Page 48 of Symphony for Lies

His mother was happy? I was genuinely surprised.

She had given me the cold shoulder for weeks, and I had gone out of my way to avoid her. Honestly, I had assumed she was upset with me for giving Simon things she disapproved of.

“Thank you, Simon. I’ll look through your notes, and we’ll talk about them next time.”

Beaming, he nodded and took Jade’s hand.“We’ll see you later, Amelia! Have a wonderful evening.”

I waved as they left, then looked down at the papers on my desk. There was a summary of the book and a few questions he had come up with on his own.

My smile faded as I read the last note.Does wanting to live your own life make you a bad person?

I swallowed hard, running my fingers over the words before slowly gathering the paper.

Thoughts swirled through my mind… Thoughts I couldn’t quite sort out.

My eyes wandered around the empty classroom. The setting sun cast a warm glow over the chalkboard, but the silence felt heavy instead of comforting.

I sighed tiredly as I pulled my phone from my bag, scrolling through my unread messages.

One from Spencer stood out.It had been left unread, waiting for me to open it.

Something about reading his message alone in a classroom didn’t feel right. But my curiosity was too overwhelming to ignore…

With trembling hands, I pulled out a notebook and pen before opening the chat.

Officer Wilson:

Hey, Amelia.I recorded the chimes and took pictures of the poles. You were right.There are numbers on them.

I scanned through the pictures before playing the file, and to my relief, Spencer hadn’t filmed the entire crime scene. Still, some things stood out, things that reminded me of the pavilion.

The aster petals tinged with deep blue and crimson, the wind chimes hanging from poles that should have been carrying electricity, and the streetlamp at the intersection where a single, hollow wind chime dangled.

I switched to the audio.

Melodic tones filled the empty classroom, each note echoing through me, and my heartbeat became irregular as I jotted down the sequence.

D, G, A, F.

I paused, rewinding the recording. Something wasn’t right.

“This doesn’t make any sense, I murmured, keeping my eyes fixed on the notes. I flipped them around and tried to rearrange them into a message, yet nothing clicked.

The door cracked open, and my fingers fumbled the phone as I paused the recording.

“Are you always this tense?”

“Zane?” My voice came out hoarse, and I swallowed quickly.

The smirk on his lips deepened.

The man was tall to begin with, but with me seated, his presence loomed over me. And the scent of his rich, dark, and intoxicating cologne seeped into the air between us.

Wait. Whyishe even here?

I forced my gaze away from his imposing figure dressed in jeans and a loose-fitting black sweater, but my chair spun sharply, turning me directly toward him again.

“Done staring?” he teased.

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