The Dead Play On (17 page)

He also wished their household hadn’t gotten so big.

When he returned to the house on Royal Street, Jenny was overexuberant, Danni was overly quiet, Billie seemed to be perplexed and the Watsons were so busy trying to be helpful he felt as though he was constantly tripping over them.

“No one knows you’re here, right?” Quinn asked Woodrow.

“No, sir. We just locked up and left, even brought our things out in grocery bags,” Woodrow assured him.

“Good. I’ve asked Detective Larue to see to it that patrol keeps an eye on your house,” Quinn said. “Meanwhile, make yourselves at home here. Bo Ray and Wolf will be on guard through the night while we’re gone, but if anything troubles you—anything at all—don’t be afraid to call. I keep my phone in my pocket and tuned to vibrate, so I won’t miss a call.”

He kept looking for a chance to talk to Danni alone, but with everyone getting ready to eat and head out to their respective gigs, there never seemed to be a chance.

He was pretty sure she was angry with him, but just as he was about to head out with Brad and Jenny, Danni stopped him.

“We have reservations for tomorrow,” she told him.

“What?” Quinn asked.

“What?” Jenny, standing nearby, echoed.

“I called Hattie,” Danni said, looking at Quinn rather than Jenny. “We have reservations to fly to Washington and from there—”

“Danni, I don’t think we should be gone at night. That’s when he strikes.”

“We’re not going to be gone at night. We leave in the morning, and we’re back by seven thirty.” He could tell she was trying to keep her voice level. “Quinn, I’m going.”

With or without you...

She didn’t speak the words, but he heard them anyway.

He nodded. “Send me the details,” he told her, disturbed that she had made arrangements without settling the situation between them first. He was sure she knew just how he felt, too, but they were surrounded by people, so this was neither the time nor the place to have it out.

He walked out. Brad and Jenny followed him.

“I still don’t see why it’s so important that you guys have to go to Washington
now
,” Jenny said.

“Jenny, stop second-guessing,” Brad said.

“But...there’s so much going on
here
,” she said. “People need to be kept safe
here
.”

Quinn had reached a stop sign. He turned to look at her. “No one is going to be safe—no matter where they’re staying or what precautions we take—until this killer is caught, and this trip could help us catch him. I hadn’t thought of going up and back in a day—it’s actually brilliant. That way no one has to be alone at night.”

“Feels like we’re afraid of vampires,” Brad muttered.

“A killer who comes out just before dawn,” Jenny agreed. “Do you think he’s some kind of supernatural monster? I know you and Danni collect weird things. I know what you two do.”

“The killer is not a vampire, Jenny. I was joking,” Brad said. “
He
doesn’t even think he’s a vampire. It’s not like he’s drinking blood or anything. He’s flesh and blood, right, Quinn?”

Quinn moved through the intersection, heading toward Canal and on to Magazine.

“The killer is flesh and blood,” he said. “But that doesn’t make him any less evil.”

Chapter 10

SUNDAY NIGHTS WERE
usually slow—slower than Friday and Saturday nights, at any rate—unless there was a festival in the city or a major convention.

But when they took their breaks, Danni realized a lot of people in the audience were talking about what was going on.

A table next to where she sat with Billie during their first break was filled with young men who had just arrived in town for a “bachelor week.” Danni listened to them talking while she sipped her water.

“It’s terrible, a serial killer on the loose. Think we should be worried?” one of them asked the others.

“No. None of us can play anything but a computer keyboard,” the groom-to-be, Harry, said.

“I guess not. Scary, though. He’s killing off sax players,” another said.

“What if all the musicians get scared and leave?” the first man asked.

“Well, if there are no musicians, what will we do?” someone else pondered.

“Well, hell, there are still strip clubs!” one said, and they all laughed.

“A good stripper needs music, too,” Harry said indignantly.

Danni felt Billie’s hand on hers. “It will be all right,” he told her. “You and Quinn will catch this guy.”

“Am I crazy, Billie? To be so determined to speak with Arnie’s friend Kevin? What if Quinn decides not to come with me?”

Billie shook his head. “No. You’re a Cafferty, girl. Your instincts are good. And don’t worry about Quinn. Mark my words, he’ll be on that plane.”

“You think so?”

“I do.”

“Hmm. Think I’m going to order a beer.”

“Jessica will come by to see what else we need,” Billie said.

“She’s busy. I’ll just go to the bar,” Danni said, and stood.

“I’ll take something dark on draft, Danni.”

She waved a hand to acknowledge his request. At the bar, Eric Lyons was working alone. “Hey there,” he said. “What can I get you?”

“Two dark drafts of whatever,” she said.

“Really?” He laughed. “Going from water to the hard stuff?” he asked, getting cups and pulling on one of the taps.

She was hoping the beer would help her catch a few hours of sleep before heading to the airport, though it seemed unlikely. Maybe she could sleep on the plane.

“Going wild tonight, what can I say?” she said.

“You never go home alone, right?” he asked her.

“Never. Why?”

“Oh, I was just watching the news today. Jessica was worried. I’m going to take her home. And I was talking to Blake Templeton. He said the band members all hang together until they get home. Apparently, musicians all over the city are seeing each other home, even staying at each other’s places. I wonder if it’s going to be like a blackout and in nine months we’ll wind up with a slew of musically talented babies?”

“Well, that would be better than a lot of other outcomes, right?” Danni asked.

“Sure would.”

“You’re careful, too, right?”

He nodded. “Very,” he assured her, and handed her the drafts. “And I play horribly, anyway. I’m sure no one is after me.”

“The killer doesn’t care about talent, only instruments.”

“In that case I’ll just ditch everything I own,” Eric said.

“Hopefully, that won’t be necessary. No one’s seen you playing onstage, right?”

“Well, they might have seen me, but I’ve never been asked to join a band,” he said, grinning as he nodded toward the stage, where the band was playing a couple of songs without her and Billie. “Now, those guys—those guys are good. And your friend is amazing. He can really play the sax.”

“Billie,” Danni said. “And I never even knew until recently. His specialty is the bagpipes.”

“He should play those one night,” he said, still smiling, and then he grew serious. “All of them can play. But Arnie, now, he was special. Don’t get me wrong, Tyler is good. But Arnie...there was just something about the way he played... He could make you cry.”

“I remember.”

“You do?”

“I knew him back in school,” she said.

“Were you into music, too?”

“Art, back then. Still am. I love music, though.”

“Who wouldn’t? When it works, it’s like magic. Like Arnie and his sax.”

“I guess someone is after that magic,” Danni said.

“Hey, I think you’re about to go back up.”

“Thanks,” she told him, hurrying back to the table. She and Billie barely had a minute to take a few sips of their beer before it was time to head back up onstage.

A few minutes later, Natasha and Father Ryan appeared. On their next break, Danni hurried over to thank them for coming again.

Tyler joined her. “Not only does Danni look great onstage, she brings her own fans.”

“Tyler’s staying at my house, along with Arnie’s parents,” Danni told the newcomers quietly.

“Good. No one knows, right?” Father Ryan asked Tyler.

Tyler shook his head. “Not even the rest of the band. I’ll go with the guys to make sure they get home safely, and then I’ll go back to Danni’s. I guess you two will see that Billie and Danni get there?”

“Of course,” Natasha said. “It’s Billie I really worry about.”

Billie cleared his throat. “Excuse me?”

“You play the sax, so of course I’m more afraid for you than I am for Danni.”

Billie muttered something in Gaelic beneath his breath. They all grinned.

Just then Blake, Gus and Shamus strolled over to say hi and thank Father Ryan and Natasha for being there. Danni studied the three of them while they chatted. The more she worked with them, the more she liked them. She didn’t want to believe any of them could be the killer. Shamus was fun and flirty, not to mention very good-looking. Gus was more of an academic. Blake, like Tyler, was even-keeled. They all loved their music and couldn’t help grinning while they played. She was so comfortable with them that sometimes she forgot why she was there and actually had fun.

She left them at the table and headed to the bar; she wanted water again. She couldn’t decide whether to try to sleep a few hours at the house or just stay up until it was time to head to the airport. She wouldn’t even have a carry-on, but Quinn wouldn’t leave unarmed, she knew. He would have to check a suitcase.

If
Billie was right and he was going with her. She had texted him the flight numbers before she’d left the house. All he’d texted back was
Thanks
.

Danni didn’t make it all the way to the bar. Jessica swooped in front of her, offering her a large glass of water with lime.

“Hey, did you have a chance to look at those duets yet?” Jessica asked.

“Oh, no. I’m so sorry. I’ll get to it, I promise,” Danni told her. “Hey, when they go back up, why don’t you go sing something? It’s slow tonight. I can serve drinks for a few minutes.”

“No, no, that’s all right.”

“Please?”

Jessica seemed flustered. “Okay. Thank you.”

When the band went up, Jessica joined them and did a Carole King number. The woman had a voice like silk, Danni thought. She should have been singing full-time.

“Wow,” one of the men at the bachelor table said as Danni went by. He looked at her and flushed. “I mean, you’re wow, too, of course.”

She laughed. “Not to worry. She
is
wow.”

It was after two when Tyler announced the last number. After that people said their good-nights. Danni assured Tyler quietly that someone would be waiting up for him.

She, Billie, Father Ryan and Natasha began the short walk back to her place. Natasha was tired, so they said good-night outside, and then Father Ryan and Natasha headed toward her house.

When Billie and Danni headed into the kitchen, they found that Woodrow had waited up for them. He was sitting at the kitchen table, Wolf at his side—along with his shotgun.

“Ready for anything, you know?” he said.

Danni smiled. “Thank you.”

“I let Bo Ray and Amy go up to sleep. The dog hasn’t barked, so I figure no unsavory characters have come around the place,” Woodrow said.

“That’s good. Thank you. I’m going to head up, too, if you don’t mind waiting a bit longer for Tyler to get in,” she said.

“I can wait, if you want to get some sleep,” Billie told Woodrow.

“No, sir, you go on up. I can rest by day. I don’t mind being on guard—not with a dog like this one at my feet,” Woodrow said.

“Thank you again,” Danni said. “Quinn should be along soon, too.”

“Then we’ll batten down once everyone’s in and accounted for,” Woodrow told her.

“Oh!” she said. “I’ll be gone during the day tomorrow. Quinn, too, I think. But please, the two of you need to stay in the house or the shop while we’re gone. Larue will have an officer watching, especially if Quinn goes with me. But for your own safety, stay inside, all right?”

“If that’s what you want,” he said.

“It is. I worry, you know?”

Billie set a hand on her shoulder. “Everything will be fine,” he said.

With Billie behind her, Danni started up the stairs. “I have to be awake by six. The plane is at eight, but I can be ready in fifteen minutes and there’s not much traffic that time of day. But you should get some sleep. You’re not—”

“If you’re about to say I’m not a young man anymore,
don’t
!” Billie told her. “I’ll see to it that you’re up and out on time.”

“You don’t have to.”

“It’s what I do,” Billie said. “I looked after your father. Now I look after you.”

Danni smiled at that and kissed him on the cheek. “Good night, Billie.”

She went into the bedroom that had always been hers. She’d grown up thinking life was a lark. She’d never had any idea that her father collected
evil
objects, or objects that at the very least made men behave in evil ways. He’d been involved in dangerous situation after dangerous situation, and she’d never even known.

Her bedroom was comfortable. It was filled with old oak furniture and lots of art, a few pieces of her own, and many more paintings, large and small, by artists she admired.

She’d always loved this room...

Now, though, it seemed empty and cold. Just because she was at odds with Quinn.

They’d wondered at the beginning of their attraction if they could make it as a couple
and
as a working team. Now she found herself wondering about it all over again.

They weren’t really arguing, she told herself. They were just having a difference of opinion.

She had to stop thinking about him and the situation. She really did need to sleep, if only for a few hours. Tomorrow would be a very long day.

But when she lay down, her eyes were stubbornly wide open and sleep was far away.

* * *

Over on Magazine, the Midnight Royale Café was far busier than usual for a Sunday night.

A local organization had chosen the café for their monthly get-together, and apparently none of them remembered that Monday was a workday.

Quinn chafed at being there. At first it had seemed logical, given that Jenny had been attacked.

But now he doubted there was any further need for him to protect Jenny and Brad. The killer had already taken whatever he’d wanted from them. Quinn knew Jenny wanted him around, felt reassured by his presence, but he felt strongly that he needed to be back at La Porte Rouge—where Arnie Watson had played his last set.

Danni had messaged him earlier with the flight info and a link to his boarding pass. Despite the current chill between them, he intended to be on that plane.

On a normal Sunday night they would have finished by two; they might have even been packed up and ready to go. But the members of the group were in a party mood, and bars that were hopping were loath to close down, and Quinn really couldn’t blame them. It was after three when the band announced they were on their last number, and even then, the bartender wanted them to keep going.

Quinn was helping with the equipment when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

At that hour he instantly felt his heart beat too hard, his muscles tighten.

Danni.

But he caught the caller ID as he answered and realized it wasn’t Danni, it was Larue.

“Quinn,” he answered tersely.

“You need to join me in Treme,” Larue told him.

“What happened?”

“You beat the bullet by the skin of your teeth,” Larue said. “I’m at the Watson house. Someone’s been here. The place has been trashed.”

“I’ll be there as quickly as I can,” Quinn said. He’d driven, but he had Brad and Jenny with him, and the band was still coiling amp cords and securing the system. “Can you send a patrol car for me? I’m at the Midnight Royale Café on Magazine.”

“Give my man five minutes,” Larue said and rang off.

Quinn hurried over to Brad with his keys. “Listen, I have to meet Larue ASAP. Here are the keys to the car. Go straight to the house once you leave here. I’m willing to bet someone is waiting up.”

Jenny stepped up to him, her eyes wide with concern. “What’s going on? Oh, God, is someone else dead? Quinn, how can you leave now? What about
us
?”

“As far as I know, no one else is dead. There’s just a...situation.”

“But—” Jenny began.

“Brad, you’re armed, right?” Quinn asked.

Brad nodded. “And it’s legal. I have a concealed carry permit, but even if I didn’t, with everything that’s going on...”

“We’re almost ready to go,” Jenny said. “If you just drop us off, you’ll have your car and—”

“Jenny, have some faith in Brad,” Quinn said. “You’re going to be all right.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond, just turned and hurried outside. Magazine was almost empty at this hour. Even their rowdy crowd had quickly dispersed. While he waited for the squad car, he pulled out his phone then hesitated. If Danni was sleeping, he didn’t want to wake her. She could use some rest before getting on the plane.

He sent Billie a quick text message, telling him that he was fine, no one was dead, and he was heading out to meet Larue about a “situation.” Of course, anyone who was still up would know he was with Larue as soon as Brad and Jenny got home, but he figured a message was always a good thing.

The patrol car arrived just as he finished texting.

“Thanks,” Quinn said, hopping in.