20

Harmony woke up to the most annoying banging sound she ever could have imagined. She looked out the window toward where the sound was coming from. There was a truck lumbering up the beach drive pulling a trailer with a large sail boat behind it. With a defeated sigh she went and got dressed and then headed downstairs to see what the commotion was about.

Consuela stood in the doorway attempting to explain to the officer that Harmony was not up for company. The officer was being insistent and looked up eagerly as she came down the stairs.

"I got this. Would you get us some coffee please?" Harmony said as she walked up to them.

"Yes missus Harmony." Consuela replied and dashed off to the kitchen.

"Please come in officer." She said as she directed him to the sitting room.

"Connors, thank you Miss Pond." Officer Connors said as he took a seat in the chair.

"What brings you out here on a lazy Sunday morning?" she asked as she stretched out on the couch.

"We're returning the last of the personal property belonging to Mr. Prichard." Officer Connors replied as Consuela returned with their coffee.

"Ah yes, the sail boat you woke me up with." She smiled. "Thank you Consuela."

"Yes madam. We finished our investigation yesterday." Officer Connors replied.

"What did you find?" she asked.

"The boat was located not far from where Mr. Prichard's body was discovered. It appears that he suffered from some sort of accident that rendered him unconscious." Officer Connors explained.

"He fell overboard and was tangled up in the kelp bed before the tide washed him up on the shore."

"I see." Harmony replied.

"Yes, the forensic evidence supports this conclusion." Officer Connors stated.

"Thank you for coming to tell me in person Officer Connors. I won't take up any more of your time." Harmony replied.

"You can have them put the boat back in the boat house on your way out."

"Yes, of course Miss Pond. Thank you for your time." Officer Connors stated as she stood and excused himself.

As Consuela showed Officer Connors to the door Harmony made her way into the kitchen. She poured herself another cup of coffee and watched as they put the boat into the water. She wondered what the hell she would need it for. It all seemed like more junk turned up every day. She sighed wondering if the meds were making her irritable.

Harmony had no idea what she was going to do with her day. It was too early to call James. He had been up half the night at another concert. She had spent the evening with Karen and as much fun as that was she wasn't ready to do it again. She put her coffee cup in the sink and made her way back upstairs. There was a lot she had been neglecting to do. As bored as she was already, she intended to do something. First on her list was going through John's personal items that had been returned.

The keys Harmony knew went to the office desk, doors for the house, and the other house they had shared together. His car was missing and the keys for it were no longer on the ring. She wondered what had come of it as she looked through his wallet. Inside was a receipt for pick up at the jewelers. She assumed whatever it was in the box was worth the six grand total on the receipt. Along with that, she found the bill of sale for the car which struck her as odd.

Tears formed in Harmony's eyes when she looked too long at Johns driver's license picture. She threw the wallet back on the dresser and picked up the tiny box. She wondered for an instant how they fit that much money in that small of a package. Her curiosity got the better of her. She opened the box and instantly wished that she hadn't.

John was going to tell Harmony everything. He was finally going to ask for her hand in marriage. All he had to do was come home and everything would have been different. Harmony burst into tears. As they fell they soaked the diamond ring and the box before it fell from her hands. She just wanted to curl up and die. Wishing it would all go away she fell back onto the bed and hid under the pillow for the rest of the day. When James called that afternoon she answered it only to ask one question.

"You said when we met that you just found out about me over dinner that night. What did he say James?" harmony asked.

"It's not important now Harm." He replied sadly.

"I saw the god damned ring James." She nearly shouted.

"So what." He shouted back. "Yes he told me that he found someone wonderful. He even told me he wanted to marry you and tell you everything. Honestly, I was a bit jealous considering how much my life sucks."

He took a deep breath and continued, "What's it matter now? He's gone and he's not coming back."

Harmony was shocked at his rage. "You're right." She finally admitted.

"What he did, lying to you from the beginning, was a horrible thing Harm. The last words I spoke to my brother were in anger and that's something I have to live with." He admitted.

"He really fucked both of us didn't he?" she sighed.

"Yep," he answered.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"I know, me too." He replied. "You alright now?" He asked.

"For a little while." She laughed. "I'm sure something will kick me in the teeth again before this week is over."

"Don't get your hopes up." He laughed.

"I'll try not to." She replied. "You coming home this week?" she asked.

"Probably not. We have some promo crap with the record company and the new album to finish recording in between concerts this next month." He said.

"It's always something." She admitted.

"It sure is." He chuckled. "Good luck this week with your animals though." He said.

"Thanks." She replied.

"You sure you're ok?" he asked again.

"I'm fine." She reached for her pill bottles.

"Call me tomorrow?" she asked.

"Ok rest well Harm." He said.

"Night James." She hung up.