“Shh,” said Georgie. Then, “Really? Thank you. Now start taking notes.”
“Me? I’m not the notetaker,” said Gus.
“You are today.” She shoved a pen and notepad into his hands. “All right. First order of business.” Georgie panted for several seconds. “I don’t know the first order of business. What do we do here? Kill off one of the Harrys? Rob a bank? How are we going to afford to pay all of them?”
“All of them? How many more Harrys did you invite while I was hiding in the bathroom?” said Evie.
“One. None. Possibly three.” Georgie winced. “My granddaughter and cleaning lady were helping me out. I’m thinking maybe we were all communicating with three different Harrys this whole time.”
“None of them the right one,” McKenna added in a subdued tone. Nate nudged her foot with his. That was about all he could do to offer support in the space of a sardine can. When her gaze lifted to his, he gave her a reassuring nod. They’d figure this out. Somehow.
“Why can’t we just send away all the wrong Harrys and invite the right Harry?” Evie said.
Georgie shook her head. “We’d still owe the wrong Harrys money.Besides, people are expecting a concert in two days. We don’t have time to get the right Harry.”
“Will the wrong Harrys still be able to put on a concert?” asked Evie.
“Maybe,” said Georgie. “First one plays bass. Second one—”
“Tall Harry,” said Gus. “He’s got a few inches on Bass Harry.”
“Fine. Tall Harry has a podcast,” said Georgie.
“What kind?” asked McKenna.
“I don’t know,” said Georgie. “The talking kind?”
He and McKenna shared a look. How did they ever think Georgie had convinced an actual celebrity to visit Bugle?
“Sounds like Tall Harry’s hoping to be a stand-up comedian someday when we talked in the kitchen earlier,” said Gus. “He said right now he’s living with his mom and mostly just trying out new material on a weekly podcast that he does inside his closet because that’s where the acoustics are best. But it sounds promising. Who doesn’t love a comedian?”
“Right now, me,” said McKenna. “In fact, I’d say I don’t love them any more than I love bass players.”
Nate tapped her foot again. He’d fix this. He didn’t know how. But he would.
Gus elbowed Nate’s side and handed him the notepad. “My hand’s getting tired. Can you finish?” Nate looked at the notepad where so far only one word had been written.Pickle.
“What about Harry number three?” said Evie.
“Hairy Harry,” said Gus.
“Hairy Harry?” said Barb. “I haven’t met him yet. What’s he do?”
“He’s an author,” said Georgie. “Specializes in writing and giving lectures about the early Jazz Age.”
“See what happens when we think outside the box, you guys?” said Gus. “We get ourselves an author.”
“Not funny,” said Georgie.
“A little bit funny. Make sure you put it down in the notes,” Gus whispered to Nate.
“So where are all the Harrys right now?” asked Evie.
“Napping,” said Georgie. “Apparently this has been a big day for them.”
“Well, to get back to the original point of this meeting,” said Gus, opening a box of Cheez-Its he must’ve pulled off a shelf, “I say we bump off Hairy Harry first.”
“Which one was Hairy Harry again?” said Evie.
