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The words popped up, comically big across my full screen:
Prissy Sheep was not a maternal match for Sunny Badger.
“Damn.” My heart sunk. I’d been so hoping that we’d found something useful here.
Luna felt similarly. She pushed herself off the back of my office chair and paced over to the large window. “Ugh.”
“Yeah, I feel you. Still, there’s got to be something behind the Priscilla Lamb thing. I have faith that you’ll get to the bottom of it.”
Luna turned to face me. “Your leads didn’t turn up anything?”
“Nada. Whatever the reason Priscilla Lamb disappeared, she’s done a good job of it. And I can’t find any connection between her and Apollo – or more likely Emory, since she vanished before Apollo was born, cross-referencing the dates.”
“Hmm.” Luna looked back out of the window. “I don’t have any more theories. But I will do some more digging.”
“That’s the spirit.” I flashed her a cheesy grin intended to lift her spirits.
She rolled her eyes, which indicated to someone who knew her well that her spirits had indeed been lifted, just a little.
I had something else in store for her, as well – a surprise. “Now that you’re here... how do you feel about reuniting withNeedleheadlater today?”
Her mouth actually dropped open. Then she caught herself, smirked, and wisecracked: “Why, are they coming to finally murder you, after all these years?”
“Ha ha.” It wouldn’t have been unlikely if one of ‘em had decided to kill me, all those years ago. But it would have been Reed, the most strongly principled of all of them, and he’d have murdered me in some kind of ‘fuck-you’ symbolism to the music industry. I hoped he wasn’t planning on doing that at our reunion gig – if the rest of the guys agreed to it. “No, we’re discussing a reunion concert.”
“Seriously? You think Reed’s gonna agree to that? I’m surprised you even managed to get him to come to a meeting. Come to think of it, he’s probably gonna no-show.”
I wagged my finger. “You underestimate the power of my charisma, Luna Black. Reed has RSVP’d definitely, and he’s going to be trying to convince the others along with me to put on a reunion concert.”
“Sure, your charm is quite something. But Reed, really? He hates your guts. Hated your guts.”
I nodded. “Yeah, he did. Maybe he still does. But I managed to get him to agree to meet with me. Wanna know what swung him in my favor just slightly?”
She shrugged. “Sure.”
“I mentioned that you and I were on better terms these days. He was always a fan of yours, all of the fellas were. And I think they’d really like to see you.”
Luna narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re inviting me along so that my presence will convince them to do the concert? Out of, what, nostalgia?”
Err, guilty as charged. That wasoneof my motivations, yes, but it wasn’t the main one. “Okay, I’d be lying if I didn’t say partially yes. But mainly, I think they’d just really like to see you. They sounded excited when I mentioned the idea. And if you’ve not seen them for a long time, either, I thought it’d be nice for you to reunite with the members ofNeedleheadwhohadn’tfucked you over. What do you think?”
She shook her head, but I could tell I’d won her over, too, at least slightly. “Fine. But if they ask me what I think of you, I’m gonna tell them I still think you’re a piece of shit. Just in case you’re bringing me there to manipulate them.”
I grinned. That was such a Luna answer. “Fine by me. I’m sure they’ll most happily agree with you on that count.”
I’d bookeda large practice room for the reunion with the band, plus Luna. It seemed appropriate. Plus, I made sure it had a drum kit and a few spare instruments in case we got along well enough that we wanted to celebrate with a quick practice, see how much we still knew or had forgotten.
I nervously sat in a chair in the middle of the room, feeling a little lost. Unlike usual, I didn’t really have anything planned to say to the guys. What I’d learned from reuniting with Luna and Reed was that the people I really cared about didn’t really want anything flashy or rehearsed from me. All they wanted, apparently, was honesty, and to be let into my life.
I was glad when Reed turned up first. He took one look at my face and howled with laughter. “You look like you’re gonna shit yerself. Or have you already?”
“Ha ha.” I smirked. “I’m nervous. Sue me.”
“If I was gonna sue you, I’d be loaded by now. Not my style.”
Reed’s inane – and occasionally very intelligent – banter eased the edge from some of my anxiety. So by the time the rest of the band members arrived all at once, in a little wary huddle, some of the tension had left my shoulders.
We made polite greetings, but the room was still tense and uncertain.
