Bobby slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Even in Nashville and throughout our industry, surrounded by the talent I see, I've never met anyone like her. God has truly gifted her."
James raised an eyebrow. "He has indeed." He gestured to the stage. "When we first met years ago, she wanted to be a worship leader."
"Really?" Bobby grinned. "Wow, can you imagine her leading praise? I'd pay to see that."
"She would be amazing. I pray she feels led to go in that direction again someday."
Someone handed Bobby a microphone. He held his hand out to James. "Brother, I can already tell it's going to be a joy getting to know you better."
As James shook his hand again, an understanding of spiritual brotherhood passed between the two. "Likewise."
The opening chords of the duet played, and Melody started singing. The audience was kind of quiet because they didn't recognize the song. Melody finished her verse, and on cue, Bobby began singing. A ripple of murmur went through the crowd. As he stepped onto the stage the murmur became a delighted cheer that rapidly rose to thunderous applause. Melody and Bobby grinned at each other and stopped singing while the band just revisited the refrain, waiting for the crowd to quiet down enough to hear the words.
After they finished, the crowd surged to their feet and cheered. Bobby waved, kissed Melody on the cheek, and walked off the stage.
He glanced at his watch as he handed a stage hand the microphone. He caught James' eye and had to shout over the noise of the crowd. "Tell her I have to run, but I'll see her at Morgan's party."
James didn't try to compete with the noise. He just nodded and threw a thumbs up. Bobby snatched some wipes from Lisa's station to remove the thick stage makeup from his face. He stopped one more time, putting his face close to James's ear and said, "I've been praying for Melody's safety. Please call me if you need anything."
James shook his hand and nodded, then yelled, "Thank you, brother. Your prayers are appreciated."
Bobby nodded, then left.
Once the show ended and the backstage pass holders headed home with autographs and smiles, Melody and James sat in the quiet of the inner room of her dressing room. Jen sat on a chair in the outer room near the door. Melody lay back with her eyes closed and her feet propped in his lap. He sat and watched her while rubbing her feet. A knock sounded at the door, and Hal came in, followed by Suarez and Roberts.
Melody opened her eyes, saw who stood there, and closed them again. "Can we go home tonight instead of tomorrow?" she asked James.
"If we can get a hold of your pilot, we can," James said.
"Hal has his cell number."
Hal sat down. "I'm going to stick with the crew. Send the pilot back tomorrow afternoon. I'll have him fly us to Houston, then I'll take a commercial flight to meet you in New York on Tuesday," he said.
"Sounds good to me," she said. She opened one eye and looked at James. "Do you think we can get a pizza delivered to the airport?"
He laughed and ran a finger up the arch of her foot, "Let me see what I can arrange."
"Make sure you get two, especially if Suarez and Roberts are flying with us. I know Jen's happy just eating fruit and nuts, but I don't want to have to share with those guys."
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MELODY flew to New York on Tuesday, with Jen accompanying her, and did the round of morning shows and talk shows. She did six that day, spent the night at a hotel there, then did two more in the morning. Hal arrived, and the plane came back to pick them up on Wednesday morning to take them to Houston. She fought Hal all the way to the doctor's office to get his stitches removed, then patiently listened to him complain all the way back to the arena. Wednesday night she did her sold-out concert in Houston, and went back to Atlanta on Thursday morning. She'd sung the song again, but still hadn't heard anything from the man who called himself Richard Johnson.
Hal watched Melody over the days since they met in New York, and decided to call the recording studio in Nashville and cancel the session they had arranged for Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. He decided that what Melody needed the most was a few days of pampering by James in Atlanta, and he would rather face her wrath over that decision than watch her collapse in exhaustion.
James entered his apartment building early Thursday evening, and nodded to Suarez who sat in a chair in the lobby. Suarez barely gave an indication of recognition, but he stood and folded his paper under his arm and left the building.
James paced the elevator the entire ride up to his apartment, anxious to see Melody. He didn't like having her away from him overnight while Richard Johnson remained on the loose. He smiled and mentally corrected himself, knowing he probably wouldn't want her away from him overnight regardless.
She lay asleep on one of the couches, the television tuned to a pop video channel. He set his briefcase and keys quietly down on the table by the door, then sat on the edge of the couch next to her. He brushed some hair off her face, and she stirred and slowly opened her eyes. As soon as her eyes cleared, she smiled and stretched, grabbing his tie as she brought her arms back down. She wound the tie around her wrist, and pulled him to her, giving him a long, warm kiss. When she broke the kiss, she stretched again.
"How was Houston?" he asked.
"Good show. Sold out," she said in a husky voice. "They didn't feed me properly afterward, though."
"You'd think Hal would know better," he said as he loosened his tie.
"Yeah, well he's a little distracted by Clarissa, lately. Is Tokyo still being understanding?"
"They really don't have much of a choice, but as far as I know, they're okay with the fact I haven't visited yet. I've sent people to check the place out and handle some preliminaries." He slipped his tie off and walked toward the bedroom, untucking his shirt as he went. "So, woman, what did you make for dinner?"
Melody didn't even laugh. "Take out."
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AFTER dinner at his desk in his home office, James checked e-mail. He immediately saw the message from Mike Redman flagged urgent. The subject line read, "INTERN."
He opened the e-mail and skimmed. Kurt and Mike had researched the intern Angela had briefly hired and fired. No electronic record existed, but he was able to dig through hard copies of files, through the hundreds of interns his company had employed over the last ten years, and find the hard file. He'd attached the photo from the security badge. James downloaded it and immediately recognized the man he knew as Richard Johnson.
He sat back and frowned at the screen. It looked like their theory was panning out. Richard must have tried to get the research, failed, then needed the capital that Melody's trust fund would provide. But, how? How did Melody become his target?
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RIKARD Šabalj sat back with the index fingers of each hand forming a steeple below his chin. With reptilian eyes, he watched the digital recording he'd made of Melody's latest show. Oh, he got her message. The question — was it a trap?
It didn't matter to him. She made him out to look like a failure. He wouldn't fail this time. This time, he would succeed and find redemption on her bloody altar.
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CHAPTER 33
IT was Melody's duty to occupy Morgan before her surprise party. Knowing exactly what it would take to keep her sister out of the house for hours, Melody spent Friday with Morgan, Ginger, Suarez, and Jen, armed with a list and shopping for new clothes for the kids at the children's home. They hit the mall as soon as the doors opened, and shopped for hours. Melody used whatever powers of persuasion she had to get store managers to agree to deliver the clothes to the home. When that didn't work she took off her glasses and batted her eyes. As a last resort, she used her star status. Every store eventually agreed to deliver them.
While the women shopped, Rebecca and Eve, armed with an army of caterers, attacked Morgan's house, getting it ready for the party that night. They hung decorations, moved furniture, and supervised caterers in preparing food. Melody had order
s not to allow Morgan back to the house until seven, and guests would begin arriving at six-thirty. Rebecca looked at her watch, frowned, and decided they needed to pick up the pace.
The plane flew to Dallas, where Melody was scheduled to perform Sunday night, to pick up Melody's band and her three backup singers. They had all been with her for four years and had become her extended family, and so were all invited to the party that night. When they arrived at the house, Eve sent the women to the hotel to get ready for the party, and put the men to work.
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"OH Melly, this house is beautiful!" Ginger said excitedly.
They got out of the car after Jen told them to go in without her, and looked up at the plantation house. Melody unlocked the door with the code the Realtor had given her. She felt excitement and anticipation all at once.
"How many bedrooms?" Morgan asked.
"Five or six, I think. What I want you to see is the music room," Melody said as she led everyone through the spacious entrance, up the stairs, and toward the back. "Check this out," she said, stepping into the large room and singing a quick version of the scales. "Do you hear those acoustics? This room was redesigned by an audio engineer just for music." She stood in the middle of the room and turned in a circle, singing one of her songs. "It's perfect."
Morgan folded her arms in front of her. "Have you even looked at the rest of the house, yet?" she asked.
Melody frowned. "I looked at some of the rooms, but then we came in here, and that was all I needed to see."
"Melly, where is the kitchen?"
"What difference does that make? Did you hear the acoustics?"
"What difference does that make? If you find out the plumbing doesn't work or the foundation is cracked or the walls are rotting and full of mold?"
Melody brushed Morgan off with the wave of her hand. "This is a nice house. Besides, I can hire someone to fix anything that's wrong. I'm not going to be able to find another room like this without building my own place, and between me and James, our schedules are too busy to worry about that right now."
"Why don't we look at the rest of the house, then you can let James look at it. You don't want to rush into this."
Melody crossed the room and hugged her sister. "James will love it, too."
She sighed knowing her sister was right. "Well, let's go see what needs to be done." Morgan pulled a notebook out of her purse, and they began to walk from room to room, the three women discussing furniture and colors and patterns. Suarez followed silently behind them, enjoying observing the way Ginger moved, and gallantly keeping his opinion about mint colored walls to himself.
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THEY would have arrived late for the party if Melody and Ginger hadn't practically dragged Morgan away from the house, promising to bring her back the next day to get some more ideas. Morgan stayed so busy taking notes and talking into her portable recorder that she didn't even notice all the cars around her house until Jen stopped the car and Ginger opened the door.
"What in the world is going on?" Morgan asked.
Ginger clapped her hands and danced with anticipation as Morgan climbed out of the car. "Happy Birthday, Morgan!"
Morgan was speechless. She followed them into the house, where Kurt and about sixty of her friends waited. "SURPRISE!" they all yelled, and Kurt handed her a glass of sparkling cider right before he swept her up into his arms, giving her a hug and a kiss.
"I had no idea," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"You're not supposed to have any idea, silly. That's what surprise parties are for," Ginger said.
Suarez looked for Roberts and found him in the back yard with Jen, staring out at the blackness beyond the house lights. The three of them had help from Peter Glasser and his team of four. Considering the size of the house and the number of guests, they genuinely debated how they could keep the house secure.
"I'll take the inside," Jen said, "if you two can watch the perimeter."
"I wish they'd hired extra security for tonight," Roberts said.
"We'll just have to do what we can," Suarez said.
Jen answered, "I'll go ahead and do an inside sweep. You have my number if you need me."
Inside, Melody sought out James, spotting him in the corner of the room watching her. "Hi," she said.
He pulled her to him, hugging her to his side. "Hi yourself," he said.
"What an amazing party," she said.
James nodded behind her. "Rebecca and Eve did all the work. I'll go get us something to drink."
Melody turned and saw Rebecca. "You did a great job putting this thing together," she said, looking around the room.
Rebecca put an arm around Melody's shoulders. "We all have our own talents. I have been cursed with being organized. I think I would rather have been granted the gift of song. It is so much more poetic."
"Hey, Darlin'," a masculine voice said in her ear.
Melody turned around, "Bobby! I thought you wouldn't be able to make it!" She threw her arms around him, letting him spin her around before he set her down. She didn't have time to notice Rebecca's star struck look. "I'm so mad at you for leaving before the concert was over in Jacksonville last week. Oh, by the way, this is Rebecca, James' secretary."
"Nice to meet you," he greeted, taking Rebecca's hand and kissing it, causing a faint blush to tinge her cheeks. He turned back to Melody. "I told you I'd only be able to stop in," he said as James walked up.
James nodded his head and handed Melody a bottle of water, then pulled her close. "Good to see you, Bobby. How you doing?" James asked.
"Gearing up for my tour," he said. "Saw you on the cover of 'Newsweek.' Looks like you've been busy."
"Just another day in the life," he said dryly.
Voices, laughter, and music filled the house. Morgan always loved to throw a party, and slowly took the reins away from Eve and Rebecca, taking over the caterers and waiters. Kurt tried more than once to get her to stop and enjoy her guests, but finally gave up, deciding she was having more fun doing it her way.
Melody heard the sound of a fiddle playing, and dragged James into the front room, where Bobby Kent and Todd Rowlings stood, each of them holding a fiddle, a circle of people forming around them. Todd finished playing, then Bobby started, mimicking Todd note for note, then added his own flair. Todd smiled when Bobby finished, then played another set. Toes tapped all over the room.
"What are they doing?" James breathed the question close to Melody's ear.
"Dueling," she said. "They'll try to out play each other. They play everything that's been played up to a point then improvise the next refrain. It's like an extended game of concentration but with violins." While Bobby played, Todd kicked a fiddle case toward Melody. "Todd, I haven't played in three years. I couldn't keep up with the two of you," she said, protesting.
"Like falling off a bike, Melody." Todd taunted, then grinned at her as he played another round.
Bobby took a swig of ice tea then winked at Melody while Todd played. "I've never known her to back down from a musical challenge."
Melody sighed and took the fiddle from the case, putting it up under her chin. "Next time, the weapon of choice will be the piano," she threatened, then jumped in as soon as Todd finished. She played a little rough at first, rusty, but her fingers warmed up, and she played the complicated notes with ease, thankful she'd cut her fingernails the week before.
Bobby grinned, then played the same set, adding his own flare, challenging Todd to make it a little more complicated. Melody kept right up with them, the three dueling in a circle, finally playing together, until Melody laughed so hard that she had to stop. The crowd around them hooted, whistled, and the clapping turned to general applause.
She returned the fiddle to its case, turned to James, and said. "I'm thirsty"
He just shook his head and laughed, then went to get her some water. He no longer felt surprised about what was hidden inside Melody.
James came back carrying
a new drink for Melody and found her talking with Morgan and Ginger. "Morgan? Are you having a good time catering your own surprise party?" he asked her.
"Oh, this is the best party. Don't you ever let Rebecca get away from you, James. She's a gem," Morgan said.
"Don't ever let her hear you say something like that," he said, "I'd never get any work out of her after that."
Ginger laughed, then someone in the crowd apparently bumped into her back, causing her to stumble, knocking her forward and into Melody. Ginger spilled nearly her entire full glass of red punch down the front of Melody's white shirt. "Oh Melly, I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay, Ginger. It wasn't your fault," Melody said as she ineffectively brushed at her shirt with a napkin. Her imagination suddenly overlaid her punch spilled shirt with her other shirt, covered with Hal's blood. She involuntarily shuddered and blinked hard to try to rid her mind of that horrifying image. "Well, this is hopeless. I'm going to run upstairs and change shirts."
She wove her way through the party. Jen stopped her at the base of the stairs. "Everything okay?"
Melody gestured at her shirt. "I'm just going to go grab a shirt out of Morgan's closet."
Jen frowned and checked her watch. "I was just about to check outside."
Melody waved her hand. "Go. I'll be fine. I won't be gone a minute." She rushed upstairs and into Morgan's room, making a beeline for the closet. She took her shirt off, put the new one on, and then headed to the bathroom to rinse out the ruined one.
"Hello, Melody."
Startled, she turned around and saw Richard lying on the bed, his back propped up by pillows. A coppery taste of fear flooded her mouth.
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A Melody for James (Christian Suspense) Page 29
