Beautiful Girls (20 page)

^{Oh boy!
It could be an innocent statement, but I wasn't sure.}

^{While I was thinking, I couldn't control myself. My eyes made their way up her legs. I was uncomfortable. I guessed it showed because when I remade eye contact with her, she winked at me. She also grabbed the blanket on the back of the sofa and wrapped herself in it.}

^{I recovered enough to say, “Would you like to talk?”}

^{“Sure, what about?”}

^{“Let's talk more about your story; yours and Melody's, OK?”}

^{“OK, where should I begin?”}

^{“At the beginning.”}

 

^{Sunday, October 24, 2004}

^{Harmony Pima had not met Rob Nealy. Nor had she met Edie McCall, Sid Gabriel, Bambi Deer Gabriel or Tawny Gabriel. She'd never been to any mountain cabin above Tucson. She'd never been to Beverly Hills. She'd only been to Los Angeles twice; once for the beaches and the other time to see Disneyland and other sights.}

^{The twins had lived in foster homes in and around Phoenix and Tucson. She counted five homes over their first fifteen years. She talked briefly about the abuse and neglect in these homes. Neither twin had been sexually assaulted, but they saw their “fosters” do drugs, alcohol and were witness to and were the subjects of violence. They spent their last three years in the Arizona foster care system at Sunset Ranch, an orphanage located in the northeast part of Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, at the edge of the desert.}

^{Harmony said, “By this point, Melody and I counted the months until we would be free. The ranch was very nice. The people were friendly and all, and we were able to go to a real high school, but it was still an orphanage. I wish I had Melody's optimism; she always makes the best of things in life. She sees the silver lining. I guess I see the dark clouds. I am not and was not clinically depressed. I was just sad that life had dealt us this hand. I am a realist, I guess.}

^{“Melody knew I was unhappy; no, it was different from that, she knew I wanted more out of life. I wanted to go to college and wanted to get married and have a family. I guess I wanted a normal life. I guessed it could not all happen. Most of all, I needed to get away from the orphan life. So, Melody agreed we would start our new life when we turned eighteen.}

^{“Only the ranch counselor seemed to understand us. She helped us get our high school diplomas and found us our first jobs and apartments. I wanted to come to Las Vegas because it was booming and the glamour appealed to me. Melody liked the idea too, so that is what we did. We took any jobs we could find, except stripping or being a prostitute. We worked hard, and saved and set our goals – getting this condo and two cars. We are still saving for our future, not that we can save a lot each month, but we are still doing it.”}

^{“You two have come a long way and done very well. You should be proud.”}

^{“Thanks, but now this has happened.”}

^{I took a sip of my water and said, “Let me ask you this, in all the years in the foster homes and at the camp, did you ever see or hear from your real parents?”}

^{“No. All I ever learned is that our parents were not married, that our mother could not keep us and that our father was now dead.”}

^{“Who told you that?”}

^{“The counselor at the ranch, Sister Carrie, told us we were literally left on the doorstep of Child Services in Tucson. No one knew our parents. She showed me our paperwork and it had ‘Parents Unknown' written on it.”}

^{The two words that started us down the path to solving this case had almost sailed by me. I had nearly asked my next question that would have led us away from the answer. Instead, I caught myself.}

^{“Who told you that?”}

^{“The ranch's counselor, Sister Carrie.”}

^{“I thought that's what you said.”}

^{“I did. What is wrong, Stevie?”}

^{“Is that photo in the bathroom hall from your ranch days?”}

^{“Yes, I keep it to remind me of how unhappy I felt.”}

^{“It looks it. Wait a minute…”}

^{I got up, walked to that hall, and looked at that photo again. I turned on the overhead light.}

^{“Of course!”}

^{Harmony had followed me.}

^{She said, “Of course, what?”}

^{I pointed to the woman in the photo.}

^{“Is that Sister Carrie?”}

^{“Yes, it is.”}

^{“When was that taken?”}

^{“The first year at the orphanage.”}

^{“So, that's about eight years ago?”}

^{“That is correct.”}

^{“We just found the connection between you and Rob Nealy and Edie.”}

^{“We did?”}

^{“Yes, let me explain.”}

^{She said, “OK. Let me get us a new bottle of water first. I get the impression this is going to take some time.”}

^{A half hour later I had explained everything I knew about Sister Carrie. Harmony had heard that Carrie was now working at a soup kitchen in Tucson. I told her I saw her there two days earlier. Neither of the twins had seen her in the past five years.}

^{While I told Harmony what I knew, I was thinking about what I didn't know. I had removed the photograph from the wall. It was lying on the marble coffee table facing me. I kept glancing down at it. Sister Carrie stood center front surrounded by fifteen children. The twins were on either side of her. She had her arms over their shoulders.}

^{Then, another epiphany struck; Melody had the same color hair as Carrie. Melody also had her smile. Harmony had Carrie's eyes and nose. Both twins had her chin.}

^{“Oh my God!”}

^{“What's the matter, Stevie?”}

^{“Look closely at the photo, at Sister Carrie and you two.”}

^{“OK, why?”}

^{“You both look like her.”}

^{“No, I do not. I have black hair and hers is red.”}

^{I cited the matching facial features.}

^{“Oh, Stevie, you are making a wild guess.”}

^{“Plus, look how she has her arms on your shoulders. She's holding you two with pride; a mother or aunt's pride.”}

^{“Stop saying that! It cannot be!”}

^{Harmony began to cry. I moved closer to her. I put my arms around her waist. She put her head on my shoulder and cried some more.}

^{I said, “This is tough talk. I apologize. You're right, I don't know for sure. I am guessing. I'm trying to figure this out. I'm sorry that I jumped to a rash conclusion.”}

^{Her reply surprised me. “I accept your apology. However, what you concluded makes sense. All of a sudden all these memories of times with Sister Carrie take on a different perspective. It is very disconcerting.”}

^{“That's one word for it. By the way, who gave you this photo?”}

^{She looked into my eyes and whispered, “Sister Carrie.”}

^{She turned, looked down into her lap, and said, “We need to speak to her soon.”}

^{“I agree; after we rescue Melody.”}

^{“Yes, that is the highest priority. I am so scared, scared for Melody, especially.”}

^{“I am too.”}

^{“As I said earlier, she is stronger than me. I do not know if I could survive what is happening to her.”}

^{“You're stronger than you think, Harmony.”}

^{“I am not.”}

^{“You are keeping calm and helping me, believe me.”}

^{“It is taking all my self control to do so.”}

^{“Yes, but you are doing it.”}

^{“I am because you are here. I would have broken down if you were not.”}

^{I was about to say another soothing statement, but I paused. I was seeing her anxiety and sensed the measure of it. My words would be inadequate. I turned and hugged Harmony. She did break down; she had her head on my shoulder and she collapsed against me.}

^{I let her cry it out. Minutes went by.}

^{She finally whispered, “I don't know how I would live without Melody. She's all I have.”}

^{I noticed in times of high stress like this that Harmony dropped out of her formal manner of speaking.}

^{I said, “Don't think that. We will find her and rescue her.”}

^{“What if that crazy man stops us?”}

^{“We won't give up. He knows I won't stop looking.”}

^{“We are blessed to have you, Stevie.”}

^{“Will you pray with me, Harmony?”}

^{“Yes, but, please let me say it.”}

^{I said, “Oh, sure, go ahead.”}

^{“Let us pray. Dear Lord, please watch over Melody. Keep her safe. Help us find her. Deliver us from this evil man. We do this all in your son's name. Amen.”}

^{“Amen. That was beautiful, Harmony.”}

^{“Thank you.”}

^{It was after one o'clock in the morning.}

^{Harmony said, “I am ready for bed. Good night, Stevie.”}

^{“Good night, Harmony.”}

^{Happily, the night ended with a last hug.}

 

 

^{The aroma of freshly brewed coffee woke me. It was Sunday morning. Harmony was sitting on a stool by the kitchen counter eating her granola. I sat up in bed and said good morning.}

^{“Good morning, Stevie. Did I wake you? I tried to be very quiet.”}

^{“No, you were quiet. It was the smells of the coffee that did it.”}

^{“Oh, I am sorry. The coffee is ready. Would you like a cup?”}

^{“Please.”}

^{Harmony got off her stool and poured me a large cupful. Then, she brought it to my sofa bed and sat next to me. She gave me a quick kiss and said softly, “You are helping me to like men again.”}

^{“Really?”}

^“Yes.”

^{“I'm glad, Harmony.”}

^{“Thank you.”}

^{She put her hands on my left hand and gave it a squeeze. I could see it was 8:30 on her living room clock.}

^{She asked, “Would you like some granola, too?”}

^{“Sure, in a few minutes. Let's talk about our day first.”}

^“OK.”

^{“We should get to the golf course before noon, don't you think?”}

^{“That is a good idea.”}

^{“I'll call Edie and Lomita before then. I think those calls will be brief.”}

^{I paused a moment. This beautiful, damaged, young woman, who was somehow related to my fiancée, happily waited patiently for my next statement.}

^{I asked, “Are you ready for today?”}

^{“I think so.”}

^{“It's the final day of clues. If Rob was telling the truth we have two more steps on our tour. I have no idea where or what the grand finale will be.”}

^{“I agree.”}

^{“We need to be careful, even more than yesterday.”}

^“Yes.”

^{“Here's the thing, Harmony. After the golf course, I want the police to be with us at the final location.”}

^{She looked worried and didn't speak.}

^{“What I mean is I want them there, but I'd like them to be discreet, maybe in plain clothes. Because I think Rob may plan something special, something bad for the last stop.”}

^“Oh.”

^{“I know. I just want you to be aware. Please don't do anything to provoke him. Please follow my directions or the police's, OK?”}

^{“I will do anything you say.”}

^{“The key is to rescue Mel and to keep you safe. That's what I must do.”}

^{“I love that you are so caring.”}

^{“I want to tell you something else, but before I do, I need you to be very alert today. If you see anything; Rob, Mel, some danger, anything unusual, especially if I don't see it, please tell me immediately. I need your extra set of eyes. Any and all help is welcomed, OK?”}

^{“Yes, I will help as I can.”}

^{“Wonderful.”}

^{“Stevie, would you like your breakfast now?”}

^{“Yes, that'd be great.”}

^{Harmony stood up, and went to and fro to the kitchen as she made my cereal and refreshed my coffee. As she did, I got several glimpses of her bare behind under her nightgown. I don't think it was an intentional act on her part. The nightgown was too short and her movements too quick to keep herself covered.}

^{I looked but didn't stare and, most important, I didn't react.}

^{When she brought my coffee and sat back down on the sofa bed, she said, “What else did you want to tell me?”}

^{“You know, going back to our conversation last night, about Sister Carrie. She was Edie's mother's first cousin. I mean, we will figure out the connection between you and Carrie. With your resemblance to Edie, it's probable you are related. You and Mel could be part of our family. I probably shouldn't have said all this, but, my instincts or my feelings made me do it. I guess it just makes me feel more protective to Mel and you. I don't know. I just wanted to say that. Time will tell.”}

^{“I am glad you did. I hope there is that connection. We do not have any family.”}

^{“Now, Edie doesn't have much either.”}

^{“I would love to have you in my life, Stevie. You would help me so much more.”}

^{I took my shower first as Harmony had said she wanted to exercise. When I walked out of the bathroom she was on a mat in the midst of a yoga-like stretching position following the instruction of a soothing feminine voice on the TV. She looked catlike in a tight black leotard. Her loose head of hair and her twisted movement had her face nearly covered. I winked at her. She blew some of her hair from her face and winked back. I smiled and walked in to Mel's bedroom.}

^{I made my calls. Edie said that she had finalized plans for Bambi's cremation. Tawny wanted her mother's ashes spread in the garden of the mansion. That would happen when we could all be together again in Beverly Hills.}

^{Edie also told me they were going back to Palm Springs to shop. She decided to buy a new, simpler dress for our wedding that she saw the day before. She would save her original dress for Tawny or our daughter.}

^{Afterwards, I thought,
Daughter? Somebody wants more than one child!}

^{Edie said, “Stevie, I'm trying to keep busy, but my thoughts and prayers are always with you and the twins. Please call me whenever something happens, regardless of the time.”}

^{I promised I would.}

^{When I finished speaking to Edie, I walked back to the living room to find Harmony praying. Her yoga video was over and she had her head and arms on the couch.}

^{She looked at me and said, “Stevie, would you join me in prayer?”}

^{I said yes and did.}

^{Her sweet, peaceful thoughts were of her sister and me. After she said Amen, Harmony looked at me and said, “I am not going to change clothes, I do not want to take the time. I will shower when we get back.”}

^“OK.”

^{She got up, walked to her bedroom and grabbed her sneakers. As she put them on she said, “I know the way to the golf course.”}

^{“You do?”}

^{“Yes, I looked it up on the internet while you took your shower.”}

^{“Good, thank you.”}