[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.’Emily breathed a sigh of relief.‘Thank goodness for that.I was really worried about telling you all this.’‘Not at all.’ Powell stood up.‘Go mix with the other finalists.Do not say a word about this to anyone, and whatever you do, don’t get split off from the herd.Stay in crowds at all times.I’ll get rid of Julius and whoever else he may have hired to try to help him rig this contest.You just worry about singing.Because, with him out of the show, you’ve pretty well got it sewn up now.’‘That’s not why I told you this,’ Emily said defensively.‘I know.Now run along.’ He winked at her.‘People will start to think the show’s rigged if they see us chatting like this.’‘Thank you.’ Emily got up from the seat and headed for the backstage area.She could see the back of Freddie Mercury’s yellow jacket descending a flight of steps so she raced after him.Safety in numbers, she told herself, as long as you stay away from Julius.Nigel watched her trot off backstage and thought hard about what she had just told him.So, Julius was the fly in the ointment, the agent of destruction, trying to ruin the show.Quite why, he wasn’t sure, but that didn’t matter.James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, would be eliminated before he had a chance to sing in the final.Forty-TwoThe members of the Pasadena Hotel house orchestra had been rehearsing for much of the day.They were therefore extremely disappointed to discover that three of the songs they had been practising were no longer required.At the last minute, Nigel Powell had informed them that they would only play for two of the finalists.The others would be singing along to some karaoke backing music that the house deejay was in the process of downloading from the Internet.Understandably, the musicians were all very frustrated, airing their complaints as they made their way through the hotel corridors to the orchestra pit in front of the stage.Twenty-four musicians in all, all of them, bar the pianist and the drummer, carrying their instruments, made the long walk from the rehearsal area to the auditorium.A number of them did so in the resentful knowledge that their skills and their instruments were no longer required.They would simply be sitting in the orchestra pit and watching the show.One such was Boris, the backup guitar player.His part had now become redundant.It was his twenty-first birthday, and playing in the show had been going to be the highlight of his musical career to date.But now the senior guitarist, Pablo, would be the only one needed for the two specified songs.Feeling more than a little downbeat, Boris plodded along at the rear of the group, sulking at his misfortune.As they trailed down the long corridor from the lobby to the stage area, he noticed the orchestra members in front of him begin to part, like the Red Sea before the Children of Israel.He saw, walking towards him through the middle of the gaggle of musicians, a muscular-looking man wearing a black leather jacket with a dark hood pulled up over his head, leaving his face in shadow.As Boris attempted to step out of the way to allow him to pass, the man reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder.‘Hey, you,’ he said in a gravelly voice.‘Yeah, uh – hi,’ Boris replied.Something about the man made him feel nervous.‘Bin lookin’ for you.’‘Me? Why?’‘Guy up in the booth wants a word with you.’‘’Bout what?’‘The fuck would I know?’‘Well, I’m supposed to be doing the show any minute.’‘It’s about the goddam show, man.Guy wants you to do a big solo, or somethin’.’Boris’s eyes lit up.‘Yeah?’ But his initial excitement was quickly replaced by suspicion.This was more than likely a practical joke.‘You just said you didn’t know what it was about,’ he said warily.‘That’s ’cause it’s a surprise.I didn’t wanna ruin it for you.’‘Oh.Right.What’s the solo for?’‘Hey, man, I’ve said way too much already.It’s up this way.’ He pointed to a stairway running off the corridor on the right, which Boris had passed moments earlier.Not wanting to be forgotten by his fellow orchestra members, he yelled out to them.‘Catch up with you guys, yeah?’If any of them heard him, they gave no sign of it.They all carried on walking, before turning right through a door that led into the lower area of the auditorium, where the orchestra pit was located [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]