“Yes, if you let it. But it doesn’t have to be that way.”
“It sounds like you’ve already thought a lot of this through.”
“When you work in a retail store, your mind has a tendency to wander. I want to be rich, but I don’t really care that much about being famous.”
“How about being infamous? Are you planning on partying it up and destroying a bunch of hotel rooms on tour?” I joked.
“No.”
“Really? I guess you’re a different type of musician than I’m used to talking to. Does that mean you don’t believe that sex, drugs, and rock and roll have to go together?”
“They definitely don’t.”
“I have to say, it’s really refreshing to hear that.”
“What can I say? The Dead, the Drunk, and the Lucky aren’t your typical rock band.”
“In that case, I’ll ask my friends if they are interested in coming to the show.”
“Great,” Kyle replied. “Anyway, with the plug for my band out of the way, what can I do for you today?”
“I heard you were the right person to ask about a guitar lesson. Is that true?”
He smiled. “You definitely came to the right place.”
“Fantastic,” I said.
Chapter Six
What an interesting conversation. As I was peppering Kyle with questions, I thought I would be able to guess all of his answers. However, he completely surprised me. Despite his outward appearance, he didn’t seem like a typical rock musician at all.
The question became, was he being truthful with me? Only time would tell. After getting some preliminary info about guitar lessons, I made some additional small talk with Kyle.
I then left the guitar shop. The most important detail of our entire conversation was getting invited to watch his band play. That invite might come in handy later.
Once I returned to my car, I went into surveillance mode. While Kyle remained at the guitar shop, I didn’t really expect any huge developments in the case. Most likely, he would just go about his business. Generally, people didn’t do crazy things at work.
It turned out that I was correct. Nothing of note really took place for a number of hours. As I waited for something interesting to happen, I did some digging around on the internet. I started with Kyle’s social media profile. Not surprisingly, I didn’t find anything particularly scandalous. From there, I looked at the profile of his band. Perhaps that would pull up some interesting photographs. Unfortunately, it didn’t.
At that point, I could have gotten off of my phone. Instead, an idea came to me. I brainstormed some key search terms to check out. For example, neither Kyle nor his band had posted anything interesting on social media, but maybe one of their fans had. What if one of those fans had managed to get backstage at a show and had taken a candid photo?
There was a chance that some really interesting photographs existed. Perhaps I just needed to get creative to find them.
Even though that seemed like a really promising theory, close to an hour later, I put my phone away with very little to show for my searches. If scandalous photos of Kyle existed, they weren’t posted anywhere on the open internet.
All told, I sat in the driver’s-seat of my car for another fifteen minutes before anything vaguely interesting took place. Shortly after eleven o’clock, Kyle stepped out of the guitar store and headed into the alleyway that was beside the building.
He then lit up a smoke and spent ten minutes looking at content on his phone.
After that, he headed back inside the guitar store and returned to work.
So much for a big break, I thought. Or any break.
***
The next few hours were pretty boring for me. I mostly just sat in my car, waiting around. A little bit after one o’clock, Kyle ended up leaving the store again. This time, he headed out to his motorcycle. I immediately wondered where he was headed.
I fired up the ignition of my sedan to find out. As Kyle sped away on his motorcycle, I followed him.
He didn’t go very far. In fact, he only traveled a few blocks. When he reached Alpha Drive, he stopped at a burger joint and met up with a blond woman. I recognized the twenty-three-year-old. She was Brianna Wright, my client’s daughter.
“What an interesting couple,” I said to myself.
While Kyle looked like a classic bad boy, Brianna had a buttoned up look to her. She was wearing a blouse, a skirt, and high heels. In addition, she had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She practically had office worker written all over her.
Kyle and Brianna kissed each other and then went inside the burger joint.
I would have gotten out of my car and sat down at a nearby table to try and eavesdrop on their conversation, but since I had spoken with Kyle at the guitar shop earlier, I didn’t want to push my luck too much.
If Kyle did end up spotting me inside the burger place, it would raise some red flags. He might start believing that I was following him. That was the last thing I wanted.
By a fortunate twist of fate, after Kyle and Brianna got their orders, they elected not to sit inside. Much to my delight, they grabbed a table in front of the burger place.
That really worked into my favor. With them sitting outside, I was able to move my car to a spot at the edge of the parking lot. In doing so, I could remain in my driver’s-seat, roll down my window, and overhear at least part of their conversation.
“What a break,” I said to myself.
The question became, would Kyle or Brianna say anything interesting? I would find out soon enough.
“I really hope your band gets a record deal soon. I’m not cutout for office work,” Brianna said.
“How do you think I feel? I work retail,” Kyle said.
“Trust me. Being trapped in a cubicle is far worse.”
“I’ll have to take your word for that. Although, it doesn’t really matter. We both have lousy jobs.”
“Which is all the more reason that your big break can’t come soon enough.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. The record companies are the ones who need convincing.”
“Is your band getting any bites?”
“Not at the moment.”
She let out a sigh. “What a shame.”
“We’re just going to keep plugging away. If we keep booking gigs and writing songs and spreading the word about our music online, I have to believe that eventually we’ll catch a break.”
“I sure hope so.”
“How about you? Anything new going on at your office?”
“Is there ever?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”
“No. There’s nothing new. It’s a boring dead-end place where nothing cool ever happens.”
“You sound even more down on your work than ever before.”
“What can I say? I can’t wait until the weekend arrives. I got invited to two different parties.”
“Wow. Sounds like a busy weekend.”
“It’s going to be great. Friday and Saturday night are going to be epic.”
“I guess it’s a shame that it’s only Thursday then.”
“You’re telling me. I’ve been having a hard time sitting at my desk.”
“Why?”
“It was just a rough morning.”
“You going through withdrawal or something?”
Brianna seemed pretty quick to change the subject. “Don’t worry about it. Just focus on coming up with ideas to get a record deal.”
“Brianna, how could I not worry about you?”
“I’m going to be fine, okay? I just need to get through a few more hours of work. That’s all.”
Kyle didn’t force the issue with his girlfriend, but clearly he was concerned about her.
For me, the bigger issue was what they were discussing in the first place. When Kyle mentioned the word withdrawal, it really drew my attention. Unfortunately, Brianna didn’t go into detail at all. She just continued to avo
id the subject.
Kyle and Brianna spoke for a little while longer, but they didn’t say anything terribly useful. For the most part, they just made small talk. Once they finished eating, they kissed and then parted ways.
Chapter Seven
Kyle got back on his motorcycle and returned to the guitar shop. He spent the next few hours helping customers. During that time, I parked my car across the street from the store.
That afternoon became a test of patience. In my experience, surveillance was rarely fun, but it was especially the case when it came to being staked out in front of a subject’s workplace.
Thankfully, shortly after five o’clock, Kyle finished up his shift and left work for the day.
As Kyle got on his motorcycle, I wondered where he was headed. Would he go home? Or did he have more interesting plans than that?
Right then, nothing was off the table. The possibilities were endless. So, when Kyle just drove back to his apartment on Fallbrook Drive, it was a pretty underwhelming development.
Even though I knew that big breaks were hard to come by and that it generally took a great deal of time and effort to make progress on a case, I had gotten lucky in the past. Naturally, I wanted that to happen right then.
Unfortunately, it didn’t appear that luck was on my side.
“All right. What are you going to do now?” I asked myself.
I decided to get a little creative. Since it was unclear how long Kyle would remain inside his home, I would have to be careful sneaking up toward his apartment, but spying on him sure seemed like a good call. That was especially true since I knew that most sketchy activity took place behind closed doors.
If Zack was correct about Kyle being bad news, the best chance for me to get evidence of that would be catching him off guard.
With that in mind, I got out of my car and made my way over to his apartment.
***
Conducting an investigation in broad daylight was always tricky. The chances of being spotted by the subject—or one of his neighbor’s, wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.
If Kyle did see me outside his window, it would lead to all sorts of questions. That was why I had to be careful. When I reached Kyle’s living room window, his blinds were closed. I could hear the sound of rock music being played inside his apartment. It sounded like a recording and not Kyle actively jamming on his guitar.
Since I couldn’t see what was going on inside, I kept moving. As I went around to the side of his apartment, I discovered a window that didn’t have any blinds in front of it. When I peered in the window, I saw Kyle standing in his kitchen, preparing some food.
He was making a sandwich.
“So much for a big break,” I whispered to myself.
Much to my surprise, the next few hours were pretty boring. After Kyle finished preparing dinner, he sat down at a table and ate his food. When he was done with that, he headed into his bedroom and got changed into different clothes. From there, he opened up his laptop and messed around on the internet for a bit.
It wasn’t until shortly after seven o’clock that anything interesting happened. Kyle closed his laptop, packed up his guitar, and left his apartment.
Thankfully, by that point, I had returned to my car. As I sat in the driver’s-seat of my car, I saw Kyle get on his motorcycle.
“Is he heading out to his gig?” I said to myself. “Or is he going somewhere else?”
Kyle fired up the ignition of his motorcycle, pulled out of his driveway, and headed north on Fallbrook Drive.
When he reached the stop sign at the end of his street, he turned left.
At first glance, it definitely seemed like he was heading to Gerald O’Toole’s. The theater was in that direction. At the same time, there was a chance that I was getting ahead of myself. There were plenty of other businesses and homes in that direction. Perhaps he was going to stop by one of them.
As Kyle made his way over to Quinn Avenue, it became clear to me where he was going. A few minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of Gerald O’Toole’s Theater with his guitar case strapped to his back.
After parking his motorcycle, he headed toward the side of entrance of the theater.
Chapter Eight
When I arrived at the theater, I saw an opportunity to take advantage of some good timing. The other band members were loading their equipment into the theater from a side door. Kyle joined them.
I had an idea to do the same. I knew that it was a much bolder approach than I normally took, but it could really pay off. More importantly, there was very little downside. Unlike with previous cases, where I tried to remain anonymous, the circumstances were different this time around. To start, I had already spoken with Kyle earlier. In addition, if this conversation didn’t go well, I could just head into the front of the theater and observe my surroundings until the show began.
As Kyle and his bandmates unloaded a drum set, some guitars, and a number of amplifiers from a van, I approached them.
“Do you need a hand?” I asked.
Kyle and his bandmates turned to me.
The bandmates looked at me with confusion on their faces.
Kyle had an entirely different reaction. His eyes lit up when he spotted me. “Hey, you came.”
“I sure did. I want to see what The Dead, the Drunk, and the Lucky are all about.”
“I hope you’re ready for a rocking show.”
“I am.”
“Great,” he said. “Just one thing. Are you alone?”
I nodded.
Kyle grimaced. “That’s a shame.”
“I know you were hoping that I would bring a bunch of friends with me, but this was really last-minute for them.”
“I understand. Well, at least you’re here.”
“I’m not just here. I’m excited to see you all play.”
“Speaking of which, let me introduce you to the guys.” He pointed at me. “Guys, this is Melody. She’s going to be taking guitar lessons from me.”
Kyle’s bandmates waved at me.
Kyle then pointed at his bandmates one by one. “Melody, this is Gavin. And Ash. And Connor.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said.
“I hope you enjoy the show,” Gavin said.
“I’m sure I will,” I said.
“Anyway, I hate to cut the conversation short, but we have to get our equipment setup,” Ash said.
“I understand. My offer to help you out still stands,” I said.
“No, we’re good,” Ash said.
Kyle put his hand up. “Speak for yourself. You should come backstage.”
“Really?” I said.
“Yeah. Have you ever been backstage before?”
“No.”
“Then you have to come.”
Connor stepped in. “Kyle, are you sure about this?”
“Of course,” Kyle said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“What about Brianna?” Connor asked.
“What about her? I’m not inviting Melody backstage to seduce her. I just want to show her the life of a rock band.”
“All right. It’s your call,” Connor said.
Kyle turned to me. “So, what do you say?”
***
Secretly, I was hoping that Kyle would invite me backstage. Not for romantic reasons. It was strictly for the sake of this investigation. If I hung around with the band, there was no telling what I might see. Being backstage could lead to a development that would blow this case wide open.
When Kyle brought me backstage, it wasn’t all that remarkable of a space. Neither was the band’s dressing room. But I still felt fortunate to be back there. The odds that I would get a lead were a lot higher.
All told, it took the band about half an hour to setup their equipment. During that time, I kept a close eye on them. In addition, I tried to hear every word that they said to each other. For the moment, there was no indication that they were on drugs. Or that any of them were doing something sket
chy.
Of course, that could change at any moment.
When a few more minutes went by without anything remarkable happening, I began to wonder if things would stay relatively quiet during the entire evening.
It turned out that I had gotten ahead of myself. Shortly after eight o’clock, Kyle’s girlfriend, Brianna, arrived at the theater. When she came backstage, she had a manic energy to her. It was a completely different vibe than the one she was giving off at the burger place earlier in the day.
When she spotted Kyle, she approached him and gave him a big kiss. Once they were done kissing, she looked around and saw me.
The moment she spotted me, her eyes widened.
She then turned to Kyle and his bandmates. “Who is that?”
“Her name is Melody,” Kyle said.
“What’s she doing back here?” Brianna asked.
“I invited her back here.”
Brianna nearly did a double-take. “Wait a minute. Why?”
“She’s going to be taking guitar lessons from me.”
A look of confusion came to Brianna’s face. “Uh-huh. That doesn’t explain why you invited her back here.”
“I wanted her to see what things were like backstage.”
Brianna snarled at her boyfriend. “You have a lot of nerve. I can’t believe you did this.”
Kyle shrugged. “What’s the problem?”
Brianna folded her arms. “Isn’t it obvious?”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t get why you’re so bent out of shape. I’m trying to get as many people to come to our shows as possible. At this stage in our career, we need as many fans as we can get.”
“Regular fans are one thing. Female fans are another.”
“Brianna, let me stop you right there—”
“Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?”
He shook his head. “No. You’re just jumping to crazy conclusions.”
“Am I?”
“You know I hate it when you get really paranoid.”
“I’m not being paranoid.”
“You could have fooled me.”
Majestic Cove Mysteries Box Set 2 Page 9
