When Hell Freezes Over

by Rick Blechta

  Rolly stopped us almost immediately.

  I could hear Tommy mutter, “What the hell is this all about?”

  Rolly looked directly at me. “Again. We need to do it again.”

  Would wonders never cease? Rolly actually wanting to rehearse? Unheard of!

  ***

  Sometime approaching midnight, in the middle of our third runthrough of the set, Tommy just stopped playing.

  “Sorry, mates,” he said, sweat streaming off his bald head. “I’m knackered.”

  We hadn’t yet got to John’s solo spot, an unaccompanied tour de force that was guaranteed to leave the audience gasping, and he was clearly not pleased.

  Motioning with his head at young Ralph, sitting off to the side, he barked, “How about the kid? Can he do it?”

  We all looked over at Tommy’s son, who just shrugged, but you could see in his expression that he was very ready to play.

  “Go on,” his dad said, holding out his sticks, “get over here and show them what you can do.”

  After a bit of adjustment to the drum kit, Ralph nodded and John said, “Right then. Back one verse and pick it up there.” Then he counted it in.

  The kid was a riot once he got going (which took all of about a dozen bars), not only playing really well, but also imitating all his old dad’s mannerisms down to the slightly cocked head that always made me want to go over and straighten it.

  Tommy stood off to the side, beaming, and when we finished the set about forty minutes later, he burst out with, “Now you know who to call if anything ever happens to me!”

  We all clapped Ralph on the back and told him how well he’d done, and he beamed back at his dad.When I glanced over at Tommy,he flashed me a wink.

  ***

  Shannon had stuck around, part of the time spent in the adjacent shopping mall, looking for souvenirs to take home to Rachel, Robbie and her mum—a very ominous sign to my mind.

  The rest of the time, she was with the other lads in the band. I watched her go from Lee and Rolly to Tommy then to John. She was somewhat flirty with all of them, and that had them rather puzzled as they continually looked over at me, wondering what was going on— precisely my question.

  It was half one as we went out the back of the arena. The sky was still clear, and you could actually see a few stars.

  Everyone was dividing up into the various cars. Rolly and Lee in one, Tommy, Ralph and John in another.

  Lee stuck his head out of Rolly’s sports car. “Care for a lift, luv?” he asked Shannon with a broad smile.“C’mon girl! You can sit on my...lap.”

  She shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ll ride with Michael.” Then she turned to me and said softly, “If that’s all right with him.”

  I looked at her, unsure what she meant. “If you’d like.”

  Shannon had hired a car that morning. She tossed me the keys. “You’re driving into town. Once today was enough, and I certainly don’t want to do it at night.”

  All the cars left at once, and we were quickly on the M8 travelling downtown. Shannon didn’t say anything but kept looking out the rear view mirrors.

  About three minutes later, she announced, “We’re being followed.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Slow down, and that should answer any questions.” She turned around. “Yup. I’m sure. It might even be two cars. That’s a serious tail.”

  “What do you want me to do? Should we find a police station?”

  Shannon shook her head. “I want to see who they are, if possible. It helps to know your enemy.” We were just to the bend north where the M8 crosses the River Clyde and wraps around the core of downtown. “Take the next exit... No, not that one. It’s another expressway... Yeah, that exit coming up. I want some side streets.”

  “Are you barmy? What if they box us in?”

  My passenger looked over and smiled. “Trust me.”

  I put myself in her capable hands. Even though the hour was late, there was still a lot of traffic around, so I felt pretty safe. We drove aimlessly, passing close to the Hilton but not going in. Finally we reached the road that runs along the Clyde. My only choice was to turn left.

  “We’re coming up to a stale red light,” Shannon said. “Slow down so you’re near it but not past and let it turn red, then gun it and take the left there. Immediately pull over to the curb. Got that?”

  “What if there’s a cop around?”

  “Then you’ll get a ticket, and the bad guys will leave us alone.”

  I did exactly what she told me, and it worked a treat. One of the cars following us screeched around the corner about five seconds later and was past us before he could react.

  “Now do a U-turn and gun it.”

  “But this is a one-way street!”

  “So? No one’s coming.”

  That turned out to be wrong, as a new car appeared at the corner.

  I barely avoided clipping his driver’s-side wing. Another car turning honked at me angrily, and I responded by putting the left-hand wheels on the sidewalk. Back at the corner, I took a quick left and entered the stream of traffic. My heart was pounding.

  “Nice driving, Quicksilver,” Shannon said.

  “Did you see what you wanted to?”

  “Oh, yes. I’ll know the driver if I see him again. The passenger, al I know is he’s a big man with dark hair. And by the way, they’re both American.”

  “How the hell would you know that?”

  “Did you see the way they took the corner? That was a panic turn, and they swung over to the right hand side of the road. No one from the UK would have taken the corner like that.”

  “And the passenger?”

  She grinned at me. “Would they have a Yank driving and a Brit riding shotgun?”

  “What about the other car you thought was following us?”

  “I think that was the car you almost hit.”

  “Yanks again?”

  “I’m not as sure, but I think so. Two more men, both dark-haired.”

  We were now driving up towards Trongate.

  “Where to?” I asked.

  Shannon turned a bit in her seat. “I certainly don’t recommend going back to either of the hotels we’re checked into.”

  “How about one out near the airport?”

  I got back on the M8 without much trouble, and Shannon kept an eye on the side mirror to see if we’d picked up our tails again.

  “What was going on back at Braehead today?” I asked neutrally.

  “I was doing what you’ve been paying me to do.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Detecting.”

  “What were you detecting?”

  “I was talking to the other Neuroticands about you.” She looked away for a moment. “You threw me for quite a loop last night.”

  “And?”

  “Let’s save it until we get to the hotel, okay? I have a lot to say.”

  Twenty-Eight

  It had been a very bizarre experience for Shannon. If someone had told her when she was seventeen that she’d spend a day hanging with her fave band of all time, she would have completely freaked, and yet that’s exactly what had happened, albeit twenty-four years later.

  However, that experience was tempered by the reason why she was there to watch Neurotica rehearse. She needed answers to questions that Michael’s dreadful story had raised in her mind. She was certainly well aware that all sorts of shenanigans went on when money, youth and sex get all mixed up together, but Michael’s story had truly shaken her.

  Shannon now saw clearly the reasons behind the way Michael had lived his life since walking out on his “mates”.

  Checking into airport Holiday Inn, Michael turned to her as they approached the desk, “Do you want me to book one room or two?”

  Shannon smiled inwardly. Someone as arrogant as Lee or Rolly would have assumed one room and a night of sex were on the menu. That’s one of the things she found so attractive about Michael. He was obvio
usly the major talent in Neurotica and had every right to be arrogant, but Michael was always unassuming and kind, despite his foibles.

  Once up in the room, Michael sat down heavily on the corner of one of beds, clearly not the only member of Neurotica who was “knackered”.

  Shannon sat on the opposite bed. “The first thing I want to say is that I realize how difficult it must have been for you to tell me what you did this morning. For that, I’m very grateful.”

  “Circumstances didn’t leave me much choice.”

  “Would you have told me anyway?”

  He rubbed his face with both hands. “Eventually.”

  “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” She switched beds and sat next to him. “I come from a family of cops. My dad and uncles never expected that the next generation of Cathcarts to be in law enforcement would be female, but they were supportive of my decision.

  “And you know what? I’d still be a cop if circumstances hadn’t sortof forced my hand. It’s tough on a family to have one parent gone at all hours, doing work that can be pretty dangerous, but when it’s both, that can be hell. So for the good of our kids, we quit.”

  “Are you trying to say that you’re having trouble dealing with fact that I was involved in a serious crime?”

  “In a nutshell, yes.”

  “I was afraid of that.”

  Shannon’s expression became very solemn. “Michael, what you did might have been far worse than you imagine. Have you ever thought you might have helped cover up a murder?”

  He shook his head firmly. “Rolly wouldn’t do that.”

  “By your own admission, Rolly was high on drugs and alcohol. He might not have set out to hurt the girl, but it might have happened nonetheless. I was on the scene for crimes just like that when I was a cop. ‘Honest, officers, she fell over and hit her head.’ I actually had someone tell me that, and it turned out to be murder. Can you say with certainty the same thing didn’t happen twenty-four years ago?”

  Michael’s shoulders slumped, and he looked every one of his fortynine years. “Rolly and I had lunch together yesterday. The subject almost came up, but I didn’t begin the discussion, and Rolly couldn’t or wouldn’t. Today, he did say to me that we had to talk.”

  “Michael, you are going to have to ask him.”

  “I know... I know.” He raised his eyes. “Is that why you were so buddy-buddy with everyone today?”

  Shannon smiled, but there was little mirth in it. “I wanted to take the measure of each person in the band. It’s quite amazing how you’ll all talk about each other given the chance. For one, they’ve all been dying to know just what the hell happened to you back in Canada, but have been too worried about putting you off to ask about it.”

  “What did you tell them?”

  “That if they didn’t want to risk putting you off, they’d shouldn’t ask about it.”

  “So in the end, what did you detect?”

  “Lee is eaten up by envy. He knows he’s not the heavyweight in the band and resents it. John thinks he has something to prove, that he’s every bit as good as you. It’s all bull, but that’s the way he feels. Tommy is just happy to be there. This is like Christmas for him.”

  “Did you know he set his son up tonight?”

  “Did he? That’s exactly what I would have expected from him.”

  “And Rolly?”

  “He’s a hard nut to crack. I can tell you that he’s tired of being a has-been. He ate more of the forbidden fruit than the rest of you did. For years, he’s been faking it. When you left the band, you took the magic. Underneath all the posturing, he knows he’s rather pathetic.”

  “So where do suggest we go from here?”

  “Two things need to be done. First, Rolly’s given you the opening. You have to discuss what happened in that hotel room. He may not tell you the truth, but you may get an inkling of it from what he says and the way he acts. You’re a good judge of character. You’ll know if he’s telling the truth.”

  “And the second thing?”

  “Get into bed, and I’ll show you.”

  ***

  My dreams were mercifully undisturbed that night, but I woke up early nonetheless. Lying in the world between sleep and waking, with Shannon spooned against me, I felt calm and completely focussed for the first time in many years.

  Twenty minutes later, I noticed that her breathing had changed.

  “Are you awake?” I asked softly.

  “Mmmm, yes, but I don’t want to be,” she answered, then turned over to face me. “No bad dreams?”

  “Not last night. I think I was too exhausted to dream.”

  Shannon smiled. “Do I detect a note of censure?”

  “I just had no idea what I was getting into with you.”

  “And that, sir, is a scandalous double entendre. Imagine!”

  “You’re a fine one to call me scandalous,” I laughed. “What would your mother say if she knew what you got up to?”

  “What would my daughter say?”

  “Rachel? What are you talking about?”

  Shannon propped her head on her elbow. “You won’t believe this. When I spoke to her the night we left for the UK, she told me she thought I should sleep with you.”

  “She didn’t! What did you tell her?”

  “A lot of the things you’d expect a mother to say, naturally. Talk about being scandalized! We’re going to have to be very circumspect around her.”

  Shannon's expression suddenly clouded. “It’s not all that bad,” I said, putting my arm around her, “or is something else bothering you?”

  She looked at me with a serious expression. “With all that’s gone on in the last twenty-four hours, I haven’t really had a chance to tell you the results of the rest of my trip to Birmingham then Hamburg.”

  “And those were?”

  Shannon held up her right hand, her thumb and index finger making a big, fat zero.

  “I’ve struck out completely. The girl hasn’t been in Hamburg for at least a month. I called the concierge of her apartment in Montreal, and he told me he hasn’t seen her. Where the hell is she?”

  I thought for a moment. “She said she worked in Paris for a while. Might she be there?”

  “That damned Chameleon could be anywhere! I’m out of ideas, and those people following us last night showed that the bad guys are still out there, so they obviously don’t know where she is, either. Since the Americans are now also nosing around, our problems are getting bigger. There’s also another thing.”

  “And that is?”

  Shannon told me about her interview with the policewoman in Hamburg.

  “My guess is Campbell has someone tailing me.”

  “Wouldn’t that keep you safe?” I asked.

  “It’s not me I’m worried about, you big dope!”

  “But I’ve got you.”

  She snorted and shook her head. “I just wish I could get my hands on that girl.”

  I got out of bed and looked down with dismay at the sorry state of our clothes strewn about the floor.

  “I think we’re going to need to do a bit of shopping.”

  ***

  By half ten, I felt as if I’d done a full day’s work. I don’t know how women seem to be able to spend a whole day shopping and still look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. All I wanted was a nap.

  We were at the far end of Braehead Shopping Centre, near the entrance to the arena, enjoying a bite and a spot of tea before rehearsal began. Below us, a couple of hearty souls were using the circular indoor skating rink, making us both think of home.

  So far we’d concentrated on getting clothes for me, since I had to start rehearsing in an hour. Shannon seemed to be enjoying herself. I was glad it was almost over.

  “I’ll go back to our hotel this afternoon and see what’s salvageable. I think staying at different hotels every night is the way to go, so I’ll arrange something.”

  “What now? I asked.

  “We
ll, I need some clothes, and I want to buy something that you’d like to see me in.”

  When I answered, “Nothing looks good on you, Shannon,” she rolled her eyes at my pun.

  “I should at least get a couple of tops and another pair of jeans.”

  Just back down the corridor, there was a store selling what Shannon wanted. I went in and waited while she tried on several pairs of jeans, searching for something beyond my ken—being male and all.

  The store was deserted except for us, and I noticed the staff looking at me as I sat and waited for yet more jeans to be tried on and found wanting. The girl who was waiting on us, a mere wisp of a thing with jaggy, fire-engine-red hair and matching eyeliner, was called over to the register by her fellow employees, where all three of them proceeded to stare at me and whisper among themselves before she was pushed back in my direction.

  When she returned, she seemed very shy and wouldn’t look at me. “They all swear you’re Michael Quicksilver. Jody says she saw you interviewed on the telly last night.”

  “She may be right,” I said with smile.

  We both looked at the others, who were nearly beside themselves now, and I tried to keep from laughing.

  “We knew your band was rehearsing in the arena, but never expected you’d walk into our store!”

  “So you’re a big Neurotica fan?”

  “Not really, but my mum sure is!”

  Ouch! I was signing autographs when Shannon came out of the change room wearing a pair of jeans that looked if they’d been sewn right on her body.

  “So what do you think?” she asked, turning in front of me. “It’s not the sort of thing I’d usually buy.”

  The sales girls all giggled, and one boldly said, “They certainly look a bit of all right to me!”

  For the next ten minutes, Shannon had all three employees of the store helping her find the perfect tops to go with the jeans. When everyone was satisfied, she stood in front of me, looking as if she might not even be past thirty yet. One of the girls had pinned Shannon’s hair up, and she was wearing a fedora. Where that had come from, I couldn’t imagine.