Wishful Sinful [REVISED]

Part 5: What Happens in Barstow...

Erik had been bragging to the other guys about Cecilia, while Jared pretended he couldn't hear them. Over and over, they told him, "We know! We were there!" But all the sexy talk stopped after Lenore's announcement. Everyone's attention was rooted on her.

"You didn't mention it to me! That's rather troubling. Could there be someone dangerous following the bands?" Jared asked, as he sat down to Dorian's left.

A shadow seemed to pass over Dorian's usually-radiant countenance. "Most troubling, indeed. Lenore, thank you for bringing it to my attention. Can you tell me where you saw these allegations? I'd like to investigate the matter myself. If it's bogus, it's harmful press. If not, our fans could be in danger."

"Yeah, it was the personal blog of someone called Violet Underhill. Not her real name. I reached out to her. Waiting for a reply."

"Thank you. I'll look into it. But I would ask you not to make anything out of these rumors until they're proven facts."

"Of course. I'm not TMZ."

"No, you're not. Any thoughts of your own on the disappearances?"

"People disappear all the time. The connection to the tour dates could be coincidental, especially in bigger cities. Some of them could be runaways, too. But it seemed worth digging into."

"Naturally. So, you don't suspect anything...otherworldly...in the matter? I just wondered because the rest of the book has that flavor."

"Not as yet, no, but I haven't ruled anything out."

"Noted," Dorian commented, offering his free hand to Jared, sliding it onto Jared's thigh once again, as though for comfort.

The seriousness of the moment sapped the gesture of any erotic overtones. Jared considered holding Dorian's hand, as Haven was, but felt shy and awkward about staking that bold a claim on their relationship. Wait, was it a relationship already? he wondered.

"Sorry to be the buzzkill," Lenore offered.

"It's okay," Haven said. "That's the kind of thing we should be made aware of."

Dorian tipped his head to rest it on Jared's shoulder. "It is, for sure."

Careful not to disturb Dorian, Jared slid his phone free from the pocket of his jeans and ran a search under Violet Underhill. She had quite the online presence! Her various social media accounts popped up at the top of the list. He found her blog partway down the page of results. "'Hello, Darkness.' Catchy name."

"Yeah," Lenore replied. "I thought so, too. It seems to suit her overall vibe, from what I could glean online."

"How far back is the post about the tour? Oh, wait, I think I found it. 'Eternal Slumber? Disappearances surrounding the Divination in the Dark Tour.'"

"Hm, I don't like that she's using part of the name of our band as a play on words, about murder. Have they even found any bodies? Presumably not, or the police would be involved. Where is she getting her information? And why target us out of all the bands?"

"Well, I think Velveteen Slumber just drew the short straw as far as sounding the deathiest," Lenore reasoned.

Dorian grunted his displeasure. "It makes us sound personally responsible, though, don't you think?"

"Maybe," she hedged. "I think she was just trying to be clever. It could be nothing. None of the missing even attended the concerts, according to Violet. They just disappeared when the tour was in town. She has a list of the missing people with photos, at the bottom of the page."

"Any from Los Angeles?" Jared asked, scrolling through the article, while Dorian looked on.

"Not yet, but the tour only just passed through, right? There's a chance no one's been reported missing yet."