A Cold Heart

“Baby Boy’s phrasing,” said Petra.

“Baby Boy’s whole groove- the mind-set he put himself into to get the sound he did.”

“You didn’t think talking to him would help that?” Petra pressed, wondering why she was wasting time with this loser. Knowing the sad answer: nothing else on her plate.

“No,” said Drummond.

“Did Baby Boy Lee turn down an interview with you?”

“No, we never asked him. So tell me, what kind of blade are we talking about-”

“What was Baby Boy’s groove?” said Petra.

“Pain,” said Drummond. “That’s why his being killed is so- it fits. So what can you tell me about how it went down?”

Petra said, “You want gory details.”

“Right,” said Drummond.

“Do you have any idea who killed him?”

“Why would I? Listen, you really should help us. The public’s got a right to know, and we’re the best messenger.”

“Why’s that, Mr. Drummond?”

“Because we understood him. Were they? The details. Gory.”

“Were you at the Snake Pit, Saturday night?”

“Nope.”

“Not a big enough fan?”

“I was at the Whiskey- showcase for a bunch of new bands- hey, what’re you saying?” Drummond’s voice had climbed even higher, and now he sounded twelve. Petra visualized some acne-plagued scarecrow in a slovenly room. The kind of creepazoid with too much leisure time who’d phone the local supermarket, clutching the phone with sweaty hands: “Excuse me, do you have pig’s feet?” “Yes, we do.” “Then wear shoes and no one’ll notice yuka yuka yuka.”

Drummond said, “If I knew what was gonna happen, I’d have been there. Absolutely.”

“Why’s that?”

“To see his last show. What do they call that- a swan song?”

“Yuri,” said Petra. “What is that, Russian?”

Drummond hung up.

***

On Friday, just after 6 P.M., the downstairs clerk beeped Petra ’s extension. “There’s a Ms. Castagna here to see you.”

“I’ll be right down,” said Petra, surprised.

When she got to the ground floor, Robin was by herself in the lobby, staring at some Wanted posters, hands on hips, her back to Petra. Her hair was longer than Petra remembered it, the mass of auburn curls trailing down her back like a heap of grapes. Alex’s hair was curly, too. If the two of them had bred, they might’ve created another Shirley Temple.

Then Petra thought: all those years together, and they never had bred. Never tied the knot, either. Because of her own state, she found herself wondering about things like that.

She approached Robin, taking in Robin’s outfit the way women do with other women. Black corduroy overalls over a red T-shirt with high-cut sleeves, black suede tennis shoes. Red bandana hanging out of a rear pocket.

Kind of a rock ’n’ roll caj thing. On the wrong body the overalls could be deadly; Robin’s curves made them look fine.

When Petra was a few steps away, she said, “Hi, there,” and Robin turned and Petra saw that she’d been biting her lip and her dark eyes were moist.

“ Petra,” she said. They hugged. “I just got back to town, picked up your message this morning. I had to be in Hollywood for a session, so I figured I’d stop by. This is terrible.”

“Sorry to tell you like that, but I didn’t know when you’d be back.”

Robin shook her head. “I heard about it yesterday, in Vancouver.”

“Local papers cover it?”

“Don’t know,” said Robin. “I got it backstage. The music grapevine. I was shocked. We all were, I had no idea you were involved.”

“I am, indeed,” said Petra. “Anything you can tell me?”

“What can I say? He was such a sweetie-pie.” Robin’s words quivered and faded. She held back tears. “A big old sweet guy and a supremely talented man.”

“Anything else on the grapevine buzz? Like who’d want to do this to him? Even the flimsiest rumor.”

Robin gave another headshake, rubbed a smooth, tan arm. “Baby was the last person I’d peg with any enemy, Petra. Everyone liked him.”

Not everyone, thought Petra. “As I said in the message, your name was in his book. What was it, an appointment to fix some guitars?”

“They’re fixed. He was coming by to pick them up.” Robin smiled. “I’m surprised he actually wrote it down. Time was a pretty plastic concept for Baby.”

“You’ve been working on his gear for a while.”

“Years. And often. Baby played so hard, his fingertips wore grooves in the fretboard. I was always planing boards down, refretting, doing neck-sets. These two were beyond that, needed complete new boards.”

“A Fender Telecaster. And a J- 45,” said Petra. “Someone told me that’s a Gibson.”

Robin smiled. “Gibson acoustic. I’d already refinished it a couple of times because Baby let it get too dry and the lacquer cracked and flaked off and his pick nearly wore a hole in the top. This time I put in the second replacement fretboard. The Tele was simpler, just setup. I finished them both early, right before I left town, because I always tried to finish early for Baby.”

“Why’s that?” said Petra.

“Because Baby got sounds out of a guitar that no one else did, and I wanted to contribute my small bit. I knew I’d be traveling to Vancouver, so I left a message at his apartment to pick them up on Wednesday. He never got back to me, but that’s not unusual. As I said, Baby and punctuality were strangers. Most of them are like that.”

“ ‘Them’ meaning musicians.”

“Musicians,” Robin repeated, and her lips curled upward.

Petra said, “So he never called, but he did jot down the appointment.”

“Guess so. Typically, Baby just dropped in. Petra, what do I do with the guitars, now? They’re not evidence, are they?”

“Are they worth anything?”

“Clean, they’d be very pricey. With all the modifications… a lot less.”

“No value-added because Baby played them?” said Petra. “I read how Eric Clapton auctioned some guitars off, and they went way above estimates.”

“Baby wasn’t Clapton.” Tears trickled from Robin’s eyes. She produced the red bandana and dabbed them dry. “How could someone do this?”

“It stinks,” said Petra. “I can’t see how the guitars would be evidence, but sit tight. If I need them, I’ll let you know.”

Thinking: Maybe she should pick them up. On the slim chance she caught the bad guy and they brought him to trial and some defense attorney wanted to make a stink about the chain of evidence…

Robin was saying, “I hope you get whoever did it.”

“What else can you tell me about Baby Boy?” said Petra.

“Easygoing. A big kid. People took advantage of his good nature. If he got hold of a dollar, it floated right out of his pocket.”

“Doesn’t seem as if he’s made too many dollars, recently,” said Petra, remembering what Alex had told her about Baby’s perennial IOUs to Robin. Figuring quoting Alex right now might be a distraction.