by Siera London
Symphony started to scream when a blow landed across the back of her head. Pain fired through her skull like gasoline touched with a lit matchstick.
“Your father was a foolish old man. You will never be a sister of ours,” Bethany cooed.
Penelope yanked her forward, throwing her off balance. Symphony’s sandal flew off her foot as she was shoved in the backseat.
“What could you possibly know about my father?” Her speech was slow, her tongue weighed down in her too dry mouth.
Bethany’s palm connected with her cheek. The burn of the blow jolted her back from the blackness that slowly crept into her field of vision. “We’re your stepsisters, silly girl.”
“Yes,” Agatha said, “we are all one big happy family.”
Symphony’s mind rebelled. She’d trusted the sisters. She’d trusted Nathan. Everyone had betrayed her. How foolish she had been to expect anything different.
“No,” Symphony screamed, and then the light faded to darkness.
***
Nate tracked shaky hands through his hair at the delay in the cop returning with Symphony. Though he was a sworn officer, he followed the proper procedure for requesting the release of a detainee. Impatient, he pushed to his feet and crossed the room. Approaching the sergeant on duty, Nathan tried to mask his demand as a request.
“Bring her out.” Okay, that was definitely a demand.
“Says here, one Symphony Porter was processed by, one… Nathan Zachary.”
The sergeant glanced up at Nathan. His eyes fixed on the name badge stitched to his polo.
“That’s you?”
“Yes,” Nathan said through gritted teeth.
“Now you want her back?”
Damn it. What was this… twenty questions? “Yes, I want her back. Now, where is she?”
Had something happened to Symphony overnight? Was she injured? If someone had hurt her, Nathan would rip them apart with his bare hands.
The guy typed in more strokes on the keyboard, seeming to ignore Nathan’s rising anxiety.
“Gone.”
Everything inside of Nathan stilled.
“That’s not possible,” Nathan chastised.
“Yes, sir it is. She made bail.”
Nathan sucked in a breath. His heart banged against his ribs like an angry mob.
“Who took her?” His voice was low, harsh—little more than a growl.
“Says here in the computer, Ms. Bethany Hargrove posted the bail.”
Nathan didn’t need any more information. Symphony was in danger. He had no clue where to start his search.
Pulling his phone from his belt loop, he dialed Cutler’s number. When he picked up, Nathan began, “Tell me you and Trace found something.”
“Yeah, man. We found more dirty laundry than you ever want to know on a pretty girl.”
“Cut the crap. Bethany has Symphony.”
Nathan heard something fall and then a crash sounded. “Cutler, what is happening?”
“I’m on my way to your location.”
“Why?”
“Bethany is the arsonist, but… Penelope is violent.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Penelope doesn’t cope well with male authority figures. There’s a record of men getting hurt when little Penelope gets upset.”
“Cutler. We have to find her.”
“I think I can point you in the right direction. Bethany likes to revisit the scene of her crimes.”
“The law office?”
“That would be my first guess.”
“But why torch the law office in the first place?”
“Seems Mrs. Hargrove’s last partner was a successful real estate mogul by the name of Mr. Saxton Lawrence.”
“What’s the connection?”
“Saxton Lawrence married Lyric Porter and they had one daughter.”
“Symphony,” Nathan whispered. Bethany and Penelope were her stepsisters.
“They’re after Symphony’s inheritance.”
“Looks that way. Mr. Wilfred is managing the estate. Seems he’s off island visiting family until the New Year.”
“Who’s managing his office?” Nathan asked.
“Mrs. Agatha Hargrove Mustin.”
“She’s their mother! Place a call to Wilfred and find out what you can about the stipulations in the will. There’s a reason they want Symphony out of the picture.”
As Nathan exited the police station, he sorted through what he knew about all the fires. He added the information he’d learned from his conversation with Cutler. Shuffling the facts in his mental deck in search of the expected and unexpected. Bethany and Penelope had been one step ahead of him the entire time. Why should today be any different? What was he missing? He couldn’t afford to make the wrong move. Symphony’s life depended on his ability to figure this out.
***
Symphony awoke with a pounding in her head so sharp she had to hold her breath until the pain lessened. The tan carpeted floor reeked of citrus and smoke. The short, rough fibers scratched her face, triggering an itchy sensation that wormed its way down her body. She was in Bethany and Penelope’s RV. Pulling her hands alongside her torso, Symphony pushed herself up off the floor.
“Took you long enough to wake up.”
Bethany stood in the corner of the space closest to the rear sleeping area. Agatha the Hagatha occupied the dinette bench. A twisted smile of satisfaction visible on her stern features. Penelope had propped her back against the door, looking unaffected by the scene unfolding in the room.
For long seconds, Symphony processed the events of the past seven days. The blow to her head… one of the sisters had hit her.
“Who hit me?” Symphony asked, her eyes trained on Bethany.
“I did.”
Surprised to hear Penelope’s soft voice, Symphony stared in horror at the woman she once considered her friend.
“Why, Penelope?”
“I like hurting people,” she said deadpan. “Used my new gun.”
“You’re all crazy.” Symphony shouted at the lot of them.
“Crazy like foxes,” Bethany chimed in. “While you’re in prison for arson, we’ll be spending all that money.”
“Is that what you think will happen? Whatever you hoped to accomplish by framing me for the fires, Nathan will uncover the truth.” He would. Once he discovered Symphony hadn’t lied to him, he would stop at nothing to catch them.
“I watched you with that cowboy from his deck,” Bethany smirked. “He’s a real thoroughbred. After I offer him a little sexual healing, he’ll forget about you,” she said in a dreamy voice.
Gagging over here, Symphony thought.
“As for the fires, we both have the same taste in fun, sister,” Bethany smiled.
“Stupid fun,” Agatha chastised. “Every firefighter and cop for a hundred and thirty miles is on high alert.”
“Calm down, Mother,” Bethany whined. “Little sister Symphony will take the fall… hum. She’s done it before, right?”
Dumbfounded, Symphony regarded each of the women. How could they know she’d taken the blame for her mother?
“How could you know that?” Symphony questioned.
“Your father told me,” Agatha said in a haute tone. “Guilt weighed heavy on his mind after the house fire almost killed you. He knew of your mother’s struggles to control her impulses.”
“You know nothing about my mother,” Symphony defended.
“On the contrary, your father and I were… close. After your parent’s divorce, he spent fifteen years with us. I’m his wife. And my girls,” she gestured to Bethany and Penelope with a bony finger, “are your stepsisters.”
“Never,” Symphony spat. “My father didn’t marry into your crazy family for a reason.”
“Well, your father underestimated what a woman will do for her children.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The selfish man left his estate to you
.”
“Too bad for you, that you spent years with a man and he left you nothing.”
“Of course he did, but it’s unacceptable that he left the bulk of his wealth to you.”
“So what do you want, you viper?”
“I want it all,” Agatha said.
“Not on your life,” Symphony replied with a boldness she felt down to her toes. No longer would she surrender her future because of her past.
Agatha gave her a sinister smile. “No, not on mine… yours, dear. You will sign your inheritance over to me before it’s relinquished to charity.”
“I don’t think so,” Symphony stared her down.
“You’re a smart girl. You should reconsider before you meet with an unfortunate accident.”
Agatha gestured to Bethany, “Get her up.”
Bethany came forward then, grabbing Symphony by the arm. She purposefully dug her nails in the soft flesh of Symphony’s arm.
Symphony cried out.
“Shut up,” Bethany screamed.
Using the momentum of being pulled to her feet, Symphony tucked her head low, and then threw it directly under Bethany’s chin.
Bethany screamed as blood streamed from her mouth.
With blood flowing from the split in her lip down her chin, Bethany looked at her with raw fury in her eyes. “You’ll regret that.”
“Bring it on, sister.” Symphony said.
On her feet now, Symphony focused her attention on the way out. Penelope stood between her and freedom. Steeling her courage, Symphony charged toward the door. Head down, she slammed into Penelope’s gut with her right shoulder, using the woman’s weight against her. They both crashed into the thin aluminum door of the RV. The door gave way and Symphony felt her body in a free fall. Penelope’s back crashed into all the equipment Bethany used in her artwork before making contact with the ground. The added girth had protected Symphony from the brunt of the fall, but the impact rattled the teeth in her head.
Scrambling upright, she tried to run, but Penelope’s fingers closed around her ankle. Her body was slammed to the ground, full facial. Rolling onto her back, Symphony froze when a gun barrel materialized in front of her face.
“Do you want to die on your feet or on your knees?” Penelope asked.
Symphony regarded the woman she once considered her best friend. A slow smirk formed on Penelope’s features before her face contorted into a grotesque mask.
“Does it matter?” Not breaking eye contact, Symphony used her shoe heel to drag a piece of rebar, closer to her buttocks. She’d only have one chance to strike.
“Not really,” Penelope shrugged.
At the click of a round dropping into the chamber, Symphony tensed for the shot that would come next.
***
Nathan’s body was drenched in sweat beneath his shirt. He’d taken a gamble. His hands trembled as he brought the truck to a stop at the site of the burned out trailer. This had been the first fire.
Opening the door, he donned his turn-out gear and SCBA, short for, self-contained breathing apparatus.
Peering in the cab, he pointed to the ground, “Max, I need you, buddy.” Max barked the affirmative. “Find Blue.”
Walking the property, he sniffed the air, circled the charred structure, and studied the ground. He willed himself to stay calm, when he saw no signs of disturbance on the property. Night was upon him and he’d driven five miles outside of town. What if he’d picked the wrong site? Had the sisters already hurt Symphony?
A whimper drew his attention. Max pawed at the ground a few yards away.
“What you got, partner?”
Dropping down to his haunches, Nathan blew out a strangled breath. “Blue’s lighter.”
The blue crystals had a giant glow in the pale moonlight. The slim case was next to a pile of old cans and rusted out sheets of tin. He’d seen these items before. The junk disguised as artwork hung above the doorway in Symphony’s RV. This must be one of Bethany’s work sites. Nathan spun in a circle. Symphony had to be here.
Then a boom sounded in the woods at his back. Gunshot.
He jerked. Cold sweat erupted on his skin. Dear, God… let Symphony be okay.
Nathan took off, speed dialing Cutler’s number as he ran. Panting for oxygen, he gave essential information before disconnecting the call, “Blue. Burned-out trailer.”
As he ran through the woods, one thought consumed him. Was he too late?
***
Symphony covered her head with her hands, pulling her legs in close to her torso. Penelope had placed the bullet in the ground close to her head.
Penelope laughed, “You’re so stupid. There’s no sense in trying to make yourself smaller. I’m a good shot.”
“Maybe, but you’ll never see a dime of that money, because I’ll never sign anything over to you.”
“Let’s see if I can change your mind.”
That was Bethany’s voice. Symphony peeked through her fingers. What she saw stole her breath. Bethany had some type of flame thrower.
“No, don’t,” Symphony cried.
There hadn’t been rain for weeks. Stalks of tall dry grass welcomed the fire. A wall of blazing orange erupted before her eyes. Symphony scrambled to her feet, kicking dirt at the flames. The metal pile was at her back. With the trailer to her right and Penelope’s gun to her left, she was boxed in.
Smoke soon filled the air surrounding her. Her eyes watered. Ash and smoke filled her throat, the burnt taste saturating every corner of her mouth. Quickly, she ripped the sleeve of her boat shirt and tied it around her nose and mouth. The heat emitted from the growing flames was intense.
Flashbacks of being a scared nine-year-old trapped in her bedroom with sparks leaping onto the bed coverings had the blood and needed oxygen surging into her limbs. She saw her mother mesmerized by the flames, too drawn in by the addictive glow to save her own daughter. Symphony heard herself screaming, pleading with her mother for help. Never again, would she be helpless in the face of fire. This time around she would save herself.
Symphony sprang into action. Grabbing the bar at her feet, she jumped on the metal pile, climbing. A hailstorm of bullets rained down on her location.
“I don’t think so, little sister,” Penelope yelled above the pop and sizzle of heated metal.
A split second before another burst of flame came at her head, Symphony dropped down onto the heap. Sharp metal cut through her jeans. She pulled herself across the hill of discarded debris, ignoring the sting of cuts to her hands and arms.
“I have an extinguisher,” Bethany laughed. “You ready to sign?”
Anyone that could wrought the devastation these two had for money couldn’t be trusted to tell the truth. Despite the ache in her lungs from lack of oxygen, Symphony leveraged her weight higher on the bar, and continued her low crawl toward the peak. When she reached the top, she glanced around. Flames, smoke, and more flames, there was no escape. Her heart started to pump faster, even louder than the sound of the fire as it consumed everything in its path. Bone-deep terror set in, the smoke was onyx black, and she couldn’t stop coughing.
Move faster. Sparks landed on her shirt, her jeans, creating tiny hot spots. Beneath her torso, the metal burned, the sensation had advanced from tingling to a thousand sizzling needles all touching her skin simultaneously.
Symphony couldn’t see, but she heard Agatha’s craggy voice. “Girls, enough. Get her out of there.”
If Bethany released another fire stream, the smoke would catch fire. Symphony burrowed as low as she could, scanning every direction for a possible escape. That’s when she saw a dark line in a sea of orange, a narrow area to her right where the flame didn’t burn quite as high.
She willed her legs to move, fought the haze clouding her brain telling her to quit as her body struggled to siphon fresh air from the noxious fumes.
Clawing herself upright, Symphony stumbled forward, one foot in front of the other. Visibility was zero, but kept moving t
o her right. She would survive.
Abruptly, she came to a halt. She jerked, but nothing happened. Though she couldn’t see, she knew in the vague recesses of her addled mind that her foot was trapped in the pile. Time slowed. Symphony could hear the pop and crackle in every direction, the smell of scorched oil, wood, and metal surrounded her. The coughing became uncontrollable. Lightheadedness made it difficult for her to think.
In the distance, she heard her name being called. She felt her knees buckle and realized she was out of time. Bethany and Penelope were Nathan’s problem now. Siren or was it Symphony, yes… she heard both, Symphony mixed with sirens. She heard Nathan’s voice, loud and demanding, like the day they’d met.
Though it pained her to speak, Symphony uttered, “Nathan.”
As the darkness started to grab hold, Symphony promised herself she would do better in the next life.
***
Nathan caught Symphony before the flames did. They were in a scrap metal dump except for the camper and the burned-out trailer nothing was close by this end of the marina.
Bethany held a fire torch in her hand. An old woman stood in the RV doorway behind her. The mother, Nathan suspected.
Spinning toward Bethany, Nathan yelled, “Max, attack.”
A scream rang out before a whip of flames flew at Nathan’s head. Holding on to Symphony, he fell backwards, taking her with him.
He thought he heard her groan, but with the sirens and the fire’s destruction, it was difficult to tell. He threw off his mask.
“Symphony, I’ve got you.”
He cradled her close to his heart, breath ragged and uneven.
Landing with a thud, Nathan grunted against the pain. When he looked up, the RV was engulfed in flames. He could hear Symphony’s tormentors screaming for help as firefighters and EMTs flooded the scene.
“You came for me this time,” Symphony said on a whisper.
“I’m sorry I ever left you,” Nathan said.