“Thank you for that!” Daniel said. “My family is very important to me. I don’t want anything to happen to Mom and Dad. Now if you want to do something for me, tell me all about the days when the three of you were playing in the Awesome Power Five band. I really want to hear about what it was like. Until Monday, I never even knew that my parents had been musicians!”
“You are so right on, Daniel!” Ethan said with a laugh. “You know, we never have had a band reunion.”
For the next couple of hours, Ethan, Gary, and Melinda talked about their lives as musicians back in the Baltimore area during the early eighties. The atmosphere became a lot more festive in the Holmes living room as they started remembering all of the struggles and funny situations that they had gone through back then. Melinda brought out drinks and snacks, along with the scrapbook that Daniel had seen containing pictures and even a few newspaper articles about the Awesome Power Five. They talked about different club owners that they had to deal with, the strange working conditions in some of the places that they performed, how they struggled to put together their own music, and their dealings with various agents who promised them fame and fortune but usually delivered second-rate gigs.
“Remember the guy, I can’t recall his name now, who wanted to produce a rock musical about ghosts living in the Jefferson Memorial?” Ethan said with a laugh.
“Oh yeah,” Gary replied. “I think he called his show ‘The Spirit Crusaders.’ It was about the ghosts of famous Americans helping the modern younger generation fight injustice, all to the beat of rock music!”
“And don’t forget the crazy fans!” Melinda said. “Who was that guy who came to all of our performances at the Cataclysm Club, always dressed very conservatively in a white shirt and dark dress pants, and would dance around by himself like a ballerina when we would play our sets?”
“Yes, I think we nicknamed him gyro man!” Ethan replied. “I’ll tell you folks, one of the things I won’t miss in retirement are all of the crazy fans! I have sure met my share of those people!”
“You certainly had your share of groupies, Ethan!” Gary said. “Even in our beginning days they always camped out waiting for you!”
“My constant set of groupies was a curse and a blessing!” Ethan continued. “On the one hand you want the popularity and buzz that goes with being a leader in a rock band. The downside is that every one of those groupies thinks that they would be the perfect companion for you, and boy did they try every trick in the book to get my attention. Whenever I would get into a real relationship with someone, there would be that entourage of groupies trying to break it up! To make things worse, there was the gossip media always standing by to record every incident and every gesture I made. In all of these years, I have never been able to have a lasting relationship with a woman, even though I really tried. The life of a touring rock musician just isn’t a very stable existence! Most of my career I would just escape into partying, ignoring what I should have been doing to develop a long term relationship with the several women that I actually was serious about. That’s why I envy you and the stability you have. You have a nice family home, each other, and you have Daniel, a son who I’m sure you are very proud of!”
“Oh yes,” Melinda said. “Once you have a child, your life changes forever.”
“So Daniel, what do you think of all of this? Are you sure you want to go into the music business after hearing these stories?” Ethan asked.
“This whole last few days in my life has been mind boggling!” Daniel exclaimed. “First of all to find out that my parents had a past life as rock musicians, then to meet an actual big star like you, Mr. Savage, and most surprising of all to discover that the three of you actually played together in a band at one time. And after seeing the actual pictures and articles about it in Mom’s scrapbook — you could knock me over with a feather!
“As far as going into the music business is concerned, I supposed it is too early to decide if that is what I want to do. I’m just starting to develop my skills as a performer. I know that I enjoy it very much, and want to continue working on my singing and guitar performance skills. You are all very generous by saying how you want to help me. I don’t even know what musical direction I want to pursue specifically yet. In the long run, I feel I have to earn my own way in, if being a professional performer is the life for me. I know it’s a tough business by just hearing the stories you have been telling this afternoon. But isn’t the most important thing to have a passion for what you are doing and a strong work ethic?”
“It definitely is Daniel. And please call me Ethan. Everyone else does! I consider you a friend, Daniel, after what you did for me.”
“Okay, Ethan,” Daniel replied. “I will. When we were riding down to Monterey on Saturday with your band mate Marlon Guinetti, he told us all about what it was like for him on the road with the band. The thing that impressed us the most was how hard he worked during a tour. It wasn’t anything like what everyone imagines.”
“You have that right, Daniel. Going from one city to the next, setting up, getting ready to perform, doing the concert, and taking down night after night is not easy to accomplish. Maintaining your focus on the road is very difficult. You have to always have your ‘game face’ on. Every audience you play for has to be treated like they and their town are your most favorite place to perform in all of the world!”
“Well you certainly have given people that impression over the years!”
“I have been very lucky professionally, Daniel. But as you know from hearing the stories we shared earlier, it didn’t just happen overnight. I spent a good ten years struggling and working my butt off before I got my first real break in the business. And unfortunately it doesn’t happen for everyone. I think that you will do fine, no matter where you end up, Daniel. You really are perceptive for someone so young. Most teenagers I run into just have stars in their eyes and have no idea how difficult the path to success in the music business is to travel.
“Now that we have talked about our lives quite a bit, Daniel. I would like to know a little bit more about you. How did a fifteen year old kid become such a clever detective and so sophisticated about life in general?”
Daniel spent a few minutes talking about his friend Jason and how his totally unexpected kidnapping at the beginning of the summer changed both of their lives. “Becoming a detective was the last thing I wanted to do, but if I hadn’t done so and browbeat Jason into working with me to solve his own case, he would have taken years to recover from his ordeal, and my best friend would never have been able to return to the carefree life he prizes so much. It was the same kind of situation last Friday. When I saw you being carried unconscious out of that limousine and then replaced by a look-alike double, I knew I had stumbled onto something big. I had to try and do something, especially since you had stopped and taken the time to talk with me about your music and even given me a quick guitar lesson.”
“Fate really did step in there, Daniel. I don’t know why I decided to stop. Usually I would try to avoid fan interactions, because I have been burned so many times by fans who become real demanding when you talk to them. But there you were, a nice looking kid with a guitar, band tee shirt and a sign way out in the middle of nowhere waiting for me to go by. Maybe it was because you were the last fan I would see in my touring days! And then you were real polite and actually interested in the music, not just the life style and getting an autograph!”
“Our meeting was one of the highlights of my life, Ethan! I was floating on air after we met but I quickly came crashing down to the ground because of what happened next.”
“You really paid a terrible price for helping me, Daniel. I know I owe you a lot for that. Those cops really pounded you, didn’t they?”
“It was such a shock, to discover that those deputies didn’t care about you or me. When I asked them for help, their response was to handcuff and blindfold me. Within an hour I had been kidnapped, taken to their headquarters, and eventual
ly left in a barn loft tied to a post, gagged and knocked unconscious! It was really difficult to handle. But then another miracle happened. There was that huge cloudburst storm and two bicyclists on Valley Road had to take refuge in the barn because the storm became so intense. I will always remember how strange it was to wake up due to the noise of the storm and then hear the sound of that kid playing with his toys!”
“Just escaping from your captors was quite an accomplishment, I know. But you also were able to figure out what the plot was against me so quickly. In less than 24 hours you were able to convince the real police as to what happened and eventually crack open the conspiracy against me. How were you able to act so fast!”
“It was because of my friend Jason. Since I had worked tirelessly to help solve his kidnapping, when he heard about what happened on Friday, he vowed to do the same for me. Because we had just figured out a very confusing case, we already knew how to evaluate things and make good assumptions from what we actually knew. Three things really stood out right away. One was the way I was treated, which seemed very excessive and not logical! They did everything they could think of to keep me iced, yet they abandoned me in the barn instead of leaving me locked up in the farmhouse that they were using for their headquarters. Clearly I had interrupted some tight schedule they were on for them to leave me like that and just go away. That meant whatever was going down with your kidnapping was happening right away.
“The second thing was that even though they were using the farmhouse for their headquarters, it was only a meeting place and they took great pains to make sure that there was no association between the farmhouse and me. Clearly the ownership of the house was a key to their actions. Later we found out that it belonged to a superior court judge, who is the brother of the rogue sheriff responsible for our kidnappings.
“The third thing was that there had to be a lot of money involved in this crime to justify their actions. These deputies were risking their careers by kidnapping you and me. When Jason’s father pointed out to us the article in the newspaper about your Saturday press conference to announce the recipients of your estate, we figured that someone had to be stealing your money and using the phony double to make it look legitimate.
“Jason also insisted from the beginning that we needed to contact the police right away. I was totally mistrusting the authorities after what I had been through but Jason reminded me that rogue cops were the exception rather than the rule and if we were going to be able to help you, the authorities who had the power to act had to be notified. We had built up a rapport with Lieutenant Garcia of the Silicon Valley police during Jason’s kidnapping, so he was the logical choice to contact and tell my story to.”
“Daniel, I can’t thank you enough for what you did. I have been trying to think of how to return the favor. The answer is not with money, since you already have figured out that it isn’t as important as everyone thinks, and I didn’t want to insult your sense of honor. But you did give something of yourself to rescue me. You put your life on the line for a stranger. So I want you to have this. Come with me.”
Ethan led Daniel outside to where his limousine was parked. He told the driver, “Bob, open the trunk please.” Inside the trunk was a medium sized ATA case. “This is one of my best and favorite guitars, Daniel. It is a custom made Martin that I’ve had for seven years now. It has traveled all over the world with me and I’ve played it many times with great musical results. I want you to have it, as a token of my thanks and friendship for what you did for me. Since I already gave you the slide, I figured you might as well have the rest!”
Daniel was speechless with joy. “I don’t know what to say, this is totally awesome. I don’t think I am worthy to even play it!”
“Nonsense, Daniel. If you want to be a professional musician, you need a professional quality instrument. It’s a very fine guitar and I know you will love playing on it, just as I have over the years.”
“Thank you so much, Ethan! I couldn’t imagine a better thank you than this!”
Ethan looked at Gary and Melinda. “You have one hell of a nice kid here. You guys are so lucky. He’s smart but not pretentious about it, has real feelings for other people, and is willing to stick his neck out for what he believes in.”
Ethan went up to Melinda and gave her a hug. “It was great seeing you again. I hope we have resolved our differences today. I want you to remember me as your friend, not someone who exploited your talents.”
He walked over to Gary and shook his hand. “Take care, Gary. You can expect to hear from my attorneys shortly regarding the royalties. You can depend on me to follow through with this.”
“Thank you, Ethan, for making the effort to solve our dispute. Melinda and I are grateful for your forgiving attitude, also. I feel like a great burden has been lifted off of our shoulders.”
Ethan then went over to Daniel and gave him a huge bear hug. “Never change your ways, kid. If you ever need anything that I can help you with, don’t hesitate to contact me!” He then took out a business card from his wallet and wrote on it. “Here is my personal telephone number. You should be able to reach me through this number, or through my attorneys if it ends up getting changed. Trust me, I’ll remember who you are! Good luck to you, Daniel. I hope you have a lot of great musical moments with that guitar.”
“You know I will,” Daniel exclaimed. “Right now I feel the same way that I did when we had finished our guitar lesson last Friday.”
“This time stay away from the bad guys, Daniel!”
“I’ll do my best, Ethan. Somehow they just seem to find me!”
“Give my regards to your friend Jason and to Lieutenant Garcia.” Ethan then got back in his limousine for the ride back to Monterey.
ERIC GOES MISSING
(Thursday Morning)
Thursday morning, Jorge and Marilyn Ferreira both had to leave early to take Jorge’s pickup truck to the repair center for servicing. Before leaving, Marilyn peeked into Eric’s room. It appeared that he was just getting up and was in the bathroom taking a shower.
When Marilyn Ferreira got back home from taking Jorge’s truck to the shop and driving him to work, she called for Eric to come to the kitchen and have some breakfast. After calling for him a couple of times but hearing no response, she went to Eric’s room to see why he wasn’t answering. Eric wasn’t in his room. After a quick search of the house and yard Marilyn was dismayed to find that he was nowhere to be found. She then telephoned Jason to see if Eric was at his house for some reason.
When Jason came to the phone she said, “Hello, Jason, this is Marilyn Ferreira calling. I can’t find Eric anywhere. Jorge and I left home about an hour ago so I could take him to the car repair place and then to work. When I left, Eric was just getting up and was in the shower. When I returned to make breakfast for the two of us, I discovered that our garage door was open and that Eric wasn’t anywhere to be found. Is he over at your house for some reason?”
“No, Mrs. Ferreira,” Jason answered, “he isn’t. Was Eric supposed to go somewhere this morning?”
“There was nothing scheduled for him until his appointment with Dr. Agoura later this afternoon. This is very unlike Eric. We had an agreement that he would always let us know where he was during the day if he was going out somewhere.”
“Mrs. Ferreira, I think there is something very wrong,” Jason responded with concern in his voice. “I am coming over right away!”
A few minutes later, Jason ran over to the Ferreira house and knocked on the door. Marilyn quickly answered the door and had Jason come in. “Jason, I am really getting worried now! What do you think could have happened to him?”
Just as Jason was starting to reply, there was a loud knock on the door. When Marilyn answered, she could see a police patrol car parked in the driveway and a uniformed police officer at the door.
“Good morning, ma’am. I am Officer Christopher. The 911 system has traced a suspicious 911 call to this address. The call started with a
boy’s voice that wanted to report a crime, but was cut off by a man’s voice that said, ‘Now, son, I told you not to play with the telephone. Sorry,’ and hung up. Do you have any information about this?”
“Please come in, officer. I don’t know anything about the 911 call but my nephew, Eric Acosta, who is staying with us here, has gone missing this morning.”
Jason then added, “Officer, you need to contact Lieutenant Garcia in the missing persons unit and have him come over immediately. I am pretty sure now that Eric has been kidnapped, and the police need to initiate hot pursuit. Can you call him right away?”
“All right,” the officer replied. “How do you know Lieutenant Garcia?”
“We worked together on a recent kidnapping case, my own as a matter of fact, and on the Ethan Savage disappearance this last weekend. My name is Jason Hunter.”
“Oh yes, Jason. Good to meet you. We all are aware of your help on recent cases. I will get a hold of the Lieutenant immediately.” The patrolman went back to his car to contact headquarters and wait for the missing persons team to arrive.
Jason got on his cell phone and placed calls to Daniel and Mr. Connor, telling them to come over as soon as possible to help him figure out where Eric might have been taken. “I am really afraid that the kidnapper is Eric’s stepfather, which means that Eric is in serious physical danger.”
“Do you really think that Rogelio Fernandes actually came up here and grabbed Eric?” Marilyn asked.
“He is the only person I can think of who would have a motive for kidnapping Eric. What I don’t understand his how he was able to track Eric down so quickly! Did you see any sign of a struggle when you came back here?”
“Not really, although Eric’s room was messed up. Up until now Eric always kept his room neat and tidy, probably fearing that somehow he would lose it!”
Double Fugue Page 18