files.â
Jasper decided to ignore that. He was still trying to recall the first name of his new junior partner. It snapped into his head with dazzling clarity. âOlivia. That was it. Olivia Chantry.â
âWhy does that name sound familiar?â Al mused.
âRollie told me that she runs her own business there in Seattle. One of those event production companies.â
âYou mean the kind of firm you hire to stage a large function like a fancy charity ball or a political fundraiser?â
âYes.â Jasper rummaged around in a few more mental drawers and came up with another name. âLight Fantastic. I think thatâs the name of her company.â
âYouâre kidding?â Al whistled softly. âIâll be damned. It all comes back to me now.â
âWhat comes back to you?â
âWe are talking about Olivia Chantry of Light Fantastic, right?â
âYes.â Jasper noticed that a small line was forming near the departure gate. âWhy?â
âIf you werenât such a philistine when it comes to art, youâd know who your new partner is.â
âRollie never said anything about her being an artist.â
âSheâs not,â Al said patiently. âBut she was married to one for a while. Logan Dane, no less. Even you must have heard of him.â
âDane.â Jasper watched the gate. It looked like the plane was loading early. He did not want to risk missing the flight. âSure, Iâve heard of him. Who hasnât? Heâs dead, though, isnât he? Got killed in an accident in Europe or something a while back?â
âThree years ago the man ran with the bulls in Pamplona,â Al whispered reverently.
âProbably drunk.â
âFor Godâs sake, Sloan, is there no romance or passion in your soul? Didnât you ever read Hemingway? Running with the bulls is the ultimate challenge. Man against beast.â
âI take it the beast came out on top in Logan Daneâs case?â
âYeah.â Alâs voice resumed its normal tenor. âSome say it was suicide. Legend has it that his wife, your new partner, was getting set to divorce him. Dane went a little mad at the prospect of losing his wife, his business manager, and his muse all at once and took off for Pamplona.â
âHis wife was all of those things rolled into one?â
âSo they say.â
âWhere did you get all that, Al?â
âDonât you remember the article in
West Coast Neo
magazine last year?â Al asked.
âHell, no.
West Coast Neo
is one of those slick, glossy rags that caters to the arty-literati set, isnât it?â
âYep.â
âI donât have time to read that kind of stuff.â
âYou know, Jasper, some day you really ought to try reading something besides the
Wall Street Journal
and
Hard Currency
. Youâd be amazed at how much more well-rounded youâd become. People might start inviting you out. You could even develop a social life.â
âSkip the lecture on how I donât get out enough. What else do you know about Olivia Chantry?â
âJust what I read in the
West Coast Neo
piece. Crawford Lee Wilder called her Logan Daneâs Dark Muse.â
âWho the hell is Crawford Lee Wilder?â
âDamn, you are a troglodyte when it comes to culture, arenât you? Wilder works for
West Coast Neo
. Heâs very big in the journalism world. Got a Pulitzer a while back when he was working for the
Seattle Banner-Journal
. He did an investigative reporting series onone of those big motivational speaker firms. You know, a company that gives seminars on how to motivate employees.â
That clicked. âI remember the series. I read it.â
âCongratulations,â Al said dryly.
âHe did a solid, in-depth analysis. Showed that the company was operating a scam.â
âThe firm he profiled later filed for