Page 5 of Symphony for Lies

“What a shame… but…! I heard Zane will be making a guest appearance on Friday!” Her eyes gleamed with excitement. “And apparently, Tristan Lane is upset about it because now he has competition again.”

“Oh… wait! So, if Zane is taking over the gallery, does that mean he’s quitting music?”

“That’s what people are saying…” Grandma leans in conspiratorially. “So, if you still want to impress him, we’re dressing up on Friday and getting tickets!” She jumped up and clapped her hands. “I noticed he has been staring at you! Oh! I made you a dress! I want you to wear it! Zane will love it.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Grandma! I don’t have a crush on him! And he surely won’t notice me. There’ll be so many people there.”

But it was useless trying to convince her. Grandma was utterly convinced that Zane had taken an interest in me. She tended to exaggerate everything––but I loved her too much to let it bother me.

“Oh… that reminds me! I got tickets from Tristan.”

My grandmother’s clapping stopped instantly, her expression shifting into an unimpressed frown. “Himagain?” She sighed, “I don’t know why, but I don’t like that guy.”

I grinned. “I don’t get it. Why don’t you like him? He’s a bit better than Zane, isn’t he?”

She clicked her tongue and wagged a finger. “Let me tell you something. Those blue eyes? They mean trouble. Too attractive.”

I wasn’t sure if she meant it as a compliment or an insult, but one thing was clear, she strongly disliked Tristan. Even in the past, she didn’t want me to spend too much time with him.

Chuckling, I got up, gathered the dishes, and washed them. Afterward, I joined my grandmother in the living room to watch her favorite soap opera. She had probably watched the episode a hundred times before but still gasped and clutched her chest as if it were her first time.

At some point, she turned to me and asked about my day.

But I lied. I didn’t want to scare her. And I definitely didn’t want her worrying about the recent pet poisoning cases.

When my lids grew heavy, I wished her goodnight and headed upstairs to my room, where I collapsed into bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

Chapter 3

My ringtone ripped me from sleep like ice-cold water to the face. It felt like I had barely rested an hour. My eyes burned with exhaustion, begging to close again, but Linda’s voice echoed over the line.

The police interrogation was scheduled for today, and she had specifically asked me to be there to help explain the unusual patterns in the poisonings. So, I pushed past the fatigue and went to the clinic.When I arrived, Linda stood in front of the cabinet, her face white from shock.

“Rica…” Her voice trembled. “...is gone.”

I blinked in confusion. “What?”

Besides Linda, I had been one of the first to arrive because we were supposed to prepare the cat for the police. Even though the cause of death was already confirmed, they still wanted to take her to examine the body.

But all of the storage units were empty.

A cold shiver crawled down my spine.

I stepped closer, opening one compartment. Another. Then, a third. Nothing.

“How is this possible?”

I knew, without a doubt, that I had placed Rica inside the first compartment. I had locked it. No one outside of the staff had access to this room. How could that cat have vanished?

She was dead. She couldn’t have just gotten up and walked away.

Linda’s phone rang, and she answered it quickly. After a few seconds, her expression darkened.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered, rubbing her forehead as she hung up. “The police canceled. They won’t be here until tomorrow.”

The uneasy feeling in my stomach only grew stronger.

“Check the surveillance system,” she instructed. “Someone must have taken the cat out of the compartment.”