Page 52 of Wild Oblivion

JD arrived with Henrik. The two crossed the passerelle and entered the salon.

"Well, look who's here," JD said upon seeing Emily.

"Emily, I'd like you to meet Henrik Strauss," I said.

Henrik smiled at the sight of her. "It's a pleasure, my dear," he said as the two shook hands.

"She's a theoretical physicist at DRI," I said. "I think you might have a lot in common.”

"Yes, I believe so," the old man replied.

They chatted for a bit.

JD stepped to the bar and muttered, "I've got good news and bad news.”

A look of dread filled my face. I’d had my fill of bad news for the day.

"The bartender and a couple of staff members were killed during the explosion."

I winced. We’d gotten to know the staff pretty well over the years.

"I talked to Harvey. He said he was on his way up to the club when the bomb detonated. As you can imagine, he's a little shaken up.”

Harvey owned Sonic Temple.

"Reject Nation and Cheap Stereo Romance lost all their gear. It was in the venue at the time. They’d already done a sound check. Fortunately, none of those guys were inside when it exploded. I talked to Chase at Vibe. Everything is all set up. The show will go on.”

I lifted a surprised brow.

“I told the other bands they could use our gear. Everything, including all liquor sales, will go to the victim’s families. I figure we can throw in a little something extra to sweeten the pot.”

"For sure."

“Now let’s talk about how we’re going to catch this guy.”

26

The show at Vibe went off without a hitch. Of course, the charity event drew media attention, and Paris was there to interview Jack and the band. That wasn’t the intention, but it did generate good publicity.

I had talked Emily into attending the show and told her to invite her boyfriend. I figured all that guy needed was enough rope to hang himself. She’d catch on, eventually.

Not surprisingly, Ashton didn’t show. He had some lame excuse. I was sure he had other plans.

We hung out with Henrik in a booth at the back of the club and took in the show from a distance. The old timer seemed to enjoy it. Though he did fall asleep a few times despite the ear-splitting music. I had given him a pair of earplugs. At 120 decibels, it wouldn’t take long to lose frequencies.

The band brought the house down with two encores. Afterward, Pinky and Floyd broke down the gear and returned it to the practice studio. The guys didn't have any troublerounding up a group of eager young ladies who were interested in a private party back on the boat.

Who was I to say no to that?

I asked Emily if she would like to join, merely out of courtesy. I had no alternative motives and was not about to cross a line. I had no doubt she'd find out soon enough what a tool Ashton was.

"Thank you, but no. It's getting late, and I've got a lot of work to do. Especially if you want some kind of detection device.”

"The sooner the better," I said.

I escorted Emily and Henrik outside. The avenue bristled with activity as drunk revelers strolled up and down the sidewalks, listing like ships in the wind. Undeterred by the bombing, nothing was going to get in the way of their fun.

I held on to Henrik’s arm in case a weaving reveler knocked him off balance. He kept jerking away, not wanting to be coddled. "I can put one foot in front of the other, you know," he barked.