Coyote blue

calls?"
    "Just Mr. Aaron." She checked her message pad. "He would like you to stop into his office if it wouldn't be too much trouble."
    "Exact words?"
    "Yes, sir."
    "My my, has the Sugarplum Fairy been through here today?"
    Gabriella checked the pad. "No message, sir."
    Sam smiled and walked away. Down the hall Julia told Sam to go right in.
    Aaron stood and smiled when Sam entered the office. "Sammy boy, have a seat. We need to talk."
    Sam said, "Forty cents on the dollar, plus interest. You keep the office. I want out. That's it. You talk."
    Aaron dismissed Sam's comment with a wave. "That's all behind us, buddy. Cochran's lawyer called. There isn't going to be any lawsuit. You and I are square."
    "What happened?" Sam knew he should be elated at the news, but instead he felt dread. For a moment he had relished the idea of giving up all the pretending. Now what?
    "No explanation. They just backed off. They apologized for the mistake. You'll get a formal apology in the mail tomorrow. I never doubted you, kid. Not for a minute."
    "Aaron, did you talk to Spagnola today?"
    "Just briefly. Just a social call. He was pretty heavily medicated. I'm not sure I trust him, Sam. You want to watch your back around that guy. He's unstable."
    Sam felt his ears heat up with anger. Aaron expected him to act like the betrayal had never happened. There was a time when he would have, but not now. "Forty cents on the dollar, plus interest."
    Aaron lost his friendly-guy salesman's smile. "But that's behind us."
    "I don't think so. You're a shit, Aaron. That doesn't surprise me. But it does surprise me that you went after me when I was down. I thought we were friends."
    "We are, Sammy."
    "Good. Then you won't mind having the papers on my desk by midweek. And you can pay the attorney fees. They're tax deductible, you know. And if you're late, you will need the write-off." Sam got up and started out of the office.
    Aaron called after him. "We don't have to do this now."
    Without turning Sam said, "Yes we do. I do."
    Sam nodded to Julia as he passed but he couldn't muster a smile. What have I done? he thought.
    In his outer office Gabriella was kicked back in her chair with her skirt up around her armpits. She seemed to be hyperventilating and her eyes were rolled back in her head.
    "Gabriella! Again?"
    She pointed to his office door. Sam threw the door open, banging it against the wall and disturbing a raven that was perched in the brass hat rack just inside. Sam stormed over to the bird, barely resisting the urge to grab it and rip its feathers out.
    "Goddammit, I told you to stay off my secretary!" Sam shook his fist at the bird. "And what kind of bullshit did you pull over at Motion Marine to get them to drop the lawsuit? Can't you just leave me alone?"
    "Why are you yelling at the bird?" The voice came from behind him. Sam looked around, his fist still threatening the raven.
    Coyote was standing in the opposite corner of the office by the fax machine. Sam's anger turned to confusion. He looked at the bird, then Coyote, then the bird. "Who's this?"
    "A raven?" Coyote speculated. He turned back to the fax machine. "Hey, what is this button that says 'network'?"
    Sam was still looking at the bird. "It sends simultaneously to the home offices of all the companies we represent."
    Coyote pushed the button. "Like smoke signals."
    "What?" Sam dropped his fist, ran to the fax machine, and hit the cancel button a second too late. The display showed the transmission had gone out. Sam pulled the paper from the machine and stared at it in disbelief. Coyote had obviously lain on the copy machine to get the image.
    "You faxed your penis? That machine prints my name at the top of each transmission."
    "The girls in the home office will think highly of you, then. Of course, they will be disappointed if they ever see you naked."
    The raven squawked and Gabriella appeared at the open door. "Mr. Hunter, a gentleman is here to see you from the police department."
    Coyote held the Xerox up to Gabriella. "A picture of your friend," he offered.
    A sharp-featured Hispanic man in a tweed sport jacket pushed his way past Gabriella into the office. "Mr. Hunter, I'm Detective Alphonse Rivera, Santa Barbara PD, narcotics division. I'd like to ask you a few questions." He held out a business card embossed with a gold shield, but did not offer to shake hands.
    "Narcotics?" Sam looked to Coyote, thinking he would have disappeared, but the trickster had stood his ground