1 Night Stand

by Amaleka McCall

  Harmony’s body went cold. The news couldn’t be good. She could only imagine what Lyric had to say—what drug she had used now.

  “Let’s go to my office,” she said.

  “Wait. I need to pay the Uber driver.”

  “I have to get my wallet.” Harmony shook her head.

  Just as Harmony and Lyric turned to leave the lobby, they heard the chimes over the front doors sound off. Harmony and Lyric paused. Harmony turned first to find two men entering her place of business.

  “Good afternoon, ladies. I’m Detective Brice Simpson, NYPD Homicide.” A tall, handsome man stepped forward, accompanied by his trench coat–clad partner.

  “Homicide?” Harmony repeated.

  “What’s this about?” Lyric dropped her bag at her feet.

  “Are you the family of Ava Love?” Detective Simpson asked.

  “Yes,” Harmony and Lyric answered almost in unison.

  “She’s our mother,” Harmony said. “Why? What is this about?” Harmony asked again, concern creasing her brow.

  Detective Simpson cleared his throat. The other detective looked down at his shiny black wingtip shoes as if eye contact would’ve given away some top secret information.

  “Your mother’s death has been ruled a homicide by the medical examiner. I just received the final report,” Detective Simpson said.

  Harmony opened her mouth, but no words came out. Lyric flopped down into the receptionist’s chair.

  “What?” Lyric gasped. “Homicide?”

  “But who would want to kill Ava?” Harmony asked almost breathlessly.

  “That’s what we are trying to figure out, ma’am. We’d like to speak to you about that,” Detective Simpson said, his tone steely.

  “Now?” Harmony asked. “We’ve already buried her weeks ago. You come now with this.”

  “With these things, sometimes it takes time for the medical examiner to make a determination that the cause of death was something other than natural,” he replied.

  “What do you need to know?” Harmony asked, her foot tapping.

  “Which of you was the last to see your mother alive? And who would have a reason to want your mother dead?” he asked.

  Harmony and Lyric looked at one another, neither wanting to answer first and both thinking about Melody. They had all wished their mother dead at some point, but who would have actually had the nerve to kill her?

  “I’ll need to know everything about all of you,” Detective Simpson said.

  Lyric lowered her face into her hands, and Harmony closed her eyes. Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, now this.

  “Where can we go to talk?” Detective Simpson asked.

  Harmony pointed to her office. Before she followed the detectives down the hallway, Harmony turned to Lyric.

  “Go call Melody, Lyric. We need her here for this.”