“A Grand Jury will kick this out in five minutes!”
“We’ll see, I guess,” Nellie said. “You think they’ll also kick out Felony Murder?”
“Murder?” Loomis said.
“Murder during a kidnapping,” Nellie said. “The same thing as Murder One.”
“What do you mean
“She was shot in the face at close range with a high-powered rifle,” Carella said.
“That wasn’t the
I LOVED THAT GIRL as if she was my own daughter, he told them. The deal was they’d hold her till the ransom was paid, and then they’d let her go. They weren’t supposed to hurt her, they certainly weren’t supposed to…to…
And here he buried his face in his hands and began sobbing again.
Halliday took this opportunity to remind him that he was not compelled to say anything.
Loomis kept sobbing into his hands.
“Mr. Loomis?” Nellie said.
He just kept sobbing.
“Would you like to tell us what happened?” she said softly.
She was skilled at such things.
Loomis nodded into his hands.
Halliday shook his head.
I MAKE A HABIT of stopping in record stores, checking on how our product is displayed, what kind of space we’re getting, all that. I normally introduce myself to the manager, sometimes to the floor personnel, tell them I’m the CEO of Bison Records, explain how much this or that CD or album means to me, ask them to keep a personal eye on it. I love every record we put out. Every one of them. I love this business. I love music.
I knew Tamar was going to be a big star the minute I heard her for the first time. She could bang out a song like Cher, or hoot and holler like Steven Tyler. She could bend notes like the best blues and country singers, or break and yodel like Alanis Morissette. And sweet! Oh Jesus, what a
Every store I went into, I told them to watch out for Tamar Valparaiso.
I told them Tamar Valparaiso was going to be the next big singing sensation.
THIS KID WORKED in the shop just around the corner from our office. I used to stop in there after lunch almost every day. Just before I went back upstairs. Lorelei Records. I checked out the product, the displays, told this kid what was hot for us this week…
Avery Hanes.
That’s his name.
Told him what was coming down the pike, what he should be on the lookout for. Tamar Valparaiso, I told him. Coming in May. The album is called
One day…
Q: Is Avery Hanes the person who made the ransom calls?
A: Yes.
Q: Is Avery Hanes the person who actually kidnapped Tamar Valparaiso?
A: Well, not alone. He wasn’t working alone. I gave him all the information about the launch, and he told me he thought he could do it with just three people. Himself and two other people.
Q: Who were these two other people?
A: I have no idea.
Q: Do the names…excuse me. Steve, what were those names again?
A: (from Detective Carella) Calvin Wilkins and Kellie Something, we don’t have a last name for her.
Q: Do those names mean anything to you, Mr. Loomis?
A: Nothing at all.
Q: So the only person you dealt with was Avery Hanes.
A: Yes.
Q: Was the kidnapping his idea?
A: Well, it sort of evolved.
Q: How do you mean?
A: From talks we had. We discussed all sorts of approaches, he’s really a quite brilliant young man. Primarily, I was concerned with how to make the debut album a success. I had such faith in Tamar, I wanted so much for her to make it in a big way…
Avery didn’t care how he spent my money, of course, well, you know how young people are, nothing’s impossible to them. All these big ideas about massive in-store promos, and TV ads, and subway posters, and ads on the sides of busses, ten cities, twenty cities, a hundred cities! He was talking about millions in advertising and promotion alone, a prohibitive approach, really, on top of everything else we’d be doing.
At first, we met in my office. He’d come up on his lunch hour, and we’d discuss his ideas. I like to encourage young people, I’m very good with young people. And he was so…
“But she won’t be doing any concerts till after the album release,” I told him.
“Or got hit by a bus…” he said.
“Oh sure, hit by a bus.”
