CHAPTER 54
WHO IS THIS GUY?I’ve never seen him before. He’s definitely not one of the invited guests. He’s a dark-haired scruffy guy with a beer belly poking through his shirt. As he staggers toward me, I see that he’s drunk.
“You owe me,” he says. “Forty thou. Like what you said.”
“Who are you?” I ask.
“You stole my… my… stuff,” he says, slurring his words. “And Ben promised. He said he would… would…”
“I don’t work here,” I say. That makes him even angrier.
He starts banging his hand on Ben’s desk. “I!”Bang.“Want!”Bang. “My!”Bang.“Money!” he says. He takes a few steps closer to me. Should I call the guard? Probably not wise. We’d both be arrested for trespassing.
I close the file drawer quickly. Just in time. The door opens again. This time it’s Ben.
“What are you doing in here?” Ben asks. I’m about to use the old ladies’ room excuse. But Ben’s not talking to me. He’s staring at the angry man.
“You can’t be in here, Loxton,” Ben says between clenched teeth. “And you’re drunk. You have to leave.”
“You took my work!” the man yells. “You took it! And you didn’t pay me!”
“I told you you’ll get your money. Only not yet,” Ben says.
“You’re a cheat!” Loxton yells. “A goddamn lying cheat.”
Slowly, Ben reaches for the phone on his desk, picks it up, presses a button. “Security. Now,” he says into the receiver. Then he hangs up.
Loxton is still screaming. “I know what you’re doing! I’m gonna tell people!”
Within seconds, a man in a uniform shows up.
“Please escort Mr. Loxton out through the rear exit,” Ben says. The guard grabs Loxton by the arm and pushes him through a side door. Loxton is yelling, “I’ll tell them! I know what you’re doing!” And then he’s gone.
Now it’s just the two of us.
“And what areyoudoing in here?” Ben asks me.
“I was looking for the ladies’ room,” I say.
Does he even recognize me? I don’t know. Does it matter?
At some point, it just might.
CHAPTER 55
THE MINUTE I LEAVE the party, I google the name Loxton.
Then I text Metcalf:Check out an artist named Graham Loxton. Big chip on his shoulder. Says Ben owes him, cheated him out of $$. THREATENED BEN. Loxton said he “knows” stuff.
I should have stopped there. But no. Feeling cocky about my accidental discovery, I stupidly add:Also check out man named Lou (Lewis? Louis?). Recently fired. Angry because—? May be someone we could turn.
I assume that, since it’s Saturday night, I won’t get a response till Monday. I should have known. Metcalf would never postpone a chance to berate me.
He texts back:Loxton: Will do. But Lou/Louis/Lewis? 40,000+ in the tristate area alone. Surely you can dig a little deeper, Elinor. The proper spelling, at least.
I can practically feel my blood pressure shooting way beyond the range of my beta-blocker. Not good.
I take a deep breath and count to ten. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when you feel the urge to grab an ice pick and puncture someone’s colon?
