I bet I could easily gamble with the kid with the lazy eye!
The creepy guy continued to stare at me and grin, all the while tapping on the seat.
Tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tappity, tap, tap.
That sounded strangely familiar. What was that from? He continued to tap. That was Elegant Black! Was the guy a drummer? Maybe he’d want to join the band. (Sorry, Jimmy.) I couldn’t believe how quickly my mind raced toward this solution. He tapped on, and I became more curious by the minute. As the driver sailed down Eighth Street, running a yellow light with reckless abandon, I spun around to ask the guy about it.
Only he wasn’t there.
The rocker was gone. “Hey,” I said to the emptiness. Was this jerk playing hide-and-seek with me? I got up to look around, but he wasn’t here. I even looked under the seat. There was no bathroom on this bus and nowhere for him to hide. Nowhere!
Okay, Wallace. Get your head out of your ass. It’s the weed. You’ve got to stop smoking that shit. Now you’re hallucinating.
The bus pulled up to the corner of Coronado and Eighth, and the driver waited for me to get off. I couldn’t do anything except stare at the empty seat.
“I can’t wait all day,” the skinny driver squawked at me. “You getting off here?”
“Yeah, I’m getting off here,” I said as I turned my back and shivered. Hell yeah, I was getting off here. I felt sick to my stomach, and my skin wanted to crawl off my body. I stepped off the bus and watched it roll away. I almost screamed at what I saw.
The dark-haired rocker waved at me from the back window. He grinned as if we were old pals and he’d pranked me. He’d been there the whole time. I hadn’t imagined him, but I knew for a damn fact that he wasn’t there when I got off. He wasn’t! And how was it nobody else on that bus seemed to see the weirdo? I closed my eyes for a second to reset my brain, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t stand out here all day, and I couldn’t be late if I wanted to take tomorrow off. I had to be on my best behavior today. I’d think about all this weird shit later. I headed inside Crazy Sanja’s Electronics Store and forgot all about the weirdo.
At least for a little while.
Chapter Three—The Street
“No way. I need you here tomorrow night, Wallace. We have a Wild and Crazy Sale, remember?” Sanja gave me a wide-eyed stare as he waved his hands around. My boss performed his horrible Steve Martin impersonation by waving his arms and shifting his knees. Normally his antics brought me a great deal of amusement, but I wasn’t having any of his nonsense tonight.
“No way to you, Sanja. I have plans. Did you not hear me? I have concert tickets. To the Black Knights.” I shuffled impatiently in my suede shoes and tossed the last box on the counter. “Besides, Abner will cover for me; I always fill in for him.”
Sanja closed his eyes and said, “One, two, three, four and five…” My boss was a big believer in mysticism, and he wasn’t above using his “psychic” powers to try and manipulate me.
“You can count all you want, Sanja Pashwa. I’m outta here, and I’m not coming back until Monday morning.”
“I am sorry for your plans, Wallace, but you will be here with me tomorrow night. We’re having a Wild and Crazy Sale!”
“That’s some bull, man. I’m not going to be here. I’m gonna be at the New Field Arena.” I tossed my store apron on the counter and headed toward the grimy glass doors. It was ten minutes past quitting time anyway.
“You walk out, and you don’t come back at all. I have nothing else for you—no more work. You go away for good.” Sanja’s puffed-up cheeks and his angry red face let me know he wasn’t joking around.
Could I afford to lose this job? Hell no. Piece-of-shit father of mine really screwed me over. If I ever found him, I’d beat the hell out of him.
“This isn’t right, Sanja! You won’t be by yourself. I know Abner will cover for me!” Jobs were hard to come by in this city, and even though my boss was an asshole, he paid me well. I was looking forward to receiving my Christmas bonus soon. I would need it to keep the household going. Deb would need presents, and God only knew what Naomi would need. More pills? Walking out would put me in a bind.
“Abner is sick, too sick. You be back tomorrow noon. Wild and Crazy Sale until midnight.”
“Whatever,” I mumbled as I started to walk out of the store. I paused and swallowed my pride. I had to, didn’t I? “But I have to leave at seven, Sanja.”
“You stay until midnight, Wallace. Wild and Crazy Sale until midnight.”
“Can’t do it. How about ten? I can stay until ten o’clock.” The band will probably play their old stuff at the beginning. I won’t miss much, I lied to myself. Who was I kidding? I wanted to hear every song, every note, the old and the new. I had to see every move the Black Knights made. There was no band like the Black Knights. They were the be-all and end-all of rock and roll as far as I was concerned. And I was going to have the opportunity to meet them.
Leave it to Abner to let me down. I was going to remember that. I added Abner’s offense to my growing list of people who needed an ass-whipping.
“Okay, ten o’clock but not one minute earlier.”
“Fine,” I muttered as I stomped out of the store.
I hadn’t been sure before, even though I bought a ring, but I was sure now. Absolutely sure. I was going to ask Melissa to marry me at the concert, and I was going to wait until the band played Elegant Black, her favorite song and mine. Melissa would be my wife. She was the one! I practically skipped as I approached the bus stop. But then my heart started pounding. Did I really want to ride the bus again? What if that creep was still there?
Come on, man. You were hallucinating or something. Maybe you were daydreaming. What do you think you saw? The Invisible Man?
I decided to walk home. It was only ten blocks. It might take me thirty minutes, but I could use the time to think. How would I propose? I would wait until there was a lull in the song, that one part with the sitar solo. That would be righteous! I’d fall on one knee and hold up the box. Then I’d open it and she’d jump up and down and say yes. People would be screaming, jumping up and down with us when I finally kissed her. Mrs. Melissa Wallace. Yeah, righteous.
And what was I going to say to Rex Teaser when I met him? Would I tell him that I’d spent the past three weeks trying to pick out the tune but couldn’t do it justice? I wouldn’t say anything as embarrassing as that. I awkwardly kicked at a small stack of empty soda cans that littered the sidewalk and thought about the song as I walked along. I shoved my hands deep into the pockets of my fleece-lined corduroy jacket. Geesh, it was cold out here. Yeah, the riffs were tricky, the notes heavily articulated, and there was no doubt the whole song—hell, the whole album—had been written by geniuses.
“Hey, Rex! Man, you’re a genius!” Lame-o, Levi. Don’t say anything that stupid. I was bummed I wasn’t going to catch all the concert, but at least I would get to meet the Knights. That’s what mattered, right? As I daydreamed about hanging out with Rex, Brice, and Daniel, I made my way home through the quiet streets of Eugene Springs. And yeah, it was quiet tonight. Unusually quiet. Evening had come quickly, and there were a few glittering stars shining down on me. There was the scent of burning leaves in the air and the almost-promise of snow, too. I could see my breath, and the air was so cold it burned my lungs. A blast of wind tossed dried leaves around my feet, and I hurried to my corner. Wow, I’d come a long way without even thinking about it.
Take that, Coach Denton, you rat bastard. I must be pretty darn fit to clear that many blocks so quickly, and I’m not even breathing hard.
And as I turned onto my street, I froze. There was a familiar figure ahead of me. The freak from the bus, the bare-armed, ripped-shirt rocker, stood on the sidewalk puffing on a cigarette. The red tip of the cig glowed evilly in the growing darkness. He saw me, and I could see that strange, wide smile spread across his face, and then he glanced up at my house. I could clearly see Naomi getting dress
ed in the open window. She was in her slip, brushing her dark blond hair, oblivious to the Creep that lingered outside to enjoy the free show. The weirdo flicked his cigarette butt to the ground and walked away but not before I yelled at him.
“Hey!” Before I could sprint off down the sidewalk after him, a thought that both sickened and excited me, my shriveled neighbor from across the street, Mrs. Sherman, came out of her house with her two feisty Dobermans. At least they were on leashes today. They barked at me, as if I’d been the one hanging around outside the house. They sniffed me but quickly turned their attention to the spot where the stranger had stood just a few seconds ago.
“No need to shout, young Levi. I had my hearing aid adjusted, and I hear quite well now. I can hear everything within a hundred feet of my house. I’m like the Bionic Woman. Isn’t that a hoot?”
“That’s great, Mrs. Sherman. Good to see you.”
“Tell your mother I’ve got some extra roast in the refrigerator. You should come round and get it, but I do want my Tupperware back. Cut it out, Blue! Oh dear. These boys are on the trail of something interesting. Tell your mother what I said now!”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said as her Dobermans dragged her down the sidewalk. She fussed at them the whole time, but they didn’t slow their pace at all. They must have smelled the weirdo. What the hell did that Creep want, and how did he know where I lived? I had a sudden urge to put my eyes on all the people I loved.
Deb, Melissa and even Naomi. This guy was clearly up to mischief. He better not even think about it.
I won’t lie, I looked over my shoulders a few times while I unlocked the door. Once I shed my coat and locked the door again, I spent a few minutes peeking out the window, but the guy never turned back up. What was going on? I’d smoked some weed last night, but we didn’t drop acid. I mean, I wasn’t into hallucinogenic drugs and never had been, but that was the only explanation I could come up with. That had to be it, right?
A hand on my shoulder scared the hell out of me. “Whoa, son! What are you doing? Trying to put me in an early grave?” Naomi clutched her heart as if I’d startled her and not the other way around. “Are you waiting on your sister? I’m not sure she has her keys, and I must step out. Where are my keys now? I swear, I’m so scatterbrained these days.”
“Step out? Where are you going?” I didn’t mean to give her the third degree, but she never went anywhere except to the doctor or the pharmacy and on rare occasions the health food store.
Naomi frowned as she pulled her keys out of her macramé purse. “Oh, there they are. Good place for them. Since when do I have to tell you where I’m going? I have a date. Is that so hard to believe?”
I collapsed in the chair, suddenly exhausted. This was too much. “A date? What kind of date?”
Her thin lips pressed together in a frown, and she swung her hair back with her hand. “The kind two people go on. Now if you’ll excuse me, I better go or I’m going to be late for the bus.”
Forget how bizarre it was that my mother was going on a date…what about the weirdo outside? He’d been watching Naomi get dressed. Was she lying to me? Did she know this guy? Not that I cared one way or another, but she had to know what a creep this bus guy was, the kind of creep that would likely be a serial killer.
“It’s not safe out there. Why don’t you stay here tonight?” When that didn’t shake her, I added, “What are we supposed to eat, Naomi?”
She snapped the wooden hinge on her purse closed. “Really? You’re a grown man, Levi! Honestly, cook your own dinner. This is 1977, you know. Women aren’t here to serve your kind. We’re people too!”
“Serve my kind? What kind is that? I’m your offspring, Naomi Wallace. Or have you forgotten all about Deb and me?”
Without another word, she slapped me across the face and stormed toward the door as it swung open. Debbie had a satchel full of books on one shoulder and her purse on the other. “What’s going on?” she asked suspiciously as Naomi pushed past and slammed the door behind her.
“Same shit, different day. How was your study session with David?”
“Same answer as you. I’m beginning to think David is getting bored with me.” She hung her purse up on the peg as I rubbed my face. I was sure Naomi had left a handprint on my cheek, but Deb didn’t say anything. For that I was grateful.
“What do you mean?”
She flashed her sad smile at me. “You know, this is not something I want to talk to my brother about. What’s for supper? My lunch is long gone.”
“Probably nothing.”
We walked into the kitchen together to confirm our suspicions that there wasn’t a darn thing to eat in this house. At least Mrs. Sherman had a roast we could go get. A tough, chewy roast if it was anything like the last one she sent our way. But to our surprise, we found a meatloaf on the stove with a saucepan full of mashed potatoes. No doubt the potatoes were instant, and the meatloaf was as tasteless as it always was, but we ate it nonetheless—with help from a bottle of ketchup. Why hadn’t Naomi just pointed that out? As we washed up, I asked her, “Have you seen anyone weird hanging around the house recently?”
“Besides your friends?” She laughed but I didn’t take the bait. “Okay. Weird like how?” She flung some suds in my direction, which I happily flung back.
“I don’t know. Strange-looking.”
“Like your friends, Levi. You guys really do need to chill out with the smoke, brother. It gets all in the house, and one of these days, Mrs. Sherman is going to get a whiff of it and call the cops.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yeah. At least it’s a better smell than those clove cigarettes Myron smokes. Yuck.”
Someone was pounding on the door now. I reached for the kitchen towel, dried my hands quickly and walked into the foyer with Deb behind me. “Stay back,” I said as I opened the door a crack. She shrugged at me like I’d lost my marbles. Maybe I had. I was beginning to think perhaps Jimmy had put some of his “special sauce” in the reefer.
Mrs. Sherman was standing on my porch in her nightgown, curlers, slippers, and an all-too-flimsy robe. If her doctor ever found two lumps in breasts it would be her knees. Her two dogs were nowhere to be seen. “There you are young man! I’m warning you to cut it out. If I hear one more filthy word coming out of your mouth, just one more, I’m going to call the police.” She pointed her swollen finger at me.
“What? I’m not sure I—”
“Don’t play games with me. I can hear every word you are saying. Every single word. How dare you say such filthy things to an old lady like me! Stop it!”
“I haven’t said anything to you, Mrs. Sherman. I’ve been here with my sister, Debbie. You must be hearing someone else. Is someone bothering you?” I glanced up and down the sidewalk, but there wasn’t a soul out tonight. No one except Mrs. Sherman.
“I can hear you, Levi Wallace. Stop it right this minute!”
Debbie interjected, “Mrs. Sherman, please. Levi has been here with me. Is there someone I can call for you? I don’t understand.”
The old lady wasn’t having any of it. She was crying now, and her plastic curlers shook in her hair. “I know it was you, Levi Wallace. I know your voice. Now stop it. It’s…indecent to say those things to me. If you come near me again, I’m going to sic Black and Blue on you. I mean it!”
Together Debbie and I watched Mrs. Sherman shuttle across the street, give me one last angry stare and slam the door shut. This had turned out to be one damn weird day.
I was glad for it to come to an end. Or so I thought.
Chapter Four—The Attack
I knew I was dreaming because I had never heard such sweet music before. Never. Not even Beethoven struck such awe in me, and yeah, I secretly loved the classics. Every one of them. These notes were sweet like I’d never known sweet. It was like they had a strange tangibility to them, like they had their own personalities and powers. This one, a major A, liked to be seen so it hung in the air a bit longer than the
rest. And that one, a D minor, oh yes, it was kind of slinky, it belonged in a ballad or maybe a blues tune. And here they all were, ready for me to put them where they belonged.
I was their master; they were here to do my bidding. Ah, what a wonderful feeling! But then I began to question it all. And as anyone who dreams knows, whenever you begin to question yourself in a dream, the whole experience loses a bit of magic.
Suddenly, I wasn’t surrounded by glowing notes or hearing plaintive strains. I was by myself. Everything grew quiet except for the sound of people. People whispering and watching and waiting for me. I could hear them but could not see them yet. It was like this was a concert and I was the maestro. I stood in the center of the room trying to get my bearings. I could not discern walls or a ceiling, but there had to be a floor because I was standing on it. It felt kind of spongy beneath my dress shoes—hey, what was this getup I was wearing?
A beam of light flicked on, and it was so bright I could barely see. I was in the spotlight and in my hands was my guitar, Lizzie. I’d never intended to name my guitar, but Melissa thought it would be a cool thing to do so I did.
All the real musicians name their guitars, Levi—B.B. King called his Lucille.
What should I do now? The silence was deafening. Nobody spoke as I flicked the pick in my fingers and began to strum the strings. I knew exactly what I wanted to play.
Elegant Black!
I started in D and picked out the intro. The audience gasped, and as I played on, I could see their faces. Yes, I could see them all! They loved my music and were singing along with me. Behind me were the rest of my bandmates. Jimmy stayed on track, Jackie hummed and stroked his guitar with rare perfection, Myron tapped the bass and Melissa stood beside me singing in a low, sexy voice as she shook her tambourine. We nailed each note, each riff, each passage. It was as if we’d conceived this song together, all of us, and this was our baby.
But that couldn’t be right. Rex Teaser and Brice Melancholy wrote this song. They wrote it and they performed it and it was their baby.
The Vampire's Song (Vampires of Rock Book 1) Page 4
