Week One Run-up

     The rain beading up on the window was a welcome sight. The summer had been as long, hot and uncomfortable as a made-for-tv drama with Don Johnson. I had been working on several cases that kept me busy, but at the moment I was performing an evidence review on the case of bourbon vs. rye. Bourbon had presented some excellent prima facie evidence, but rye was getting doing a good enough job on raising counter points that were creating a decent sense of reasonable doubt.
     A sharp rap on my office door caused me to twisted awkwardly as Effie, my secretary, client screener and emergency operative walked in.
     "You've got a visitor, Sam," she said, somewhat tentatively.
     "A client?"
     "No. Not a client. Not exactly." She chewed on her lip as she closed the door, pushing it closed with her back. She stared at the floor.
     I decided that now would be a good time to take my feet off the piles of manila envelopes sitting on the filing cabinet and swivel around to face her before I lost my balance and fell off the chair, which would result in a grievous case of alcohol abuse. I granted a continuance and stashed the bottles.
     Effie looked downcast, and the way she kept her hands behind herself told me she really didn't want me to know something, "C'mon, Effie, spill it. What's going on?" I asked using my concerned big brother voice. She's one of the few people in the world I trust, and I was hoping that she could trust me with whatever was bothering her.
     "I have a problem, and I need a favor," she finally explained to the floor. "I invested some money in a project, and, well..."
     "What kind of investment are we talking about?" I asked uneasily.
     "Well, I have this...friend...who wanted to manage a band."
     I leaned back in my chair and rolled my eyes. She hates when I do that, but I couldn't help it.     "How much did you give this...'friend'," I asked, barely keeping my tone civil.
     "10,000 dollars," she whispered.
     "10 grand?" I nearly shouted. "A: where did you get 10 G's? I know how much I don't pay you. B: 'Starting a Band' is one of the oldest scams in the book. And 3: I don't even know were I'll start to look."
     Her head snapped up. I winked at her. A faint smile was struggling to gain ground on her face. "You're going to take it?"
     I slumped back in my chair, "Yeah, I'll take it. I hate to see a good friend get jacked like that. How did it happen?"
     She bounded across the office and wrapped me up in a huge hug. "Oh, thank you. I know you'll be able to get my money back."
      "Ah, yeah. About that. The money is probably long gone, Sweetheart. I might be able to find the guy..."
     "Girl," she corrected.
     I tilted my head, "Girl?"
     "Yes. A friend of mine from school. She manages a band. I gave her the money to finance a tour, and then she disappeared."
     "This band is where, now?"
     "They're here, in town. They came to see me last night, wondering if my friend had come back here. They are running short on funds. They barely have enough for gas or food."
     "Slow down, Sweetheart. One thing at a time. Does this friend have a name?"
     "Susan Sulley."
     "Last seen in?"
     "Here, in Lincoln, two weeks ago. She told the lads that she was getting transportation arranged and that she would meet up with them to kick off the tour. They were supposed to leave yesterday, but Susan didn't show. Now they're stuck. They have the gear, but no place to stay and no way to get to their next gig."
     "Here's what I'll do. I'll start nosing around, see what I can turn up. Somebody has to have seen something that will give me a lead. In the meantime, get the band together and have them meet me at 'Our Lady', tonight at 7, before it gets too crazy. I need to find Lloyd and Cassandra, anyway, for completely unrelated issues, but they might be able to help, too."
     Effie was essentially bouncing with excitement. "Thank you, oh, thank you, I knew I could count on you."
     "By the way, what is the name of this band?" I asked as I popped my hat on to my head.
     "Groping in the Dark. They are a retro-80's synth/punk fusion band. They cover all the classics, and some of their own stuff, too."
     I ushered Effie out of my office and headed downtown. My mind was filling with synthesizer sounds as the earworms gathered.
     I made my way over to 'Our Lady', once inside the sounds of 'Im Sexy and I Know it" by LMFAO, were shaking the speakers. Several suits were sipping at beers and trying really hard not to imagine hamsters in thongs.
     I grabbed a spot at my usual table near the back, saved a seat for Mr. Beam, and waited for Cassandra. I didn't have long to wait. Cassandra sat at the table. She was wearing her light grey Armani suit with the garnet tank. She looked so out of place, but it was completely by design. It was her goal to not appear untouchable as much as unobtainable.
     "So, tell me, my dear, are you ready for the season to begin?"
    "Not nearly as much as I'd like to be," she sighed. "All these new conference alignments have me a bit behind the curve. Just the other day I was trying to think about who would win the Big 12 North when I realized that there are only 10 teams in the Big 12 and they aren't even in divisions."
     "Tell me about it," I said after sipping at my bourbon. "I pretty much decided that there was the Southeastern Conference of the NFL and the rest of college football trying to play catch-up."
     "You're not too far wrong. As I look at it, there are six teams in the SEC that would win the ACC, ten that could win if they were in the Big East."
     "All right, let's get this out of the way. Hit me with your traditional Top 13 as Cassandra Sees it."
     "I have Nebraska at 13. Call me a homer, but I think that the offense is ready to break out, the defense doesn't have many big names, but they are better in more positions than they are worse in than last year. You can have Lloyd break down the roster for you."
     "Interesting, good enough position to sneak up on opponents."
     "Clemson is 12th. Lots of offensive firepower but not a great defense. Tough schedule, too, but to start the year, I have them here. Wisconsin, the Stinking Badgers are 11th. They need a new qb, and you don't get a Russell Wilson to transfer in every year. It will be the Monte Ball show as he runs for the Heisman behind a bunch of mastodons. West Virginia is 10th, as they try to make inroads with their traditional Midwest rivals."
     I looked up and noticed she had her sly little grin. She was trying to mess with me. "Fine, we get to look forward to the annual showdown between the Mountaineers and Cowboys for tooth gap supremacy. What are your next three?"
     "Oregon, need to fill some skill positions, but have a good defense and o-line in good shape. South Carolina is getting better and better in a tough conference. Michigan has a shot at the Rose Bowl, Hoke has those kids playing so much better than under Rodriguez and Shoelaces has learned how to be a true multi-role quarterback, which is scary."
     "Let me have the next set," I said as I took another sip.
     "Florid State has the defense, and is gearing up on offense. Georgia has an outstanding defense and just needs to get a little bit more efficient on offense and they could be right in the mix. Oklahoma has one of the best quarterbacks in the game, but really, really needs to stay healthy, and could get into the big show because they are the best team in an otherwise weak conference."
     "Countdown to 3-2-1 for me, my dear."
     Cassandra settled in and gave me that look like here cobalt eyes were seeing the future. "LSU is number 3, the loss of Mathieu will hurt more than most people realize. Brent Mussburger is still sobbing and crying little, tiny tears into his pillow each night. USC is number 2. The have a Heisman contender in Barkley, will have an improved ground game and is living proof that LA has enough talent to weather any NCAA storm short of the 'Death Penalty'. Alabama and the Red Elephants are number 1. Get used to it. They have two tough games of their first three, and if they survive those, they just need to get by LSU, again, for a shot at the whole enchilada."
     "One last thing before I go to find Lloyd, give a quick snapshot of how you see the B10."
     She sat back and closed her eyes, tenting her fingers on the table. "In the Leaders division, it is Wisconsin by far, then Ohio State, Penn State, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana. On our side of town, in the Legends, right now, I think it is Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan State, Iowa, Northwestern, and Minnesota."
     I got up to leave, the girl on stage was dancing to 'Starman' by David Bowie while wearing a silver spacesuit with strategically placed re-entry shields.
     Time to go find Lloyd and get the low-down on the Huskers and his 'project'.
Husk-husk and on the QB.