“Not tonight. I think I’m just going to head home. What about you all?” she asked anxiously.
“We’re covered,” Tyler told her. “We’re going for pizza tonight, and I have my car, so we’ll eat, then I’ll drop everyone off and head on to the Watson house. What about you all? No one alone, right?”
“We’re good,” Danni assured him. There were goodbyes all around, and then the band headed down the street in search of food.
“All right, down to us,” Father Ryan said. “Billie is going to see Hattie home, and I’m your escort, Miss Cafferty—well, I shall be seeing you to your house, and then Natasha on to hers, where I will retrieve my car.”
“Wonderful,” Danni said. “Except that...” She hesitated, remembering what Eric had said about Billie and how well he played.
What if the killer had seen Billie play and thought the same thing? Would he have thought Billie was so good that he just might have been playing a very special sax?
“You be careful,” Billie told Danni.
“I’m with a man of God and a priestess for the universe,” she said. “I’ll be fine. But Billie, I don’t like this. I say we all walk to my house, I’ll get the car, and we’ll get Hattie home.”
“But Danni dear, it’s a matter of only a few blocks to my home,” Hattie protested. “I got here all on my own, you know.”
“Honestly, Hattie, at this moment I think you might be fine other than bumping into a run-of-the-mill mugger—which would be bad, too, of course. But Billie has been playing with the band.”
“First time ever on a stage here, Danni, so who’d be after me?” he asked.
“I’d rather not find out because he attacks you,” Danni told him.
Billie let out a deep sigh and wagged a finger at her. “This from the one who took off like a bat out of hell just last night!”
Father Ryan lifted a hand and looked toward the night sky. “Lord and Mother Mary, help me. Both of you listen to me. We will all walk Danni home. Then Natasha. Then we get in my car, and Billie and I drop Hattie off, and then I drop Billie and head on home.” He looked firmly at each of them in turn. “And there will be no arguments.”
There were none.
Billie and Hattie took the lead. Behind them, Danni walked between Father Ryan and Natasha.
As they walked, Father Ryan asked Danni, “What’s your feeling on this case? You and Quinn would know... Are we looking at greed and obsession or cold-blooded murder? Or is there really something...special about that instrument?”
“I don’t know, Father. I tried to find something relevant in the book my father left me, but...I just don’t know.”
“Can it be one person? Just one person doing this?” Natasha asked. “I keep my eyes and ears open, both to those I know and those who come for readings. And all I’ve heard so far is fear.”
“Just one person can cause nations to fall, remember,” Father Ryan said. “And the police can hardly go door-to-door demanding to know if someone owns a Mardi Gras mask and a trench coat—and if they’ve been brutally murdering musicians.”
“That person might have killed Jenny last night,” Danni said. “But now, of course, she’ll never be without Brad—and they’re both staying at my place for now.”
“Evil is such an elusive quality,” Father Ryan said thoughtfully. “And I can’t say I begin to understand it. Some say that it can and does reside in inanimate objects, and we’ve seen how a malignant soul can linger on. People believe in residual hauntings, when, say, a Civil War soldier fights the same battle over and over again. But no matter how you slice it, the earth itself isn’t evil, and neither is the sky or the sea. Evil always begins and ends with man.”
“Amen, Father,” Natasha said quietly.
They’d reached Danni’s house; Quinn’s car wasn’t back yet.
“Guess I beat him home,” Danni said.
“So we’ll see you in, check everything out and make sure Wolf is on duty,” Natasha said.
Wolf was indeed on duty. He was waiting by the courtyard door, and wagged his tail and wriggled his massive body as he greeted Danni and said hello to the others. Bo Ray, bare-chested with his jeans thrown on, came down the stairs to meet them. He seemed happy to see everyone, but it was obvious that the noise they’d made had awakened him. He was especially pleased to see Hattie, whom he hadn’t seen in a while.
After a few minutes’ conversation, Billie sighed and pointed out the hour.
“Everything fine here?” Father Ryan asked Bo Ray.
“Yep. Fine. I fell asleep about two, but there’s nothing going on here. And I’d know, because Wolf would let me know, and he hasn’t made a peep,” Bo Ray assured them.
“Then we’ll lock you two and Wolf in,” Billie said. “I’m going with the good Father to see Hattie home.”
“Okay,” Bo Ray said, grinning knowingly.
Billie looked away, blushing. Hattie gave Bo Ray a tap on the arm. “Behave, young man. They’re all just very politely seeing an old lady home.”