The manager continued happily, "I found a policeman looking to make a little money and willing to do some inside work for me."
"I think we have enough," Frank said. "Let's try something else."
"Hold on a second," John said.
Tammy looked across the room at John. He made a motion with his hand to keep things rolling. "How did you find him?" Tammy asked.
"He came to me. He said he knew a good way for us to get established in this region and make a few dollars. He said there was something in it for everyone. But, I should not tell you all this. It's all just business anyway."
John thought this man wanted to tell his story. He was playing right along, eating right out of her hand.
"What would a cop know about the music business?"
"He doesn't know much about it at all. I do. Obviously, he knows evidence and police work. He can do some nice things and make bad things go away."
"Sounds like a spy novel," Tammy said, "not music."
Hank smiled at that. "It does. It's all pretty exciting really. Get someone like him on your side and you can do almost anything."
Tammy fiddled with her food and then asked, "Who was it? Who's the secret inside guy?"
Just then a waitress dropped an entire meal. Meat, glass, and vegetables splashed across the tiled floor. The place fell silent and everyone instinctively looked to the commotion.
Tammy and her manager looked over in the direction of the crash just like everybody else. John signaled for her to keep things going.
"She must have seen her tip," Tammy said. Hank laughed and took another swig of his drink.
The crowd was settling back down from the outburst. Two other servers came over and helped with the cleanup. John took a receiver out of his own pocket and switched it on. He spoke into the mouthpiece. "Keep going. You're doing great. Just keep him talking for a few more minutes."
She looked surprised to suddenly hear his voice in her ear so loud and clear. "I guess everything's all right over there," she said. "I've done that before. I used to waitress in a bar in Florida."
"Poor girl. I feel like helping. But no, I don't work here," he remarked arrogantly.
"What other groups do you manage here?"
A uniformed policeman walked in.
"Let's see," Hank started. "I have The Dynamics and Bill Davenport. I'm working hard to acquire Dirty Fish."