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  “I didn’t want to bring up a lot of sad memories for you. Asking intrusive questions about him is a sure-fire way to get you to tell me to shut up. Or worse, shut me out completely. I don’t want that.”

  “But if you don’t ask, then you won’t know. I could die tonight and what I know would be lost. Do you want that? Don’t you want to know the truth about what happened to your father the day he had that accident? As for me, I may never live long enough to know.”

  Gemma leaned back in her chair. “Let me get this straight. You want me to ask you about the day Michael died? Because I’ve wondered. Was he drinking? Was he upset about my mother putting pressure on him to leave his family? Is that what caused him to drive off that cliff?”

  “All I know about that day is that Reiner Caulfield knocked on my door and said my son ran his car off the roadway and landed in that ravine. He insinuated that Michael did it on purpose. I never believed that. In fact, after that night, I never really took Reiner seriously about anything. And now that I know Caulfield did nothing when Marshall Montalvo killed his wife, I keep wondering about why he wanted me to think Michael took his own life that day.”

  “Lando said the official report didn’t hold much of anything, not even a blood test to determine if he had been drinking. It did mention a bottle of vodka found on the floorboard, though. There are photos of the accident. I just haven’t seen them yet.”

  Paloma’s face softened. “So you were curious enough to ask Lando about it.”

  “Well. Yeah. I just didn’t want you to know I was checking into it. And I didn’t want to get your hopes up when I probably won’t be able to learn anything of value anyway.” She laid a hand on Paloma’s wrinkled one. “I’m so glad I have you in my life. If you ever need to talk, even if it’s three in the morning, pick up the phone and I’ll be there for you.”

  Paloma’s eyes watered. “I never thought Michael’s cheating would have an upside. But you’re it. Oh, I adore Van and my two great-grandchildren he and Nova have given me. Those kids are the light of my life. And Michael’s daughter, Silby, your half-sister, loved playing the piano so much I can still hear the music coming off those keys. She would’ve been thirty-six next month if the leukemia hadn’t taken her.”

  “I’m so sorry. I want you to know that I’m not trying to detract from your love for Van or his children. That isn’t my goal.”

  “I might be old, but I’m certainly capable of loving all my grandchildren. I still take tulips out to the cemetery to put on Michael’s and Silby’s graves. But they’ll come a time when I won’t be able to do it. You should go visit your father.”

  Gemma wrapped her up in a hug. “I certainly will. When you go next time, I’ll drive you out there. You’re a wonderful woman, Paloma. I’m so happy you’re my grandmother even if I’ll never get to know my father.”

  “Who says? All you have to do is ask me anything. It would give me a chance to talk about him again. Which brings me to the problem at hand. I’ll have to find the right time to tell Van about you.”

  “Will Van be upset?”

  “Probably. He was just a baby when Michael died. He grew up without a father and he’s resented it his whole life.”

  “Like me.”

  “Yes, the two of you have that in common, but you aren’t nearly as bitter about it.”

  “I don’t mind giving Van time to come around. I’m not sure what kind of sister I’ll make, but I’m willing to try my best at having some kind of relationship with him.”

  “I’ll make sure I tell him that,” Paloma promised.

  “I’ve even thought about changing my name to Coyote. Would you be opposed to that?”

  “Not me. Van might have something to say about it though.”

  “Then I’ll wait until I get to know Van before making such a drastic change. I wouldn’t want him to think I’m moving in on his territory.”

  9

  On Saturday nights when Fortitude played it wasn’t unusual for the Duck & Rum to have a packed crowd. But for whatever reason, tonight it was jammed to the rafters. Whether it was curiosity over Gemma and Lando getting back together or not, no one could dispute the couple was still a hot topic around town. It was as if people were waiting for the fireworks to explode, a precursor to the breakup that would surely happen. Not everyone was convinced their relationship would make it to the end of summer.

  Owner Adam Greendeer refused to confirm or deny there was a betting pool in place as to what date the train wreck would take place.

  If Gemma or Lando had known that people were betting behind their backs, they would never in a million years have agreed to appear on stage.

  But since it was a covert operation, a top-secret project no one discussed around them, neither one suspected anything.

  Least of all Gemma.

  Inside the bar’s restroom, she reapplied her lipstick and re-brushed her hair for the third time. Looking at herself in the mirror, she was as ready to step on stage as she could get. She’d worn a silky, cream-colored dress with a sexy lace mesh top that brought out her golden skin. It had a little skirt that flared when she swished back and forth, which she planned to do a lot of tonight. Her heels had a strappy ankle wrap and a barely-there look that showed off the chrome nail polish on her shiny painted toes.

  Confident she’d done her best to look the part of a cabaret singer, she exited the restroom to seek out her friends. On her march to the stage, she tried to make the rounds, asking as many people as she could to put in their requests. It was a habit the crowd seemed to appreciate. They often screamed out crazy song titles as if trying to stump the band. Everybody had a favorite tune they wanted to hear. It didn’t mean Fortitude would oblige but it made for friendly PR. With Louise running her mouth, Gemma could use all the goodwill she could muster.

  With an enthusiastic crowd like tonight’s it didn’t seem like Louise was winning the gossip war.

  She caught up with her friends as they gathered around a large table near the stage to wait for the show to begin. Leia had persuaded her mother to join them along with Zeb’s sister, Willow.

  When she reached Lydia, she leaned in and whispered, “Better put in your suggestions now, Lando is pushing for moody ballads tonight.”

  Lydia narrowed her eyes. “I told him I expected to hear at least one Willie Nelson song. He knows how I love Willie. If he wants any more of my chicken fried steak, he’d better not disappoint.”

  Gemma pointed a finger at her and winked. “Lando would never disappoint his mama.”

  Luke waved her over. “Lianne said you were planning to sing a couple of songs from a Canadian band.”

  “We were, but rehearsal didn’t exactly go as planned last night. I might try to wing it through one, though, depending how drunk the crowd gets.”

  Leia guffawed with laughter. “This should be a fun night. Is Lando even able to play guitar?”

  “You know how he is. Just try and stop him,” Gemma shouted over the ever-growing crowd. She spotted the band circulating---Jimmy, Dale, Bosco, and Radley, the drummer---making the rounds to build up enthusiasm. By looking at the four of them no one would ever guess their nine to five gigs consisted of hardworking jobs in law enforcement, bartending, and teaching.

  Lando tapped her on the shoulder and swung her into a dance. “You ready to rock and roll, darlin’?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be. Where’ve you been? You disappeared thirty minutes ago with Jeff Tuttle. Did Tuttle get the DNA results back?”

  Instead of answering, Lando playfully began to nibble her neck.

  “You’re in an awfully good mood.” She looked into his eyes and suddenly realized why. “By any chance, you didn’t take any more of those pills just to get through tonight’s performance, did you?”

  But before she could get him to answer, Greendeer began his announcement. “Ladies and gentlemen…back by popular demand, here’s what you’ve all been waiting to hear, Fortitude!”

  That’s all
Gemma heard as she was pulled up on stage. Lando was so charged up for the first song, he’d picked something to get the crowd rocking. He went into a wild rendition of “Snow (Hey Oh)” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A strange choice because he couldn’t have picked a tune more difficult to maneuver through the changing riffs and chords. With a still-healing left arm it was as if he’d had a miracle recovery.

  That’s when she knew. It wasn’t Demerol he’d taken.

  Jimmy had no problem keeping up on rhythm guitar, nor did Bosco on bass. Dale held up his end on the keyboard with a spirited accompaniment. Radley was perfect on drums. But as she looked out into the crowd she scanned faces, wondering who exactly had supplied Lando with speed.

  What was he trying to prove anyway, she wondered as she sang backup on “Pretending.” Their third offering provided Lydia with her Willie Nelson fix. Lando’s soulful “Always on my Mind” rendition seemed perfect with its lilting melody for slow-dancing.

  But by the fourth song, “Just Breathe,” Lando slurred a few of the lyrics. Covering for him like he’d done for her in other performances, she neatly saved the tune by embellishing the chorus. No one in the audience seemed to pick up on the flub and it didn’t faze Lando.

  By the fifth song, Lando had started sweating under the lights, which wasn’t all that unusual with the heat emanating directly from the spotlight. But this time he was giving off enough energy to light up a stadium. When he belted out “Running on Empty,” it might’ve been less than a simple tune and more like a sign he was about to crash.

  Jimmy noticed something was off and slid across the stage to get Gemma’s attention. They exchanged speculative looks. Okay, so she wasn’t the only one who felt like Lando was on something other than a music high. She lifted a shoulder and got the same response back from Jimmy. Neither knew what to do about it.

  To slow things down, Lando surrendered vocals on “Black Velvet” and let her contralto take over. All the while she belted out the lyrics she kept an eye on him. Afterward, he seemed to rebound, going into overdrive on the next song, the hard-driving “Sympathy for the Devil.”

  “This wasn’t on the playlist,” Jimmy noted in a whisper.

  “He’s in his own zone tonight,” Gemma said. “Let’s just try to keep up and get through this.”

  They took a break at the halfway point giving Gemma the opportunity to steer Lando off stage and into the hallway. “What is up with you? I want to know who gave you the speed.”

  “What? I’m just in a good mood. You said so yourself.”

  “Lando, don’t screw with me. What did you take?”

  The other bandmates had followed them into the corridor, surrounding Lando in a circle. “Yeah, we’d all like to know,” Jimmy demanded. “What are you on tonight?”

  Lando held up his hands in a defensive posture. “Okay, okay. Suzanne Swinton might’ve given me some of Buddy’s vitamins to help get me through the set. She said taking two always gave Buddy a burst of energy. So I took four.”

  Gemma burst out laughing. “So a cop took amphetamines from a former alcoholic slash addict’s wife trying to get rid of her hubby’s stash.”

  “Best cure for coming down off that is pot,” Dale offered. “Only marijuana cache I know about is the bundle we have locked up in the evidence room back at the station.”

  Jimmy nodded. “Still sitting there after we busted Medford Davis in May.”

  Gemma cleared her throat. “Guys, I don’t think having the chief of police smoke pot to come down from his high is a good idea.”

  “I guess not,” Dale said, rubbing the stubble on his chin. “What do you suggest then?”

  Gemma blew out a breath. “That we get through the show and let him come down naturally at his own pace.”

  “That could take twenty-four hours,” Bosco provided. “Course he already has a good two-hour head start.”

  “We could shorten the second set,” Radley suggested. “But then folks might wonder why and start asking questions.”

  “He did get shot this week,” Gemma began. “We could always use that as an excuse.”

  “Should we confront Suzanne?” Jimmy asked.

  Gemma made a face. “I’m not sure drawing attention to it is a good idea. Not tonight anyway. Will we make sure she doesn’t hand those things out to another unsuspecting schmuck? Oh yeah. Just not tonight. Look, stay with him while I get Luke’s attention. Luke needs to check him out before he goes on again.”

  “Good idea,” Bosco muttered as he tried to keep Lando standing still in one spot. It wasn’t easy. The guy kept trying to climb the wall.

  A few minutes later the hallway got even more crowded when Luke appeared.

  “There’s a storage room back here,” Gemma directed. “Let’s take him in there so you can look him over.”

  It didn’t take long for Luke to notice how Lando’s muscles were twitching. “His pupils are like grapefruits. How much of that stuff did Suzanne give him?”

  “He took four is all I know. What the milligram count was of each I have no idea, but it must’ve been potent stuff because it kicked in almost immediately. We could always go ask her.”

  “I doubt she knows,” Luke said as he checked Lando’s pulse. “It’s probably some crap Buddy picked up from Joe Petrillo, the resident drug dealer until Zeb and Lando busted him in a joint sting back in April.”

  “There’s irony in there somewhere,” Gemma stated. “Look, I don’t want you to mention this to anyone. If your mother or Leia asks, could you downplay this and blame it on his shoulder?”

  Luke frowned. “I guess, but don’t you think everyone will wonder what’s up with him? I mean, even if you hadn’t come to get me, I could see something was wrong. I mean look at him. His heart’s racing like he ran a marathon.” Luke bopped his brother lightly on the face.

  “Hey, what’d you do that for?” Lando demanded, ready to fight. “I’m just standing here.”

  “I ought to do worse than that for taking unknown pills from somebody like Suzanne. You should know better.”

  “I had some pain in my arm and Gemma didn’t want me taking more Demerol. Plus, I didn’t want to disappoint the crowd.”

  “That’s because you love playing rock star every Saturday night,” Luke muttered, turning to Gemma. “I think he’s fine, other than feeling like he’s soaring higher than Neil Armstrong for the next few hours, I think he’ll live through this.”

  “So should we just let him back on stage?”

  “Try to contain his mood swings. And get ready for the spiral downward. Not to mention the headache he’ll suffer afterward.”

  Gemma grinned and took Lando’s chin in her hand. “You’re gonna pay for this and there’s nothing much I can do to help you. Are you sure you want to go back out there? We could leave now and make up an excuse.”

  “Leave? I don’t want to leave. I have more songs to play.”

  “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t try,” Gemma uttered, cutting her eyes toward Luke. “I guess we prepare for the second coming of Elvis because he definitely doesn’t want to leave the building.”

  The second set was even livelier than the first as Lando danced, pranced, and strutted his way into the rock ’n roll hall of fame. Every time he swiveled his hips like Elvis, the crowd roared louder. The only upside was that he was using up a lot of energy. The faster he boogied his way into the record books, the quicker he would touch down.

  That began to happen near one o’clock when they closed the set with three classics to end the night a little early. Gemma and Lando were near the tail end of “Stand by Me” when his voice began to fade and tremble. She and Dale quickly took over vocals.

  As customers cleared their tabs, Lando’s head began to pound. He swayed, and Jimmy moved in with Bosco to help him off stage before anyone noticed. Except for Luke and Lianne who met the band backstage.

  “I need to wait until the place clears out before getting him to the car,” Gemma suggested. “I don’t want
anyone to see him in this condition.”

  Jimmy and Bosco continued to shoulder Lando’s weight onto their own and walked, half-dragging him, down the hallway and back to the storage area.

  “Why all the secrecy?” Jimmy asked. “The entire Duck & Rum just witnessed him max out his rock star persona. I don’t see hiding out in here doing much to help the situation.”

  Gemma wouldn’t be dissuaded. “But now he’s coming down off the high, something I don’t think he’d want people seeing. Give it twenty minutes before we get him into the car and get him home.”

  Leia and Zeb chose that moment to show up in the wings. “What on earth is wrong with him?”

  “Long story,” Gemma said. “You guys go on home. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Sure, see you guys tomorrow bright and early,” Leia said in a cheery voice. “Shadow Canyon awaits.”

  Twenty minutes later, Gemma had shooed the others on home. It was Luke who stayed around to help her get Lando outside to the parking lot. Slow and steady they walked him across the pavement. With each step, he looked like he might pass out any minute. “I hope we can still make it tomorrow but don’t count on it.”

  “He just needs a good night’s sleep. But if you have any problems, like if he should have difficulty breathing, get him to the ER. Don’t wait,” Luke cautioned.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him the entire night,” Gemma vowed.

  Zeb had doubled back and hustled to take over for Gemma on her side, taking the burden off her. “He’s sure not showing any signs of pain. Why’s he so shaky?”

  “He’s tired,” Gemma snapped, unwilling to admit to him what Lando had taken.

  She let Zeb and Luke settle Lando into the passenger seat. “I think we’re gonna head straight home.”

  “Probably a good idea,” Luke said as he skirted the front of Lando’s cruiser. “Want us to follow you?”

  “Thanks, but we’ll be okay.” She waved goodbye to her friends and turned to close the car door. She spotted a man standing in the shadows. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was Van Coyote. “I didn’t know you were here tonight.”