Three Chords, One Song

by Beatrice M. Hogg

  At that moment, the telephone rang. Eve and Soleil ran into the living room. All four of them stood staring at the brown phone as if hypnotized.

  Eve picked it up. “Hello?” She looked at the expectant faces around her. ‘Yeah, Toby, Mariah is here. Hold on.” She handed the phone to Mariah.

  Mariah sighed and took the phone. “Toby, Lucy is missing. I think that she has been kidnapped. No, I don’t want to go to the police yet, not until I hear something.” She covered the mouthpiece. “I think that Faith may have her,” she whispered.

  Eve looked at Soleil. Soleil ran her hands through her hair. She looked at Olivia. “I’ll make some omelets, okay?” She went back into the kitchen.

  Eve followed. She started towards the refrigerator, but Soleil pushed her out of the way.

  “I said I’ll make omelets. I didn’t say that I needed any help from you,” she said through clinched teeth.

  Eve looked towards the living room. “I don’t want to be in there with Mariah and Olivia. I don’t know what to say.”

  Soleil snorted. “How do you think I feel?”

  “Do you really think that your mother has Lucy?”

  Soleil nodded.

  “You think that she is going to kill her, like she tried to kill Mariah.” Eve ran her fingers through her hair.

  “I won’t let her.” Soleil’s eyes appeared to darken.

  Eve could feel the force behind the words. She walked over to Soleil and lightly touched her shoulder. “We won’t let her.”

  Soleil’s hands shook as she mixed the ingredients. “You don’t know what you are saying.”

  Soleil

  The telephone rang again. Eve dropped the cup that she was holding. Soleil dropped the utensil she was holding. Once she heard Mariah speak, she picked up the extension phone in the kitchen.

  “Who is this?” Mariah asked.

  “None of your business.” The voice was electronically altered, but it was still familiar. “This line better not be tapped, or all bets are off.”

  “It’s not tapped. My other daughter picked up the phone. Where is Lucy?”

  “She is safe, for the time being. And I know you only have one daughter.”

  “What do you want?” Mariah’s voice was starting to shake. She also knew who was on the line.

  “If you want to see her alive again, you need to give me $2 million by midnight tomorrow.”

  “I don’t have that kind of money. Lucy doesn’t have that kind of money, either. The will is still being contested.”

  “Get it from whoever is on the other line. Find it somewhere, bitch, if you value your daughter. I’ll call tomorrow at noon to tell you where to leave the money. Or where to pick up the corpse.” The line went dead.

  Soleil put the phone back. Eve had picked up the utensil, rinsed it in the sink, and was finishing the omelet. Soleil ran into the living room.

  “It’s her, Mariah! I know it’s her.”

  Mariah’s whole demeanor had changed. There was a fire in her eyes. She looked at Soleil and nodded. “I’m going to give her the money.”

  “No! Don’t do it, Mariah!” She ran over to her and knelt beside her in the chair. “Don’t let her do this to you, to us.”

  “Faith has always taken from me. She took Mik, now she wants to take Lucy. I’m going to liquidate all of my assets. Lieberman will take care of it.”

  “Are you sure there is no other option?” Olivia asked.

  “Don’t do it!” Soleil repeated. Mariah didn’t deserve this.

  She ran upstairs and into Mariah’s room. She opened the drawer she had looked in last night and took out the ring. She put it in her pocket and ran down the stairs and out of the door.

  Mariah ran from the living room. “Soleil, give it back!” she shouted as she headed for the door.

  Soleil wasn’t going to let her do it. “No, not the ring! I’m taking it to my bank right now! You will not do this!”

  Soleil knew what she was going to do after she left the bank. Now she had the means to do it. She gunned the engine and raced down the driveway.

  She saw Mariah in the rear view mirror. She didn’t have much time left.

  Eve

  Eve and Olivia ran to the door. “What’s going on?” Olivia said.

  “Where did Soleil go? What was she talking about?” Eve looked at Mariah.

  “Come on,” Mariah went back into the house and headed up the stairs. Soleil had left a drawer open in the dressing table. There was a letter on the floor. Mariah picked up the letter. On top of the dresser was an empty ring box. She handed the letter to Olivia and sat on the bed.

  Olivia looked at the letter. “This is from Mik.”

  Mariah nodded. “A few months ago, he gave me a ring. An engagement ring. He said he was planning to divorce Sally. He wanted to get married.” She put her head in her hands. “I didn’t accept it, but the day before he died, I got it in the mail along with a letter.”

  Eve sat down next to her. “How did Soleil know about it?”

  “She had the tape from that day. She must have come into my room after we got home this morning.” Mariah’s breath caught. She reached over to the nightstand next to the bed. “Oh, no!” She searched through the bottom drawer of the nightstand.

  Even though she wasn’t familiar with Mariah’s nightstand. Eve knew what she was looking for. It was the same place where she kept hers.

  “It’s gone! Oh, my God, it’s gone! Soleil took my gun. She’s going to kill Faith.”

  Eve jumped up. “If she kills Faith, how will we find Lucy?”

  “We have to stop her.”

  Lucy

  When the large bald man entered the room. Lucy started screaming, even though the tape on her mouth muffled the sound.

  The man laughed and licked his lips. “So you remember me, don’t you?”

  Lucy tried to roll as far away as possible.

  The man smiled and set down a paper shopping bag. “I’m here to take care of you. And get some more of that sweet pussy.”

  No, it couldn’t be happening again. She remembered that voice and that face from the day that Ricky died. She twisted her head and continued to scream.

  Lou came over and slapped her across the head. “Don’t worry, bitch. I’m here to clean you up, not fuck you.” He laughed savagely. “At least not this time.”

  He opened the bag and took out a plastic bottle of water, a plastic bucket and container of pre-moistened towelettes.

  He sniffed the air. “Smells like piss in here.” He took one of the towelettes out of the container and came towards her.

  She tried to roll away and kick him.

  “Quit struggling.” He pushed her on her back and sat on her calves. The towelette covered one beefy hand, which he was slowly inching up her thigh.

  She tried to raise up, but he hit her with his left hand. He took the wipe in his left hand and roughly brushed it against her panties. She continued to struggle and he hit her again.

  He laughed and got up.

  He picked up the water bottle and brought it over to her. “I’m going to take this tape off of your mouth. If you start screaming again, I’m going to kick the shit out of you. Drink the fuckin’ water.”

  She tried to spit at him, but she didn’t have enough saliva. “Get me out of here!”

  “Drink the water, bitch.” He opened the bottle and poured water on her face.

  Her face was starting to swell where he had hit her. “Get away from me.”

  “Drink the water and I will.” He picked up the bucket and threw it towards her. “Here’s your shit bucket.”

  Her shoulders and ankles were swelling. “Can’t you untie me? How can I use the bucket if I’m tied up?”

  He bent down and untied her legs. She tried to stand up and he pushed her down again. She started to scream. He punched her in the face. She could feel something separate in her nose.

  “I told you to shut up.”

  “What is going to happen
to me?”

  “We’ll get some money for your ass, or you die, that’s all.” He looked down at her. “You owe us for that money that you and your brother stole.”

  “I didn’t have any money.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, that’s why your father paid us $50,000.”

  “Who is ‘us’?” Lucy needed to know what was going on.

  “The same ‘us’ that is going to get some money from your mother. Or the same ‘us’ that will finish what we started last time.”

  He started fumbling with his pants. “Don’t you remember last time? Didn’t we have fun? That tight little pussy and that tight little ass—over and over again.” He licked his lips.

  Lucy looked for a way to escape. Lou was backed up against the door, masturbating. She tried to scramble to a standing position while he was distracted. He ran over, grabbed her hair and put her face in his crotch.

  Lou slammed her against the wall and she slid to the floor. He headed to the door and opened it. “See you tomorrow, cunt.”

  Her face was on fire and blood was running from her nose. She started to cry. She was going to die.

  Brad

  “Are you coming with me?” Faith placed the voice-altering device in her handbag.

  “Where are you going?” Brad looked on nervously as Faith added her revolver to her handbag.

  “I’m going to make the call. I don’t want to make it from this phone. Are you coming or not?”

  “No. I’ve got things to do.”

  She looked at him strangely. “Like what, wait for Lou to return with the key so you can visit your little girlfriend? Or should I say your ex-sister-in-law?”

  Brad wanted to answer with a rude comment, but he had work to do. Faith had been acting strangely since the kidnapping and he didn’t want to take any chances, especially when she was armed. “No, I have somewhere to go.” He hoped she would be satisfied with that answer.

  She glared at him and went out the door. Brad watched her get in the old car and pull out into traffic, almost hitting another car.

  Brad had a plan. He couldn’t count on getting his cut of the ransom money for Lucy, as he wasn’t sure Faith actually planned to collect any money. Her actions were becoming more violent. He suspected she planned to kill Lucy, even if Mariah agreed to pay the money. He had to take care of himself. His new target was Sally Fountaine. Once he completed his research, he would be ready to pay a visit to the grieving widow of Mik DeSalle.

  Faith’s apartment was within walking distance of a library. Brad grabbed his jacket and walked out the door. Lou was walking up the steps.

  “Faith’s not there,” he said. Lou had blood on his hands. Brad wondered if it was Lucy’s. The front of his pants was soiled. He wanted to hit him, but he knew he was no match for the brawny thug.

  Lou looked at him. He took keys out of his pocket and threw them at Brad. “Give these to her.” He sneered at Brad. “And tell her I had a little fun.”

  Brad took the keys and put them in his pocket. “Yeah, I’ll tell her.” He let Lou descend the stairs in front of him. He wanted to go out to the storage unit to find out what that goon had done to Lucy, but he had no way to get there. The unit was located in an area filled with abandoned warehouses and was at least ten miles away.

  He’d try to get out there later. As much as he was attracted to Lucy, he was even more attracted to free money.

  At the library Brad looked up the latest information he could find on Sally Fountaine. Her biography described her troubled childhood in rural Ohio, how she became a runaway at age seventeen and how she moved to New York City to take acting lessons. There was no mention of how she had gotten the money to pay for her acting lessons. He also learned she was set to star in a new children’s movie, information that fit in perfectly with his plan. He found out her address from a map of minor stars’ homes. He made a copy of the map to take with him.

  He would need to rent a car. Now he had to figure out how to get to a cheap car rental place. He still had the Visa he got when he was married to Eve, but he was rapidly approaching his limit. He looked in his wallet, but he only had a twenty. Faith hadn’t sent him on any jobs this week, as she was too busy orchestrating the kidnapping.

  Once his plans fell into place, he would get away from Faith DeSalle. Or he would be her next target.

  Soleil

  Soleil couldn’t stop her hands from shaking. “Calm down,” she whispered to herself. She drove to her apartment to get the key for her safe deposit box and change clothes.

  She had found the letter and the box containing the ring when she was rummaging in Mariah’s room looking for the gun. The letter proved that Mik’s statements on the tape were sincere. He had planned to marry Mariah. She knew Mariah would cherish the ring forever, but she would sell it in a minute if it meant she could get Lucy back safely. Soleil wasn’t going to give her that chance. Mariah deserved to keep this last token of Mik’s love, and she was going to make sure it would be available for her.

  At the bank Soleil could barely write her name on the form. At least she had remembered to leave the gun in the car before she went inside of the bank.

  Soleil didn’t have many valuables, but she used the safe deposit box to keep things that were of sentimental value, things she didn’t want Faith to destroy. She had her birth certificate, her high school diploma, the card that recognized her as a registered member of the Cherokee Nation and assorted cards and presents from her father.

  She looked at the ring before she placed it in the box. It was a large diamond in a platinum setting. She had taken it out of the Tiffany box, but it was obviously very expensive. She hoped Mariah would forgive her. When she got the safe deposit box, she had listed Mariah as the only other person able to access it.

  Soleil hoped Mariah would come and retrieve the ring after she was taken to jail.

  She smiled at the bank employee as she left. There was only one thing left for her to do. She had to chose between her sister and her mother. It was an easy choice to make. But she still couldn’t stop the shaking.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lucy

  Lucy couldn’t stop crying. She thought she would never see that face again. She thought the nightmare that happened in San Francisco would remain only in her mind, in her nightmares. But five years later, one of the men who had raped her was back. Why? She could come up with one answer—Faith. She shuddered to think that Faith was behind her brother’s death. But the more she put the pieces together, the more sense it made.

  She moved her hands back and forth, trying to dislodge the ropes. They were digging into her wrists, but she had to get out of here. She knew if that man came back, she would not survive the encounter.

  Her skin crawled where he had touched her. She could still smell his stench in the room. Her stomach turned, but she didn’t have anything in her stomach to throw up.

  She continued to twist her hands. The ropes got looser. She felt the tension give way and watched the ropes fall to the floor. She was free. She took a sip of the water.

  “Help!” She started pounding her shoe on the metal door. “Get me out of here!” Eventually, someone had to hear her. They had to.

  Eve

  Once on the freeway, Mariah darted from lane to lane as she headed towards the Valley. Eve bounced from side to side next to her as Olivia held on to the passenger side door. Lucy had told her that Mariah had once taken a driving course for chauffeurs that taught how to evade other cars and dodge bullets. She knew Mariah would be practicing those skills today. She prayed they wouldn’t be too late. After all they had gone through, it couldn’t end like this.

  Soleil

  The door was open. Faith was expecting someone. Soleil walked into the room. Her heart was pounding. Faith was sitting near the window, looking outside. Soleil drew the gun and pointed it at her mother. Faith’s head turned slowly in her direction. She looked at the gun Soleil held in her hand.

  “Go ahead and shoot, you stupid bit
ch,” she sneered. “That’s the only thing that hasn’t been done to me yet.”

  Soleil looked at her mother. The gun wavered in her hand, but she didn’t put it down.

  “Stop feeling sorry for yourself, cunt. Your life has been like a picnic, compared to mine.” Soleil wanted to erase the sneer from her face. Faith leisurely leaned back in the chair, as if she had all of the time in the world.

  “Picnic, my ass, little girl!” Faith’s eyes narrowed even more than usual. “I had you hooking at twelve. So fuckin’ what! I’ve been hooking all of my life. When I was five, my cousins on the res thought their little nigger cousin was their plaything. I was giving them and their friends blowjobs and hand jobs before I even started school. I went from sucking a bottle to sucking cock.” She laughed bitterly. “On my ninth birthday, they decided I was old enough to fuck, so they took turns, the night after my birthday party. By the time I ran away at twelve, I had been fucked by the whole damn reservation, from my mother’s old boyfriends to my cousins and my teachers. If my father had been around, he would have fucked me, too.”

  Soleil pointed the gun between her mother’s eyes. “What the fuck do you want me to do about it? I ain’t your damn therapist.”

  Faith ignored her. “But I survived. In spite of all that shit, I was beautiful. In some places, that’s all that mattered. I’ve lived my life through my pussy, because that’s all I had to offer. I could barely read or write, but I could give pleasure. I’ve been fucked any way and every way. You name it, I’ve done it.”

  The gun shook in Soleil’s hand. “I don’t care about your life story, bitch!” she shouted.

  Faith looked at her. There was a shadow of her former beauty reflected in her face. “Yes, you do, or you would have pulled that trigger by now.

  “And then I met Mik DeSalle. I knew when I met him that I would marry him. I used every trick I knew to lure him away from that bitch Mariah. And you, Soleil, were the best trick of all. After you were born, he finally left her.”

  She snorted and glanced out the window. “I got his body and his name, but that’s all that I got. I never got his love. Sometimes when he was fucking me, he called out her name. He never stopped loving her. So I figured if I could get him strung out on drugs, he would forget about her. But my plan worked so well that he forgot about everything, including his career.” She shook her head. “He loved you, but he never loved me.”