Page 44 of Symphony for Lies

The fact that the killer was still out there left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth.

Days passed, and things seemed to settle down a little, at least on the surface.

My tutoring sessions had become more exhausting. The kids were preparing for their exams, which made things even more intense.

In a strange turn of events, Zane showed up more often to pick up his younger brother, and he tried to start a conversation with me each time, but I kept my distance.

It wasn’t just because he made me uncomfortable. It was his family. The Cole household had become a place I wanted to avoid. Whenever I tutored Simon at his home, I got caught up in his parents’ arguments.

His mother was still against him attending the group tutoring and wanted me to confirm her beliefs.

But I couldn’t do that.

Simon had transformed. He was making friends and looked happier, more like a child.I refused to take that away from him. Of course, I tried not to get too involved with the family drama, but I still did what I could for Simon.

Three weeks after the funeral, on a quiet Thursday, I took my lunch break in the clinic’s staff room.

I was alone, sipping my hot coffee, when a knock at the door interrupted my peace.

“Yeah?” I called out.

The door opened. I expected one of my colleagues to walk in, but my stomach dropped when I saw Officer Wilson.

He was in uniform. A dark blue-black uniform, crisp and intimidating, and his duty belt was strapped around his waist. In one hand, he held a black briefcase.

Wilson’s expression was tired as he said, “Sorry to interrupt your break.” He stepped inside, closing the door behind him.“Can I sit?”

I nodded.

His aftershave hit me immediately. It was a sharp, clean scent mixed with something masculine and dark.

“I hate to bother you at work, but I have something important to discuss.”

My entire body tensed. Something about his tone made me uneasy.“Officer Wilson, did something happen…? Did I do something wrong?”

He lifted a brow, then shook his head. “Let’s just go with Spencer. And no, you haven’t done anything wrong, Amelia.” He placed the briefcase on the table, unlocking it with a soft click. But before he opened it, his eyes flicked back to me.“I was going to call you first to give you a heads-up… But I decided this was better in person.”

My fingers curled around my mug as my pulse picked up speed. The way he was dragging the whole thing out was making it worse.

But then he finally opened the case and pulled out several sheets of paper.“This might be an uncomfortable subject for you.”

I pushed my food aside and braced myself.“Spencer, please. Just tell me.”

“You mentioned before that the sheet music at the crime scene… might contain a hidden message, right?”

“Oh… yeah… I thought so… though I didn’t see what was on it.” My voice was barely above a whisper.

Spencer let me gather my thoughts.And when I was sure my voice wouldn’t shake, I spoke carefully, “But, yes. I did say that.”

“Yesterday, we found another body. A new victim.”

My stomach dropped.

“This time, the body was found at an intersection.”

A lump formed in my throat as Spencer placed a single page on the table between us.“There were more sheet music pages left at the scene.”

I couldn’t breathe.

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