“We were the fish out of water, I guess. Public school kids suddenly in pretty elite private schools. So, yeah, we hung around with each other a lot,” Steve said.
“But you know how it goes,” Brad said. “Eventually things got back to normal. Well, almost back to normal. Some families never returned after that summer. New people moved into the city. We graduated and all kind of drifted apart. Even those of us who stayed in the city didn’t necessarily stay friends. And remember, Arnie was a few years older than we were. The oldest guys graduated soon after the summer of storms.”
“And I wasn’t one of them,” Luis said. “I met these goofballs later.”
“So Arnie was in this group. And Tyler, too, I take it?” Quinn asked.
Jenny gasped suddenly. “Quinn, Holton Morelli was a guest lecturer when we were there,” she said. “And Lawrence Barrett was a teaching assistant.” She met his eyes, and there was real fear in hers. “Is this person killing off people who were part of the Survivor Set?” she asked, her face pale. “If so, he won’t stop. He’ll come back for Brad and me.”
Quinn didn’t really know what this new information meant, but he quickly said, “Remember, Morelli and Barrett weren’t really part of your set—they were teachers. And I don’t believe these killings have anything to do with surviving the storms. I think they have to do with Arnie’s sax. A sax was taken during each holdup.”
He doubted his words afforded her any kind of reassurance when she said, “But still...” and looked as if she was going to collapse into her chair.
“It would be nice if you could give me a list of who was in that Survivor Set,” Quinn said. “And if you can think of anyone else still playing in the city who was part of it.”
Jenny looked at him with wide eyes. “I know who else was part of it,” she told him thickly. “Someone who was actually in Arnie’s class. One of the musicians who was attacked on the street. Jeff Braman.”
*
They were trouble, Michael Quinn and Danni Cafferty.
She didn’t remember. No one remembered. Because he’d been no one.
He hadn’t known then that he was magic. He’d been invisible, always invisible even in plain sight. But Danni Cafferty...
She hadn’t even been one of them.
But they had wanted her. She had been beautiful even then, and courteous. Old Angus would have strung her up if she hadn’t been courteous.
But she’d never even seen him.
He liked to think now that it had been because of his power. Back then he hadn’t realized he was magic, that his invisibility was good, something he would need to use at the right time in his life.
But even when she was courteous...
She didn’t really see him. She’d never seen him. She didn’t see him now.
She didn’t have the sax, though.
Neither did Quinn. But there was that old skeleton who lived with them...
That didn’t even matter. There was a slim possibility that the old Scot had the sax, though it might be difficult to discover whether he did or not. Still, there were always chances. Things to be done.
Danni...she thought she was magic, too. Like old Angus.
He smiled to himself. She needed to see his magic. He would have to show her.
Oh, yes. He was, one way or another, at one time or another, going to show her.
He’d always been in awe of her. Watching from a distance.
But now he was going to find a way.
He would force her to see his magic. And then he would never have to look at her again and admit that she’d never seen him, invisible or not. He didn’t know if he still coveted her and was in awe of her...
Or if he hated her beyond all measure.
It didn’t matter. He had to deal with her.
He had to make sure that she saw him—and then that she never saw anything again.
*
Danni found herself relaxing onstage this time, and she enjoyed seeing Billie enjoying himself, whether he was playing a solo sax part or duetting with Tyler.
Natasha and Father Ryan were there, just as they had promised. They seemed to be having a great time, listening to the music and talking animatedly between songs. It was almost midnight when Danni was shocked to see an elegant older woman walk into the club. It was Hattie Lamont, the socialite they’d worked with on the case concerning the Henry Hubert painting.
Being Hattie, she was dressed to the nines. Her iron-gray hair was cut short and curved under her aged but elegant chin. She was in jeans and a ruffled blouse that was both casual and ever-so-slightly elegant. Danni was idly keeping the beat with the tambourine when Hattie walked in and looked around for a minute, and then Father Ryan rose to greet her and lead her to the table.
Billie was in the middle of a soulful tune; his eyes were closed as he felt the music.