Carol Clark - Fleeced

I’ve decided that the rest of my life should be spent doing good for others. Who knows how long I have left?

They say that if you find one true love in your life then you’re blessed. I figure I’ll quit while I’m ahead.

Best of luck!

Natty Boy

Regan couldn’t believe her eyes. Natty Boy! And who in God’s name is Buttercup? More than ever, Regan felt certain that Nat’s death was no accident.

Careful! Please be careful!” Thomas urged the men who were carrying all the film equipment into the front parlor of the club. “Don’t bang into anything, please.”

He was largely ignored. As anyone who’s spent time on a movie set knows, the crew go about their business, unimpressed by celebrity, surroundings, or gawkers. They simply do their work.

In contrast, Thomas was running around trying to make order out of something he could not. Hollywood had arrived, and time was precious. They had one afternoon to film an important scene.

Thomas suddenly wondered if he had gotten in over his head. Outside on the narrow street, the movie trucks were taking up a lot of space. Production assistants were trying to direct traffic around the park. Electric cables were strewn all over the sidewalk.

Thomas looked out the bay window and saw people staring into the front parlor of the club. Oh dear, he thought. Sometimes things can seem like such a good idea in the planning, but then when they come to pass, your palms start to sweat. Especially now. He wanted the Settlers’ Club to gain attention. But only in the right ways.

“Could you move, please?” a burly fellow holding a large piece of lighting equipment asked Thomas in a tone that barely masked his impatience.

Thomas stepped back quickly. “Of course.” What can I do? What can I do? he thought. I know! I’ll bring the sheep down. Wendy wanted them here, and it might be a nice touch for the movie.

Ten minutes later, with the help of Regan, who was on her way out, they brought the two sheep into the parlor and plopped them down on either side of the fireplace.

“Excuse me!” An efficient-looking thirtyish guy wearing a cap and carrying a clipboard rushed over to them. “What are you doing to the set?”

“These sheep are important to our club,” Thomas said. “We thought you might want them for the movie.”

“All the casting has been completed. Could you please remove them?”

Regan looked at Thomas. “Why don’t we carry the sheep into your office? We’ll bring them back out when they’re finished filming.”

“I just wanted to do the right thing by Wendy and Nat.”

“I understand,” Regan said. “But let’s move them.”

Regan had Dolly and Thomas had Bah-Bah in their arms when from behind them someone yelled, “Stop!”

They turned to see a wiry man dressed in black, sporting a black beret, and carrying an empty cigarette holder, coming toward them from the doorway. “I like the sheep. Put them back.”

Regan and Thomas both shrugged and put the sheep down.

“I’m Jacques Harlow, the director of We Must Be Dreaming.”

“And I’m the president of the club, Thomas Pilsner, and this is my friend Regan Reilly.”

“Nice.”

“I’m pleased you chose to use the club for a scene in your film.”

Jacques bit on the edge of the cigarette holder and spoke through his teeth. “I like the vibes here. I don’t work with a script. My actors all improvise their lines. I think that a setting such as this inspires our deepest hopes and our darkest fears.”

Does it ever, Regan thought.

“Would you like to be an extra?” he asked Regan with a touch of a leer.

“No,” Regan answered quickly, then added. “I’m pretty busy.” She turned to Thomas. “I’m heading out.”

“Come to my office for a moment, Regan.”

They excused themselves, stepped around the piled-up equipment, and went into Thomas’s office down the hall, shutting the door behind them.

“That guy is weird,” Thomas said.

“Thomas, what kind of movie is it?’

“The location manager told me it was a period piece.”

“What period?”

Thomas’s lip quivered. “I didn’t ask. I assumed he meant Victorian.”

The phone on the desk rang. Thomas picked it up and identified himself.

“The New York World ?… Yes, there is a movie shooting here… He what?… Just got out of jail… he trashed a location in New Jersey?… I can’t talk now… Good-bye.” Thomas dropped the phone back in its cradle.

“I hate to ask,” Regan said.

“Jacques Harlow is a nut case. He trashed a bowling alley in New Jersey where they were shooting a scene last week. He thinks he’s one of the Sopranos. They just released him from jail.”

Regan grimaced. “Well, somebody’s paying for this film to be made. I wonder who?”

“I think it’s low budget,” Thomas said in a tiny voice. “We were desperate for new sources of revenue, but this isn’t so good for the club.”

Regan stood. “I’m going down to the 13th Precinct. I’ll give them your regards.” As she walked out, Regan wondered when the next flight to London was leaving.

Over at the crime convention, Nora Regan Reilly was very pleased with the way things were going. The only disappointment was that Regan couldn’t be there. So many people were asking for her.

“She was called on to a case,” Nora kept saying.

“Since last night?”

“Yes, but she’s still in town. She’s going to try to drop by for one of the seminars. Or maybe even the cocktail party later this afternoon.”

Nora made a quick inspection of the buffet the hotel had put out for lunch. It looked good. Steaming trays of pasta, chicken, and vegetables were ready for consumption. Nora had slipped out of the last seminar just before it ended to make sure everything was set.

It had been a most interesting seminar. An FBI agent had given a lecture and a slide show on con artists. How they manage to infiltrate people’s lives, gain their confidence, and rip them off. Some of them were small-time crooks, whereas others could remove millions from their rightful owners.

“You’ll find them everywhere,” he had said. “They’re like vultures that prey on everyone from lottery winners, to the elderly, to the lonely, to the ambitious, and to the vulnerable. Many people who get ripped off are then too embarrassed to report it. They think they should have been smarter. Big Hollywood celebrities get duped by investment advisers. People with less money get involved in pyramid schemes that collapse around them. It’s bad out there, and these scam artists, when cornered, can be very dangerous. They lash out…”

The slide show displayed grainy photos of just a few of these people in action.

Yes, Regan would have loved this, Nora thought. What a shame.

“Mrs. Reilly?”

Nora turned away from the food table and smiled. “Yes?”

A rather imposing, breathless woman, with her hair swept up in a bun and a notebook in her hand, dropped her purse on the floor. “I’m Mary Ruffner, a reporter with the New York World. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about the conference.”

“Of course.” Nora led her to a table.

“Everything happens at once. My editor wants me to run over to Gramercy Park to the Settlers’ Club. Some guy who just got sprung from jail is filming a movie there, and the rumor is that someone was murdered in the club last night.” Mary laughed mirthlessly. “As long as he doesn’t expect me to spend the night there. I write about arts and entertainment.”