Las Vegas,
Nevada
December 8,
2002
The show at
the Mandalay Bay Events Center was a smash and by midnight, the guys were bone
tired and headed off to their rooms before they departed the next day to
prepare for their show in Phoenix on the 10th. All except Malvin.
For some
reason, he was wired. He was in Vegas –
a city that glows neon 24 hours a day.
He hadn’t much time to enjoy himself since he got here – his was not to
enjoy himself, but to tend to 5 rock stars who, over time, seemed like sons to
him.
Dressed in
black jeans, sneakers and a hooded down jacket, Malvin took off for a walk down
the bright streets, trying to soak up what little he could before heading out
tomorrow. He wanted to do something,
just for fun, but gambling just didn’t seem to do it. He wanted to indulge in some kind of frivolous guilty pleasure
that Vegas had to offer, but not something that would have him getting bailed
out of jail in the morning.
Malvin shoved
his hands in his pockets as he continued down the street, his eyes appraising
every little business that he walked by until one made him stop in his tracks
and chuckle.
“Oh, I
shouldn’t,” he giggled
to himself. “These things are so
ridiculous. No one can be gullible
enough to believe in this crap.”
Malvin stared at
the sign in the window that read Psychic Readings and decided that this
was a frivilous as he was gonna get at this hour, unless he dropped a wad of
cash at the casinos – something he didn’t want to do.
Seeing the 24
Hour A Day Readings blurb under the sign, he opened the door and went
inside. The dark, paneled room was
dimly lit with low wattage bulbs within very tacky looking fringed lamps. Weird figurines, crystals and wood carvings
were strewn about in a messy sort of way.
In the center of the room was a round table covered with a blood red
velvet table cloth.
Malvin felt an
uneasy feeling come over him, even though he knew these things were nothing but
hoax’s. When he didn’t see nor hear
anyone, something inside of him just told him to leave. As he turned, a voice from nowhere spoke out.
“Why are you
leaving?”
Malvin turned
around to find a very old woman. If
Phyllis Diller were abducted by a caravan of gypsies, this is what she’d look
like!
“Uh, well, I
didn’t see anyone here,” Malvin replied.
“Plus, I changed my mind.”
The old woman
approached him. “What made you change
your mind?”
“Oh, I don’t
know. Guess I just didn’t want to do
this after all.”
“You don’t
believe in foretelling the future do you?” the old woman said. “Yet…something drew you in here.”
“You’re right,
I don’t believe in this stuff,” Malvin said.
“I guess, I don’t know, I was looking for something to humor me this
late at night.”
The old woman
went to the round table, sat down and offered the seat across from her to
Malvin. “Then sit down and let me make
your late night curiosity worth your while.”
Malvin
shrugged and sat down, as he extended his hand.
“By the way,
my name is……”
“No!” the old
woman shouted, as she took Malvin’s hand.
“Do not tell me your name! I
don’t want to know anything about you.
I will find all I need to know right here.”
She punctuated
that by studying the lines on Malvin’s palm.
“You know, each line has a symbol, a meaning. I don’t believe in the stereotypical ones. I prefer the lines to mean something unique
to each individual.”
Malvin
smirked, thoroughly amused. “So, what
do my lines say about me?”
She studied
his hand and knitted her very wrinkled brow.
“Well, they don’t say much about you, but more about the people who are close
to you. You have five distinct lines on
your palm. You have five people who are
very close to you, do you not?”
Malvin’s was
about to be skeptical, but cast it aside.
There was no way this decrepit old woman would know who he is and who he
works for. If she were much younger,
maybe, but not someone her age.
“As a matter
of fact, yes,” Malvin answered.
The woman ran
her frail finger over his palm. “Five men,
correct?”
Malvin
gulped. “Um…yeah.”
She
continued. “Five men whom you’ve been
close to for a very long time. Five men
who’s lives sometimes depend on you.
And you have been exceptionally loyal to them, have you not?”
“Yes, yes and
yes,” Malvin nervously said.
“That’s good,
because they will continue to need you.
Each one of them has a very unique personality and each one has their
own set of personal issues that puts a strain on them. And because of this, each one of them will
encounter something very unpleasant in their lives over the next two days.”
Malvin rolled
his eyes. He really wanted to tell this
pruned battle-ax to save the hokey mumbo jumbo, but he decided to continue with
the charade – if only to get his money’s worth.
“What can you
tell me?” Malvin asked, pretending to be very interested.
The old woman
traced one line on his hand as she spoke.
“Someone very close to one of them will suffer a loss that they were
greatly attached to.”
Malvin bit his
lip. “Who? Which one? The loss of
what or….who?”
“That I cannot
tell you,” she said as she traced a second line. “Another will have a frightening confrontation.”
Malvin
paled. “What…what kind of
confrontation?”
“Again, I
cannot tell you. I do not see the
details. They are just general
feelings.” She then traced a third
line. “Another will be hurt in an
unfortunate mishap.”
Before Malvin
could ask who and what, he composed himself.
This was nothing but a farce.
This didn’t mean anything. What
she was saying was so general. Hell,
over the last 25+ years, these guys have lost, had confrontations and suffered
mishaps. What could she predict that
could be worse, if, of course, he believed this nonsense?
She then
traced a fourth line. “One will receive
news that will further delay something he’s been wanting to do for a long
time. It will only add to the frustration
and stress that he’s been feeling thus far over it.”
Malvin
shrugged. Bad news wasn’t anything the
band was immune to.
“And,
finally,” she said, tracing the fifth and last line in Malvin’s palm, “one will
do some heavy soul searching and make a drastic change in his life.”
After a few
moments, the old woman just sat there with her eyes closed, head back, as if
some sort of trance. She was still
holding Malvin’s hand. He decided that
he had seen and heard enough and, after having his fun, decided to call it a
night..
“Well, thank
you for this um….entertaining evening,” he said with a twinkle as he tried to
pull his hand away. However, when he
tried, the old woman clung to it.
“No! Wait!
There….there is………..no! Oh, no!”
Malvin again
rolled his eyes. Okay, so she was
laying on the drama for his money’s worth.
Suddenly, she let go of his hand and, without opening her eyes, she
grabbed a pencil and pad and began to write.
First she
wrote three numbers….2-7-9.
Then, she drew a picture of something round. Inside the circle, she drew lines, like the spokes of a bicycle
tire. Then the words – inside, left,
square, black.
She ripped the
piece of paper out of the pad, folded it up, stood up, walked over to Malvin
and put it in his pocket.
“Here, take
this. Whatever you do, do not lose
it. But, do not delay in looking at
it. I…I can’t figure it out, but
hopefully you can. It……its not
good. Not good at all. Please, as I said, do not delay.”
Malvin
continued to humor her. “Oh…okay, sure. No problem.
I always like puzzles and clues.
So, how much do I owe you?”
The woman
shook her head. “No, no charge. Please.
If you’re able to figure out what’s on that paper, then that will be
payment enough. Now, go. Go to those five men who’s lives depend on
you. Because they may.”
Malvin felt a
chill run up his spine before he realized what was going on. This woman was just trying to freak him
out. It was her job. She probably just decided to give him a
midnight freebie reading, nothing more.
“Okay madam,
well thank you,” Malvin said, nodding his head to her before he left.
The old woman
went to the window and watched Malvin as he disappeared down the street. Her mouth trembled as a lone tear streamed
down her aged face.
“They’re
all going to die!”
Chapter
2
December 9,
2002
Early Morning
One by one,
the weary band members boarded the bus that would take them to their show in
Phoenix for the next night. They had a
bit of a drive ahead of them and would use the time wisely and rest up some
more.
As usual,
Malvin boarded last, always waiting to make sure everything, and everyone, was
accounted for before they departed.
The events of the previous evening still made him a bit uneasy. What was worse, is that he felt silly for
feeling that way. Psychics aren’t for
real! No one can predict the future!
Its all a bunch of bunk!
However, if it
were…..how did she know about the men – the five men – whom he carefully
looks after? She was right on target
with that. And all those individual
scenarios that she stated would befall each of them? They were way too general.
It could be anything.
Except….except for that last one for which she wrote those clues
down. Malvin didn’t know what it was,
but the look on her face frightened him a bit.
Well, hey she was quite a fright to look at to begin with!
He boarded the
bus and wearily took a seat, hoping to nod off himself after they took off.
“Okay spill
it,” Joe said in his direction. “How
much did you lose last night?”
Malvin opened
one eye and looked at Joe who was slouched down in his seat in his usual attire
– black jeans, loud, obnoxious t-shirt and a pair of shades.
“I didn’t lose
a bloody cent,” Malvin replied. “I
didn’t dare go into a casino. Until the
promotion wheels start rolling again, I’m watching my money very carefully.”
“So where’d
you go?”
“Just walked
around. Trying to take in as much of
the Vegas experience without succumbing to the pitfalls of the slot machines.”
“I wish I
stayed on the slot machines,” Phil muttered after overhearing. “I was torched at that blackjack table
yesterday. Thought winning big would
take the edge off of turning 45. Not
that I care. But dropping almost $500
made me feel worse. What was I
thinking? I’m better off sticking to
vices that don’t cost me money.”
“Your wife
costs you plenty!” Joe shot out. “Which
is why you’ll never catch me with a ring on my finger.” Joe then looked at the
gold rings on his hand. “Well, a wedding
ring at least.”
“I’ll second
that….for now,” Rick said. “Who knows
what’ll I’ll be thinking a year from now.”
When Joe
turned to acknowledge Rick, he saw that Sav and Viv were sound asleep. He couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Those two
better get as much rest as possible before they go back home and chase those
little ones around,” he muse.
“Thank God
Lauren Shane’s past those ‘toddler’ years, even though being five is still a
handful. I don’t envy Sav with those
two little ones. Viv too.”
Just then the
sound of a cell phone went off.
Everyone pulled theirs out to look at it before Rick announced
“mine”. “Hello? Hello sweetie. I was just talking about you.
Whats the matter? Lauren Shane,
why are you crying? Hold on.”
Rick then got
up and walked to the back of the bus so he could talk to his daughter. Joe rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You know, its bad enough when your woman
checks up on you. Now you’ve got to
deal with your children doing the same!”
After a few
moments, Rick clicked off his cell phone and walked back up to his seat.
“So….whats the
trauma du jour at the Allen Residence?”
Phil asked.
“Oh, nothing
major,” Rick replied. “Well, not to me,
but to Lauren Shane. Her
um……goldfish….Buffy The Shark Slayer…..was found floating upside down in the
tank. It took Lauren forever to
convince her to flush him…or, should I say….her, down the toilet.”
Joe broke out
in a fit of laughter. “What? Buffy the what?”
Rick
huffed. “I know, I know. But, Lauren Shane watches the repeats of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and tries to imitate her moves. When we got her the goldfish, she came up
with the kitchy name.”
“Nothing like
losing a pet,” Phil said somberly. “I
still miss Woof.”
“Yeah, but he
was a dog, Collen,” Joe stated. “A faithful companion who understood commands
and stuff. But….a goldfish?”
“Joe, she’s
only five,” Rick said defensively. “To
her it’s a big deal. She was very
attached to that goldfish.”
Suddenly,
Malvin’s ears perked up. “What did you
say Rick?”
Rick looked
bewildered. “Um, about the
goldfish? I said that Lauren Shane was
very attached to it.”
Malvin’s mind
raced back to the previous evening, trying to remember what that creepy gypsy
woman said. “Someone very close to one of them will suffer a loss that they
were greatly attached to.”
No, it….it
couldn’t be? It was just a coincidence,
that’s all. Nothing more.
Then again,
if, for some bizarre turn of events, her predictions did come true, Malvin
would have nothing to worry about if they were all as harmless as this.
They key word
was ‘if’.
Chapter
3
December 9,
2002
Late Afternoon
The bus pulled
up in the back of the hotel, allowing the band to enter inconspicuously and
without any hassle. A number of people
carrying various pieces of luggage, bags, packages and whatnot followed them
inside as Malvin went to the front desk to arrange for check in.
As they waited
by the elevator, Sav noticed someone out of the corner of his eye and paled a
bit. He very slowly went over to Phil
and stood in front of him, blocking the person’s view of him.
“Uh Phil,
don’t look but, um…..you know who is here.”
Phil tried to
crane his neck past Sav to see, to which Sav blocked his view.
“Didn’t I tell
you not to look?”
“Sav, who
is….oh…oh no! Oh God, no! Please…please don’t tell me…..”
Just then Joe
joined them. “Bloody fuck, did you see
who’s here?”
Phil looked
about to die of exasperation. “Yeah, I
just found out. I can’t believe she
followed me all the way to Phoenix! She
can’t be alone. She has to be here with
someone. Oh God, where’s Malvin? Make sure he gets on this and keeps her, and
whoever she may be with, away from me.”
Joe sent
someone over to Malvin to whisper in his ear about Phil’s admirer. Malvin turned around, sought out the person
in question then asked for hotel security to have her removed. This was getting a little ridiculous!
Phil was
hiding behind a large, potted floor plant until the woman was gone from the
hotel. Even still, he wanted to get
out of the lobby as quickly as possible.
“That’s it,
I’m taking the stairs,” he said heading towards the door leading to the
stairwell. “I know what floor we’re
on. I’ll meet yo there.”
As Phil went
through the door, he took them two at a time, marveling, as he always did, how
great a shape he was in for 45. When he
got to his designated floor, he opened the door and sucked his breath in. Waiting for him, was a close, recognizable
friend of his psychotic admirer who followed him from time to time.
“Phil!” she
exclaimed, throwing herself at him and wrapping her rather large frame around
him.
“Crikey!” Phil
choked out. “Hey, come on….please……let
go of me. No one’s supposed to be up
here.”
But the woman
wouldn’t budge. “Oh, I’m so glad to see
you,” she gushed as she had him in a hold that a wrestler would be proud
of. “I told you I’d be here in
Phoenix. That we both were. Didn’t you see…..?”
“Yeah, I did,”
Phil gasped. “Down in the lobby. Malvin saw her and she was escorted out
immediately, which is what you’re gonna be if you don’t……”
The bell
ringing signaling the elevator arriving on their floor allowed Phil to heave a
sigh of relief. He took the woman’s
arms and disengaged them from around his neck.
“Look, you have to leave.
Now! I’m sorry, but you can’t be
around me. I don’t like be accosted
this way.”
“Aye! What are you doing up here missy?”
Malvin’s voice
boomed down the hallway as he approached the woman, followed by a security
guard. Phil used the opportunity to
scoot out of there, as the guard took the woman by the arm and escorted her off
the floor, via the stairwell.
Phil flattened
his back against the wall of the hallway and banged the back of his head
against the wall. Viv came over to
him. “You okay?”
“Bloody hell,
so much for taking the stairs,” he huffed.
“Scared the frigging life out of me.”
Malvin walked
back over to Phil. “Philip, you
alright?”
“Yeah, for
someone who just got mauled by a psychotic fan. Crikey, I can’t believe how that woman and her friend stalk me
like that. Nowhere’s safe. Everywhere I go I gotta keep one eye
open. I’m so sick of these frightening
confrontations.”
Malvin’s heart
slammed in his chest at those final words from Phil. And just as quickly, the old woman’s words from the following
night assailed his memory.
“Another will have a frightening confrontation.”
Malvin gulped as he
quickly escorted everyone into their rooms.
“Listen, just to be safe, just do room service tonight lads,” he
ordered. “I’ll go take a walk through
to see if there are any more surprises lurking.”
Not even desiring to argue
with Malvin’s order to stay in and order room service, the five bandmembers,
including a shaken Phil, retreated to their rooms. Malvin then went to the elevator and took it to the lobby to
check around.
On the ride down, he
reflected on what just happened, along with what happened earlier with Rick and
his daughter. So far, two predictions
that the psychic said came true. At
least Rick’s was nothing but a little goldfish dying, even though it was
traumatic to Lauren Shane. But
this….this was a little different. This
was a direct confrontation to where Phil could’ve been harmed, had everyone not
gotten there in time.
Malvin was beginning to
get sufficiently creeped out. As much
as he tried to reason that it was nothing but a coincidence, he wondered what
the next day and a half held for the remaining bandmembers.
Chapter
4
December 10,
2002
Sound Check
American West
Arena, Phoenix AZ
The guys stood
in a circle in the center of the stage to look over the setlist. Viv was a little concerned.
“Hey guys, can
we go over the High ‘n Dry songs first?
I’m a little rusty on those still.”
“No problem,”
Joe said going to his mic. He then
looked around. “Aye, can I get a check
on this?”
As Joe tapped
his mic waiting for the proper sound, Viv went over to his side of the stage
and did some fine tuning on his guitar.
His tech plugged him in before bringing the other end over to the amp to
set him up to do his sound check.
As the tech
walked over to the amp, he tugged on the wire and felt it catch. Not seeing what it was caught on, he pulled
with all his might to disengage it. It
was followed by a loud thud and an “oh
shit!”
The tech
turned to see that the amp wire was laying on the floor and looped in a circle,
the circle being right underneath Viv’s foot.
When he had pulled on it, it had tripped up Viv, causing him to take a
nasty spill on his bum.
Phil and Sav
headed over to Viv at the same time.
“You okay?”
Sav bent down
to unwrap the wire from around Viv’s ankle as Viv sat up, wincing in pain a
bit.
“Yeah, but I
landed on my damn tailbone.”
Just then, the
tech came jogging over and knelt beside Viv.
“Geez, Viv I’m sorry. I had no
idea the wire was wrapped around your ankle when I tugged.”
“How’s about
looking the next time?” Joe said as he joined the group.
“Or maybe not
tugging so hard,” Viv added with a wince.
Malvin was in
the arena area finishing up a cell phone call when he saw Viv take a tumble out
of the corner of his eye. He
immediately sprinted up on the stage.
“Viv, you
okay? What happened?”
“He pulled a
‘Sav’ on us, only he stayed on the stage,” Joe smirked.
“So much for
not re-opening old wounds, eh Joe?” Sav replied.
Joe chuckled
and reached out his hand to Viv. “C’mon
mate, lets get you up.”
“Easy Joe, I
said I fell on my tailbone.”
With Malvin
behind him and Sav and Phil taking each arm, they slowly got Viv to his
feet. Once upright, Viv rubbed the
round bone at the base of his spine.
“Damn, that hurts. Hope I didn’t
chip it or anything.”
“You alright
for tonight?” Joe asked.
“Oh, yeah, I’m
sure. Just an unfortunate mishap,
nothing serious.
Malvin stilled
from where he stood.. He heard the
psychic’s voice in his head as clear as day.
“Another will be hurt in an unfortunate mishap.”
“This is
crazy!” Malvin thought
to himself. “No…no, its just a
coincidence. Its got to be. Its just got to be.”
“Gotta be
what, Mal?” Phil asked.
Malvin didn’t
realize that he spoke his thoughts aloud.
“Oh, uh…..Viv’s injury. Its got
to be only minor.”
“Probably hurt
like a mother tomorrow or the next day,” Joe said.
“Thanks Joe,”
Viv sarcastically replied. “Now I’ve
got something to look forward to.”
As they all
got back in place for sound check, Malvin hopped off the stage and sat down in
on the arena seats, dumbfounded over how three of the five psychic’s
predictions had come true. He thought
about the last two, and then that final one which frightened the psychic
greatly.
Malvin still
had that piece of paper. He had stuffed
it in his dayplanner for when he had a free moment to work out the puzzle. He unzipped his planner and pulled it
out. He glanced at the three numbers 2-7-9,
then the drawing of what looked like a bicycle wheel and the words inside,
left, square, black.
For the life
of him, he hadn’t a clue as where to start.
Something deep inside of him told him that he should start soon,
though. If the next two predictions
wind up coming true, then whatever what’s on this paper will be sure to follow.
Chapter
5
The band
wrapped up sound check around three in the afternoon. They headed back to the hotel lounge for a late lunch before
retreating to their rooms to rest before the show tonight.
They all sat
in a big, leather booth in the hotel restaurant and perused the menu. Viv sat cautiously on one side, as not to
put any pressure on his tailbone. Phil
was slouched down in the booth, nervously peering about through a pair of
sunglasses. Joe reached over and pulled
them off.
“Phil, stop
being so paranoid! She’s not here.”
“Yes, Philip,
don’t worry,” Malvin reassured him.
“Every entrance and exit has been checked and we’ve got the dining room
all to ourselves so we can enjoy a nice quiet lunch.”
Rick Allen had
just joined them as he walked over with his cell phone in his hand. He sat
down heavily and let out a sigh.
“Someone
explain to me how I let a five year old talk me into getting her a pet monkey?”
“You’re a
sucker?” Sav offered.
“Look who’s
talking?” Rick shot back. “All Tyler
has to say is ‘da-da’ and your wallet jumps out of your pocket!”
Sav smirked.
“You’re probably right!”
“Ha! All you blokes have to worry about is buying
your kids fuzzy little toys and cute harmless pets,” Phil said. “I’ve got high school and university tuition
to look forward to!”
“Not to
mention that Rory will be 13 next month,” Joe added. “Time for the ‘ol sex talk soon, eh?”
“Soon? Already gave it to him for his twelfth
birthday,” Phil replied. “I mean,
c’mon! He is my son!”
Their banter
was interrupted by the sound of a cell phone ringing. All six men reached for theirs simultaneously before Sav called
out “mine”.
“Who wants to
bet it’s the little woman?” Joe snickered.
“Or one of his lads calling to coo in his ear.”
“Scott’s past
cooing Joe, and Tyler can talk now,” Sav replied.
“Good, now I
can teach him the fun words,” Joe mused.
Sav gave him a
‘don’t even think about it’ look before he clicked on his phone. “ello?
Aye, luv.”
“Little
woman,” Joe surmised.
Sav just
rolled his eyes and continued talking.
“What’s up. What is it? What do you mean you’ll tell me when I get
home? Paige, I won’t be home for a
while, tell me now. Huh? What? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, right?”
Sav dislodged
himself from the booth and sought out a private corner to continue his tirade
on the phone.
“Well, that’s
a side you don’t see too often,” Phil said.
“Wonder what’s up.”
“We’ll find
out soon,” Viv said. “Here he comes.”
Sav walked
back with a face full of anger and frustration and sat back down. He let his head drop back to rest against
the back of the booth.”
“Are you gonna
spill it, or do we have to get rough?” Joe asked.
Sav lifted his
head and huffed. “Till the day I die I
will bloody kick myself in my own arse for not marrying Dara in some Vegas
chapel or something! Its been almost
ten years since I married her and almost 7 since we separated and she’s still
legally my wife, not to mention a major thorn in my side. My attorney just sent papers to my house
that contained more bullshit from her attorney. Paige opened up the envelope while I was on the phone. I’m so sick of this! I just want this bloody
divorce to be final. All I want to do
is get this over and done with so Paige and I can get married, but Dara keeps
pulling these stunts just to delay it because she knows its what I want. I don’t need this stress anymore! I just don’t.”
Malvin took a
sip of ice water just as Sav said that, and his hand instantly shook. The psychic’s voice rang through his brain.
“One will
receive news that will further delay something he’s been wanting to do for a
long time. It will only add to the
frustration and stress that he’s been feeling thus far over it.”
Malvin
gingerly put the glass of water down as a chill went up his spine. Just then, the waiter came over to take
their order. Joe put an arm around Sav.
“He’ll just
have a big glass of vodka and a couple of Valium,” Joe jested.
Sav rolled his
eyes towards the waiter. “Just give me
a gun, it’ll be so much easier!”
“Don’t even
think of it Sav,” Rick said. “We’re
right in the middle of the tour.”
“You blokes do
wonder for my self esteem – whatever’s left of it,” Sav groaned.
“Oh kill the
self pity and order,” Phil said. “Lets
see….I’ll have….”
“Excuse me,”
Malvin said as he got up to leave.
As he climbed
over Viv, he winced at the soreness in his backside. “Mal, where ya going?”
“I’ll….I’ll be
right back,” he stammered and headed outside.
He pulled the piece of paper containing the clues and studied it.
“Damn,
damn, damn,” he
muttered. “This is sheer
lunacy! That old bat’s predictions
can’t be coming true. That nonsense
isn’t real. But……but what if…….oh, God
what should I do? If there’s only one
prediction left, then I’ve got to figure out this puzzle fast!”
Chapter
6
December 14,
2002
Four Days
Later
San Francisco,
CA
For the last
four days, Malvin was on edge. Yet, at
the same time he was still feeling silly.
And a bit relieved, so far.
That psychic
specifically said that each bandmember would encounter something within two
days of the reading. So far, four of
them came true within that time period, all except for one. The last bandmember to to affected by it was
Joe. Malvin remembered the last
prediction being about a major decision being made after a lot of soul
searching. Since Sav received that
frustrating phone call four days ago, everything seemed to be quieting down.
Malvin watched
Joe like a hawk – even engaged in conversation with him a little more than
normal to see if he’d say something that resembled the final prediction. But he didn’t. Malvin felt that, as long as that didn’t happen, then he didn’t
have to worry about being under the gun to solve that puzzle.
In truth, he
kinda forgot about it. It had been so
hectic since they left Phoenix. They
had a show in LA the following night, then in Sacramento two nights later and
now they just finished up their San Francisco show and was heading to Salt Lake
City for a show on the 16th.
Rather than
endure an exhausive 16 hour bus ride to Utah with the crew, the band, along
with Ricky Warwick, headed for the airport.
The arrived at
their gate at almost midnight, waiting to be called. Malvin put his overnight bag down and walked over to the floor to
ceiling window as he watched the ground crew below give a once over maintenance
check to the plane underneath a sea of floodlights.
Malvin then
looked up at the sky towards the full bright moon. So many times he had taken in the sight of a full moon, but none
had even made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. It was interrupted by the sound of their
flight being called.
“Flight 279
now boarding for Salt Lake City,” came the announcer over the speaker.
Malvin backed
away from the window and watched everyone begin to rise and grab their
carry-ons. It only took a moment before
what he just heard sunk in.
“Flight
279? 2-7-9!”
Malvin fumbled
for his dayplanner inside his carry-on for that piece of paper. Sure enough, there were the numbers the
psychic predicted – 2-7-9. He then
looked at that drawing – the circle with the spokes going through it that
looked like a bicycle wheel.
What….what?
He then looked
up and saw everyone begin to board and something inside of him took over.
“No! Wait!
Don’t!”
Joe stopped
first and looked back. “Don’t what?”
It was Rick
who noticed the chalk white complexion on Malvin’s face. “He doesn’t look so good.”
“He was acting
a bit strange after we left Vegas,” Sav said.
“But after Phoenix, he was acting normal again.”
“Yeah, well he
doesn’t look normal now,” Viv said.
Phil dropped
his bag and went over to him. “Mal,
whats wrong? You okay.”
Malvin just
looked down at the drawing, then back out the window, then back down. Phil was perplexed.
“Mal,
what? Tell me?”
Malvin looked
up and saw Joe shrug and continue on to board.
Malvin went after him.
“No,
wait! Joseph, don’t!”
Joe turned and
walked back out, his eyes scanning the looks on everyone’s faces at the scene
Malvin was causing.
“What in
bleedin’ hell is wrong?”
Malvin didn’t
know if he should share the truth with them.
What would they think? They’d
think him a loon, that’s for certain!
But they wouldn’t think that if they knew what was predicted had come
true. But, what about the last
prediction? It was out of sequence.
Malvin was
confused as the rest of the band, along with Ricky, stared at him waiting for
an answer.
“I…I…..look, I
can’t say why right now. Just don’t get
on that plane.”
Malvin looked
at the perplexed faces that stared at him.
Phil’s eyes twinkled a bit.
“What, is there some terrorist on board or something?”
“This isn’t
funny Philip!” Malvin shot back harshly.
“Something is dreadfully wrong!”
Malvin then
saw a few other begin begin to board the small, charter plane. Malvin left the guys in the dust and ran
over to the attendant behind the desk.
“Please…please
listen to me. I….I think there may be
something wrong with the plane.”
The few people
who were about to board overheard Malvin and retreated back. One man went up to him.
“What’s wrong
with the plane?”
“I….I’m not
sure,” Malvin, stammered looking for something believable to say. “I….I can hear the engine from the tunnel.
It….it doesn’t sound right. It…..it……dear
God!”
Malvin darted
back to the window, as everyone, included his five, bewildered employers,
watched him with open-mouthed disbelief.
Malvin looked
at the plane as if faced the window. He
then noticed the two twin engines. Each
cylinder shaped engine had a round, front opening with a grate covering that
resembled…….the spokes of a bicycle wheel!
Malvin’s heart
raced as he sprinted back to the woman behind the desk.
“It’s the
engine! Please, you must believe
me! Something is wrong with the
engine!”
Chapter
7
The woman
behind the desk was aghast as she tried to calm Malvin down. “Sir, please, you’re causing a
disruption. There’s nothing wrong with
the engines, I assure you. If there
was, the crew would pick it up. Now
please, there’s nothing to fear. We
have to board everyone now, else your arrival time will be…..”
“I don’t care
if I’m causing a bloody disruption!” Malvin half-shouted. “I’m telling you, missie, that there is
something wrong. And since just about
everyone here has heard me, I don’t think anyone’s gonna be boarding.”
The woman then
picked up a phone to call into the pilot to explain the delay. Joe went over to Malvin and spun him
around. “Are you out of your mind? This isn’t like you Mal. We’ve must’ve flown 1,000+ flights in our
career and you’ve never freaked out like this.”
“Joseph,
please, I can’t explain, but you must believe me,” he said with anguish in his
face. The look gave Joe a chill up his
spine that almost made him believe Malvin.
The rest of
the band rallied around Malvin as the pilot walked in from the tunnel over to
the group. “What seems to be the
problem here gentlemen?”
All the guys looked
towards Malvin as they awaited an answer.
There was no way Malvin could tell them that a psychic predicted
this. They’d have him hauled off in a
strait jacket for sure. Malvin had to
think and think fast.
“Sir, please
listen to me,” Malvin pleaded with the pilot.
“I…I’ve been standing here listening to the engines through the
tunnel. Something sounds wrong. Dreadfully wrong.”
The pilot
crossed his arms in a condescending manner.
“Now sir, please listen to me.
If there was a problem that was audible, out crew would’ve picked it
up. Now, seeing that they’re more
experienced than you are in this,……”
“Don’t you
dare patronize me, Captain Jerk-off,” Malvin seethed. “I’ve probably flown more times than you have. I’ve heard dozens of plane engines in my
day. My ears are very astute. I’m telling you, something may be
wrong. Now, this can be easily solved
if you just have the crew check….check….”
Malvin tried
to remember the words on the drawing without having to take it out. “inside, left, square, black”
“……check the
left engine……inside. That’s the
engine that’s facing the entrance to the tunnel. I think everyone here would rather be late than crash.”
Malvin said
that loud enough to earn him a collective gasp from his fellow passengers. The stern look on his face, not to mention
his age and maturity, caused the pilot to recant.
“Okay, okay,”
he said, holding his hands up in surrender.
“You win sir.”
“Don’t act
like you’re pacifiying me like a babe on the teat!” Malvin shot back. “This isn’t a matter of winning or
losing. More like living or dying.”
The pilot
turned on his heel and exited back through the tunnel. Malvin went to the window as he watched the
plane shut its engines down so the crew could go in and do a once over.
The band
watched Malvin very cautiously. Never
before had they seen him like this.
They didn’t know whether he was just overtired, or truly onto something.
About 45
minutes passed and all the would-be passengers fidgeted and huffed waiting for
confirmation that everything was a go.
Viv and Sav went off to call their kids, Phil placed a call to Anita and
Rick sat on the floor with his legs crossed, eyes closed and did some calming,
deep breathing exercises. Ricky Warwick
stood by the window with Malvin, as Joe sat in deep reflection. All he could see was that look on Malvin’s
face.
Suddenly, the
telephone at the desk rang and the woman behind it answered it. All watched her face slowly change, her eyes
widen and her hand cover her mouth. Joe
was the first to shoot out of his chair and go over to her as she hung up.
“What? What is it?” he begged.
The woman
ignored him as she took the intercom into her hand and spoke into it. “Ladies and gentleman, may I have your
attention. Unfortunately, due to…….technical
difficulties…Flight 279 to Salt Lake City is cancelled. We are going to see what other flights are
taking off at this time to see if you can be re-routed to your
destination. Again, I apologize for the
inconvenience.”
As she hung up
the intercome, Joe practically lunged over the desk. “Technical difficulties my left nut! What was it? What did
they find?”
Malvin came
over and joined Joe at the desk as they awaited an answer.
“Sir, that
information is confidential and I…….”
“I think we
have every right to know what was wrong, missie,” Malvin said. “Now, tell me. Was I correct?”
The woman’s
eyes scanned around as she kept her voice low.
“Um, yes sir. You were. One of the tech’s found a large, square
black rock with very sharp edges inside the engine. It must’ve been on the runway and got kicked up into the engine
during landing. The velocity at which
it lodged into the engine caused the sharp edges to sever some wires. It could’ve been very dangerous.”
All Malvin
heard were the words square, black – which described the rock. He felt the blood drain from his face and
close to fainting right now.
Joe paled as
his hands gripped the desk. “Bloody
frigging hell! Mal, you….you were
right. Jesus Christ, we could’ve……..we
all could’ve…..”
Just then,
Malvin looked at the clock and saw that it was almost one in the morning. As he did, he felt a great wave of relief
sweep through him. He couldn’t pinpoint
the feeling but it was so strong that his knees almost buckled. But not as strong as the realization of
something greater.
He just
possibly saved the life of every person waiting for this flight.
No, make that
the psychic saved them!
Chapter
8
Just about
everyone had been re-routed to other flights to get them to Salt Lake City
Utah. They would be late, but they’d be
alive.
The guys were
still a bit shaken over their possible demise and were eerily silent as they
awaited their new flight arrangements
Malvin kept
quiet the entire time, the harsh, eerie reality of everything that came to pass
still causing him to stagger. However,
the failure of the fifth and final prediction not coming true seemed to puzzle
him. Since it didn’t seem like it was anything
fatal, he passed it off. Malvin decided
that, once they finished the Denver show on the 17th, he’d make a
quick trip back to Vegas before heading to Sioux Falls for the show on the 19th. There was something he just had to do.
As the band
got their new flight arrangements, all except for Sav and Ricky were a little
skittish about getting on the plane.
“Uh, I hope
you guys don’t mind, but I think I’d rather take the bus,” Sav announced. “Mal, could you check the arena to see if
they’re still there packing up?”
“Yeah, me
too,” Ricky Warwick said. “I think I
rather endure the 16 hour ride right now.”
Malvin just
nodded and dialed the head crewman on his cell phone. As he did, Phil went over to Sav.
“Whats the
matter – get creeped out?”
“Just a bit,”
Sav said a little shakily. “Phil, do
you realize how close I came to never seeing my kids again? Paige?
My brothers? My mum? God, who’d take care of everyone…?”
“I know, I was
thinking the same thing,” Phil confessed.
“It’ll pass though.”
“Yeah, well I
think I’d rather be traveling on pavement instead of air right now,” Sav said.
Malvin hung
up. “Well, you’re in luck, you two.
They’re just taking off now.
They’ll swing by here and pick
you up. See you in a few.”
As Sav and
Ricky grabbed their bags to exit the airport, everyone else boarded for to Salt
Lake City. On the plane ride over, Phil
slept fitfully, Rick listened to some soothing music on a portable CD player,
Viv read a magazine and Malvin, exhausted from all that transpired, finally
fell into an uneventful sleep.
But Joe didn’t
do any of the above. On the entire ride
over, he sat sideways in his seat, his long legs stretched across the seat next
to him. His elbow was propped on the
arm rest as his head was cradled in his hand.
Thoughts, feelings and emotions that he never knew existed bubbled up
inside him and came to the surface.
Each and every one that arose, he gave careful attention to. It was as if he reflected on his entire life
since he joined the band. All the ups
and downs, good times and bad, euphoric celebrations and frustrating shouting
matches played in his mind. Marriages,
divorces, births and deaths, breaking up and making up – they’ve been through
it all. And they survived it. Joe thought he could survive anything.
Up until now.
If Malvin’s
astute ear and stubborn streak hadn’t convinced that pilot to have the engine
checked, his life could very well have been over. Things that he had avoided or put off altogether would never have
a second chance to be considered because he wouldn’t be here to do so. He never felt so vulnerable in his
life. He thought long and hard about
what he would want left behind, should he suddenly leave this earth. How would he be remembered? Would he be remembered? As an only child, his parents would have no
one left.
It wasn’t long
before Joe pulled out his cell phone and placed a call.
Chapter
9
Post-Show
Salt Lake
City, UT
December
16, 2002
The band
finished up their showers before heading to a small, private room to get
something to eat and meet with fans and press before boarding the bus to their
next show in Denver on the 17th.
Joe was the
first one out and immediately scanned the hospitality room until his eyes fell
upon the person he had placed that heartfelt telephone call to two nights
ago. What surged through him at the
moment was unquestionable certainty. He
hadn’t had that feeling in a long time in this area of his life and the fact
that it wasn’t present at all told him that the decision he made before he
placed that phone call was the right one.
He took a deep
breath and approached the person before he led themselves out of the room for a
bit.
It was about a
half hour later when Malvin began to look around. “Where’s Joseph?”
Rick took a
swig of Poland Spring bottled water before whipping his head around to look
himself. “Hmm, not sure. I haven’t seem him since he flew out of the
showers to get dressed.”
“Looked like
he was in a hurry,” Viv added. “Sort of
had a man on a mission look about him.”
Malvin knew
that Joe should be here performing his band responsibilites rather than being
off somewhere, even though he knew exactly who he was with. Even though it was muffled, Malvin heard a
great deal of the telephone conversation that Joe had on the plane ride over
after the near-disastrous turn of events.
He had been quiet since he ended the call and disappeared for a while by
himself after sound check this afternoon.
He was acting both skittish and mysterious. No doubt the episode at the airport still had him shaken.
It had Malvin
still shaken as well. When he had
informed the band that he had to make
an emergency stop off in Vegas on the 18th before rejoining them in
Sioux Falls on the 19th, they were quite inquisitive. Malvin couldn’t very well tell them the
truth. He only told them that there was
an elderly friend that he made there that night that he had to visit. Something strange had come over him after
the technical crew discovered that rock in the engine. It was a cross between a feeling of relief
and….closure. But Malvin was also
overcome with gratitude and had to find that old gypsy and tell her all that
happened.
Malvin checked
his watched and called out. “Ten
minutes!” That’s all the time the band
had left before they had to wrap up and board.
“Where they hell is Joseph?” he thought to himself.
Not long after
the fans and media disbursed from the room, Joe then entered it. The band and Malvin looked up to see him
walk in, his right hand firmly clasped in Bobbi’s left one. Malvin folded his arms and gave him a look
of admonishment.
“Well? Where’ve you been, except…not here?”
Joe smiled a
gorgeous, sexy smile but it didn’t match the look of sheer, beaming joy on
Bobbi’s face. “Don’t worry, Mal. I didn’t ditch the fans. I met up with several outside and chatted
and gave autographs. There was just
something um……more important I had to do first.”
His bandmates
and longtime tour managers all said in unison.
“Yeah?”
Joe looked
down at Bobbi who flashed a diamond the size of a skating rink on her left
hand.
“I finally
asked Bobbi to marry me!”
Six pairs of
eyes totally popped. Sav was the first
one to comment with mirth and a twinkling smile.
“Guess that
fiasco at the airport scared you more than we thought!”
Joe gave him a
look. “Is that any way to congratulate
me?”
Phil walked
over and extended his hand to his friend.
“Gotta say mate, that this is quite a shocker. But, I will say this. The
fact that you asked this lovely lady, who’s put up with you for almost 7 years,
to put up with you legally till the day you die, well, then I know that there
wasn’t a doubt in your mind.
Congratulations!”
Phil hugged
Joe tight before hugging Bobbi and kissing her on the cheek. Everyone else followed suit, both surprised
and overjoyed by their lead singer’s decision to do something he long vowed
never to do. A decision that caused
Malvin to take Joe aside a moment.
“Joseph, I
must admit that I didn’t quite expect this.”
“Nor did I
Mal,” Joe replied. “But….knowing that
the other night we all could’ve….well, it just made me realize how short life
can be. I’ve been with Bobbi for a long
time and she’s stood behind me through the good times as well as the crazy
ones. She’s never waivered. I’m not gonna live with the fear of taking a
risk with my heart again. At least I’m
alive to take that risk. That scare the
other night caused me to do a lot of soul searching. I know that this is a drastic change in my life, but its for the
good. I know it. I’m forty three years old and, well……I…I
think that maybe a um……little Elliott may not be such a bad idea. Whether naturally or adopted, I don’t
care. There’s one thing that all you
guys have that I don’t and that’s a legacy you’re leaving behind – through your
children. Something I don’t have. If I had died the other night, what would be
left behind of me?
Malvin
listened to Joe deliver one of the most sincerest speeches he every heard him
give. But it didn’t stop him for
hearing that gypsey’s voice in his head…
“And, finally, one will do some heavy soul searching and make a drastic change in his life.”
The fifth
prediction had come true, albiet out of order.
Whatever the case, it caused Joe to reach deep inside and over come
something that had been holding him hostage since his bitter divorce from
Karla. Somehow, that near-fatal night
freed him from it. Malvin couldn’t
understand it, but he had never seen such a light of boyish youthfulness in
Joe’s face. It was almost as if he were
a changed man.
So was
Malvin. It made his visit to Vegas all
the more imperative.
Chapter
10
December
18, 2002
As soon as the
taxi pulled up in front of the requested destination, Malvin opened the
backdoor, paid the driver then stepped onto the sidewalk. He stared at the tiny, storefront business
before taking a deep breath and going inside.
The jingling
of the bells above the door announced his entrance, though no one was
about. Just like the night he showed up
here back on the 8th, only it was daytime now. But the sun streaming through the window did
nothing to lighten the dark, mysterious interior of the heavily paneled
room. Malvin peeked about before
calling out.
“Hello? Is anyone here?”
From a narrow
alcove that was shrouded in strings of beads, he saw a pair of feminine hands
part them from the other side before crossing through them. Expecting the old gypsy, Malvin gasped a bit
at the sight of an utterly beautiful young woman with jet black hair, large
dark eyes and full burgendy lips. Her
long, dark hair was fashioned into a low ponytail, held together by a
multicolored scarf. Delicate gold
earrings dangled from her ears and her petite, slim body was swathed in
burgendy and gold silk.
“May I help
you sir”
Malvin got his
bearings. “Well, yes, hopefully. Actually, I’m looking for someone else who
works here. I uh…..came here ten days
ago – on the 8th, actually I came around midnight, and she….um…..well, I…I have
to speak to her. I must speak to
her. She’s a much older woman.
The young
woman bowed her head a bit. “That would
be my grandmother. I’m sorry sir, but
she passed away recently.”
Malvin’s eyes
widened as his mouth dropped. “She…she
did? Oh, lass…..I am so sorry. Truly, I am. Um….how recently?”
“Three nights
ago, on the 15th ” she replied.
Malvin
squinted in remembrance. “Three
nights ago. The 15th. The show was on the 14th, but the
fiasco at the airport happened well after midnight, which would make it the 15th!”
he thought to himself.
“Oh, well, I
didn’t realize it was so soon. Again,
please accept my sympathies.”
The young
woman raised an eyebrow at Malvin. “Did
my grandmother give you a reading the night you were here?”
“Yes, she
did. And…..that’s what I wanted to talk
to her about.”
“Did what she
tell you come true?”
Malvin slowly
nodded. “Yes. Much to my disbelief, it did.
She predicted 6 separate incidences, one each for the five men whom I’m
employed by and one………one that………”
The yong woman
moved closer. “Yes?”
Malvin
searched for the appropriate words.
“Well, the sixth one wasn’t exactly a prediction. They were more like clues. A warning, more like it. She was very frightened at the time and I
had no reason why. At first, I brushed
it off, just thinking that this is nothing but a hoax. But, when all the predictions for my
employers came true, then I knew I couldn’t just ignore her warning. The purpose of my visit here was to thank
her. I was able to figure out her clues
just in time. It saved our lives.”
The young
woman’s face paled a bit. “Did….did you
say you were here on the 8th?
And….and that my grandmother was frightened when she gave you that
warning?”
“Yes….to
both. Why?”
The young
woman paced around the room a bit. “It
was after that that my grandmother became ill.
Not so much physically, but more because of…..worry? All she did was walk around in a daze and
mumbling “they’re all gonna die”.
Her fretting seemed to have increased on the 14th, especially
at night. She had worked herself up
into such a frenzy that she passed out.
We had her rushed to the hospital immediately. She came to a little after midnight and just spent the next hour
twisting her head back and forth, mumbling “hurry, hurry”. Then, just before one in the morning, a
calming effect came over her – actually, it looked like relief. She looked at me and said, “its okay now,
they’re safe” then took a deep breath, which would be her last.”
Malvin’s legs felt like
they were gonna give out under him. He
immediately remembered the night at the airport after they found the rock in
the engine. He remembered looking at
the clock and seeing that it was a little before one in the morning and a
feeling of relief and sadness swept over him.
That must’ve been when the old gypsy died.
He couldn’t believe all
that he was hearing. Even after
everything he refused to believe came true, this was just too much. But he had no choice than to accept it for
what it was. And consider himself
fortunate that he was alive. He walked
over to the young woman and took her hand.
“I believe that it was the
predictions your grandmother gave me that caused her to worry. I’m sorry that she took it so far that it
cost her her life. All the more I am
truly grateful for she possibly saved the lives of many people that night.”
The young woman looked at
Malvin with large, tear filled eyes.
“Then her death wasn’t in vain.
Her work was done here.”
Malvin nodded, then handed
the young woman a few bills for her troubles and left to take the taxi to the
airport to catch the next flight to Sioux Falls.
When he got in the taxi,
he told the driver his destination and he took off, but not before looking in
the rearview mirror at Malvin.
“Don’t tell me you believe
in that stuff?”
Malvin looked up. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to pry, its just that you came
out from that psychic shop. I don’t
care what anyone says, that crap is nothing but a waste of money and a bunch of
nonsense!”
Malvin glanced down and
smirked. “Don’t be so sure,” he thought to himself.