Geek to Farm

"Will you be able to play on Saturday?" she asked with concern making her eyes squint.

"What am I playing?" I asked feigning surprise.

"The festival Dummy!" she laughed and aimed another slap at my shoulder which made me raise a playful fist at her. "Seriously Johnathan. Will you be able to play with a bad shoulder?"

I shrugged. "It is only next Saturday and by then I will be fine. I may have a slightly discolored eye but I think that will be it."

She left, shaking her head and I started working in earnest. When it was time to go home she came in and pulled the charge cable from my notebook. "Off you go mister!"

I simply closed the lid on the laptop and walked from the building.

I had a fast dinner of frozen junk and plonked down on an easy chair, picked up my guitar and sang some songs for about an hour before Jimmy called.

"Dude!" he greeted. "What's with the face?"

I gave him a very short version of events and then asked. "When are we getting together? In little over a week we are on stage for two gigs and we still have to really tie down our playlist, never mind get in a little much needed practice."

"I was thinking Saturday for some serious planning, a little practice and a barbie. Sunday is wide open so if we goof on Saturday we can always run a few songs. The barn at my parent's has awful acoustics but hell, the neighbors don't complain."

I pursed my lips. "Small thing Jimmy. Saturday has already been promised to my mom."

Jimmy sighed. "The lads are all tied up Friday. You wanna spend the day with the grand lady or just visit to alleviate your guilt?"

I smirked. "Both I guess." Jimmy was silent for a while and when he spoke again he had an almost exited timbre to his voice.

"You have a specific time with your mom?"

"No."

"Listen me out ok? We are going to perform the old songs. Except for Nicky's, most of our parents live close by. Why don't we make a day of it with them listening? Heck man, our grans most probably went to Woodstock! Who better to listen to us and give some honest and experienced feedback?"

I laughed. "Let me bounce it off the ol' Lady. I like your idea. Gimme ten."

"You got it," and he disconnected.

My mom only had one reservation. We had to have breakfast somewhere first. Other than that she was all in.

Thirty minutes later the incomparable Jimmy Watson had Saturday and possibly Sunday laid out and all we had to do was pitch up. I doodled down some songs that I thought we should have in the playlist. On the off chance that we may be given a longer stint during the day, I added a few more and went to bed.

Chapter 6

Friday was just Friday. That typical day where things are at odds. The looming weekend being cause for a bubbling expectation of some fun and self-time while you also realize that two rather unproductive days will make D-day creep inexorably closer.

On my way home I grabbed some Thai take-out. Grody must have had his sixth sense switched on at full blast because he was waiting for me on my driveway and when I rounded the corner he did his tail chasing gig. I could make that dog bite the Pope with Thai.

I smiled as I got out and wondered how he felt about Justin. On the surface he seemed fine but there were the odd moments when he would just sit and stare down the road or walk around the garden, sniffing at places they used to lie in the shade or play around.

After a lonely dinner I went over the playlist once again, played some songs and did some research on the Net about music that was popular from the 60's to the 80's. Just maybe we had missed something. As it was the playlist got a few good songs added.

Mom was obviously in a happy mood when I walked into the house. Her beautiful eyes were alive and she walked with a spring in her step. We went for breakfast at a cozy garden restaurant and chatted about Justin and the upcoming festival. About Justin the conversation was a little sad but Mom was strangely excited about the festival. We were all very excited about it as it was a gigantic charity event and the organizers had gone to great lengths to give it a theme of Pop Rock of three decades previous. That meant that all the bands were singing covers, no holds barred. Nobody was outshining anybody else. Only the charity mattered.

Walking back to my car Mom reached out and took my hand. "Do I get an entry ticket for the festival?"

"How many do you want?" I asked, pulling her into my side.

"Two?"

"Bringing a friend?"

I felt my mom's hand tighten around mine. "If you don't mind?"

Something about the timbre of her voice was off and I glanced down to see her biting her lip. I leaned down and looked into her eyes. There was a question there even though she still smiled and then I noticed a blush slowly form on her face. I let her go and stepped in front of her, holding her by her shoulders causing her to come to a stop. Her eyes were darting between mine and I knew she was concerned of some reaction from me. I knew this woman too well.

"Am I supposed to know something here?" I asked and crooked my swollen eye at her. She reached up and tugged at the sweatband I had around my head that had to hold down a piece of gauze over the wound in my hair. She looked into my eyes and I could see the uncertainty there. I smiled and put my hand under her chin, lifting her face to mine. "My mom is blushing like a teenager! Did she meet someone?" I laughed and saw hurt move into her expression.

"Please don't laugh at me Baby," she pleaded.

"Is he a nice guy?" I asked smiling and she nodded with her eyes cast down.

"You will like him."

I grabbed her into a hug and felt her arms go around my chest. She nestled her face against me and I said the only thing I could think of. "Does he realize that he will have to wear large boots to step where my Dad did?"

Mom pushed herself away from me and looked at me with an almost stern expression. "He is not there to replace Daddy Johnathan. I don't expect him to walk where Daddy did. I want him to walk his own path next to me."

I nodded and smiled at her. "He realizes of course that he will be drawn and quartered if he breaks your heart? When do I meet him?"

"Can I invite him to the practice session this afternoon? He loves music."

I shrugged. "You are going with me. You want me to pick him up?"

Mom laughed. "He will find his own way. He's welcome?"

"Of course he is!" I laughed. "If he makes you happy he has my vote!"

I had to use a GPS to find the school whose hall Jimmy had organized for the weekend and found it to be surprisingly far out of town which explained their readiness for us to use it even on Sunday. The rest of the band was already there and by the sound of it was either jamming away merrily or were finishing setup. Once inside I dropped Mom with the rest of the band's families and walked up to the guys.

An hour later we had a playlist for the forty minute afternoon stint and a hefty one for the evening. Not knowing what the other bands were going to play we planned to have enough additional songs to modify the playlist on the go.

We joined the crowd at the back for drinks and then hit the stage. We had been playing together now for a couple of years and we knew what we were doing. Here and there we had decided to modify some of the songs to give it a different feel. This in itself led to some difficulties and sapped our energy to sort it out and at around three we decided to take a long break.

I met Wallace. At first glance he seemed a good enough guy. It irritated me slightly that he was bigger than me and to top it all off he seemed to be in better shape too. His handshake was firm, lacking the attempt at crushing my hand to illustrate his strength. This guy knew who he was, what he was and what his strength was. I smiled at my words to my mom a few hours ago. If I wanted to draw and quarter this guy I would need to recruit some help.

"You guys sound great," he said nodding towards the stage. "Think you will be ready for the concert?"

My hackles rose for no reason. Damn it! I did not need this piece of jerky to question our readiness. We were ready. It was the change in arrangement of some songs that was difficult. If it did not work out we could simply revert to the cover as it was.

I suppressed my anger and nodded, "Watch!"

When we got back on the stage we did a few straight covers and then started working on the changed arrangements again. It was while I was repeatedly falling off key on a different arrangement of Styx's 'Lady' that I noticed Wallace standing close to the stage, almost imperceptibly shaking his head.

Angrily I slammed down on the keyboard to stop the rest of the guys playing and walked over to Wallace. Keeping a check on my anger I bent down. "You shake your head. Don't you like it?"

Wallace looked up at me and my anger made place for shame. He had this honest smile and even though I knew he could see that I was angry, he did not react to it. "You are making a mistake in the arrangement Johnathan. Please, may I help you?"

I got up and signaled to the guys for a break. As Wallace walked onto the stage I marvelled at the way he carried himself. He was what, sixty? And he walked like a man in the prime of his life. Proud. Strong. Confident.

He gently removed my sheet music from the stand and motioned for me to follow him. In the wings was a table and he took out his pen. He nodded to me and made me follow the changes he made. It was very obvious that this guy knew his music and I grudgingly gave myself up for instructions. Minutes later he smilingly shoved me back on stage.

"Shall we try that Johnathan?"

I mutely nodded. The changes made absolute sense and I idly wondered where he got his knowledge from. I put the music onto the piano and just started playing the changes he had made. His hands were following me in air guitar mode and it was obvious that this guy could play.

I played the changes three times and the song came to life. He took all our sheet music and made changes to each instrument's arrangement. Jimmy looked at me and I simply stretched my eyes. When Wallace was finished he walked off stage and we started playing the new arrangement. It all came together almost immediately. We played it five times in a row for no other reason except that it sounded so good.

My voice was taking strain and I asked Jimmy if we could break for the day. He got the band together and everybody agreed to be back by ten tomorrow. I walked over to where my mom and Wallace sat talking.

"That was awesome sir." I said as a greeting. "I apologize for being angry at you."

Once again that honest smile. This guy was as tough as nails and yet soft on those around him and deep inside me I gave Mom a nod of approval. This guy would do to ride the river with. "You're welcome Johnathan. Glad I could help." No dwelling on my anger. Just get it over with and carry on.

"We're doing another session again tomorrow. Care to join us?

He looked over at Mom. "Mind?" he asked with his hand gently on her forearm and she shook her head with a very happy smile.

"Done!" he laughed. "Time?"

"We start at around ten," I said and he nodded. I got up and was a few paces away when I heard him call. When I turned he approached me.

"Mind if I bring my box of strings along? I like your sound and I guess it will be fun to jam some with you guys."

"You got it!" I smiled. "Need anything?"

"No I'm good," he smiled and turned away.

Shortly after he and Mom had left we trooped out and went our separate ways. I drove home and took Grody to the park for some 'us' time. It was getting dark when we turned into the sub and I lifted my brow at the sight of a Police car parked in front of my house. When I got closer I noticed them speaking to a knot of my neighbors in front of Dave's house.

I backed up into the garage and carried my guitars and keyboard into the great room where I simply set them down on the dining room table. Our sub was quiet and mostly crime free but I felt better with these 'nice to haves' inside the house rather than in my car. In the refrigerator I found myself a pint of cloudy cider and went to sit down in my little study where the laptop lay on the table, untouched for more than twenty four hours. I raised my eyebrows at myself and switched it on. At this rate I was not going to finish de-bugging that blasted program and I knew I was starting to run out of time.

I had just started to scroll through some sequences when there was a knock on my door. I was unsurprised to find Mark there. He had another, male, colleague with him. "Hi Mark," I greeted and showed them to come in. "Help you?"

Mark looked around and ruffled Grody's mane. "This is officer Wally Jenson," he indicated his partner and I shook hands realizing that I missed Melanie. "Mind if I put some questions to you?"

I shrugged and sat down with them wondering what could be amiss. Mark took out his notebook and after scrutinizing it for a few seconds looked up at me.

"When was the last time you saw Mr. Higgins?"

"Wednesday night."

"Did you talk?"

I sat upright. "If we did you would now be haulin' me in for assault and battery! No, last time I spoke to him was that night I called you guys."

He nodded. "Seen him since?"

I raised my eyebrows. "As I said, I saw him Wednesday night. He may have been home when I arrived, I don't know. I was having a barbeque, all by myself, when I saw a light go on in his house. I stormed around the house roaring like some demented thing and that may have scared him shitless. As I came around the house he exited his garage with that Cherokee squealing its tires and nearly ran me over."

"That's when he upturned the lawn across the street?"

"Yeah."

"Would you say he tried to run you over?" Wally asked in a voice that was strained in an attempt to sound educated.

I looked at him and wondered if he ate by himself or if he was hand-fed but kept my voice level. "He was coming out the garage at full acceleration Wally. If he ran me over it would have been because I ended up in front of him. I was running and even if he wanted to he would not have been able to miss me if that had happened." I bit my lower lip. "There was a moment I could see his face. His eyes were bulged. The guy was terrified and seemed only to want to get away."

Mark paged back in his notebook and then looked up at me. There was just a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Why did you storm around the house? The people two houses down heard you roar above the sound of their television."

I guffawed. "I don't rightly know. I think it was some animal thing."

"Would you have hurt him?" asked Peabrain. This guy was starting to rile me.

"Would you?" I asked to test his reaction and felt my anger rise when he arrogantly replied; "I asked the question Mr. Gough."

I looked to Mark and motioned him to my study. With the door closed I leaned close. "That little wanker must go and study to be a lawyer. He will upset even an inquiry into a sibling disagreement! That is if some hard criminal does not stick a knife into his kidneys."

Mark nodded. "Sorry Mr. Gough. He was handed to me to see if I could make him get his act together." He winked at me. "He seems to be under the impression that he is the next 'master interrogator'."

I nodded. "Keep him out of my hair please. I have had a long day and I'm reasonably tired. The check on my temper may fail."

He nodded and we went back to the great room. I saw a look pass between Mark and Wally and noticed a little red creep into his face. I am sure that it was anger but I simply could not be bothered. Something was amiss and I did not need this brat to get under my skin.

Mark cleared his throat and looked at me apologetically. "Can I ask of you to answer Wally's question please? Seeing that it was asked."

I nodded. "Quite honestly Mark, I don't know. I guess it rides on how he may have reacted to me. Had it been like when he killed Justin, I may have. Had he been... I dunno, apologetic or even regretful, no, I don't think so." I laughed and gave Mark an almost imperceptible wink. "I dream of cutting him up and using him for bait but then, who wants to eat fish that had ingested something toxic?"

The runt started to speak and Mark simply held up his hand and it shut up.

"Can you please explain the condition of your face Mr. Gough?" Mark asked smiling "And your arms as well for that matter."

I laughed softly. "That is a good story for a night of drinking. In short. I came home on Wednesday and decided to just chill completely as I was still raw from Justin's killing. I started a barbeque and for reasons unknown bought myself a six pack of beers and a bottle of wine. Three beers and a whole bottle of wine later I was suitably smashed and fell myself into a different religion."

"Before or after your altercation with Mr. Higgins?"

"After."

"He has been reported missing, Mr. Gough," Mark mused. "The house has been standing open since, apparently Wednesday, when you roared at him. He has not reported for work. We have a search out for his car. Any idea where he may be?"

I shook my head with raised eyebrows. "None whatsoever. He disliked me from the day we moved in here so consequently we never really spoke. What does Dave say?"

Mark shrugged. "About the same, except that they had a slightly better relationship." He looked at his notes, scanned it once and shook his head. "I am glad this was not a murder. This guy is almost unknown. Nobody knows what he did and when with who or what. It is as if he lived in a rabbit run. Visible sometimes but mostly unseen."

"A strange man," I nodded.

Mark got up and gestured at my guitars and keyboard. "Some serious stuff you have there. You play recreational or pro?"

"Both," I smiled. "Playing at the pop festival on Saturday."

His eyes shot up. "My cousin's lad, Kenny, plays bass for Kriptin. Know them?"

I smiled. "Kenny has done a few stints with us in the past. They are closing the show on Saturday. We have the slot just before them."

Mark nodded and I saw him purse his lips. "His mother is not doing well."

I crooked my eye at him. "Meaning?"

He winced. "Pancreas cancer. They've been pumping her so full of chemicals that she glows in the dark and a few weeks ago she called a halt, wanting to die and get it over with rather than feeling like death warmed up every day. In the last week she has been going south fast."

"Shit!" was all I could think of saying. He nodded and made for the door and they left.

Too many things were running around my head and after more than half an hour of staring at stupid code I slammed the computer shut and went to the kitchen looking for something light to eat. I settled for a ham sandwich and sat there chewing on it hoping it did not turn into rubber in my stomach as badly as it was in my mouth. It took two glasses of cider to wash it down and I went for a shower and bed.

Chapter 7

I was late getting up. Mostly because nothing was hurrying me along. I heated some frozen pancakes, treated them to enough maple syrup to sweeten the political madhouse in Africa and washed the whole lot down with coffee strong enough to get out of the mug and carry it away.

When I drove into the school yard I was unsurprised to see Wallace's SUV already parked. He was the type to be there long before anyone else. I grabbed my guitars and walked into the hall passing him on his way out. We greeted in passing and as I put my guitars down on the stage I saw him coming down the hall with my piano keyboard.

Jimmy sidled up to me. "Have you seen his guit?"

I shook my head and he gestured to where Mom was sitting. Shrugging I walked off the stage and allowed Wallace to take the keyboard upstage. I gave Mom a hug in greeting and then my eyes fell on a guitar standing against some chairs. It was worn to the point of paint having long ago lost the battle against hands moving across the body and the exposed wood had been polished to a lustre by skin. I stared at my mom. "Mom! Do you know what that is?"