End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy #3) - Stephen King Page 0,96
she call him back as soon as she can, and emphasizes that it’s urgent.
He continues doodling until eight twenty-five (now it’s Zappits he’s drawing, possibly because he’s got Dinah Scott’s in his coat pocket), then calls Todd Schneider, who answers the phone personally.
Hodges identifies himself as a volunteer consumer advocate working with the Better Business Bureau, and says he’s been tasked with investigating some Zappit consoles that have shown up in the city. He keeps his tone easy, almost casual. ‘This is no big deal, especially since the Zappits were given away, but it seems that some of the recipients are downloading books from something called the Sunrise Readers Circle, and they’re coming through garbled.’
‘Sunrise Readers Circle?’ Schneider sounds bemused. No sign he’s getting ready to put up a shield of legalese, and that’s the way Hodges wants to keep it. ‘As in Sunrise Solutions?’
‘Well, yes, that’s what prompted the call. According to my information, Sunrise Solutions bought out Zappit, Inc., before going bankrupt.’
‘That’s true, but I’ve got a ton of paperwork on Sunrise Solutions, and I don’t recall anything about a Sunrise Readers Circle. And it would have stood out like a sore thumb. Sunrise was basically involved in gobbling up small electronics companies, looking for that one big hit. Which they never found, unfortunately.’
‘What about the Zappit Club? Ring any bells?’
‘Never heard of it.’
‘Or a website called zeetheend?’ As he asks this question, Hodges smacks himself in the forehead. He should have checked that site for himself instead of filling a page with dumb doodles.
‘Nope, never heard of that, either.’ Now comes a tiny rattle of the legal shield. ‘Is this a consumer fraud issue? Because bankruptcy laws are very clear on the subject, and—’
‘Nothing like that,’ Hodges soothes. ‘Only reason we’re even involved is because of the jumbled downloads. And at least one of the Zappits was dead on arrival. The recipient wants to send it back, maybe get a new one.’
‘Not surprised someone got a dead console if it was from the last batch,’ Schneider says. ‘There were a lot of defectives, maybe thirty percent of the final run.’
‘As a matter of personal curiosity, how many were in that final run?’
‘I’d have to look up the number to be sure, but I think around forty thousand units. Zappit sued the manufacturer, even though suing Chinese companies is pretty much a fool’s game, but by then they were desperate to stay afloat. I’m only giving you this information because the whole business is done and dusted.’
‘Understood.’
‘Well, the manufacturing company – Yicheng Electronics – came back with all guns blazing. Probably not because of the money at stake, but because they were worried about their reputation. Can’t blame them there, can you?’
‘No.’ Hodges can’t wait any longer for pain relief. He takes out his bottle of pills, shakes out two, then reluctantly puts one back. He puts it under his tongue to melt, hoping it will work faster that way. ‘I guess you can’t.’
‘Yicheng claimed the defective units were damaged in shipping, probably by water. They said if it had been a software problem, all the games would have been defective. Makes a degree of sense to me, but I’m no electronics genius. Anyway, Zappit went under, and Sunrise Solutions elected not to proceed with the suit. They had bigger problems by then. Creditors snapping at their heels. Investors jumping ship.’
‘What happened to that final shipment?’
‘Well, they were an asset, of course, but not a very valuable one, due to the defect issue. I held onto them for awhile, and we advertised in the trades to retail companies that specialize in discounted items. Chains like the Dollar Store and Economy Wizard. Are you familiar with those?’
‘Yeah.’ Hodges had bought a pair of factory-second loafers at the local Dollar Store. They cost more than a buck, but they weren’t bad. Wore well.
‘Of course we had to make it clear that as many as three in every ten Zappit Commanders – that’s what the last iteration was called – might be defective, which meant each one would have to be checked. That killed any chance for selling the whole shipment. Checking the units one by one would have been too labor intensive.’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘So, as bankruptcy trustee, I decided to have them destroyed and claim a tax credit, which would have amounted to … well, quite a lot. Not by General Motors standards, but mid-six figures. Clear the books, you understand.’