6

Harmony turned back toward the stairs and smiled to herself. At first glance James was a frightening example of a man. Once they got to talking she found him to be complex and interesting. The life he had shared with John, the loss of his parents, it all made sense to her how their lives had turned out so differently. She would never understand why John had kept it from her but she hoped James would help fill in the missing half of the life she had never known about. She hesitated to go upstairs after what she had been told and decided to return to the den to see what information she could dig up.

Harmony sat down in the plush leather chair and pushed the power button on the computer. She ran her hand across the smooth laminate top of the desk as her hand moved down to pull open the desk drawer. She found them to be locked and thought it to be odd that the only key she had gotten was for the front door. Deciding to ignore it until later, she watched as the computer finished loading on the screen.

The desk top was void of icons. Harmony looked through the start menu and loaded the documents folder. Inside she found dated spread sheets. Curiously, she opened the most recent document dated a month ago. It seemed to take forever to load but at last she realized that she was looking at an itemized financial statement.

As she read over the details, one popped out at her. It was a large donation to her shelter. The same donation amount she received once a year since the first anonymous amount had come to her giving her the money she needed to start up her business.

It had been John all along. Harmony sat back in the chair completely stunned. It wasn't until the phone rang that she was startled out of one state of shock into another. She stared at the black phone on the desk as it rang again. Hesitating to answer it, finally she picked it up on the third ring.

"Prichard estate, how can I help you?" she asked.

"I was hoping you'd still be there."

"James, you scared the crap out of me." She exclaimed.

"I'm sorry." He replied. "I just came to the realization when I got to the airport."

"Oh yea? What realization is that?" she asked.

"That I had no idea how to contact you except by this number." He chuckled.

"That is very true." She smiled.

"I figured you wouldn't want to stay in a strangers house. So I was hoping to get your number or at least give you mine." He stated.

"sounds reasonable, my number is 555 6612." She said

"Mines 555 0118,"

"Got it, was there anything else?" she asked.

"Oh, my mind is filled with unanswered questions but if I don't get settled in for makeup I'll be late getting on stage. So can I have a rain check?" he asked.

"Of course, don't want to keep your fans waiting." She laughed.

"Take care Harm," he said.

"You too James." She hung up the phone.

Harmony leaned back in the chair and stared absently at the computer screen. She admitted to herself, as she closed the documents that she had opened, that it did feel weird being in the house alone. She almost felt like she was a child that was snooping through her parent's things while they weren't looking. At any moment she would be caught red handed. She shut down the computer picked up her purse and made her way out into the foyer.

Harmony glanced up the ominous looking staircase that ended in a shroud of darkness. She looked around for a light switch. When she pushed the button on the wall, the chandelier glowed brightly chasing away the shadows and whatever lurked in thereof. She climbed the stairs one at a time, concentrating on her breathing. When she reached the top she found another light switch that illuminated the hall.

To Harmony's left was a balcony. It had the same decorated wood railing as the stairs and held a few potted plants that had weaved their way in between the rails. A hook on the wall held the end of a chain that was attached to the chandelier. She guessed that it was used to raise and lower it for cleaning. The square shaped hallway held four doors. She chose the one just before her on the right of the hallway and pushed open the door.

As Harmony stepped inside, she knew immediately that it was the master bedroom. Within her direct line of sight was the bathroom. The rest of the room was empty of all things other than the maroon carpet and matching drapes. She shivered with the knowledge that the police had taken the evidence away and it had never been replaced.

Harmony left the room with haste and tried the next door across from the stairwell. She pushed the door open to find pale green carpet, forest green walls and a large four post bed covered in a comforter also in a shade of green. On the walls were shelves lined with nick knack collectables and a desk with a simple black lamp sat on the far wall by the closet. Pictures were hung next to soccer trophies of the winning day. As she gazed upon them she realized she was in John's room.

On the nightstand sat an old cd player and a stack of music CDs were beside it. Harmony wondered for a moment if he had been in this room recently. A tear fell down her cheek in remembrance. There were pieces of him, of who he was before she knew him. She wished that they had more time, wished that she had gotten to know all of who he was, and desired to learn everything she could while she had the chance.

Harmony didn't want to look any further. She could guess that James room was the last door to look in anyways. She felt odd invading his privacy. He was after all, a stranger to her even if he was Johns little brother. She threw her purse on the floor next to John's bed and curled up on top of the covers. She then pressed the power button on the cd player, loaded in the first cd she picked up, and pressed play.

As the haunting music played, and the low growl of the lead singers voice escaped the speakers, Harmony read the cd book biography and lyrics to herself.

Cyanide Overdose started out as a four member garage band in 2005. The high school friends included lead singer Seth Monroe, lead guitarist James Prichard, bassist Ethan Cross, and drummer Cary Woods. In 2007 the band signed with Corrupt Records, where they picked up their fifth member, pianist Michael Lane.

Harmony read on to see that they had a website with tour dates. She flipped through pages of photographs and lyrics then put the booklet back on the nightstand. She lay back closed her eyes and just listened to the music as it drowned out the lonely silence. The lyrics and melody seemed to fit her depression quite well as she listened on.

"You will see me as none have before, tonight I will lead you straight through death's door."