Written by: Herma Klaassen
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, we have secured an appointment with this man. “
“And you are sure it is him? He is the one we want?”
“Again. Yes, we have found the person who claims he knows more about the murder of Adam Delight, the singer of the eighties rock band the Velvet Furs. There! I said it again. Do you want me to repeat that one more time or are you satisfied?” Johnston looked at his boss with an annoyed look on his face. Johnston has worked at this California television studio for 3 years now and a year ago he became the researcher for a music talkshow, working for this man who was a mediocre director and not a very good manager.
Johnston was clearly agitated at having to repeat the same sentence at least three times already. He didn’t understand what the big deal was. Then again, he was only twenty and had never heard of this guy, that his boss clearly was delirious about. He looked at him again and stopped walking. “If you don’t mind, I have work to do.”He walked away, leaving his boss standing there, alone in the hallway for a second. He could vaguely hear his boss yelling at him, but he didn’t care.
Johnston didn’t know much about the music business. He was hired to do research and that is what he would do. He did not have any hobbies and work was basically all he ever did. He had dreams though. He dreamt about being a big presenter, or a weatherman. But right now he liked where he was. He had a small desk in an office, which he had to share with another researcher and he was fine with that. Life was good the way it was. He sat down behind his desk and stared at this one file sitting on a pile of papers. The file looked different from the others, but he couldn’t quite grasp what it was. He should give this guy a call and meet him somewhere.
It was Friday afternoon. Johnston drove all the way up from San Bernardino to Las Vegas to meet this guy who claimed he knew more about the murder of Adam Delight. It took him at least 4 hours to get here. This better be good. Otherwise he would have wasted the petrol and that wasn’t good for the environment. On top of that, he had ruined a perfectly good day.
The weather was lovely, clear skies all the way and the sun felt warm on his face, which made the trip quite comfortable. He should have gotten a convertible instead of a Land Rover.
He walked into a bar just outside the busy area and sat down at an empty table. The waiter came up to him and verified who he was. He ordered a coffee and looked around the place. He felt a bit uneasy, not knowing what to expect. He coughed slightly and sat up straight in his chair. His notebook was on the table and he looked at the pictures he had paper clipped to the file. He didn’t bother to listen to music by the band or even check how old Adam was when he died. He didn’t even bother to see what the guy looked like. He only had these old pictures from a gig years before that unfortunate night.
A man sat down on the chair next to him. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”Johnston jumped in his seat. He was too busy and didn’t notice this person sitting down. “That’s all right.” He grabbed his notebook and inspected his guest a little more closely. “I’m glad you could join me. Do you mind if I call you Kevin?”Johnston tried to put a friendly smile on his face. “Not at all.”His guest replied. His voice sounded familiar and friendly.
“All right, Kevin. You called our station because you have some information about a murder 25 years ago. Can you tell me why I am here and what you would like to tell us?” He didn’t look up, he was too busy drawing circles on the top of his notebook . “That is correct. I called your station, because I have some information about a murder 25 years ago.” Johnston turned to the man sitting in front of him for the first time. “Would you care to elaborate on that?” “But of course. Adam Delight wasn’t murdered.” Johnston put down his pen. “Adam Delight wasn’t murdered. And how do you know this, if I may ask?”Kevin sat perfectly still on his chair. He hadn’t moved since he sat down and seemed untouched almost by this revelation, which, if true, could have so many consequences, not only for this Kevin guy. “First of all, let me tell you something about the eighties, because I don’t think you are old enough to remember those times.” Johnston looked at him with a little disgust. What was this man thinking, that he owned the world?
The year was 1985. It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. It was a good year for rock bands, times were hectic. We were brought to this earth to conquer the world and we wanted our songs to mean something. I was 25 years old and I was full of energy. I was close to the band and went everywhere they went. The band had entered the charts with their single “what do you do to me” and it was bound to be a success. “And what was your role in all of this? Were you connected to the band?”
Johnston was on the edge of his seat, letting every word in. He knew this was going to be big.
Kevin continued without answering Johnston’s question.
“It was amazing. One night we were playing a gig in Stockholm and the next day we could do an interview in London. The places I’ve seen and the people I have met, unbelievable. But it takes a lot of energy and you have to be very brave and have a lot of stamina to go on. People make huge sacrifices to be famous.”
Kevin was wearing sunglasses and a big cowboy hat, but behind all that he showed just a hint of emotion.
“In every town we were rock stars! But that comes at a price. To keep up with all of this we had to go with the flow and that means we had to use drugs, which wasn’t uncommon in those days, but we had said to each other we would never do drugs. We started the band when we were 15. We were so young and naive, but we were lucky. I left a tape in a club, the owner liked it and we were booked for two nights. Some fancy guy from a label saw us and we were sorted. We knew each other from high school, we never thought we would make it this far.”
The waiter came and brought Kevin his coffee. Johnston sat perfectly still and watched him every move.
“The band had an argument. Adam wanted to do other things, try out new music, but the others were scared and drenched in fame and glory, they didn’t want things to change. “Kevin straightened his glasses and pushed them back a bit . “Adam, he cared about the music, not the fame and fortune. It was the music that got them where they were. So one night just before we were playing this club in Los Angeles, things got a bit out of control and Adam left. He refused to play with a group of imbeciles who were acting all high and mighty.”Kevin’s tone of voice suddenly had a lot more strength, like he was defending himself or someone else. “The manager had to do something. He grabbed one of the roadies who had covered for him once before and told him to get ready. The band was in their dressing room and didn’t notice a thing, until two minutes before going on stage.”
The show went on until the end of the first song. The fireworks blasted from the stage and when they were gone, Adam lay on stage, dead. The club was in chaos. People were screaming and running towards the exit. The Velvet Furs were no more.”
“Wow.”Johnston was impressed. “What a mess!” He finally felt comfortable enough to move again.”And then? What killed him?” Kevin took a sip from his coffee. “He wasn’t murdered, that’s for sure” Johnston sat up straight. It was definitely a good idea to meet this guy. “And you know what did?” “Yes.”Johnston coughed. “Care to share?” Kevin smiled. “And give away everything in the first meeting? I don’t think so. You book me on your show and I promise you it will be good.”Kevin stood up and touched Johnston’s shoulder. “Remember. On June second, it’s been 25 years since the incident. Please schedule your show close to that date.”Kevin walked off, leaving Johnston there with his notebook.
“Ladies and gentlemen. On our show tonight we have an extraordinary guest. Tomorrow, twenty five years ago, a legend was shot. The lead singer of the eighties band “The Velvet Furs”, Adam Delight, was supposedly murdered on stage. Thousands of people witnessed the incident, though nobody saw what happened. Tonight we have somebody who knows more about that night, but first we have a commercial break. We will be right back with our story. Stay tuned!”
Johnston stood in the back with his notebook clenched to his chest. He was a bit nervous. This could go perfectly or it could be a disaster. His boss stood behind him talking to him, but he blocked all the noise from his mind and focused on his own thoughts. He was too nervous.
His phone rang. He rushed off to the dressing rooms. His guest had arrived. He saw the man from the coffee place in Las Vegas. It was weird, he knew this man, but he didn’t know him. He was a mystery, but familiar. “Good to see you Johnston.” Kevin said in cheerful voice. A voice yelled into the room; “you are on in 1 minute.”Kevin stood up, he grabbed Johnston to help him get up from the chair. His boots made a loud noise on the ground. “Here goes nothing.”
“Please welcome our mystery guest.”Applause and noises from the crowd welcomed Kevin onto the stage. He sat down in the only empty chair. The presenter offered him a glass of water. Kevin took off his cowboy head and wiggled a bit in his chair to find the right position. The presenter quickly observed his guest. “Welcome” he said. “Can you please tell us why you are here.”
”Certainly.” Kevin took a sip from his water. He looked very comfortable being on television. “My name is Kevin John Smith. Most people know me as Adam Delight, the lead singer of “The Velvet Furs”. A shock went through the audience. People were whispering to each other. The whole crew was amazed, for a second the whole studio was in complete chaos. The presenter was looking at the crew, because he didn’t know what to do. Without moving a muscle, Kevin continued. “Everybody believed I was killed on that stage 25 years ago, but it wasn’t me on that stage. It was Bob, my trusted assistant. He was electrocuted on stage. I have been hiding for years now and need to come clean. I’m doing this for him. May his soul finally rest in peace.”
The presenter grabbed the earpiece in his right ear and raised his voice. “We will go to a short message from our sponsors, but we will be right back with more news on this story. Don’t go anywhere.”
Johnston’s heart almost stopped. He grasped for air. He was Adam Delight?! I should have done the research better. I should have known. He saw his boss heading towards him, he wanted to hide, but there was no place he could sneak off to. “What the hell is this Johnston! Why did we not know about this!”But Johnston just stood there shaking his head. This night couldn’t get any worse. Kevin looked at him and smiled a broad smile. He raised his thumb and gave Johnston a nod. He softly whispered “Thanks kid”. Here was a guy in need of a way to get out of the shadows and Johnston had given him the spot light.
