Read Online The Tooth Tattoo by Peter Lovesey - Free Book Online Page A

violist turns up?’
    ‘I wouldn’t worry about Harry,’ Doug said in his nonchalant way. ‘He’s history. Nice man, wonderful musician, but out of the picture now.’
    Years of working in an insecure profession had toughened Mel. ‘Sorry. If I’m going to give up all my freelance work I need more of a guarantee.’
    ‘I’ll speak to the talent.’
    ‘They said full membership. Can I take that as permanent?’
    ‘If they already agreed, yes.’
    ‘Then it has your approval?’
    ‘Let’s shake on it.’ His grip reinforced the pact.
    Mel still felt he had a right to know more. ‘Has Harry ever gone missing before this?’
    ‘Missing? No. They all go their own ways in free time on tour. They don’t live in each other’s pockets. The embassy kept asking us where he was supposed to have gone that evening and nobody knew. Ghastly time. We had to bring in a local musician to play the viola part in the last three concerts and he wasn’t terribly good. I was forced to cancel the rest of the tour. Endless wrangling with the Hungarians over breach of contract and compensation claims. Made my life hell. If Harry had turned up at that point I’d cheerfully have shot him. Have another sandwich.’
    ‘So will you make it clear to the others that I’m the permanent replacement?’
    ‘Absolutely.’
    Mel raised another concern. ‘Won’t it be difficult getting engagements after so long?’
    A shake of the head. ‘The name still has plenty of currency.’
    ‘They want to change the name.’
    Doug almost dropped the plate. ‘Who does?’
    Some inner censor stopped Mel from naming anyone. ‘You’d better ask them. Personally, I’d be proud to join the Staccati.’
    But Doug wasn’t there to hear the last words. He was striding across the room to speak to Ivan.
    The clash of wills was won by Doug. They would continue to be known as the Staccati Quartet. Once again, Cat waded in with a wisecrack: ‘Staccato is all about sharp, disconnected notes and no four people are more disconnected than we are.’ The dynamics of the group were becoming clearer. Ivan was not so dominant as he had first appeared. Cat could undermine him with her streetwise humour. Anthony allowed the others to make all the running, but might yet pounce. For the time being, Doug was the decision-maker.
    ‘How soon will you be up to concert pitch?’
    ‘We need to prepare,’ Ivan said with all the earnestness of Noah before the rains came. ‘Weeks, maybe months.’
    ‘Why don’t you fix up some gigs and tell us?’ Cat said to Doug. ‘Give some focus to the preparation.’
    ‘I have a few ideas already,’ Doug said, and any half-decent manager would have said as much. ‘I was thinking of letting you in gently. There are various festivals coming up in this country – Cheltenham, Cambridge, York. Their programmes will already be arranged, but I can’t see any of them turning down a chance to slot in the Staccati at short notice.’
    Ivan was shaking his head. ‘Too soon.’
    ‘Tucson, Arizona? That’s an awful long way for a single performance,’ Cat said. ‘Doug, I think you’ve got it. Better still, how about trying for a residency? Would you care for that, Anthony?’
    Anthony said, ‘Cool.’
    ‘That’s two of us, then. Mel, are you on board?’
    ‘If there’s half a chance, yes.’
    ‘Three.’ She turned to Ivan. ‘We’d get paid to rehearse in a practice room. Isn’t that better than weeks and months squatting in Doug’s house?’
    He still looked doubtful. ‘I suppose if it could be arranged …’
    ‘Sponsors, endowments. There’s money out there. That’s why we employ the best manager in the business.’
    Doug almost purred. ‘No promises. I’ll do my best.’
    With that settled, and the sandwiches all but gone, Ivan suggested they should rehearse another quartet while Doug went off to make phone calls.
    Another quartet? Mel’s heart sank and it must have been obvious.
    ‘No sweat, kiddo,’ Cat told