Wildfire

by Susan Lewis

  Maurice frowned. ‘I’m not following you, Denton,’ he said.

  ‘I’m talking about the girlfriend, Galina Casimir,’ Fairfax explained. ‘Do you know where she is right now?’

  ‘Sure, she’s with the Conspiracy people in Baltimore. I just talked to her five minutes ago.’

  Fairfax paused. ‘OK,’ he said, ‘so this isn’t about what I thought it was about. But I got to tell you, Maurice, it still isn’t looking good. These shots I got here, well . . .’

  ‘I take it they’re of Galina,’ Maurice said, shooting a look at Ellis and Ula.

  ‘Yes, that’s who they’re of. And if there’s no kidnapping going down, then all I can say . . . Hell, I don’t know what to say, and once you see this stuff you’ll know what I mean.’

  ‘Put him on the speaker,’ Ellis said as the door closed behind Mrs Clay.

  Maurice punched the button and Fairfax’s voice came into the room. ‘. . . they’re going to Cost Max a packet to keep out of the press,’ he said.

  ‘Exactly what are the shots of?’ Maurice asked, his eyes rooted to Ellis’s.

  Fairfax gave a mirthless laugh. ‘I don’t know if I care to describe them,’ he answered.

  ‘Oh Christ,’ Ula muttered. ‘Who took them? Do you know?’

  ‘These aren’t the kind of shots you leave your card with, Ula,’ Fairfax responded. He was quiet for a moment, then said, ‘You know, I can’t make head nor tail of this. I mean, in some she looks just about terrified out of her mind. She’s all squeezed up in a corner and you’d think, looking at her, that some kind of psycho was coming at her. I mean, we’re talking real terror here. Yet there’s this other one I’m looking at where . . . Well, hell, she looks like she’s giving it away for free.’

  Ula looked at Maurice and Ellis. ‘How many shots are there?’ she asked.

  ‘A dozen or more. Ten by eight colour.’

  ‘Is she easily recognizable?’

  ‘Even with an eight-inch cock in her mouth there’s no mistaking it’s her,’ Fairfax said crudely.

  Maurice winced. ‘Have you got any idea where the negatives are?’ he asked.

  ‘Not yet. Brian’s working on it now.’

  ‘Brian?’ Ellis mouthed.

  ‘The editor,’ Maurice reminded him. ‘Who else knows about this?’ he asked.

  ‘As far as I know, just me, Brian and the dude who delivered the shots.’

  ‘Did he tell you the price tag?’ Ellis wanted to know.

  ‘Not yet. But you can bet your life one’s on the way. Do you want a couple of samples down the wire? It might give you some idea how much you should expect to pay.’

  A few minutes later Maurice was holding half a dozen photographs of Galina. Whoever the guy with her was he’d been careful not to show his face, but when it came to exposing other parts of his anatomy he’d been nowhere near so discreet. It would appear that Fairfax had spared them the shot of oral sex, but the explicit angles of a cowering and terrified Galina with tears pouring down her cheeks and pleas for mercy contorting her face were more than any of them wanted to see. The violation she had suffered was total, the pain and terror seemed almost to animate the shots.

  Fairfax’s voice came over the speaker. ‘You still there?’

  ‘Yeah, we’re still here,’ Maurice answered, turning the last couple of shots round for the others to look at. They were the ones that had confused Fairfax, for Galina was laughing and, like he’d said, appeared to be a willing, if not controlling, participant in the sexual act she was engaged in. They came as no surprise to Ellis, Ula and Maurice, though.

  ‘I’d like to get this sorted before Max gets ahold of it,’ Maurice said. ‘Is there any chance?’

  ‘Depends on the guy with the negs,’ Fairfax answered. ‘Like I said, Brian’s working on finding out who he is. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything worth telling.’

  As the line went dead Ellis looked at the last couple of pictures again and could do nothing to stop the twinge in his groin. He wondered if they were having the same effect on Maurice and Fairfax. He’d lay money they were, for surely no red-blooded man could look at a picture of a woman as wanton as that, with a penis half-inserted inside her, and not wish it were his.

  Throwing them on the desk, he sat down and buried his face in his hands. Ula picked them up, looked them over slowly, then said, ‘So it seems Max was right about Memphis.’

  Ellis lifted his head. ‘You know what I’m thinking?’ he said, ‘I’m thinking we’re gonna have to get hold of those negatives before the seller takes them to Primaire.’

  ‘If he hasn’t already,’ Maurice said.

  They were all quiet for a moment until looking at Ula Maurice said, ‘Didn’t anyone see who she went off with down there in that Memphis store?’

  Ula shook her head. ‘Not that Maribeth could find out. One minute she was there, the next she was gone. No one remembers seeing her go, which is pretty damned weird if you ask me, considering she’s the star attraction. You’d think everyone would be watching her, wouldn’t you?’

  Ellis’s thoughts were clearly travelling in another direction. ‘Did we check out that guy of a few years ago?’ he said. ‘The one it turned out she stole from her best friend.’

  ‘Yeah, we checked him out right at the start,’ Maurice answered. ‘He’s clear. Living in Oklahoma with some night-club singer now.’

  ‘So, what do we do?’ Ula said after a pause.

  Maurice and Ellis looked at her.

  ‘Well, there’s no way we’re gonna be able to keep this from Max,’ she said, ‘so do we wait for him to come back, or do we get him on the phone now and make his day?’

  It was Maurice who answered. ‘Let’s wait and see what Fairfax gets back with.’

  Three hours later Denton Fairfax had vanished. According to Southern Belle’s editor, Brian Sealon, Fairfax now had the negs, but how he had managed to pay for them or even locate them was a mystery to all. All Sealon knew was that one minute he, Sealon, was on the case, trying to track down the negs and the next Fairfax was saying he had them in his hand and would be back in the office the next day. Where he was planning to be until then was anyone’s guess.

  Maurice was extremely nervous. So was Ellis. If Fairfax had the negatives they didn’t understand why he hadn’t called to say so. Nor did they understand why the recovery had necessitated a trip out of the office that was going to last the rest of the day. So what the hell was the man doing and why wasn’t he keeping in touch the way he had been told? Surely to God he wasn’t pulling some kind of double-bluff, not when he was a personal friend of Max’s. But holding that kind of key to that kind of bank could do strange things to a man.

  At that moment Ula was talking to Galina, assuring her again that Max would get to Baltimore on schedule. Ellis was on the line to Boston where another of Romanov’s adult publications was located, checking out that no one had been in touch there trying to sell some unusual goods. Maurice was speaking to Brian Sealon who had just called to let them know that there was a rumour going down in Jackson that Max Romanov was about to be arrested for some kind of insider trading.

  ‘Hell, where do you guys get your information?’ Maurice was grumbling. The Poisoner’s got nothing to substantiate her story, ’cos it just didn’t happen. I’m telling you, as his lawyer, it didn’t happen. And if there was an arrest going down I’d know about it. So what’s new on Fairfax? Did you locate him yet?’

  ‘Put me on to Dag Vasser,’ Ellis barked into the phone as he made the connection with another of Romanov’s adult magazines.

  ‘Galina, you’re being a pain in the proverbial,’ Ula told her bluntly. ‘I got other things to do here than keep taking calls from you with the same darned questions. Shit, it’s your wedding I’m trying to organize, so give me a break will you.’

  ‘Tell him it’s Ellis Zamoyski and it’s urgent,’ Ellis said.

  ‘Hey, Galina, you nearly made me laugh,’ Ula cried.

 
‘Dag? Zamoyski. Yeah, I’m doing fine. So tell me, did anything unusual show up on your desk today? Something you don’t normally get that you might want to tell me about?’

  ‘OK,’ Maurice said to Sealon. ‘Keep in touch,’ and he banged the phone down.

  ‘Yeah, it is pretty hectic here,’ Ula told Galina. ‘Mainly thanks to you, sugar.’

  Maurice’s and Ula’s eyes met as Maurice began pressing out Max’s mobile number. It was still disconnected.

  Ellis was trying to break into Dag Vasser’s diatribe on just what kind of shit had turned up on Vasser’s desk that day, that was no different from any other day, but did Ellis have any idea how many sickos there were out there? ‘Yeah, I get your point,’ Ellis sympathized. ‘Yeah, sure. Dag, listen . . . For Christ’s sake man, give me a break here, will you? We got an emergency on our hands and I need you . . .’

  ‘I don’t know how the news got out about your wedding,’ Ula protested. ‘We’re not even certain it has yet. It’s just a suspicion. Yeah, sure that’s what all the noise is about. What else would it be about? I don’t know. You tell me.’

  Maurice keyed his phone pad to take an incoming call. ‘Maurice Remmick,’ he answered.

  ‘What happened to the E?’ Ula demanded in a quick aside.

  ‘I hear what you’re saying, Dag,’ Ellis said, ‘but I’m just not in a position to tell you any more than that. That’s right, yeah. We got word a few hours ago. It could just be some whacko on a whim, but we can’t be too careful. The stuff he claims to have is pretty sensitive and Max isn’t gonna want it made public, not under any circumstances. I don’t know why the guy might contact you, chances are he won’t. But I want you to put all your key people on alert and if anything comes their way . . . Trust me, they’ll know. Yeah, that’s right, then you call us here in LA.’

  ‘OK, honey,’ Ula smiled. ‘I’ll tell him if I speak to him first. Aleks and Marina send their love, by the way. I know I told you that earlier, but they said to tell you every time you called. OK, OK, so I forgot a couple of times.’

  As Ula and Ellis hung up their calls, they were both on the point of taking fresh ones when Maurice signalled for them to stop.

  ‘Sure, I really appreciate you letting me know this, Ed,’ he was saying to the president of Romanov Enterprises in New York. ‘No, I don’t know the ins and outs of it yet, but believe me it’ll be sorted by the end of the day. Do they have the numbers here? Just Ula’s. OK. If there’s any more news you know how to get ahold of me. I’ll be over there just as soon as I can.’

  ‘What was all that about?’ Ellis asked as Maurice rang off.

  ‘The FBI are trying to track down Max over this insider trading,’ Maurice answered, his face looking haggard as his mind raced in a thousand different directions. ‘That was Ed Sherwin on the line. A Federal Agent just contacted him and Ed’s given him Ula’s number.’

  Ula’s eyes dropped to the flashing lights in front of her.

  ‘Why not yours?’ Ellis said. ‘You’re his lawyer.’

  ‘Sherwin wanted to warn me first,’ Maurice answered, looking at his watch. ‘I’m going over to New York to put the brakes on this before it gets out of hand. I’ll keep trying Max. If either of you guys speaks to him first have him call me right away.’

  ‘What do we tell him about Denton Fairfax and what’s going on in Jackson?’ Ula asked.

  ‘You’ll just have to give it to him straight,’ Maurice told her as he started packing up his briefcase. ‘He’s a big boy. He can handle it.’

  Ula looked at the phone lights again. ‘Oh, hi, Max,’ she said, faking a call. ‘How you doing? Oh yeah, things this end are just great. The date of your wedding has leaked out. Galina’s got herself photographed with some guy’s dick and the FBI want to question you about the Primaire stock deal. I’m out of here,’ she said, getting to her feet. ‘Ellis, you can answer the phones.’

  Ellis looked at Maurice. ‘What do you want me to tell the Feds when they call?’ he asked.

  ‘The truth. That Max isn’t contactable right now and his lawyer is en route to New York. Take his number and tell him you’ll get a message to me to have me call him as soon as I arrive in the city.’

  Ellis nodded. ‘And Fairfax?’

  ‘You’re on your own with that one,’ Maurice replied, heaving his briefcase off the desk. ‘I don’t know what the guy’s about and none of us will until he decides to get in touch.’

  By seven that evening Ula and Ellis had fielded over a hundred calls, most of them wanting to know if it was true that Max was going to be charged with insider trading. Pleading surprise and ignorance, they moved from one call to the next, both fervently hoping that it would be the other who picked up on Max. Maurice was in the air now, due to arrive in New York some time around ten, where the FBI were waiting on his call. There was still no word from Fairfax and Galina was at a hotel just outside Baltimore wanting to know why Max hadn’t showed up yet.

  ‘Wouldn’t we all like to know,’ Ellis grunted as he clicked off the line from Galina. ‘We still got him on auto-call-back?’ he asked Ula as she dropped the receiver and flopped back in her chair.

  ‘Yep,’ she replied, running her hands over her face. ‘What about the cat?’ she said, suddenly bringing her head up. ‘Someone’s got to go collect the cat.’

  ‘I’ll call and say we’ll come by tomorrow,’ Ellis yawned, reaching for the phone. ‘Or why don’t you go ask Leo if he’ll do it now?’ he said, referring to the ageing household manager.

  ‘Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll look in on the kids while I’m at it too. I just wish the hell Max would ring. Did you see Marina’s face just now when I told her we couldn’t get through to him?’

  Ellis nodded sombrely. ‘I asked Galina to call her, that should keep her happy for a while. Ask Cook if there’s any more of that pasta she brought in earlier, will you?’

  Ula treated his waistline to a disdainful look and was just heading out of the door when she heard him say, ‘At last! We’ve been trying to get ahold of you since noon.’

  Immediately Ula turned back and went to sit on the edge of her desk as Ellis put the call on the speaker.

  ‘Where have you been, man?’ Ellis demanded. ‘All hell’s been breaking loose here . . .’

  ‘Did you speak to Galina?’ Max’s voice came into the room, cutting him off.

  ‘Sure. She’s in Baltimore wanting to know where the hell you are.’

  ‘Is she OK?’

  Ellis’s eyes flicked to Ula. ‘Mad as hell,’ he answered, ‘but yeah, I guess she’s OK.’ He paused. ‘We got a bit of a problem though, Max. Well, actually, it’s a hell of a problem. Denton Fairfax called earlier . . .’

  ‘I know,’ Max interrupted. ‘I’m in Memphis now. Denton’s right here with me.’

  Ula and Ellis stared at each other. ‘Denton Fairfax is with you?’ Ellis said stupidly. ‘I thought . . .’

  ‘Yeah, I know what you thought,’ Max said. ‘But he’s right here with me and I’ve got the negs.’

  Ula was reeling.

  ‘Destroy the copies Denton sent you,’ Max went on. ‘The situation’s sorted.’

  ‘How much?’ Ellis asked, ever the accountant.

  ‘We’ll talk about it when I get back,’ Max answered prosaically.

  ‘Did you manage to find out who the guy in the pictures was?’ Ula asked.

  ‘No.’

  Ula looked at Ellis.

  ‘So who did you hand the cash over to?’ Ellis wanted to know.

  ‘The photographer.’

  ‘Didn’t he tell you who the guy was?’

  ‘He says there were two guys besides him. One was in the shots, the other just hung around watching.’

  ‘No rogue shots of either?’

  ‘Not that we could find.’

  ‘Are you certain you got all the negs?’

  ‘As certain as we can be.’

  Ellis frowned. ‘So what happens now? Will you put a watch on the photographer
?’

  ‘Where’s Maurice?’ Max asked, ignoring the question.

  Ellis looked at Ula, then nodded to the speaker as though inviting her to reply.

  Glaring at him, Ula said, ‘Maurice is on his way to New York, Max. We had a call from the FBI. They want to talk to you about the allegations The Poisoner ran regarding the acquisition of Primaire stock.’

  ‘What time will Maurice get to New York?’ Max wanted to know.

  ‘In a couple of hours,’ Ellis answered, gathering from the tone of Max’s voice that the FBI enquiries had come as no surprise either.

  ‘Good. OK,’ Max responded. ‘I’m gonna call the kids now. Ula, get on to Galina will you and tell her I’ll see her back in LA tomorrow night, unless I have to go to New York.’

  ‘She’s not gonna be happy to hear that, Max,’ Ula warned, while groaning inwardly at the prospect of being the messenger.

  ‘I’m not too happy with her right now,’ Max retorted sharply. ‘But don’t tell her that. Just tell her I got caught up in Washington and I’m having dinner with the President so I don’t have time to call.’

  ‘She won’t believe that.’

  ‘She’s not supposed to.’

  Flattening her lips and raising her eyebrows Ula turned to Ellis as he started to speak. But Max cut him off.

  ‘Ramon’s flying in on Friday,’ he said. ‘I want you there at the airport to meet him, Ellis.’

  Ellis’s eyes widened. ‘You got it,’ he replied. So Max was going to put a watch on the photographer. ‘Where’s he gonna be staying?’

  ‘At the house,’ Max answered. ‘OK, I’m gonna call the kids now. If there’s anything else, you know where to get hold of me.’

  The following morning, as Max flew to New York and Galina returned to LA, Denton Fairfax sat in his Jackson office looking down at a copy of the Memphis Times. On the third page, only a few column inches from the story of Max Romanov’s suspected insider trading, was a brief report of how Memphis photographer, Carl Broadhurst, had been found in his downtown studio with a bullet through his head. Broadhurst, it said, was twenty-eight, had lived in Memphis all his life and was well known in the gay community. Police had no leads at this time and were asking anyone who knew the victim or who had seen anything unusual around the location between five and seven o’clock on the afternoon of the ninth to contact them on the number below.