"Is that the reason you broke up?”
"Among others.”
“Did he ever express a desire to harm Coach Madison?”
"Did Randy do something?”
"That's what we’re trying to find out. Coach Madison is dead.”
She gasped. "When did this happen?"
"Between 9 and 10:30 PM the night you went out with Randy.”
There was plenty of time for Randy to have gone to Palm Haven after his breakup with Amy. He was probably enraged and perhaps lit up. Could be a combination for aggression.
"Was he drinking excessively on your date?”
"He had a few, if I recall.”
"Did he say anything about Coach Madison that night?”
"That was not a topic of discussion.”
"Would you be willing to testify if it came down to it?”
"You really think he killed Coach Madison?"
"Let's just say he had motive, means, and opportunity.”
She hesitated a moment, then stammered. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, if he's guilty, sure. I'll testify.”
"You know him better than I do. Do you think that's possible? Is he capable of murder?”
She exhaled. "Randy and his brother were close. I know he was deeply disturbed by the loss. It was something he talked about all the time and still harbored a lot of animosity and resentment. Who wouldn't? I didn't think it was anything unusual. But Randy can get dark at times. He can be a little up-and-down, and you never know which Randy you're going to get. Honestly, it was just too much for me. He doesn't take his medication, and he self-medicates with alcohol, which only makes the mood swings worse." Amy paused. "Look, I think he's really a good guy at heart. We’ve all got our problems. But it just wasn’t working out for us.”
I thanked her for the information and told her we'd be in touch.
JD and I headed back to theAvventuraand grabbed dinner at Diver Down. We shot the breeze with Teagan for a bit, then met the guys at O’ Grady’s to pregame a little before the show.
We were set to headline at Vibe at 10:00 PM.
All the debris had been cleared from Sonic Temple. It was now an empty lot after the explosion. I'm sure it wouldn't remain that way for long. Prime real estate on the strip.
Jack had been in contact with Harvey about it. He’d owned the place forever, but wasn't sure what he was going to do moving forward. Sonic Temple was an icon on Oyster Avenue, and the premier venue for live rock 'n' roll. It would be a shame if it never came back.
We headed over to Vibe around 9:00 PM, then hung out in the green room warming up until it was time to go on stage.
The place was packed.
Vibe was considerably smaller than Sonic Temple, and they were certainly happy to have the business. You could barely move in the place.
I took the stage and introduced the band.
Dizzy struck a power cord, and the guys rushed on stage and took their positions. Jack howled into the microphone, "Are you ready to rock 'n' roll!?"
The question was met with a roar from the audience.
The band broke intoMy Only Viceand pummeled the crowd with retro rock goodness for the next hour and a half.
