Page 12 of Tell Me Your Lies

Head reeling with the implications of what I’m seeing, I take a photograph of the song with my phone. My mind is in overdrive as I head back to my room. Did the song “Black Valentine” make one of Linc’s fans murder someone just to get famous—or was Linc involved? Did Lucas have any part in writing the lyrics to the song—is this why he is so troubled? These facts I need to discover. The mystery surrounding the death of the poor woman and the song could be a crucial hook for the book. I don’t want to be disturbed and I shut my door and lock it before sitting down in front of my laptop. I feed information into the search engine and wait. To my surprise, there’s not as much media coverage as I imagined. One report mentions the naked homicide victim had a heart carved into her chest and the bed was covered in red rose petals. The room had been wiped clean and the cops had nothing to go on.

I need more information and scroll down the page of the dwindling news articles. I find an article with the headline: Murder victim named. My heart pounds as I read and re-read the name of the victim: Rachel Stackhouse. It was my mother. Is it possible? Could it be her—if so, why would she be the person in Linc’s mind when he wrote the song?

I pull out my phone and enlarge the image to read the lyrics. My blood runs cold.

She lies so still now, not a hair out of place.

Her blood a crimson confession in satin decay.

A heart carved in silence, no scream, no goodbye,

Just rose petals spilled where the truth came to die.

I scroll back through the articles and search for the exact date of the murder. There’s no doubt Linc released the song a few days before she died—or was it a blueprint for murder?

SEVENTEEN

My mind is in a spin. So many things are happening, it’s difficult for me to keep track. Everything seems to be connected and it’s as if I’m a piece on a chessboard being moved from one place to the other under the control of destiny. I run each incident through my mind and, reaching for a pen, make a list. The trigger for everything that’s happened to me came about the day I discovered I’d been adopted. The reasons at the time had been sketchy but since discovering the truth it’s been a domino effect. It makes me wonder if my adopted father Sam is involved, mainly because he put me in this position. He recommended me as the ghostwriter of Isabelle’s memoirs. Did he know she had been there the night I was born, giving birth to Mia? Sam and Willow would have gone to the hospital to collect me, and maybe the nurse there told them about having a celebrity at the hospital during the hurricane? Did my father assume that I’d discover my mother’s name? Does he know I have a brother, who is just like our dad?

My parents live in a close community. Sam is the go-to plastic surgeon for everyone around here. He would have heard about the murder after the release of “Black Valentine” and as a frequent visitor to the house did he see the title on the sheet music and make the link? I know he used the information about attending the victim of the shooting and not reporting it to gain leverage to get me the job. He knows I’m like a dog with a bone when it comes to searching for the truth. I’m wondering now if he sent me here to see the crossed-out title on “Black Valentine,” so I’ll hunt down what really happened. Sam knows a ton of things about this family and patient-doctor confidentiality only goes one way. Is he concerned that if Isabelle suspects he knows something about my mother’s murder, she might use the fact he didn’t report the gunshot wound to blackmail him into silence?

I don’t trust Sam any longer as he lied to me all my life. How long will it be before he approaches me to discover if I’ve gotten any information about Linc or the other members of his entourage who might be responsible for Rachel’s death? If I prove they were involved, will Sam ask me to keep it a secret so he can keep the information up his sleeve as a trump card, to prevent Isabelle from talking to the cops about the shooting?

I need to speak to Linc. The moment I step from my room I hear the piano downstairs and head in that direction. I find Linc sitting at the piano, playing, and Lucas adding an incredible riff. Linc stops, stands and scribbles something on a sheet of paper. As Lucas continues as if in a world of his own, I stand in the doorway enthralled. The music seems to curl around the room, the notes telling their own story of sorrow and loss. He stops playing when he sees me. I lift my chin and smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“You’re not.” Linc flashes a white smile at me. “In fact, I need an opinion on these lyrics. They’re not finished yet.” He meets my gaze. “Do you mind?”

It’s strange but I feel relaxed as I join them—as if it’s normal. “I’d love to hear them.”

“Thanks.” Linc nods to Lucas.

“She lay on the deck, in a crimson cloud,

No one had seen her, the night wore a shroud.

Whispers of vengeance still hang in the air,

The blade cut deep—no mercy, no prayer.”

“I wrote the second verse.” Lucas plays as Linc sings.

“Her screams went unnoticed, the truth left to rot,

A promise broken, a crime never forgot.

Steel kissed her neck, and took her fame,

Now ghosts of the guilty will carry her name.”

“Now the chorus, something like…” Linc nods at Lucas.

“Blood on the tide, the silence won’t break,

Secrets are held by the choices we make.

Screams in the dark, the truth is a lie,

Her name is a curse that will echo through time.”