Page 102 - Just Deserts

Stiff Competition

“Now, tell me: are we on schedule for the first printing of the new
novel?”
Fetz nodded. “Yes. We had some trouble getting the machine
online that puts the scratch-off coating on the last page. But it was
resolved with the manufacturer. He did not even need a bribe, he was
so eager to get his foot in the door here.”
“Excellent.” Cockleberry extracted a cigar from an inner pocket of
his voluminous overcoat. Egon Fetz wrinkled his nose in disgust but
offered his nominal superior an ashtray. The publisher lit the cigar
and puffed a few times before continuing. “And have you made the
customary arrangements for the—what polite name have we given
it?—overrun?”
“Yes. Even if it never goes into a second printing, we shall be able
to make a considerable undetected donation to the brotherhood
through our bank in Belize. The young prince, I am told, is becoming
restive in his tropical paradise; too bad we cannot advise him to enjoy
his life of leisure while it lasts, eh?”
They laughed mirthlessly. Cockleberry tapped an inch of ash into
the receptacle. “He will make a lovely martyr, suntan and all. But
listen to me, Egon: ‘Stiff Competition’ has great potential, perhaps
greater than any of those Steele Galant pieces of crap. If it does as
well as I anticipate, we will have enough at last to finance the
counter-revolution. Then I shall return to our native land and reclaim
my ancestral rights.”
Fetz shrugged. “Let us not count our chickens before they’re
hatched. The profit in this case will be diminished significantly by the
prize money you are committed to distribute.”
Cockleberry grinned wolfishly. “That is the principal reason I have
paid this little visit today, Egon. According to the contract we have
with the author of that absurd murder mystery, LibrAries will print
one hundred copies in the first run which are winners; whoever
scratches the coating off the last page of those books will win one
thousand dollars. As the books will be shrink-wrapped here at the
plant, nobody but you shall know where and when the winning
copies are to be distributed. The thrill of a lottery will boost sales, no
doubt—but we can save ourselves a good piece of that money.”

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