A table next to where she sat with Billie during their first break was filled with young men who had just arrived in town for a “bachelor week.” Danni listened to them talking while she sipped her water.
“It’s terrible, a serial killer on the loose. Think we should be worried?” one of them asked the others.
“No. None of us can play anything but a computer keyboard,” the groom-to-be, Harry, said.
“I guess not. Scary, though. He’s killing off sax players,” another said.
“What if all the musicians get scared and leave?” the first man asked.
“Well, if there are no musicians, what will we do?” someone else pondered.
“Well, hell, there are still strip clubs!” one said, and they all laughed.
“A good stripper needs music, too,” Harry said indignantly.
Danni felt Billie’s hand on hers. “It will be all right,” he told her. “You and Quinn will catch this guy.”
“Am I crazy, Billie? To be so determined to speak with Arnie’s friend Kevin? What if Quinn decides not to come with me?”
Billie shook his head. “No. You’re a Cafferty, girl. Your instincts are good. And don’t worry about Quinn. Mark my words, he’ll be on that plane.”
“You think so?”
“I do.”
“Hmm. Think I’m going to order a beer.”
“Jessica will come by to see what else we need,” Billie said.
“She’s busy. I’ll just go to the bar,” Danni said, and stood.
“I’ll take something dark on draft, Danni.”
She waved a hand to acknowledge his request. At the bar, Eric Lyons was working alone. “Hey there,” he said. “What can I get you?”
“Two dark drafts of whatever,” she said.
“Really?” He laughed. “Going from water to the hard stuff?” he asked, getting cups and pulling on one of the taps.
She was hoping the beer would help her catch a few hours of sleep before heading to the airport, though it seemed unlikely. Maybe she could sleep on the plane.
“Going wild tonight, what can I say?” she said.
“You never go home alone, right?” he asked her.
“Never. Why?”
“Oh, I was just watching the news today. Jessica was worried. I’m going to take her home. And I was talking to Blake Templeton. He said the band members all hang together until they get home. Apparently, musicians all over the city are seeing each other home, even staying at each other’s places. I wonder if it’s going to be like a blackout and in nine months we’ll wind up with a slew of musically talented babies?”
“Well, that would be better than a lot of other outcomes, right?” Danni asked.
“Sure would.”
“You’re careful, too, right?”
He nodded. “Very,” he assured her, and handed her the drafts. “And I play horribly, anyway. I’m sure no one is after me.”
“The killer doesn’t care about talent, only instruments.”
“In that case I’ll just ditch everything I own,” Eric said.
“Hopefully, that won’t be necessary. No one’s seen you playing onstage, right?”
“Well, they might have seen me, but I’ve never been asked to join a band,” he said, grinning as he nodded toward the stage, where the band was playing a couple of songs without her and Billie. “Now, those guys—those guys are good. And your friend is amazing. He can really play the sax.”
“Billie,” Danni said. “And I never even knew until recently. His specialty is the bagpipes.”
“He should play those one night,” he said, still smiling, and then he grew serious. “All of them can play. But Arnie, now, he was special. Don’t get me wrong, Tyler is good. But Arnie...there was just something about the way he played... He could make you cry.”
“I remember.”
“You do?”
“I knew him back in school,” she said.
“Were you into music, too?”
“Art, back then. Still am. I love music, though.”
“Who wouldn’t? When it works, it’s like magic. Like Arnie and his sax.”
“I guess someone is after that magic,” Danni said.
“Hey, I think you’re about to go back up.”
“Thanks,” she told him, hurrying back to the table. She and Billie barely had a minute to take a few sips of their beer before it was time to head back up onstage.
A few minutes later, Natasha and Father Ryan appeared. On their next break, Danni hurried over to thank them for coming again.
Tyler joined her. “Not only does Danni look great onstage, she brings her own fans.”
“Tyler’s staying at my house, along with Arnie’s parents,” Danni told the newcomers quietly.
“Good. No one knows, right?” Father Ryan asked Tyler.
Tyler shook his head. “Not even the rest of the band. I’ll go with the guys to make sure they get home safely, and then I’ll go back to Danni’s. I guess you two will see that Billie and Danni get there?”
“Of course,” Natasha said. “It’s Billie I really worry about.”
Billie cleared his throat. “Excuse me?”
“You play the sax, so of course I’m more afraid for you than I am for Danni.”