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JULY CHALLENGE
When the Songbird Cries, Part Two
Redemption
Sleep never came.
By dawn, the aromas of broken wood and stale cigarette smoke were all Vince could smell, clinging to his coat, lingering everywhere. Like the guilty conscience he carried with him, the piano key sat in his pocket, smooth to the touch every time he reached for another smoke.
He’d been doing this work for twenty-plus years now, and in that time had developed an ability to recognize messages from frightened people. This message, this key, didn’t come from that source.
Not from someone who was frightened.
But from someone who wanted him to be.
Bellant had escalated. And he was done with asking politely.
Finished.
It was time to find Evelyn and not leave her side until this was over.
He found her later that afternoon in the club rehearsing for that night’s set. The Blue Canary wouldn’t be open for several hours, so she was alone.
No music.
No audience.
Just an attractive woman in an expensive dress sitting on a piano with one dim light above her. Radiant even in the din of the club.
