The Chilling Spree (15 page)

“Give me a nudge in the right direction,” I
murmured.

“One of ‘em is right here in Darkwater
Bay.  Though Madden would never admit it, he’s got family in
town that would sooner see him dead than acknowledge that he’s
kin.  Talk to them.  They’d be happy to defy his precious
gag order.”

My eyes widened.  “Seriously?  He
got an order preventing them from talking about him?”

“Show’s over, Helen.  Time for me to
join the other grunts and start packing up the gear.  Keep
your eyes open with Madden.  I don’t say this about a lot of
dudes, but you cannot trust him in any way shape or form.”

I watched him hurry off to perform his
nightly duties.  Before I could process what Underwood told
me, or convey any of it to Crevan, the sweaty band thundered into
the area where we, along with several other VIP guests, were
waiting to mingle.

Madden saw me, grinned wickedly and headed
straight toward me.

The slow eye-rape was certainly nothing I
hadn’t experienced before, as recently as last night when I first
met the debauched band members.  Underwood’s warnings shrouded
me like the Darkwater fog and left me feeling equally
unsettled.  This is not a sense I’m accustomed to
feeling.  Frankly, I’m the one who leaves others feeling
uneasy.

Madden invaded my space, stood about an
eighth of an inch from my body, clasped my hands in his, made
creepy eye contact, and brushed a kiss against the corner of my
mouth.  I felt Crevan’s cringe simultaneous with the seethe on
behalf of Johnny Orion from across the vast space separating
us.

It took all my willpower not to respond with
a resounding body slam that would put him in his place and make it
clear that permission was required, forgiveness not granted on
request.  Instead, I pasted a smile on my face and fluttered
my eyelashes demurely.  I’m sure I looked like a fool.  I
don’t do subservient well, nor am I impressed by the hubris of rock
and roll legends.

“Detective Eriksson, I’m so glad you made it
back to the show tonight.  I saw the news this afternoon and
heard about Detective Mackenzie’s accident today.  We thought
you’d probably be at his side tonight.”

“He insisted that I come back.  I
suppose he plans to pump me for all the details and live
vicariously through my experience.”

Madden tossed his head back and laughed
raucously.  “I certainly hope not.  It would completely
ruin the night for me if I thought some dude was jealous of the
time I spent with a beautiful woman.  Unless of course, he
likes hearing about your exploits with other guys.”

Exactly as presumptuous as Underwood
predicted he’d be.  Honestly, I started to second guess my
initial impression of old Fulk, particularly when he appeared more
candid and less of the predator when we had our first private
conversation without anybody around to influence his behavior.

“May I call you Scott?”

Madden pressed one of my hands over his
sweaty bare chest.  “I’d be devastated if you didn’t,
Helen.”

The urge to yank my hand away and squirt a
whole lot of alcohol wash onto it was almost overwhelming. 
Almost.  No doubt, I’d be scrubbing my skin raw the second I
got home.  Instead I smiled.

“Was tonight’s show less eventful than last
night’s?”

“Certainly far less inspiring without you
front and center.  Did you enjoy it tonight from
backstage?”

“Yes,” I nodded and sipped at warm beer.

“Can I get you something else to drink?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“How is Detective Mackenzie?”

“Groggy and sore.  The doctor’s
anticipate that he’ll make a full recovery.”

“I was truly sorry to hear about his partner
dying.  Although I must confess, I was relieved that you
weren’t with him when that accident happened.  Are they filing
charges against the man who hit them?”

“I have no idea,” I said.  “You seem
awfully concerned about virtual strangers, Scott.”

“I grew up here, which I doubt you
knew.  I’ve been in Los Angeles for so many years, people tend
to think I’m a native there.  Darkwater Bay was my home
though.  It’s hard to hear about bad shit happening
here.  I have heard that things are getting better since you
came to town.”

“Oh?”

He nodded.  “I’ve got a brother in
town.  I talked to him this morning, mentioned that I met a
very attractive detective at the show last night and he asked if it
was you.”

“Wow.”

Madden smiled.  “You’ve got quite the
following it would seem from what I hear, Helen.  A lot of
people think you’re the answer to Darkwater Bay’s problems. 
He said you arrested Danny Datello for murder last week.”

“Surely you’ve got more important things to
talk to your family about than what the police are doing.”

“I went to school with Datello,” Madden
said.  “He looks a hell of a lot older than me, but we’re
actually the same age.  Did you know that?”

“Then you probably remember Johnny Orion
from school.  He knew Datello too.”

“The name rings a bell, but I think he was
quite a bit younger than us.  Grade school when Danny and I
were in high school.  He was the big dude glaring at you last
night, wasn’t he?”

“Hmm.  Probably.”

“I recognized Detective Mackenzie from past
concerts, though I wouldn’t say I can recall ever having a
conversation with him.  He’s been a fan of Pan Demon for a
long time.”

“They tell me that your lawyers descended en
masse last night and wouldn’t let you answer any more
questions.”

Madden dropped my hands and covered his
heart in mock pain.  “Don’t tell me you’re here tonight to
pick up where they left off.  I’m not sure my fragile ego
could handle it.”

I chuckled.  “Somehow, I think you’d
survive.  I am curious though, because of some inconsistencies
with Mr. Underwood’s claim of when he did your sound check
yesterday and when the murder victim died.”

Madden sobered.  “Seriously?”

“Mm-hmm.  Something doesn’t add up in a
dire way.  You seemed pretty upset with Underwood last
night.  Have you had problems with him saying he performed his
duties when he hadn’t in the past?”

“I should’ve fired him years ago,” Madden
said, “but the guy is a good tech when he does his job.”

“Yet he’s inconsistent and you keep him
because when he is conscientious –”

“It’s a little more complicated than that,
Helen,” he cupped my elbow and steered me away from his adoring
fans who waited for a little attention from Pan Demon’s main
attraction.  “Underwood… well, let’s just say that our
management took pity on the guy after the Marines kicked him out
and he couldn’t keep any other job for a few years after that
basically ruined his career.  I needed a tech who wouldn’t
show up stoned, and Underwood is the poster child for sober
living.  I can overlook the occasional sloppy job.  Hell,
half the people who show up at our concerts are so chemically
impaired, they wouldn’t notice if we went on stage and lip-synced
the entire show.”

“Certainly your dissatisfaction would
override any sympathy your management company feels toward
him.  Now you’ve got a real mess on your hands, Scott. 
Darkwater, specifically OSI, could detain all of you indefinitely
while they investigate what happened to that murder victim last
night.  I can only assume that it would have a negative impact
on you financially.”

“It would be less than ideal.”  He
paused.

“What?”

“Is that what they plan to do?”

“I honestly don’t know,” I said.  “It’s
not my case anymore.  Johnny Orion isn’t about to share the
details of the investigation with me.  OSI officially took the
case under its jurisdiction.  Nobody in Darkwater has a clue
what happens next.”

“These inconsistencies you mentioned, can
you tell me what they were?”

“Not really.  It’s an open case, not my
case, and I’m not supposed to know anything about it anyway. 
The medical examiner is a close friend.  She mentioned a
couple of things that made me realize that Fulk lied about the
sound check yesterday afternoon.  Plus he never really
answered any of my questions last night.  I’m curious if he’s
been habitually dishonest with you.”

“About not really doing the sound
check?  Yeah, he’s been pretty dishonest about it.  I can
count of Fulk getting the job done if there are groupies hanging
out for him to impress.”

“So he likes to play rock star for your
fans.”

Madden snorted, “You could say that. 
He’s got this delusion that he can snatch any woman right out from
under me, and honestly, the kind of girl he likes isn’t one that’s
gonna make a blip on my radar.”

“He told me he favors blondes.”

“True enough, but I bet he hit on you
anyway.  Fulk goes for anything with a pussy.”  Madden’s
eyes darted toward the floor.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean that to
sound as crude as it did.”

“Are you familiar with why he was
dishonorably discharged from the Marines?”  I lowered my voice
and threw in enough hesitation to parlay the question into
something that sounded like I was taking him into deep
confidence.

“The personality disorder bullshit? 
Yeah, I heard that was the official party line,” Madden said, “but
if you ask me, there was something deeper than that involved.
 After watching him for at least fifteen years, I’d lay odds
that it had something to do with gay bashing.”

“He’s had problems with that while working
for you?”

Madden nodded.  “He gets really hot
under the collar when he sees same sex couples on the floor. 
I got no problem with it.  Live and let live and all
that.  But Fulk gets a little nuts over it.”

“And has he been physically aggressive
toward anyone like that while he’s worked for you?”

“No way.  I won’t tolerate any abuse of
the fans.  If it weren’t for our fans we would be
nowhere.  I’ve made that very clear to everybody.  You
don’t have to love the fans.  You don’t have to socialize with
them.  But you will respect that they’re the ones who got us
where we are today and behave accordingly.”

“If I asked you to look at a photograph of
the woman found dead backstage last night, would you tell me if
you’ve ever seen her before?”

He grinned.  “Depends.  Would you
have dinner with me?”

“Now?”

“If your pal from OSI doesn’t plan to let us
leave town until he solves this murder, I suspect we could have a
couple of nights to choose from for dinner.  What do you say,
Helen?  Will you go out with me?”

A cacophony of warnings sounded in my head,
none of which felt very accurate according to my gut
instincts.  Madden had more than his fair share of bravado,
true, but wasn’t that part and parcel of this wealth and fame
thing?  He didn’t strike me as the ultimate sinner that
Underwood insinuated.  In fact, tonight, he seemed very
different than he had upon our first introduction.

“We’ll see,” I said without closing the door
or committing to a date.  “I’ve got her picture on my
phone.  Care to take a look?”

“For you, anything.”

I opened the phone and showed him the
photograph.

Madden’s face turned ash gray.  “Shit!”
he rasped.

“Scott, do you know her?”

“That’s my nephew Kyle!”

I gripped Madden’s arm and led him down a
deserted hallway.  “Talk to me.”

His hands shook.  “Oh my God.  I –
it was Kyle?”

“Yes,” I said, “but nobody knows that the
murder victim wasn’t really a woman.  Only the murderer and
those of use who were present at the medical examiner’s office this
morning know the truth, Scott.  Tell me the last time you saw
Kyle.”

“Years ago, at least a couple. I think it
was the last time we played Darkwater Bay.”

“So when Kyle was about seventeen?”

He nodded.  “His father and I had a
falling out a couple of years before that.”

“Because Kyle was transgendered?”

Wide hazel eyes impaled me.  “Have you
told Theo and Marion yet?”

“They’re out of town,” I said.  “Their
names are Goddard.  How…?”

“I picked Madden when I started the
band.  Let’s just say that my family didn’t always approve of
my lifestyle.  It’s ironic, because Theo accepted everything
about how Kyle lived his life, but my ways were too goddamned wild
to suit his tastes.”

Bitterness and resentment bubbled around his
words. 

“I take it that Theo is an older
sibling?”

“Yeah,” Madden rasped.  “He’s about ten
months older than me, but you’d think he was a decade the way he
acts.  He’s gonna go ape shit when he hears that Kyle is
dead.”

“Can I ask why his son’s sexual identity
caused a rift between the two of you, or am I correct to assume
that it merely deepened one that already existed?”

“You’re really sharp, Helen.  The rift
as you call it, was there from the day I was born.  Theo
always hated me.  He was the good kid.  Straight A
student, never got into a lick of trouble, always exceeded
everyone’s expectations.”

“And you got all the attention.”

“Me and our younger brother Rham. 
Don’t get me wrong.  Kyle is…
was
a sweet kid. 
But I thought that Theo ought to discourage him from being so
brazenly out there with being a girl.”

“Because…?”

“Isn’t it obvious?  He hit on the wrong
dude and ended up dead!”

“Can you think of anyone in your entourage
who would react that way to the advances from a beautiful young
girl that was really a boy?”

“I can’t believe you really asked me that,”
Madden growled, “after I just explicitly told you that Underwood
hates gays.”

“I figured you’d say that.  I don’t
suppose you’d be able to tell me if you saw Fulk yesterday around
noon?”