Page 10 of Hallow’s Eve
The biker’s voice called out again asking if anyone could occupy the stage for a while. I guess the nervous silence had gotten to them. Before I could grab my guitar, that Elvis character was on stage, calling up anyone who could play. Ford shook his finger at me, warning me to stay put. Greta and Viv agreed that we shouldn’t call attention to ourselves.
Viv said, “They pulled a gun. I’m sure someone’s called the cops already. We’ve all got cell phones.”
Ford asked, “Are you going to?”
“Not on my life,” Viv said. “And my phone’s in my locker like it’s supposed to be. Besides, I don’t want no trouble. I’m on probation.”
Greta chimed in, “Jackie’s Heroes will dial 911, no doubt. This is a hostage situation.”
“I wonder why they let the band leave?” I asked.
Ford answered me, “They don’t want to upset anyone who matters, and a band around here could have connections to someone important. Bass player John’s cousin, James Earl writes music for that band who opened for Keith Urban last month.”
Maybe, but it all seemed a little too organized to me.
Greta said, “Any of us could have connections.”
Viv rebutted, “You’re kidding, right? We work here, remember. It’s one in the morning. The customers left are probably all tourists. If not, they are someone preying on tourists or they’re drunks.”
That was a bit harsh but likely true.
Greta said, “Bar next door might call the cops too. I’m sure they heard the gunshot.”
Ford’s eyes rolled back. “Like a gunshot is unusual ‘round here.”
“Grady didn’t send anyone home,” I mentioned. “Anyone seen him?”
We all chimed in that we just saw him at least within the last hour or so. All the other employees seemed to stay put wherever they’d been. I wondered if the bikers had warned people to stay put, and I’d missed it. However, Ford had the barmaids trained well to stay off the bar. Though, he never minded me being here. I thought about him asking to party with me last night briefly before it dawned on me why Ford didn’t scare me away from the bar. Like Grady, Ford was sweet on me. He’d even changed clothes and wiped off the football makeup thinking we might party tonight. It was a good thing not too many men worked here. I wondered if Jasper had a thing for me too. Not the handsomest, he was a bit slow, at least I thought, because he didn’t talk much. He mixed a fine drink though and fast. Not only that, he was the best at the theatrics at the bar. My mind shot to our bouncer, Earl.
“Anyone seen Earl?”
No one had. I couldn’t remember if I’d seen him all night. Earl sort of blended into the wall until you needed him. He hadn’t come to my rescue moments ago with the vampire.
My eyes searched for the few people I cared for. I saw Celie through the small window to the kitchen. She was talking to someone dressed as Joe Exotic Zombie like they all were. Donette huddled in the corner with her Beetlejuice. I was excited that she’d finally found him. Then, there was someone else on my mind.
On the stage, Elvis… What did Hallow say his name was? Another nickname, Dimple, went into an upbeat, “Devil in Disguise”.As he sang just like Elvis, speaking of the devil, I watched Hallow with his big black wings move through the thin crowd. He was coming to me.
“You okay?” Hallow asked when he sat at the bar, his wings taking up three spaces. Now I knew why he’d been against the wall all night.
“Sure, she is,” Ford answered him from my side.
“Get lost,” I said to Ford, elbowing him in the side. He held up his hands and slinked away to the other side to talk more with his crew. I turned to Hallow and asked, “What do you think about all this?”
He leaned in so I could hear him. “They think the killer is still here. I don’t know about that.”
“Who? Those bikers? How would you know where the killer is?”
“I know a thing or two.”
“Maybe it was you. I’ve not seen you here before, and I’m taking it, you’re not a tourist.”
“No, I’m local now. I didn’t kill anyone. And by knowing a thing or two. I have some experience with murders. I used to be a cop.”
“Used to?”
“Yeah, detective. Not anymore.”
A detective? I wondered how old he was. He didn’t look a day over twenty-five, maybe twenty-six.
