going on with the Alien Tel lawsuit? I did a project for them
last October, and I heard their suits were going up against
your suits in court.”
Ava shook her head, a despairing gesture that sent her
long, dark hair rippling around her shoulders. “I’m keeping
my mouth shut on that one. But you’re right. It’s a matter
of record. The case comes up in superior court next month.”
“It sounded kind of cut-and-dried,” Renie remarked,
loading dirty cocktail glasses into the dishwasher. “Alien Tel
likes to call itself ‘An Out of This World Telecommunications
Company,’ but they got caught poaching off of some of
OTIOSE’s microwave towers. Maybe they should have
launched a space satellite instead.”
“They’re small, they’re new, they thought they could get
away with it.” Ava shrugged.
“I heard from one of their p.r. types,” Renie continued,
unwilling to let the topic rest, “that Alien Tel agreed to pay
for usage along with any fines or penalties. But OTIOSE
wants to make a public example of Alien Tel.”
“That’s possible.” Ava had turned her back on Renie and
was putting a couple of empty liquor bottles into the recycling
bin.
“I never heard of Alien Tel,” Judith said, feeling left out of
the conversation. “Are they located around here?”
“Their customer base is mostly east of the mountains,”
Renie replied. “That’s where they butted heads with OTIOSE.
As I recall, one of the towers was up here near the summit.”
Ava didn’t respond directly. “I think we’ve got everything
cleared away,” she said, dusting off her hands. “I’ll make one
last check of the lobby, then I’m heading for bed. Good
night.”
The cousins watched her leave. “Touchy, touchy,” murmured Renie.
“I didn’t think so,” Judith said. “You can’t blame her for
not tattling about a big lawsuit.”
Renie opened the refrigerator door and took out two carrot
sticks and a radish. “It’s no secret, coz. It’s been in the paper.
You know, the business section, which you only use to line
the bird cage. Except you don’t have a bird cage because you
don’t have a bird.”
“I think I call it my mother’s apartment,” Judith remarked
absently.
“Anyway, the whole thing should have been settled out of
court months ago,” Renie went on, popping the radish
in her mouth. “But OTIOSE refused to deal. The Alien folks
told me it was a personal vendetta.”
Judith, who hadn’t been terribly interested in the court
case, now focused her full attention on Renie. “You mean
