Rock 'n' Roll is Undead (Veronica Mason (8 page)

“Hey, Pierce, this is Veronica.” Pierce stretched his hand toward me. “Veronica, I’d like you to meet my friend Pierce Tyler. He’s an under—. He’s an undertaker.”

My eyes widened and I released Pierce’s grip as if he had cooties. “He’s a what?”

Ew, ew, ew. This day was straight out of the Twilight Zone.

Chapter 14

“He’s a mortician. He doesn’t play music or anything, but he’s a big rockabilly fan and has seen a lot of your shows. I told him he could swing by and say hi. I hope you don’t mind?”

“No…No.” I swallowed hard. “I don’t mind.” I gave a half-hearted smile. “Well, um, we’d better get to it. Nice meeting you, Pierce.” I wished I had a trap-door underneath me to escape this awkward situation. And maybe some hand sanitizer.

“Nice meeting you, Veronica. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other.”

Not if I could help it.

Pierce took a swig of his drink, placed the glass back onto the table, then curved his thin lips into a closed-mouth grin. Apparently he loved his profession.

“Nice meeting you, too.” I hurried away as if he had the bubonic plague.

“Isn’t it too early to be drinking?” I asked Buzz as we walked away. Of course, Frank had been drinking early, too. “Then again, I’d probably drink around the clock if I had his profession.”

Buzz laughed. The sound was kind and genuine. “You’re spunky. I like that. So, I was wondering… Would you like to go out for some lunch? I’m assuming you’ll take a break? Or should I not assume anything? I thought you could get to know me better since I just walked in off the street. I’m sure you have questions.” He brushed a black lock from his forehead.

What would it feel like to run my fingers through his thick hair? He could be dangerous for my career. Too much distraction.

He was right though, I had questions. Too many questions. “Lunch? Well, I do allow you guys to eat and I occasionally grab a burger.” I chuckled.

Was he asking me on a date? No. I vowed never again to date band members when Rick took off with his now wife. He’d married Betsy in an intimate drunken setting in a little chapel in Vegas. Classy guy all around, that Rick. But Buzz was being friendly and nothing more, right? Those dimples were so hard to resist. Any sane woman would say yes to almost anything he asked. Almost.

“What time would you like to go?” he asked.

I glanced at my watch. “Well, it’s eleven now. I suppose we won’t practice well without food.”

“No. We definitely need our energy. We should grab a bite now.” He motioned toward the door.

Frank’s voice boomed in my ear. “What? What the hell? Now we’re not going to practice?”

I closed my eyes to give myself a second to choose the right words. “Frank, the auditions took longer than we expected, plus the detective showed up.” I hadn’t meant to say detective. That’s what happens when I speak without thinking. Buzz watched us, but he didn’t ask about why the police would be here. I was sure he would during lunch. I’d have to tell the truth. But I supposed he knew what had happened already. He knew we needed a bass player, so I was kidding myself thinking he didn’t know why we needed one.

“Veronica, can I speak to you?” Kitty motioned with her head.

Bless her for saving me. “Excuse me,” I said.

When I reached the table, I pulled out a chair and sat. Danny stood, then ambled toward the restrooms when Kitty gave him the look.

“That’s it. He’s gay. I should have known,” Kitty whisper-yelled.

“What? Danny’s gay?” My eyes widened.

“No, silly. Buzz. Buzz is gay.” She pointed with her fire engine red tipped finger.

“What makes you say that?”

“Why else would he bring his friend?” she pointed to Pierce, who, by the way, still watched us from the corner. I’d have to ask Buzz about him. What was with the stare? I had wondered how long it would take Kitty to notice the guy.

“He brought his friend because they are friends. Besides, he just asked me to go to lunch with him,” I whispered.

“Buzz asked you out? Oh, maybe he isn’t gay. So you’re going on a date with him?” Her brow puckered and she gave a half-grin.

“I most certainly am not going on a date with him. Again, I don’t date band members. Not since Rick, and never again.” Nothing good comes from it. Nothing but heartache and love spells gone awry.

“Okay, okay, you don’t date band members. I get it. Sure.”

“Besides.” I lowered my voice. “What if he’s a vampire? Vampires don’t really like witches, right?”

“He’s not a vampire.” Kitty glanced over her shoulder at Buzz.

“How do you know? Because he’s not pale enough to be a vampire?”

“Nope, that’s not the reason I know.”

“Maybe he gets a spray-on tan?” I asked.

“Nah. He doesn’t look like a carrot. That’s a natural tan.”

“I think the spray-on has improved. It’s not as orangey as it used to be.”

“No, it’s still orangey. Besides, just because someone is pale doesn’t mean they’re a vampire. He could have a contagious disease. Or he could just be insane.”

“Oh, yeah, great. That’s much better than a vampire.”

“Enough about that. Who’s the guy in the corner?” Kitty asked.

“I don’t know. He said he’s a friend. A mortician named Pierce who likes rockabilly music.”

“Come again? He’s a what?” She leaned closer.

“You heard me. A mortician.”

“Ew.” Kitty gazed in Pierce’s direction, but he’d disappeared. “Now I know why you hurried away from him. I haven’t seen you walk that fast since that creepy guy followed you at the mall in Nashville.”

“Yeah, he gives me the heebie-jeebies. I haven’t been that freaked out since Frank showed me his Olan Mills portrait from 1987.” I shivered, remembering the parachute pants. “You know, sometimes this all seems too difficult. Maybe I should give all this up. Go out on the weekends, suck down Slippery Nipples, and listen to pick-up lines such as, ‘Baby, I’m no Fred Flintstone, but I can make your Bedrock!’ Oh, and the scariest one, ‘Hi, the voices in my head told me to come over and talk to you.’”

“Yes, that’s exactly what you need to do. Why wait until the weekends to suck down the Slippery Nipples, though? You can do that during the week, too.” She rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, I gotta go. I’ll call you later.” I started to walk away.

“Wait. You’re not inviting me to lunch with you?” She placed a hand on her hip. “I figured since it isn’t a date you wouldn’t mind.”

Chapter 15

“Forgive me. It isn’t a date.” I stuck out my tongue. “Would you and Danny care to join me and my new bass player for lunch? My non-date bass player.”

“Can’t. Sorry. I have to visit my grandmother. I promised her we’d go shopping for new underwear. For her, not me.” She smiled. “She said she wants basic and trusted underwear.”

I frowned and stared for a beat before answering. “Okay, too much information and what does that even mean? What the heck is trusted underwear?”

“I have no idea, maybe you should Google it.”

“Yeah, I’ll try that later. I have to go.”

Kitty followed me back to the table where Buzz waited. Danny ambled over from whatever dark corner he’d been lurking in and stood beside her.

“Maybe we should have practiced first, like Frank said, but what can I say? I’m starving,” I said before we approached the table.

“You’re always thinking about food,” Kitty said.

This coming from a werewolf who ate her weight in steak.

“I have a fast metabolism,” I said.

“Apparently. Good thing you’re thin. Otherwise, you’d weigh a ton. They’d have to reinforce the stage before you got on it.” Kitty chuckled at her own joke.

Heat went to my cheeks. I didn’t embarrass easily, but in front of Buzz, I felt uncomfortable. Kitty and her lame attempts at humor didn’t help.

“Veronica, before you go, could you practice that one song? It’s kind of the whole reason I came. It’s got that great swing vibe, I love that.”

“I thought you came to bring me coffee?”

“All right, all right, all right, the real reason is because I’m nosy and wanted to see who you chose as a new bass player. I figured Frank would drag in some real losers like he has in the past. Everything he does is like watching a train wreck. Good thing Buzz came along.” She winked at him. “But I still want to hear the song.”

“The guys are ready to leave,” I said.

Frank and Craig stood by the front door. It looked as if Pierce had cornered them before they’d left. I wondered whether they were talking dead bodies or music. Double yuck. I hoped music.

I looked to our newest member. “Besides,” I said, “Buzz doesn’t know the song yet. Give the guy a chance, Kitty.”

I brushed an invisible piece of lint off my skirt, attempting to appear nonchalant.

“If they’re up to it, so am I.” Buzz gestured toward Frank and Craig. “Just start playing, I’ll fall in.” He exposed his dimples again.

“C’mon. Just the one song?” She clasped her hands together in a prayer gesture.

“It’s not up to me. Ask them.”

Kitty yelled to Frank and Craig and motioned for them to come back over. Not sure how Kitty would get Frank to listen to anything she said, but she had a way with words…even with vampires. Her pack—not to mention her parents—didn’t like her hanging around vampires, but Kitty never did what anyone told her to do, anyway. Her dad hated her dating Danny. The one and only time her parents had him over for dinner, her dad fed him garlic, poured him a glass of holy water and wore a crucifix. He knew those things didn't work, but it was more symbolic. I think Danny took the hint.

While Kitty convinced Frank and Craig to play the one song, I studied Pierce as he talked on his cell phone. The conversation wasn’t discernible because of the distance, but he was moving his arms and hands a lot.

“You ready?” I asked when the guys neared.

“As ready as I'll ever be,” Buzz said.

Frank snorted. With a warning glare, I reminded him of what we’d discussed earlier. Not that he’d ever listened to me, but I digress. I climbed on stage and adjusted the microphone while the guys got in place behind me.

“You know they don’t clean those microphones, right?” Frank smirked. “No telling how much spit is on that thing.”

“Thanks for reminding me. I’ll try not to lick it while I’m singing.”

I waited for Frank to strum the first chords. I sang and the other instruments started. The words came out smoothly, although my throat hurt a tad. I hoped I wasn’t coming down with something. I was proud of the song. I’d written the lyrics after a night of pizza chased with cookie dough. You can’t get much more inspired than that. The song came out a lot better than my stomach did that night.

Buzz looked down at his upright bass as he pounded out the music. He was good. And he seemed into the music. The crowd was going to love him. Right now, our only audience was Kitty and Danny. Pierce had obviously left while I wasn’t watching. Some fan, he didn’t even stick around to hear the music. I was glad he didn’t hang around to listen, though. I’d definitely have to talk with Buzz about him.

Kitty smiled while swaying along with the song. Her man didn’t seem as enthused. He picked at his nails again, chewing on a few fingers while staring at the floor.

“That was fantastic,” I said to Buzz when we finished the song. “It didn’t even really sound like us.”

“Yeah, we actually sounded good.” Craig stood from behind the drums.

Kitty clapped and whistled.

“Let’s get out of here.” Frank motioned to Craig, then jumped off the stage.

“Where are you going?” I called after him. “Don’t walk away from me while I’m still talking to you.”

“What do you want me to do if I don’t walk? Run? I have an appointment. I'll be back at one. Enjoy lunch,” he said in a sarcastic tone.

Craig followed behind Frank like a lost puppy. Frank was as stubborn as a mule; he’d just have to get over his attitude. I’d hired Buzz. It was my choice to make. I had the final decision and I wouldn’t let Frank influence me just because he wanted to hook up his so-called friends. The hinges on the front door of the bar groaned in protest when Frank slammed it shut. I halfway expected the door to fall in or for him to kick it on his way out. Court ordered anger management was in his future.

“Looks like it's just us.” I looked at Kitty. My voice echoed through the club.

“We have to go to. Sorry. The song was great.” She winked.

“What? You’re going already?” The realization that I’d be alone with Buzz hit me. Alone with a gorgeous man. “Come have lunch with us. Your grandmother’s underwear isn’t going anywhere.”

Buzz raised his eyebrows, but didn’t ask.

“Call you later. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Kitty grinned with mild amusement as she grabbed her purse and headed to the door. She motioned over her shoulder for Danny to follow. How did everyone have people trained to follow them? A magic spell? If so, that would explain why no one listened to a darn word I said. Craig followed Frank. Danny followed Kitty. Now that I thought about it, I was glad I didn’t have anyone following me.

“I hope you’re hungry, ’cause I’m starved,” Buzz said with a sexy southern drawl.

“A little.” My heart beat slightly faster. I watched Kitty march toward the door. “Bye….” I wanted to yell come back, but knew I couldn’t.

What the hell? I acted as if I’d never seen a good-looking guy before. But it wasn’t every day a girl saw a good-looking Elvis look-a-like. Buzz was in the band now and I needed to keep things professional. No drooling. No flirting. Not that he was flirting with me, because he’d given me no illusions that he was. I moved across the stage, making my way toward the stairs. When I placed my foot on the first step, it gave way, completely collapsing. I landed with a loud thud on my face, on the hard floor. The jolt knocked the wind out of me and a pain surged through my shoulder. A surge of panic spread through my body when I heard Buzz call to me.

Chapter 16

My shoulder had twisted when I’d landed. Please let it not be broken.

“Are you okay?” Buzz yelled.