Goldengirl

‘Great to meet you,’ he told Dryden. ‘I’m in sports, on the production side. You remember The Superstars? Met several of your clients. Jim Hansenburg. Dick Armitage — or could that have been in The American Sportsman? Anyway, they told me you’re a fabulous guy. When I heard our research people had turned up your name I homed in. Volunteered to come up here myself and meet you.’

‘Research people?’ repeated Dryden. ‘What exactly is this about, Mr. Esselstyn?’

‘Right to the point, huh? I heard you were a tough cookie, Jack. I’m Wayne, incidentally. Well, I’ll come clean. We’re putting together a TV special on this kid who made the headlines yesterday. The Cleveland kidnap girl. Goldine Serafin. You with me?’

Dryden gave him a nod that committed him to nothing.

‘One hell of a newsmaker, that chick,’ Esselstyn went on. ‘Unknown blonde beats top-class track stars in San Diego, goes to the U.S. Olympic Tryout and rewrites the record book. Then this kidnaping. If I was a PR guy, I couldn’t script it better. Next thing, Moscow — yeah, I know it’s shaping up as a cliffhanger, but she’ll get there. And whatever she does out there, it’s news. It can’t miss. So NBC Sports aims to put out a major feature on the kid when she makes it big in Moscow. It’s come my way.’

‘Nice for you,’ said Dryden, ‘but I don’t see—’

Esselstyn cut him short with a wagging finger. ‘Oh no, don’t let’s prevaricate, Jack. We were going to come clean, remember? I happen to know that you can put us wise to plenty in the Goldine Serafin story. Don’t panic, I’m not asking you to go on film. We’ll keep it off the record. I want you to know that this is planned as a tribute to Goldine. We want to touch the emotions. It’s a great story. I just want to get it right, you follow me? Now, my people have been digging, as I told you. We happen to know half the stuff the press have printed on Goldine is hogwash. Crap. Take the superjogger bit. You know, the story that she first discovered she could run when her pop sent her jogging around the block. Palpably untrue. We’ve spoken to a guy in Bakersfield who saw her working out on the college track two years ago. No mistake. He identified her old man. Goldine Serafin may be an overnight sensation, but she’s no novice to track.’

‘Does that matter?’ said Dryden indifferently.

The finger wagged again. ‘All, but hear this. That same guy in Bakersfield has a good memory for faces. Someone else was at the track watching Goldine’s workout, someone this guy had seen on Wide World of Sports. A mutual acquaintance, Jack. U.S. tennis champ Dick Armitage. Now, there’s a turnup. I never knew Dick was a track fan. Candidly, I would have thought he’d never seen a track in his life from the way he bucked those hurdles on Superstars. Still, he seemed to take an interest in young Goldine. We thought he had eyes for the chick at first. That would be some scoop — revealing that Dick is the man in her life. Too bad he knocks around with that broad in the Martini ads. There had to be some other tie-in. So we dug deeper. Learned Dick was in Eugene for the Trials last month. Keeping up his interest apparently. Suite at the Jacaranda. We took a look at the guest list and found your name. Dick’s agent. Now, what is a merchandising agent doing at an amateur track meet?’

‘Watching the sport,’ said Dryden flatly. He was torn between ending this interview and learning how much Esselstyn knew.

‘Yeah.’ Esselstyn paraded his neat line of teeth. ‘But let’s not kid ourselves. You guys don’t wait for sport stars to hit the jackpot before you move in. Okay, the Olympics are for amateurs and I’m not aiming to get Goldine banned. That would be counterproductive. So how about leveling with me? You have a stake in this girl — am I right?’

‘Just because I watched the Trials—’

‘You’re saying there’s nothing on paper? I’m prepared to believe that,’ said Esselstyn.

‘I’m saying you’re wasting your time and mine,’ said Dryden. ‘If you think you can link Dryden Merchandising with this girl on the basis of a track meet I attended with one of my own clients, you’re in the wrong business, Mr. Esselstyn. You should be in Disneyland, not NBC-TV.’

‘You have no professional interest in Goldine Serafin?’

‘Mine is a large and successful organization,’ said Dryden. ‘I don’t spend agency time chasing after amateur girl athletes.’

Esselstyn’s eyebrows pricked up. ‘Personal time, then?’

Dryden stood up. ‘This is leading nowhere.’

‘You think so? You have no interest in Goldine? Maybe I should unscramble your memory, Jack. You were in Cleveland at Serafin’s press conference after the kidnap. Saw you there myself. Going to tell me the whole thing wasn’t a PR stunt? Pull the other one, Jack. I’ll believe anything.’