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Luke looked him straight in the eye and kept his voice flat without a hint of whining. “I’ve no doubt you’ve heard this story before but one of the other agents had it in for me and planted the shit. He knew I was closing in on him and had to get rid of me.”
“Sounds pretty lame.” Matt looked away. But his voice lost its steel.
“Hey when you’re the nephew of the police commissioner, it makes more sense that they’d believe him over a nobody like me.”
“That it does. Okay. Ham says you can be trusted and that’s good enough for me. You stay clean, and we’ll be good. So you know, we police each other. Everyone likes a few drinks to get the heat on, but we draw a line if it becomes too many. You okay with that?”
“Sure. My limit is a couple anyway, so yeah, you can monitor me anytime.”
“Great. Another thing… we can all carry a tune except for Boney and he’s pretty good at lip syncing. Only cuts loose if he’s had too much to drink. We all watch him for that. But if you want harmonies, we can work at it.”
“Good to know. Not sure what kind of music you play, but I think Ham told you I’m pretty much country. Don’t really enjoy a lot of the rock stuff unless it’s with a western beat. I know some of the modern sounds today are iffy.”
They soon settled into going through the list of songs that Luke played, and Matt seemed thrilled to know that Luke could handle most of the music they already used… and even more tunes the band could work on over time.
“You sure are up to date with the favorite sounds out there both from the past and the present.”
Luke took his time answering. “Guess so. I might have given up being on a stage over the last years, but I kept up with the music. It’s kind of my relaxation technique when life around me is a mess.” He didn’t want to delve too deeply into his passion for his guitar and singing but it had brought him out of a lot of depressions in the past.
Without noticing that his hand holding his guitar gently caressed the smooth surface, Matt’s eyes followed the movement, and he smiled. It was then he nodded with his mind made up. “I think it’s gonna work out. You’ve a good strong voice. In fact, you sound a bit like Stapleton and even Travis. Add in that raspy roughness and you’ll drive the females mad. Who’s your favorite performer?”
“Don’t got one. Guess the singer I play the most music from is whose on the radio with the songs I like the best. You know, it’s the lyrics that get me more than the singers. I figure I have my own style.”
“That you do. Okay, man.” Matt held out his hand, “let’s introduce you to the others and play some good ole down-home country music.”
In a short time, they jammed themselves into a sweet sound and every single person on stage began to perk up. Pretty soon, the folks began gathering at the doorway and by the end of the first hour, the place was rocking.
Before long, the bar manager approached Matt, and they scooted off to the corner, carrying on a short conversation that had red-headed and bushy bearded Matt grinning from ear to ear.
“We only have to play three more hours today but starting tomorrow, he wants us playing the downstairs stage from six p.m. to two a.m. That’s the sweet spot, boys. We’re in the big time now.”
Boney piped up. “What changed? We begged him to give us that spot for weeks.”
Matt looked directly at Luke. “Seems like the boss has a hankering for our new lead singer… says he likes his sound, and that he’s gonna bring in the crowds.”
“Way to go, dude.” Boney teasingly poked a finger into Luke’s chest, and he had to contain his reaction. Anyone else might get that finger broken. Instead, he grinned, pretending to be pleased.
When Cissy added her two cents, Luke had to laugh.
“Guess our own devil Lucifer can still pull some strings when he wants to get the world working his way.” Then she added a short piece of snappy upbeat bluegrass on the banjo that sounded joyful, and they all laughed. “We’re gonna hit the Grand Ole Opry next boys… you dig Mama’s words.”
Luke smiled along with the others, all the while thankful that they’d be on stage during the obvious hours when most of the drug selling and buying occurred. He’d be able to take enough breaks to put out feelers for any trouble brewing. It’ll just take time.
He lifted his guitar and began a rendition of Tennessee Whiskey that the others quickly joined in on.
And more folks flooded inside.
Chapter Five
Honey tried to get through to Victoria over the next few weeks but met up with an unbreakable wall of resistance. To prove her seriousness in combating the bullying they saw all the time, she’d decided to press charges against Tansy Bitmore. Unfortunately, because Tansy was a minor, and it was her first offense, the system stepped in, and predictably, she got off on a misdemeanor.
The little witch was out on the streets without spending any time in a detention center at all. Her family retained an expensive defense lawyer, and her punishment was a $50 fine… a joke.
Having his hands tied by the school trustees, the principal, Fred Snowdon, had to allow Tansy back to class, which further complicated everything. Honey had no doubt that once the bully reappeared, the intimidation would never let up for Victoria. As much as she tried to keep her eyes on things, word leaked out that the gang had again caught the poor girl. Only this time she’d ended up in the hospital.
“Honey, wait up.” Melanie ran to catch up with her before she got into her car. She arrived huffing and puffing and winded so badly, she had to bend over to breathe. Honey smiled at her big-breasted friend who hated to run. Looking put out and red-faced by the time she recovered, her voice nevertheless sounded almost tender. “Sweetheart, I hate to have to give you this news, but Victoria tried to kill herself last night. Fred just stopped by the lunchroom to share the update.”
Honey instantly felt limp… as if her muscles had been attacked by a strange virus, leaving her weak and so very sad.
