Tales from Drysdale House (5)

 

( This chapter is being posted a little later in the day than usual. The Wednesday Post was originally scheduled for today, but there was an space in the Posting schedule then. This is the follow up post)

 

Narrative of Patrick Masters

I was sitting in the lobby bar of the Marriot Downtown in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Around

me, in tasteful, expensive clothes were guests of the Hotel, ones either staying there or attending the quarterly meeting of the Pittsburgh and District Bar Association. In such civilized surroundings, with guests and staff speaking in hushed, quiet tones it was hard to believe that fewer that forty-eight hours previously I had been driving like a maniac through the streets of San Francisco trying to avoid being killed by assassins. Only my familiarity with driving on those hilly streets and my splurging on a fast car had saved my life and that of my passenger, my Slavegirl Juli.

After my narrow escape,my friends, or perhaps better put, my associates, the famous Frick Steel and ranching family had come to my rescue. They had hushed everything up, disposed of my damaged car, and arranged protection for my house and possessions. I considered this only right, as I suspected I had been targeted due to my association with the Frick ranch and companies. Certainly, I could not think of anything else in my life as a quiet patent attorney, and newly appointed Honorary Consul-General for the Grand Duchy of Lutha that would lead anyone to want to kill me. Most people had never even heard of the small European micro-country of Lutha, and patent fights were bloodless and resolved with money.

Only my recent case for the Fricks had any whiff of violence. They were being extorted by a patent troll, Vincent VanRijn and his lawyer Vansittart. Due to an error by Vansittart, a violent plot by VanRijn against the Frick ranch had been exposed in discovery. The Fricks had extorted the extorter for a large sum of money and land, and I had received my Consulship through their influence as a reward. Now I suspected VanRijn of being a poor loser.

The morning after the attack, I had locked my collared sluts, Juli and Veronika deep in the pens under my home at Drysdale House. I was going to go to work. If there was to be another attack, it would be away from my house so they, at least, would be safe. The Housekeeper, the redoubtable Mrs Magruder had surprised me when she appeared at the cellar door with a shotgun.

“I will be defending your property to the best of my ability, Mr Masters,” she had told me.

I had tried to dissuade her. Neither my property nor my life should be defended by putting a woman at risk, but she would not be deterred.

“Mr Masters, you gave me purpose again after I was replaced as Housekeeper at Frick House after the death of my old boss, Mr Willard Frick. I owe you everything I have. I will be as loyal to you as I was loyal to him.”

I could not reward such devotion by allowing it to be at risk. If I could draw the attention of the attackers away from the House by going to work, then at the office I would be. Besides, I was restless, and my work is calming to me, however dry and boring it may seem to others. I believe strongly in the law as a bulwark of society.

I reviewed our pending cases, and met with our eccentric IT leader, Lynn Kessel. She does not dress appropriately for a Law Firm, but apparently boots, baggy cargo pants and a hoodie with the hood up are proper for someone in IT. We are lucky to have her.  I tasked Lynn with double-checking all our IT defenses.

“I don’t doubt your work, but I am uneasy about any possible attacks; going over everything would set my mind at rest.”

Lynn grinned her infectious grin, visible even under the hood.

“Eternal vigilance and all that. OK chief. I do agree with you though. Complacency is the enemy, you never know when there might be an attack.”  She saluted as she grinned. How someone so young and irreverent could be so near the top of her profession would baffle old school lawyers, but I had been dealing with tech people all my professional life.

“Truer words have never been spoken, Ms Kessel. Thank you.”

These strange people run on appreciation and praise. That and endless coffee.

I returned to my work but was again distracted when my receptionist showed a police detective into my office.

“Inspector Strade of the San Francisco Police. We were wondering if you noticed any disturbance outside your home last night.”

He handed me a card. Inspector Lee Strade, Inspector, San Francisco Police Department. He had the faintest trace of an English accent.

“I can’t recall any, Inspector. I was out for dinner with my girl, then we returned home and went to bed. I hope there wasn’t too much of a disturbance?”

“Some of the people living on Drysdale Circle reported they heard some gunshots; they thought that the noises might have come from close to your house.”

“I am sorry I can’t help you, Inspector. Maybe some young hooligans were setting of firecrackers in the public part of Fremont Park?”

“That must be it, thank you for your time.”

It was an hour later that three men who looked as out of place in a decorous patent attorney’s office as did Lynn Kessel were shown in. They were cowboys and they looked it. Competent, tanned men in jeans and boots. In San Francisco we see lots of drugstore cowboys, but these were the real deal. I knew two of them, Smith and Hawkins, assistant foremen at the Lazy F ranch. With them as a tall man I didn’t know. He looked tough and capable, but not quite a cowboy, even though he was dressed as such. Once we were alone, Smith explained that the large man was a friend of Woodrow Frick’s and that he came from the Planet Gor. I was astonished. How did he come to be here? Such things were waved away, and I understood that I would not get an explanation, at least for now.

Hawkins did tell me why they were in San Francisco.

“Woodrow Frick has asked Smith and I, along with Scipio here, to take up temporary residence in your house, so that you can meet Wyandotte Frick in Pittsburgh. He cannot leave Pittsburgh right now because of the Companionship ceremony of Chelsea Frick and Elliott Emery, which will be in the next few days. But he needs to talk to you right away without drawing too much attention to the meeting.

Wyandotte would like you to check into the Marriot and wait until Woodrow or Zach can bring you out to the Estate for a quick meeting.”

I always keep in the office a travel bag packed and ready. An out-of-town client may need reassuring at short notice. I sent a short text to Mrs Magruder explaining that the three capable men would be coming to the house, and that they were to be extended every facility, including Juli and Veronika. They would be there to protect the house while I was called away to Pittsburgh.

Within an hour I was on my way to the airport, driven by Smith and within three hours I was in the air for Pittsburgh.

In business class, the familiar pair of flight attendants, Leigh and Scarlet were working. As usual, Scarlet ignored me and threw herself into impressing male passengers who were more obviously well off. Leigh covered for her friend with the less-favored passengers.

“Scarlet still hasn’t found a rich man to support her?”

“No sir.” Leigh laughed. “Really, she means well, but all her life she has relied on men for support. But we did get good news. Next month we are to transfer to an international run. San Francisco, Hawaii, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok and back. Maybe she will have better luck. I worry about her and try to protect her from men who would take advantage of her.”

That was a new perspective. I considered that men should be protected from Scarlet. With the change in my views since I met my dangerous friends the Fricks, I considered that Scarlet might be quite will suited to a collar.

I have been waiting at the Mariott for eighteen hours now, waiting for a summons from Wyandotte Frick. The Frick’s position with the Emerys and the rest of the North American families must be tricky still, if he needs to be careful about who is seen at the Frick estate.

 

I have become aware in the last fifteen minutes of a man sitting alone at a table close by the door. We are indoors, and the bar is somewhat dark, but he is wearing sunglasses. He is barely sipping his drink. I look around, checking for alternate exits. The man is very self-effacing. If I had not been so worried after the attack on my car two days ago, I would not have noticed him. He seems to be able to make himself almost invisible. 

An attractive, well dressed woman of around thirty approached me.

“Mr Masters. You may not remember me. My name is Barbara Quigley. I was associate counsel for VanRijn in the Frick patent case?”

“I remember you very well, Miss Quigley. You were always well prepared and professional.”

“Thank you. I wish Mr Vansittart and Mr VanRijn thought that. Vansittart has been saying terrible things about my firm. He implies that we cost Mr VanRijn the case. I have had some nasty messages from VanRijn.”

“That is awful Ms. Quigley. You know I can’t approach them though, right. We were on opposing sides.”

“Oh, I know that. But my sister Hannah is awfully worried. She only recently qualified as a lawyer and Mr Vansittart has implied, no not implied, outright stated that she did something to lose the case. Which is unfair. We don’t even know why VanRijn settled or what the terms were. Only that the terms specified that our fee was to be paid in full.”

“Well, you really can’t do anything unless VanRijn says something in public. Though rumors are a hard thing to fight, there isn’t much you can do. “

“I think Hannah tried though. She took some holidays and flew to San Francisco. I worry that she went there to try to reason with Vansittart. But what worries me is that she has disappeared. I can’t reach her, and her hotel has said that she has checked out. I don’t know what to do.”

Barbara Quigley sounded very worried. Still, it was possible that Hannah had met up with some friends and gone hiking or sailing and would show up soon. Perhaps Vansittart had done something rash. On the other hand, although Wyandotte Frick had ruled out any action against Vansittart, VanRijn, or the Quigleys, he may have changed his mind, or someone in the Frick family had taken an opportunity to settle scores. It was another mystery.

I assured Barbara I would make enquiries when I returned to San Francisco, but that it was more likely that her sister was just away with friends. That was a real possibility too, a younger sister may well want to get away from the supervision of an older one, especially if there was a man involved.

I could feel the weight of the eyes of the man by the door as I waited. There was no way I was going to leave this public place while he was able to follow me. I ordered a Shirley Temple from the attractive woman who was tending the bar. Her white shirt was carefully adjusted to show just enough skin to attract the maximum in tips combined with the minimum of comment. I was contemplating the idea of being served in the fashion that Woodrow Frick had told me of in the Paga Taverns of Ko-ro-ba. I imagined the bartender serving my drink while she was on her knees wearing only a collar and a wisp of silk around her hips. It was a pleasant thought. I was stilling thinking sharing a drink with Woodrow Frick in a low-ceilinged tavern on Gor when he walked through the door into the bar of the Downtown Marriot.