Page 64 of Love Me Steadfast
“I told them,” she whispers between her silent sobs. “I’m sorry.”
I don’t feellike practicing, but I head to Crosby’s studio and commit myself to the three hours I’ve set aside. I have my audition pieces memorized. My first solo comes from Mozart’s Concerto No. 4, and the second, my favorite, is from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. There are eight orchestra excerpts too, but these are less familiar so I set up the sheet music on the stand. I also may be asked to sight read, so I’ve been choosing some random pieces to test myself.
But the moment I cradle my violin, the familiar cool wood against my skin and the tight press of the strings beneath my calloused fingertips only sharpens my swirling thoughts. I manage a quick tuning, then run through my scales to warm up, my muscle memory taking over.
But Morgan’s words rise through the vibrations.
I told them. I’m sorry.
I beg the music to help me forget. For the powerful vibrations to wrap my heart in safety the way it always has. For the earthy scent of resin and the friction from my bow against the taut strings to help me transcend the sense of shame and regret.
But it’s like the vigor of my notes only makes the emotions build inside me. Tears sting my nose and prick my eyes.
Shut inside my borrowed room, I don’t bother to hold them back.
Chapter Nineteen
WILLIAM (NOW)
We’ve just returnedfrom an MVA, the sunrise beginning to soften the sky’s colors when my cell vibrates in my pocket. NO CALLER ID flashes across the top of my screen, but I think I know who’s calling me.
I walk outside while the rest of my crew filters into the station, and answer.
“William? It’s Special Agent Luke Ballard.”
“Hey, Luke.” I’ve only met him once, but I feel like I know him from all the stories. And what we have in common—an unexpected career change thanks to an injury no one could fix.
“Is now a good time?” he asks.
I squint past the parked cars to the jagged silhouette of the Bitterroots beyond, backlit by the rising sun. “I’m on shift, so I might have to cut it short if we get called out.”
“Got it.” The soft tapping of keys fills the background. “Zach told me you bought The Limelight.”
I blink at the quiet street, confused. “Uh, yeah.”
“I’m working something that may be, well, nothing. The bureaudoesn’t usually dig into cases like these, but…” He gives a measured sigh. “…I convinced them to. Like I said, it may be a bust.”
Color me intrigued. “Happy to help however I can.”
“Dagney Cole played at The Limelight six years ago. It was before she’d made it big.”
This is what he called to talk about? “I wasn’t even in Finn River then.” And Dagney’s from the Midwest, if I remember right.
“Did you know that Ari Pullman also played at The Limelight?”
“Who’s Ari Pullman?”
“The nineteen-year old lead singer for a band called Tenderhook.” He types a few more keys. “She disappeared almost seven years ago.”
Disappeared. “From The Limelight?”
“No, from Maple Canyon. She was on her way home from a friend’s but never made it.”
Now I’m really confused. “Isn’t that where you’re from?”
“Yep. Most of my family’s still there too.”
Pieces fall into place. This is the reason he’s taken an interest in this, and why he’s fishing. “You knew her.”
