The Ninth Caller Ch. 03

"Good! Then perhaps you should just let me make you some coffee here then. Going to Starbucks may not be such a good idea. Plus, I hear their coffee is bitter anyway."

"Juanita, you are a good woman, but, you don't have to hover. I know what you are thinking, but trust me, I know what I am doing."

"Do you now?" Juanita said with a smirk. "I am not so sure. That young girl..., she is no good. You really need to watch out for her; I have seen her type before. You are a big man, a big star, you don't want to—"

"—Juanita, Juanita, Juanita," Frank said as he shook his head. "Whatever would I do without you. Honestly, you are worse than a Jewish mother. Don't worry about Donna. After last night, I have her number and am pretty much done with her. Plus, she doesn't work today."

She laughed, and said, "I am way worse than a Jewish mother, I am a Latina grandmother now!"

"Ay Carrumba!" Frank said with a wink. "But, I must say, having you working for me, and taking care of things for the past twenty years has been the best decision I ever made. You, and Jane my producer, are my two most successful female relationships."

"Yes, your last wife did not work out too well, did she?" Juanita said.

"No, she didn't," Frank said with a laugh. "I should have listened to you, but of course, you know that, don't you?"

"Si," Juanita said with a big smile on her face. "So don't get all involved with this young girl then. I am sure she would love to get her hooks into you."

"Juanita, you need to chill," Frank said. "I have no intention of adding to the growing ranks of Ex Mrs. Knights. That club has had too many members already. No, I am going out for coffee, but just coffee. My last "guest" caused me enough trouble last night — on the air! You needn't worry."

"You are a lot of work," she added with a laugh. "Because..., I know your type too. You are just like my son, Carlos. He too lets his bolas do the thinking for him, just like you." She glanced up at Frank, and said, "But, at least you listen better than he does."

"Mostly," Frank said with a wink. "Now, I am going out for just a bit, but I will be back shortly."

"I hope so; I have been—"

"—Juanita, with the prospect of chicken Florentine dangling before me in my immediate future, I can think of no better bait to lure me back home."

Juanita smiled.

"Oh..., before I leave, I almost forgot. You never did tell me who was on the phone," Frank said. "I know I have the number blocked for telemarketers, and none of my friends ever call the landline, so I can't imagine who it could be. Hell, I don't even know if I remember the number myself anymore."

"I think it was a prank call."

"Ugh!" Frank said. "That seems to be the theme for this week."

"Theme? What do you mean by that?"

"Never mind," Frank said. "So, why do you think it was a prank? Did they ask if our refrigerator was running, or whether we have Prince Albert in a can?" He grinned and added, "I made quite a few calls like that when I was a kid. I suppose now, with cellphones and caller ID, kids can't do that anymore."

"No. They just snapchat naked pictures of themselves to their boyfriends, like my two dumbass granddaughters!" Juanita said with a huff. "Well..., at first I thought it was just a bad connection. It was all static and popping on the line."

Frank froze as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "Static and popping? Didn't they say anything?"

"At first no, but then eventually..., well, it was weird."

"Now I am curious, what did they say."

"It didn't make any sense, but eventually they said 'Clickety, click-click-click."

"Clickety, click-click-click? Are you sure that wasn't just more static?"

"No, it was a voice saying it. It was very faint and seemed far away. And it echoed oddly, like the person was talking inside some sort of metal box or something. I should have hung up, but it was very weird."

"A metal box?" Frank said as he felt his arm tingle. "Was it a man or a woman's voice?"

"It was definitely a woman, and, she sounded like a young woman. But, as I said, it was hard to hear. The voice was very faint, and heavily accented."

"You said it was accented?" Frank laughed. "Everyone has an accent based on you, dear Juanita."

"Hey..., be kind. I wear my Spanish accent with pride," Juanita said. "But the girl had a country accent..., Kentucky maybe, or Tennessee? It is hard to tell."

"OK, now I am really curious. I grew up in Kentucky! Maybe it was an old girlfriend, so, let's just see who called." He walked over to the phone, and glanced down at the caller id. There was only one number showing, and when he saw it, he shook his head and laughed. "Now I know it was a prank! It says the ID is unknown, but the number called from was 867-5309! Someone called from 867-5309, can you believe it? I wonder how they managed to do that?"

Juanita shook her head and looked confused. "I don't get the connection. What is the significance of that number?"

"I guess you weren't much of a fan of 80s music were you?"

"That was a bit after my time," Juanita grinned. "I was much more of a La Bomba, girl. Ah, Ritchie Valens, he was so hot; my sisters and I all thought he was muy caliente!"

"That, my dear, was a bit before my time," Frank said with a laugh as he waved goodbye and walked towards the front door. "I'll be back in a bit. Maybe before dinner I will take her majesty out for a walk in Central Park." Grinning as he looked down and saw Rosario standing up on her hind legs and jumping, he added, "I bet she would like that."

*****

Jane was early today, even for her. It was just past 2:30 and although the show would not go on the air until midnight, she had a ton of work to do. It would no doubt take all afternoon. The instant she woke up at noon, after a very brief sleep when she got home from the studio at 7 AM, she knew her day would be slammed. Her email inbox was overflowing and her voicemail no longer had any space left for new messages.

Last night's show had broken all records and it seemed every affiliate in the country either had a thousand questions about the guest, or, they wanted to demand that Sofia Arcos be a regular. The consensus of opinion was unanimous; the show was fantastic, the ratings were up and she better be a regular on the show or else there would be a revolt. Funny thing about success, it sometimes leads to as much trouble as it does triumph. Affiliates are a nervous bunch by nature, and definitely are in the 'what have you done for me lately' camp, but on one thing they agreed. All were ecstatic about Sofia's appearance and wanted her back on as soon as possible.

Jane herself had mixed feelings about the night. On one hand, she was smiling at her good fortune, her bet having paid off spectacularly. It is always better to answer happy emails and phone calls than to answer angry ones, and the show was as huge a hit as she had sold it to be. Yet on the other hand, her stomach churned like an old washing machine out of alignment, rocking and thumping as a storm of dark thoughts raged in her mind. Her night of triumph had not ended on a good note. That call from the 'ghost', had thrown a big monkey wrench into the gears, and Frank was furious and made his displeasure known — loudly. He and Sofia had not parted on good terms, and that was a massive understatement.

As she rode the escalator up to street level from the 50th street subway station to the 30 Rock plaza, her spirits fell as her altitude rose. Any hope she had of coaxing Sofia back to do an encore seemed remote at best. Getting Frank to agree to have her back on, would require nothing short of a miracle. Big egos are always very fragile, and Frank said things he should not have, so both he and Sofia were angry when they left the studio.

This development was going to be a bitch to explain to the newly enthused affiliates. The show she had pumped for weeks, and had turned out to be a monster hit, was sadly going to be a one-time event. The affiliates were going to be majorly pissed, and the gears in her head ground in overdrive as she reviewed her options. None were good. Maybe I can just delay telling these bastards for a few days while I come up with something new to try. Shit, this was all so perfect too! Damn you Frank, you sure fucked this up!

Frank Knight was a great guy to work for, even though he was sloppy, disorganized and often exasperating. He also was insanely talented, funny, and quite generous; so, on balance it was worthwhile. But, of all of Frank's qualities, one thing was for damn sure, he hated surprises; especially ones that happen live on the air. The last call of the night, that weird message from the 'so-called' ghost had thrown him..., badly, and Frank did not like to be thrown.

To be told live, in front of millions of people, that you have a daughter, when you don't, was the ultimate on air surprise. This did not set well with Frank, not well at all. Jane wondered at first, if perhaps Frank actually did have a daughter he didn't know about. God knew it was not only possible, but kind of likely. Little Frank always liked to wander, but big Frank's reaction was pretty adamant. All she could say now is, thank God the weird call happened at the end of the show. Things got pretty icy between Frank and Sofia after that. At least I got one good show out of Sofia.

Oh well, it was a nice dream while it lasted. Maybe I can tell the affiliates that Sofia is prevented by her spirit guide from doing radio again! Yeah..., that sounds just crazy enough to be believable.

As she turned into the plaza off of 50th street, her face buried in her cellphone, she jumped when she heard her name called out.

"Miss Harris, Miss Harris, may I speak with you? It is quite urgent."

Jane looked up to see who called out to her, and her face brightened when she saw the person speaking. It was like some sort of miraculous vision. It could not actually be happening, and she forced herself to blink to make sure it was not a mirage. It was Sofia.

After a second though, Jane's face fell. Why was Sofia standing out in front of 30 Rock right now? She would not come here for just a chat, especially after the way Frank treated her. Was she here to personally chew her another one? If so, who could blame her? Frank had been so dickish at the end of the night, for someone with Sofia's fame and reputation, she certainly did not have to put up with his bullshit. Screwing her courage up fast from her gut, and forcing a pleasant smile on her face, Jane replied, "Miss Arcos, I, I am surprised you are here. I hope everything all right with your accommodations?"

"Yes, they are fine," Sofia said, her eyes flitting rapidly back and forth as she scanned the crowd. "But, I really must talk with you right away."

"Oh, yes, of course," Jane said as she glanced around the plaza. What was Sofia looking at?

"I wanted to speak with you too," Jane continued. "Look, I want to apologize for Frank's behavior last night. He was just a little rattled by that last call, and he did not mean to —"

"Miss Harris, you do not have to apologize for him. I would have reacted the same way myself in his shoes."

"Miss Arcos, that is very generous, but, I really want to make it up to you. Frank was rude, and it was—"

"—Sofia, please call me Sofia."

"Oh, yes, and call me Jane."

"But you misunderstand while I am here, Jane. I am not here about my tiff with Frank at the end of the night," Sofia said. "It is much more important than that. Much more! But, I really must talk with you. Can we go somewhere in private?"

"Certainly, but, I hope there isn't a problem? You seem quite upset. Honestly, whatever we need to do to make up for —"

"—We really need to get out of this crowd." Sofia said as she gazed down towards 50th street and appeared to focus on something. Jane felt her stomach flutter, as she saw Sofia's eyes widen, and a look of fear creep over her pupils. Sofia added, "It is a bit too exposed out here. It..., it is not safe"

"Yes, certainly," Jane said. "Let's go up to my offices in the studio. It is quiet there."

"That would be wonderful," Sofia said. "I..., we..., we really must talk. I am so relieved to find you today. I have been out here waiting for a while."

Jane smiled, but felt the twinge in her gut grow tighter as she walked into the lobby of 30 Rock with Sofia. She felt she had come to know this Romanian Medium from their brief time together, and was quite impressed by her. She hardly seemed the type to become rattled or nervous; a whole aura of cool detachment hovering over her like an iron cloud. Jane supposed that years of dealing with spirits and demons and all sorts of denizens from beyond, coupled with growing up under the brutal Ceausescu dictatorship, seemed to have armored Sofia's spine against any possible threat, supernatural or other type. The woman radiated confidence and fearlessness. But now, as they both walked into the lobby, it was obvious something was terribly wrong. That woman from yesterday seemed to have gone away, replaced by a very nervous girl acting like an animal being hunted in the forest.

Sofia said nothing to Jane as they walked through the lobby towards the elevator, but her stony silence made Jane's stomach flutter even harder. This woman was seriously freaked out. Jane's nervousness got only worse as she kept seeing Sofia flinch, as if she was catching sight of something out of the corner of her eye. What was she looking at? As they both waited for the security guard to check them in, Jane herself started to grow paranoid. Sofia's constantly darting eyes had rubbed off on her, and now she could not help but look over in the direction she was staring. She saw nothing, but, from the increasingly wide eyed glare on Sofia's face, it was apparent she saw something. I hope I don't have a mental case on my hands! Wouldn't that be my luck.

"Are you all right, Sofia?" Jane said. "You do not seem well. Perhaps you should see a doctor or something. Maybe the food here has upset your stomach."

"I am physically fine," Sofia said as she shuddered, pulling her shawl tightly over her shoulders. "I..., I am sure I will feel better after we talk." She rubbed her arms and added, "I am just so cold. Hopefully it will be warmer in your office."

"You are cold?" Jane said. "I hope you are not sick, it is 95 degrees outside today."

"I will explain once we get somewhere private," Sofia said.

After the security guard buzzed them into the elevator, Jane watched Sofia visibly relax once they got inside. After the doors closed, her whole body wilted like a flower drying up on a desert floor.

"Thank God," Sofia said, "I think she is gone now," she stopped as she glanced over at Jane watching her with increasingly widening eyes. Straightening up, she added "it will be fine now, I am sure."

*****

"Jenny I got your number. I need to make you mine. Jenny don't change your number, 867-5309," Frank hummed as he walked down West Broadway towards the Starbucks. Shaking his head, he laughed, "Damn, now I got that fucking song stuck in my head! It's like I am back in High School again!"

His face dropped when he entered Starbucks. He thought she had the day off. Obviously, she didn't.

"Hey, stranger!" Donna said as she saw him enter. "So..., are you going to order that Venti Mocha Frappuccino, now?" She grinned as she licked her lips, "I get off in an hour, you know."

"Donna," Frank said as he lowered his voice to a whisper. "I didn't think you were working today."

"Betty called in sick," Donna said. Pouting, she added, "You sure don't seem very happy to see me."

"Can we talk privately for a minute?" Frank said.

Now it was Donna's turn to have her face drop. Few good conversations start out this way. "Sure..., I was about to go on break anyway. Where do you want to—"

"How about that table right over there," Frank said as he pointed.

"Bill," Donna said. "I am going on break, OK?"

"OK," Bill said as he came out of the kitchen with some fresh cream. "Just make it five though, the..." He paused when he saw Frank, and added, "Hey! Are you that guy from the radio? I recognize you from the signs on the bus."

Frank grinned and nodded.

"Wow! This is great. Man, your show last night was amazing! That Romanian woman was incredible, I hope you have her back on again."

"Well," Frank said. "I wouldn't bet money on any encores with her, but, I am glad you enjoyed the show."

"Do you mind if I take your picture? We have a board where we show all of the celebrities who have come in here. Hell, Mary Tyler Moore was in here just last week and ordered a Mocha Valencia. Funny, I would have pegged her as a Chai Latte type, myself."

"OK," Frank said as he sighed. "But, if you could make it fast. I really need to—"

"Oh, it will be quick, just let me—"

"Bill!" Donna said. "Don't bother Frank, OK? He is a big star, you know."

"Oh..., I see," Bill said as his eyebrow raised and he saw Donna touch Frank's arm. He smirked and added, "Now I get it." Turning to Frank, he lifted his iPhone up to take the picture. "OK, smile!" The flash went off, and Frank blinked. "Thanks, I really appreciate it Mr. Knight. I am a huge fan."

"I always like to hear that," Frank said as he turned to take Donna over to the side table. He winced when he heard Bill say, "So, did you ever find out what happened with your daughter? That fucking shit was scary, man!"

"Daughter?" Donna said. "I didn't know you had a daughter."

"I don't!" Frank snapped.

"I don't understand, Frank," Donna said. "You seem pissed off at me. I thought we have a good time yesterday?"

"We did," Frank said flatly. "But..., I thought you were cool."

"I am cool."

"I don't know about that. Because I know what cool is, and, I will tell you what is not cool. You fucking with my work, Donna. That is definitely not cool!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, I am sorry I forgot your name yesterday, it was an honest mistake. But you didn't need to humiliate me on the air, you know. You should not call me on my show!"

"Frank," Donna said as she frowned. "I don't know what in the fuck you are talking about. I didn't call your show last night. Shit..., I don't even know the number!"

"You swear, Donna?" Frank said. "I mean it. I can't deal with people fucking with my work."

"I swear!" Donna cried. "After Pedro drove me around for a bit, I went back to the dorm to study for my test, just like I told you. Why do you think I called your show anyway?"

Frank went quiet as he studied Donna's face. He always prided himself on his skills at reading people, a skill he has used to great effect in his thousands of interviews over the years. He could spot a fraud a mile away, and as he gazed into Donna's eyes, and watched her reactions, he smiled slightly. It was obvious, she was telling the truth.

"I am not lying, Frank, I swear," Donna said, her eyes starting to moisten. She was upset, and not upset about being caught, but upset that he was pissed off.

"OK..., I believe you," Frank said. "But now I have to figure out what the hell is going on. You are sure you didn't tell anyone about us? Somebody made that crank call, and they seemed to know stuff only you and I would know."

"I haven't said anything to anyone about us..., well, my roommate knows we have gone out, but, she certainly doesn't know any salacious details or personal information." She paused, and then said, "Someone knows about us, and called into the show about it? This is kind of creeping me out. What in the hell did they say?"

"Last night, I had Sofia Arcos on as a guest, and —"

"THE Sofia Arcos, the author?"

"Yes, the very one."

"Man, I loved her book Voices from Beyond! Now I wish I had stayed up and listened to your show."