, so I don’t think you and I ever talked. But, yeah, I was there. Dude, yeah, you got us the deal at Arista. Yeah. I remember that.”

  “I didn’t get you the deal,” I clarified. “You guys did that on your own. But Johnny and I worked together to negotiate the terms with Brent Levinson at Arista.”

  “Brent Levinson,” Jagger shook his head. “Such a dick.”

  “He signed you,” I said. “But, yeah, he was a dick.”

  Jagger and I both laughed.

  “So babe, you knew Henry Irving in L.A.?” Leila concluded. “That’s so cool.”

  “Yeah,” Jagger nodded slowly and glanced at Vicki and then at me. “He was a...lot of fun.”

  I made a face because I knew exactly what he was referring to. When the deal with La Vista was signed, I had, along with their label head, Brent Levinson, taken the entire band to a high end strip club.

  It wasn’t my finest hour, but it was what Johnny had suggested, and well, rock stars get what they want. I got to expense the tab, so drinks and lap dances were all on me that night, but since it came out of their retainer, it was actually on them in the end. What a very different life I had lived.

  “Well,” I said. “I’m not quite that much fun anymore. This, is a pretty decent night out in Sedona, you’ll find.”

  Jagger laughed. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ve been here six weeks and I’m goin’ batshit crazy. We went to the Sedona Nightlife taping, and then that turned out to be a disaster.”

  There were groans from everyone within earshot.

  “Honey,” Leila chided. “Let’s not bring that up.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Sorry. Sometimes I’ve got no filter you know. I think I’ve got one of those personality disorders from the DSM.”

  We all laughed, and he winked and wrapped his arms around Leila, and the tiny Persian woman smiled at him, and she looked like she would melt. I thought I would throw up. I hoped Vicki and I didn’t look that corny, although I feared we did.

  “Nemesis of Captain Hook, huh?” Vicki pondered. “His nemesis was time. Time and youth.”

  Jagger smiled and nodded. “Yeah. The whole story was about resisting adulthood. Peter Pan lives in the constant state of youth, and Captain Hook, is unfortunately, bound by time and therefore mortality, and is jealous of Pan. Which, is of course, why he was haunted by clocks. So, the Nemesis of Captain Hook, was yes, youth. So, the band name is about eternal youth.”

  “Deep,” Vicki said.

  Jagger rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Johnny Hawthorne had a degree in English. So, it’s all this hyperliterate prog rock that no normal person understands. He thought he was giving something to the masses to think about and ponder. You know, deep poetic truth about the human condition, and blah, blah, blah. I didn’t even know what most of those lyrics meant, and neither did anyone else. And they didn’t care anyway. All they really wanted to do was get drunk and laid. That’s why that shit didn’t sell, and La Vista didn’t renew.”

  “Jagger’s going to write the music for the new film,” Leila told me without taking her eyes off her beau.

  “Is that right?” I said. “Hyperliterate prog rock then?”

  Considering the film was about my sister, being produced by my brother, and bankrolled by me, I surprised myself with my feelings of possessiveness toward this project. Maybe they were right. I was a control freak. I couldn’t even let Phoenix’s team pick their own music.

  “Oh, God, no,” he insisted. “I’m not smart enough to write that. I might write a theme song, but most of it will probably be instrumental. I’ve got a couple of rough tracks on my computer.”

  “I’m sure it will be great,” I said.

  “Yeah,” Vicki said. “We’re so excited about the new project. What’s the final title? Last I heard, it was still in flux.”

  “I think we’re going with A Study in Red,” Leila said. “It’s a play on a Sherlock Holmes title. You know, in Harmony’s case, one of the key pieces is that the investigators mistake a shade of red paint for blood.”

  “Right,” Vicki nodded. “In real life, it was AJ who uncovered their mistake.”

  “Really?” Leila smiled. “I did not know that.”

  “She wouldn’t have told you that detail,” Vicki said. “She’s a quick one.”

  “I like her,” Leila said. “We have so much fun together. She’s such a goofball.”

  I made a face. Goofball wasn’t a word I would have used to describe our paralegal. What a different life AJ had outside our office.

  “Alright, people,” Julianna stood in the middle of the room and clapped her hands. “Let’s get game night started.”

  I noticed then there were about fifteen people crammed in the tiny living room, a couple of them I knew. Someone walked around and passed out beers. I took one and took a long chug.

  “I don’t think we should start out with a game,” Gabriel said.

  “Honey,” Julianna said. “I know what we talked about. But, right now is just not the time.”

  “I think it is right,” he argued and the group pinponged attention back and forth between the couple. “We’ll just start out with a reading, and then, you can play the Apples game thing.”

  “Gabe,” Julianna rolled her eyes. “This is supposed to be fun.”

  “It is fun,” he said. “What’s more fun than being enlightened?”

  Julianna sighed audibly and threw up her arms in surrender and left the room.

  Gabriel smiled and stood in the middle of the silent room. He reached into a box near the couch, and retrieved a green paperback book.

  “As you all know,” he looked around, “I’ve written a book based on an ‘experience’ I had.”

  Everyone in the room nodded and made noises of agreement. Apparently they knew what this ‘experience’ was. Vicki and I didn’t. I glanced over at Leila and Jagger to see if I could detect any clues. They sat wrapped in each other’s arms staring longingly in each other’s eyes. Gabriel could have been talking about taking a dump for all they knew.

  “It changed me,” Gabriel continued.

  The room was packed and Vicki and I were still standing so I discreetly slipped to the floor, and Vicki followed me. I mimicked Leila and Jagger and stared longingly into her eyes. Vicki knew exactly what I was doing and stifled laughter.

  “This experience,” Gabriel continued with the paced delivery of a televangelist, “changed me in a very real way. It helped me change from the man I thought I was, to become the man I always wanted to be. It changed our relationship.”

  Gabriel gestured toward Julianna who leaned against a doorway and delivered a tight-lipped smile, and I thought I saw an eye roll.

  “It changed our sex life,” Gabriel went on. “We now have a sex life I only dreamed of having.”

  I glanced at Julianna who looked like she might vomit.

  “Come on baby,” he turned to her. “Tell them. We have the most rewarding sex life that a person can possibly have. I mean, I can last--”

  “Okay, honey,” she interrupted. “These people came to play Pictionary.”

  “And we’ll get to Pictionary,” he nodded around the room. “Don’t worry.
But, you’ll want to hear this first.”

  Gabriel slid to a sitting position on the floor, and held up the paperback.

  “I wrote this book,” he said. “Explaining the experience. It’s called ‘The Way.’ So, tonight, I want to read a passage out loud. I want you to close your eyes as we read. Honey, you could light the incense?”

  Julianna wordlessly lit a candle under a ceramic incense burner. Within seconds, the aroma of chemlab citrus filled the room.

  I briefly made eye contact with Vicki who had the same ‘what the fuck?’ look in her eyes that I probably had.

  “Just let it bring you in,” Gabriel waved his palms as if to facilitate the scent. “Let’s turn down the lights, too.”

  Julianna sighed and hit the dimmer on the living room. Now, we were sitting in a scented semi-dark room with fifteen people. He clicked on a remote, and transcendental music came on. I turned to Vicki in the semi-darkness, and she was red faced trying to hold back laughter.

  Gabriel crossed his legs, and he began to meditate.

  “Meditate with me if you feel inclined,” Gabriel instructed.

  A couple of people followed him, but most just looked like they’d rather play Pictionary.

  Gabriel closed his eyes and began chanting, “Yes, yes, yes.”

  I checked my phone and wondered how long I could handle staying here. Gabriel came out of his meditation.

  “Okay,” he said. “After the reading, I would like to try to recreate my experience for anyone that wants.”

  I turned to Vicki and smirked, and she started to laugh silently again.

  “So, if you would all be so kind as to listen,” he said. “I would love to share this with passage with you.”

  He flipped on a booklight, and I wrapped my arm around Vicki, and we listened out of pure amusement.

  “It was the autumn of the fox when I first met Rashe, the angel,” he began.

  I cleared my throat. An angel? I didn’t know what I expected, but I didn’t expect an angel. Maybe I should have.

  “Rashe was a being of light, but he dressed like a homeless man,” Gabriel read. “He wore shabby jeans, and a red hoodie and carried a backpack. He came to me in the night, and it would be the first of many. I don’t know how many encounters I had with Rashe, but I know that the experience lasted about one month in total. He came to me two or three times a week, and left several days in between. He told me to write down what I was experiencing, that way I could make the most of them.”

  Gabriel held up a black leather journal for effect.

  “This is where I took the notes over what had happened with Rashe,” he said. “Many things Rashe told me he asked me not to share publicly. Some things were for now, some are for later. So, I study the notes and keep them hidden in my heart for when I might need them.”

  Gabriel then returned to his book and continued to read. “

  “He told me I had been chosen to go on a journey with him,” Gabriel read. “He said that many are called, but few are chosen. I could accept or deny his offer. He held out his hand, and when I took it, a new part of my life began.”

  Gabriel looked around, with a somber expression at the gathered group. A couple of them sat listening with rapt attention, but most listened politely.

  “Rashe’s hand was warm, and as soon as I took it, I felt a burst of electricity run through my veins,” Gabriel read.

  He set down the book and pointed to an area on his forearm.

  “In some ways,” he said, “I can still feel it. It was like burning all up in here. When it happened, it was like a new beginning for me. I felt like portals in my brain were opened up. I could see colors brighter, and I could think clearer. At the time, I had a little head cold, and it went away instantly when Rashe touched me.”

  A murmur washed over the crowd. I listened and I suddenly remembered the way my parents had met. They followed around a Hindu guru, who held meetings in a hut in a field.

  “When I was with Rashe,” Gabriel picked up the book and read, “we weren’t confined by time and space. When I was with him, we could walk through walls. Sometimes we would go on a journey together for days, and I would come back to my earthly body, and barely a few minutes had passed on the clock.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “The first time he lifted my spirit out of my body, I could see my sleeping body in my bed. It was the weirdest feeling I had ever had. I was with Rashe, and we were in the ceiling. Then, we traveled out of the house, and that was when it all began.”

  Gabriel set the book down and studied the crowd with a sobered look.

  “The entire experience is here in this book,” he shook the book, “for anyone that wants to buy it. But, if anyone is interested in going on their own journey, Rashe gave me instructions on how to usher others into their experiences. I would love to do that tonight for anyone. Is anyone interested?”

  Okay. I’d had enough. I felt a little cheated. I’d been invited to play Pictionary, and instead this guy is trying to sell me his book and his juju. I never have had a good experience around this guy. I raised an eyebrow at Vicki, who nodded, and we silently rose to exit the party as quietly as we could. Apparently, that wasn’t the way to do it.

  “Ahh…” Gabriel shouted. “We have two takers. Vicki and Henry. Come on over here. Let me impart to you the wisdom of Rashe.”

  A loud applause emitted from everyone in the room.

  “Come,” Gabriel gestured gregariously. “Come. All are welcome.”

  “I’m sorry, Gabriel,” I said. “No offense to Rashe. We had a pretty strict time limit for tonight.”

  “No, no,” Gabriel said. “There are no clocks here. We don’t believe in clocks.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “We don’t have clocks in this house,” he said. “We believe in natural time. Let the universe do the work inside of you. Don’t limit yourself by time.”

  “You have no clocks?” I repeated as I glanced around the room.

  I didn’t, in fact, notice any timepieces in the room.

  “No,” he said. “In fact, we leave our cell phones in our vehicles, and we communicate by landline telephone. So, there is no time in this house, people. We are not bound by time. Time is a social construct that we can choose to accept or reject. And, Julianna and I, as a household, reject that construct. I urge you all to do the same. It is amazing how much freer we are, not to be bound by time. Is that right, babe?”

  Julianna had a beer by this point, and silently raised it to him.

  A murmur of approval went through the room.

  “We reject time!” Gabriel shouted, and everyone cheered and applauded.

  I contemplated the urge to point out the logical fallacies in that argument, but then thought better of it. It didn’t matter. If the guy wanted to live in denial, I guessed that was his prerogative. It would make it difficult to participate in the business world in any way. But who was I to deny him the momentary joy that he would feel until the bills started piling up?

  “No time, no time,” Gabriel started a chant, and it slowly gained momentum in the party.

  Vicki and I took the opportunity to slip out. As soon as we were in the hall, we heard Julianna behind us.

  “Hey,” she called out.

  Vicki winced in pain as the elevator dinged. “I don’t have time for this,” she murmured as she stepped into it. “I seriously have got to pee. I’ll meet you downstairs.

  “Okay,” I muttered. “Hey Julianna.”

  “Look, back there,” she pointed back to the apartment. “I’m sorry about all that. He’s...he’s a good man. He’s just believes what he believes.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “We’re okay.”

  A shadow passed her face, and I realized that wasn’t the point.

  “What about you? Are you okay?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “I sure can pick ‘em, can’t I?”

  I thought about my fiancee downstairs. When we defended Juliann
a, I had been so careful to downplay what had been between us. But, now, alone with her for the first time in ten years, I realized that there had been something there.

  “Jules,” I whispered in a gentle corrective tone.

  “I know, I know,” she said. “You’ve got…”

  She gestured toward where Vicki had disappeared in the elevator.

  “...And she’s great,” Julainna continued tears welling up in her eyes. “We never gave it a real chance, did we?”

  “We were just kids,” I said. “What did we know about anything?”

  She laughed. “She makes you happy.”

  “She does,” I replied. “Very happy.”

  “I can tell,” she said. “It inspires me to find someone that makes me that happy.”

  “You deserve that, Jules,” I said. “You’ll find someone.”

  “I will,” she stated.

  Then she smiled big.

  “Goodbye, Henry,” she said.

  “Goodbye, Julianna,” I answered and I hit the elevator button.

  She smiled and practically floated back to her apartment. Then, the elevator opened, and a young man of middle Eastern descent stepped off the elevator. He popped his earbuds, stuffed them in his pocket and gave me a quick nod.

  “‘Sup,” he said.

  “Sup,” I replied as I studied him.

  He wore torn jeans, a red hoodie and carried a backpack. I smirked as I watched him walk down the hall.

  I guess angels buy Jansport now.

  Chapter 15

  “I know that Jagger’s really into the score,” AJ was on the phone as she walked into the office Monday morning. “But I just think the theme song should be priority.”

  There was a pause as she set down her Jitter’s cup and bag on her desk.

  “Look, Leila,” she said. “I can’t talk right now. I’ll call you back later.”

  She ended the call and groaned.

  “Study in Red not going well?” I asked.

  The Paradigm group had spent all weekend in meetings at Landon’s RV. Which, in itself, seemed problematic. I was glad I wasn’t invited.

  “It’s going as well as any first film can be expected,” she said. “It’s just Leila, who is typically cut and dried and bitchy in a good and productive kind of way, has fallen in love. Now, Jagger can do no wrong. But honestly, the soundtrack is not working, and we don’t know if it really works or not, because we don’t have any cast, or crew, or location, or anything else that her valuable connections are supposed to bring to the table. Instead, all she wants to do is sit around and play twelve different takes on the same score, and analyze them. I don’t know which one works, woman. It depends on how it works with the visual. Oh wait, we don’t have a single element toward a visual!”