Hondo said, “So they have her?”
Jim said, “We don’t know. Could be somebody else. Bodhi’s got this thing about people telling her what to do. She huffed off from us one night because Eric told her not to go to the store without one of us.”
Spade said, “Plus, we’re trying to score some musical work, so we didn’t always have the time to be right there with her.”
“How’d you get started as her protectors?”
“She was at one of our gigs and we all hit it off afterwards. She invited us to her place and we ended up staying a while. One day, while she was on the beach, a couple of drunks thought they could drag her into their car, but we stopped them. Bodhi said that was the second time it had happened in the last month, so we decided to watch out for her. Simple as that.”
“How long were you with her in the apartment?”
Jim said, “Couple months. She texted me after she went away mad that last day and asked us to move out. So we did.”
Hondo said, “Are the clothes in the closet yours?”
“Nope.”
Hondo and I looked at each other, then at Amber, who shrugged her shoulders, “I just borrowed her car, I don’t stay there and don’t know everyone who does.”
Jim said, “Hey, we need to get on stage.” He handed me a business card with his phone number. “Call me so I’ll have your number. If anything comes up, I’ll give you a buzz.”
They took their places on stage, and we stood with Amber. She said, “I’m glad you hit it off. I thought you might.”
I said, “Once I got past the glitter and eyeliner, they’re pretty cool.”
Electrical Testicle started their set, playing a few classic old ones first, and then working into more current music as they varied it from Rock to Metal to Pop, and finished up with a wicked set of Blues. Jim had solid pipes, with a voice sounding a lot like Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, and Sam Spade worked the guitar like Joe Bonamassa. They were good.
Hondo said, “We need to talk to Archie about these guys.” Archie’s our agent for any acting work we get.
I said, “All the musical people he knows were around when Rudy Vallee was a baby.”
Hondo said, “He had on a mix of Rihanna and The Killers in his office this morning, singing along with the Killers.”
“Okay, okay, maybe he can help them. The Testicle is good enough.”
“They should be higher up the food chain, and Arch has contacts everywhere.”
Amber came over and said, “If you two don’t mind, I’ll ride back with the band. They want to try me out as a singer.”
I said, “You sing?”
“Oh, I can do lots of things, my fine looking man. I’ll have to show you sometime.” She winked and hugged Hondo’s neck, then gave me a quick kiss on the lips and skipped away to join the Testicles.
Hondo said, “She’s left, stop moving your lips like a goldfish.”
I said, “You’re jealous. Admit it. They’re usually all over you, but not this time, brother.”
Hondo grinned, “Maybe a little. Amber’s got the whole package.”
“I’m glad you admitted it. Now let’s call it a day. We’ve got the beach volleyball tourney in the morning, and tomorrow afternoon we can go to Holmby Hills and visit with Sylvia Artell.”
“Let’s.”
~*~
The Artell mansion is one of the largest homes in greater Los Angeles, with almost fifty thousand square feet and ninety rooms. It sits on five perfectly manicured acres, and has every amenity imaginable. When we stopped at the gate, I said into the speaker, “Thomas Magnum and Jim Rockford here to see Ms. Artell.” There was a pause, then a voice answered.
“I am sorry sir, but your names are not on our list.”