It was only eleven o’clock on Saturday morning, but the throb of drums pounded outside the nightclub.
“Are you sure it’s okay to be here?” Robyn looked around nervously.
“Willow said to meet her right here.” I looked up and down the street. “Good thing you had her number,” I said to Nick.
“Well, I thought it would come in handy. You know, if we had questions or whatever.”
“Uh-huh,” Robyn said, grinning. “You were all business at the music festival.”
“I was! She’s a lot older,” Nick defended himself, trying not to blush. “Why would she want to go out with me?”
“She wouldn’t,” Robyn said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you like her.”
“Whatever.” Nick glanced up and down the sidewalk. Willow rounded the corner and waved, hurrying up to us.
“Hi,” she said breathlessly. “Sorry I’m late. What’s going on?”
“Well, Nick pretty much told you on the phone,” I said. “We wanted to talk to Simon, Bo and the other guy. What’s his name?”
“John O’Dowd. But we call him Dude,” Willow said.
“We figured you might know where to find them,” I finished.
“Sure I do!” Willow gave me a sly smile. “Follow me.” She turned and pushed open the door to the nightclub.
The three of us hesitated. The nightclub was closed. Why was Willow going in there?
“Come on,” she urged, holding open the door. “It’s okay. We won’t stay long.”
The entrance was dark with walls painted in a muddy color. We followed Willow into the main area, which smelled stale and dusty. The sound of the drums was much louder inside. An electric guitar wailed, played by a master. The song wound to a crashing finish. Nick and I stood dumbfounded while Robyn strode forward with Willow.
Simon was onstage, a microphone in his hand. Dude held the guitar. Bo stood up from the drums, sweat running down his face. They were dressed in grungy jeans and muscle shirts. Dude’s stringy hair was held back by a strip of leather, and Simon wore a necklace of wood beads featuring a dark, curved piece in the center.
“Willow!” Dude cried. His face lit up. “You came to hear us practice. We open tonight.”
“I know, but I can’t really stay.” Willow smiled. “These guys just needed to talk to you.” She motioned to us.
In that moment, I realized what a stupid move we had made. You don’t just walk up to someone—especially not guys like these— and accuse them of poaching bears. And we couldn’t ask questions about bear poaching either. It would be obvious what we were leading up to, which would likely result in a punch in the nose. I stood there with my mouth open, but Nick came to my rescue.
“You guys are in an actual band?” he gasped.
Simon raised his eyebrows. “Yeah.”
“That is so cool!” Nick enthused.
Bo recognized me. “Hey, you’re the little dude who played at the festival. Are you interested in playing pro gigs, man?”
“Oh yeah!” I said.
“You’ve got the right moves,” Bo said. “You were okay.”
“Really?” I felt highly flattered. “So what it’s like, being in a real band?” “It’s awesome, dude,” said Dude.
Robyn cleared her throat. “Uh, well, we wanted to know what rock stars like you guys think about the whole bear-poaching issue. It’s for a school report,” she added when Simon aimed a piercing stare in her direction. “What public figures feel on a particular issue.”
“We aren’t exactly public figures,” said Simon. “Why don’t you call up a politician or some celebrity or something?”
“The Prime Minister is a little busy right now,” Robyn retorted. “And Paul McCartney isn’t returning calls. So I’m stuck with you.”
Simon cracked a smile. “Okay,” he said. “What do you want to know?”
Robyn pulled a pen and a small notebook out of her pocket. “Tell me what you think about the grizzly bears that were killed. From your perspective as animal-rights supporters.”
“It’s disgusting. It’s wrong,” said Dude. His vehemence surprised me. “Those creatures belong to the wild. No one should mess with that, man.”
Bo scowled. “People need to realize that the earth belongs to more than just human beings. We are all responsible for keeping the environment clean and healthy. That includes keeping species like grizzly bears alive.”
I watched Simon’s face with interest. It twisted slightly, and he swallowed several times. “I just can’t stand thinking about those fuzzy little bears cubs left without a mother.” He gulped and ran a hand over his shaved head.
“Bear cubs?” Nick said in puzzlement. “Who said anything about bear cubs?”
“Well, some of those bears that were killed had to be female,” Simon said. “What if they left cubs behind?”
Robyn was taking rapid notes. “So you’re opposed to hunting the grizzly bears.”
Dude nodded. “Until the population of the species bounces back, and even then I think they should be left alone.”
“What about the bear gall-bladder issue?” Robyn asked.
“I don’t know much about it.” Simon wiped his face and resumed his tough expression. “We’ve got a rehearsal. Sorry, kid. Questions are over.”
“The name’s Robyn.” She stood up straight. “And it’s my last question.”
“I think it’s horrible to take one part and throw the rest away. It’s disrespectful to the animal,” Bo answered.
“Let’s get back to work,” growled Simon.
Dude nodded and pick up his guitar. “All right, man. Let’s do it.” Bo took his place at the drums. With a signal from Simon, they launched into another song.
As we made our way across the stage to the door, Dude gave me a thumbs-up. “Rock on, dude!” he yelled above the music. I grinned and followed Willow to the street.
“That was way awesome!” Nick yelled in excitement. “I can’t believe we actually know somebody who’s in a real band.”
Robyn shook her head, a sour look on her face. “That was a total waste of time, as far as clues are concerned. We didn’t learn anything.”
“Oh, I think we did.” I took a deep breath in the fresh air. “Simon’s lying. He doesn’t care about saving the bears at all.”
“What do you mean?” Robyn asked in astonishment.
“Didn’t you notice the necklace he was wearing?” I paused. “It was made out of a bear’s claw. I’m sure of it.”