Page 12 of Shadow of Hope
[Dm] [C] [B?]
In the darkness whispers fall,
[ B?] [C] [D]
I’ve found you again, now heed my call,
[F] [A] [E]
Turn yourself in and don’t you bail,
[Dm] [C] [B?]
Or in the stillness, nightmares will prevail.
He shot his gaze to hers. “Care to explain this?”
She waved a hand. “It’s nothing. Just a silly prank from one of my fellow orchestra players. We do things like this all the time.”
No way. “Doesn’t sound like a prank. Sounds like a threat.”
“No. Nothing like that.”
“I’m not buying it. This is a threat, plain and simple, and it’s my job to protect you while in my class. If you’re in danger I need to know about it.”
Jamal came around the corner. He and the others joined them.
She quickly shoved the paper into her pack.
Jamal frowned down at them. “We were waiting at the campsite.”
The others trudged behind, looking tired and ready for dinner.
“He told us to meet him at the river.” Kari’s leg jerked. “Fish! I got a fish.”
She started reeling the line in hand-over-hand. He had to let go of the threat for now, but as soon as they’d had dinner and settled down by the fire, he would take her aside and insist on knowing who was threatening her and why.
She may not realize it yet, but that note had likely been left in her pack since she’d arrived in their compound or she would’ve discovered it sooner. If so, that meant the person threatening her life was part of their group and could strike when she least expected it, unleashing that nightmare he spoke of in the song.
4
Ava finished KP Duty and could barely keep from squirming under Micha’s scrutiny. He didn’t bother hiding the fact that he was watching her. Questioning her with every look and putting pressure on her to be more forthright with him. If possible, his concern seemed to ramp up as time went on.
But so what if she was uncomfortable under his watchful eye? She had to stay vigilant. Keep quiet. She was talking about her life here. It could very well depend on keeping her secret to herself. And if not her life, her freedom from prison.
She could—must—handle this on her own.
That’s the way you like your personal life, right? All alone.
Besides, she had an idea how to figure out who’d left the message. She’d given it nonstop thought, and two things seemed to be true. She’d hummed the song. It was a pretty good melody, although haunting, and the sender of the message probably possessed music knowledge. That message hadn’t been in her pack last night when she’d filled it for today. The person who added it had to be in this group or one of the staff members.
And she was positive the song was connected to Holly. Holly possessed a strong music background, teaching piano as her main job and playing as a guest artist with many orchestras. Music was one of the areas Ava and Holly had bonded. It would be too coincidental if it weren’t connected.
Ava ruled out the staff for now and would start with the five men who’d joined her class, but she had to keep in mind that Layne could’ve given the message to whoever placed it in her pack. He wasn’t into music. Not at all. Holly had tried to teach him piano and encouraged getting involved in music, but he had zero interest and refused to practice piano or the trumpet, which he’d started lessons at one point.
Ava hung up the dishtowel and started for the firepit they’d built with scavenged rocks. She dropped onto a log. Time for operationFerret Out The Threat.
“We don’t see many females at these kinds of immersion classes.” That condescending tone Jamal seemed to use often was alive and well in his voice.
