The Devil on Kazoo

13: The Unlucky Fortune

 When the night has come

And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No, I won't be afraid
Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand
Stand by me

~"Stand By Me" by Ben E. King

Bash didn't know what to do.

He'd been staring at it for eight hours and still couldn't fathom it.

There was a new member aboard Wolgemoth & Sons in the form of a full, brand-new drum set. Bash had had to use the spare dinghy that morning to row over to a pair of delivery men asking him to sign for a package.

At first, he was suspicious that it was some sort of prank from the Mad Teddy's, but the delivery men assured him that it was an anonymous gift purchased at the music store down on Picadilly.

"Piccadilly," Bash had repeated. "The only time I've ever been on Picadilly was to shine shoes that cost more than Buckingham Palace."

Nonetheless, he signed the form and was left with the problem of getting seven boxes aboard the boat.

He employed the help of Smiley and Kathy, who were both as baffled as he was. It took all seven trips to get each box on deck and when they opened them, they couldn't believe their eyes.

Once the packages were unboxed, they were left with everything they needed to build a drum set. It was silver, which Kathy had often expressed as being her dream kit.

"Who'd you say this was from again?" Kathy asked after her shock had partially worn off.

"Anonymous gift," Bash said.

"But who...?" Smiley didn't have to finish voicing everyone's opinions.

It took a while for them to begin taking the pieces out of the boxes and assembling the set. It was two o'clock when they finished and they sat back to admire it.

The silver caught the light and shimmered like the water that surrounded them.

Kathy lifted a trembling hand to her mouth. "It's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."

"You going to play it or what?" Smiley prompted.

Kathy shook her head. "No. I want to wait for Syl."

"Where is she, by the way?" Smiley asked.

"She went to get croissants," Bash replied, but the other two weren't listening. They were already examining the drum set and laughing excitedly about this stroke of luck.

But if Bash knew anything, it was that it didn't take all day to get croissants.

Syl had something to do with this, but what?

This was why Bash couldn't stop staring at the drum set.

As afternoon faded to evening, his suspicion turned into worry.

He was pacing up and down the deck as "Baba O'Riley" came to a close.

"That's all for this evening," Smiley crooned into the mic. "We'll be grooving with you again tomorrow on Crumb Radio, where love and rock 'n roll live."

As soon as he shut off the broadcast, he came over to Bash.

"Where's Syl?" he asked.

"Do I look like I have some cosmic insight into people's whereabouts?" Bash retorted.