by anna snow
A second later, Silas hopped over the fence like a pro and landed by my feet. He looked down at me and shook his head.
"Sorry," he whispered and kneeled down beside me. "Are you okay?"
I grimaced at him then got to my feet in a crouched position and without a word edged around the back of the house. If I was right, Melody was in a heap of trouble, and Jamie was the culprit.
The covered stone patio led to a pair of French doors. The blinds on the doors were still open, so I crept over on my hands and knees and took a quick peek inside.
I turned back to Silas and pressed my back flat against the wall of the house.
"There's no one in the kitchen," I said.
"Now what? I think we should call Tyler."
"I think you should, but I'm still going in. I'm not going to sit around here waiting for something to happen. Melody could be in real trouble in there." I crab walked to the doorknob and slid the card between the two doors. A few moments later I heard the click of the lock as it disengaged. I stood up and pushed the door. It opened slowly and without a sound.
"Come on, Barb," Silas pleaded quietly, but I ignored his whining and stepped inside.
A second later I heard Silas say behind me, "Oh, for the love of…" just before he joined me.
We stood frozen in the kitchen and listened for any movement that would let us know where Melody and Jamie were in the house.
Thump.
I nodded toward the living area, and Silas returned my nod.
I slid the credit card back into my pocket as we slowly crept toward the entrance of the living room as quietly as we could. I prayed our shoes wouldn't squeak on the tile beneath our feet. My palms started to sweat, and I could have sworn I heard my heartbeat thumping away in my chest.
With the gun in my hand, we peeked around the corner into the living room. Once we saw that it was empty we tiptoed in. There were signs of an obvious struggle. The table and recliner were overturned. Pictures and their frames were busted and littered the floor along with small bits and pieces of glass from what I assumed was at one time a vase.
Silas looked at me and shook his head. I knew what he was thinking. He wanted to go outside and call Tyler for help. I didn't blame him at that point, but I doubted Tyler would make it to the house in time.
A bump and muffled scream came from down the hallway.
I turned toward the sound, and Silas shook his head again. His expression screamed don't do it! I scowled at him and hurried on silent feet past him and down the long hallway. He rolled his eyes and shook his head but followed me anyway. Silas wasn't a pansy, but he had never been onboard with me risking my own safety either, which, as much as I didn't want to admit, was exactly what I was doing. I could already hear Tyler asking me if I was insane when he found out what I had done, that is, if I lived.
We hurried quietly down the long hallway until we reached the closed door at the very end.
I turned to face Silas and then motioned to the door with my head.
He looked at me with a confused expression.
I repeated my movements, but he still looked at me like I'd just sprouted two heads.
I rolled my eyes and looked at him with exasperation.
I couldn't chance talking. So with my gun aimed at the door, I looked at Silas then back at the door and mimicked kicking it open.
He finally got the idea. His mouth formed an O, and he nodded. I moved to the side while Silas prepared to kick the door in.
"Don't move."
We froze.
"Put your gun on the ground, and turn around slowly."
I did as I was told then turned around.
"I was hoping that it wouldn't come down to this. You were so nice at the house when we first met."
We turned around slowly and saw Silvia standing with a gun leveled at my face. She stared at us through blue eyes that were just a bit on the wild side. Dark bags were beginning to form beneath them, and her face was free of makeup.
"You look a little stressed out, Silvia," I said easily despite the fact that I felt anything but relaxed with that gun directed at me. "Of course, if I were in your position, I suppose I'd be stressed out too. You know, framing innocent people for murder and all."
I felt Silas's don't you know how to keep your mouth shut? look burning a hole through me, but I ignored him.
Before Silvia could respond, the door behind us opened, and Jamie stepped out.
"We have visitors," Silvia said without looking away from me.
"I see that." Jamie grabbed my arm. "Get in here. And you—" He pointed to Silas with a long sharp-looking knife. "—don't try anything, or I'll open her throat, and make you watch her bleed out."
Silas's scowl deepened, but he nodded once and followed.
Jamie pulled me into the bedroom. Silvia pressed the barrel of the gun she held against Silas's back, forced him into the room, and then closed the door behind us.
She held the gun on Silas with a steady hand.
I looked around the room and spotted Melody on the floor beside the bed. She wasn't moving. Her platinum blonde hair covered part of her pale face. Blood pooled around her hands from two deep gashes sliding along each of her wrists. The way the blood was pouring out onto the floor around her and as pale as she already was, I doubted she had long. I needed to end this fiasco as quickly as possible and get Melody some medical help before she died.
"I had hoped you would just go away. I thought we had you fooled," Jamie said and leaned his butt against the low edge of a dresser. "You were so easy to lie to." He shook his head and chuckled softly. "All we needed were some kids, a fake happy family act, and to dote on Kelly a little, and you took the bait like a starving little puppy."
"You were convincing. I'll give you that," I admitted and glanced to the side at Silvia and Silas. I had a gut feeling that the gun she held was the murder weapon we'd been searching for. "But all it took was a talk with your manager to set me straight on what kind of guy you really are," I said.
"She's always had a big mouth." He shook his head. "I've never been able to stand her. She's always in everybody's business," he spat heatedly.
"So let me guess," I said. "You wanted the spotlight, and since you were the next in line for the lead singer position, and you pretty much hated Mark anyway, you killed him."
"Go on," he nodded. "This morning that trampy manager of ours broke the news that the record label signed Melody on to be a member of the band, and that instead of me taking Mark's place, my rightful place—" He jabbed a finger at his chest. "—that slut would be stepping into the role of lead singer." His anger bubbled to the surface, and his face reddened. "There was no way in hell I was going to be stuck playing guitar while Mark's side piece took center stage. She hasn't earned it. She would have worked in that nail salon for the rest of her miserable life if it wasn't for Mark."
"So you decided to take care of her like you did Mark," I said and racked my brain for a way to get us out of this mess without being killed in the process.
He chuckled and shook his head. "Damn. You're smarter than I gave you credit for. Don't you wish you'd talked to Loretta sooner?" he asked condescendingly.
"Did Dale, Henry, or Toby know about your little plan to kill Mark and take over the band?" I asked in an attempt to keep him talking until I could come up with a plan.
"No. Why would I tell them anything? They're sheep. Sheep that will follow along with whatever Loretta says," he sneered.
"But why frame Kelly?" I said. "Why not just make it look like Melody killed him or something? Kelly's innocent in all of this."
"She was the easiest person to put the blame on," Silvia said simply. "All we had to do was lift the key to Mark's window during a party on the tour bus one night, sneak in while he was out with Kelly, and roofie the bottle of wine he had chilling on the table for them when they returned." She smiled menacingly at me, and a shiver skittered up my spine. "We went to the club to establish an alibi," she said. "I snu
ck out and went to Mark's apartment and waited. Kelly left the building and staggered to her car. I couldn't believe she was able to walk, much less drive, but she did. The roofies must not have taken full effect just yet," Silvia said. "Then when I was sure she was gone, I hurried back to the club and told Jamie the place was clear."
"Then I left the club, climbed the fire escape to Mark's apartment, cranked up the radio to cover the sound of the gunshot, and put a bullet in Mark's head," Jamie picked up where Silvia had left off.
Jamie smiled at me. "Then I drove out to Kelly's place, picked the lock, slipped inside, and while she was passed out cold on the sofa, planted just enough blood on her hands and the hem of her shirt to point the cops to her as their prime suspect." He smiled triumphantly. "Then I hurried back to the club and finished dancing the night away."
"You're sick." I shook my head. "So what's the plan now?" I looked over at an extremely pale Melody. "How are you going to explain Melody's death so soon after Mark's without people becoming suspicious? Two dead front men in less than a week is a bit suspicious if you ask me."
Jamie walked over to Melody and kneeled down beside her. He picked up her bleeding wrist and tisked then looked at me. "Poor little Melody here killed Mark in a fit of jealousy because he wouldn't leave his girlfriend. As the days passed she suffered such guilt over murdering the man she loved that she sank into a deep depression and killed herself." He smiled.
"All we have to do is make it look like she took her own life, plant the gun somewhere in the house, and bam," Silvia said happily. "The police have their killer, Jamie takes his place as the band's lead singer, and everything just goes away." Silvia smiled at Jamie. "You see—Kelly will go free once the cops find the gun here. Yeah, we had originally planned on pinning this on Kelly, but after we found out Melody had taken Mark's place, this just made more sense."
These two were crazy with a capital C.
Melody was motionless on the floor, and her lips were starting to turn a shade of blue. In minutes or even seconds, she would be gone.
"Now, we have to take care of the two of you," Silvia said as lightly as if she were reading a menu at a nice restaurant.
I looked back at Jamie and the wicked-looking knife he held in his hand. "You might be able to explain all of this away, but how are you going to explain us?"
"Easy," Jamie said and pushed away from the edge of the dresser. "You see—all we have to do is make it look like you caught on to Melody as Mark's murderer, showed up here unannounced, and she shot you just before taking her own life."
Thinking back on my career, I didn't think I had ever come across a crazier pair of people. I looked around the room discreetly but saw nothing within reach that would aid me in making an escape. I needed to get the knife out of Jamie's hand and the gun Silvia held on Silas away from the back of his head.
I didn't know what to do. I was about to lose hope when something Mona had always said to me echoed in my head. Every man has one specific weakness, darlin'. When all else fails, kick him in it.
I took a deep breath, slid a side glance at Silas who nodded so subtly I wasn't sure I even saw it correctly, and then looked Jamie dead in the eyes.
"Except you forgot one little thing," I said and glanced at Silas quickly one final time.
Jamie laughed. "Oh really? And what would that be?"
I narrowed my eyes and gathered my courage.
"Me."
I drew my foot back, brought it forward quickly, and kicked Jamie square in his junk so hard that pain rocketed through my foot and up my shin. The knife fell from his hands as he doubled over in pain, grasping his man bits and screaming silently.
At the same time, Silas spun around, grabbed Silvia's wrists, and shoved them over her head so the gun pointed at the ceiling instead of either one of us. Two shots sounded, and plaster rained down on them, littering the floor around their feet.
I jumped onto Jamie's back before he could regain his composure and dug my fingernails into his eyes. He roared like a wild animal and stood up then ran backward and slammed my body into the wall. I refused to let go, so he reached over his shoulder, grasped my hair in his fist, and ripped me off his back. I landed on the floor, and my breath left me in a whoosh. He straddled my chest and slammed his fist into the side of my face. Stars danced before me. My vision blurred, and tears burned behind my eyes.
My body went limp, and no matter how hard I tried to move, my body refused to cooperate.
I saw him lean to the side and grab the knife he'd dropped. A second later he raised the knife over his head and started to bring it down. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the darkness of death to overtake me. But it never came.
"Put it down, or I'll blow your head off."
I opened my eyes and saw a blurry Silas standing behind Jamie. The gun Silvia had been holding on him pressed against the back of Jamie's head. I blinked my eyes rapidly in an attempt to bring the world back into focus.
Jamie scowled down at me, but he dropped the knife to the side and raised his hands into the air beside his head. "If you've hurt Silvia, I swear…"
"She's knocked out. That's all," Silas assured him. "There's no way I'd kill her and deprive her of the same jail time I'm sure you'll get and I know the both of you deserve. Do you know how many people's lives you have affected with this mess you've made? With your selfishness? Now, turn around slowly, and sit down."
Jamie did as Silas said. "Good luck proving we killed Mark and his little Melody," Jamie scoffed. "It's your word against ours."
"Oh, but here's the beauty of this whole ordeal," Silas grinned. "We have proof," he said and reached into his front pocket then pulled out his cell phone. "See this?" he asked. "I dialed 9-1-1 and turned on the recorder before we entered the house. We have your full confession on tape, and the cops should be here any minute." He grinned.
"Good job, Silas," I said with a smile of my own.
"I wouldn't be grinning if I were you," he said to me without taking his eyes off of Jamie. "You have to explain all of this to Tyler."
"Don't remind me," I said and sat up slowly then my eye caught and held on Melody. I crawled over to her as quickly as my foggy body and mind would allow me to and checked her pulse. It was so faint that I could barely feel it, but at least she still had one. I ripped the bottom hem of my shirt off, tore the one long strip in two, and then wrapped the strips of cloth around both of her wrists in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
"Is she alive?" Silas asked without taking his eyes off Jamie.
"Barely. She needs an ambulance now."
Just as I said the words, she stopped breathing. I heard sirens in the distance.
"She stopped breathing," I said, putting her into position and starting CPR.
My mind was blank. The only thought that flitted through my head was that I couldn't let her die.
Please don't die. Please don't die, I chanted in my head again and again with every compression against her chest.
She might have gotten around with the guys in the band, but she was still a person. A person with a heart, with a soul, and with a family out there somewhere who loved her. I was all for justice, but vengeance wasn't in my heart. I pumped her chest then blew into her mouth for what seemed like hours but was in reality only a couple of minutes.
I felt large warm hands grip my shoulders and practically rip me away from Melody as EMTs surrounded her and took over where I'd been forced to leave off.
Moments later the room flooded with cops. I heard the click of handcuffs, and Jamie and Silvia cursing as the police hauled them to their feet and out of the room to the waiting cop cars.
I tore my gaze away from where the EMTs worked on saving Melody's life and looked up at the person holding me in place.
"Are you all right?" Tyler asked and smoothed the hair away from my face to see the bruise I felt forming from the punch Jamie landed. "We need to get you checked out by the EMTs," he said and looked around.
"I'm fine,
really," I assured him.
"What in the hell were you thinking coming here alone? Why didn't you call me?"
"I got a tip from Mark's manager," I finally said. "I headed straight here, but I didn't know if I was really onto something or if I was just chasing my own tail again."
"You should've called me," he clutched me against his chest. "You could've been killed."
I didn't answer him. Instead, I turned my head to watch the EMTs place a now breathing Melody onto a stretcher and hurry her out of the room to the waiting ambulance.
Silas walked over to us. "You okay?" He rubbed the back of my head careful to avoid the side were Jamie had hit me, obviously uncaring if Tyler belted him for the physical contact or not.
I nodded against Tyler's chest. "I think so. That was hairy for a little while," I admitted and stood away from Tyler's chest to speak clearly to Silas. "You saved my butt." I smiled. "Thank you."
"And you saved Melody's life," he said and shook his head. "Barb, I swear. You are the brattiest, stubbornest, most hardheaded little sister in the universe. But I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world." He laughed then kissed the top of my head.
Instead of going all jealous boyfriend like I expected him to, Tyler extended his hand to Silas. "Thank you for looking out for her. Sometimes she forgets that she isn't Rambo."
I poked his chest and rolled my eyes.
"Let's get down to the station and fill out your statements so you're not there all night." Tyler laughed softly and led me out of the room and out to his waiting SUV.
"And get Kelly out of that cell," Silas and I said in unison.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I stirred my macchiato with one of the little pink straws that Mandy had picked up for the office and leaned back in my desk chair. If I let her continue to decorate the office, we'd soon be living in a giant bowl of Pepto-Bismol-colored everything before the month was over.
