Page 106 of The Sound of Harmony

ChapterTwenty-Nine

Emma parked her truck on Cricket Lane, and she and Gwendolyn stood on Kendrick’s porch. Even as she knocked, she could tell he wasn’t home. There was a stillness about his house, a silence deeper than that of someone home-but-hiding.

“Now what?” Gwendolyn asked.

“I still have my key.” Emma opened her purse. She’d brought her Coach bag today for luck.

“Should you?” Gwendolyn asked.

“We’ve gone far beyond should.” Emma unlocked the door and opened it. “Either Kendrick is going to be happy to see me or he’s not, and letting myself into his house isn’t going to be the issue.”

“Holy cow,” Gwendolyn said when they walked in. She pivoted in a slow circle, taking in all the changes since the estate sale. “You did some magic here, sis.”

“Not the point.” Emma led Gwendolyn to the sitting room where the piano waited.

“But that is the point,” Gwendolyn said. “He’s been on his own for a week, and nothing is out of place. It’s like you’ve found another you.”

Emma had also noticed that the yard was empty—no realtor’s sign. She’d made too many assumptions, and gotten too much wrong about Kendrick.

Kendrick’s computer was open on top of the piano, and she was surprised to see an ongoing Skype call. The camera looked into a sunny yellow kitchen with white cabinetry and countertops. Odd. Why would Kendrick Skype an empty room? Who did that? Then she spotted a small note propped up where the camera could see it. You left the connection open, Dummkopf. She shook her head, unable to make sense of it.

The other computer window was open to Sibelius, Kendrick’s music notation software. She scanned through the unnamed composition, shocked at the similarities to her own piece. But that was a discussion for later. For now, she sat Gwendolyn at Kendrick’s piano and asked her to play through the song one more time. “I’m worried about that middle part,” she said.

“Hello? Hello?” came a voice from the computer.

Emma and Gwendolyn both yelped. Then Emma recognized Ben Oberfield’s face looking back at them. So that was his kitchen? Thoughts swirled in Emma’s head like a confusing modern dance number. Why was Ben on Kendrick’s computer when Kendrick wasn’t home?

“Oh, is he back?” asked the woman beside Ben.

“Not Kendrick,” Ben told her. “It’s Emma.”

“Emma?” the woman asked. “Emma is there? Without him?”

“What is going on?” Emma asked.

Ben held up a hand. “Let me start by explaining that I’m not Swiss.”

“I know you’re not Swiss! Why are you on Skype with an empty room? Where’s Kendrick?”

“Out looking for you,” Ben said.

Emma gasped. Kendrick was out looking for her? Why didn’t he just call? She fumbled for her phone and only then remembered that she’d blocked his number. What if he’d tried to call her but she didn’t pick up?

“He wrote you a song,” Ben explained. “He was in such a hurry to leave, he left the connection open.”

“You didn’t end the call?” Emma asked.

Ben sat back in his chair, a smug smile on his face. “I wanted to see how long it would take him to realize it.”

Kendrick jumped out of the Lyft and stumbled up the steps of the public library. He opened the door just as Brooke was coming out of it. She gave a small yelp, then swatted his shoulder. “What are you doing here? And what happened to you?”

“What? Oh, this. Gardening accident.” He held up his scratched hands, hoping she wouldn’t ask why they were bruised as well as scraped, or about the mark on his cheek the shape of Mitch’s knuckles. “I’m trying to find Emma.”

“Emma?” Brooke wrinkled her nose. “I thought—never mind what I thought. She’s not here.”

“I know that, but—”

“Have you tried your house? I talked to her about half an hour ago. She was on her way there.”