Chapter 25

 

Brian was not the only one lying awake that night.  Bianca lay on her back in the large, king size bed she had once shared with AJ, staring up towards the dark ceiling of her bedroom, unable to sleep.  Thoughts kept running through her mind.  Frightening thoughts.

 

Officer Davidson’s words from that evening echoed in her brain, repeating themselves over and over like a broken record.

 

“We have reason to believe that Mr. McLean’s death was not a random serial killing, but instead a premeditated, deliberate act targeted specifically at Mr. McLean.”

 

“And what is that supposed to mean?”


”It means that your friend was not murdered by the Smiley Face Killer.  Someone was out to get him.”

 

Out to get him.  Someone had come into the hotel that night, had been lurking in that hallway, had been waiting specifically for AJ to come walking out so they could attack him.  It wasn’t just a matter of AJ being in the wrong place at the wrong time, like Bianca and the others had always thought.  He was deliberately sought out, attacked, and killed.  The thought of that was chilling.

 

“Who would want to kill AJ?” Bianca asked out loud, her voice penetrating the silence of the still room.  How could anyone want him dead?  AJ was the sweetest, kindest, most charming, unique, and talented man she knew… what possible reason would someone have to murder him?  She knew there were a lot of people in the world who did not like the Backstreet Boys.  She knew there were people that laughed at them, poked fun at them.  She knew there were people that outright insulted them.  But who could actually hate them – or AJ specifically – so much that they wanted them (him) dead?  What kind of person killed an artist just because he or she did not like his music?  Someone who was not right in the head, no doubt.  But Bianca was sure it had to be more than that.  Whoever had done this had to have some reason better than a different taste in music.  But what?  And who was this ‘someone’, this ‘whoever’,  that had done it? 

 

Her thoughts had come full circle again to those very questions – who would want to kill AJ… and why?

 

***

 

When AJ awoke, he felt extremely groggy and disoriented.  Struggling to sit up, he looked around at his surroundings and realized he was lying in the middle of his kitchen floor.

 

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” came Lindy’s familiar, sarcastic voice.

 

AJ looked up to find both Lindy and Bianca sitting across from each other at the kitchen table.  Bianca was eating a bagel with cream cheese on it and gazing absently out the window.  Lindy was smirking down at AJ. 

 

“I was wondering when you were gonna come out of the mist,” she said.

 

Now AJ remembered what had happened .  The golden mist – he had been in the golden mist, re-energizing, or whatever Lindy had called it.   “How long was I in it?” he asked.  It was a stupid question – he could tell it was morning by the fact that Bianca was eating breakfast, and the sun was streaming in through the windows on the eastern side of the house.  When the mist had overtaken him, it had been night.  So the golden mist really was like sleeping, he assumed, same hours and all.

 

Wrong.

 

“About three days,” Lindy replied casually.

 

AJ’s eyes popped.  “Three days?!” he exclaimed.  “No way!”

 

“Yes way.  Today’s January ninth.  It was the sixth when you were last around.”

 

“The ninth?  Hey, it’s my-“

 

“Your birthday, I know.  Happy birthday.”  Lindy offered him a small smile.

 

“Thanks,” he said, blinking at her in surprise.  “How did you know today was my birthday?”

 

“I read it in one of those books about you guys.  I told you that one day I was looking stuff up about you.”

 

“Oh.”  It seemed strange that she knew so much about him without him realizing it.  He barely knew anything about her.  He didn’t her birthday – hell, he didn’t even know her last name or where she was from or how she had…

 

“And I know that if you were alive, you would be twenty-five today,” Lindy added proudly.

 

Would be twenty-five.  That was a strange thought.  Technically, he hadn’t lived to see his twenty-fifth birthday, but here he was to celebrate it.  Not that he could blow out any candles or eat any cake this year.  AJ sighed unhappily.  He liked cake…

 

“So, looks like your lover’s going to be pining for you even more than usual today,” Lindy said, motioning to Bianca.  AJ followed her gaze and saw that Bianca was still staring into space, her right hand holding her nibbled-on bagel in mid-air.  He sighed, wishing she would just believe his messages.  But Bianca was stubborn and anything but gullible.  He knew she probably wouldn’t believe it until she had some proof.

 

And that proof, thought AJ, a feeling of sudden excitement growing within him, will come from Brian.

 

***

 

Today is AJ’s birthday.   That was the thought that had been going through Bianca’s mind all morning and continued to do so as she drove to work.  He would have been twenty-five that day.  Twenty-five… it was older than she was (she would be twenty-four in May), but still seemed very young in the scheme of things.  After all, many people lived into their eighties and nineties these days, some even into their hundreds.  AJ had only lived about a quarter of what he could have lived.  Twenty-five was far too young to die.

 

A solitary tear unexpectedly ran down Bianca’s cheek, and she rolled her eyes, brushing it quickly away.  She felt disgusted with herself for dwelling on such things and making herself upset.  She didn’t want to be upset anymore.  She was sick of crying, sick of mourning.  She wanted to get on with her life.  She wanted to be happy again.  But as much as she wanted those things, she knew they were impossible… at least they were now.  Maybe in a few months, things would be better, but it had only been a month and a half, and the pain of losing AJ was still too fresh to get over.

 

When Bianca arrived at Barnes and Noble, Eddie was already there, getting ready to open the store.

 

“Hey, Bean,” he greeted her as she came in.  “How are you this morning?”

 

“Fine,” said Bianca, putting her things away in the back room.  “So how long are you working today?”

 

Eddie made a face.   “Seven,” he said.  “You?”

 

“Five,” she replied.

 

“Cool.  Got any plans for tonight?”

 

“Yeah, I’m going out with the Backstreet gang for dinner.  Brian and Kevin and their wives are heading home on Saturday, so this is one of the last nights we have to do anything.  Plus, it’s AJ’s birthday today…”  She paused to swallow, “… so we thought it might be nice to get together and… honor him, I guess.”

 

“Oh… I’m sorry.  This must be a tough day for you then,” Eddie said sympathetically.

 

Bianca smiled grimly.  “No tougher than any other day,” she said with a half-hearted shrug.

 

“So, did the Boys have their group meeting you said they were going to have?”

 

“Yeah, they had it last night,” replied Bianca.  “It’s over.  Just like I thought.”

 

Eddie nodded.  “So they all agreed to it?”

“Yeah.  None of them wanted to go on without him.  There might be another album someday – a greatest hits or tribute sort of thing - but no more new material.  Nick’s probably going to keep doing his solo thing… maybe Brian, I don’t know… but no more Backstreet Boys.”

 

“My little sister will be upset.”

 

“I’m sure a lot of people will be,” said Bianca, “But I think most of the fans will understand.  They’ll probably think it’s best.  The Backstreet Boys would never be the same without AJ.”

 

“Yeah.  Well, I’m sorry, I’ve probably depressed you enough for this morning.  What do you say we get to work?” Eddie suggested.

 

Bianca smiled in relief.  “Good idea.”

 

***

 

 

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