Chapter 19
It was Thursday and six in the morning.
Danny woke up and threw the bed covers off his body. He jumped out of bed naked and went inside the bathroom.
He brushed his teeth.
He shaved.
He jumped in the tub and took a shower.
After he dried off, he grabbed his tee shirt and boxers that hung on a towel rang. They hung there all night to dry from his hand, washing lat night.
He got dressed and rushed out of his hotel room.
Once he got outside his hotel room, he rushed over to Cindy's room. He lightly knocked on her door. She did not open the door. He kept on gently knocking on her door for a few more minutes.
The door cracked opened, and a sleepy-eyed, hair a mess Cindy poked her head into view. "It's early," she said then yawned.
Danny moved the door opened, and he rushed inside, then closed the door behind him.
Once he got inside her room, he realized that Cindy was naked and had her bedsheets wrapped around her body. It looked like a toga.
She also had hand-washed her panties and bra last night, and they were hanging to dry in the bathroom.
His face turned red while he blushed and got embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he said, then looked away.
"What's so important to wake me up so early?" she asked and could care less if Danny saw with her bed sheets draped around her naked body.
"I recorded some evidence last night you should see," he said then he removed his iTravel 2 device from his pocket.
He walked over to her bed and sat down on the ruffled up bed covers.
Cindy sat down next to Danny and looked at the iTravel 2 device in his hand. She saw the '3 Days – 15 Hours – 20 Minutes Left on iTravel 2 Mission' message.
Danny pressed the video application. Then he pressed a thumbnail for last night's recording. "Unfortunately the video is too dark," he said while the video started playing.
"You have Roger and that Victor Burrows out by his Corvette last night in the parking lot," Danny said while Cindy looked at the dark video and could hardly see Roger and Victor by the Corvette.
"Roger's looking the area over then he handed Victor a thick white envelope. Probably stuffed with cash," he told Cindy while he looked at the video.
"Victor looked inside the envelope," Danny told her.
"Trust me, it's all there," said Roger's audio.
"Galvin will hunt you down if it's not," Victor's video said.
"Victor's checking out the cash inside the envelope then he shoved it in his pants pocket," said Danny.
"Are you sure about this? Because once I give Galvin this initial payment, it's going to be a done deal. No backing out unless you wanted to be hunted down," Victor's audio said.
"They don't give me any other option. Just make sure it's not traced back to us," said Roger's audio.
Roger thought about it for a few seconds. "They don't give me any other option. Just make sure it's not traced back to us," he said.
"Oh yeah, that crazy religious guy that's always hanging outside your concerts is named Elmer Watson. He's from Montgomery, Alabama," said Victor's audio then he paused. So, we'll get a car with Alabama plates," he added.
"That sounds good," replied Roger's audio.
"Good, call me tomorrow, and I'll have the location identified," Victor's audio said.
"This is when Victor got back in his black Cadillac and drove away while Roger went back inside the hotel," said Danny then he turned off the video.
"What did he mean by location identified," Cindy asked Danny then she yawned.
Danny thought for a few seconds. "I would say that that's the place where they install the bomb. And I know it's at Walter's Diner, as I already saw them to it," he said.
Cindy thought for a few more seconds. "What do we do now?" asked Cindy.
"I don't know. We can't show the guys the video as the iTravel device isn't part of nineteen sixties technology. We could never explain it without being locked up," he replied.
Cindy nodded in agreement. Then she thought for a few seconds. "Hopefully we can talk he guys out of getting on that bus after the Ed Sullivan Show."
"That's our only shot, but then he might try to place another bomb somewhere else," Danny added.
Cindy nodded, knowing that that was a strong possibility.
Then Danny looked at Cindy with her body still wrapped in the bedsheet. "Ah, I better let you get dressed," he said then got up off the bed.
The second Danny left her room, she unwrapped the bedsheets from around her body.
She walked naked into the bathroom and started brushing her teeth.
Danny went back to his hotel room.
He sat down on his bed and started to think about Cindy being naked under those bedsheets. He smiled at that thought and was glad he brought her inside the glass booth.
Three hours had passed, and everybody was inside the bus while Gus drove out of Levittown and headed west on Interstate 76 or the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Tom and Kenny drove the two Chevrolet vans with the instruments right behind the bus.
Roger's Corvette followed ten car lengths behind the two vans.
After two hours on the highway, Jackie glanced over at Cindy's seat. "Okay Sally, let's work on your article," Jackie said while he got up from his seat and walked over to the table.
The other Rocking Tones, Danny, and Cindy all got up and headed over to the table.
While they headed over to the bench seat, Roger raced his Corvette in the left lane and passed the bus like it was standing still.
"Where did we leave off yesterday?" Jackie asked Cindy while they all sat down on the bench seat.
Cindy opened up her small note pad and looked at the last page with notes. "Let's see, you stopped at the fall of fifty-nine, where you started playing gigs in Concord, Haverhill, Portsmouth, and Nashua."
"That's right. So, two more years passed, and we were getting gigs all over New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts," said Jackie.
"We started to establish a name for ourselves, and our number of fans started to grow," said Sig.
"Remember sixty-one?" said Burt.
The other Rocking Tones glanced at each other and recalled that year.
"What happened in sixty-one?" Cindy curiously asked.
"Because of all the gigs we were doing night after night, we started to get stressed and started to fight with each other," said Delmar.
"Yeah, I didn't know Delmar could pack a powerful punch," Carter said while he rubbed his jaw.
"Yeah, we're not proud of those times," said Burt.
"Roger gave us three weeks off so we could individually take a little vacation from each other," said Sig.
"I went to Florida and enjoyed the white sandy beach in Pensacola," said Jackie.
"I hit the beach at Ocean City, New Jersey," said Burt.
"l lounged around my parents home and slept for almost three weeks," said Sig.
"The time off worked because Jackie wrote our first song," said Delmar.
"He wrote Banging the Beat, and after we returned from our vacations, we started to work on the guitar parts for our first tune," said Carter.
"And don't forget the keyboard part," said Delmar.
"And drums," added Sig.
"We then played it for Roger, and he loved it and thought it had some great potential," said Jackie.
"We were so excited when we heard that DJ Hud Marvin from a rock station in New York City played it on his rock and roll radio show," said Carter.
The other guy nodded in agreement.
"How was Roger doing as your manager? I mean, were you happy with his performance?" asked Danny.
The Rocking Tones all looked at each other.
"Yeah, after we finalized Banging the Beat, Roger got us a contract with Albatross Records out of New York," said Burt.
"Our first song was number fifteen in the top one hundred, so we knew we were heading in the right direction," said Jackie.
Gus slowed the bus down and started to drive down an exit in Harrisburg.
"We'll finish this tomorrow," Jackie said then he got up from the table and headed back to his seat.
The rest of The Rocking Tones, Danny, and Cindy all got up from the table and headed back to their seats.
A little while later, Gus drove the bus north on Eisenhower Blvd.
The two white Chevrolet vans with Tom and Kenny were driving right behind the bus.
Two hours had passed, and everybody was relaxing inside their hotel rooms at the Holiday Inn located off Keckler Road.
An hour had passed, and Danny got bored. He wanted to chat with Cindy, but she was laughing inside Sig's room. He got jealous again and decided to head to the lobby.
When Danny got close to the lobby, he saw an area with eight payphones hung on the wall with wooden stools.
Roger was at one of the payphones. He just deposited some quarters into the slot of the phone.
Danny looked for a place to eavesdrop on Roger's conservation. He saw the perfect spot. There was a large plant to the left of Roger by the corner of the wall at another hall.
Danny did some backtracking to come down the hall by that plant.
He removed his iTravel 2 device from his pants pocket. He turned on the video application and pressed the record thumbnail. He discreetly placed the iTravel into the dirt of the planter so it would capture Roger. He rushed away down the hallway.
Danny rushed through the lobby and went outside to kill some time.
Thirty minutes had passed, and Danny gingerly walked down that hallway.
He discreetly peeked around the corner of the wall by the plant like a spy. He noticed that Roger was long gone from the payphone. He looked down and saw that his iTravel 2 device was still recording. He reached down, picked up the device, and pressed the end recording thumbnail.
He shoved the iTravel 2 device into his pants pocket and rushed off past the payphones.
A little while later, Danny was back in his room sitting on his bed.
He had his iTravel 2 device in his hand and pressed the play recording thumbnail.
The video showed Roger sitting on the wooden stool talking into the phone.
"Victor, it's me, Roger," he said into the phone.
He listened for a few seconds.
"I got it. We'll stop off at Walter's Diner in Pennsylvania off Route sixteen just west of Bellwood," Roger said while he jotted down the information on a small pad of paper provided by the Holiday Inn for the payphone users. He listened to Victor.
"I'll make sure nobody steps outside the diner by eleven-thirty," he said while he that information down while he listened.
"I can meet you briefly outside the diner with the rest of the payment," he said then listened.
"Okay, let me talk to Galvin," he said, then waited for a few seconds.
"Galvin put a thousand on Army for the Texan and Army game for this Saturday," he said and looked excited on the potential on winning. "I know, as soon as I cash in the policy, you'll get the rest that's owed," he said then listened to Galvin's response. He suddenly looked a little concerned. "I know what will happen," he said then listened to Galvin's response. "I'm sure and feel lucky that Army will beat Texas," he said then listened for a few seconds. "If you want, you can keep the band's instruments. You should be able to sell them to some grieving fan for a pretty penny," he said then listened to Galvin's response. "I'll deliver them in a couple of weeks," he said then listened to Galvin's response.
Danny watched Roger on the video while he hung up the phone, then he shoved some more quarters into the phone and dialed a new number. He waited for the other end to answer.
"Yes, I'm Roger Beaumont, the manager of the band The Rocking Tones," he said, then waited for the other end to reply.
"I would like to inform the Harrisburg Police that the band has had a pastor from Alabama making threats against the band," Roger said then waited for a response.
"His name is Elmer Watson from Montgomery, Alabama and his religious flock has been hanging outside our concerts, and I deem him a potential threat. So, I was wondering if you could have some of your officers keep a watchful eye on Mister Watson and his followers. You can't miss him, as he always has a Bible in his hand and his flock has protesting types of signs," Roger said then waited for a response.
"Thank you," he said then he hung up, got up off the stool, and walked away.
He stopped the video and looked happy that he had some more evidence against Roger. But should he do with it?
He got up from his bed, shoved his iTravel 2 device into his pants pocket and headed to his door.
He left his room and walked over to Cindy's room door. He started to knock but heard Cindy's laughter coming from Sig's room.
He moped down the hallway and headed off to the lobby. He figured he would mope out by the pool area.
An hour had passed, and Danny headed back to his room.
The second he placed his butt on his bed, there was a knock on his room door.
He walked over to the door, opened it, and saw Cindy standing outside. "Where have you been?" she asked while she stepped inside his room.
"Well, I wasn't in Sig's room. I can tell you that," he said with a tone of sarcasm.
"What the hell do you mean by that?" she snapped back and sounded a little bothered by his comment.
"I mean, we're supposed to be trying to stop these guys from being killed in an explosion, and you're flirting or doing whatever with the drummer. Just like Bobby being a drummer," he snapped back.
Cindy got a little pissed, turned around, and rushed off to the door.
Danny knew he went too far while he watched her leave his room. "This is great," he said, then sat down on the bed and moped.
Another hour had passed, and Danny relaxed on his bed. He was too chicken to go knock on Cindy's room door.
Then his heart raced when he heard someone knock on his door. He jumped up and ran to the door.
"I'm sorry Cindy," he said the second he opened up the door.
He looked disappointed when he saw Jackie standing outside his room.
"Who is Cindy?" Jackie curiously asked.
"I Ah," Danny said while he tried to come up with a viable excuse. "I had a dream about an old girlfriend named Cindy," he said.
Jackie thought about his reply. "Oh, anyway, dinner in ten minutes in the dining room then we're heading out to the concert," he said then walked away.
A little while later and Danny sat around the large table in the Holiday Inn dining room with The Rocking Tones, Gus, Roger, Tom, Kenny, and Cindy.
Cindy and Danny did not talk or look at each other during the dinner. In fact, the entire table was quiet while they ate.
Two hours had passed, and The Rocking Tones were on stage, starting their concert at the Theater Harrisburg. They started off by playing their Let Me Love You song.
When Jackie sang out the Let Me Love You lyrics, Danny glanced over a Cindy. She glanced at him.
"Sorry," he mouthed the words at her.
"Me too," she mouthed the words for her reply.
Danny moved closer to Cindy and leaned over to her ear. "I have a recording you need to hear later tonight," whispered into her ear.
"Okay," she whispered back.
Danny felt better while they both watched The Rocking Tones play to an audience of screaming teenagers.
After the concert was over, The Rocking Tones rushed out to their bus where nearby the Harrisburg police had the fifty adoring fans barricaded.
Amongst those fans were Pastor Elmer Watson and his followers. Two Harrisburg police officers stood near Elmer and kept a watchful eye on him and his followers.
Mickey and Maureen were up against the barricade. They waved at Danny and Cindy the second they saw them behind The Rocking Tones while they walked to the front of the bus.
The Rocking Tones waved and blew kisses at their fans.
Roger walked over to the bus and saw the two police officers by Elmer. He smiled while he got on the bus.
Roger and The Rocking Tones all got inside the bus.
Gus started up the bus, closed the door, and drove off.
Three hours had passed, and everybody was back in their rooms at the Holiday Inn.
Danny and Cindy sat on his bed in his room. He just finished showing her the video recording of Roger at the payphone earlier in the day.
"I promised not to tell anybody since you heard it, Sig also stated that the band was concerned about Roger's gambling. They are confident that Roger's been squandering their money. Hence why they haven't been paid in two months," she said.
"You know that you can't stay here with Sig," he said and looked concerned.
"Don't worry, nothing is going on between Sig and me," she said and looked sincere.
"No, it's okay if there is. I mean, you're a beautiful young woman. I can't blame Sig, and I don't have any right to get jealous," Danny said then cringed when he realized he said a wrong word.
Cindy looked at Danny. "Are you jealous of Sig?"
"Let's talk about something else," he replied and blushed a little.
Cindy discreetly smiled over the fact that Danny was jealous of her time being spent with Sig. "So, what do we do next?"
"Well, I was thinking of writing an anonymous letter to the FBI in Philadelphia. Write down what we know, so in case our mission fails, maybe the FBI will focus their investigation on Roger and Victor," he said.
Cindy thought about his suggestion. "Sounds good. Let's start writing," she said then grabbed the pad of Holiday Inn paper and pen off the bedside table.
Danny replayed the two videos and Cindy started writing the letter.