3

It was a quiet day at the shelter. By quiet, Harmony meant no emergencies. Dogs howled in need of exorcise, cats whined for attention, but once the feeding and running was out of the way she found herself with some down time in her office. It was already four in the afternoon. With three hours left to go on her shift she dialed johns number and listened to it ring.

Harmony hung up when she heard the voice mail message. She never bothered leaving one knowing he never checked it. John always called when he promised he would. So she went back into the kennels and supervised the cleaning, double checked animals for wounds, allergies and fleas, then contently locked up at seven that evening. On the way home she picked up a pizza and a bottle of wine then parked on the couch to wait out the night.

Harmony woke up with a stiff neck. She realized then that she had passed out on the couch. She pushed herself up and checked the clock, shocked to find that it was almost seven. She checked the bedroom and found it empty. John hadn't been home yet. She was more shocked than surprised when she checked her phone and found that he hadn't called either. When she tried to call him it went straight to voice mail. She left a message anyways.

"Hey love it's me. You've got me a bit worried. I'm headed to work but call me as soon as you get this. I love you." She hung up and headed for the shower.

The phone never rang and there were no messages for harmony at the shelter. Dread crept into her mind as she forced herself to make her rounds. Three adoptions later she hid in her office with her head on the desk in prayer. Why wouldn't john just pick up his phone? He had never gone this long without calling. Something had to be wrong.

At the end of the day harmony raced home. There was still no sign of john. No messages on the machine or on her cell phone either. She didn't bother getting changed. Instead she got back into her car and drove to the county police department. She waited there for the better part of an hour before she finally got to speak with an officer. She blurted out half sentences until she was silenced.

"Let's start with your name." the thin balding man stated professionally.

"Harmony Pond." She replied.

"The nature of the complaint?" he asked.

"My boyfriend hasn't come home or called. He's been gone since yesterday morning."

"And his name is?" the man continued as he took notes.

"John Prichard." She replied.

The officer dropped the pen and stared at harmony. Her skin tingled as if she knew what he was about to say.

"You need to come with me Miss Pond." He stood slowly.

"I'm sorry, have I done something wrong?" she asked confused.

"It's best if we not speak of it right here. So if you'll just follow me." He pointed toward the long hallway.

Harmony's heart nearly stopped from the ferocious pounding. As the officer led the way toward a large glass encased office at the end of the hall another man exited. If she wasn't already terrified she could have screamed. His hair was dark purple, shaved underneath. His skin was ghostly pale with black eyeliner around bright silver eyes. His face was covered in piercings. The last thing she noticed as he passed them by with a cold stare was his painted black fingernails. Chains attached to his black clothes rattled behind her as the office door closed her off from the frightening man.

"Miss Pond, please have a seat." The officer stated as the man on the other side of the desk shuffled a few papers.

"I'm not sure what's going on." She whimpered as she took a seat.

"There's no easy way to tell you this." The man across the desk began.

"We were in the process of tracking you down when you came to us." He continued.

"What is it?" harmony asked, her hands shaking violently.

"John Prichard is dead."

"No, are you certain?" tears formed in her eyes.

"Yes, he was found, washed up on the beach. His brother James came in and verified that it was indeed him. We're so sorry for your loss."

"How did it happen?" she choked out in-between sobs.

"We're still looking into that. It might take some time." He replied soothingly.

"I want to see him." She wiped away the tears.

"We can't let you until after the autopsy. It's best if you just go home and we'll call you as soon as we know something."

"Alright, thank you." She stood up still trembling slightly, and made her way out into the night.

Harmony drove home without shedding a single tear. The shock of loosing john numbed her to the idea that she should feel something. When she got home she sat down in her chair and stared at the wall. She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until the phone rang, waking her up from her dream.

"Hello," she said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Miss Pond, my name is Emanuel Vasquez." The man spoke.

"What can I do for you this morning, Mr. Vasquez?" Harmony asked.

"I am the Prichard family attorney. I was hoping to meet with you this afternoon regarding John Prichard's will." He replied, her voice caught in her throat.

"Miss Pond?"

"Yes, I'm here, sorry." She said at last.

"I know this is a difficult time for you." Mr. Vasquez stated.

"A bit," she nearly wept.

"Mr. Prichard put several things in place to make it easier. It's not something we can discuss over the phone. Will one o'clock be alright? I have his brother coming at that time." He asked.

"I'll have to make some calls but I'm sure I can be there at one." She replied.

"Very good, we'll see you then." Mr. Vasquez stated as he hung up.

Harmony couldn't be sure that she really did have that conversation. John had an attorney? It seemed implausible. He hadn't even had a steady job in five years. How could he afford an attorney? She tried to push it out of her mind as she called into work.

"I was expecting you Harm," her friend Karen said as she picked up the phone.

"It's been kind of a fucked up day Karen." Harmony sighed into the phone.

"We have things covered here. You take as much time as you need." She replied.

"Thanks, I'll call you when I know something." Harmony said and hung up the phone.