I’m a longtime manager of musicians. And while I’ve managed several artists throughout my career, there is no doubt my career will always be best known for the band Rattlesnake Venom.
I first stumbled upon the group that would be known as Rattlesnake Venom in the fall of 1997. That was back when I was a young agent and always in search of new acts to sign to the label.
The band was playing a local event at a fairground. The people around were half listening as they were eating BBQ. I had just finished eating as the band playing ended, took a bow, and then the next group took the stage. I half listened to the introduction and then they hit their first note and took up a song.
That was when I knew.
So I didn’t hesitate for a moment in approaching them after their set was over. I introduced myself, presented my card, and invited them to join me for drinks at a local place where we could talk. I couldn’t tell you how long we talked. Maybe a few hours. But it was one of the best nights of my life. And it ended with them unanimously agreeing that they wanted me to manage them. I happily accepted but swore to them the minute they wanted new management, I would step aside. And I agreed to it in writing.
The early years were the most fun. We were all young, ambitious, and learning. When you’re on the road with each other, you get to know people in a way that most people never do. Hitting up late night diners for coffee and food, the walls slowly start to come down and you see people as they are.
Liam was the lead singer and the main songwriter. But Liam wasn’t just a terrific singer, he was a true showman and entertainer. With a background in theatre, he truly performed on stage and put on show for the audience. He, along with Charlie, Tim, and Leland, who each played a variety of instruments, started to become something. Something special.
But eventually, things began to come apart. The tiny little things become a million tiny little things, which become a few not so little things, and before too long, it’s only a matter of time before everyone acknowledges the writing on the wall and calls it quits. And then one day, you hear the one sentence that’s obviously been rehearsed.
“We’re going in a new direction and would like new management.”
There it was. I nodded and immediately signed the papers in keeping with my promise all those years ago. After that I kept busy with my label and other projects, but I occasionally saw flashes of Rattlesnake Venom in the news. It was hard not to, because their new management had a bit of a different philosophy than mine. Very different. But whatever. It wasn’t my problem anymore.
But then, five years later, my assistant Howard buzzed me from his office, which was located outside of mine.
“Liam is here to see you,” he informed me over the phone. Howard didn’t need to specify which Liam it was.
“Send him in in 10 minutes,” I eventually said.
“Will do.”
I casually leaned back in my chair while Liam was waiting. 10 minutes later, there was a knock at the door and Howard poked his head in.
“Liam for you.”
“Thank you.” I nodded and Howard stepped away and let Liam in before he closed the door behind him.
The first thing I noticed was how tired he looked. Worn. Like he hadn’t slept in a long time.
“Hi Perry,” he said while standing in front of my desk.
“Hello.” I didn’t stand up, shake his hand, or offer him coffee. The usual things I do when someone visits my office.
“I bet you’re wondering why I’m here.”
“Not really. I have an idea why.”
“That shouldn’t surprise me, you always were scary smart.”
“So get on with it.”
“We’re in trouble,” Liam blurted out.
“You’re in trouble.” I repeated flatly.
“Yes.”
“So why don’t you have your management or any of your other people take care of it? That’s what they’re there for.”
“We’ve tried, they can’t really do anything. They keep looking into what we tell them to, but they swear they can’t find anything amiss.”
“How unfortunate for you.”
“They’re not you Perry.”
I chuckled. “Obviously. That’s what you wanted remember?”
“I know, and we feel terrible about it. I can’t imagine how it hurt you.”
“Who said it hurt me? I certainly didn’t.”
“It didn’t hurt you?”
“Not like you think. I was angry and felt unappreciated for sure, but it was a business decision and your right. I accepted that, and here we both are.”
“Well, we feel terrible about how we treated you.”
“I’m sure you do. So stop patronizing me and get on with what you came here to say.”
“Ok, I’m sorry. I just wanted it out that we feel terrible, and you deserved better. I’m here because I’m afraid. We all are.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Someone is after us. We’re being watched. No, we’re not just being watched, we’re being followed too. I can feel it whenever I go somewhere. So can the others. And it’s not the usual stuff we’ve dealt with in the past.”
“Then get some security.”
“We did. But that didn’t stop it. I can feel something bad is going on, and I’m afraid. We all are.”
I sighed. “Why are you here? And don’t tell me you’re afraid. Tell me the real answer.”
“You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met. And we’re clueless. Shoot, I’m not even here on hope, it’s just something I felt I needed to do.”
“Now here’s something I feel I need to do. Get out of my office, figure out what the problem is, and deal with it. Or have your management do it. That’s literally their job. Now if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”
Liam nodded his head silently and turned to leave. But just before he left, he turned around and said, “I really am sorry Perry. Truly.”
“Ok. Good luck.”
Then I put my head down to focus on what I had been doing, and Liam left my office without saying another word.
I got news of Tim’s death a few weeks after that. Car accident. Of course it made front page news and was a big headline for a while. I attended the funeral. My presence there was noted by most who attended, and everyone who spoke to me was grateful for it. Not that they were surprised, as there was never any doubt I’d attend. It was my final obligation to the band, one I’d planned long in advance.
The other band members were there as well, and I took care to avoid them as much as possible. At some point I looked over and saw them all looking at me with what could only be described as a pleading, wistful look. I rolled my eyes at them and looked away. But that didn’t stop them from cornering me later at the catered lunch. I was in the middle of a turkey sandwich on a croissant when I felt their presence.
So I put the sandwich down and stared at them. “I don’t know what you want or expect from me, so please leave me alone.”
They all looked awful. Pale, drawn, and exhausted. If I was still their manager, it would be literally my job to try to fix whatever the issue was, but now they were just other guests at a catered lunch. No one spoke at first. They just stood there awkwardly in front of the table I was sitting at.
Leland took a tentative step towards me. “We’re not asking for a favor Perry, we’ll compensate you for your troubles. In full.”
“And what do you expect me to do in return? Check under your beds to make sure no monsters are lurking there?”
“No. We would just like your advice.”
“On what?”
“How to stop whatever this is.”
“I don’t have the slightest clue what is going on with you all, and its none of my business. I’m good, I won’t argue that, but even I have my limits. Here’s the best advice I can give you, and it’s completely free. You all have talent, but you would have been nothing without me. Know why that is? You have no ability to see the big picture and plan ahead. That’s why I know whatever mess you are all in, it’s because you got careless with something you couldn’t afford to be careless with. So figure out what that is and straighten it out. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to eat in peace.”
I could tell literally everyone was trying to listen in to our conversation, but I didn’t care. I was tired of being hounded for nothing. The three of them quietly left me alone and didn’t bother me the rest of the afternoon. So I went back to business as usual and thought nothing more about it.
I wasn’t sure when I first felt someone watching me. Not too long after Tim’s funeral. It was subtle at first. That nagging feeling that something is slightly off. You can’t quite place it, but somehow, something is amiss. But then you forget about it until it happens a second time. Then a third time. That’s when you really start to get uneasy. I started looking at everything and everyone with unease. Thinking they were all potentially behind what was going on. That’s one of many unpleasant feelings that comes with feeling that you’re being watched. You don’t know who’s behind it and who’s in on it.
One night after I’d had enough, I picked up my phone and sent 3 identical texts to different numbers. The message was exactly one sentence long. Then I drove to a diner exactly an hour away, ordered a cup of coffee and a piece of cake, and waited.
As I expected, all three people I messaged showed up exactly when I’d told them too. They all walked over to me with something resembling hope in their expressions.
“Order something.” I told Liam, Leland, and Charlie once they sat down.
“We’re not really hungry,” Charlie said.
“That wasn’t a question or suggestion. I don’t need to tell you all how sharing a meal helps the creative juices, and you three need all the creative juices you can get right now, so order up.”
They didn’t need to be told twice. Leland ordered a tomato soup and grilled cheese, Charlie went with the roasted turkey dinner, Liam got a cheeseburger and fries, and I got an omelet. Once we all got a refill of coffee, I took a sip and looked at them expectantly.
“Ok. Now spill. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know Perry,” Liam began. “Honestly. I know we’re being watched, but I can’t say by who, or even why.”
“Yes you do. You know it has something to do with Tim.”
“Right.”
“About that.” Leland spoke up. “I don’t think his car accident was accidental at all. Tim was a good driver. You know that.”
“I do.” I nodded. “Ok. So if it wasn’t accidental, there had to be a reason why.”
“That’s what we’re all struggling with,” Charlie sighed.
“You act like this is all a ruse to scare you, when it could be another reason. To get information or try to learn something.”
“I can’t imagine what that would be, especially if it was related to Tim,” Liam said.
“Was it an art thing?” I asked.
All the members of the group had their various interests and passions. Liam owned a vineyard, Charlie was a car collector, Leland was all about planes, and Tim had been the group’s resident art collector.
All three of them looked at each other for a moment.
“It’s possible,” Liam finally nodded after a moment.
“It would explain why something happened to him, and to him alone. So if that’s the working theory, then there had to be a specific reason why this all started now. Tim’s been a big-time collector as long as you guys have been successful. So why now?”
“I don’t know anything for certain,” Leland said. “But all this started not long after Tim returned from Europe.”
“Ok. And we all know Tim never went anywhere like that without picking up something nice to put on his wall or shelf.”
This was met with silent nods before our food arrived. We all ate quietly for a moment while I was deep in thought.
“So, if Tim bought or obtained something, then the conclusion is that it’s something that someone really, really wants. Which would make sense why we’re being watched. To see if we know where it is or have it.”
“We?” Liam asked uncertainly.
I gave Liam a silent look that immediately made him understand.
“If whoever wants whatever this valuable is, then it would make sense that if we knew about it, we would lead whoever it is right to it.”
“But we don’t,” Charlie said while taking a sip of coffee.
“Not yet we don’t,” I explained after I finished my omelet. “But we’re gonna change that.”
“How?” Liam asked.
“We just stop by Ashley’s house for a visit.”
Ashley was Tim’s ex-girlfriend. They had an on-again, off again relationship for years before it ended for the final time about a month before he died. She lived in an elegant condominium outside the city. I always liked her, and she very nicely agreed to see us.
“I’ll get straight to the point,” I said to Ashley once she let us in. “We think Tim’s death was no pure accident and we’re all being followed. And we wanted to know if you knew anything that might help us.”
She sat there quietly for a moment before she brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes and turned to face me.
“I suspect the same thing,” Ashley whispered. “And I wish I could say I was surprised. No one’s following me, but then again, whoever is behind it knows I wasn’t involved and don’t have anything.”
“What do you know Ashley?” Charlie asked.
“You know how it is when even if you’ve broken up with someone, you know what’s going on with them because of mutual friends. Not long before his death, I heard that Tim had gotten some new valuable. Very rare. I don’t know what it was specifically, just that it was some kind of statue. And he had picked it up while he was in Europe from some rare art dealer. But here’s what’s really interesting. I’ve kept in touch with the same mutual friends, and no one’s found any statue since he died. So either it’s been hidden somewhere, or someone took it. I suspect the former, hence why you are all being watched.”
“Interesting idea,” I nodded. “Do you have any idea where it would be?”
“No. But I know you’ll find it. Valuable things always turn up, sooner or later.”
“That they do,” I agreed. “Thank you, Ashley.”
We left Ashley’s and went to a local coffee shop to sit around and think. We bounced ideas back and forth for about an hour before Liam suddenly sat upright in his chair.
“The studio,” he blurted out.
“The studio?” I asked.
“The recording studio that Tim owned near his house where we would occasionally work. There’s soundproofing there and plenty of places to hide things. And no one would think to look there.”
I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me as I thought it over. It was a good idea.
“Well done, Liam,” Charlie clapped him on the back.
“Well done indeed.” I agreed. “Let’s go.”
I looked up the recording studio on the way over. It had been a studio for a long time, but before that it used to be a bar going back to the days of Prohibition. That made me think that there was probably a hidden tunnel or something there. Definitely a good place to hide something. Liam Charlie and Leland had keys, so getting in was easy enough.
As I suspected, the recording studio itself was in the basement. The layout was typical if a bit older and dated. Once we were inside, we all walked to the recording booth and stepped inside. I knew from the layout of the place that if there was a secret passage in here, access would be somewhere inside the basement. So I started looking around for anything out of the ordinary.
When I pressed against a panel in the soundproofed wall, I felt something. So I examined further, I found a panel in the wall. When I pressed on it, a small door opened in the wall.
The four of us looked at each other briefly before we stepped inside, closed the door that had hidden it, and looked around. It was nothing special; just a long walkway that was empty aside from dust and cobwebs.
Then, without saying a word, we all followed the passage, which went on for about a mile until it opened up in front of a plain wooden door. I took a deep breath and gently pushed on the doorframe.
It opened with a creak, and I found myself standing in a neatly organized office. The door to the passage had been concealed behind a bookcase, which was situated amongst others that filled one of the office walls. When I saw the glass desk, the fireplace, and some awards, I realized immediately where we were. Tim’s study. In his house. That meant he had probably taken the passage to the recording studio on several occasions. Who wouldn’t?
“Ok,” Liam said after a moment. “If what we’re looking for is still out there, it should be here.”
I agreed. But before anyone could say anything else, there was the sound of the front door opening on the first floor. Leland and I briefly glanced over the balcony and saw two men dressed casually enter the house.
Panic shot through my body as I frantically tried to think of what to do. I quickly decided to go right back into the passage, and the others saw no reason to try anything else, so they followed me without hesitation. Once we were all inside, I quietly closed the bookcase covered door and we waited in silence.
I listened intently for any sort of sound or clue to what was going on. I tried to ignore the wave of fear that shot through my stomach, and one look at the others told me they felt the same way. After what felt like an eternity, I could hear footsteps nearby. Then the sounds of the two men rustling through the office and looking for who knows what. The steps were slow, steady, and deliberate. This wasn’t the frantic searching of someone in a hurry.
Then the footsteps got eerily close to the passage’s entrance, and I held my breath. I could feel the presence on the other side. There were no other sounds. No other signs anything was going on. For all I knew, the two strangers were staring at the bookshelf right on the other side, studying it.
“Any luck?” One of them asked.
“No.”
“Any leads from his former associates?”
“None. We’re not even sure where they are.”
“They’ll turn up. Just keep looking. We know it’s not here. We’ve searched everywhere.”
Then there was more silence. All we could do was stand there as whoever was lurking just a few feet away stood there. Then, I finally heard both pairs of footsteps head back downstairs before there was the faint thud of the front door closing. Moments after that, I heard a car start and pull away.
I took a deep breath of relief. Then I waited a moment before I opened the door to the office back up and we all took some deep breaths to relax. Once the adrenaline had tapered off, I looked at the three of them.
“They claimed nothing was here, but that only means they believe nothing is here.”
“Right,” Liam nodded. “We know Tim. We know here is the most logical place he’d keep something. But he’d be smart about it.”
So we split up and began searching the house. Tim always did have an enormous appreciation for all types of art, be it music, paintings, or cinema, and the house was a reminder of that. Everywhere you look there was some painting, photo, or antique. But the next question was where would a priceless item everyone wanted be kept?
I passed the home theater and came to a stretch of wall that contained a massive fish tank that went from floor to ceiling. I’d been past it before when it was brightly illuminated, but now it sat there, dark and silent.
I looked at it again with more interest. The fish tank would be an amazing place to hide something, as literally no one would think to look there. Plus, it would typically be hidden by the water and whatever was swimming in there.
“Come here and check this out!” I called out to the other three.
They wandered over to where I was, and I pointed to the fish tank. They looked at it without saying a word, but I could see they were thinking I was onto something.
“So how do we get inside? Aside from cracking it open?” Leland asked.
“Something that big has to have a door or something. Because someone has to clean it. We just have to find where it is,” Liam said.
Good point. So we all tried to find the aquarium’s door. After a few minutes, we found it behind the door to a bathroom. It looked like any other door in the house, and after carefully testing it, I gingerly opened it. It opened just like any other door. And when I flipped the light on, we were facing a big open space. It was completely empty, and after we paced around it and looked around, there was no sign something valuable might be hidden anywhere.
So we walked back out and switched the light off. Then we all walked to the sitting room and sat down.
“It was a good thought Perry,” Charlie said.
“It really was.” Liam agreed.
“Thanks. But if it wasn’t there, where is it?”
We all sat there in silence for a few minutes. I took the time to relax in the chair, which was quite comfortable. I eventually peered out the nearby floor to ceiling window, which looked out over Tim’s backyard. That was when I sat upright in the chair.
“What is that?” I pointed to something that looked like a pond near the back. I’d been in Tim’s house before, but it had been a few years, and whatever that thing was, it was new. Or at least, it was new to me.
Liam looked out the window where I was pointed.
“Oh that’s the crocodile pen.”
I looked at him in shock. “What?”
“The crocodile pen. Tim got a few crocodiles several years back and made a special enclosure for them. Top of the line. Like something out of the zoo. Tim’s manager has someone occasionally come in and make sure they’re taken care of for the time being.” Then he looked at me in shock. You don’t think?”
“I do.” I nodded my head quickly. “I absolutely do. Let’s go.”
All four of us immediately headed outside. Once we made sure to leave the back door propped open and unlocked, we trekked across the backyard, passed the swimming pool, and arrived at the crocodile pen.
It was enclosed in a building with a roof and well maintained. Walls cordoned off the pen, which was filled with rocks and water, so that no crocodile could get out, and no one could get in unless you really wanted to. When I noticed the light switch, I flipped it on, and lights came on inside the pen.
Now you could really see how well designed it was. Plenty of water and land for the crocodiles, which we could now all see. There were five of them, and they were massive. Three of them were laying close together on a bank of land. One was sitting on some rocks near the water, while the final one was in the water, it’s eyes barely visible. But I could feel them watching us. And somehow, I could feel something was in there.
“Ok. So where would something be hidden?” I asked.
“I got something that can help us,” Leland said as he took off the small backpack he’d been carrying, and I had thought nothing of before. “I’ve been using this to see if I can find out who’s been following us. Never had any luck. Maybe now it’ll be more useful.”
He held up the small drone. I wasn’t surprised. Leland was always the gadget and technology fan in the group. We all waited while he got the drone ready, and once everything was set up, he got it up and into the pen. The crocodiles watched it carefully as it hovered over their area, carefully scoping the area out while we all watched from the camera feed.
“I think I found something,” Leland said a moment before we all saw what he meant. On top of a tall column of rocks that was about 4 feet tall, the top contained a large rock that wasn’t like the others, as it looked as if it had been just placed there as opposed to being cemented in place.
“Good find,” I nodded. “Now the next part. How do we get in?”
“We just give the crocodiles plenty of food to feed on while two of us go in and investigate,” Charlie said.
“And where do we get the food?”
Charlie chuckled and held up his phone. “We just order it. It is the modern era.”
We all immediately placed orders for some food. Since we all already knew Tim’s address, we told them exactly where to go, and all we had to do was sit and wait. Once all the food we’d ordered arrived and we paid for it in addition to giving the people who delivered it generous tips, we gathered it up and took it to the backyard.
The minute we arrived with the food you could feel something shift in the air. The crocodiles moved slightly as they could smell it. It was an eerie feeling.
Charlie and Liam got into position as we discussed while we waited. While Leland and I kept an eye on the crocodiles and distracted them using food and the drone if need be, Charlie and Liam would get inside and see what was under the rock.
“Hey! Hey there!” I called out from the right corner of the pen. “Over here,” I called to one of the crocodiles while I tossed him some chicken. The crocodile immediately opened wide and swallowed it whole. Then the crocodile slowly lumbered towards me while the others were paying attention.
“That’s right, come over here!” Leland repeated my gesture with some fish while we slowly lured them to the area that was the farthest away from the stack of rocks. Fortunately, the area Liam and Charlie needed to explore was on the far-left side of the pen, so we simply had to keep the crocodiles distracted and on the other side. My heart was pounding in my chest as Leland and I made plenty of noise and lured the crocodiles while Liam and Charlie climbed over the wall and carefully walked to the column made of rocks.
“Step right up, come get some food!” I kept yelling while I hurled pieces of chicken and fish to the crocodiles, who by now had gathered on the other side of the wall and were watching us intently and jumping in the air as we tossed food at them. Inside I was screaming for Liam and Charlie to hurry up, and I watched out of the corner of my eye as they removed the top rock and took out a small metal case. Leland and I exchanged a small nod as we kept up the motion, making sure to make plenty of noise as we kept tossing food to the crocodiles. Time seemed to take a painfully long time as Liam took the case and Charlie followed carefully behind as they walked across the pen and carefully tried to climb out.
When one of the crocodiles turned and saw the two of them and stared for a moment, I felt my throat tighten before I immediately lobbed a massive amount of chicken into the pen. Without missing a beat, the crocodile caught it and ripped it apart in moments. But by now, Charlie and Liam were safely out of there.
The two of them immediately collapsed on the grass with exhaustion, the metal case lying beside them. I didn’t blame them one bit, as I was exhausted from just my small part. Once we finished going through the stuff we’d bought and the crocodiles were lying there contently, I switched the light off and we took the case inside.
“That was the most frightening thing I’ve done in a while,” Liam panted once he was sitting down.
“I’m sure.” I nodded. “That’s why you two should do the honors and open it.”
They didn’t need any more prompting from us, because Liam and Charlie carefully opened the metal case, and moments later, we were staring at a small statue that was made of gold. It shimmered in the dim light we were sitting in, and it was decorated with diamonds and rubies. But while it was beautiful, it was also somehow unnerving. Like something about it was off. Either way, I knew this was what the people following us wanted.
“Ok. So we found this. What do we do now?” Leland asked.
“I thought about this while we were waiting. We know these people are watching us, right? So why don’t we just leave a note for them at our respective properties about where this is, and that they can have it so long as they leave us alone.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Charlie nodded. “But where do we leave it?”
“Why not here?” I gestured around. “We know they can already get in and out of here, so we just leave it on the dining room table, leave a note saying, ‘Tim’s table’ at all of our houses, and it’s theirs.”
The three of them murmured their agreement. We left the statue on the dining room table before leaving through the office passageway. Then once we finally got back to our respective cars, we called it a night and went back to our own homes. Once I got back inside, I scribbled a brief note saying, “It’s on Tim’s table.” Then I put it outside on my front gate, texted the others I’d done it and got similar responses, then I went to bed.
I got up the next morning and had my usual breakfast. As I left for an appointment I had, I saw that my note was gone. I told the others this, and they confirmed the same had happened to them. Over the next few days, it was clear that whoever had been in our midst was gone. The feeling of unease had lifted for everyone, and that was it. But I had no desire to act like we were all old friends again. I even made sure they kept their promise and sent them each a bill for my services that evening. They all paid in full and on time. After that was done, I had plenty to do, and I trusted they did as well. Besides, we’ll always have the story of what happened. And in the end, isn’t that what it’s all about?