London Harmony: Minuette Read Online Free PDF Page B

spectrum, even though it was primarily a Jazz Club run by London Harmony.  I didn't have any preconceptions about it, but the sheer size of the place was astounding.
    It was in an old brick warehouse building that was restored to its original glory.  There was a small portion of it on the east end of the building that was the overflow studio for London Harmony, but the bulk of the monster building was dedicated to the club.  Usually this late in the evening, everyone would be inside and I could work in peace.  But at eleven at night, the line of people waiting to get in still stretched the length of the building.
    I swallowed and just kept my head down as I moved to the back of the car park to give myself as big a buffer as I could and counted my thumb drives.  Twenty.  I placed one under the wiper of a large truck, then counted my thumb drives again.  Nineteen.
    This continued until I was down to five.  Place a drive and recount.  Then a nice looking SUV started driving slowly down the aisle toward me.  I stuffed my hands in my jacket pocket and started walking away, swiftly counting my steps and measuring my stride.  I wasn't doing anything wrong.  I don't know why I felt like I had been.
    The car sped up and blocked my way at the walk.  A grinning woman rolled down the window as I paused and looked up.  I blinked.  It was the same woman that caught me a few weeks back.  What was her name?  June?
    I exhaled and then said before she could speak, “I wasn't doing anything wrong.”
    Her smile bloomed, making me feel at ease as she asked in her American accent, “Annette, was it?”  I nodded carefully, and she prompted, “Are those Minuette tracks again?”
    I looked around for an escape but had to remind myself again that I hadn't done anything wrong so I couldn't get into any trouble.  She tilted her head and looked worried for a moment, had she just read me?  She put out a hand. “May I have one?”
    I looked at her and then sighed.  It couldn't hurt.  I nodded and pulled them out of my bag and counted them again.  Five.  I handed her one and then counted them again.  Four.
    She kept one eye on me and handed the drive to that haunted woman she was with before.  The woman deftly plugged it into their radio and I relaxed as I heard the beautiful cascade of piano music wafting out on the night breeze.  The other woman just nodded once at June and pulled the drive out of the radio and pocketed it.
    June cocked an expectant eyebrow at me and asked, “May I ask where you got these this time?”
    I shrugged. “A woman at Hyde Park paid me twenty quid to distribute them here.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “That's twice in a month.  Quite a coincidence.  Did you get a good look at her this time?”
    I shook my head and she assured me, “You aren't in trouble here Annette, I just want to find this Minuette.”  Then she flat out asked, “Do you know who she is and where I can contact her?”
    I froze.  Bloody hell  Annette, just advertise it.  I exhaled and played it off.  “I don't know who she is, but I see her around from time to time.  Why are you looking for her?”
    She considered me for a moment and explained, “Well, I am always on the lookout for fresh musical talents and I really like what I hear on these drives.”  She tapped her chin thoughtfully as she spoke, then made an offhand gesture into the nether.  “You do this to pick up twenty quid a pop?”
    I nodded and she grinned. “Can I hire you to work with my people to find Minuette?  Twenty quid an hour.  That's a lot better than twenty for a night's work.”
    My eyes snapped wide. Bloody Hell!  I only made ten an hour through the agency, and it wasn't always steady employment.  If only I could take a job like that, the excess could help fund Mindy and my car.  But I'd never betray Mindy and give her up.
    I shook my head.  “Sorry, no. As tempting as it is.  I work for a temp agency in the core.  They already