Three Chords, One Song

by Beatrice M. Hogg

  “Girls! Now behave!” Mariah’s tone was stern, but teasing.

  “Lucy, act your age, not your color,” Soleil said and started laughing.

  Eve walked into the room. Lucy and Soleil stopped laughing and stared at her.

  “You are turning red, Eve.” Her sunburn was more noticeable due to the white swimsuit. “I’m supposed to be the Injun, paleface!” Soleil started laughing again.

  Eve looked at the three of them with a quizzical expression and then she started laughing.

  Eve

  Eve had finally come to a decision. She looked at her sisters and Mariah. “I think that we should go ahead with the memorial concert as soon as possible.”

  Soleil clapped her hands. “Now you’re talking, sister! Let’s get it on!”

  Mariah smiled at Eve. “I’ll start making calls tomorrow. Maybe we can get the Staples Center for one night.”

  “I’ll put some information up on the website tomorrow,” Lucy said warmly.

  Eve felt good about her decision. It seemed the right thing to do. Maybe it would help her come to grips with the music icon named Mik DeSalle. Maybe she would learn something about the father that she never knew.

  Brad

  Brad drove Faith’s pieced-together Honda back to her pieced-together apartment. He had to come up with a plan. Fast.

  Chapter Eight

  The memorial concert came together quickly after a date was secured at the Staples Center. Tickets sold out within days. Even though the performers agreed to work for free, the expenses were still over a million dollars. Mariah put a mortgage on the house. Lucy assured her mother she would pay her back as soon as she received her portion of the money. Even Eve became excited about the concert, despite being homesick for Pittsburgh.

  Brad

  Brad had never sold drugs before, except for selling a little pot to the patrons of his friend’s adult video store. But in order to stay with Faith, he had to earn his keep. The small amount of money he brought with him had run out after the second week, and he wasn’t ready to go home yet. He still had his sights on Lucy.

  Faith knew a lot of people, a lot of famous people. Brad soon found that his white, clean-cut look made it easy for him to blend in and make his deliveries. He got to see all sides of the fantasyland called Los Angeles.

  But Faith made him uneasy. She was unpredictable, volatile, and he never knew what kind of mood she would be in. She used drugs, but her main drug was alcohol, Jack Daniel’s in particular. Sometimes he would come back to the apartment and find her passed out on the sofa. Since he slept on the sofa, he would have to carry her into her cramped, dirty bedroom and deposit her on the bed.

  So far he hadn’t had sex with her, but one night, after they had gone drinking at some local dives, she had given him a blowjob. It had been the best blowjob of his life. He knew she had once been a prostitute, and if her performance that night was any indication, she must have been one of the best.

  But he was still afraid of her. He knew Faith had a gun, and she knew how to use it. She had told him she had tried to kill Lucy’s mother once. He didn’t want to end up on the wrong end of her barrel.

  He kept driving down to Malibu to spy on Lucy. From what he could tell, Lucy never went out alone. Her mother or one of her sisters always accompanied her. It seemed that Eve and Lucy were growing closer. That was surprising, since he remembered that Eve had never wanted to talk about her younger sister when they were married. And even from his distance, he could still sense the tension between Eve and her other sister.

  Faith kept asking him about his plans.

  “I thought you were going to get next to Lucy?” Faith paced the small living room, anger in her voice.

  “I will. Just give me time.” He hated when she got like this, especially when she’d been drinking. “I can’t ever get her alone.”

  “If you can’t find her alone, then get her alone. Kidnap the bitch. Threaten to kill her. That will get some attention. That bitch Mariah has money, too, you know!” Faith emptied the whisky bottle and threw it against the wall.

  Brad ducked to miss the flying glass that sprayed off the wall. Kidnapping was a federal crime. He wanted money, but he didn’t want to go to jail. He knew drug dealing was a crime, too, but he felt the odds were stacked against him if he tried something as major as kidnapping.

  “I can’t kidnap her.”

  “And why the fuck not? Are you scared? What the fuck is your problem?” Faith started to circle the chair he was sitting in. “What kind of man are you?” She slapped him in the face. “Or are you a pussy?”

  When she reached out to strike him, he grabbed her arm. “I’m not going to jail over some money!”

  Faith twisted her arm until her released his grip. “You won’t go to jail, you asshole! Do you really think Mariah will go to the cops? She would pay anything to have her precious baby back. She loves that girl,” Faith sneered.

  Brad sneered back. “Just like you loved Soleil.”

  He was unprepared for the kick in the groin that caused him to swallow the words he planned to say next.

  “You fuckin’ shut up about Soleil. That is none of your fuckin’ business!”

  Brad opened his eyes and still saw red. He grabbed Faith and punched her in the mouth. Faith retaliated with a similar move that landed on his chin. He grabbed her arms and held her tight enough to cause bruises. Faith spit at him. He used all of his strength to throw her across the room and watched as her head hit the wall with a satisfying thud.

  “Motherfucker!” She came running toward him, fire in her eyes. Her blonde hair was standing angrily on end. He grabbed her again and threw her on the couch. She bounced off and fell on the floor.

  Brad threw himself on top of her. The more that she struggled, the more he pressed his full weight against her. The more she struggled, the harder he became. Then she stopped struggling. That night, Faith Armstrong DeSalle rocked his world. And he knew he would do whatever she wanted him to do, jail or no jail.

  Lucy

  Lucy pasted the fake smile on her face. She looked at Soleil. “Here we go!” The day before the concert, Toby Reynolds arranged a press conference at an exclusive Los Angeles hotel.

  Reynolds was in his mid-fifties and bald. He was one of those men who opted for bald when he started balding. He was short and stocky, not fat, but muscular. He eyed the three women warily, but raised one eyebrow when he looked at Eve, who he had never seen before. He held out his hand to her. “Uh, you must be Evelyn.”

  Eve shook his hand. “Uh, you must be Toby.”

  Lucy smiled. As usual, Toby had already made a bad impression. She wondered why her father had kept him as his manager for thirty years. She never did like him, even when she was a little girl. In spite of his round face and rounded head, he was a reptile. But he was a brilliant manager, and Mik had loved him like the brother he never had.

  * * *

  The three of them fielded the reporters’ questions for thirty minutes. Soleil managed not to swear even once, but Lucy heard her swallow a few before answering a question. At the end they filed out of the hotel and got into the black limousine Toby had waiting for them.

  Toby leaned down to talk to them from the open window. “Girls, you were fabulous. You have use of the car all day. Have fun and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Lucy felt a genuine smile coming on for the first time that day. “Girls, you were fabulous,” she mocked Toby. “Now let’s have some fun. Let’s go shopping for some new outfits for tomorrow.” She took a platinum VISA out of her handbag.

  “Who does that belong to?” Eve asked.

  “It’s mine, and they just raised my limit.” Lucy waved the card in the air.

  “To what?” Soleil asked.

  “To enough to buy some killer outfits, that’s how much!” Lucy’s credit card limit had been increased to $10,000.

  “Where should we go?” Eve looked out the car window.

  Lucy tapped on the window
behind the driver. “Could you take us to Melrose Avenue, please?”

  “All right!” Soleil laughed.

  “Is that like ‘Melrose Place’?”

  Soleil laughed at Eve’s question. “Only better, big sis, a whole fuckin’ lot better.”

  Eve shook her head at Soleil. “You had to start swearing again, didn’t you?”

  “Fuck off, bitch!”

  Lucy laughed. “Now that is the Soleil that we all know and love!” She winked at Soleil.

  Eve crossed her arms. “I wouldn’t go that far.” She looked out the window as the city rolled by.

  Soleil

  Soleil wasn’t a big shopper, but when she was in the mood, she headed to the unique shops of Melrose. But she knew that her stage outfit would have to be from Chrome Hearts. Hopefully they would have something in stock in her size. She looked at Eve. Maybe they could convince Eve to get a makeover, or at least get her hair cut. Baby, she thought, you aren’t in Pittsburgh any more. Get with the program, girl. But why did she want Eve to glam up anyway? Glamour had never done her any good.

  “Where do you want to go, Soleil?” Lucy asked.

  “Somewhere that I can check out some leather.”

  “I thought that you didn’t like to shop,” Lucy said and looked at Soleil intently.

  “Not usually, but this is a special occasion, don’t you think? Don’t you want to look good, do dear ol’ Dad proud?”

  “ ‘Dear ol’ Dad,’ ” snorted Eve.

  “I’m sorry that you didn’t have one, Evelyn,” Soleil said sarcastically. She didn’t want to get Eve riled up again, but the bitch was getting on her nerves.

  Eve raised her hand and Soleil caught it in a strong grip. She gritted her teeth. “Don’t try it, sister.”

  Lucy was sitting across from them. Tears were forming in her eyes. “Can’t you just stop it, dammit? We are going to have fun this afternoon, even if it kills me. Stop fighting! We aren’t enemies, we are sisters!”

  Lucy, the eternal peacemaker, Soleil thought. She really wanted to get along with Eve, but she always managed to get on her last nerve. Lucy got on her nerves, too, but she was used to Lucy’s ways. Maybe she would learn to get used to Eve, but she would never get that close to her. She was a woman with a big chip on her shoulder. Maybe her father did desert her, but at least she had a mother that loved her. Faith only loved money, alcohol and drugs.

  Maybe that was why she didn’t like to shop. Faith used to take the food money and buy herself expensive outfits. As a child Soleil would subsist on dry cereal for weeks, while Faith met her connections in Armani suits. She thought about the Dolce and Gabbana coat that Faith bought with the money from her ‘exclusive’ interview. Faith would wear her expensive outfits once or twice, then trade them for drugs, or just leave them somewhere when she was drunk or stoned.

  The limousine stopped in front of a store displaying brightly colored leather dresses. Soleil put on her fake smile again and looked at Eve. “Let’s go have fun and make Ms. Lucille happy.”

  Lucy looked from Eve to Soleil. “Let’s go get beautiful,” she said brightly.

  The young blond driver opened the door and extended his hand to Soleil. Soleil looked around and started down the street. She turned back to see Lucy give Eve a hug.

  Eve had never seen anything like the shops on Melrose. The blocks of stores were funkier than any boutique in Pittsburgh, even the ones in Shadyside and South Side. There were shops devoted to every style and every price range. Eve didn’t know what to wear to a rock concert, since she had never been to one before. She decided to just look for jeans and a nice top.

  Lucy gave her another hug. “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m okay. Where is she going?” She motioned toward Soleil’s back.

  “I think that she is going to get a leather outfit. Why don’t we go to Fred Segal’s? I’m sure that you can find something there.”

  Eve didn’t know who or what a Fred Segal was, but she trusted Lucy’s judgment. Lucy had a casual but modern style. She wore nice clothes, unlike Soleil, who always wore black jeans and a tee shirt. She just nodded her head.

  “Soleil!” Soleil waited while they caught up with her. “Soleil, I’m taking Eve to Fred Segal’s. Do you want to meet us there or do you want us to wait for you? I can pay for your things if we wait.”

  “I can pay for my own outfit, thank you. Get something for Sister Eve. I’ll meet you there.”

  “I think that we will walk, you can bring the limo down when you are done and we’ll go to dinner.”

  “Okay.” Soleil winked at Eve and continued down the street.

  “Where are we going?” Eve asked.

  “We are going to a store that has a lot of different things for you to pick from. Do you know what you want?”

  Eve shrugged. “Just some jeans and a top, something cheap.”

  Lucy chuckled. “In LA, you can spend $1,000 on a pair of jeans.”

  “I’ll never spend $1,000 on a pair of jeans, or any other item of clothing. I don’t care how much money I inherit.”

  Lucy chuckled again. “Never say never.” Eve took in the sights of Melrose Avenue as they walked up the street.

  Eve touched her hair. “Do you think I have time to get my hair cut?”

  Lucy smiled warmly. “Of course we do! Anything that you want.”

  “I hate having you and Mariah spend so much money on me. I’ll pay you back.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Eve,” Lucy said. “And don’t worry about Soleil. She really does love you.”

  “Bullshit!”

  “Now you even sound like her.” Lucy laughed again. “And I love you, too.”

  Eve couldn’t bring herself to say the same words to Lucy. She still had too many questions that needed answers. She needed to know what happened to Ricky.

  Brad

  Brad watched Lucy and Eve as they talked. He had been following them since they left the hotel. He still had hopes of getting Lucy alone, but now it looked as if he never would. Time was running out. He needed to get out of LA, and he needed to get away from Faith before she killed him or had him killed. Like she’d had Ricky Shelton killed.

  Eve

  Hours later the sisters showed off their purchases back in the limo.

  Soleil continued to look at Eve’s hair. Her new haircut brought out her deep blue eyes. “Your hair looks great!” Both Eve and Lucy smiled at Soleil’s compliment.

  Eve clutched the bag of new makeup she would use to bring out her features even more for the concert. She couldn’t believe the cost of her new jeans and top—over $300 for each piece—but she loved the way she looked in the outfit. The smell of Soleil’s leather outfit permeated the car. Eve caressed the soft leather of the pants and Soleil grinned approvingly. Eve knew that Soleil would look good in anything that she put on. Lucy had gotten a black mini-skirt and a red fringed silk top. After meeting up they had gone to Soleil’s favorite shoe store, where all three of them got new designer shoes.

  After dropping Soleil off at her apartment, Lucy and Eve headed to Malibu. Eve sighed. “I could get used to this limo stuff.” She hated to admit it, but she did like this level of luxury. It was seductive. But not seductive enough to keep her from returning to Pittsburgh as soon as she could escape.

  Chapter Nine

  Soleil

  Soleil knocked over her backpack, perched precariously on the edge of her wooden bedroom chair. The CD recorder she had taken from Mik’s studio fell to the floor. In all of the excitement during the last few weeks, she had totally forgotten about it.

  It was a dreary morning, with rain slicking the streets below her apartment. The weather report promised sunshine by the afternoon, just in time for the concert. She decided to relax a bit before leaving for the Staples Center. She transferred the CD from the recorder to her sound system and was immediately greeted by the sweet voice of her late father.

  Soleil was exhilarated by the fresh new music created by her
father. She smiled as she heard him swear when he hit the wrong chord. He had been a perfectionist when it came to his music, just like her.

  She sat mesmerized, listening to the songs. Her father’s voice soothed her pre-performance jitters. She vowed to learn some of these new tunes. Maybe she could record them herself. Sally had decided to remodel Mik’s old studio while she contested the will. She rented a truck and had everything delivered to Soleil’s apartment, along with a bill from the movers. Soleil had used some of her own money to rent a high-security storage space to store the equipment until she found a permanent home for it.

  She planned to use the left-handed Strat when she performed tonight. Every day she had practiced on it, getting familiar with the feel of the instrument. Now it felt like an old friend.

  The song Mik was singing ended. Now a woman was singing, clear and strong. Soleil instantly recognized the voice as Mariah’s. She and Mariah had been practicing their duet for the last few weeks. On the CD, Mariah accompanied herself on the piano while Mik played acoustic guitar, probably the Martin that Soleil now possessed.

  The music stopped and they both broke out in embarrassed giggles. Mik coughed. “Marry me, Mariah,” he said. “We still make beautiful music together.”

  She laughed softly. “You’re married, or have you forgotten?”

  “I’ll get a divorce. I want to grow old with you.”

  Mariah laughed again. “They don’t have homes for old rockers, just rockers for old homes!”

  Mik coughed again. Soleil could imagine the tension in the air as she listened to their private conversation. “I haven’t made love to Sally in two years, Mari. The last time that I tried, I couldn’t get it up.” This is more than I need to know, Soleil thought, but she made no move to stop the tape.

  Mariah stopped laughing. “I’m sorry, Mik,” she said gently.

  “I was never impotent with you.”

  “You were also twenty years younger.” They must have forgotten the tape was still running, Soleil thought.

  “I’m not impotent now,” Mik said softly.