Bad Moonlight (13 page)

“Did Billy tell you about the note she wrote?” Danielle asked.

“Yes, but it didn't make any sense to me.” Kit sighed. “Anyway, you said you weren't sure why Billy came to see you. What did you mean?”

“I don't know. He only talked about Dee. But I got the feeling he wanted to say something more.” Danielle shivered, remembering the way Billy acted. “He was really uptight, Kit.”

“Well, he's got a lot on his mind, especially now that Dee's gone,” Kit reminded her. “He's usually pretty cool, but I guess it kind of freaked him out. But don't worry about Billy. He's a good guy.”

Is he? Danielle wondered. She used to think so. A great guy, actually. But now she wasn't sure. Something about Billy really troubled her.

“Danielle? You still there?”

“I'm here,” she said. “I—I'm just a little messed up.

Kit
tsk-tsked.
“Well, it doesn't sound as if I'm doing much good. Hey, you want me to come over?”

“I'd love it,” Danielle replied quickly. “You sure it's not too late?”

“Are you kidding? The later, the better,” Kit said. “I'm a night owl, remember?”

“Okay, great!” Danielle thought a second. “But don't come to the door, okay? My aunt's asleep. I'll meet you out front, and we can take a walk.”

“Right. Be there in ten minutes.”

Eight minutes later Danielle slipped out the front door. She'd changed from her worn T-shirt into a new blue tank top, brushed her hair, and put on a little
makeup. She couldn't shake the jitters from Billy's visit. But that didn't mean she couldn't look good for Kit.

He arrived a moment later, killing the engine on his white Mustang and coasting quietly to a stop at the curb.

“You look great,” he complimented as he joined her on the sidewalk.

“Thanks.” Danielle smiled, feeling calmer with Kit around. “So do you.”

Kit glanced down at his ragged jeans and ratty sneakers. He grinned and grabbed her hand. “Come on, let's walk.”

They strolled in silence. The moon dipped in and out from behind scattered clouds.

Danielle swallowed hard. For once the cold moonlight wasn't affecting her, wasn't making her feel strange.

Weird, she thought. Usually I'd be shivering. Feeling different. Frightened. But not this time.

It must be Kit, she thought, turning to him. He makes me feel warm and safe.

As if he felt her gaze, Kit smiled at her. “You're not so nervous now,” he commented. “Do you want to talk about Billy's visit?”

Danielle shook her head. “I thought I would, but I don't.”

“Well, okay,” Kit replied softly. “It's just that I thought he upset you, and you wanted to tell me about it.”

“I don't,” Danielle repeated. “I want to forget it.”

Kit let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulder.

But Danielle shrugged it off. She stared up at the moon and felt a sudden rush of energy. “You know what I want?” she asked. “I want to run. Come on, Kit, let's run!”

Without waiting for him to respond, Danielle took off down Fear Street. Behind her, she heard Kit call her name. But she kept going. Laughing. Running faster.

“Hey, Danielle! Whoa!” Kit shouted from behind her. “You're way ahead. Wait up!”

“Come on and catch me!” Danielle shouted back without slowing down.

Danielle loved the rush of wind in her face and hair. The pounding of her heart. The slap, slap of her sneakers.

Faster! she urged herself. Faster!

“Danielle!” she heard Kit call, far behind her.

But Danielle didn't stop. Didn't
want
to stop!

Why am I doing this? Danielle asked herself. Why am I running like mad in the middle of the night?

She didn't know. She didn't care. She couldn't think. All she could do was run, like a stampeding horse.

Like a wild animal.

“Danielle!” She could barely hear Kit. He'd never catch up.

The wind shifted. Danielle sniffed. Her eyes narrowed and she stopped. She stood still, listening.

Something close by. An animal. Something small.
She could hear its tiny heart racing with fear. She could smell it.

There, in the side yard of that house!

A rabbit. A small, plump rabbit.

Danielle's mouth watered. With one snap of her teeth she'd be able to taste the rabbit's blood. As silently as she could, she leaped over a low hedge and bounded across the yard.

The rabbit stood frozen for a split second, then darted away.

Danielle lowered her head, urged her legs forward. I can catch him! she thought. I know I can!

I can taste the blood already!

Chapter 23

A SURPRISE IN THE TRUNK

“H
ey, whoa!” Billy's sharp voice cut through the chatter like a knife. “In case you forgot, we've got a show tonight. You want to try rehearsing instead of standing around shooting the breeze?”

Mary Beth frowned. “We've been rehearsing, Billy. Now we're on a break. Lighten up.”

“Rehearsing? Is that what it was?” he shot back. “Could have fooled me. Maybe if you try a little harder, we might be good enough to play for birthday parties!”

Billy made a big deal out of checking his watch. “Five minutes!” he called loudly as he strode away from the stage.

“Wow,” Caroline muttered to Danielle. “What's his problem?”

Danielle shook her head. Whatever had bothered Billy last night was still troubling him. But she didn't know what it was.

“Well, I wish he'd cool it,” Mary Beth grumbled. “Tonight's supposed to be fun—Bad Moonlight comes home to Shadyside and all that. And he's ruining it with his attitude.”

Mary Beth was right, Danielle thought. They were all looking forward to playing in Shadyside. Especially at Red Heat, the most popular teen dance club in town.

Tonight's show was sold out. Red Heat had been a huge warehouse, so “Sold Out” meant an audience of more than two hundred people.

Everybody in the band had been really pumped when they arrived at the club to rehearse. But Billy's sour mood had quickly brought them down.

What was wrong with him?

A husky voice broke into Danielle's thoughts. “Hey, Danielle, please tell me that Billy isn't always like this.”

Shawna Davidson, the singer replacing Dee, stepped over to Danielle, brushing out her straight black hair. She was a friend of Kit's. He had called her early this morning. She'd jumped at the chance to be part of Bad Moonlight.

Tall and slender, Shawna was easygoing, with sparkling brown eyes and a good sense of humor. Danielle could tell she was surprised by the manager's mood.

“The first run-through sounded pretty good to me,”
Shawna continued. “But I'm not about to argue with Billy, not on my first day with the band.”

“Billy's not always like this,” Danielle assured her. “I don't know what's wrong, Shawna. But I'm pretty sure it doesn't have anything to do with the way we sounded.”

Shawna glanced at her watch. “Three minutes left. Guess I'd better get ready.”

Danielle turned from Shawna and bumped into Kit, who was kneeling next to one of the amplifiers.

“Good. Two extra hands.” Kit smiled at her. “You want to hold this cable for me?”

“Sure.” Danielle held the fat cable while Kit wrapped black electrical tape around it. When his long fingers brushed hers, she drew back.

Kit glanced up. “Was it something I said?” he asked.

“Excuse me?”

He cut the tape and stood up. “Well, you jumped just now when I touched your hand. And last night, the way you ran away from me, I thought maybe I'd said something or done something to turn you off.”

“No! Nothing,” Danielle told him. “And I wasn't running away from you, Kit. I was just . . . running.”

Funny. She remembered running. But she didn't remember where. Or why.

Danielle uttered a nervous laugh. “Guess I was a little jumpy just now because of Billy,” she explained to Kit. “He's acting so strange.”

“Yeah.” Kit frowned. “I'd sure like to know why.”

So would I, Danielle thought. Something to do with Dee, I'll bet. He must be furious because she quit so suddenly.

“Okay, kiddies!” Billy shouted, striding quickly toward the stage. “Recess is over. Time to work!”

Picking up their instruments, the members of the band quickly took their places.

Danielle had changed the lyrics of the song she'd written the night before. This morning she'd worked out the music. She played the opening notes, then began to sing.

“I'm at the window

staring at the moon,

crying out my love,

trying to get through,

through to you.”

On the refrain, Shawna joined in.

“I'm crying,

 crying crying my love

 Gotta find my way back,

 back to you.”

Their voices blended well—Danielle's high and clear, Shawna's low and throaty.

Danielle was happy with it. But Mary Beth thought it sounded too tame. “It needs something,” she insisted.

Danielle laughed. “You should have heard the first lyrics. Instead of ‘staring' at the moon, it was ‘howling.' And it wasn't “gotta find my way back,' it was ‘gotta claw my way back.'”

Mary Beth's green eyes lit up. “That's more like it,” she declared. “Let's try it.”

The old lyrics still made Danielle uncomfortable. But when they finished the song, Caroline and Mary Beth gave her a thumbs-up.

Danielle tried to shrug off the uneasy feeling.

When they finished that song, they ran through some others, and ended with “Bad Moonlight.”

“All right!” Caroline cried when the session was over. “Shadyside is going to rock tonight!”

“Nice work, Shawna,” Mary Beth told the new singer. “We're going to be better than ever now.”

Billy didn't comment on the band's performance. “Showtime is at nine,” he announced. “Everybody be here at eight.”

Two and a half hours. Danielle planned to go home, shower, and eat. Maybe catch a short nap.

But first she wanted to talk to Billy, find out what was troubling him.

She caught up to him as he crossed the dance floor to the entrance. “Billy?”

He stopped and turned, obviously annoyed.

Danielle gulped in a deep breath. “I know you've got a lot on your mind, but—Billy, what's the matter?” she burst out. “You're so
angry!
And last night you were all nervous and jumpy.”

Billy stared at her, his eyes wide in the red and blue lights of the converted warehouse.

Danielle watched him lick his lips and swallow hard.

He didn't reply. Didn't say a word to her.

Instead, he turned away and hurried out the door.

♦ ♦ ♦

Danielle arrived back at Red Heat a few minutes before eight. Billy leaned close to Kit on the stage, talking intensely. Caroline and Mary Beth rehearsed their intro to one of the songs.

“Yo!” Danielle called, crossing the big dance floor. “I thought I'd be early, but you guys beat me here.”

Kit smiled. So did Mary Beth and Caroline.

Billy glanced at her, then turned away. “Anybody seen Shawna yet?” he asked.

“I'm here!” The entrance door slammed shut and Shawna hurried toward the stage.

“Good,” Billy said. “Caroline and Mary Beth wanted to work on something with you.”

“Sure.” Shawna caught her breath. “My bass is upstairs. I'll go get it.”

“I'll get it,” Danielle offered. She held up her red dress, covered in plastic. “I've got to put this up there anyway.”

“Thanks. It's in the big trunk,” Shawna said.

“Be right back.” Danielle crossed to the circular metal staircase that led up to the loft.

A couple of dressing rooms were crammed into the low-ceilinged area above the main floor of the warehouse. The rest of the space held extra lights, cables, and other equipment.

Danielle reached the top and flipped on the overhead lights.

She hung her dress on a garment rack in the first dressing room, then went to get Shawna's guitar.

The big trunk, Shawna had instructed her.

Glancing around the shadowy storage area, Danielle discovered three big trunks. Two of them were shoved back against the wall and covered with dust.

Must be the first one, she decided. She examined it. It was a tall, black, upright trunk with three heavy metal clasps.

Danielle started to pry the clasps open.

Wow. It is boiling hot up here, she thought. She wiped her hand across her forehead, brushing away beads of perspiration.

The trunk had been jammed between some cardboard boxes and a stack of folding metal chairs. Danielle grasped the trunk handle and struggled to slide it out.

It didn't budge.

What did Shawna have in here with her bass? A ton of bricks?