Page 105 of The First Chord

“The woman who saw him come from a different direction?” I dropped my head back against the chair, swallowing a scream of frustration.

“There’s no way he can have got past the woman and then doubled back in the time it took him to get to Amber after she fell. She says that it was within seconds.” Ali pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked exhausted and defeated. “It’s Amber’s word against his. There’s no CCTV on the first-floor landing or in the area outside the bathrooms which is where she was.”

“So, Jimmy came from the men’s toilet?” Elliot asked.

“I assume so. There were a few people hanging around, queueing but no one else saw anything.”

“Not one person?” I asked, incredulously.

Ali shook her head. “All too interested in getting in for a pee, or to powder their noses.” She gave an empty laugh. “Literally, seeing as they’d been stuck in the auditorium watching the awards for three bloody hours.”

“That’s probably why no one came forward on the night if they did see something,” Joey added. “I wouldn’t if I had a load of gear on me.”

My gaze shot to his. “Really?”

“I would now, I’m a different person, but when I was using, no.” He shook his head. “Not a fucking chance in case I got busted.” He gave me a wry smile. “Drug induced paranoia is on a different level, mate, let me tell you.”

“Surely, if someone suspected he’d pushed her they’d come forward?” Elliot asked. “It’s the right thing to do.”

“People on drugs only think of themselves, El,” Joey said with a sigh. “You remember what I was like. I’d have done anything to protect my stash, even if it meant turning a blind eye to something I shouldn’t.”

“Not everyone there was on drugs, though.” Leaning forward in the chair, I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes, desperate to find a way to prove Amber’s story. “There has to be someone.”

“I’m sorry, Ronnie,” Ali said. “The police decided it was just an accident and that Amber tripped and fell.”

“What about the woman?” I asked, jumping up. “Couldn’t we find her and ask her if maybe she got it wrong?”

“She might if we asked her,” Elliot added.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she was shagging Jimmy orhadshagged him.”

“Beau’s right, I bet that’s why she corroborated his story,” I said, excitedly. “We could question her evidence.”

“We don’t know who she is and if she did change her statement, the chances are we’d be accused of bullying a witness or whatever it’s called.” Ali looked up at me as I stood over her. “I’m sorry, Ron, but there’s nothing we can do.”

Sagging with disappointment I leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Thanks anyway, for coming and just doing what you do.”

When I put a hand on her shoulder, though, she stiffened, which made me curious.

“Ali?”

“Oh fuck,” Beau groaned. “Don’t tell me he’s back on the tour.”

Ali shook her head. “No, I don’t think Destiny could handle another night like last night.”

She’d really bollocked us the night before, because our last gig had been awful by our standards. The audience wouldn’t have known, but we did. More importantly, Destiny did. My mind was on Amber, even though she was safe with Ali in my room, and so I’d missed the beginning of the bass section on at least three songs. Beau wanted to kill Jimmy more than I did, seeing as it had all brought back memories of him seeing Simone being beaten up by Dickie. He was so wound up he forgot the lyrics of a new song. Elliot was worried about me and Beau so kept pacing between us and Joey was fuming that we’d had to do an extra half hour because Blind Devil had been pulled because their lead singer was in custody. His arm really didn’t need an extra thirty minutes of drumming and so for two songs near the end, he just kept a simple beat with one stick on his snare drum. The atmosphere on stage was a little bleak to say the least, in fact the whole thing was a shit show—literally.

“What then?” Joey leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “Give us the bad news, Ali.”

“I don’t know if you’ll think it’s bad or not. I personally think it’s Concepta being a bunch of fucking money hungry patriarchal misogynists who deserve to lose every damn penny they’ve made.”

Dread dropped like a stone to the bottom of my stomach. Disappointment and dread, and I knew whatever the guys decided, I couldn’t stay with Concepta. If it meant me leaving Warrior Creek then I would, but I couldn’t work for the record company any longer.

“Ali?” Elliot prompted.

“They’ve sent him to rehab and then when he’s finished, they’re giving Blind Devil their own tour.”

If she’d fucking slapped me, I don’t think I would have been as shocked. I expected the rehab, but their own tour. It was pretty much condoning what a vicious bastard he was, what he’d done to Amber. I could hear my heart thumping, feel my blood pulsing as the anger and betrayal mixed together in my veins.

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