Page 18 of Symphony for Lies (Tangled Truths #2)

I woke up with a strange feeling in my stomach, still unsettled after replying to Mrs. Cole’s message about what happened at school. I had chosen to ignore the part where she brought up Zane; I had no intention of responding to that. She had not replied either, which was perfectly fine with me.

Every interaction with the woman was deeply uncomfortable. I didn’t understand why she hired me if she clearly disliked me. It made no sense.

“You look distracted,” my grandmother murmured, studying my face.

I tightened my grip around my cup, staring into the dark liquid. “I-I think Zane likes me.”

For a second, she just blinked at me before she suddenly burst into laughter.

My cheeks warmed. “What? Why are you laughing?”

“Oh, sweetheart. I thought you were completely oblivious about things like that. I’m surprised you even noticed.”

“I’m not oblivious! I just… I just don’t want to assume anything.”

She gave me an amused look, shaking her head.

“Besides, I find it hard to believe.”

“And why is that?”

I swallowed, trying to find the right words.

“We haven’t known each other for long. And I know he’s seen me with Tristan.

I can’t help but feel like maybe he’s just doing this to mess with him.

But last night, he said something that made me think otherwise.

” I let out a deep breath. “Everything is just… happening all at once. It’s overwhelming. ”

Grandma gave me a knowing smile. “Since when has love ever been logical?”

“Love?”

“Love, attraction, desire. It never makes sense. If you try to analyze it, you’ll drive yourself insane.”

The whole concept felt foreign to me. “You might be right, Grandma. But we’re completely different, even if he does like me.”

“Well, what do you want?”

What do I want?I chewed on my bottom lip. “I just… I just want—”

“Don’t rush to a decision. Take your time.”

“I’ll think about it,” I agreed softly.

My grandmother studied me for another moment before nodding. “Trust your gut, Amelia.”

Even at work, Grandma’s words echoed in my mind like a song stuck on repeat.

I had to force myself to focus on trimming a Dalmatian’s nails. The dog’s owner was in the room with us, gently whispering praise to keep him calm. The dog would have been too anxious to sit still without her presence.

“You did so well, Rex,” she cooed as I finished the last paw.

I carefully collected blood samples from the dog’s hind leg, rewarding him with a treat when he remained relaxed.

“Thank you so much,” the woman said, effortlessly lifting her large Dalmatian into her arms. Despite being so petite, she carried him easily, radiating pure affection for her fur baby.

“You’re welcome. Rex was a champ today.”

Before she left, I handed her an information sheet prepared by Linda. It contained emergency instructions in case of poisoning, something we had been giving out frequently.

She thanked me again before stepping out.

I sighed, gathering up the blood samples to send to the lab and preparing the area for the next patient.

The day had been filled with routine checkups, with no new poisoning cases.

I didn’t know if I should have felt relieved or if it was just the calm before the storm. After all, I had seen a mutilated dog and a hand the night before.

A sick feeling coiled in my stomach. Had the poor thing been poisoned before being—? I couldn’t finish the thought. I hoped none of the victims had suffered too much before their deaths.

Even poisoning was a slow, painful way to go.

Exhaling shakily, I crouched to restock needles and vials from the cabinet.

That’s when I noticed something off. Several packs were missing.

An uneasy chill crept up my spine.

I pulled out my notebook and quickly jotted down the remaining supplies to compare with the inventory list later.

It wasn’t uncommon for some supplies to go missing, but I had just refilled the stock the day prior. There shouldn’t have been so many gone already.

What if the killer had been in the clinic?

What would they even need syringes for? What would they do with the vials?

Images flashed through my mind. Dark, horrifying possibilities I immediately shook away.

Shutting the cabinet, I made a mental note to watch it. If it continued, I’d bring it up with the others.

As I straightened up, the next patient arrived for a nail trim.

After my shift, I grabbed my bag, ready to leave.

“Amelia, you’ve been looking really stressed lately,” Rita said.Her gray eyes studied my face, visibly concerned.

“I-I’ve just had a lot on my mind,” I admitted. “But I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You know you can talk to me about anything.”

That was true, but there were some things I wasn’t ready to voice.“I think the poisoning cases are getting to me.”

“They’re getting to all of us. What bothers me is that the police haven’t found a suspect. Maybe they’re not taking it seriously enough.”

I frowned. “I hope they are. Anyone who does this to animals shouldn’t be walking free.”

Rita’s lips pressed into a thin line. “And if they’re doing this to animals, what’s stopping them from doing it to people? A second murder case was published in today’s paper. It’s getting more and more bizarre.”

I hadn’t seen the article yet. “I don’t know…” I murmured, unable to form an honest answer.

“No one really does,” she admitted. “All I know is that something is wrong in this town.” She ran a trembling hand through her hair.

“Rita, are you okay?”

She hesitated before pulling a small note from her pocket. “I found this taped to your locker. ”

My stomach dropped.

“It’s not your handwriting, is it?”

I took the note, unfolding it with shaky fingers.

On one side were musical notes; on the other, written in eerie, careful handwriting was a disturbing message.

Some songs last forever. Others end in the middle of their melody. How will yours end?

P.S. Will you find me?

My fingers curled tightly around the paper, my breath coming out quick and harsh. Everything around me felt like it was spinning. The letters on the page seemed to wrap and twist as my pulse pounded in my ears.

Rita gripped my arms tightly. “Amelia, what does that mean?”

I glanced down at the note again. My throat felt dry, and for a long moment, I couldn’t find the right words to say. “When did you find this note?”

My coworker shifted uncomfortably. “I was the first one here this morning, and it was already taped on your locker. At first, I wasn’t sure if I should show you. Maybe it’s a prank, you know? But... I have the feeling you need to see it.” Her voice was rushed, laced with nerves.

I bit my lip.It couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Thanks for telling me. But don’t worry. As you said, it’s probably just a silly prank.”

“If you say so…” She didn’t sound convinced at all but didn’t press further. “Do you need a ride home?”

I shook my head. “No. I have something to take care of first.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

I nodded and gave her a forced smile.

She stared at me for a long time and eventually sent me a reluctant nod before walking out of the room.

Turning on my heel, I went straight to my locker to scan my things for anything out of place.

Nothing. Just my work uniform and a few personal items. Everything was exactly where it should be.

I let out a slow, shaky breath, pressing my palm against the cold metal.

The note…

Had the killer really been in the clinic?

When?

And, more importantly, why did I get the note?

A sick feeling twisted in my gut. I wasn’t ready to analyze the message’s meaning.

“Will you find me?” I recited under my breath.

Pulling out my phone, I quickly typed a message to Spencer and attached a picture of the note.

He wasn’t online. I didn’t expect an immediate response, but just knowing someone would take the situation seriously made me feel slightly less alone.

Still, the unease didn’t fade.

I sat there, curled up against the lockers, my mind tangled in too many thoughts to make sense of them.

After a long moment, I looked at the music notes again.

It was a short, repeating sequence: E, G, A, F, E.

A scale, and not a random one. My brain began to decode it, mapping each letter to its place in the alphabet.

E was five. G was seven. A was one. F was six. E again.

That gave me the sequence: five, seven, one, six, five.

If I shifted them by a cipher I’d learned as a child, it spelled out something else.

“I’ll see you…”

My blood ran cold.

“…in my next performance...”

The note slipped from my fingers, and my whole body shivered.

The killer… knows me. And he was here. There was no denying it.

I forced myself to stand.

I needed to tell Linda.

She was typing away at her computer in her office, looking even more exhausted than usual. When she noticed me, she didn’t stop typing but acknowledged my presence with a slight nod.

“Sorry to interrupt. But I need to report something.”

I exhaled shakily before I explained the note and my suspicion that someone had broken into the clinic.

Linda stopped typing in an instant, her brows pulling together in concern. “We have security cameras.”

I nodded.

“We installed new ones recently. Let’s check the footage.”

I followed her down the hall to the security office. Jeff wasn’t there, but my boss had full access to the surveillance system.

At exactly eight p.m. on the footage, every single camera cut to black for fifteen minutes.Then, all the cameras flickered back to life.

My stomach dropped.

It wasn’t an error. Someone had hacked the feed.

Linda slumped in the office chair, rubbing her temples.“This is bad. A lot of weird things have been happening lately. And now this? Someone was here. That settles it. I’m hiring security.” She turned to me. “We also need to report this to the police.”

“I already did,” I admitted.

“Good. But please be careful.”

“I will.”

She stayed behind to take notes while I headed for the exit.

Before I could leave, Robert practically jumped out of his chair.“Amelia! Hold up!”