you.”
She took a deep pull off her sweating glass. “Yeah.”
“Can I buy you another?”
She shrugged. “What the hell.”
Brad screamed into his back-up singer microphone like a neutered cat and we both temporarily glanced his way. I ordered her another and worked at small talk. “He’s good looking, isn’t he?” I indicated Brad, who had the poor timing to be humping the drum set, balancing his bass over his head.
“He looks like a dick.”
Dang she was growing on me. “He is. I used to date him. He cheated on me.”
She squinted her eyes in his direction, looking for what I must have seen in him. Good luck with that. “He is pretty hot, actually. But why doesn’t he have any eyebrows?”
I swiveled in my seat to follow her gaze. I squinted my eyes, too, and had to agree with her analysis of his appearance. “He had face bugs.”
She nodded as if that was the most normal thing in the world.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “You look kinda sad.”
“Long weekend.”
“I heard.” I put all my chips on the table. “I work for the newspaper in town. Somebody was murdered, somebody your boss didn’t like, and she doesn’t have an alibi for the night he was offed. It doesn’t look good.”
She surprised me with a guffaw. “This isn’t
I had to give her points for staying on message. “What about Swy-decker? Does he have an alibi?”
She grew tightlipped. “I can’t speak for him.”
“Fair enough.” It made sense that she wouldn’t defend her boss’ opponent. Did it make equal sense that she wouldn’t take an opportunity to badmouth him? Depended on her ethics.
“So the representative will be in town through Thursday? Friday?”
She stood and swayed slightly. “I think I’ve said more than enough. And it looks like your ex wants you. Good night.”
She wove her way through the crowd and left with her drink still in hand. Not so legal. I hoped she was walking the four blocks back to the motel.
“Mira! You came.”
Brad was upon me. His lack of eyebrows and eyelashes made him appear scared, or inquisitive. Or like a naked mole rat. “You visit the doctor?”
“Yeah, and you were right. No shot.” He held his hands wide to indicate his pleasure with this outcome. “Whaddyou think of the band? We’re on fire tonight.”
“You’ve never sounded better,” I said honestly. “Say, while I’m here, quick question. That Glokkmann chick you slept with during your show Saturday night, what was her name again?”
“Oh, Kenya?”
I snapped my fingers. “Yes! That’s right. Kenya Glokkmann. You guys still seeing each other?”
He sidled a little closer. Through closed lips, I tried to emit a high whining noise to deter bug migration onto my person.
“You want your place back in my life?”
“You’re a hard guy to forget, Brad. So, are you and Kenya an item?”
He turned away momentarily to accept a drink from a star-struck brunette, and I wondered if that’s how I’d looked when I’d first approached him after a show at First Ave. I made a note to track her down on my way out and tell her that just this morning he’d told me he had crabs.
“Naw,” he said, watching the brunette strut away. “Not dating. Just a little poke in the hay now and again while she’s in town.”
He nudged me like we shared a secret and was immediately distracted by another attractive woman strolling past. With his attention elsewhere, I grabbed a nearly empty drink and poured it where he’d touched me, figuring the alcohol would kill any critters the doctor had missed. “Did she stay for the after party on Saturday night?”
“Nope. I noticed her backstage when we de-staged to let Leif do his extended accordion solo. I was on her as soon as I spotted her. I romanced her like there was no tomorrow, and then I sent her on her way before the encore but after I’d pulled out all the stops. You remember all the stops?”
I did. Pulling out all of them took five minutes, less if there was music with a steady drum beat. “So you two didn’t even hang out after the show? Just a quickie during it?”
“Who said it was quick?”
I gave him the stink eye and he had the decency to look abashed. “Fine. Yeah. Just a one-off between sets.”
“Any idea where she went after that?”
“No idea. I can tell you she wasn’t at the after party but she is still in town. I bet I get fifteen calls a day from her. She’s got it bad.”
I looked around. “She here now?”
“No, but she said she’s crashing later.”
“So why not start something more permanent with her? You like her?”
He patted his chest. “In the Cities, I was a little fish. Here, I’m King Walleye. The ladies can’t get enough of this rock star, and I don’t intend to be bogged down by a single filly when I could run with the herd. Speaking of, you sticking around for the second set?”
I wondered if he could hear my teeth grinding. “Is the Pope Lutheran?”
He smiled happily and gave me the thumbs up, even though we were standing within inches of each other. I was scouring for the quickest way to excuse myself when I caught a familiar face on the other side of the bar. It was Johnny, scanning the crowd. My heart puckered. I dropped to my knees before his eyes landed on me and whispered up toward Brad. “Cover me. I gotta get outta here.”
“Dude, what’s up? Or should I say, what’s down?” He smiled crookedly at his own joke.
“Not your worry. Just walk that way.” I pointed at the exit opposite the door Johnny had entered and commanded Brad to walk at the same pace I was crawling so he could shield me from view.
For once in his life, Brad listened to me. He made his own sweet way to the door, though, stopping to high five fans and make small talk. When I was within dashing distance, I stood and made for the exit. I thought I heard someone call my name but stopped only long enough to whisper, “The bass player of the band gave me crabs!” to a group of women near the door. They nodded vigorously. I’d have to trust that the news would find its back to the innocent-looking brunette who’d bought Brad a drink.
On the ride home, I fought gravity to keep my gritty eyes open. I was running on fumes, aware that my lack of sleep was making me a poor driver. I wanted to speed, but I kept it slow. Thankfully, no deer jumped out at me, and I made it home unaccosted. I dragged my feet into the house, fighting the pull of my bed long enough to apologize to, feed, and water Luna and Tiger Pop. Once I knew they were taken care of, I crawled into my bedroom, hot tears wetting my eyes as I took in the beautiful sight of my soft, big, safe bed. I ditched my clothes and crawled under the fluffy quilt, nestling in like a baby bird. I was asleep before my eyes closed.
14
