Broken Serenade (13 page)

   
Megan flushed lightly.

   
“I…I don’t know…”

   
“Not a problem, Miss Smith. I’m not here to judge you. I need as much information as possible. That’s the reason I asked that question.”

   
“I know,” the young woman answered faintly.

   
“I talked to someone from the local TV station. They will be here in just a few minutes. Before the nightly news, every television station across the country will probably be ready to broadcast Tiffany’s picture. And yours, if you choose to. You have the opportunity to make your case public. It’s your choice.”  

   
“I have no words to thank you enough,” Megan said tearfully, extracting from her purse a picture of her little daughter. She touched it lovingly before handing it to the officer. “I will do everything in my power to find Tiffany. My life is meaningless without her.”

   
“She’s a precious child,” the officer confirmed, looking at the photo of a little girl hugging a teddy bear bigger than she was.  

   
The pause that followed lingered long enough to become uncomfortable for both of them. The police officer started to move from one foot to the other. Megan measured him suspiciously. Something just felt wrong.

   
“Is there anything I should know?” she asked confused.

   
“I went through your statement again, and I made some phone calls to California. I need to inform you about a recent homicide.” 

   
Megan’s face turned livid in an instant. She lost her balance. The police officer caught her by the arm.

   
“It’s not Tiffany,” he rushed to comfort her.

   
“Thank God,” she whispered.

   
He opened a file and showed her a picture. Megan gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She stared in horror at a young woman’s naked body. Her left breast seemed to have been removed, and the yellow scarf that covered her summarily was soaked in blood.

   
“Dear God! That is Arlene! Arlene Morgan! They killed her,” she said, her eyes still riveted on that gruesome image.    

   
“I’m sorry,” the cop sighed.

   
“She was my best friend back there. She helped me take Tiffany from the daycare, and she lent me money so many times after I ran away from
The Amazons
. We kept in touch. They killed her because of me, I’m sure of it. God, how am I going to live with that?” the young woman sobbed uncontrollably.     

   
“Now, you shouldn’t jump to conclusions and blame yourself,” the police officer told her softly. “You did what you needed to do for the safety of your child. But maybe you should think a little harder. Give me more names, tell me everything you know regarding this organization,” he encouraged her. “As unimportant as a piece of information could appear to you, it’s good to mention it. Rather let me be the judge of that.”          

CHAPTER 9

   
 
T
imothy Leigh was the only customer in the flower shop at the moment. A woman of his age, but with a waist size double than his, gave him the most welcoming smile.

   
“Good afternoon,” she greeted warmly. “What can I do for you?”

   
“I would like a bouquet of yellow roses; something small, delicate… artistically created… something that would impress a talented and sophisticated woman.” He struggled to explain what he had in mind looking around him for helpful hints.   

   
Willing to please and likely accustomed to clients more difficult than him, the woman at the counter took her time and showed him the flowers, greens, ribbons, and lace that she intended to use. Satisfied, Timothy Leigh accepted with a nod.

   
“So you won’t get bored while I work on your bouquet, you could check out the cards,” she pointed toward the left corner of the window. “There are some beautiful ones with yellow roses,” she suggested.          

   
Docile, Timothy retired to the cards’ aisle. Even though he knew that he would not buy any. He did find a few particularly funny ones that easily put a smile on his freshly shaved face. However, he could not stop the amalgam of unleashed thoughts that galloped wildly in his mind. The profoundly unsettling dilemma was that, for the first time in his life, he found himself strongly attracted to two women at the same time. That afternoon, the unexpected appearance of Vivien had created chaos into the perfect calm of his love life. Now he almost wished that the piano teacher would be old, wrinkled, and mean.
And hopefully she possesses a huge, hooked nose,
he prayed. That would have simplified the problem considerably. 

   
What he had felt for Vivien that afternoon had been unique: that raw, almost painful desire to touch her, to enter her and her soul forcefully, if there were no other possible way. He could have made love to her madly without even knowing her name. That was definitely against his rules and practice! He had been an inch from raping her, and that scared him the most. Only her eyes had stopped him. Fifteen years back, holding the same tearful image, it was those eyes that had caused his broken heart to flutter with joy for an eternal instant. In those gorgeous eyes, he had seen
love
for the first time in his life. It had come to him in the form of the unconditional, pure, sincere, and deep affection of an eight-year-old girl scandalously and inappropriately in love with a twenty-one-year-old man.
Did she come now to take her revenge for the fact that I refused her childish marriage proposal then?
  The mere thought made him laugh inwardly. Strange, but he had not seen a shadow of hate in those superb blue eyes earlier that afternoon. Moreover, they seemed to have the same confusing expression now, as if the years had passed in vain, unable to change her feelings for him.
Is she still in love with me?
It was too much to entertain such a daring but equally delightful thought. A single thing intrigued him.
What the hell drove her to write me such dirty emails?
The vulgarity of those messages was not fit for her. She was so fine, so delicate. She was so beautiful and sexy that he ached for her right that moment.  

     Timothy
arrived five minutes earlier and parked behind the piano teacher’s Lexus. As the distance between his forefinger and her doorbell diminished, he was tempted to give up. He would rather call his secretary and try to locate Vivien as soon as possible. That very instant he realized that, actually, it didn’t matter how the piano teacher looked like. That little Vee evolved into a woman had suddenly captured his interest, his heart. But as he took a step backwards, ready to leave, the door opened, and Vivien appeared before him like coming out of his daydream. The shock paralyzed him. He stood there speechless, as his eyes savored her sweet, delicate features and the diaphanous smile that fainted too fast. Fortunately, she seemed as surprised as he was. However, she recovered before him.  

   
“
You
? Again?” She frowned and slammed the door in his face. “God, you’re hard to get rid of!”

   
“Vivien,” he called her through the closed door, awkwardly holding the flower bouquet. “Let me in, and let’s have a civilized discussion. For God’s sake, we are two adults now!”

   
“Only two hours ago, you tried to rape me. What makes you think that you’ll ever have the chance to cross my doorstep?”

    “Firstly, I wasn’t going to rape you.
I was going to make love to you. And I thought you liked it. I still do.”

    “Please don’t!”

    “Second, I don’t need to rape women. They consider me very attractive, believe me…”

    “I got it! Modesty has nothing to do with you!”

    “And third, if you let me in, I promise, I swear to God that I will not as much as touch you. Even though, a welcoming hug would not hurt anyone…”

   
Her tone grew patronizing.

   
“I want you to leave immediately, and please don’t make a scene here if you have an inch of respect for me. I have no time for jokes or useless excuses. I’m expecting a piano student. He could be here any minute now.” 

   
“I am your student, Vee. Although, I can teach you a few things too. Things that have nothing to do with piano, or cooking…” He leaned on the doorframe and moaned erotically. “Anyway, I am the one who left the envelope by your door last night, right after you burned the cinnamon rolls,” he said smiling. “And I’m not here to apologize for anything. I liked our meeting. I loved it! I don’t remember ever enjoying something so much! You can burn me on a stake, pull my fingernails out, torture me Spanish Inquisition style, and yet, I would not take it back. I don’t regret a second of it, Vee.”  

   
Vivien cracked open the door and addressed him, maintaining her initial belligerent attitude.   

   
“Are you saying that, last night, you stepped on my property without my permission? What would you say if I have
welcomed
you the way you’ve done it with me?”  

    The instant she finished the last sentence
she realized that she had not chosen the right words and her remark would ricochet. Whatever she had had in her blurred mind had come out wrong. His reply was frustratingly predictable.  

   
“Oh, my dear Vee,” he said beaming. “There is nothing I want more. If you desire to sexually assault me, you have my utmost support.” 

   
Exasperated, Vivien groaned in vexation and attempted to retire again inside the house. Timothy caught the door handle.   

   
“Vee,” he spoke seriously now, “I only want to talk to you. Let’s discuss your… your business, for example. I’m not kidding now. I need you to give me one hour from your time dedicated to piano lessons. I just want to sit on a chair in the same room with you and listen to you as you play the piano. Tell me how much you charge per hour, and I will pay you ten times… or a hundred times that amount! Even more if necessary! Seeing how much you seem to dislike me, I understand the effort and sacrifice on your part, and I’m open to negotiation.”   

   
Vivien turned to him. She fixed him with her big blue eyes that had steel brightness at that moment. She seemed to consider his business proposal.  

   
“After what happened at your house this afternoon, how could I ever trust you?”

   
He held up his right hand the way he would have done it in front of a judiciary court.

   
“I give you my word of honor. I swear I won’t even touch you…” He paused for a couple of seconds and then finished his thought: “…against your will, that is.”

   
“Very well,” she said, all-business
,
even though he sensed warm liquid-joy behind the magic frost of her blue gaze. “You have one hour every day from 4PM to 5PM. If you’re late, it’s from your time. Present the payment at the end of every week. Thirty-five dollars per hour, not a penny more, not a penny less. You may choose whatever you want me to play for you.”  

   
He gave his approval with a quick node and an almost obscenely satisfied smile.

   
“May I come in now?”

   
Vivien pondered the answer. His soulful gaze pleaded with her.

   
“If you behave…”

   
She opened the door widely and invited him into the living room where she had the piano. As he stepped inside, he handed her the bouquet.

   
“If I knew you were the piano teacher, the roses would have been undoubtedly red. A very intense red…”

    “Thank you.
Timeo danaos et dona ferentes
,” she whispered taking the flowers.

    “
Roman poet Virgil,
Aeneid
.
I fear the Greeks, even those bearing gifts
,” he translated. “You shouldn’t fear me, Vee. Ever,” he said, in a romantic tone.

   
Vivien did not comment on his reply. She only treated him with a suspicious look.
Yellow roses, yellow scarf
, she thought, confused, as she entered her kitchen. Timothy’s presence was a threat to her defenses. She felt like floating, unsure of her own reflexes. His stare burned her skin; her face seemed on fire, and her heart beat like a drum.    

   
Still holding the bouquet, Vivien returned to the living room with a porcelain vase. She put the vase on the piano and proceeded to arrange the roses in it. He remained by her side.

   
“I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that you and the piano teacher are one and the same person,” Timothy confessed, hugging every curve of her body with his hungry eyes. “Wow! You’re a wonderful hostess, Vee. I believe these are for me,” he said, noticing the sophisticated cookies on a delicate glass plate on the piano. A couple of edible pansy flowers and a few mint leaves gave them an artistic presentation.