Blood and Guitars (35 page)

Still holding onto me, Aurora addressed the
man, a neighbor I’d seen a few times but never really talked to.
“Can you tell us what happened?”

“A big black SUV smashed right into the poor
guy as he was slowing down. He was signaling like he might be
trying to pull into this driveway here.” I glanced up just long
enough to see him point at my driveway. “Barely started to turn at
all when they plowed into him from the side and pushed him into the
stone wall. I’d have run out here sooner but I didn’t think it was
safe. The three men in the SUV got out like the collision hadn’t
bothered them a bit. They drug this guy out of the passenger side
of his car, but he was acting like he didn’t want their help even
though he seemed to be hurting pretty bad. That’s when I ran for my
telephone. They were gone when I looked out the window again, just
before you folks pulled up.”

“You mean he was alive? Wes was alive after
he hit the wall?” The thought horrified me just as much as it
confused me. Wes had survived the crash, at least long enough for
somebody to pull him from the car. But here he was in front of me,
growing cold and stiff before my eyes.

“He was alive all right, but he couldn’t walk
very well.” The man paused to give me a sympathetic look. “Friend
of yours, kid?” I nodded. “I’m sorry to hear it. Most likely some
internal damage from the crash,” the man continued, although I was
only partially aware of his babbling on and on, like I hadn’t just
found one of my friends dead. “Must have scared the other fellows
cuz they got outta here real quick.”

“Did you happen to get the license plate of
the other vehicle?” Aurora asked, sounding like a detective on
TV.

“Wish I could have. Wasn’t time. They were
gone before I made it back to the window.”

Sirens wailed in the near distance as I
scrambled to my feet, ignoring Aurora’s protests. I couldn’t stand
to sit there next to Wes’s lifeless body for one more second. I
forced my feet to carry me toward the house, though I only made it
halfway before I felt my knees give out. Aurora was there, helping
to balance me, although I had no idea how she’d done it so fast
without the neighbor seeing.

She helped me sit back on the grass and then
took my face in her hands, forcing me to meet her gaze. “I’m here,
Trey.” That was all she said … and I loved her for it. Anyone else
might have tried to convince me that it was going to be okay, but
Wes was dead and nothing about that would ever be okay. Then Aurora
sat next to me, her arm around my waist. “Put your head between
your knees and breathe,” she suggested. I hadn’t realized my breath
was coming in short, quick gasps until then and I followed her
advice. The sirens were getting closer now, and I could tell when
the first police car rounded the corner. The ambulance came next,
followed by another police car. I glanced up once after a moment to
see a cop talking to the neighbor and two paramedics who were
leaning over Wes’s body. People were starting to come out of their
houses to see what was going on. I wanted to disappear.
Unfortunately, the police had a different idea.

Aurora got to her feet when the first officer
approached us. He was over six feet tall and was built like someone
who might have played football in school. He handed Aurora an open
umbrella and introduced himself as Officer Murray. I moved to stand
but he placed a firm hand on my shoulder and shook his head.

“You don’t look so great, son. You best sit
there a while.” His voice was kind and I nodded in relief, not sure
my legs would hold me up anyway. He opened another umbrella he’d
had tucked under his arm and Aurora sat next to me, shielding me
from the rain with hers. Officer Murray waved a third paramedic
over in our direction and I thought I heard him mumble something to
the guy about me being in shock.

The paramedic went back to the ambulance and
returned a moment later with some towels. I thanked him for the
towel and wiped my face. Then he kneeled down and scrutinized me
for a second before reaching out to pinch my wrist. Aurora watched
me in concern while he shined a penlight in my eyes.

“I should probably get a blood pressure on
you,” he said.

“I’m fine, really. Just peachy,” I
stated.

The paramedic frowned at my sarcasm but
didn’t budge. Officer Murray shrugged and the paramedic got to his
feet and reluctantly joined the others who were huddled around Wes.
Aurora gave Officer Murray our names and he scribbled in a small
notepad.

“You live here?” He gestured to the
house.

“Yes sir.”

“Your neighbor tells me he didn’t see you
until after the accident. Is that true?”

“It looked just like this when we pulled up.”
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat while Officer Murray took
more notes.

“But you know the victim? The neighbor seems
to think he was going to your place.”

Again I nodded, taking a shaky breath. “His
name is Weston Leavy.”

“How long have you known him?”

I ran my hands through my hair. “Going on six
years, I guess. Feels like forever.” I sighed, and for a fleeting
moment I wondered if this was all just a horrible nightmare. I’d
have given anything to wake up in Aurora’s silk sheets just then
and call Wes to tell him about the crazy dream I’d had. “Someone
did this to Wes,” I stated, finding that my voice was stronger now.
“Somewhere not far from here there’s a black SUV with a messed up
front end.”

“I can assure you we have officers looking
for the vehicle now. Can you think of a reason anyone might want
Mr. Leavy dead?”

I stifled a humorless laugh. Wes hated being
called Mr. Leavy, almost as much as he hated being called Weston.
Then I pulled myself together so I could answer the question. “Wes
is the kind of guy who worked hard and would do anything for you.
Everyone loved him. He didn’t have enemies.”

Aurora looked at me sympathetically as I
watched the paramedics explaining to the other officer that they
were declaring Wes dead on the scene. As another police car pulled
up, I wondered just how many cops it took to see what had happened
here. I wished they were all out driving around and looking for the
guys responsible.

Officer Murray’s voice broke through my
thoughts when he said, “This your car?” He pointed at my Mazda.

“Yes sir.” Although I didn’t see how that was
relevant. He gave me a thoughtful look and made another note. “Why
do you ask?”

“It’s the same make and model as the
victim’s. You guys go car shopping together or something?”

It was true that Wes drove the same type of
car, but his was a year older than mine. We’d joked about who was
going to get to buy the car first when the band had signed our
record deal, but since my priority had been finding a place for my
Mom and I to live and making sure she had something dependable to
drive, he’d beaten me to it. But that hadn’t stopped me from going
out and getting my own as soon as I’d had the chance. Mine was
fully customized inside, and it was still my favorite thing to
drive, despite the fact that I now owned three vehicles. My
frazzled brain still couldn’t compute why any of this mattered,
though. I glanced at Aurora and the look on her face told me she
was two steps ahead of me. Before I could ask her to explain,
Officer Murray cleared his throat to get my attention.

“Mr. Decker, can you think of a reason
anybody might want to harm you?”

The ramifications of that statement hit me
like a blow to the stomach. My heart raced and my skin went clammy.
I turned away from them both and puked my guts up on the lawn.

Seeing that I needed a minute to collect
myself, Aurora answered for me. “Trey’s the front man in a band
called Catalyst,” she offered. “They’re a pretty big deal. I’m sure
there are people who are jealous of his success.”

“And what is the relationship between the two
of you?” Murray asked.

“I’m his girlfriend,” Aurora stated.

Once I was certain I wasn’t going to hurl
again, I turned to face them both. “Wes is … was … our band
manager.”

“I think it’s a good idea to get you over to
the ambulance and let the paramedics take a look at you,” Murray
said. “I’m pretty sure you’re in shock.” I shook my head defiantly.
“Come on, kid. Don’t be stupid. What’s it gonna hurt?” he
insisted.

“Do you see that girl standing across the
street with her parents?” I asked, pointing to the teenager who was
watching us intently and wiping her eyes, all while texting on her
cell phone. Murray nodded. “Her name is Cali and she’s one of my
biggest fans,” I explained. “She lives in the grey home two houses
down. She nearly had a coronary when I bought this place. Right now
she’s spreading the word that someone just died in my front yard.
She probably knows it’s Wes. Most of our fans know him. I’m sure
she’s telling the entire fan club right now. The last thing I need
is for her to panic because I’m getting into an ambulance. She’ll
think I’m hurt, too, and I’m not going to freak people out like
that.”

Trey took a deep breath and forced himself to
his feet. He was able to stand but that didn’t stop me from holding
onto him. His heart hammered in his chest with no signs of slowing.
I regretted not paying more attention to Mark’s medical babble in
case Trey really was in shock. If I had thought for one second that
Trey would let a vampire doctor check him out, I’d have called Mark
without hesitation. But with everything going on, I was certain
that would be asking too much. Trey made a point to look across the
street so the girl named Cali would see him on his feet and know
that he was okay, even if he was far from it.

“Were you expecting Mr. Leavy this morning?”
Officer Murray questioned.

Trey hesitated and pulled his phone from his
front pocket. “My phone’s dead because I wasn’t home to charge it
last night. He might have tried to call me to say he was coming
over, but Wes wasn’t just my manager, he was my friend. He knew he
could stop in whenever he wanted.” Officer Murray scribbled away in
his little notebook again and Trey sighed and turned to face me.
“How am I going to tell the guys … and Lisa?”

I opened my mouth to speak, not sure what to
say, and was relieved when Officer Murray interrupted.

“Actually I think it might be a good idea for
the two of you to come to the station and give a more in-depth
statement. We want to make sure we have all our bases covered. Just
in case this was really a case of mistaken identity the rest of
your band should probably be there, too.”

Trey and I both nodded. Not because either of
us thought the police could do anything about a gang of rogue
vampires mistaking an innocent man for the guy they thought had
threatened their entire existence, but because we were going to
have to do our part to make sure the police didn’t find Wes’s true
killers.

“Wes has a girlfriend,” Trey added. “Her name
is Lisa Banner. I don’t have her number but I’m sure it’s in his
phone.”

“We’ll notify her,” Officer Murray said. “And
maybe I should give you a ride to the station.”

Trey frowned. “Uh, if you don’t mind, I think
it might be better if we just follow you. Just give me a few
minutes to call the guys.” I knew what he was thinking. He didn’t
want to be seen climbing into the back of a police car any more
than he wanted people to see him climbing into an ambulance.

Officer Murray hesitated, and then he glanced
back at Cali and her parents and some of the other neighbors who
were all standing around intently watching us. “Okay,” he agreed.
“But only if your girlfriend drives. We don’t need another accident
today.”

“I won’t be long.” Trey took my hand and I
handed Officer Murray back his umbrella, grateful the rain had
slowed from drizzling to a light sprinkle. Trey and I headed toward
the front door of the house before realizing he didn’t have his
keys. I offered to go to the car and get them but he led me around
to the garage and typed in the security code instead. Cowboy was
whining at Trey’s feet the second we opened the door to the
kitchen. He bent down and scooped Cowboy into his arms, letting him
lick his ear. He held the dog for a moment, and I saw that his eyes
had filled to the brim with tears. I was watching Trey’s heart
break for the second time in three days, and once again I was the
root of the problem. He put the dog down and turned away from me to
wipe at his eyes.

I took a step forward and wrapped my arms
around him from behind. He froze for a second and then to my
surprise he turned into my embrace and let me hold him while silent
tears ran down his cheeks. I hugged him tight against me, wishing I
could go back in time and refuse his offer to go for a walk that
fateful night at Carlie’s. At least that way Trey’s world wouldn’t
be crumbling down all around him. After a moment, Trey’s breathing
evened out and he pulled back.

“It should have been me.” His voice was
barely above a whisper.

“No. You can’t think like that.”

“Wes was only thirty-four years old.” Trey
took a deep breath and sighed heavily. “He had his whole life ahead
of him. He was going to propose to Lisa. He told me that a few
weeks ago. He was just waiting for the right time. He should be
getting married and having kids and planning his entire future. Now
he’s dead, and it should have been me.”

“If anyone’s to blame for Wes’s death, it’s
me,” I insisted. “It was a group of vampires who did this to Wes,
and I’m the one who dragged you into all of it.”

“This isn’t your fault. All you’ve tried to
do from the beginning was protect me.”

“Some job I did of that.”

“Listen to me,” he said, taking my hands in
his. “I’m not letting you take the blame for this.”

“Then you can’t go taking the blame, either.”
I bit my lip, trying to stay calm. If I’d let Trey come home alone,
or he’d spent the night at his place, it would most likely be his
body growing cold right now. “I could have lost you today,” I said,
feeling like my heart was breaking just saying the words. “I’ve
lost everyone I ever cared about. I can’t lose you, too.” Trey
opened his mouth like he was going to say something but he changed
his mind and waited for me to continue. I reached up and brushed
some of his dark, wet hair away from his eyes. “I don’t believe
it’s a coincidence that you’re alive.”