Chapter Thirteen
David, Elizabeth and Jeremy walked quickly out the concert hall doors and into the brisk night air.
“That was a wonderful concert,” David said, reaching for Elizabeth’s hand as they started down the sidewalk.
“”Yes, it was nice,” Jeremy said thoughtfully, “but I sometimes think that the Dvorak Cello Concerto is overplayed.”
“You wouldn’t think so if it were a piano concerto,” said David, smiling slyly at Elizabeth.
“I don’t agree, Jeremy,” Elizabeth said. “There’s nothing else quite like it. The composer certainly never wrote anything like that again.”
“I suppose so,” Jeremy said.
“And it’s such a beautiful old concert hall.” Elizabeth said. “I’d forgotten how lovely those antique decorations are.”
“I’m afraid we’re too used to it to appreciate it,” David said.
“That’s right,” Jeremy said. “The students from Leonard Conservatory held most of their important concerts here. So I’m afraid that David and I take it for granted.”
“Brrr!” said David, shuddering slightly as the three turned a corner around a large office building. “We’ve got to pick up the pace, people. It’s getting nasty out here.”
Just then, two men in dark coats rushed up and grabbed Jeremy. One of them pushed him forcefully against the nearby building wall.
“Hey!” David demanded. “What is this?”
“Turn around and shut up!” ordered the second man, standing between David and Jeremy, who was now gasping for breath. The first man pulled Jeremy from against the wall and delivered a vicious blow to his stomach. Jeremy doubled over and fell to his knees.
The first man leaned down to whisper in Jeremy’s ear. “Friday. This Friday or you’re in more trouble than you’ve ever been in your life.”
David rushed forward to help Jeremy but the second man pushed him away roughly. Seconds later the men were gone. The whole attack had taken less than a minute.
The next day, David was sitting across from Sean in his office at the police station. “My God, Sean. You’ve got to do something.”
“What did Jeremy do?” asked Sean. “Did he call for help?”
“No. And as soon as he could stand upright again, he insisted we all get away from there immediately. He swore he was okay but he asked us to help him get home. We took him back to his apartment and left him there, outside his door. I don’t know if Melissa was there or not, but there was a light on so she probably was. Anyway, he told me he’d call me today. But so far this morning I’ve heard nothing from him.”
“Please remember, David,” Sean said, “that I can’t do anything about this sort of thing until someone files a formal complaint. I’m sorry if your friend has fallen in with some bad characters, but there’s not much I can do about it unless he comes in and tells me about it.”
David shook his head. “They roughed him up pretty badly last night with at least two witnesses present. They didn’t seem too worried about getting caught.”
Sean nodded. “How far from the theatre were you at that point?”
“Two or three blocks. We were headed down a side street.”
“Anybody else around?”
“No, not really. The concert crowd dissipated very quickly.”
“And it was late at night so the perpetrators knew there wouldn’t be too many other people on the street. It looks like they had pretty much a clear field. These thugs were professionals. They knew what they could or couldn’t get away with.”
“You almost sound like you know these people.”
“Of course not. I’m just telling you that this sort of thing happens and the criminals know what they’re doing and are very seldom brought to justice.”
David sighed heavily. “So what was it all about? That’s what I’d like to know. Do you think it had something to do with the Beethoven manuscript?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, David. I suppose the only one who really knows is Jeremy. You said he was going to call you this morning, but he hasn’t done it yet?”
“That’s right. Listen, Sean. I’m worried. I’m worried about Jeremy whether or not the attack was related to the Beethoven manuscript.”
“I understand. Do you think you can get him to come and see me? Make a statement? Then we could at least ask a few questions of other people who might have seen it happen.”
“I don’t know. He just seemed to want to forget the whole thing happened.”
“I’ll tell you what. Put some pressure on him to come and see me. You come with him if you have to. Tell him it doesn’t have to be official. I just want to talk with him about it.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Later that afternoon, David and Jeremy were seated in Sean’s office when the detective entered with a couple of cups of coffee in his hands.
“I’m glad you could make it,” said Sean, handing Jeremy and David the cups of coffee. “These are just out of a machine, I’m afraid, but it’s all we’ve got.” Sean sank into his seat slowly. “David tells me that you ran into a little trouble last night,” he said, nodding toward Jeremy.
“Yeah,” Jeremy said. “That was a little crazy.”
“Sounds a little worse than crazy,” Sean said. “Sounds dangerous.”
“I guess,” Jeremy said. “Nothing to worry too much about.”
“Jeremy!” cried David. “They could have killed you!”
Jeremy shrugged. “They weren’t trying to kill me.”
“Would you mind giving us some idea of what they were trying to do,” Sean asked.
“Trying to send a message, I suppose,” said Jeremy.
“And what sort of a message would that be?” Sean asked.
“Look,” Jeremy said, “the fact is that I owe a few people a little money.”
“A few?” snapped David. “How many are a few?”
“And how much money?” added Sean.
Jeremy squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. “I don’t know. A few. Three or four. Maybe a few thousand bucks total. Putting a career together, paying an agent. It’s all more expensive than you think.”
“Are these loan sharks or what?” asked Sean.
“No,” replied Jeremy. “Nothing like that.”
“And yet they send a couple of thugs out to hassle you? Sounds like a pretty sinister businessman to me,” Sean said. “Did you recognize either of the guys?”
“Never seen them before. Those guys were just there to remind me that the loan was due. They just got carried away.”
“Carried away?” said David. “They could have put you in the hospital, like Melissa.”
“This has nothing to do with Melissa,” Jeremy quickly shot back.
“But can you be sure of that?” asked Sean. “Could the same people have been sent to assault Melissa?”
“No, absolutely not,” Jeremy said, shaking his head violently. “These guys just over-stepped their bounds. It’s all about a loan. I’m going to pay them back…soon. There’ll be no more trouble.”
“Can you be sure of that, Jeremy?” asked Sean.
“Positively,” he answered confidently. “Look, it’ll take more than a couple of Neanderthals to get me off my feet for long. I’ve got a lot to do today and I want to get to it. Don’t worry about this loan stuff. I know it looked bad last night and I know the whole thing upset David and Elizabeth.”
“She was petrified,” David interjected. “Hell, I was petrified.”
“I realize that,” Jeremy said. “And that’s why I agreed to come to Sean’s office today to put all this to rest. But enough of this crap. These people aren’t worth talking about.” Jeremy rose and began to slip into his jacket. “Look,” he said. “It’s not that I’m not grateful. I’m grateful to both of you. I’m grateful to Elizabeth for her concern. But this whole thing has been blown out of proportion. I’ll take care of this loan soon. And when I do, it’ll be case closed for ever.”
> “If you say so,” Sean said.
“I absolutely say so,” Jeremy said. “And now I’m going to have to excuse myself. I’ve got an appointment with my agent. He’s got a couple ideas to talk over with me and I’m anxious to see him.”
“Of course,” Sean said. “We don’t want to keep you any longer that we have to.”
“See you soon,” David said, rising to shake Jeremy’s hand.
Seconds after Jeremy left the office, David took his seat again. “Well, what do you think of that?”
“I’m not sure what to think.”
“He certainly seemed to want to soft-pedal the situation, didn’t he? I wonder if he was telling the truth.”
“About owing some people money? I’m sure he is. Nobody would make up something like that for no reason.”
“No, I mean about it not having to do with the Beethoven manuscript.”
“Why would it have to do with the Beethoven manuscript?”
“Maybe somebody knows that he’s come into the possession of what might be a very valuable manuscript?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. But Jeremy’s obviously been doing business with some very bad guys. He’s got serious problems whether it has anything to do with the Beethoven manuscript or not. If I were you, I’d stay pretty close to my friend for a while.”
David nodded. “I’ll do my best.”