Three Chords, One Song

by Beatrice M. Hogg

  Everyone was applauding as they walked towards the stage. Mariah stopped, turned to Soleil, and took her hand. They walked to the edge of the stage together. The arena erupted in applause. Mariah squeezed her hand, released it and headed for the grand piano at the center of the stage. Soleil plugged in her guitar. Mariah started playing the old spiritual they had agreed to perform as their duet.

  “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound…” Their two voices blended together in perfect harmony.

  Eve

  Eve and Lucy stood together offstage watching the performance. Eve was still exhilarated from being onstage with Sheffield Steel. Wait until I tell them about this back in Pittsburgh, she thought. But she wondered what her mother would think about it. Would she see it as another betrayal?

  She nudged Lucy. “Mariah looks beautiful.”

  Lucy nodded her head in agreement. She pinched Eve’s arm. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

  Soleil

  Soleil closed her eyes and sang along with Mariah. She played a soft accompaniment on her guitar, letting Mariah’s piano act as the lead instrument. Near the end of the song, she would do the guitar solo she had been practicing for weeks. The pressure was building up in her chest. As she sang, she tried to push out the butterflies jumping around in her stomach.

  Mariah stopped playing and Soleil started her solo. Her fingers flew over the frets, stretching out the long, soulful notes, giving sound to her heartbreak. She never looked up, never looked out at the audience. As she played, she could feel the pressure leaving her body, and something else entering it. She felt a peace, a feeling that everything would be all right, as long as she had the music. In that instant, she understood why Mik loved music, why he gave up his family in Pittsburgh to follow his dream. In that instant, she forgave him for everything. She forgave them all, from Faith to the man that had gotten her pregnant, to all of those guys who never took her seriously as a musician. It was all right; she would survive.

  Soleil could feel the blood rushing to her fingers as her guitar cried and wailed. When she finished the solo, she started to sing the song again, not realizing that Mariah had not joined in.

  Lucy

  Lucy’s face was wet with tears. Soleil’s solo had brought chills to her spine. It was the most beautiful piece of music she had ever heard. She wiped her eyes and saw she was not alone in her feelings. There were several musicians standing in the wings, waiting to go back on for the all-star jam finale, and a few of them were wiping their eyes. Lucy caught the eye of the famous bassist she had seen earlier, and she could tell he was fighting back tears, too.

  Also standing in the wings was a thin woman with short, bleached blonde hair. She had tears rolling down her face. What was Faith doing here? Soleil had left explicit instructions barring Faith from the backstage area. How had she got there? When Lucy turned around again, Faith was gone.

  Soleil

  Soleil finished singing the song a cappella. The last notes of the song reverberated through the speakers. And then there was silence. Soleil never looked up, but started to walk offstage.

  Mariah ran to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Soleil, turn around!”

  Soleil turned around towards the stage. The whole arena was ablaze with flickering lights. Everyone that had a lighter, match, or cell phone was holding it up in a rock and roll salute. She smiled and felt her face heating up.

  And then the applause started. Soleil saw the audience move as one as thirty thousand people stood up in tribute.

  Mariah held her hand tightly. “Come on, let’s take a bow!” She let Mariah lead her to the tip of the stage. The stage shook from the sound of the crowd. They both waved at the crowd and bowed deeply. Soleil stood there incredulously, looking out at the sea of faint faces and the points of light.

  They turned around and walked backstage. Soleil took her guitar strap from around her neck and carried her guitar. The audience continued to applaud. And then the chanting started. “So-lay, So-lay, So-lay!”

  Mariah hugged her. “Go back out there! It’s you they want!”

  The spotlight followed Soleil as she walked to the front of the stage. She ran her fingers through her dreads. When she touched the microphone, she felt a presence beside her. “Thank you. I think that Mik DeSalle is here with us today, don’t you?”

  “Yeah!” The audience shouted back enthusiastically.

  “And he will always be alive, as long as his music is alive. And as long as I am alive!”

  The crowd started to applaud again. Soleil walked offstage. She blindly walked past the musicians crowding around to congratulate her and headed to the small dressing room that Mariah had used earlier. She locked the door behind her.

  Mariah was sitting in front of the mirror when she walked in. “He is here, isn’t he?” she whispered.

  Mariah nodded. “And he is so proud of you,” she whispered.

  Soleil reached into her backpack and handed Mariah the CD.

  Mariah stood up. “What’s this?” Her lower lip trembled.

  “It’s a CD I found in Mik’s studio. It is both of you, singing—and talking.” She sniffed. She could see the tears welling up in the older woman’s eyes.

  “Oh,” Mariah whispered. Her hand shook as she took the recording.

  Soleil took her other hand and squeezed it tightly. Then she put her arms around Mariah and they both started to sob uncontrollably for the man they had loved with all their hearts.

  Chapter Ten

  Lucy

  Lucy watched the other performers go back on stage for the jam session that would close the concert. She saw Mariah and Soleil go into the room and she heard the door lock. She envied the closeness they shared as performers. As much as she loved music, Lucy had no desire to become a musician or singer. Despite having music in her genes, she could barely carry a tune. As much as she had loved her father, she would never be able to demonstrate it in the medium he preferred above all others—music.

  She looked around for Eve, but she didn’t see her either. She inched closer to the stage so she could have a better view of the performers.

  Brad

  She was alone. Finally, she was alone. Brad moved closer to where she was standing in a miniskirt and a red top. She had great legs, he thought admiringly. Then he remembered what he had come to do.

  He walked over to her. “Great show, isn’t it?” He wore jeans and a dirty tee shirt, blending in with the roadies and stagehands.

  She smiled shyly. “Yes, it is wonderful. It’s great that so many people are here.”

  Brad relaxed when he realized she didn’t know who he was. It was unlikely that Eve carried his picture around any more. He glanced around tentatively, but there was no sign of his ex-wife. He decided to pretend he didn’t know who she was, either.

  “Are you here with one of the musicians?” he asked.

  She smiled again. “Yes, I am.”

  He tried to remember what Faith had told him to do. He started coughing. “The air back here is really bad. Where is the nearest exit? I want to get a little air.” He tried to make the cough as convincing as possible.

  She looked at the front of his shirt. He wasn’t wearing a pass. “Well, if you go outside without your pass, you won’t be able to get back in.” She showed him the all access laminated pass she wore around her neck.

  He shook his head and coughed again. “You know, I must have dropped it when I was moving some amps. Could you walk out with me? It will only take a minute.” He acted like he was trying to clear his throat.

  “Sure.” Lucy started walking towards the nearest exit. Brad walked a few steps behind her and continued to cough.

  Eve

  Eve came out of the bathroom and looked for a familiar face. She saw Lucy standing alone and then she saw a man come over and start talking to her. The man looked very familiar. He looked a lot like her ex-husband. But what would Brad be doing backstage?

  Eve saw a short blonde woman walk in the oppos
ite direction in a mink jacket. What was Sally Fountaine doing at the concert? She watched Sally go over to a reporter, who placed a microphone in her face. What was that about? When she looked back to where Lucy had been standing, she and the man were both gone.

  Lucy

  The exit was deserted; no guards were around. That’s strange, Lucy thought. When she opened the door, she felt the rush of air in the stale hallway. Then she felt something hard and cold at her back.

  “Don’t make any sudden moves,” the man whispered.

  She heard the gun cock at the small of her back. “What do you want?”

  “Shut up, bitch, and just walk.”

  The man pulled her left arm behind her back, all the while keeping his other arm steady as he pressed the gun harder. She could feel the indentation of the muzzle on her flesh. He guided her to an old Chevy that had the back door open and roughly pushed her inside. Faith had borrowed the car from a friend, in case Lucy recognized her Honda. Her head hit the back of the front passenger seat and, before she could straighten up, she saw a hand with a cloth come towards her face.

  She started to feel faint from the strange chemicals entering her nose. Everything was getting hazy and, as she lost consciousness, she heard a familiar voice say, “We’ll get some money now, goddammit!”

  Eve

  Olivia ran backstage during the jam session. She saw Eve standing in the wings. “Where is Mari?” she asked. Just then Mariah and Soleil came out of the small dressing room. She ran over to them in her spike-heeled sandals. “Mari, come on, we’re going to do ‘Working at J and L’!” She gave her old friend a big hug.

  Mariah chuckled. “I haven’t done that song in years.”

  Olivia put her arm around her and started pushing her towards the stage area. “Me neither, girl. Let’s go!”

  Mariah looked back at Soleil. Soleil shook her head. “You go on. I’ll pass.” She winked at Mariah.

  The two women ran out to the stage with big smiles on their faces.

  “Let’s watch, “ Soleil said. They walked to the wings where they could watch the musicians.

  Even Eve knew this song. It was Sheffield Steel’s biggest hit, an ode to Mik’s short stint as a steelworker at the Jones and Laughlin Steel mill. Everyone in Pittsburgh loved the song. The local rock stations still played it.

  “Hey, I’m working, working down at J and L. And it’s hot, baby, baby, it’s hotter’n hell.” Mariah and Olivia were shaking tambourines and doing the bump. The band was loud and tight and the other musicians weaved their voices and instruments around them.

  Soleil clapped along to the pounding beat. “They still sound great!”

  Eve had to agree, even though she didn’t really know what they sounded like before, other than this song.

  “This must be bringing back a lot of memories for Lucy,” Soleil said. Then she looked around. “Where is Lucy?”

  Eve looked around, too. “I don’t know. I saw her not too long ago. She was standing close to here talking to someone.”

  “I can’t believe that she would miss this.” Soleil shrugged. “Maybe she went to sit out front.”

  Eve nodded. But she couldn’t shake the odd feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. Who was that guy talking to Lucy? He was probably just a stagehand, she thought to herself.

  Brad

  Brad and Faith had carried Lucy from the car to a unit in an abandoned storage complex belonging to one of Faith’s many contacts. He got the feeling that this wasn’t the first time Faith had used the unit to store something.

  Lucy looked so peaceful, and up close she was even more attractive. When they had placed her on her back on the floor of the empty dark room, her black leather skirt rode up her thigh. He could feel the stirrings of a hard-on.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Faith took the heavy duty lock out of her pocket and started to close the door.

  “Are you going to leave that tape over her mouth? There isn’t anybody for miles around.” He couldn’t stop looking at Lucy, with her hair fanned out around her face.

  Faith looked at him in the dim light. She looked at his crotch. “You want to fuck her, don’t you? Well you better keep it in your pants, asshole! She is our ticket to big money, not your ticket to shoot your load.”

  Brad looked at Faith. Why had he gone along with this scheme? He took one last glance inside the room as Faith closed the door and secured the lock. “What if she suffocates?” He opened the car door and got in the driver’s seat.

  “The tape isn’t that tight, she won’t suffocate.” Faith got in the car.

  “What if she has to go to the bathroom?”

  “She has a whole room to piss in.” Faith handed the key to the room to Brad.

  He took the key and put it in his pocket. He was still worried about Lucy. He still wanted her. But he also wanted the money. Could he have both?

  Soleil

  The applause from the audience was deafening. The artists remained on the stage until the house lights came back on. Then everyone was backstage, kissing and shaking hands. Soleil was caught up in the feeling, the magic of the music.

  Olivia Stephenson enveloped her in a tight hug, even though she was much shorter. “Soleil, you have the voice of an angel! And the fingers of a demon! You sound like your father with that guitar.”

  “Thanks.” For once, Soleil didn’t know what to say.

  “You’ll have a record deal before you leave tonight, girl. I saw some A and R guys practically peeing in their pants while you were onstage.” Olivia winked. “At least I think that’s what they were doing.”

  Soleil laughed. She could imagine what it had been like being on the road with Olivia. She would have to ask Lucy. She looked around. Lucy was still no where to be seen.

  Eve walked over to Mariah. “Have you seen Lucy?”

  Mariah stopped laughing. “No, I haven’t.” She looked at Soleil. “Have you?”

  “No, I haven’t seen her, either.” She started to feel anxious. Something was wrong.

  Eve looked at Mariah. “The last time that I saw her was about forty-five minutes ago. She was talking to some guy. I looked away and she was gone.”

  Some reporters from the local television stations came over to Mariah and Soleil to get some statements for their late newscasts.

  Soleil couldn’t shake the feeling that Lucy was in trouble.

  After the reporters left, Toby walked over with a big smile on his face, a genuine smile for a change. “Ladies, it was fabulous! Let’s go and celebrate.” He led them to the large dressing room.

  The room was filled with musicians, recording industry people and hangers-on. The tables were laden with food and liquor.

  When they walked in, Marc Wallach, the drummer for Sheffield Steel, gave Mariah and Olivia a glass of champagne. Eve grabbed two beers off of the table and handed one to Soleil.

  Marc stood up on a table. He lifted up a champagne glass. “Okay everyone. To Mik! May he rock on forever!” Tears glistened in his eyes. “I miss you, brother.”

  “To Mik!” Everyone in the room shouted and lifted their glasses and bottles skyward. Soleil felt her own eyes filling with tears. She looked over at Eve. Hers were the only dry eyes in the room.

  Soleil looked at Mariah. Her eyes were also glistening, but she kept looking toward the door. Soleil could sense her disappointment with each new entrant into the room.

  Eve tapped her forearm. “Do you feel it, too?”

  Soleil nodded.

  “She isn’t here, is she?” Eve whispered, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

  Soleil nodded again. “Something’s wrong.”

  Olivia walked over to Soleil and Eve, holding her glass of champagne. “Let’s go into the little dressing room. Mariah wants to talk.”

  Mariah started moving towards the door. Soleil headed out with Olivia and Eve behind her.

  Mariah was the last person to enter the room. She locked the door. She was starting to shake. “
No one has seen Lucy. That isn’t like her. She doesn’t just disappear.” She looked at Eve. “Have you seen that guy you saw Lucy talking to earlier?” She sat down in a folding chair.

  Eve shook her head. “No. I never saw him again.”

  Mariah continued to stare at her. “Did he look familiar?”

  Eve bit her lip. “From far away, he looked like Brad.”

  Soleil sat down in a chair. “Your ex-husband?”

  Eve ran her fingers through her hair. “He was too far away for me to tell for sure.”

  Mariah looked at Eve. “How would he have gotten backstage? He wasn’t on the guest list.”

  Olivia looked at Mariah. She tapped her long tapered fingernails on the table. “Uh, a lot of people not on the guest list got backstage. I think I even saw Faith.”

  Soleil felt the blood rush to her face. She jumped up, knocking the chair over. “Faith! I left explicit instructions that she not be allowed backstage! She must have given a blowjob to one of the security guards.”

  “Some things never change,” Olivia mumbled.

  Mariah took a deep breath, which she let out raggedly. She shook her head. “If Faith kidnapped Lucy…”

  “She would have kidnapped her for money.” Soleil finished the thought.

  “And Brad—if it was Brad—could he be involved?” Eve looked from Soleil to Mariah.

  “Does he know Faith?” Olivia asked.

  “Not that I’m aware of. I didn’t know that he was still in LA. I thought that he had gone back to Pittsburgh.” Eve looked from Olivia to Mariah. “Shouldn’t we call the police?”

  “No!” Mariah and Soleil shouted in unison.

  “If Faith is involved, no police,” Mariah said.

  Eve looked confused. “This doesn’t make sense.”

  “You don’t know Faith,” Soleil said, trying to hide her feelings. She ran her hands through her dreads and shook her head. Faith had Lucy. She just knew it, felt it in her bones. And Faith would stop at nothing. If she had tried to kill Mariah, tried to kill her, her own daughter, what would she do to Lucy? Faith hated Mariah. She would do anything to hurt her, even murder. Soleil knew in her heart that Lucy was in grave danger. She knew in her heart that she was going to have to kill her mother.