Sirens, page 49
heart and, in the process, make certain hers was not turned to black
glass. Instead of going home she had the limo take her out to Chris'
house. The band had returned from the wars, as Chris called it - six
long gruelling weeks on the road. The tour had been enormously
successful- standing-rooni-only crowds wherever they performed, riots,
tons of press coverage and, in New York where they were scheduled to
play a week at Madison Square Garden, demand had forced them to add on
three extra nights. Daina had used the limo's phone to call the
Heartbeats' office. Vanetta, their, black English co-ordinator, had told
her Chris was home. ' mean the house in Malibu?' Daina had asked,
feeling relieved that he was out of Nigel and Tie's place. Vell,"
Vanetta said, ' house in Malibu, anyway. He had me arrange something
with a realtor here. It's about a mile and a half past the old place."
She gave Daina the address. ' had enough time to get everything set
while the band was gone. Got its own studio in back and all! It was a
mulberry and grey beach house that seemed neither larger nor smaller
than the one he bad shared with Maggie. It had a wooden deck that ran
out on to the beach. It was painted grey and smelled from Bain de Soleil
and, somewhat more faintly, from new paint and tar. She waited a long
time after pressing the bell before the door opened and, at one point,
she was about to turn away) having decided that Vanetta had made a
mistake or, in the interim, he had left. But then she saw his Rolls on
the far 428 of the house and she leaned on the bell again. Far down
beach Linda Ronstadt warbled languidly over the hoarse and hiss of the
surf. e door opened and she saw him framed in the dark doorstill and
lean. He wore a T-shirt with the sleeves cut off a pair of black jeans.
His hair was longer and more ed than when she had last seen him in San
Francisco there were dark circles under his eyes, the badge of war. ic
rolled out from inside, unfamiliar and intriguing. e exploded when he
saw her. '!' He reached out, . her up in his arms and they hugged each
other. he kissed him on the check, ruffled his hair. ' see you it
through in one piece.' h, Christ, just about an' no thanks t' Nigel.
Th' sod wanted t' go straight on t' Europe without a break, ally talked
him outta that one.' He grinned. ', hey, c on, in. I'm glad you're here.
Somethin' I wanna play for went through the spacious living room.
The walls painted a pale blue and the floor was covered with a ile
wall-to-wall carpet in dove grey. The furniture was st red in
comfortable nubbly cotton over lacquered rattan. S cool and relaxed and
there was even a tall potted palm comer. a caught a hint of a perfume
that seemed vaguely r but which she could not place. It was not in the
hall which he led her. Colour prints of the band performing the walls.
They passed by three bedrooms, one of the largest one - had obviously
been slept in. It had -lying custom-made platform bed that could not be
less king-size. She glimpsed a black lacquer dresser and the en door to
a bathroom before they were past. y went down a short flight of polished
wooden steps to ck of the house into the studio. It consisted of a tiny
I booth separated from the studio itself by a doubled Plass window and a
soundproof door. was like a kid in a candy store to which he had been
the key. He sat down in the high-backed black leather , the console and
stabbed at some square buttons. 429 Pink and green lights lit up behind
their frosted faces and the great tape machine behind him began its
rewind whir. Jumbled noises, highly speeded up, then silence.
just a soft, almost inaudible hiss, coming through the mammoth speakers
mounted high up on the wall. Out of the silence, Chris whispered,
"Listen to this.' He stabbed at a button. There came a blast of massed
guitars, a phalanx of sound ' blurred at first by the assault of its
initial volume. But gradually the bare bones of melody emerged through
the chord changes and the dominance of a lead guitar line, as slender
and delicate as a filament. Chris hummed along, singing out snatches of
words here and there and, at one point, an exuberant burst of chorus
that repeated what she took to be the song's title line: ' word for
world is rock'n'roll.' Initially she was shocked. The music was
definable as the Heartbeats' but only in the most tangential sense. The
band's music had always had about it - at least after Jon died and with
him his musical collaboration with Chris - a raw, streetfighter's edge
to it, even on ballads that were as close as the band would ever come to
being refined. But they were never that. Nigel, Daina suspected, would
never have stood for it. This music was different. The harmonics were
the Heartbeats' - which meant to Daina, Chris' - but there was a
sophistication that the band itself would never have been able to
tolerate. The music was over and the silence had returned. Chris sat
with his head in his hands, almost trancelike, the overhead pinspots
picking up red highlights in his hair. She could see nothing of his
face. ''s beautiful, Chris,' she said. ', but will it sell?' Daina
looked hard at him. She felt a difference; she still saw the resistance
inside him but, mixed with that now, she recognized his burning desire
to create. She was still not certain of all the factors holding him back
but, abruptly, she recognized this moment as a crucial one in both their
live 430 after all, his friend, she thought.
I've got to tell him think. -don't,' she said quietly, ' you're asking
yourself the question! "Sure I am.' He picked his head up, the peculiar
overhead ing pulling shadows along his already gaunt face as if t lines
had been gouged into his flesh. It was a macabre but it somehow made him
seem all the more vulnerable. ou think I want t' leave a money-making
operation like just t' fail on my face. Oh, th! critics'll be waitin' t'
make cemeat o' me, call it another ego trip. But it ain't that at @"he
came over to him, touched his shoulder. ' know it's Chris. This is the
music you've got to make now.' "You know,' he said with tears in his
eyes, ' I'm most id of ? I don't wanna be like Chuck Berry, cartin' my r
round in ten years, playin' all the old Heartbeats' hits.' closed his
eyes, winced. ''ll tell you a secret even Nigel't know. I can't stand t'
even listen t' those numbers any , let alone play '. Christ, I've broken
all those LPs over knee an' thrown 'em away.' He spread his hands, gave
a 11, sickly giggle. ' ain't got a single Heartbeats record in place.'
His arms came around her, his head buried in her ch. ' can't play that
stuff any more, Dain.' hen you don't have to,' she said, smoothing down
his She leaned over, kissed the top of his head. ' the Chris. It'll be
easier than you think.
You've been giving ing and taking nothing. I know that's killing you."
She in the silence for him to say something. '?' e drew away from her
and she saw his eyes, large and ted. ' can't leave,' he cried in
anguish. ''re my y. I just can't abandon them.' aina knew that she was
close but if she did not find out t was behind that look in his eyes,
she could not help him y. ', you've got to tell me what's making this
decision difficult. I know you want to be free. What's stopping you?'
o!' It was almost a shout. He lurched up, ran out of the m. Daina went
after him, up the stairs and into the hall. was passing the bedroom when
something caught her eye. 431 She stopped and went inside. The room was
something of a mess: clothes and newspapers scattered all around. A
small Sony TV was on, the sound cut off. A cassette recorder was on the
bed, loaded and ready to play. She reached down, picked up the object
that, glittering in the light, had caught her eye. It was a four-tiered
necklace with the head of an Egyptian god in its centre. Tie's choker.
So that's it, Daina thought. Now that Chris is the creative force behind
the band, Tie's finally moved in. What will Nigel say? she asked
herself. Nothing, she suspected. He knew there was nothing he could do
to keep her and he would not make a move that might threaten the band.
Christ, Daina thought, it's Tie who's keeping him in the band, nothing
else. But she knew that Tie could be formidable indeed. Abruptly, her
conversation with Bonesteel returned to her. She's in love with you. No,
Daina thought, shocked, it's impossible. But she knew that for a lie and
now the thought that had been circling through the darkness of her
unconscious began to surface so that sweat broke out in a thin line
across her forehead and upper lip and she had to sit down on the edge of
the bed. My God, she thought. My God! It can be done. She looked down at
the choker lying across her palm and closed her fingers over the god's
head, making a fist. She squeezed for a moment, then threw the thing
back on to the bed. Without turning back, she left the room, looking for
Chris. No wonder he could not tell her. He knew what her reaction would
be if she knew he and Tie were together. Well, he'd never know she had
found out. Daina went through the living room and out on to the deck.
She found Chris leaning on the cedar railing, staring out to sea. She
smelled the cloying sweetness of the grass, saw as she approached that
he was smoking a joint. He stood in a way that reminded her oddly of an
invalid. In front of them the sea marked time as regularly as a
drumbeat. The breakers dominated all sound, echoing and, in those
echoes, increasing in volume, scope and depth. She came softly up behind
him, her mind clear. She put an 432 1-d him, stroked the side of his
neck and said to him, Let's go get blasted., ing was easier than Daina
had imagined it could called Tie and asked her over for drinks. It was a
time day when dusk was settling, straddling LA like a black turning the
brown smog plum in a brief, beautiful M call. In the valley, eyes were
watering from the on but here in Bel Air the rent was better than
Visine. arrived in Nigel's custom Silver Cloud Rolls rather her own
Spider; it was like her to make a statement like She wore a faille
wraparound skirt in a black shadowstripe a cream crepe de Chine blouse.
Her hair, shorter than remembered it5 had darkened to auburn while,
oddly her skin had taken on an almost opalescent whiteness. a met Tie at
the door, clad in skin-tight dark blue and a pleated-front linen shirt,
unbuttoned just gh to reveal that she was not wearing a bra. e in,"
Daina said, smiling. Tie tore her eyes away from unbound breasts. Her
heavy-lipped mouth was glossed the shade of rich red as her long nails.
Daina saw the tip of tongue like a pink adder's head, darting between
those et lips. aina, on the other hand, wore only eye makeup and this
st, she knew, was just subtle enough to be dramatic. turned to lead the
way down the hall and could almost the heat of Tie's eyes burning her,
back. must say I was rather surprised when you called me.' voice drifted
down to her from behind. ' had some counters in San Francisco.' erhaps
that's only because we're both Chris' friends.' said as they emerged
into the living room. Only the ed-glass lamp in the conversation pit by
the velvet sofa lit and this produced both a warmth and an intimacy that
otherwise impossible in the enormous room. Daina crossed the bar.
"Drink?' o you have Tsingtao?' ama looked around. ' think we have a
bottle around here here.' She found it behind the Courvoisier. ', here
it 433 is.' She broke the seal, poured the vodka over ice, added a
twist of lemon. ' know, we seem to be quite different when we're both
with him.' She handed Tie the frosted glass. ' you noticed?' Tie's black
eyes regarded her coolly over the rim of the glass. She waited while
Daina fixed herself a Stolichnaya on the rocks and they toasted
silently, lifting their glasses as if to friends departed but not
forgotten. ' seem to have become quite friendly with that cop,' Tie said
without ever having answered Daina's question. ' cop?' She came around
from behind the bar. ' lieutenant investigating Maggie's death,' Tie
said, following Daina over to the couch. ''s his name?
Bonesteel.' She sat down with one leg bent under her so that the expanse
of one pale thigh was revealed as the slit of the wrap skirt spread. '
more than anyone else,' Daina said levelly. She sipped at her drink.
"Anyway, it seems I'm Chris' only real alibi.' Tie snorted. ' doesn't
really think Chris killed her?' ' don't know what he thinks.' Daina put
her glass down. ''s exceptionally uncommunicative.' ' know how to remedy
that ... and so should you.' She looked at Daina over the rim of the
glass: that same cool stare. ' don't you find out what's on his mind. He
can't be very complicated. It ought to be as easy as putting on your
garter belt.' ''s your interest in this?' Tie grunted, placed her glass
next to Daina's. ' that should be obvi(5us. I don't want anything to
jeopardize the workings of the band. And that includes the possible
delusions of a cop.' She took a tortoiseshell case out of her lizardskin
pocketbook, snapped it open. ' know reputation's everything with these
guys. He's made no arrests, he's bound to be feeling the pressure. He
makes an arrest and the heat's off.' She shrugged. ' like that.' She
edged her ruby nails into the tortoiseshell case, extracted a tiny
silver spoon, the business end of which she dipped into the layer of
white powder. She did up each nostril, inhaling quickly and deeply each
time. ''s not going to do that,' Daina said. 434 ' makes you say that? p
''s not stupid." "All cops are stupid,' Tie said, replacing the spoon
and a Ping closed the case. (In One way or another.' Belatedly, e said,
' some?' And, quite deliberatelyj dropped the oiseshell case back into
her purse.
Daina felt an urge to comment on Ties generosity but urained herself,
saying Only she would prefer to stick to or. ' and Russian," Tie said,
reaching for her glass. She t the two vodkas. ' yin and the yang. Very
interesting., ,"Have you ever tried the Russian?' "'Not Stolichnaya.'
She Daina took her drink up. ' should. It's quite good.' ded the
half-filled glass. '.' Tie turned her head a little.
"I don't think so.' But Daina put one hand behind her head and was
pressing the edge the glass between her lips. She heard it rattle
against her t teeth, tipped it up. Then Tie's hands had come up and, in
a blur, had thrust e glass away from her with such violence that Daina
was dated with the liquor. Tie threw the remainder of her own k into
Daina's face. ' told you I didn't want any P Daina closed the distance
between them, felt the press of other woman's ample breasts against her
own, the heat of body, the combination of perfume and mild sweat,
minglcreating a new musk. Tie's breath was hot against her cheek as they
struggled g the length of the sofa. ' she cried. ' bitchp she cried out
in pain as Daina seized her arm, jerking ck against the top of the sofa.
', oh; oh! That hurts! tp She looked up to see Daina's teeth bared and
she dered through her entire body, her eyes fluttering closed.
me up.' But she said it so weakly it was almost a part of silence that
had grown up around them. Lie down,' Daina commanded and Tie's eyes flew
open. was trembling. Daina had not relinquished her hold and -moved half
over Tie so that they were both half reclining. struggle had opened the
remaining buttons on Daina's 435 blouse and the swell of her breasts
was exposed an e way down to her nipples. Tie's dark eyes were drawn @s
if by magnets. The tip of her tongue came out, unconsciously sweeping
this way and that over her parted lips. Daina straddled Tic, keeping her
imprisoned between her powerful thighs. ' are you doing?' Tic said
hoarsely but her body told Daina she knew. Daina's hands came up, pulled
her blouse out from her trousers, shrugging it off. She cupped her
breasts. ' me,' she whispered huskily. ' you smell me?' Tie tried to
turn her head away but Daina saw her nostrils dilate at the heady scent.
' them away,' she groaned. ', no, no, no.' Daina leaned forward, tracing
the outline of Tie's mouth with one long nipple, rubbing it back and
forth between her closed lips. ''t you want to open your mouth, Tie?'
The odd black eyes were clouded, the faille wraparound skirt rucked up
