Chapter 29
Another instrumental section is recorded.
Gene is happy the Brooms are still able to perform well, even after the earlier stress of Carol suddenly leaving.
Tim Price had just swung by and picked her up about half-an-hour ago, from what Dennis had said.
Gene isn’t entirely sure what’s going to happen now.
Well, other than Carol won’t be staying with them any longer.
Not while they’re here in LA, not back home in Michigan, no—she’s done.
She’ll still need to grab her things, like her suitcase in their hotel and her belongings back home, but that’s not Gene’s problem.
Honestly, he’s more than relieved to finally have her gone. Her traveling with the band has been the source of so much stress for him. Granted, he still has to worry about Toshiko, but at least she’s none the wiser about anything he’s done with Ray.
It’s conflicting—while with Toshiko, he doesn’t exactly want to be an asshole and continue on with everything he’s been doing with Ray.
No, think of how hurt she’d be if she knew.
He made a promise to her back when they’d first made their relationship official to be exclusive to her.
And as soon as she wasn’t around, he broke that promise instantly.
He highly doubts she would’ve done the same thing to him while on her own tour in Japan.
No, instead he’s been a cheating prick, just like how Ray has been to Carol.
His mind has been running wild, so jumbled that he didn’t even think of how writing a song for Toshiko would annoy Ray.
But it makes perfect sense. Ray doesn’t exactly hide his jealousy.
But it is a bit embarrassing to have Toshiko witness all that.
At least she didn’t seem too bothered by it all, taking everything thrown at her with a smile.
To her, Gene and Ray are really just good friends.
Yet the guilt still plagues him, giving him a headache. I’m going to need a smoke.
Gene joins her in the main room, walking out of the recording booth with the rest of the band. The song is mostly recorded but not completely finished, still needing vocals and an overdub of piano. Nicky still hasn’t shown up, so Santiago may have to fill that part in himself.
Why the hell is Nicky not here…?
The door to the secretary’s office opens, and a young brunette woman peeks her head out.
“Dennis Perks?” she asks, eyeing around the crowded room for him.
“Yes?” Dennis says, walking toward her.
“You have a call waiting for you, if you could please come in.”
“Oh, sure. What’s this about?”
But Gene can’t hear her response as Dennis walks into the office, closing the door behind him.
“It can’t be about Carol, can it?” Ray asks, standing next to Gene.
“I don’t think so,” Gene says. “She just got picked up not too long ago.”
“She has her own room key, so it can’t be about needing mine to get into the room and grab her suitcase,” Ray says.
“Wait, what if it’s Nicky?” Santiago gasps. “Maybe he’s calling to explain why he’s not here yet.”
“Oh, maybe,” Gene says. “I’ve been wondering where he is…”
“He didn’t spend the night at the Chateau Marmont, did he?” Ray asks Maurice, since normally he rooms with Nicky.
Yet Maurice shakes his head. “No, he didn’t. He said he had contacts here in LA that he was gonna stay with instead. I wonder if something happened with them?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Ray says. “I remember a few months ago, something went down with his old friends in Ohio.”
Gene remembers too, how Nicky stayed with them in Michigan during the summer because his friends’ house in Ohio was raided by the police. He didn’t want the cops on his own trail, either. But what if…
Gene doesn’t want to answer that question yet, at least not until Dennis comes out of the room.
But the longer they wait, the more restless they all become.
The minutes go by, ticking away, Gene fidgeting with his blazer, unable to return his focus to music.
Everyone is in a standstill until Dennis comes out, whenever that may be.
It may not even be anything important, but just the mention of Nicky has Gene on edge, and apparently the same goes for the rest of the band.
“He’s been in there for a while,” Santi remarks. “What if it’s not Nicky—what if it’s good news? Oh, what if it’s the label or something?”
“He already told us about the international pressings,” Pat says. “So I don’t think it’s that. Unless they want to give us a bonus for selling so many tickets on this tour. That’d be cool.”
“Yeah, some of our venues were nearly sold out,” Ray comments.
They get an answer, finally, as Dennis opens the door and steps back into the main room.
“I just got off the phone with one of our lawyers,” Dennis says, closing the door behind him.
“A lawyer?” Gene exclaims.
“One of them?” Ray gasps. “We have more than one?”
“Have to be prepared for the unexpected,” Dennis says, adjusting his sunglasses on his face. “But yes. I’ve got some bad news. Nicky has been arrested.”
“Arrested?” Gene’s heart rate ramps up. It beats so hard, his chest feels ridiculously tight. “Oh my god, I was worried…”
“What the hell?” Ray says.
“Is there anything we can do?” Santiago offers.
“We can go to the courthouse. If he’s granted bail, we can pick him up. I’m heading there now; who’s coming with me?”
“Me,” Gene says instantly.
“Count me in, too,” Santi says.
“If Gene’s going, I’m going,” Ray says.
“Alright.” Dennis nods. “Anyone else?”
“I’m, uh… gonna stay here,” Maurice says. “Someone should stay behind here at the studio to watch all our stuff.”
“I’ll stay behind, too,” Pat says.
“Same,” Stefan chimes in.
“What about you, Toshiko?” Gene asks her. “You don’t need to come if you don’t want to.”
“I can keep you company,” Pat offers.
“Thank you, Pat,” Toshiko says, sitting on a folding chair by one of the mixing boards. “This is… distressing. I’d rather wait here. Will you be back soon, Gene?”
“I hope so.” He nods. He takes a deep breath, in, and out. “We’ll find more information when we get there. I can always call you.”
“Please, if you could,” she says, a concerned look on her face.
“Alright.”
Nausea plagues Gene’s gut. Nicky had sold him some of his stash just before the show yesterday—including some smack.
It was quite a lot, at least more than Gene initially thought he’d be getting.
He assumed Nicky gave him so much because he was going to buy more, but now… that plan seems to have changed.
What if the cops come after me next?
Everything Gene has is pretty well hidden in his things.
He remembers all the tips that Toshiko’s publicist Pete let him know.
Plus, just because Nicky is associated with the Brooms doesn’t mean the cops would have a reason to raid their hotel.
No, this is because of his other friends, the people he was staying with last night. Nothing to do with Gene or the Brooms.
I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.
But he still has to make sure Nicky is fine, too.
“Then that settles it.” Dennis claps his hands together. “Alright, boys. Let’s get a move on.”
Gene’s heart never stops racing as they ride in the taxi to the courthouse.
It thuds even harder as they wait during Nicky’s arraignment hearing.
The pianist is charged with possession of cannabis.
That doesn’t surprise Gene. Thankfully Nicky isn’t charged with anything worse, like drug trafficking.
He’s released on bail, which Dennis takes care of—grumbling along the way, but trying his best to hold back his frustration.
Nicky will be due back in California for his court date in about a month, and during this time in-between, he can’t contact the other guys from the house he was staying at, and he can’t leave the country.
Will he be able to go with us when we eventually tour Europe?
Gene can’t know for sure until Nicky’s court date.
But Dennis is confident, reassuring them all the lawyers he has are the best of the best. His lawyer in LA has worked on criminal cases of famous musicians before, knowing just the right loopholes to look for, winning multiple cases in dropping all charges.
Hopefully, this lawyer can work the same magic for Nicky.
As they exit the courthouse, flashes of light blind them from all directions. For Christ’s sake. Apparently, some photographers must’ve noticed them enter and stayed around until they were ready to leave. Gene waves at them, hurrying by as he heads toward the taxis parked on the side of the road.
“Gene Hillard, can you comment on why you’re here?”
“Raymond Roderick, please, a moment?”
“Santiago Arteaga! ?Una palabra, por favor?”
“We’re here to support our colleague, Nicky Emerson,” Dennis butts in, standing in front of Gene and his friends. “That’s all we’ll comment on, at the moment. Now, if you please…”
They get in the cars, shutting the doors and thankfully no longer subject to the photographers’ shouting.
Gene rides with Nicky and Ray in one taxi back to the studio while Dennis rides with Santiago in another, since they can’t all fit in one.
They’re sitting in the backseat, Gene in the middle with Nicky to his right and Ray to his left, as the car rumbles to life and drives off.
“I’m glad we’re able to bring you back home,” Gene says. “Sorry, I didn’t even think of how the paparazzi would be around, though.”
“It’s fine,” Nicky replies. “I’m just glad it’s over, for the most part. You don’t know how scared I was, man.”
“Oh, I bet,” Gene chuckles.
“You have to take a mugshot?” Ray asks curiously.
“Yup, same with my fingerprints. Never had to do that before. But I hope that’ll be the last time. Like hell do I wanna go through the stress of this all again. I was worried I was just gonna stay there in custody forever.”
“Yeah.” Gene nods. “I can only imagine. But we’ve got your back.”
“Thanks, man.”
Once back at the studio, they meet up with Dennis and Santi. Those two head inside, Ray following them, but Gene decides to stay outside for a moment longer with Nicky.
“Just want a smoke,” Gene gives his reason.
“You know you guys can smoke indoors, too,” Ray says, holding the door to the studio open before he fully steps inside.
“Well, yeah. But I just wanna talk with him for a sec,” Gene says. “I won’t be long.”
Ray pouts, the expression so damn cute on his flushed face, and he shrugs. “Okay, fine. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“And I’ll be there for you.”
That gets Ray to smile. He walks inside, closing the door behind him.
Gene grabs his pack of cigarettes from his blazer’s pocket along with a lighter, taking two cigarettes out: one for him and one for Nicky.
He lights them both with his lighter, sucking in a hit and releasing it in a puff of smoke.
They lean against the wall, just the two of them, staring at the parking lot hosting their tour bus, palm trees casting shadows over it all.
“I still got the stuff you sold me,” Gene says. “But after this, I don’t know if you’d still want any.”
“Probably not for a while,” Nicky says, taking a drag of his cigarette. “Gotta stay away from that stuff if I want them to believe none of it was mine.”
“Oh, is that the story you’re gonna go for?”
“Yeah, that’s all I’ve got, really. I’ve been told tips: stay as silent as you can, plead ‘not guilty’, and if you absolutely need to provide an explanation, see if you can twist it so it’s like whatever that’s on your person doesn’t actually belong to you.
Whenever I can talk to Dennis’s lawyer, that’s what I’m gonna tell him. ”
“Alright. Well, what if the other guys do that to you? They’re trying to save their own skins, too, y’know. What if they try to pin the blame saying the weed belonged to you?”
“I’m gonna talk to the lawyer about that, too,” Nicky says. “I think I have a better case, since I don’t even live here in LA. It’s their house. I feel bad, I liked those guys. But I also don’t want to go to jail.”
Gene brings his cigarette to his lips again, taking in a drag. The sun is getting lower in the sky, nearly hidden behind the palm trees. “I get it. It’s all really shitty. No one wants to go to jail—hell, I don’t want any of my friends gone. Why’s this stuff gotta be illegal, anyway?”
“It can be dangerous,” Nicky warns. “But instead of teaching people to be smarter about it, they just ban it all. I think it’s stupid.”
“Yeah, same.”
“Thanks again. For… being here for me, Gene.”
“Of course. No problem, man.”
This whole situation gives Gene a lot to think about.
If it could happen to Nicky, it could happen to Gene, too.
Especially if he keeps smoking the stuff Nicky sold him.
There is always the option of disposing of it.
But honestly, Gene would hate to do that.
He paid money for it, and, most importantly, he doesn’t want to simply stop.
Smoking a joint keeps his mind steady when it runs too wild.
It calms him when he stresses too much. Coke helps him feel energized before a show.
And he looks forward to those moments where he can feel light as a feather doing smack.
With all the stress he’s feeling even thinking about all this, maybe he should at the very least have a hit of weed when he gets inside. But his cigarette will do for now, as he takes another drag.
Toshiko’s waiting inside the studio for him.
His heart clenches at that.
But Ray is there, too. That warms his spirits.
He can’t wait to sing more songs with him.