Rock 'n' Roll is Undead (Veronica Mason (11 page)

I chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll be back.”

Buzz placed his hand on the small of my back. There was that tingle again. Although, it seemed as if he was rushing me out of there more than he was being gentlemanly. Maybe he didn’t want to talk about his father with Shirelle. I certainly had things I didn’t want to discuss, too, so I understood.

Halfway from the diner door to my car, Buzz grabbed my arm and yanked me toward him. We sprinted toward the building. Well, it was more like Buzz sprinted and I came along for the ride. All I needed was a black pantsuit and crisp white shirt and I’d look like an FBVI agent. Oh, and possibly a gun. Alas, I had none of those at the moment. We stopped once we reached the building next to us.

I jerked my arm away. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked between pants. I’d never been good at sprinting.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t want that guy to see us.”

“What guy? Are you a criminal?” I asked. “Should I be worried?”

“Shh.” Buzz motioned with his hand for me to stop talking, then poked his head around the corner of the building. “Don’t move,” he whispered.

“Whom,” I whispered, “are you hiding from? Or do you generally enjoy taking cover behind buildings with women you barely know?”

He didn’t answer my question, instead he said, “Come on, we have to go around the back way. We’ll circle around and come back to your car.”

Buzz grabbed my hand and tugged me along like a little rag doll. Running in heels should never be attempted. I was certain at any moment I’d bust my ass.

“Your heels are loud,” he whispered.

“What can I say? I hadn’t expected to go for a jog. If I’d known, I would have worn my sneakers.”

The roughness from the bricks scraped against my back as I pressed next to the wall and inched along. Not only were my shoes inappropriate for this outing, so was my halter-top. Buzz motioned for me to stop, then after a few seconds, gestured that we could move forward again. Either the guy was insane or a criminal on the run from the feds. Either way, he was trouble with a capital T. What had I gotten into?

Chapter 20

“Whom are you hiding from?” I asked again, more forceful this time.

“Um, just someone I don’t want to see.”

“That doesn’t tell me much. The IRS? A telemarketer? A bookie you owe an insane amount of money? An annoying classmate from high school?”

He avoided people like I avoided distant relatives during the holiday season.

When we reached the edge of the building, Buzz peeked out. “This way.” He grabbed my hand again, pulled me across to the edge and toward the door beside him. Buzz yanked on the door and tugged me through as he went inside.

“This is a little strange, don’t you think?”

“Smile. You know you like living dangerously just a little bit.”

“This is not living dangerously, it’s insane.” I grinned slightly, in spite of trying hard not to. “I’m not going another step with you unless you tell me who you’re running from. Don’t you think I deserve to know?” I stopped once we stepped inside the doorway.

“I can’t do that. Now come on. We’ll find another door out of here and get back to your car.”

“Or I could just go back out this door and leave you here.” With his secretiveness, he deserved for me to leave his good-looking butt there.

“I’m sorry, Veronica. But what if the guy saw you with me? He’ll want to know where I am. I don’t want to put you through questioning from him.”

Maybe I needed to talk to the guy since it seemed Buzz wasn’t going to tell me what the heck was happening. A long corridor stretched out in front of us. Doors lined each side.

Buzz tugged on my hand again. “There’s probably another door at the end of this hall.” He held my hand, and damn, did it feel right. In spite of not knowing what the heck was going on, I had to admit, I liked the way his touch felt.

I sighed. “Fine. I’m coming with you, but I don’t like your shenanigans.”

“My shenanigans? There are no shenanigans.” He shook his head.

I’d avoided a few people before, but never to this extent. Heck, my avoiding skills were better than average due to my high school classmate Kenny Marlin, but Buzz had me beat. Kenny had chased me all four years of high school. I was the queen when it came to avoiding him. One day I hid in my locker to get away from him and one of his numerous love notes had hit me in the forehead when he’d shoved it through the slats.

This whole situation made me rethink my earlier choice of hiring Buzz. Although, every time I looked at his dimples, the thought vanished from my head. Buzz had stepped into my life and put me on a bipolar roller coaster. As we hurried down the hall, I caught a peek at one of the signs on the doors. A dentist’s office. What if a patient walked out and we ran into them. They’d think we were nuts. Hells bells, we were nuts. Buzz was crazy for hiding and me for following. Yes, my sanity was in question at the moment.

“Let me ask you a question,” I said.

“Go for it,” he said without pausing to look back at me.

“What if the door is locked?”

He stopped, but still didn’t turn around. “Well…I’ll worry about that bridge when I cross it.”

“Great. Good plan. We’re going to be hiding in this building for the rest of the day, aren’t we?”

“I’m beginning to think you worry too much.”

“I’m beginning to think you’re giving me way too many reasons to worry.

“Touché,” he said.

“There’s the door.” I pointed.

“Hold on.” Buzz gestured for me to stop as he pushed on the door.

Thank goodness it opened. I’d have almost bet it wouldn’t. He eased it open and peered out. After a couple seconds, Buzz motioned that it was safe to exit.

“The coast is clear. Let’s go,” he said.

I nodded, then sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. It was now or never. What had gotten into me? All of a sudden, I was on the lam with this mystery man. I had no idea what I was doing. What was I thinking?

I stomped along behind him, back out into the daylight. Buzz eased along this side of the building just as he had the other side. I refused to go along with this crazy game anymore.

When we reached the edge of the building he stopped, peered round the corner again and said, “It seems to be clear. Let’s get the heck out of here.”

I snorted. “Great idea.”

Sprinting away from the building, I felt like a secret agent again. Although I still wasn’t wearing the required suit and I sure wasn’t packing heat. I glanced around one last time to see if the man Buzz wanted to avoid was lingering around. No one was in sight as we made our way across the parking lot. The Bel-Air never looked so good. I felt like kissing her.

“I have to say I’ve never experienced anything quite like that.”

“Everyone needs a little adventure in their lives.” A small smile curled up the side of his mouth.

Did Buzz have to smile so much? It was infectious and I couldn’t help but grin in return.

“I’m not sure I’d consider that adventure. Bizarre, maybe, but not really adventure. I think I’ll stick with Disney World next time. So is it safe to start my car, or will it explode? Does this person hate you? Is he trying to kill you? You owe him money, don’t you?” I brushed the hair out of my eyes and tucked the loose strand behind my ear.

“I don’t owe him money. Do you mind if we get out of here?” He pointed toward the Bel-Air.

“Not a problem. I’d be thrilled to get out of here.”

Yeah, I had no idea what I had gotten myself into when I hired Buzz Vaughn to play bass for the band. In one sense, he seemed so innocent, sweet, and polite, and in another, he seemed dark and dangerous. Nothing but trouble.

Maybe we were more of a match than I realized. Buzz was probably on the lookout for a strange man and I had my eye on the strange car driving slowly down the street in front of the diner. That skull on the dash seemed to watch me as it passed. The loud roar had caught my attention. Like an engine revving at race day in Talladega, the sound echoed in my head. Muted chrome and dull gray flashed by in a blur. The noise from the hot rod faded as it drove down the street, passing another car and fading from sight. Seeing the same car more than once in a town the size of Memphis was unlikely. It was the same vehicle I saw last night. This wasn’t a chance meeting.

Funny how things could change in twenty-four hours. Buzz hurried beside me. Should I be afraid of him? The car had sent a shiver down my spine. Maybe I shouldn’t trust Buzz. He winked. Almost as if he read my mind and answered: there’s nothing to be afraid of. Again, he held the car door open for me. After I slipped in, he shut it and moved around to the passenger seat.

How long would he continue to be chivalrous? He acted as if this was a date. It wasn’t a date, was it? No, no, of course not. It was a business lunch so I could get to know the new bass player. Heck, I could even write it off my taxes. Definitely a business lunch and nothing more. I turned the radio on and Elvis Presley streamed from the speakers, soothing my nerves.

“Anyone ever tell you that you look like Elvis Presley?” I still hadn’t completely caught my breath from our little excursion.

His dimples slid up. “A few times.”

Was he blushing? How sweet was that? Bad guys weren’t sweet, right?

We made our way back down the street to the club. A slight breeze had cooled off the day compared to yesterday, but my legs and back still stuck to the leather seat. We listened in silence to the music for most of the trip, and to my surprise, the silence wasn’t awkward. I didn’t mention the incident at the diner and I tried to force the image of that car out of my mind, too.

I attempted small talk to keep from making goo-goo eyes at him. His conversation was interesting and his smooth-as-the-finest-Kentucky-bourbon voice soothed me. Obviously he didn’t feel the need to fill every second with conversation—unlike some people I knew. I liked that. We discussed some of the songs we’d perform. The ones he knew and then I told him a little about the ones I’d written. He didn’t mention the incident at the diner, either. I hoped to forget it.

“I've written a few songs,” Buzz said.

“No kidding. I’d love to hear them sometime,” I said as I parked the car in front of the club. The same spot was empty from when we’d left. I noticed Frank and Craig's cars were back in the lot, too. They'd probably complain and give me a hard way to go because we took a little longer to return from lunch.

I pretended to mess with my purse for a second to see if Buzz would come around and open the door. Sure enough, he hopped out and hurried around. It was like a novelty to me now. Not that I expected it, and I’d probably tell him he didn't have to do it soon, but I enjoyed watching him nonetheless. It was new to me, I couldn’t help myself. As he came around to the driver’s seat, I checked my reflection in the mirror, wishing I had time to reapply my makeup.

“I’d love for you to hear my songs. Maybe sometime when you’re not busy?”

“Sure. I’d love that.” I smiled.

After we walked back inside the building, it took a second for my eyes to adjust to the dark. Frank and Craig were kicked back in the same chairs as before, smoking.

“Put that thing out,” I said. “It’s bad enough we inhale all the smoke while performing. I won’t be able to sing with black lungs.”

“Look, the diva can’t sing with smoke.” Frank’s attitude had taken a turn for the worse in the past few days. I needed to get him alone and ask what the problem was. Had I done something? Or was it strictly because Buzz was a part of our band now? Talk about a diva.

“I’m glad y’all decided to grace us with your presence again. Are you going to keep complaining or are we going to practice?” Frank flicked his ashes on the table.

“I’m ready if you are,” I said.

“Is your pet ready?”

He looked Buzz up and down. Buzz stepped closer to Frank. Ho-boy. “You got a problem with me, buddy?”

Chapter 21

Next thing I knew Buzz would ask Frank to step outside. I moved between them, placing my hands on Buzz’s hard chest. “If y’all don't stop, no one will be practicing. Got it?” I didn’t need this macho crap. It was as if Frank was itching for a fight. The last thing I needed was to be babysitter or mother to these guys. That's what their wives were for. Of course, Buzz didn’t have a wife, or so he claimed.

“Chug down the last of your O negative and let’s go,” I ordered Frank.

I rolled my eyes as he turned up the bottle for the last drop, then belched.

Once on stage with instruments in hand, everyone seemed to calm down. We started with a Patsy Cline song—increasing the beat and adding a bit more rockabilly to it. Much to my relief, once again, Buzz did a fantastic job. I’d made the right decision by hiring him, right? He was great. But he was also good-looking, and mysterious—a dangerous combination. But at least I wouldn't have to worry about him messing up the songs when the most important gig of my life rolled around. On the next song, I showed him one of my originals and he picked it up right away. Frank stared a hole through Buzz while we played. Buzz either didn’t notice or pretended not to.

“That was great, guys. We may be ready for tomorrow night yet.”

“Hell, the next thing we know she’ll only want to play love songs.” Frank muttered to Craig. “Now that she has a new lover.”

“I heard that.”

“Oh yeah? I meant for you to hear. You were standing too close to the microphone while singing, you know. It’s got spit on it now. Probably from your drooling.”

“You’re an asshole,” I said dryly.

Frank didn’t respond. He loaded his guitar into the case and jumped off stage.

As he made his way to the door, I yelled, “Hey, Frank, you want to get together again this evening?” Acting as if I didn’t care what he had said would only piss him off, and honestly, I didn’t care what he said. “We can use my parents’ garage. It’ll be like we’re in high school.” I laughed and Buzz chuckled.

“Yeah, whatever,” Frank said without turning around.

“Call me,” I hollered as he hurried out the door.

What a jerk. His royal cockiness needed an attitude adjustment. I tried to keep the edge out of my voice, but found it difficult. How do you hide irritation when the cause metaphorically slaps you right in the face?