Chapter 9

The guy, who was wearing a blue jumpsuit and reminded Abigail of a mechanic, had just descended the ladder from the rafters when she approached him.

“Excuse me,” she began politely when he had turned to face her, “I’m with Rick Camden and he wanted to know if you found out what went wrong with the lights.”

The guy rubbed his forehead then before he answered.

“Well, from what I’ve seen, the rope holding the row of lights that fell wasn’t strong enough to hold it so it burst with the weight.” He stated with a frown.

“You seem a bit surprised.” Abigail said when she noted the expression on his face.

The guy nodded.

“I am. We usually double-check these kinds of things before a show to make sure everything’s alright. I don’t understand how this could have happened.” He replied.

Abigail thought about this for a moment.

“Is there any way that someone could have cut the rope instead?” she asked him.

The guy’s eyes widened suddenly.

“IF someone did cut the rope, they had to have used a really dull blade because it wasn’t a clean cut.” He told her.

“But it is possible?” she persisted.

“It is, but personally, I don’t think it was cut.”

She nodded then. “Thanks.” She told him just as AJ walked up to her.

“Rick’s asking for you, Abigail.” He told her before leading her towards one of the dressing rooms. He opened the door for her before closing it soundly behind her. When she walked in, she saw Rick seated on a large sofa. He was only in the black leather pants he had been wearing on stage and she saw that his left shoulder was bandaged.

“Hey,” he said, looking up at her as she entered the room before motioning her over, “Why don’t you come in and take a seat.”

She did as he asked but took the chair opposite him. She wasn’t sure it if was to stay further away from him or get a better view of the body that he had obviously been working out.

“How’s the shoulder?” she asked as she saw him lean forward and wince.

“It looks worse than it is.” He stated with a half-smile, “You were trying to warn me weren’t you?” he asked her then.

“Yes, I was.” She answered, “But those girls were screaming so loudly I couldn’t hear myself so I knew you couldn’t have possibly heard me.”

He shook his head.

“I saw the look on your face though and I knew you were trying to tell me something but the lights were in my face.” He said, “That’s why I walked up, to see what you were saying.”

“It’s a good thing you did, your injury could have been worse.”

He nodded before facing her squarely.

“Now, the question is,” he began, “Do you think this was done deliberately or was it really an accident?”

She sighed heavily.

“Well, from what I did see, the lights were only loose when you guys took your positions on stage and were talking to the audience,” she said, “And you were right below them.”

“But we move around stage so much, do you think it’s just coincidence that I happened to be underneath the lights that got loose?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“I don’t know Rick.” She told him honestly. “But I did talk to the guy that was checking out the lights after the accident and he told me that the rope had burst because the lights were too heavy.”

“Bullshit.” He muttered harshly.

“Come on, let’s think about this logically okay, before you start jumping to conclusions and throwing obscenities around.”

He cast her a look which consisted of raised eyebrows and a smirk.

“You really are a COP.” He stated, “I was beginning to forget.” He added, deliberately letting his gaze travel down her body.

She felt all the blood rush to her face, staining her cheeks and saw him smile. He was trying to intimidate her. Well, it was a nice try, she thought recovering quickly, But not good enough.

“Now, back to the issue at hand.” She said leaning forward, her elbows braced on her knees, making sure she was exposing just enough cleavage.

She watched with satisfaction as Rick’s jaw dropped and he shifted his position on the sofa.

“The rope wasn’t cut, Rick.” She stated firmly after clearing her head, “The guy said it wasn’t a clean cut and he doesn’t think it was cut either and honestly, I really don’t think it was anything more than an accident.”

Rick snapped out of his reverie and looked at her in disbelief.

“How can you say that?” he asked, “You just said when I got under the lights, then you saw it loose!”

“Because I had looked up at that time!” she protested, “It could have been loose before but just happened to fall when you were under it.”

He shook his head.

“I still think it was deliberate.” He stated, “Someone’s out to get me and you have to help me find out who it is!”

He was beginning to get on her nerves.

“Look Rick, I’m the detective here and I’m saying that all the evidence here is pointing towards accident. Now, maybe someone is after you, but I don’t think that that person and this incident are related.” She told him, “And as for me helping you find out who it is, I’m just here for the night, which by now is officially over. Jason is the guy on this case. He’s the one that’s going to have to help you find your stalker or whatever. He’s the one you’re going to have to convince that this is deliberate, not me.”

Rick looked speechless.

“So I guess that’s it then.” He said, leaning back and looking at her, “You did what you came here to do.”

“Yes I did.” She said getting up, “Just trust me on this one Rick. You’ll sleep better.” She added walking to the door, “Goodbye.”

“Oh, this is not the end of it, detective. We’ll be seeing each other again.” He said to the empty room.