1
Karen, Vic and Jamie met Brittany in the lobby Monday morning and they drove to the studio together. The production crew was already on the set when they arrived. They were greeted by Ed Knight, the Assistant Producer, and Marsha Lassiter, the Director. After their initial introductions, they were led to a group of chairs in the corner of the studio for a briefing.
“Please have a seat,” Ed instructed. “I want to start off by saying thanks for coming. We’re going to try to make this a pleasant experience for all of you, and that means we’re going to try to do this right the first time through. I’ve already seen the spot you did from the Buffalo affiliate, and what we’re going to do here is very similar. With that, let me turn this all over to Marsha.”
“Thanks, Ed,” she began. “Let me start off by telling you that you’ll all hate me by the end of the week. I’m the one who is going to make you do things over and over until the results are perfect. Ed gets to be the good guy, and I get to be the heavy.” She smiled to break the tension, then continued, “Really this should turn out to be a fun experience.”
The briefing lasted twenty minutes. From that point on, they worked straight through the entire day. The writers had outlined and scripted the spot in great detail, unlike the more helter-skelter way things had been done in Buffalo. The whole series of shootings was arranged to get Jamie finished first. That was a typical way of shooting stories involving young children. There was no show if that part didn’t go well, so economics dictated that she be done first.
Jamie was finished with her part for the day by 1:00 PM, and this left her with a lot of free time. They assigned a young assistant writer, Stan Reese, to take care of Jamie for the rest of the day.
“Would you like a tour of the place, Jamie?” he asked her.
“That would be great!” she replied enthusiastically. “What kinds of things do they do in this building?”
“Besides the actual taping, we do most of the writing and editing here. We also do the bookings and scheduling.”
“Do they do research here?” she asked.
“Some research, but not a lot. Most of it deals with the story support. The high level research is done at our news facility across the street.”
“I’m real interested in research, Stan. Can we tour across the street?”
“I think we’ll have to stay over here, Jamie. But why don’t I start by taking you to see what the research department looks like here. It’s not too shabby, even if it isn’t as good as the news department.”
Stan escorted Jamie to a large room filled with cubicles. The room was noisy and bustling with activity. He led Jamie to a cubicle with a young woman inside.
“Hi, Dot,” he said.
Without looking up she replied, “Hi, sweetheart.” Then she turned and saw Stan with Jamie. “Oops!” She blushed immediately.
“Dot DiAngelo, this is Jamie Meyers. Jamie, Dot.”
Jamie used her most polite voice and said, “Very nice to meet you, Dot.”
“Likewise, Jamie.” She looked at Stan questioningly.
Stan explained everything to Dot about Jamie’s magazine piece and her interest in research. He then asked her, “Can you spend a little time with Jamie? We’re on company business and it should be all right.”
Dot laughed and told him, “Don’t worry. Mike’s not in today, anyway. Yes, I’d be delighted to help out.”
“How about if I come back in a little while to pick her up?” He gestured to the pager on his belt and added, “If anything comes up, just beep me.”
“Okay, Stan. But remember, you owe me.”
He looked around and then bent over to steal a quick kiss. “You didn’t see a thing, Jamie,” he said as he winked at her. Jamie shook her head in agreement and Stan walked away.
“So you like research, Jamie?”
“Yes. I’m working on a special project and I needed some help.”
“And what might that be?” Dot asked curiously.
Jamie explained about the help she received from the researchers at the Buffalo television station. She pulled the neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket and showed it to Dot.
Dot read it and asked, “What are you looking for?”
“I want to get more information about this story,” explained Jamie. “Do you know who Ted Fox is?”
“Sure, Jamie. Ted still works in L.A. He’s with a competing network.”
“Do you think you could help me find out about these people?” Jamie asked as she pointed to the article.
“I think it would be a snap,” Dot assured her. “But what’s all your interest in this article? It’s just a filler from A.P.”
“I heard about a child like this in Buffalo,” she lied. “I’m real interested in this kind of stuff and I wanted to write to these people.”
Dot couldn’t see any harm in trying, so she told Jamie, “Let’s give it a shot.” She flipped through her card-file and then picked up her phone and dialed.
“Hi, Billy! It’s Dorothy DiAngelo......Just fine, thank you. I have a favor to ask. I’m working on a story and I ran across a piece Ted Fox did a while back. You guys gave it to A.P. as filler.”
Jamie watched and listened to one side of the conversation. Dot gave Billy all of the details from the article. Jamie was delighted, but didn’t want to show too much emotion. Dot covered the mouthpiece of the phone and whispered, “This guy at ABC is an old friend. He’s checking this out right now for me. If they have it on their computer, he’ll be able to pull up the original copy and backup. They keep a lot....” She stopped abruptly and listened. Then she responded, “Great, Billy! Do you think you could fax it over to me?....Yes, but only if you buy me dinner too.”
Jamie listened as Dot gave the fax number to Billy. She was dying to know what they had found, but she had to force herself to act calm. Dot hung up the phone.
“Well, that was easy enough. Let’s take a stroll down the hall and see what comes in on the fax.”
Dot led Jamie through a corridor to a room with a bunch of copiers and fax machines. She walked over to one of the fax machines labeled “Research Dept” on the front. She flipped through the few sheets of paper on top of the bin.
“Not here yet!” she told Jamie. “It should come in any minute. Do you want to grab a soda or something while we wait?”
Jamie wasn’t interested in sodas or anything else besides the fax they were waiting for. She tried to appear casual as she told Dot, “Not for me, thank you.”
Dot was just about to say something when the fax machine started up. “Oh, here we go maybe.” She watched as the top edge of the paper inched out from the fax machine. “It’s a cover sheet from ABC. This must be it!”
Three pages came out. One was a lead sheet with a handwritten note to Dot from Billy. Dot quickly seized that sheet, crumpled it up and tossed it in the wastebasket. She picked up the other two and scanned them quickly.
“It looks like we got lucky,” she announced. “We’ve got a name and a location.” She handed the sheets to Jamie and watched in amazement as this tiny child read through the information. Dot commented, “I couldn’t read until I was seven, Jamie.”
Jamie looked up at her and said, “Everyone tells me how surprised they are that I can read. But I’m not all that good at it yet,” she said modestly.
Dot led Jamie back to the cubicle and they sat down. “What do you think, Jamie? Is it everything you need?”
Jamie was still studying every word. “It sure looks that way. Gosh, I don’t know how to thank you for this.”
“It’s no big deal, Jamie,” Dot assured her. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Jamie hesitated while she considered how far she wanted to let Dot go with this. Then she asked, “Can we find an address or phone number for these ladies? It says Juanita Cortez over here, and Corina Valdez over here.”
“Let me have a look, Jamie,” Dot said as she took the pages from Jamie’s hands. She read the whole thing over and said, “Let’s try information.”
Dot picked up the phone again and dialed. She asked about the two names and waited for a moment. Then she grabbed a pen and wrote down some things on a piece of tablet paper. She thanked the operator and hung up.
“I’ve got an address and phone number for Corina Valdez. There’s nothing listed for the other woman.” She tore off the page from her tablet and started to hand it to Jamie. Then she paused and asked, “Do you want me to try calling her?”
Jamie responded without hesitation, “No thanks. I’ll do it another time.” She took the page from Dot and then picked up the two pages of the article. She hoped that Dot would soon forget all about this. “It’s really nice of you to help me this way.”
“Don’t mention it, Jamie. The pleasure’s all mine.” Jamie smiled at her and then Dot continued, “If It’s not too personal, I’d love for you to tell me all about how it feels to be so gifted.”
Jamie put on her child-face and told Dot all about herself.
.....
Stan Reese popped his head into the cubicle and announced, “I’m back. Did you miss me?”
“Not at all, Stan,” Dot answered cheerfully. “Jamie and I were just having a wonderful discussion. Did you know Jamie can read and write and do all sorts of math? That puts her two or three years ahead of you, doesn’t it?”
“I can take a hint, girls. Is this a men thing?” he joked.
Jamie told him, “We did some research, Stan. Dot’s real good at it.”
He touched Jamie on the tip of her nose and said, “Dot’s real good at lots of things, kid!” He smiled at Dot and asked, “So how long was I gone?”
Dot glanced at her watch and estimated, “Just about an hour, give or take a few minutes.” She turned to Jamie and shook hands, saying, “It has certainly been a pleasure talking with you, Jamie.”
Jamie saw a good opportunity to slip in, “Same here, Dot. Do you think you could give me your name and number and stuff so I can call you or write to you?”
Dot gave her a great big smile and wrote down her name, address, home and business phone numbers on the tablet. She tore the sheet off and handed it to Jamie. “Here you go. I’d love to hear from you.”
Jamie got up and gave Dot a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks again, Dot.” She looked over at Stan and asked, “Are they still working in the studio?”
“Yes, I just passed by there on my way here,” he explained. “We’d better not take up too much more of Dot’s time or she’ll get in trouble. Thank you, Dot.” He led Jamie out into the main corridor.
“Where to now?” Jamie asked him.
“You tell me, Jamie. There’s lots of things to see. Or maybe you’d like an ice cream or a candy bar.”
“No, thank you. I’m not hungry. Could we maybe look at some of the other studios, please?”
“No problem,” he assured her. He looked at his watch and said, “I think we can catch them taping the Larry Norton show if you want.”
“Okay,” agreed Jamie. She had no idea who Larry Norton was, and she didn’t care.
Stan led her to a studio with a red light flashing outside the door. He held his finger to his lips to signal Jamie to be silent. They went inside and sat in the last row of seats.
Jamie spent the time planning what she would do next. She was excited about getting the information on Corina Valdez. She wanted to read the whole fax again to make sure she understood it all. She could hardly wait until she got back to the hotel that evening.
.....
When they finally got back to the studio, Jamie and Stan found Marsha talking with Karen, Vic and Brittany. Marsha noticed them come in and she invited Jamie to join them.
“We’ve finished up a good portion of the feature,” she explained, “and we’re going to spend tomorrow morning doing some editing. I shouldn’t need you back here until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest.” She handed business cards to Vic, Karen and Brittany. “Why don’t you call me tomorrow at around eleven. Then I’ll be able to tell you exactly what time you need to come back.”
Karen asked, “Do we have to wear the same clothes we have on now?”
“I was just going to get to that. It would be nice, but it isn’t mandatory. We certainly don’t want you looking frumpy, so if you want to wear the same stuff, just have the hotel clean it tonight. It’s all on us, so take full advantage.” She leaned back and asked, “How do you like what we shot today? Is it what you expected?”
Karen inquired, “How are you going to compress all this down to fit the show? It seems like we filmed so much stuff today.”
“We’ll make our magic and you’ll get to see it later this week. Trust me, it will fit the time slot allocated, and to the second I might add. That’s where the editors come in. I’ll be working with them to turn this into a great show. We got some dynamite footage today. With this, unless you have any other questions, you’re all on your own. I’ll talk to you tomorrow at eleven.”
.....
The family ate dinner that evening in the hotel restaurant. Afterward they went up to the room to settle in and watch a movie. Jamie told her mother and father that she was tired and wanted to go to her room and rest. She closed the door, put on her pajamas and climbed into bed. She carefully unfolded all the papers she had gotten from Dot DiAngelo and began to read. Reading was still a bit of a struggle for Jamie, and her speed was far slower than Joan Spencer’s. This was her first real opportunity to read and digest every word of the fax.
The fax contained much more information than the two-paragraph article Jamie got from Bart Wilson in Buffalo. Jamie assumed that the Los Angeles television station released all this information and that the filler piece from A.P. was just an abbreviated version. The critical difference was that the fax said the child was allegedly in touch with the spirit of a religious leader from New Jersey whose name was withheld at the family’s request. It also placed the child’s birth date in January 1977.
New Jersey.... religious leader.... January 1977.... To Jamie, there was little doubt that this child was one of the six. But Zoron and Jonah had told her she had to be absolutely certain. That meant she had to confirm the Pearlstein name or the Cherry Hill town name. As Jamie saw it, she had three choices of how to get the confirmation. One, she could attempt to contact the surviving family of Rabbi Pearlstein. Two, she could try to contact the child directly. Three, she could try to confirm through Ted Fox.
.....
Brittany met them in the lobby the next morning and they all went for a drive along the coast. The scenery was positively breathtaking, and Karen took bunches of photos to show their friends and family in Buffalo. They hadn’t eaten any breakfast, so they stopped at a Mexican take-out restaurant for brunch. It was almost eleven, so Brittany found a pay phone to call Marsha while the Meyers clan wolfed down their burritos and tacos.
“Marsha says one-thirty,” announced Brittany as she rejoined the group. “And she also thinks she’ll only need you for an hour to complete the whole piece.”
“When do we have to leave here?” Karen asked. “I have no idea how far we are from the studio.”
Vic had been the navigator on this drive. He answered, “According to the map, I’d say we should be heading back pretty soon. The traffic is probably going to be awful when we get back near the studio.”
“I’d rather be early than late,” added Brittany.
They all agreed that it would be best to head back now, and if they arrived with time to spare, they could walk around the area for a while. As it turned out, traffic was worse than they expected and they found themselves a few minutes late instead of early.
When they entered the studio, Brittany immediately apologized for being late, and Marsha politely assured them it was no problem. But she put them right to work on camera, and it was quite obvious to everyone that the crew had been waiting.
They re-taped several things that Marsha and the editors hadn’t liked from the day before. Then they did about fifteen minutes of new question and answer stuff that Marsha said would enhance the piece considerably.
At about two-thirty Marsha announced, “That’s it folks. We should have all we need. I want to thank you all very much for your cooperation. I’m certain that you are going to love the feature.”
“When will we see the finished product?” Vic inquired.
Marsha answered, “We’ll send you a tape as soon as we’re done. It should be within a week. The piece is probably going to air in two weeks.” She extended her hand and added, “It’s been a pleasure working with all of you. Right now I have to excuse myself and get back to the editing room.”
.....
They decided to drive back to the hotel and then split up for the remainder of the day. The taping of both talk shows was scheduled for Thursday. One was in the morning and the other in the afternoon. That left them with all of Wednesday free. Vic, Karen and Jamie decided to spend all day Wednesday at Universal Studios. Brittany declined an invitation to join them. They decided that they’d meet in the hotel lobby Thursday morning at eight.
2
At Universal Studios, Jamie spent the entire day trying to decide what course of action she should take. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to track down any of the others at this young an age. It appeared that she had an opportunity that was too good to waste, so she tried to think her way through this the best she could.
Karen and Vic took note of Jamie’s lack of enthusiasm, and they inquired about it several times. Jamie just smiled and told them she was feeling a little tired, blaming it on all the activity of the past few days. By late afternoon, they decided to head back to the hotel. It was obvious that Jamie wasn’t really enjoying herself, and Karen and Vic were tired by then too.
During the ride home, Jamie thought over the whole situation. Contacting Ted Fox might work, but there was always the danger that he might play things up too much and put everything in jeopardy. After all, the article had indicated that the man’s family had denied authenticity. Why? There was always the possibility that the Pearlsteins might know or suspect the truth. If Ted Fox contacted Juanita, Corina or the Pearlsteins about an inquiry, that might cause everyone to clam up entirely. Jamie ruled out Ted Fox for the time being.
Continuing her thinking, Jamie decided that attempting to contact the Pearlstein family directly was probably not a bad idea. After all, Zoron and Jonah had identified the five others just for that purpose. But when Jamie weighed all the possibilities, she decided that the best way of anonymously verifying the child’s identity was by contacting the child or the child’s family directly. Jamie also figured that contacting Juanita or Corina was preferable to contacting the child. The whole reason for the mission was the supposition that the children may decide to use their knowledge for evil. It would be self-defeating to alert the child that someone was on to them.
So Jamie decided her best shot was to contact Juanita or Corina. Of the two, Corina was preferable. There was more likelihood that Corina could be caught off guard, and less likelihood that Corina would protect the child’s true identity.
So there it was! Jamie had made her decision. Was it the right one? She spent the rest of the ride wondering and second-guessing about the issue. As they pulled up to the hotel, Jamie decided to go for it. Now she had to figure out exactly what she should say to Corina and how to say it.
.....
That night, after Vic and Karen tucked her in for bed and closed her door, Jamie switched on the lamp over the night table. She read the instructions on how to make an outside call, picked up the phone and dialed Corina’s number. She was delighted to hear it start ringing, but then she heard three loud tones followed by someone saying, “I’m sorry, you must remember to dial a one before dialing this number. Please hang up and dial again.”
Jamie hung up immediately. She wasn’t expecting that. She was scared. Her adrenaline level was soaring, and her hands were shaking. It was a full ten minutes before she worked up the nerve to try the call again.
She followed the dialing instructions, this time adding the one before the number. It took about ten seconds, but the phone finally started ringing. After four rings, someone answered.
“Hello,” said a woman’s voice.
Jamie took a deep breath and spoke softly, “May I please speak with Corina Valdez?”
“This is she,” came the answer.
Jamie swallowed hard and let it fly, “I’m calling about Maria Cortez. Has she been in touch with the Pearlstein family recently?”
“Michael spoke with her yesterday, I believe. Is this the hospital? Is there a problem?”
Bingo! Jamie was shaking. “No, Ma’am,” she answered. She thought quickly. She had to take the chance. “Do you happen to have the hospital number handy?” she asked.
“Who is this?” the voice demanded. “What’s going on here?”
It had been too much to hope for. Jamie was too scared to continue. She hung up the phone, her heart beating a mile a minute. She took a full five minutes to gather her wits.
She had definitely found David Pearlstein, and she had maintained her anonymity. She was so proud of herself. But her mood changed rapidly. She suddenly began to wonder why Maria Cortez was in the hospital. Then an even more ominous thought struck her. Corina had said that Michael had spoken to Maria yesterday. Michael! Michael Pearlstein! She recalled Jonah telling her that Michael was the Rabbi’s oldest son. That made no sense at all. The article said the family had denied authenticity. Why on earth was Michael Pearlstein in touch with Maria so long after the story ran? What had he been told? What did he know or suspect?
Jamie had to sort this all out. This was too much for her to handle. She wasn’t thinking straight. She was simply too tired. She had to think more about this tomorrow. It took her quite a while, but she finally fell asleep around midnight.
.....
Michael Pearlstein was awakened by the phone. “Hello,” he said in a raspy voice. Then he sat up in bed and said, “Jesus, Corina, do you know what time it is here? What’s the matter?”
He listened while Corina explained about the strange phone call she had just gotten. When she paused, Michael asked, “A child’s voice? And she didn’t leave any name?”
Corina went on and on. Michael finally interrupted her and said, “Don’t mention this to Juanita if you can help it. It might upset her, and we certainly don’t need that. If you hear anything more from this child or whatever, please let me know.”
Corina agreed to keep this from Juanita for the time being. After they hung up, Michael said beneath his breath, “Could Francine Sullivan have broken her word?” He shook his head and added, “No way!”
He had trouble getting back to sleep. He wasn’t sure what this could mean. He simply had to wait and see.
.....
The next morning at eight, everyone met in the lobby as planned. They took two cars to the studio, because Brittany was flying back to Buffalo that night and didn’t want to come back to the hotel.
Jamie thought about last night’s call with a fresh, alert mind. She decided that there was virtually nothing she could do, so she might as well stop worrying about it. She would deal with this matter when the time came. Right now she was just a three-year-old and couldn’t do much on her own anyway.
Taping the two talk shows turned out to be a fine diversion for Jamie. It was quite different from taping the television magazine. There were live audiences here, and it was quite intimidating being interviewed by a total stranger in front of a hundred other strangers. And these shows didn’t tape and re-tape. Whatever happened would be televised with little or no editing. Jamie tried her best to appear calm and answer all the questions politely. She clung to her mother’s side as inconspicuously as possible, trying very hard to conceal her fear.
When it was finally all over, all four of them were exhausted. Brittany said good-bye, told them she’d see them back in Buffalo, and left for the airport. Vic and Karen decided to have a bite at a local restaurant before starting back for the hotel. They were so tired that they didn’t even care about paying for the meal.
They were scheduled to fly back home in the morning. The whole week had gone by so fast that they couldn’t believe it. Here they were facing their last night in beautiful California and all they wanted to do was sleep.
.....
Karen went with Jamie to get the rental car while Vic checked out of the hotel.
“Checking out, suite 1102,” he said as he placed the two keys on the counter.
The cashier punched up a record on the screen and told Vic, “That comes to $2406.50 including taxes, Mr. Meyers. Oh, I see that this is already taken care of. Just give me a moment to print your statement and we’ll have you on your way. I hope you enjoyed your stay with us, and come see us again soon.”
“Twenty-four hundred bucks,” Vic exclaimed. “I’m sure glad someone else is paying for this. The hotel was great, thank you.”
The clerk handed Vic a three-page printout of the bill and Vic looked it over quickly, mostly for the purpose of verifying that the balance said zero. Satisfied with that, he folded the bill and stuffed it into his pocket.
When he went out front, he found Karen already sitting in the passenger side with Jamie next to her, and the motor running. He hopped in, adjusted the seat and drove off for the airport.
“Can you guess how much the bill was, Karen?” he asked.
“A thousand?”, she guessed.
“Try twenty-four hundred!” he told her. “If we ever come out here on our own nickel, we’re sleeping in the car,” he chuckled.
“That’s unbelievable,” Karen agreed. Then she added, “I sure like California, though. I wish we had lots more time to spend.”
Jamie said, “This is the best place I ever saw. I wish we had more time too.”
Vic agreed, “I wouldn’t mind giving up those rotten Winters back home. But I don’t think a carpenter could afford to live out here at all.”
Karen asked, “How do you suppose all the people afford to live out here? Maybe the wages are higher or something.”
They arrived at the airport with an hour to spare before the flight. They had to fly to Pittsburgh, change planes, and then continue on to Buffalo. It was going to be a long, long day.
3
Vic ran out to purchase the early edition of the Sunday paper. When he brought it back home, Karen and he tore through it looking for the article on Jamie. They found Jamie’s picture on the cover of the magazine section and they both howled for joy. Jamie came running downstairs and joined them.
“Read it out loud, Mom,” she pleaded.
“Okay, okay,” Karen agreed. She opened the magazine to the article and found several more pictures. “God, this is so exciting,” she exclaimed.
The article was two pages long and it was exceptionally well done. As Karen read it, she commented on how everyone’s names were spelled right and how good the pictures were. She hadn’t even finished reading before the phone started ringing. Calls came in all day long. Somehow they suddenly had a lot more friends than they ever remembered having before the article was published.
Jamie asked Vic to buy more papers, and he agreed. He came back with six more copies and they removed the magazines from each one. Karen put them in a plastic bag to keep them fresh, and she stored them in her dresser drawer with her other important memorabilia.
.....
The phone calls on Sunday were nothing compared to the ones on Wednesday afternoon. The first of the talk shows aired at 4:00 PM. Karen and Jamie sat glued to the television and Karen recorded the show for Vic to see later. Their spot was a long one. Karen and Jamie yelled and screamed for joy the whole time it aired. They could hardly even hear all the dialogue.
The phone actually began to ring before their segment even started. Friends and relatives heard Jamie’s name announced at the beginning of the show and called to tell them they were going to be on, never even imagining that Karen and Jamie might already have known. Karen took the phone off the hook when their part came on and put it back the moment it was over. Ten seconds after she put the phone back on the hook, the calls started again. By the end of the day they had received over fifty calls.
One of the calls that evening was from a national magazine. They wanted to do a story on Jamie and offered to pay five thousand dollars for an interview. It caught Karen by surprise. She took the person’s name and number and promised to get back. When she discussed it with Jamie and Vic that night, Vic became excited.
“Five thousand?” he asked in disbelief. “Jamie, you’re a gold mine!” he praised as he gave her a big hug.
“I told you we could make money from this,” Jamie bragged. “You didn’t believe it, did you?”
.....
The next morning there were many more calls. This time several more magazines and newspapers called. There was even one call from a university asking about the possibility of Jamie taking part in a research program on gifted children. Karen systematically wrote down names and numbers and promised to get back to them all.
Jamie said, “We’re going to need an agent, Mom.”
“I think you’re right, sweetheart,” Karen agreed. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life taking messages. But I haven’t the slightest idea of how to go about finding one.”
“Why don’t you ask Brittany Peters?” suggested Jamie.
“Good idea!”
In the afternoon, Karen called Brittany Peters and they discussed the issue. Brittany agreed that it might be a good idea to get an agent. But she said there might be a problem finding one who would be willing to represent them unless there was a good indication there was a lot of money to be made. Then Brittany volunteered to call her own agent and get a reading on things.
Brittany called back about a half hour later and gave Karen some information.
“Rob Gordon?” Karen asked. “And his number?”
They discussed several terms that could be arranged. Brittany informed Karen, “One way he’d take you on is to pay him a flat rate and then a small commission. If you don’t want to risk the flat fee, he might handle you on commission only, but he’ll take a much bigger bite that way.”
They talked for a while and Karen asked for Brittany’s opinion. Brittany advised taking a pure commission deal if they could get it, but not to sign for too long a period. She recommended six months and no more than twenty percent if Rob would go for it.
“Thanks for the help, Brittany.”
“No problem. Let me know how it goes. Just one more word of advice, though. Wait until after the talk show airs tonight. I already made certain that Rob watches tonight. Let him see for himself what a hot property Jamie is. Good luck, kid. I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up.
.....
Karen taped the show that night. She and Vic talked the moment their segment was over.
“I think this could turn out big, Vic,” she speculated.
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“Well, suppose Jamie can make a lot of money at this. Brittany suggested the name of an agent we might be able to use. How does that sound to you?”
“I don’t have a clue. I’ll leave all that up to you and Jamie. I know you’ll do what’s best.”
“I hope so,” Karen replied.
“The guys at work were talking to me about Jamie today. They said she’ll probably be in college before she’s a teenager. I know we discussed this before, but now it seems it’s more likely than I first thought. Do you think Jamie could earn enough money to cover schooling?”
“I honestly don’t know.” She kissed Vic on the lips and added, “Quit worrying about money. I know you like a book.”
He returned her kiss and whispered, “If you do, you know I’ll worry even when you tell me not to.”
.....
In the morning, Karen played the tape for Jamie. This show was also done very well and Jamie was delighted seeing the results. The phones started ringing by eight. Karen thought about taking the phone off the hook, but she decided not to. It was better to stay receptive to whatever offers might come in.
Karen wasn’t disappointed. She got a call from a small film studio asking if she might consider putting Jamie under contract with them to make some movies. They told her that Jamie was a beautiful child and her intelligence would make her exceptionally good at taking direction and acting young roles.
Later, several universities called and offered free tuition for Jamie in return for signing her up into research programs they were doing. There were offers from University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, M.I.T., UCLA and Harvard Medical School.
The kicker came when a prominent Hollywood film studio called and suggested a five-year contract for Jamie. They even asked for the name of her agent, and this convinced Karen that there might indeed be some serious money to be made.
When Karen told Jamie about the studio and college offers, Jamie became excited. “This could be great for all of us, couldn’t it?” she asked.
“Honey, I don’t think they’d move the studios to Buffalo. And the colleges want you there on campus for much of the time. We couldn’t afford that.”
Jamie had a brainstorm. “Suppose we made a deal with that Hollywood studio and with that Los Angeles college?”
“UCLA?” Karen asked rhetorically. “Jamie, that would mean moving out there. We’d miss the family and all of our friends. Dad would have to find a new job. I just don’t think it’s really feasible.”
“Why don’t you find out how much we could make if we did it? Maybe Dad wouldn’t even have to work.”
.....
Jamie’s head was reeling. Her mind was going a mile a minute. This was the golden opportunity she could only have dreamt about. She would have access to all sorts of information out in Los Angeles. She’d have connections in the university as well as with the studio. Even her newly found friends at the television studios could help her with more research. It would all fit her mission perfectly. She’d even be near Maria Cortez, the first fruit of her detective efforts.
The more she thought about it, the better it seemed. Zoron and Jonah could never have imagined her getting into position this early. She thought of how proud they’d be of her.
It became exceedingly clear to Jamie that she should encourage her parents to pursue this further.
.....
Karen called Rob Gordon that afternoon and filled him in on everything that was happening. He was excited and wanted to come over to talk to them that evening.
“You have to move quickly with these things,” he cautioned. “You could have a million dollar offer one minute and chicken soup the next. Are you and your husband available tonight to talk?”
“I guess so,” Karen answered reluctantly. She hated making commitments without checking with Vic, but she decided that time might in fact be critical. “Why don’t you come over around seven? That way Jamie will be awake to hear everything. We usually try to get her to bed before nine.”
“You got it, kid!” he blasted back. Karen conjured up an image of a cigar-smoking shyster. “What’s your address and telephone number, doll?”
She was dismayed by the way he addressed her, but she gave him the address and phone number anyway. When he asked, she described exactly how to get to the house from where his office was. After he hung up, Karen wondered if she was doing the right thing.
When Vic came home, Karen told him all about the day and the appointment she set up for seven. She expected Vic to be angry with her, but he was very enthusiastic instead. She, Jamie and Vic talked things over at the dinner table.
Jamie tested the water. “This is really exciting, isn’t it?”
Vic said, “Let’s just see what kind of deal we’re talking about. Ask me again after we talk with this Rob Borden.”
“Gordon,” Karen corrected. “It’s G-O-R-D-O-N, honey.”
“Whatever,” agreed Vic. He cared far more about the nature of the deal than about the agent’s name. “Do you think we’re talking six figures here?”
Jamie watched her father’s reaction and then her mother’s. She was trying to assess the probability of success for her deal.
“Brittany said the right deal could easily be seven figures. It just depends on a lot of things. We’ll find out soon enough.”
They finished dinner, then Jamie helped her mother clear the table. It was almost seven, and Jamie wanted a moment alone with Karen before the agent came.
“Dad sounds happy about the deal, doesn’t he?” she asked.
“He sure does, honey. I thought he’d be very upset at the thought of moving away from his family.”
“How about you, Mom? Are you upset at that thought?”
Karen stopped rinsing dishes for a moment. She turned to Jamie, leaned over and whispered, “I will do whatever is best for you, Jamie. I know what a special gift you are from Heaven. Your happiness comes before mine.”
Jamie held back tears of love and managed to smile. “I’d never ask you to do anything that I thought would make you unhappy, Mom.”
Karen wrapped an arm around Jamie and told her, “I love you more than anything in the world, sweetheart. Seeing you happy is all it takes to make me happy.” They kissed each other. They were both crying at this point.
The doorbell rang and Vic invited Rob in. Karen and Jamie came in and everyone was introduced. He wasn’t anything like Karen imagined. He was handsome, in his late thirties, and dressed in tasteful, casual clothes. He got right down to business. He opened his briefcase, pulled out a few papers and placed them on the coffee table.
“This is a contract. It’s complicated. You should get a lawyer to look at it. I’ll tell you up front that I’m not interested in knowing what changes your lawyer wants. It’s my way or the highway. Just decide if you like it or not. I’m giving you a good deal here. It’s a six-month deal for twenty percent. I get a continuing percentage on anything that I started during the contract period, and that extends out for five years. Trust me, it’s simple and good. It’s a special favor for Brittany Peters.”
Karen and Vic just looked at him. They were too shocked to say anything. Rob didn’t give them a chance. He started right in again. “Now that I scared the cah-cah out of you, let me tell you how an agent really works for you.” He smiled and everyone was quite relieved.
He continued, “What you just saw was called hype, and it works very well sometimes. Sometimes it doesn’t. I know when to use it and when not to. I handle all your business matters and I make the best possible deals for you. Why? Because what’s good for you is good for me.”
He talked to them for almost twenty minutes before he paused to allow questions. Then they got down to the nitty-gritty. He finally made them an interesting offer. He took out a single page document and placed it on the table.
“This is a one week contract that allows me to represent you for the purpose of getting some inputs. Read it. It’s quite simple and harmless. You sign this tonight and Monday I contact the studio and see where they’re coming from. If you wind up making a deal with that studio, I get my twenty percent for five years. If not, nothing’s lost. And it’s only for this one studio. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. If you like the deal, you get your lawyer to review the real contract and you sign it. If not, get yourself another agent and work a deal with any other studio. How’s that for service?”
Karen and Vic read the single page contract and agreed that it was simple, to the point, and fair. They asked some questions about the level of money that might be involved.
“I’m not going to kid you,” Rob confided. “This could turn out to be nothing. But if the studio happens to be hot on Jamie for some reason, it could be millions. Why don’t you let me do my thing and then we won’t have to guess?”
That was fair enough for Vic and Karen. Karen turned to Jamie and asked, “How do you feel about it, honey?”
“I think it could be great. We should wait and see what Mr. Gordon finds out.”
Rob told Jamie, “Rule number one is call me Rob. Mr. Gordon is my father. You’re a very polite young lady, and I’ll understand if your parents insist you call me Mr. Gordon. But if they don’t object, you gotta follow the rules.”
Jamie laughed and looked at her mother. Karen shrugged her shoulders and said, “The rules are the rules.” They both laughed.
The meeting broke up around eight-thirty. They all were exhausted by then, and they retired for the night.
.....
The weekend was very tense. They couldn’t wait to find out what kind of deals they might be able to get. There were a lot of discussions about family, friends and moving. Vic wondered what kind of jobs there might be out in California. They talked about the smog and schools and homes.
By Sunday night, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that they really wanted to accept an offer if it was financially viable. Vic and Karen both spoke to their parents about the notion of moving. They couched it in terms of a two or three-year trial, hoping that it was more palatable that way. Surprisingly, they got a lot of support from their parents. They had both underestimated the awe with which their families viewed Jamie. They all believed that Jamie’s interests had to come first.
Once Karen and Vic were convinced that their parents were behind them all the way, they were finally comfortable enough to start exploring things in more detail. They dug out the collection of post cards, photos, maps and other items they had accumulated from last week’s trip. Karen had a whole assortment of apartment and real estate books that she picked up in the hotel lobby, as well as fifty or so pamphlets on things to do and see in the Los Angeles area.
She and Vic were rummaging through things when something caught Vic’s attention. The hotel bill was among the other souvenirs, and Vic was glancing at it when he happened to notice something.
“Did you call anyone from the hotel while we were out there, honey?” he asked Karen.
“I don’t think so,” she replied. “No, I’m sure I didn’t. Why?”
“It’s probably nothing, honey, but look at this bill. They itemized everything in the world. Here’s the Pay-TV movie, the restaurant charges, room service, dry cleaning, and even the valet parking. But look at this. It’s a three-dollar charge for a telephone call, and they printed the telephone number right here on the bill. This was on Wednesday night after we came back from Universal. I know neither of us made any calls. Jamie? Did Jamie call someone?”
“I guess she could have,” Karen commented. “She went to bed at eight that night. I remember when we tucked her in. There was a phone in her room. But who could she have called?”
Vic and Karen looked at each other puzzled. Vic said, “This is really weird.”
Karen said, “Well there’s certainly a simple way to solve the mystery.” She called to Jamie.
Jamie came running in and asked, “What, Mom?”
Karen went straight to the point. “Jamie, we were just curious about something. Who did you call from the hotel on Wednesday night?”
Jamie’s face turned bright red and she recoiled noticeably. Her eyes shifted back and forth and then she said, “Oh, I just....I just called the girl...a girl that the guy Stan introduced me to.” She hoped she was convincing.
“Oh, you mean the young man that escorted you around on Monday afternoon?” asked Karen.
“Yes, Mom. He took me to see this girl for a while and she and I liked each other. She gave me her number and told me to call her, so I did. I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”
“Oh, no,” assured Karen. “We were just wondering; that’s all. Mystery solved! Thanks, honey. You can run along to bed now. Give us a big kiss and we’ll be up later to tuck you in.”
Jamie kissed them both and ran up to her room.
.....
Jamie’s heart was pounding like a drum. She thought to herself, “That was close.” She was certain she had been so quiet about it. How in the world did her parents know she was on the phone that night? Did they hear anything specific? No, probably not, or they would have said something more.
She finally calmed herself down. At least she had come up with a good story. She was proud of herself to have thought up an answer that fast. She had averted what could have really been a screw-up.
.....
“Did you see the look on her face, Vic?” Karen questioned. “It was like we caught her in the middle of a crime.”
Vic agreed. “Something’s certainly fishy here. I never saw her act like that in her whole life.”
Karen was getting nervous. “She lied to us, Vic. I don’t think I ever saw her that upset. I feel like I have to know what this is all about.”
“Me too. There’s only one way to find out.” He held up the bill and pointed to the phone number. “It’s three hours earlier out there. Do you want to do it or should I.”
Karen wanted to handle this herself. “I’ll do it, Vic. I’ll call from the kitchen. You stay here in case Jamie comes back in. Don’t let her catch me doing this.”
Vic nodded his approval and Karen took the hotel bill into the kitchen. She dialed.
“Hello,” a woman’s voice answered.
“Hello,” Karen greeted back. “My name is Karen Meyers. I don’t think you know me. I’m from Buffalo, New York.”
“Oh, you must want to talk to Corina. Just a moment, please.” There was a brief pause and another voice said, “Corina here. May I help you?”
“Hello. I’m Karen Meyers from Buffalo, New York. Well, this is sort of a strange call for me to make, and I hope I’m not bothering you too much. We were out in the Los Angeles area last week to film some television shows and my three-year-old daughter called someone at your number. My husband and I were just trying to figure out who it was. She said it was someone she met at the television studio.”
“Your three-year-old daughter?” asked Corina. “Oh, yes. I think I remember Mrs....eh...Meyers was it?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” Karen confirmed.
“I apologize, Mrs. Meyers, but I have a bunch of company here and they’re about to be leaving. Can I please have your number so I can call you back as soon as I’m free?”
Karen felt a little uneasy, but she said, “Oh, sure.”
She gave Corina the phone number and Corina said, “You said you were calling from Buffalo? How late may I call you back, Mrs. Meyers?”
Karen looked at her watch. “For another hour, I guess. If not, then any time tomorrow.”
Corina replied, “I think I’ll probably be free within the hour. Mrs. Meyers, are you the same Mrs. Meyers who was on the late night show last week? The one with the smart little daughter?”
Karen was flattered. “Why, yes I am.”
“Wonderful to talk with you. She’s a lovely child you have there. I’ll get back with you shortly, Mrs. Meyers.”
“Thank you very much.” Karen hung up and sat there for a moment. Then she went in to tell Vic, “It was a woman named Corina, Vic. She couldn’t talk this moment. She said she’d call back within an hour.”
“Then I guess we’ll know the answer to the mystery by the time the late news is on. Watch her call in the middle of the sports report,” he said sarcastically.
.....
“.....That’s right, Michael,” Corina said. “And she just called out of the blue! She gave me her name and number and told me that whole studio story. She’s the one that’s been on television this week with that real smart three-year-old girl. Did you happen to catch her on TV?”
“No, Corina,” Michael lied. His brain was in overload. “Give me her name and number, please.” He scribbled it down on a piece of paper as she read it to him. “Okay. You did great Corina. Do me one favor, though. Call her back and tell her that you have a daughter that works at the television station in L.A. Do you know what network it was?.......Great. Tell her that. Hopefully that will be the end of that for the time being. I’ll talk to you later.”
Michael hung up the phone. This was the most bizarre thing that he had ever experienced. He wondered what the connection could be between this little three-year-old and Maria. He felt goose bumps forming on his arms.
.....
“Hello,” answered Karen. “.....Oh, yes Corina,..... I see, .....Oh, then that explains it. Thank you so much for calling back so quickly. Good night.”
Vic was watching. “So?” he demanded. “What did she say?”
“Jamie’s telling the truth, apparently. It’s just so weird the way she acted. I guess it was nothing.”
“Good,” Vic commented. “One less problem to worry about. I’m going to hit the sack.”
“Me too,” Karen yawned back.
