The following evening, James decided to pay Rick a visit at his penthouse apartment in Manhattan. Social calls had never been his cup of tea, even if the man he was going to meet was someone very familiar to him. However, his words in “Jodie’s” club had intrigued him. Obviously, he knew who Olivia was and that she was the same girl who had spent the night in his cabin. More than that, James wanted to discuss his situation with Rick and try to find out who would try to pin a murder on him. It was at that point that James realized he should have had a few more friends. They could be lending a helping hand and providing some much needed input.

The elevator door slid closed, as he stepped off the empty car. James found himself in a wide, grey corridor. He pressed the doorbell on the left of the door and tapped his foot on the marble floor with eager anticipation.

“I’ll be damned.” Rick said, surprise written all over his face, as he answered his door. “James Farrell in my house; I’m honored.”

“Hey, Rick.” James winked at him, smiling down at him as he brushed past him.

“Whoa!” Rick exclaimed, pushing his door shut. “Tell me I didn’t see that.”

“See what?”

“The wink and the smile! Just now,” Rick exclaimed in a voice that became even more high-pitched the more excited he became. “What happened to you? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” James declared, scanning the luxurious apartment, as Rick moved around him.

“You hooked up!” He said, his eyes glinting with amusement. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“I’m still waiting for an explanation.” James assumed a more serious, stiff tone. “You know her; you knew she spent the night in my cabin. You said ‘she’s a nice girl.’ I mentioned your name to her. She has no idea who you are.”

“I lied to you, man.” Rick’s voice returned to its usual standards. “I’ve only been there three times. Back in August, I was just getting out of the building, when I saw a bunch of people heading towards “Jodie’s” bar. Someone was playing the piano. I asked Jodie. She said her name was ‘Olivia’. Man, that chick played for hours. She even performed some of your stuff. Last Thursday night, I overheard Jodie saying something like: ‘Liv, are you going hiking alone?’ Jodie was pretty upset; she was yelling at her. I heard them talk about Slide Mountain. I just connected the dots. The ‘nice girl’ part is pretty funny, really.”

“What do you mean?” James asked.

“Well…” Rick snorted. “I was there with a friend of mine: Ryan Peterson, Howard’s son. He was flirting with her that night. It seemed to be going well, if you ask me. But then, his girlfriend showed up. Of course, the Peterson kid didn’t say anything; he acted all normal. Pretty soon, he got rid of her and tried to talk to Olivia again. That’s when all hell broke loose. She started screaming at him and I mean loud. He wouldn’t let up, though. Then, she slapped him. That girl’s got guts. You don’t want to mess with her.”

“Thanks for the tip.” James said with a grin. “Now, I really need to talk to you about yesterday.”

“Why the hell did you get arrested?” Rick spoke in frustrated tones.

“Someone tried to make it look like I killed that girl, Rick.” James informed. “They planted my fingerprints on the murder weapon.”

“Holy shit!” Rick cried. “Why? Why the fuck would anyone do that to you?”

“I was hoping you could shed some light on that.” James said as he held on tightly to his temper. “I’ve been thinking about it since yesterday, and frankly? No name comes to mind.”

“I don’t have a clue.” Rick shrugged, putting his hands on his waist. “Have you pissed off anyone lately?”

“Other than you? No.” James shook his head sideways.

“Actually, you didn’t piss me off,” Rick responded as he waved his hand in front of his face. “You scared the shit out of me, but you didn’t piss me off.”

“The police said it was a professional hit.” James went on. “We’re looking for someone…”

“… rich and powerful,” Rick finished the sentence for him. “The executives, man. Someone’s trying to hurt them through you.”

“Care to elaborate on that?” James squinted at him.

“Well…” Rick took a deep breath. “You’re one of the company’s most valuable assets. One of their rivals must have found out about you. We have a lot of those, James. Rivals, that is – they’re like flies in the summer. We have to keep swatting them down.”

“Then why didn’t they kill me instead of her?” James inquired, his voice squeaking up an octave.

“That’s a very good question.” Rick commented. “If they did that, they’d start a war with the company. Wars are bad for business. By pinning a murder on you, they’d make the company spend a lot of time and resources, trying to get you out.”

“Wouldn’t killing one of their singers start a war?” James posed yet another question.

“Laurel Thomas hadn’t signed any papers yet.” Rick heaved a long, heavy sigh. “She was going to, tomorrow morning.”

“Let me know if you find something.” James requested. “I have to go.”

“Oh, before I forget.” Rick said. “The company’s interested in someone. Her name’s Michelle Adams. Look her up on YouTube. You’re meeting her tomorrow morning. I’ll text you her address.”

“I will.” James assured. “Goodnight.”