"I want yur help in findin tha murderer."
"Sorry." Glen's mouth was set in a firm line. "Don't expect any help from me. I think he got what he deserved. He was probably killed by some sickie, some fan like the one that killed the actress. Bet they find out it was someone like that. There are a lot of twisted people out there."
"As ye wish, Glen. But, I never thought of you as an outsider. You were part of tha band. We're Bushmaster, nae matter what. Dinna shut yurself away from tha rest of us. We may need tae help each other recover from all of this shite. Never hesitate tae call on any of us if you need anything once we've gone our separate ways."
Glen nodded. "O.K. But I only want one thing from everyone. Keep Francie out of this."
"I have no intention of hurtin her. Ye may rely on it." H.M. looked past Glen's head. "I think our breakfast is finally here. Breakfast an ah nice comfy bed. Just what I need. It reminds me of gigging. Tha food here is better than some of tha breakfasts I had in those small villages after playing in ah pub. Left over beer and bread an ah tin of something. This is much better."
Hamish made an effort to change the topic of conversation. Their meal finished in a strained atmosphere despite H.M. and Lori's best efforts to lighten the tension. Glen was upset and did not disguise the fact. They split the bill at Glen's urging then walked outside to stand on the sidewalk.
The hotel building could be seen a couple of blocks away. After a brief discussion, the three of them decided to risk the short walk. There was no one else on the street. Nothing was moving. If they called a cab, it would take the same amount of time to wait as to walk the distance. Their stroll was uneventful. The entrance to the hotel was devoid of media. Only the night clerk was in attendance at the desk.
H.M. found a message from Fredrick, the policeman. After pocketing the slip, he left word with the desk clerk they were not to be disturbed. Glen had gone ahead to the elevators. He boarded one alone. H.M. and Lori took another car to their floor.
When they were finally settled in their bed, Lori spoke up. "He is furious. I hadn't realized Glen hated Vincent so intensely."
"Nor did I. Unfortunately, I never gave tha matter any real consideration, an I should have." He reached over to turn out the light. "I can understand why he would feel tha way he does."
Lori punched down the pillow. "You would think he would have tried to find another group to play with under the circumstance."
In the darkened room, he reached out to take her hand in his. "Per'aps that would have been tha best course. He may have tried, ken? Glen did have ah contract. I dinnae recall tha exact details. I think he may have been unable tae do anything else until tha tour was over. I will have tae find out tha terms of tha contract from Warren."
Hamish thought about the message from the detective. "Damn! I wish I didna have tae talk with tha copper this soon after finding out how angry Glen was with Vince. I will have tae be careful tae nae give anything away about Francie. That could be difficult, as it will be apparent something is disturbin me if I dinnae make an effort at concealment. I'm nae very good at concealing things. An tha polis are trained tae notice it."
"It may not be so bad. Just let him know you were out rather late last night. Let him think you got pissed. He might assume you have a bad hangover. He may not want to see you anyway. A phone call may do the trick."
"Per'aps. We will just have tae wait an see. I will call him as soon as I wake up. I hope I can sleep this night." He yawned. "Come here."
H.M. pulled her over against him. "I liked Glen's songs. They've ah lot of promise. I never realized he was composin. I canna believe tha things I have learned about people I thought I understood. Do we ever really ken anyone?"
Lori toyed with the hair on his chest. "It is surprising how little one really knows about another individual, even when they have lived and worked with them for years, isn't it?"
"Aye. What secrets are ye keepin from me? What should I ken about you?" Hamish kissed her gently. "I ken someone very like Vince hurt ye. Ye have never mentioned his name or anythin about yer life before Brighton until recently. Tae day in fact."
For a moment he held his breath, afraid he had said the wrong thing. Lori snuggled into his arms. H.M. relaxed in the comfort of the bed.
"I haven't been terribly forthcoming have I? When this is over, we need to take a few days off, away from everyone. You're right. There are things that need to be said but not only on my part. You, my dear Hamish, have not volunteered much information about your family or childhood until recently either."
Lori rubbed her head against his shoulder. "I guess we both relied on the strength of our desire for each other to keep us together. If we are going to stay together, and I do want us to stay married, we have to build a solid foundation. Perhaps we were both secretly afraid the passion would die and there wasn't enough love to carry us through."
Involuntarily he held her tighter. "I will have tae think about that concept. I suppose ye could be right. Ye, luv, yu're my friend as well as my luver. I have always been ah private person. That may be ah result of Mum an I having tae conceal our identities in order tae evade Da's family. I've always been ah loner. I find it difficult tae let anyone past tha moat."
"Not so tightly dearest." She wiggled a bit, forcing him to relax his grip on her. "Both of us have had our reasons for concealment, however, it is time to let down the barriers. In one way, Vincent's death has had a positive effect on us. Being face to face with death makes one realize how fragile we really are. How we each need to cultivate our relationships with others. I never would have imagined Glen felt so insecure and alienated from the rest of the band. You and I were too wrapped up in each other to pay much attention to other people's needs."
His fears and tensions slowly drifted away. Lying with Lori so comfortably was soothing. Her skin was warm and silky where he was stroking her shoulder. She turned her head to kiss the side of his neck. Lori's breath tickled his skin and drew an immediate response. Hamish snuggled her tightly against him. Lori's lips brushed his chest.
"Time for us Hamish. We need time for us. There are so many things I want to do with you." She rubbed her cheek against him.
Hamish wanted to cover her completely. He threw one leg over her. "We will take tha time. Once we're away from here, we're goin tae make time. I dinnae care about money for anythin other than ah way tae provide food and shelter for us. Us. That concerns me most, luv."
His watch said it was a 1little after eleven in the morning when he woke. Lori was still sleeping peacefully when H.M. left the bed. The first thing he did was ring room service for a pot of tea and a snack.
The second call was to Fredrick at the number the sergeant had left with the desk clerk. Hamish kept the call brief. The explanation, that he had been out all night, was not greeted with much sympathy. Reluctantly, the sergeant did set up a time for them to meet late in the afternoon.
Hamish finished his toast and tea in silence, trying not to wake Lori. When finished, he decided to go find Warren. There were a couple of questions only he could answer. Warren wasn't in his room. H.M. tracked him down to a table by the pool.
"Good morning! I take it you and Lori went to the jam Glen set up?"
Warren motioned H.M. to a seat across the table from him then signaled for the waiter. "How was it? Would you like a drink?"
"'Twas fine. I will have an orange juice, plain please."
Warren gave the waiter the order. "How is Glen holding up? What did you think of his music?"
"Shall we take tha last question first? I take it ye wanted me tae vet his work for ye?" H.M. eyed Warren intently.
"Well, yes. I did sort of have the idea in mind. What do you think?"
"Ye will not make ah mistake if you take him on as ah single. He has ah decent voice an tha tunes are good. Per'aps I should get ah five percent cut of tha action as a finder's fee." Hamish glared at Warren.
"If you want a percentage, you can have it. Providing of course, you h
elp with the material." Warren was not going to be apologetic.
The waiter arrived with H.M.'s juice. He took a sip and decided it was time for Warren to relinquish some control. "Deal. In that case, I shall want ten percent of tha action an ah vote on production an marketin. I want it in writin. Have yur solicitor draw up tha contract, an I will have mine look it over. I will also advise Glen he is ah jointly owned property. I assume ye signed him as soon as his contract with Bushmaster was void."
Warren laughed heartily. "You have certainly learned a thing or two. However, you have misjudged me a tiny bit. I haven't signed him. I was waiting for your opinion of his stuff. Now," Warren leaned forward, glass in hand, "I propose a toast to our new venture. Having a partner will be a new experience for me."
Hesitantly, H.M. touched his glass to Warren's. "Somehow, I still feel manipulated." MacGrough grumbled before taking a sip of the juice.
"Easy, big fella." Warren laughed at the face H.M. made. "It's not as bad as all that. I know there are times when you have wondered about my motives. Wonder no longer. Of course I'm in it for the money. So are you for that matter"
The older man wagged one finger at Hamish. "Now, don't get your back up. I know the music comes first and the money isn't the be all, end all for you. You love the music. You do have to eat however, and one of these days you may even have children to support. You might as well do something you enjoy for a living. True?"
Hamish considered Warren's question for a moment. "Och, I suppose ye're correct. I will always have ah difficult time with tha big business aspect of music. That part bores me, per'aps even angers me ah wee mite."
"Thoroughly understandable for an artist. What you do need to learn is, as long as I'm not broke, I can be trusted. In a cash crunch, I am dangerous. That's when to really watch me. Lord knows what I might do."
Warren smiled at H.M. over the rim of his glass. "Consider that a freebie."
"Ye and Vince were arguin about money I believe." Hamish watched Warren closely, noting his initial response to the statement.
The older man didn't seem surprised by the comment. "You're only partially right. I knew about Vincent from the start. That's why the contract had him tied up tighter than a drum. I also took great pains to hire an independent firm of accountants. They are in charge of everything. They cut my check and deposit it directly to my account. I have no fingers in the money pie. I'm clean as a whistle. I always figured Vince would blow someday and accuse me of robbing him blind. I never figured you for that action."
H.M. grunted. "Had it all thought out did ye? I am surprised you dinnae have ah separate contract with me."
"No need my boy. The one you and Vince signed as Bushmaster was good enough." Warren laughed. "I'm not a cheat; I'm just a good business man."
"Och, well as long as we are gettin it all out in tha open, I will tell ye, I had three solicitors vet tha original contract before I signed it. I'd no intention of losing my music."
Warren smiled then tipped his head slightly to one side. "Just as I suspected and very astute. Never, ever, trust anyone when it comes to contracts. Always get several opinions before committing yourself. It is your life you're signing away. Be sure it's going when and how you want it. I want you to tell Glen you have a percentage of him, as you suggested. That should reassure him."
"Per'aps, per'aps not." H.M. frowned. "I do need tae discuss it with ye. Glen an I talked about Vincent's murder after tha session." He ran both hands through his hair.
Warren moved to the edge of his seat and lowered his voice. "You obviously learned something disturbing. Should you be telling me this? Perhaps the police...."
Hamish interrupted him. "They will find out what I decide tae tell them in due time. Glen couldnae leave tha band. Am I correct?" Swallowing the last of the juice, he set the glass down on the table.
"Be careful, H.M., how you deal with the police here. They do not take kindly to interference. As to Glen, I made the contract as unbreakable as possible. We needed him. I was afraid sooner or later he would tangle with Vince. Hell, everyone did at one time or another. Vince was becoming so unbearable it was getting harder and harder to keep the band together. We couldn't keep breaking in new players all the time, especially bass players. Good musicians aren't so easy to find. Yeah, Glen was tied to us for five years. I figured we needed that much time to get the maximum potential from Bushmaster."
H.M. grinned at Warren. "My defection wasnae in your plan."
Warren removed a small notebook out of the pocket of his white silk shirt.
"Actually, you are fairly predictable. I knew if and when you did leave, and sooner or later you were going to, you wouldn't drop us flat in the middle of a tour or an album, as Vince would have. I could depend on you to at least hold to your commitments. However, I have watched you grow as a musician; I knew you wouldn't stay around forever."
Warren fingered the small notebook. "I believe we have had this conversation before. Are you probing to see if I will say something I haven't previously? You would have made a very good cop, Hamish. I think it's better for the criminal world that you became a musician. I am not hiding anything from you regarding either my dealings with Vince, you or Glen"
"I want you to have this totally clear in your own mind; I make a living managing talent. I can't have everyone suspecting my motives and my methods of operation."
He opened the notebook. "Glen had three more years to go on his contract. I doubted renewal was possible. He was making a good living for a young and fairly inexperienced player. Which is the reason he put up with Vince without too much complaining. The fly in the ointment, was Francie." The older man closed the notebook. He put it back in his shirt pocket.
H.M. put his feet up on one of the unoccupied chairs. "Is it tha reason ye made separate arrangements for Glen an Francie?"
"Absolutely. I needed to keep them away from Vince. It was best for everyone. I have always wondered why she split so suddenly with Vince and moved in with Glen. No one has ever said anything, but ...the undercurrents were like a live wire, they just sizzled...."
A shadow blocked out the sun. H.M. and Warren glanced up. For an instant Warren's hand froze before closing around his glass. H.M. shaded his eyes from the sun with one hand. As he squinted up at the man, Warren spoke.
"Good day Sergeant. Would you care for something? Mr. MacGrough is having orange juice, would you like some?"
Fredrick reached forward to pull out a chair. H.M. hastily removed his feet from the seat and straightened up.
Fredrick grinned at H.M. "I thought you were recovering from terminal hangover? Isn't this a bit bright for that?" Fredrick's grin widened at H.M.'s discomfort.
"'Tis nae so bad. We Scots can hold our liquor, which is more than I can say for ye Yanks." H.M. watched the barb hit home.
When the sergeant stiffened, Hamish mentally cursed his hot head. "Actually Sergeant, in ah sense I was working last night. I was at ah recording session working on new material with ah few people. Playing is always exhilarating, almost always enjoyable, but draining. I never drink a lot while I am playing. I wasnae hung over, just very tired."
Fredrick was not going to be appeased so easily. The man pulled off his sun glasses and glared at MacGrough. "Then you were simply avoiding me. That's not a good idea here. We are conducting a murder investigation. I advise you to cooperate, Mr. MacGrough. This is not England, it's the U.S.A. and you need to keep it in mind."
H.M. clenched his teeth in order to keep his mouth shut. His good Scots tongue was about to get him in very big trouble. The man was implying Hamish lived in some third world country, where incompetence was the order of the day.
Warren took charge by engaging Fredrick's attention, which gave H.M. time to regroup. "Did you wish to speak with me Sergeant? I hadn't expected a visit from you today." Warren's tone was placating.
"I don't need to make appointments to speak with murder suspects. I could just take you both in and we can talk in my office." Fred
rick shrugged. "Since that might cause difficulties with a bunch of reporters, we decided to play it this way as long as everyone cooperated." He shot an angry glance in the direction of H.M.
"But, you haven't charged anyone." Warren interjected smoothly.
"No, we haven't. However, we are dealing with foreign nationals who could decide to try and leave. Under those circumstances, we would be justified in holding them in custody until this is resolved."
Fredrick cracked the knuckles of one hand. "In fact, since Mrs. MacGrough is a citizen and Mr. MacGrough here isn't," He smiled at H.M. "there could be no end to the difficulties."
For a moment, a chill raised goose flesh on H.M.'s forearms. Fredrick was threatening him. Before Hamish could reply, Warren spoke up.
"What are you implying? It seems to me we have been very cooperative. Everyone here has refrained from forcing you to deal with our attorneys. It appears that may have been a mistake."
He took a business card from the pocket where the notebook was tucked away. Holding it out between his thumb and first finger, Warren handed it to Fredrick.
"Call this number. I have retained this firm to represent us. We are not going to be threatened. We have already given statements, voluntarily, in fact. You can now go through the proper channels."
Fredrick bolted to his feet, almost overturning the chair. "Perhaps the both of you have something to hide."
Warren was unperturbed. "We still have a living to make Sergeant. That requires conversation. Touching base, if you will. Nothing sinister in it, strictly business. If you want to know more, I advise you to get your questions together, contact the attorney and we shall all meet together to go over them. That is, unless you are formally charging either Mr. MacGrough, or me. As Mr. MacGrough is not familiar with the law here, and as his manager, I must insist you desist your attempts to bully him. Having the attorney present will insure he isn't taken advantage of."
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