Page 16 of Melody

Scarlett hadn’t been awake too long the next morning when she received the terrible news.

It was bad enough that she’d woken up with a mild headache. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but Kyle’s pursuit of her had made her think of all the reasons why it would be a bad idea and, at the end of the day, encouraged by Denise, she’d had one shot too many of Jack Daniels.

It hadn’t even tasted that good.

But she’d gone to bed with a swimming head and woke up with a throbbing one.

After taking a couple of Tylenol tablets, she made a pot of coffee and sat drinking her first cup in front of the window that looked out over Silver City’s Main Street. The town had its own charm, especially with the trees along the sidewalks—and the snow was slowly falling, covering the bare branches with white fluffy flakes. It melted on the streets, but Scarlett had a feeling that would change as the snow continued dropping from the sky.

The scene outside was far better than inside her cramped apartment. Although she didn’t complain because the price was right, there was no mistaking it for what it was. Back in the late 1800s when the building had been constructed, it hadprobably been comfortable and felt clean, but over a century of neglect, it was showing its age. There were only three rooms, bathroom included. The front room was the kitchen and living room combined and then she had a bedroom. The furniture was minimal—a sofa, stuffed chair, and a bookshelf; a tiny table with two chairs in the kitchen area; and, in the bedroom, a dresser, nightstand, and bed.

And she still felt as if she were crammed in a tin can like a sardine.

Still—it was hers, and in the few months since she’d started working downstairs at Tequilaville, she’d managed to purchase a coffee pot and a vacuum cleaner—not that it helped the carpet at all. When she’d left Pueblo, she’d taken the bare minimum—laptop, toiletries, a few clothes, a picture, and two mementos that had belonged to her parents: a big family Bible her mother had recorded the family tree in and a small box of coins her father had collected over the years. It had been frivolous making space in her luggage for those things, but they were all she had left of her parents other than the few pictures she’d also stuffed in one of the outside pockets of the rolling suitcase.

She’d been sitting on the sill for close to ten minutes, feeling some of the tightness in her forehead ease off a bit when she saw the text notification appear on the screen of her cell phone she’d had on her lap.

It was from Marin, her best friend from her old life—but she wasn’t checking in to see how things were going. Instead, she was delivering bad news.Hey, I need to talk to you about dumb shit. Call me when you can.

Scarlett didn’t hesitate texting her back:Are you free now?

In less than a minute, she and Marin were exchanging greetings. Scarlett asked, “What’s going on?”

“Dumb Shit is out of jail again.”

“Not surprising. They never have enough to keep him or charge him with anything that sticks. He’s got some innate talent for slipping out of spots where others would get stuck.” At first, she had to admit, that was part of what had been attractive about him. On their very first date, he’d been speeding and driving recklessly and the cops chased him, Scarlett in the passenger seat trying not to scream out of fear as he wove through winding streets. Not getting caught had been a combination of his driving skills and probably the cops not wanting to endanger anyone—and it hadn’t hurt that Tommy knew the streets of the neighborhood they’d been in better than the back of his hand. He’d turned down a street and parked in someone’s driveway next to another car, killing the lights as he did. Less than a minute later, one of the cruisers that had been chasing them drove past without incident. They sat in the driveway for several minutes before Tommy pulled out, sticking with side streets until they reached their destination. For weeks, Scarlett had expected him to be arrested for the incident but he never was—and she realized it was because his car didn’t have plates. But that was just the first of many incidents where Tommy fell into a pile of shit yet came out smelling like roses. He fought a lot, too, and many times he’d come out with a few scratches or a bruise—but the other guy was missing teeth or had a broken nose…or worse.

In retrospect, though, that was probably just because Tommy could be a violent, vicious mofo.

“Yeah, but sometimesomethinghas to stick, doesn’t it?”

The last few months of their relationship, Scarlett had had that same wish—because she knew she couldn’t avoid getting dragged along into his shit if she’d stayed. “I don’t know.”

“Anyway,” Marin said, “I wanted to give you a heads up. He’s been poking around, asking about you.”

A cold chill darted up Scarlett’s spine, making her feel as if she were outside in nothing but her pjs. “How did you find out?”

“Because he had the nerve to askme. He’d already been to Sheldon’s to see if anyone knew where you’d gone to, ‘cause he lost the apartment. Nobody paid the rent while he was locked up.”

“Was he in jail that whole time?”

“I don’t think so. It sounded like he got out right after you left, but he was only out for, like, a week. He said he figured you were staying at my place or something till you cooled off. But he got arrested again and they kept him for a few months that time.”

“His mom didn’t pay his bail, probably.”

Although Marin’s voice sounded amused, she didn’t laugh. “Probably. But now he’s out again and asking about you.”

Scarlett’s stomach felt like she’d eaten a brick for breakfast. “What did you tell him?”

“I don’t know if he bought it, but I told him I didn’t know where you were and that I thought you’d moved to Texas somewhere…that your mom had a sister you were going to move in with.”

“Oh, my God—that’s good.”

“Yeah, but knowing him, he probably figured out I was full of shit. He yanked my phone out of my hand and tried to get in but it was locked. And I decided to take a chance—because he was scarier than I’ve ever seen him. I had your old number in there under your name, but I savedthisnumber asScarlett—and I prayed he wouldn’t figure it out.”

The brick metastasized, causing Scarlett’s entire abdomen to solidify, making it hard to breathe. “No.”

“No—it was okay. He didn’t even look at my contacts. He just went to your name, got pissed because it was your old number and saw that I hadn’t texted you since the day you left.”

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