The Dead and the Dreamer - Page 76/109

Tammy looked over at the private eye. "Don't sugar coat this."

"I'm not. There is danger involved. I'm not even so sure we'll get anything useful out of all this. I think it's a pretty crazy move so early in this thing. But Frank has had some success."

"You don't think I can get him to say anything?"

"I think you can, but I don't know if Hank'll bite. He does know you're connected with me. He has no idea what we're up to, however."

"You're right, John," she agreed. "Put those doughnuts away before I gain another ten pounds."

John closed the lid to the box. More and more cars were moving outside. The day had started. "All the possible criminal stuff aside, is he a good manager for you?"

"Well, he walked into a sweet deal. Michael had already gotten me going pretty well. My recording contract was already done when he took me over. Like I said, I went with him simply short term. After this one project in Nashville I'll find someone else. And besides, he'll probably be in jail anyway."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," John said. "By the way, did the record company send you any good songs to start sifting through?"

"A few, yeah. You want to hear them? Maybe, you can help me pick out a hit."

"I'd love to hear them. Me and Brad send off tapes and it would be cool to hear what a real Nashville demo sounds like."

Silence fell over the room. Finally she spoke up. "What should we do now? Do I call Hank and tell him to meet me somewhere?"

John ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back in his chair. "Let's first go see Frank and find out the particulars. Some places are bad for visibility and some are better. He'd know the best location to set up shop. Also, he'll fill us in on the recorder you'll be wearing."

"This is more interesting than recording a CD," she said.

"He was also going to check up on Taylor Time and see if they've ever worked another area like this before."

"Let's do something first," she said.

"What?"

Tammy smiled. "I want to meet your mother."

John shook his head.

"I need to meet your mother. Most guys take a girl to meet their mother if they're serious. You're serious about me aren't you?"