Haunting Melody
Page 25
“Of course!”
Briley rose and reached into the backpack he’d dumped on the window seat. He pulled out a piece of sheet music and handed it to me.
“How sweet! It’s "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody." An old copy. Even has the illustration of the Follies girl on the front.”
“Look closer.”
I did. Then I started to cry as I read the words, “To Nevin, my best beau. Love, Melody. June 1919.”
“It’s the copy I gave Nevin that day during dress rehearsal, when we were in the alley!”
Briley’s tone grew softer. “The day I knew I’d fallen for you. Just didn’t want to admit it or admit that you were the one who made me realize I needed to go on with my life whether I found Frank or not.”
I looked deep into his eyes. “And I didn’t realize you were falling for me then, but I definitely remember that day. Heck, why wouldn’t we? It was only a few weeks ago!”
“Well, I didn’t get a chance to do anything about changing my life 1919, but are you ready for this? I just got accepted to NYU-Polytech so I can finish getting my degree in Engineering. I don't understand how my courses transferred from nearly a hundred years ago but they did. I thought I’d have a terrible time getting in without the credentials the majority of the students have, but someone vouched for me.”
“That’s great! Do you know who or why?”
He grinned. “Word is a Mrs. Donovan Winthorp told the head of the Engineering Department if he didn’t take me she’d hex him and every generation after him. It did the trick.”
“Yowzer. She truly is a witch. I’m still not sure if she’s a good one or a bad one, but it looks like we owe her for getting us together, so I’d have to lean on the side of good. Okay. Jump back to your arrival in this century. Narrative only. Neither of us needs to do any more time jumping. So, you were housed and fed in Memphis? When did you get to New York and why didn’t you tell me you were here?”
“Apparently this whole time-travel thing isn’t logical. Not that it’s logical anyway but it doesn’t seem to correlate with the time one spends in an alternate time. If that makes sense?”
“Sure. I was in 1919 for three weeks yet it was the same night I left that I got back. I’m getting a headache even trying to figure that one out. So?”
“I stayed in Memphis about a month and tried to find out where you were without alarming anyone down there. I got up to speed on the 21st Century in a hurry thanks to Nevin and his buddies who had great fun searching that Internet gizmo trying to discover the current whereabouts of Melody Flynn. Not to mention the guys also helped falsify a few personal records I needed to live without getting hauled into jailed in this era. They also discovered you'd recently moved from another apartment in Greenwich Village."
“You must have landed in Memphis about three weeks before I was having all the ghost stuff happening here. The first time around.”
He looked confused. “Ghost stuff?”
“Don’t ask. It still confuses me - and I lived it. Go on.”
“Well, I decided to come up and see if I could find you. I got to New York a couple of nights ago when I remembered you’d said something about the rooming house being in the same spot as your apartment. I came by and didn’t see Flynn name listed on the mailboxes. Or Fiona Belle’s either.”
“New York. Apparently supers are notorious for not putting new tenants names up until years have passed. Sorry, I’m interrupting again.”
He leaned over and kissed me. “Interrupt all you like. The rest is simple. I started jogging around the neighborhood late at all hours. I thought if you were anywhere near here you might see me. Crazy.”
“Not so crazy. It worked.”
I sat straight up. “My God! Briley, I saw you and Duffy a couple of nights ago. Three weeks ago in 1919 time. Forget that. Let’s just say the night I met Fiona Belle. You were jogging with the pup and I watched y’all in the rain. I felt drawn to you even then.”
“It appears you were meant to travel back in time to meet me. It’s all a circle.”
I grimaced. “That’s why Fiona Belle gave me the song "Circle of Life" from The Lion King. Wanted to prove that point. Little stinker.”
“We should see if we can find her. We do owe her thanks for getting us together. Besides, I’d love some real answers about all this time traveling business.”
“I’ve tried knocking on her apartment door all day. No luck so far. There’s not a sound coming from inside either.”
He checked his watch. “Four a.m. Isn’t that the time you told me you first met her?”
“It is.”
We left the dogs in the apartment, sleeping soundly flopped all over each other. We headed downstairs and knocked on Apartment 313. Loudly. Repeatedly. No answer. I tried the doorknob. It opened. Briley and I entered the apartment without shame.
“Gone.”
“What?”
“Everything. Fiona Belle’s entire kitchen. The Elvis memorabilia. The furniture. The Warhols and the Degas. The show posters. The Egyptian bust of King Tut. Her table dripping with bacon for Lucy. Everything. What could have happened?”
I was near tears. Briley held me for a moment then inhaled sharply. He let me go and scooped up something that had been neatly placed on the counter of what had been the kitchen. A framed picture.
We left the dark apartment and stood under the light in the hall. I peered over Briley’s shoulder and we both stared down at the photo in a silver frame.
Twelve young ladies were posed around a large staircase on a stage. I knew them very well. I’d danced with these girls only days ago. Mary De Luca sat on one of the steps, smiling shyly into the camera. Saree Goldman sat one step below her, laughing. Standing to Saree’s right was a tall, “exotic-looking” redhead named Melody Flynn. The picture showed her gazing off into the wings, sending waves of love toward a man who stared back at her.
The photograph was labeled. “The Thirteenth Edition Ziegfeld Follies. June 1919.”
A cranberry stain dotted the top corner.
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About the Author
Flo Fitzpatrick is a multi-published author of romantic suspense,
paranormal romance and mystery, plus numerous short stories and
non-fiction articles. Her 2005 Kensington release, Hot Stuff was nominated by RTBookReviews for Best Romantic Suspense and is currently under option for film.
Flo's background includes a Masters in Theate and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. When she’s not writing (or giving online workshops), she’s teaching Dance and Theatre.
Discover other titles by Flo Fitzpatrick at http://www.amazon.com
Official website: www.flofitzpatrick.com
Connect with me online at www.facebook.com/flofitz