Murder at Castle Rock (13 page)

I leaned over the sink and splashed cold water on my face. Once I felt calm and collected, I exited the restroom—and nearly slammed into Jared Flynn in the hallway. I jumped with a start, flattening my back against the wall. He didn't look happy. Jared pressed his forearm on the wall above my head and leaned in close, so that his face was mere inches from mine.

"You need to drop it," he warned. His emerald eyes bore into me. My pulse quickened. He was leaning so close that I could smell the mixture of sweat and aftershave on his neck. Though he gave off a dangerous vibe, I found his scent intoxicating. I swallowed hard, struggling to keep my wits about me.

I decided to play dumb. "Huh? Drop what?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Amelia," he said, his voice a low growl. "What happened between Stone and Parker doesn't concern you—and it's nothing you want to be a part of." His face softened a smidge when he saw the alarm flash in my eyes. "Look, I'm only saying this to keep you safe," he whispered more gently. "The less you know, the better. Just trust me, okay?"

I nodded, too stunned to say anything. I wasn't sure I could trust him, but at that moment I would say anything to get him off me. My heart was thundering in my chest, and I was beginning to feel light-headed.

Jared tilted his head to the side. "Relax. I would never hurt you." His breath tickled my ear. "Just please, please drop it." He sauntered back down the hall, leaving me wide-eyed and panting against the wall. I remained there for a few moments, my chest heaving as I waited for my breathing to return to normal. He managed to frighten and excite me at the same time. I was suddenly feeling very sober, very confused, and very tired.

Upon returning to the booth, I found Jared standing with one arm slung over Candy's shoulders. He threw down some money on the table for his drinks. Candy bounced on the balls of her feet. "I wanna go dancing!" she shrieked. "Jared, baby, take me dancing!" Her whole body was trembling, probably from too much blow.

Tony coaxed a sloppy Bobby Glitter out of the booth. Together we migrated down the stairs and to the parking lot, where a cab was already waiting to take the band and Candy back to their hotel. "Get some rest, Bobby," I said as the singer nearly tripped over his own feet. "You've got another big show tomorrow."

"Not to worry, love." He grinned. "The prince is always ready to rock." I rolled my eyes.

Jared poured Candy and Bobby into the back of the cab. He looked up and met my gaze one last time before climbing in behind them. His eyes burned into me. "Be safe, Amelia." He ducked into the cab and closed the door behind him.

Tony walked me to my car. "Nice going back there, Detective," he said as we stopped beside my Jetta. "Do you interrogate all your drinking buddies?"

I shrugged. "I was just making conversation," I said, leaning against my car. A gust of icy wind clawed at my exposed skin. I pulled my black pea coat more tightly around me.

"Are you cold? Maybe I could warm you up." He sidled up to me so that we were standing mere inches apart and then waggled his eyebrows. He leaned forward, his face dangerously close to mine…and I balked.

"Not tonight, big guy." I gave a nervous laugh. I turned quickly and rooted through my purse to find my keys, bent on getting in the car before he could see my garnet complexion. "I've got to get home and get some rest. Big day tomorrow." I climbed in my car and started the engine, then rolled down my window just a tad. "See you around," I squeaked. I shot out of the parking space before I could change my mind.

"See you around," he called after me. I glanced in my review to see him staring after me with a puzzled expression.

I crawled into bed that night with question after question swirling through my mind.
What were Shawn and Parker arguing about? What does Bobby know about it? How is Jared involved? Why didn't I let Tony kiss me?
Exhausted, I forced myself to think happier thoughts—like how much fun I'd had tonight with Tony, dancing, playing pool, standing
this close
…

I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

"It won't last forever," I told my three kitties as they pawed curiously at the window, staring out at the torrential downpour flooding my balcony.It had been raining when I woke up, so I'd spent most of the gloomy Wednesday morning sipping coffee in the comfort of my living room. I'd lounged on the couch with the Game Show Network on mute as I listened to the raindrops pelt rhythmically against the balcony window. The steady beating gave me the feeling of serenity that I so desperately needed. Still, I hoped that the rain would stop before we had to unload the rental equipment for the night's show. Flipping the channel, I was happy to see that the weatherman predicted sunny skies by early afternoon.

Well, the weatherman was full of it. The rain poured down all afternoon and showed no sign of letting up as I locked my apartment and headed for work. To make matters worse, as I slid into my Jetta and turned the key in the ignition, I heard a faint
click! click! click!…
and then nothing.
Damn!
I'd been meaning to replace my battery for a few weeks now, but I'd been so busy lately that it kept slipping my mind. Now I was paying for procrastinating in a bad way.

My eyes darted around the parking deck in search of someone who could lend me a hand and some jumper cables, but the deck was deserted.
Perfect.
With a heavy sigh, I gave up and decided to take the bus to work and catch a ride home with Kat or Reese after the show. The chirping of my car lock echoed throughout the empty parking garage as I walked over to the elevator lobby. I stepped out on the ground floor and opened my umbrella, then made my way across the street to the MARTA bus station.

Several stagehands and some of Bobby's roadies trudged through gravel and mud as they moved the rental equipment from the Rockin' Rentals truck to the Dungeon. The loading dock was currently sealed off as part of the crime scene, and I was horrified to realize they were tracking mud all over the red carpet in the front hall. I'd have to get Reese or Bronwyn to clean the area before the doors opened for show time.

I spent the next hour cleaning up the Dungeon green room and prepping it for the band's arrival. Bronwyn wandered in carrying bags full of Hungry Hero's Sandwiches that the caterer had dropped off. "Where do you want these?" she asked, lugging the bags over to the nearest table.

"Over there should be fine. We'll set them up on these platters, buffet-style." I motioned to the stack of serving platters I'd placed at the end of the table. Bronwyn and I set to work arranging the sandwiches and side dishes and worked for a while in companionable silence.

Once our work on the green room was complete, Bronwyn gave me a sideways glance and said, "I heard about Kat and Parker. My dad isn't very careful about taking his work calls in private when he's home."

"Did you have even the slightest idea that they were together all this time?"

"No way!" She shook her head. "I can still hardly believe it. To think they'd been hooking up right under our noses this whole time…" Bron's genuine shock made me feel a little better. If it hadn't been obvious to anyone else, I couldn't be so hard on myself for not figuring it out.

"I just feel so horrible for Kat," she said. "It must really suck to have to hide your marriage from all your friends. Plus Parker's death must be hitting her worse than the rest of us."

I sighed. "Kat's tough, but I know this is really hard on her. I begged her to take a few days off, but she insisted on coming in anyway—she said that she needs to keep herself distracted."

Bronwyn slumped into one of the green room chairs and sat quietly for a moment, lost in thought. "Reese was parking when Daddy dropped me off," she said finally. "I haven't talked to him since Monday night before…everything. I wonder how he's holding up."

I still hadn't spoken to Reese either. "Come on," I said, motioning for Bronwyn to follow me. We found Reese sitting at the bar in the back of the Dungeon. His elbows were propped on the counter, and he held his head in his hands. He was a mess. "How's it going, buddy?" I asked gently. I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and sat down on the stool next to him. Bronwyn lingered behind me, gazing at him hopefully.

Reese raised his curly head and looked at me with mournful green eyes. "Been better," he mumbled. "I haven't spoken to Laura since Monday night…I haven't been able to face her after what I heard—and after what happened to Parker. I don't really know what to say." His face hardened. "Dixon questioned me again yesterday afternoon. I thought Laura might be running around on me, so I confronted her about it at lunch on Monday. She said nothing was going on. According to Bron, I must have just missed catching her with Parker later that day." Bitterness crept into his voice. "I dropped her off here after lunch while I ran to the gas station to grab a pack of smokes before my shift. The minute my taillights faded she must've shot straight into his office."

"I'm so sorry." I squeezed his arm.

Reese rubbed his hand over his face then turned his sad eyes back to me. "I know Dixon thinks I was mad enough to beat Parker's face in, but I'm telling you, Ame—I didn't do it. I know I've got a temper when it comes to my girl, and my blood was definitely boiling after Bron told me,"—he shifted his eyes to Bronwyn—"but I didn't push Parker out of the tower."

I bit my lip. I didn't know what to say to make him feel better. I didn't want to believe he had anything to do with Parker's death. "Just hang in there," I said. I hopped over the bar and grabbed a beer for Reese and me—and a Coke for Bronwyn—and took a seat next to him. The three of us sat in silence as we watched Shawn Stone directed the crew in setting up the rental equipment.

After a few minutes, I heard the grumbling of a grouchy Bobby Glitter in the hallway.
Here we go again.
I braced myself for the tongue-lashing he'd unleash on the crew and me for not being able to grab his guitar from upstairs. I thanked my lucky stars that the majority of Bobby's wardrobe was stored on his tour bus the first night and therefore still accessible.

The old rocker staggered into the room, seemingly still hung over at four o'clock in the afternoon. "What're you lookin' at?" he snarled at one of our stagehands. Stone left the stage to meet Bobby, steering him in my direction. I hopped down from my bar stool to greet them. I could smell the liquor on Bobby's breath before he even spoke.
Great
. He wasn't hung over from the night before; he was still drunk.

"Afternoon, love," he mumbled, nearly falling over while stooping to kiss my hand.

I wanted to pull away from him but managed to keep my composure. "I'm so sorry we couldn't move your equipment down to the Dungeon. As soon as we get clearance from the Atlanta Police Department, we'll get you set up back in High Court and reunited with your guitar."

"It's shitty," Bobby groused. "I'm out of blow, and I can't even lay my hands on my sweet Whiskey."

Stone shook my hand awkwardly as he once again offered his condolences for Parker. He slid his business card into my palm. "I used to work for my cousin at a venue in Las Vegas. If you need any help running Castle Rock without Parker, perhaps I can be of assistance."

"That's very kind of you." I pocketed the card. Jared, Cliff, and Candy waltzed in and made their way over to us. My conversation with Jared in the hallway of The Cavern the night before floated back into my mind. He'd warned me not to get caught up in whatever was going on with Stone—that he was dangerous. I subtly looked Shawn up and down. Today he was wearing a faded brown suit with a wrinkled, white shirt and green tie. His face was scruffy with a five o'clock shadow, and judging from the dark circles under his eyes, I figured he must've been too tired to shave the whiskers this morning. He looked a bit haggard
but certainly not dangerous. I supposed looks could be deceiving. If Jared knew so much about what was going on between Stone and Parker, didn't that make him dangerous, too? He'd certainly seemed that way last night.

I glanced up to find Jared regarding me with that smoldering look again. My gaze dropped to his full lips, and I recalled how they'd felt as they'd brushed against my ear…I turned away from him before I had to excuse myself to take a cold shower.

Cliff wore his usual dark sunglasses and stoic expression. If his curly hair was just a few inches longer, he'd be a dead-ringer for Slash from Guns n' Roses. Candy was wearing a pair of black shorts so teeny that I had to avert my eyes before I got an accidental peep show. Her shirt wasn't much better—a skimpy green halter that bared her navel. Her skin was so orange from the tanning bed that I wondered if she was part Oompa Loompa. As always, her grip around Jared was so tight that she might as well have been wearing him too.

I led the motley crew into the Dungeon's green room to get settled in before their sound check. Bobby immediately stalked over to the iced bucket of Stella Artois and grabbed two of the beer bottles. "Bloody breakfast of champions," he grumbled as he removed the caps and tilted both bottles to his lips. I glanced at my watch—four-thirty.
It's five o'clock somewhere, I guess.
I rolled my eyes. Jared locked gazes with me again. He cracked a half-smile, rolling his eyes to let me know he was thinking the same thing.