Three Chords, One Song

by Beatrice M. Hogg

  Mariah stood up. “I’ve got to get home. Whoever has her probably wants money. They will probably call the house with their terms. I didn’t bring my cell.”

  Soleil didn’t like the fact that Mariah kept saying “probably.” That meant that she was thinking the same thing she was thinking. Did Faith want money or revenge? She picked up her backpack and the gig bag she had stored in the room earlier in the evening, a lifetime ago. “Let’s go,” she said. “I’ll get my truck and meet you there.”

  Olivia went over to Mariah and put her arms around her. “I’ll stay here for as long as you need me,” she said softly. She kissed the top of her head.

  Tears were rolling down Mariah’s face. “Thank you,” she whispered back.

  Eve

  Someone knocked at the door. Eve went to the door and looked into the smiling face of Toby Reynolds. “Why is everyone hiding out in here?” His smile faded when he saw Mariah. “What’s wrong?”

  Mariah looked at Toby. “Toby, we need to go. Please get our limo ready. Call me tomorrow. And have Lieberman call me, too.” Her voice still shook.

  Toby peered into the room. “I set up an after party.”

  “Toby, just do it,” Mariah screamed. “We need to go now!”

  Eve jumped. She had never heard Mariah raise her voice before.

  Toby jumped also and squinted at Mariah. He nodded his head. “Okay. I’ll call you in the morning.” He closed the door.

  Mariah took a deep breath and wiped her face.

  Eve still stood at the door. “Ready?” She looked at Mariah.

  Mariah nodded. The four women hurried to the exit.

  Lucy

  Lucy woke up to darkness. She was breathing through her nose. There was something over her mouth. Lucy could feel the sticky tape on her skin. Her hands were tied behind her back. It was hot in here, wherever here was. She was sweating profusely, she could feel it rolling under her arms and between her breasts. Where was she? She twisted her head back and forth. She tried to shimmy herself to a sitting position, but when she touched a wall, she fell over on her side.

  She thought about San Francisco and Ricky. Was she going to go through that again? Her whole body tightened as she remembered the experience. She had been left barely alive. What was going to happen this time?

  She thought about her mother. She had to get out of here before Mariah got worried. Her heart was racing and she had to pee.

  I have to think this through. I have to keep my mind occupied.

  She flexed her feet. Her ankles were sore from the rope binding them together. The rough rope itched. She rotated her neck; it cracked from tension. Pain was radiating from her shoulders down her arms. Maybe if I try to stay still, I won’t feel the pain so much.

  Think. I have to think.

  What happened? I was taken from the concert hall, drugged and brought here. Why? It had to be for money. But who had kidnapped her? The guy didn’t look familiar, but the voice she heard before she went under did. Who was it?

  If they wanted money, maybe she wouldn’t be killed. But who had the money for her ransom? Since the will was still being contested, they hadn’t received any money yet. Mariah didn’t have any money because she’d mortgaged the house for the concert. But she did have her other properties, which Lucy guessed were worth over a million dollars. And she knew her mother would do anything, spend any amount, to get her back. Mariah would give up everything she worked for all of her life to save the life of her only child.

  She couldn’t let her mother do that. She had to get out of here! She strained against the ropes, rolling over onto her stomach.

  What if it wasn’t enough? What if they wanted more money than Mariah could get together? Would they kill her? Once she had wished she was dead, had practically been left for dead, but she had survived. She willed herself to believe she would get through this, too.

  She slowly rolled onto her side once, then again. She continued to roll, trying to find out the size of the room and if there was anything else in it, something she could use to loosen these ropes. She could feel dust and grit coating her skin and hair, but she didn’t encounter anything else. The room was empty, except for her.

  Now she had to pee real bad.

  Eve

  Eve had never seen Mariah lose control before. She sat in the back of the limo with Olivia’s arm around her. Eve sat across from them. She didn’t know what to say. She wished that she had ridden in the truck with Soleil.

  Could that really have been Brad she saw backstage? She knew he was an adulterer, but would he go so far as to kidnap her sister to get money? Was he capable of murder? She shuddered to think that the man she had loved was capable of committing homicide.

  And what was this Faith really like? Eve couldn’t imagine that she was as bad as everyone said. But she didn’t know anyone who was a prostitute or a drug addict. Except for Ricky. But Ricky had not become a drug addict until he left Pittsburgh for LA. She never saw him again after he moved to California, until she saw his body at the San Francisco morgue. Why had her father married someone like Faith? She could understand why he had been with Mariah. She was a kind, good person who she had grown to like. But her father had become a drug addict, too. She wished that she were back in her apartment in Mount Washington.

  Olivia broke the silence. “How did you like the show, Eve?” She tried to add lightness to her voice.

  Eve tried to smile. “It was something else. I had never been to a rock concert before.”

  Olivia looked surprised. “Never?”

  “No, I wasn’t into rock much when I was growing up. It reminded me too much of him. I was busy with sports. I played soccer and ran track.”

  Olivia nodded her head. “Well, you did all right with the tambourine.”

  Eve smiled. “Yeah, that was kind of fun.”

  “Lucy used to love to get onstage and play the tambourine when she was a little girl,” Mariah said wistfully.

  Olivia looked at Mariah. “Yeah, she did.”

  Eve wanted to see the tough, in control Mariah come back. She was uncomfortable with Mariah’s distress, even though she understood it. Mariah was scared that Lucy would not be returned unharmed, and Eve was scared, too.

  Olivia tried again. “It was a capacity crowd out there. I think you made enough to pay for the hall rental and all of the incidental costs. Those charities should get a nice chunk of change.”

  Mariah looked at her. “Well, there are also the hotel expenses for the performers.”

  “I paid for my own room at a nice, reasonably priced hotel.”

  “I tried to get you to stay at the house.” Mariah looked at her friend.

  “Well, I knew you already had company.” Olivia glanced at Eve.

  “I have four extra bedrooms, and if I didn’t I would still make room for you.”

  “Do you want me to stay over tonight?” Olivia asked.

  “Yes, I would like that.” Mariah wiped at her eyes.

  “Maybe I should stop by the hotel and get my bag.” After the show, Olivia had changed into jeans and a long, lime green cotton top.

  “Pick it up tomorrow.”

  Eve felt that she should say something. “I’ll pick it up tomorrow, if I have a way to get there.”

  “I’ll have a car available.” Mariah gave the trace of a smile. “We may need one to get Lucy back. I don’t think I am in any shape to drive. At least not until I find out what is going on.”

  They drove the rest of the way in silence.

  When they got to the house, it was around 2 a.m. Soleil was pacing in front of the door. She walked over to the car. “I tried to call Faith’s place, but she must have changed her number again.”

  Mariah stepped out of the car. She grabbed Soleil by the shoulders. “Don’t go over to her place! Please, don’t go over there! I can’t lose you, too!”

  Eve wondered what she meant by that statement. She wanted to see this Faith, find out why everyone was so afraid of her.
/>
  Mariah’s hands shook as she unlocked the door and disabled the alarm system. She sat down in the kitchen. Eve put water and coffee in the coffeemaker. Soleil turned on the small television under the top kitchen cabinets.

  There was a news report about the concert. Sally Fountaine appeared on the screen. “This concert was a wonderful tribute to my late husband. I’m so grateful to all of the wonderful musicians who performed on his behalf.” She smiled broadly at the camera.

  Olivia looked at the screen. “She acts like she was the one to put this concert together.”

  “Another Sally Fountaine production. She is better at acting in real life than she is in her films,” Soleil said.

  Brad

  Brad watched Sally Fountaine on the news broadcast. He listened intently when she talked about the will. If she was still contesting the will, how were they going to get the ransom money for Lucy? He wondered if Faith had other reasons besides money for the kidnapping. He knew about the animosity she felt towards Mariah. Did Faith want money or revenge?

  He looked closer at the screen. Sally Fountaine looked familiar to him, real familiar. He had seen her somewhere before, many years ago. Then he thought back to the time he worked at his friend’s adult video store. His friend used to get amateur videos made by a friend of his in Youngstown, Ohio. There was one hot little blonde who liked to take it up the ass. Her video name was Sahara Sodomie. Maybe he would be able to get some big bucks without having to share anything with Faith.

  Brad picked up the car keys from the table. He needed to get away. Faith looked up from the television. “And where the fuck do you think you’re going in the middle of the night?”

  He decided not to lie. “I want to see how Lucy is doing.”

  “We can check on her tomorrow. You aren’t going down there alone, so put your cock back in your pants.” Faith poured some brandy in a glass.

  “When are you going to call her mother?”

  “Tomorrow.” She glanced at the clock. “Later today.” She held her hands out for the keys. “Give me the car keys and the key to the lock.”

  Brad stood and looked into Faith’s eyes. She continued to hold her hands out. He gave her the car keys and took the other keys out of his pants pocket. He would wait until later and see what happened. But he was going to get a chance to be alone with Lucille DeSalle, whether Faith liked it or not. And he was also going to pay a visit to Ms. Fountaine. Alone.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lucy

  Lucy woke up to the smell of urine. She could feel the dampness between her legs and along her thighs. She rolled away from the wet, smelly area and kept moving until she hit the wall on the other side. From this side, she could see the door. The light coming from underneath it told her it was daylight outside. She still had on her watch, but she couldn’t see it behind her back. Mik sent the Rolex for her thirtieth birthday. She thought it was appropriate to wear it to the memorial concert. She didn’t know how much it was worth, but maybe she could use it to bargain with her kidnappers.

  She laid on her back and pushed herself to a sitting position. Those years of sit-ups have finally paid off, she thought wryly. The tape around her mouth was looser. She twisted her neck so that her cheek and the side of her mouth hit her shoulder. She rubbed her mouth back and forth, trying to dislodge the tape, but no luck.

  Her stomach was growling. She wondered if she was going to get any food or if they were going to let her starve to death.

  Brad

  Faith was passed out on the living room sofa. Brad searched her bedroom for the keys. She had taken them into the room when he gave them back to her last night. He opened the top drawer of her dresser. He felt around the underwear in the drawer for something hard and metallic. The only other thing besides underwear that he found in the drawer was a black and white picture. It was a picture of four children, three boys and a little girl.

  He looked closely at the picture. The boys had dark complexions, with long, straight hair and high cheekbones. They looked to be Indian, around ten years old. They wore jeans and white tee shirts. The little girl looked like she was around five. She was lighter in color than the boys, with a softer face and slanted eyes. Her dark hair was in two long braids. There was a haunted look in her eyes, eyes that looked like they belonged to an old woman. The little girl had to be Faith.

  Brad thought it was strange that Faith only had photos of herself or Mik. There were no pictures of Soleil or any other family members. Whenever he mentioned Soleil, Faith became angry. She never mentioned her daughter.

  He put the picture back and looked in the next drawer. This one contained shirts. In the back of the drawer was a baby rattle. He wondered if it had been Soleil’s. It looked too new, though. He wondered what Faith was doing with a rattle.

  There was a knock at the front door as he went to open the third drawer. He headed to the living room, but Faith was already at the door. She opened the door to a man who Brad recognized as one of her dealer friends, some guy called Lou.

  The bald, red-faced man wore a baggy blue tee shirt that was tight over his broad shoulders and barely covered his paunch. He came into the room with a bored expression on his face.

  Faith’s short blonde hair was standing up on her head, exposing her dark roots. She wore a long wrinkled tee shirt. It was obvious she had nothing on under it, but she showed no modesty. She looked back at Brad. “What are you doing up so early?”

  Brad looked at her. “I couldn’t sleep.”

  Faith eyes narrowed. “I bet you couldn’t.” She focused on the other man. Brad remained standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

  The guy opened a small plastic bag. He handed a box to Faith. “This will change the sound of your voice on the telephone.”

  Faith set the box down. “Okay. Wait here.” She brushed past Brad and headed to the bedroom. As she passed, she sneered, “Didn’t find what you were looking for, did you?”

  He was pushed into the living room when she slammed the door in his face. After a few minutes, she opened it. She dangled a key in his face, and then handed it to Lou. “Do you have everything?”

  Lou took the key and pocketed it. “Yeah, a bottle of water, some wipes and a pail.” He laughed. “You’re not gonna give the bitch any food?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Do ya want me to untie her?”

  Faith sucked her finger. “Do what you think is best. She will need to have her hands free to wipe herself. I’m sure that she has at least pissed herself by now.” She took her finger out of her mouth and smiled again. “Unless you want to clean her up.”

  “Sure, I’ll clean her up.” He leered at her and adjusted the front of his dirty work pants.

  Faith looked at Brad. “Now, Lou, don’t fuck her. Brad here wants to do the honors.” She winked at Lou.

  Lou smiled and winked back. “You know I’ve already had that pussy.” He hiked up his pants again. “But maybe this time she’ll be a little hungry.”

  Faith laughed loudly. She went over to her purse and took out a wad of bills. “Here ya go. Now don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do.” She kissed the big man on his thick neck.

  “See ya later, Faith.” The man went out of the front door and down the steps.

  Brad still stood in the doorway. “What was all of that about?”

  “I don’t trust you with little Miss Lucy. You would have her escape before I even called her mother. Are you obsessed with her or something?” Faith pulled her tee shirt over her head.

  Brad looked at her nakedness. Her ribs were showing above her sagging breasts, and old needle marks showed on her stomach and arms. “No more obsessed than you are.”

  Faith rubbed her arms as if chilled. “Obsessed? I’ll show you obsessed.” She walked over to him and pulled down the zipper to his jeans.

  Brad willed himself not to react, but his lower body was on automatic.

  Eve

  When Eve got up in the morning, Mariah was still on the so
fa in the living room. She had left her and Olivia there talking when she went to go upstairs to get a little sleep. She heard Soleil come upstairs not long after she had retired. But instead of the other spare bedroom, it sounded like Soleil had gone into Mariah’s room. She thought she had heard some drawers being opened, but she couldn’t tell for sure.

  Olivia had curled up in a large stuffed chair with a blanket around her. Her long red ponytail was on the floor next to her. She looked up at Eve. “Good morning,” she whispered.

  “Any news yet?” She looked over at Mariah.

  Mariah had put on jeans and a shirt. Her long braids were curled around her neck. She stirred when she heard voices. “Nothing yet, Eve. How are you this morning?”

  Eve smiled wearily. “I feel drained.”

  “Don’t we all,” Olivia answered. She picked up the ponytail and shook it. “Even my hair couldn’t hold up.”

  Eve laughed. “I’ll make some coffee.”

  “Thanks, Eve. That would be great.” Mariah straightened her braids. “Is Soleil up yet?”

  “I don’t think so.” Eve looked at the ceiling. “I’m sure she will be down soon. Especially once the coffee starts brewing.”

  She went into the kitchen and got out the coffee. She hoped something would happen soon to release the tension in the air. She hadn’t felt this tense since Ricky’s death.

  She wished she could be more useful, do something to help other than make coffee. That is all she had been doing since she got here. She felt like an outsider around Mariah and Olivia. They had a lot of shared memories. No one here knew anything about her.

  But she had to admit that she missed Lucy. There had to be something she could do to help get her back.

  “Is there some breakfast to go with that coffee?” Soleil came down the stairs.

  “I’m sure that I can make something.” Eve still had mixed feelings about her youngest sister. She frowned.

  Soleil looked at her, misreading the expression. “Still no word yet?”

  Eve shook her head. “Toby and Lieberman haven’t called yet, either.”