Chapter Six...

"Bring that here, will ya?" Nick shouts to Tony. "We don't wanna lose that thing, ya know? I promised Jess we'd keep this stuff safe for her till she's ready for it."

Jeff's lucky pic was one he's had since 8th grade. Bought it with his paper route money.
Flaming orange & bright as the sun. He loved it & never played without it.

"Bring his shirts too, but not the silver one, that one stays..." Nick remembers when Jeff bought that stupid silver shirt. He hated it when he first had picked it off the rack...
'you're seriously gonna buy that ugly thing?' he remembers saying to him 'be my guest, I wouldn't be caught dead in it! hahaha' he had said.
Caught dead in it, dead.
Jeff was dead now. What the hell had happened to his world that his friend was found face down with his head split open? Nick just shook his head in disbelief.

"Hey Nick," Tony called from across their makeshift studio which was nothing more than a rented out store front with great acoustics, "what'cha wanna do with these?"
holding up Jeff's lucky roach clips, flaming neon feathers hung loosely from them.

"PUT THAT SHIT DOWN! Christ, we're gonna HIDE THOSE!
Nobody knew that he smoked and nobodies GONNA KNOW, GET IT?!"
Nick firmly answered.

"Yeah," Tony said, "I get it."
"And for that matter nobody knows that WE do it you dork! You wanna get us kicked outta here? I sure as hell don't!"
"Ok, Ok," Tony said, "Relax, I won't say nothing!"
"Good," replied Nick "you better not!"

Nick walked over and leaned against the plate glass window
that looked out onto Main street.
Across the street was 'Taste Buds', the local hang out. Great food cheap, good atmosphere & a jukebox that somehow, never skipped a beat.
"Why is it that some of the best food in the world is found in a little shit hole like Taste Buds?" he asked Tony.
"I dunno man," he answered Nick, "but their shit's good though, don't question, just eat. Speaking of which, you hungry? I could go for one of their double deck er burgers right about now."
"Yeah, right, more like you could go for one of their Ginas right now..." Nick snickered.
"SHUT UP!" yelled Tony, embarrassed.

Staring out across Ocean street, the main street that ran the length of Collins Cove,
Nick noticed that Taste Buds was empty except for an older couple probably having a late brunch, and some guy who he'd never seen before but who looked sadly out of place.
Weird hat, funny suit, tie that didn't much match & shoes that were in desperate need of a shine.

"Hey Tony, check this joker out..." motioning in the mans direction.

*laughing* "What's that fool wearing? Heh, Back To The Future called dude, they want their suit back! HA!"
Nick started laughing too... "Yeah, let's go get that burger, I'm hungry too now that you mention it."

Tony put Jeff's belongings into a cardboard box that he had slightly hidden behind the drums.
Nick grabbed his keys so they could lock up, Tony grabbed his jacket & cell, checked his face in the mirror & out the door they went.
"You look fine by the way," Nick said as they were crossing the street, "she'll notice you today for sure."
"Shut UP Nick! You know it's not like that, she's just a nice girl, that's all. YOU should be as worried about how you look, for crying out loud have you seen your hair lately? You are in total need of a cut in case you hadn't noticed, and what's up with that 7:30 shadow? It's called a razor, ever hear of one?" Tony felt proud of himself for producing such a quick witted come back, which normally was not the case for him.
'Yeah yeah, shut it, let's just go eat, huh?" Nick knew he looked like crap, he'd seen himself in the mirror that morning, he was pale and his dirty blond hair was all mussed up & ruffled like he'd just rolled out of bed. He hadn't taken a razor to himself since hearing of Jeff... who could?
Everything was different now...

Collins Cove was a cute seaside town, with fun little shops and friendly people. Fancy houses that were younger than most of the high schoolers & some that were so old that they were part of the historical society & protected under it's strict guidelines.

It was a quiet town where every Monday morning, Gina opened the Taste Buds bright & early at 6am for the locals who were in desperate need of their morning cup'o'joe.
Her menu was simple, hearty meals for hearty people who were just happy to be up & headed to work to earn a living. Proud & loyal to whatever trade or skill they possessed.

Things like murders never happened here, ever.
Oh sure, accidents & such happen all the time, but that's life, shit happens.
But murders? Not here, not so much.
So when everyone heard the news of Jeff's death, people were all pretty shocked.
He was remembered at church, not that Nick went, but he heard from a friend who still went to Mass with his family every Sunday.
Nick never understood why, couldn't get on board with that whole religion thing but hey, to each his own.

Tony walked into the place first, letting the door hit Nick in the face, forgetting to hold it for him.
"Hey asshole, watch it!" Nick yelled to him.
"Sorry dude, my bad!" Tony replied, completely distracted.

"Hey Gina!" Tony had a huge smile on his face, his feelings for her hardly a mystery, everyone knew it, sadly, so did Gina, who didn't return his affection in a way he had hoped for.
Tony was a nice guy, a good guy, neither him nor Nick ever went to college, but they did both graduate the local high school back in 96'. Tony was a husky guy, carried most of his weight around the middle but not fat, per say. More of a football type, quarterback style, solid & rugged but just about the biggest teddy bear going. He lived on the outskirts of town with his large Italian family, four brothers & sisters, Tony being the fifth as well as the baby.
The weirdest thing was that they all still lived at home, home being a four family with each kid having his/her own apartment. Tony still living with Mom & Dad on the first floor.
He had a baby face & lots of dark black hair that he never understood wasn't as attractive as he thought, all slicked back. He was a jeans & sweatshirts type of guy who never could afford a half decent pair of shoes, always wearing those old sneakers that were begging to be thrown out but, according to his mother, just added to his character, thus never made it to the curb come trash day.

"Hey Tony! How you doing today? The usual?" she said with a smile.
"Nah, today me and Nick wanna have those beautiful double
deck er burgers you put together so perfectly!"

Shameful, the boy was shameful.... thought Nick.

"Hey Gina, how are you doing today?" Nick asked her.
Smiling big, Gina merely winked at him & said "Hanging in, my friend. Hanging in."
Gina turns around & aims her voice in the direction of the kitchen & yells:
"Hey Pops' two double deck ers for the guys!"
"Ok Gin, got it!" he yells back.

They each picked a stool at the bar.
"Coke's boys?" Gina asked them.
"Sure thing Gina, that would be great!" Tony answered.
"Yeah sure, Coke's fine..." Nick said while looking across the room at that man with the funny hat. "Hey Gina, who's the dude with the bad taste in hats?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she said, handing them their cokes, "he came in here like a half hour ago & hasn't ordered a thing. Just keeps wanting another refill on his water & scribbling things down on that pad of paper he's got.
Gina leans down to whisper to Nick, "he's also kinda talking to himself, every once in a while I see him bury his face into his arms & begin to talk but I can't figure out what he's saying."
She takes her dishcloth & pretends to be wiping down the counter.
"He's looked over here once or twice but other than that & shitty taste in clothes, not a clue who he is. I've honestly never seen him before." she said.

Nick took a sip of his Coke and played with the straw while he waited for his burger.
"So Gina," Tony asked, his voice squeaking a little, "got any plans for the weekend?"
his eyes wide, his face glowing, his hopes high.
"Uh, yeah, actually I do but nothing exciting. I gotta help out at home, promised my Pop." she lied.
"Aww that's too bad! I was going to ask if you wanted to go to a movie or something?" Tony's disappointment, although huge, was nowhere to be found... he hid it well.
"Thanks hon but really, you know how hard things have been, after my Ma passed & little Joey's away at school, it's kinda just me & Pop's holding down the fort, so I can't disappoint him." that much was true. Her mother passed away last summer from cancer. Found it in her lungs, inoperable, terminal & fast moving. She went from diagnosis to death in less than a week. Really hit her hard, but none harder hit than her father. Franky & Sonia were high school sweet hearts and never more than an arms length apart. Always held hands, truly so in love, everybody knew it. Even Gina, which is why she was still waiting, hoping, praying to find her very own love like that. A forever love, the kind that, even with death, never dies. It goes on living. To Gina, it was magic.

She looked up & smiled at Nick, "So, Nick... how are you holding up since, ah, well... since the whole Jeff thing?"
"I'm doin' ok Gina, I just still can't believe he's gone." Nick said.
"Yeah, I know. I can't believe it either." she admitted.
Gina's father called from the kitchen out back, "Hey Gin' ORDER'S UP!"
"Coming Pop! Those are your burgers, I'll be right back, ok?" Gina flung herself around & skipped out back to get the boys' food.
Tony reached over & whacked Nick on the arm, "She's cute today isn't she?" he asked with the excitement of a 4 year old on Christmas morning.
"Yeah, she's cute, but you seriously gotta chill man, you're gonna scare the poor girl!" Nick said with a doubtful shake of his head.
"Here you go boys, two double deck er's just for you." Gina returned from the kitchen and pushed Tony's burger down the counter towards him while making a point to not only hand Nick his, but keeping eye contact with him the whole time.
Nick shows her a smile, "Thanks Gina, they look great."
Gina smiling, merely winks again & responds with a simple yet powerful, "I know."

The whole time eating the guys just could not for the life of them figure out hat guy's deal.
"What's he doing over there? Talking to himself or what?" Tony asked, "Maybe he's crazy or something?"
"I'll tell you what's crazy, the fact that Jeff's dead, nobodies heard much of anything from Jess, the damn cops can't figure out who did it or if they know anything, they ain't talkin, and now this fool HAT man is just sitting around with the sole purpose of pissing me off." Nick was agitated now. "I'll be right back."

He hops down from his stool, leaving his half eaten burger on the counter and heads over to hat man's table.
"Excuse me sir, mind if I sit down?" he asks the odd stranger.
"No, not at all, please..." and he gestures towards the empty chair across from him.
"Name's Karl, Karl Peterson, and you are?" he asks Nick.
"I'm Nick, Nick Nucci," shaking hat mans hand. "Nice to meet you. Listen, I happened to notice that you're sitting here alone, I don't recall ever seeing you around these parts & I'm a regular and you just looked like you could use some company, so I figured I'd come say hi. Hope you don't mind." he lied hoping to find out some information on the guy.
"Oh no, not at all, in fact it's lucky you should come over here, you are exactly the man I was hoping to bump into, although I'll admit I didn't know quite what you looked like or where you lived so, I figured the safest bet to try and accidentally bump into you would be to hang out here until I saw you emerge from your studio, which clearly I've missed if you're approaching me from within the diner. haha" he chuckles but is clearly a tad bit embarrassed.

"Is that so?" Nick asks, "and what, if I might ask, is it that you want with me, Karl, Karl Peterson?"
"Well, story has it that your buddy Jeff was murdered this past Saturday night, and well, I work for The Grim, we're an independent publication printed locally but we hope to one day be world wide. We cover murders, suicides, anything grim & gory like that. My job is to get into the core of the story, find out the guts, ya know?" he sounded far too excited for his own good.
"Ah, actually I don't know. My close friend was just found dead in his apartment and you want to find out the 'guts' of the story? Listen man, I understand a guy's gotta make a living but seriously, I can't indulge you an interview, not like this, not now, possibly not ever. Understand?" Nick was pissed off. Who the hell was this joker thinking he could just come in here & ask to be told the 'guts' of a story that was A. none of his business and B. a NON story.

Nick, clearly annoyed & not interested in what hat man had to say, walked back to the bar & hoped up on his stool.

"You wanna know what that joker's here for? You wanna know what he just asked me, the bastard?" Nick was obviously worked up.
"Huh? What's that?" mumbled Tony, through a mouthful of burger.
"Jesus Tony, would you LISTEN for once in your life, please? I said, do you wanna know what
friggen hat man is here for?"
"Oh, stupid hat guy, what's his story?" Tony asked as he grabs another handful of fries.
"Well, that's just it, he doesn't really have a story but is clearly interested in ours. Says he's from some stupid publication called 'The Grim' which I've never heard of, and says he's here to interview ME! Can you believe that shit?"
"You? for what?" Tony takes another drink of his Coke.
"He says he wants to know the inside story, the guts of the why's & how's surrounding my friendship with Jeff. Can you believe the nerve of that asshole?"
Tony swallows his coke & says, "Wait a minute, why's he only here to interview you? Doesn't he know that I was Jeff's friend too? Doesn't he know the THREE of us were in a BAND?!"
"Jesus Christ Tony, is that all you can think of? You getting your due credit? You're unbelievable man..." Nick was disgusted with his friend, but not shocked.

"Well, what did you tell him?" Tony asks.
"I told him that, my friend just died, I'm trying to enjoy my lunch and that I'd appreciate if he left me alone. That I was not going to give him the satisfaction of an interview, not now, not tomorrow, not ever. Damn news hounds." Nick, clearly pissed, took a huge bite out of his now cold burger & chased it down with nearly all his coke.

The truth was, there really wasn't much of a story behind how Nick and Jeff became & remained friends. Nick, Jeff and Tony all met in grade school, kindergarten to be exact. They became friends how any other friendship does, at school.

They always were together, although most nights Tony wasn't allowed to go since he had a pretty huge family who not only still went to Sunday mass together but had faithful Sunday dinners that were a minimum of four courses plus coffee & dessert.

Mostly, it was Jeff & Nick who spent the majority of their weekend time together, filling Tony in on their adventures come Monday at School. Tony always jealous that he was unable to be a part of their fun.
They got older, had dreams of one day starting a band. High school came, they made their dream a reality and on a very local level, were celebrities in their own right.
Nick on acoustic, Jeff on Bass & Tony on drums.
They played high school dances, local restaurants, even church gatherings, although those were a bit trickier since their music leaned more towards the hard rock variety.
Jesus wasn't such a fan of 'Hard Rock Lovin' or 'Under the Stars, Under the Bleachers'. (both popular songs of theirs...)

Teenage years would prove to be the most difficult, as Jeff discovered he had a taste for alcohol, the hard kind. And Tony, a similar taste, but his vice of choice being food.
Nick, well Nick has his vice too but I'm pretty sure she didn't have a clue.

Weird hat Karl got up to leave but turned in their direction & walked up to Nick one last time, his hand out with a card between his fingers, "Nick, if you change your mind..." he said with a smile.
"Ah, thanks but, I won't." and refuses the card.
Karl leaves it on the counter, smiles at Gina turns to leave.
"See you later man, ah, my name was Tony, T-O-N-Y, Tony Vitale!"
Nick smacks Tony on the head, "Seriously man, you gotta cut that shit out..."