Jamie Quinn Cozy Mysteries Collection

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

True to her word, Susan Doyle e-mailed me the list a few hours later. It was three pages of questions that seemed impossible to answer. I felt as panicky as when I was in law school and dreamt I had a test I hadn't studied for, in a class I'd never been to.

Studying the list, I wondered how anyone, even a sleazy PI, could uncover some of these facts, like whether Spike had enemies, or whether he'd been in any arguments the week of his murder. I took a deep breath and looked at it again. There were actually a few questions I could answer myself, using public records. Before tackling this online scavenger hunt, I would make myself some coffee to ensure maximum alertness. Since I hardly slept anyway, one more cup wouldn't matter.

After sweeping the bills and my mom's estate papers off the desk, I sat down at my computer and pulled up the site for Florida Secretary of State Corporations. I decided to start there. Under 'corporate entities', I typed in "The Screaming Zombie," which was the name of the music store. Although I'd seen the store on Harrison Street many times, I'd always assumed it was a bar. When nothing popped up, I typed the name "Spike" under corporate officers and got a hit: "Spike Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a/ The Screaming Zombie." Spike was listed as the director. The only other officer was the treasurer, Marian Wolinsky. Need to find Marian Wolinsky I wrote on a legal pad.

I decided to pull up the music store's website and typed in: The Screaming Zombie. To my surprise, I got dozens of hits. Who knew The Screaming Zombies was the name of a heavy metal band? Apparently, everyone in the world did, except for me. I found online fan clubs and chat boards, as well as YouTube videos and downloadable songs. I even found a chart ranking the greatest drummers of all time, and Spike was one of them. At least now I understood the name of the store. Although The Screaming Zombies broke up in 2001, they still had many devoted fans, all of them heavily tattooed and pierced. I watched a video of the Zombies performing on You Tube and then watched an interview with Spike, which spooked me a little. While I never speak ill of the dead (at least I never have before), I will make an exception for Spike. After watching his interview, I was able to draw certain conclusions: 1) he was stoned; 2) he was an egomaniac; 3) he was a legend in his own mind; and 4) he was nasty and mean. He did say one interesting thing though: every time he went on a drinking binge, he brought home a new German shepherd. By the looks of him, he must have had quite a collection...

Next up, the actual website for the music store, where I found lots of information. I saw that they sold a wide array of instruments, and provided lessons for even more. The only instrument I didn't see listed in either category was the didgeridoo. I made a note on my pad. Whose didgeridoo was it? Next, I clicked on the 'Meet Our Instructors' link and hit the jackpot. All four instructors were listed (including Spike), with the instruments they taught and their photographs. I printed the page and made a note to Google each instructor later. I moved on to the 'About Us' section, which should have been called, "About Spike," because all five pages paid homage to him. Reading that, you'd think Spike was the greatest drummer ever born; that he'd been the star of the "The Screaming Zombies", and that the city of Hollywood should be grateful he chose to live there.

I must've dozed off for a minute with my head on the desk, because the next thing I knew my cellphone was ringing next to my ear. My ringtone is Vivaldi's violin concerto, Spring, and I was dreaming I was at the symphony with my mom. I woke up and fumbled with the phone.

"Hello?"

"Jamie, were you sleeping? I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, Aunt Peg…" I was still disoriented. It had been such a lovely dream…

"I hate to bother you, but…"

I sat up, suddenly wide wake. "What's wrong?

"Adam isn't doing well, he's having nightmares and he's barely eating. He's refusing to do his homework, or even play any music. His therapist started him on anti-anxiety medication, but it isn't working. He thinks we should try hypnotherapy to help Adam get past his traumatic experience." My aunt sounded exhausted and worried.

"Can you give the therapist permission to speak with me?" I had the beginning of an idea.

"Of course I will," she said, "but Jamie, I had another reason for calling. They were talking about the murder on the 11:00 news. They said Spike was killed with a didgeridoo..."

"I heard that, too."

"Jamie, I don't know how much more of this I can take!" Aunt Peg was crying into the phone.

"I don't understand," I said.

"The didgeridoo--they showed a picture of it. It was Adam's."