The plot thickens. Harmony
allows the darkness in. It can’t be helped. A law abiding man, detective Price
is forced into a difficult situation. Why won’t his heart let this woman go?
She seems like more trouble than she’s worth. But as things unfold and he starts
to discover a dark secret, his loyalties begin waver.
Harmony. Who is she really?
The amazing surgeon has a past that is so dark she believes only God can deal
with. But for now, the devil is on the throne!
Excerpt
Chapter One
Focused
Harmony
had no choice but to focus. She scrubbed in and barged into the operating room.
‘What
do we have?’ she asked.
‘Ruptured
appendix! Too late for keyhole surgery. We need your expert hands on this one,’
said a surgeon.
She
was in. Harmony became the doctor, the surgeon. There was no time to focus on
the look on Derek’s face, no time to justify the tears she’d shed! Peritonitis
had occurred, and the appendix had already formed a huge mass.
‘Lord
Almighty!’ She couldn’t believe the patient had waited this long. Had there
been no early warning sign?
‘My
words exactly!’ said the surgeon.
They
worked fast, the mans abdominal was packed. Harmony did her best to make sure
the man didn’t die on her. She couldn’t deal with that today. It took a while,
but finally everything was under control.
‘That
was close,’ she said. ‘Could you close up?’ She asked the other surgeon.
‘Sure
thing.’ He could tell there was something on her mind.
Harmony
left the O.R feeling victorious and defeated at the same time. It was always
great to save a life, give good news to a family, but she’d lost Derek. It
seemed that way. It hadn’t been part of the plan. Harmony hadn’t expected to fall
for him. It had just happened, and now she was left feeling alone.
****
Bumping
into Harmony had hit him! It was so unexpected. She was supposed to be at a
school teaching children. But instead, she was saving lives. Why couldn’t she
just tell him the truth? Why had she hidden that important part of information
from him! It hurt! Online dating had taken its toil on him, were there any
women who were honest online these days? The world had gone crazy, people lied,
they wanted instant gratification. Was he doomed to be single for the rest of
his life? The thought shattered him. It was a hopeless case.
He
tried to put Harmony to the back of his mind and concentrate on the work ahead.
It was a relief the women had been found. At least that was good news. He
waited until the doctors were done checking them over. He’d spoken to Yasmina
to give an update, she was briefing the chief. The chief was happy and could address
the media with confidence.
Derek
stepped into Rose’s room. The colour had come back to her face, but looked
tired.
‘Miss
Armstrong, I’m detective Price. Is it okay if I ask you some questions?’
She
nodded. He pulled a seat up towards the bed and sat down.
‘I’m
sorry for what you went through. If anything is too hard to answer, you don’t have
to answer it. If you’d rather speak to a female instead, I can arrange that for
you.’
‘I’m
fine thanks,’ she said.
‘Okay,
great. I need to find out about the man who took you. He’s gone missing.’
She
gazed at him, but there was no change in her face.
‘When
was the last time you saw him?’
‘I’m
not sure. I was in and out of sleep. My body felt so weak.’
‘I
understand. Did he say or do anything specific? Do you know why he held you
hostage?’
‘He
held us to paint us.’
‘Paint
you?’
‘Yes,
paint me, capture me into a picture.’ She welled up as the thoughts about the
days spent in that bedroom hit her.
‘It’s
okay. Are you okay to continue?’
She
sniffed and nodded. ‘He was crazy. He kept going on about how he wanted to
capture our beauty. He had some theory we’d be kept young forever.’
‘That
sounds bizarre.’
‘Yes
I know. I think he wanted to sell the picture.’
‘To
who?’
‘I’m
not sure. But I’m sure he wanted to do that. All I know was that he was missing
a third woman to complete his picture.’
Derek
thought about Harmony.
‘I
know he planned dates with her, but he never came back with her, and each time
he came back empty handed it infuriated him.’ A tear drizzled down her cheek.
‘Do
you have a name? Do you know who he dated?’
‘No,
he never mentioned a name. He did however say she was tougher, than us. I was a
fool.’
‘No
you weren’t, you were just too trusting. Believe me, I’ve done that myself.
It’s not you who’s done wrong, it’s the other person, always remember that.’
She
nodded. ‘I just should’ve been more aware. I’m not happy that I fell for his
charm.’
‘Please
don’t blame yourself. You’re safe now.’
‘Yes
I am.’
‘Could
you describe him?’
‘Erm…’
She sniffed. ‘About six foot four, dark hair, blue eyes.’
‘Okay,
any distinctive marks?’
‘Not
that I noticed.’
‘Okay,
this is helpful.’
He
asked her a few more questions and then her parents arrived. The joy in their
eyes was a sight to treasure. He left them and went to see Zara.
Zara
said more or less the same things as Rose.
‘Do
you know what kind of woman he was looking for? Was there any pattern to his
painting?’
‘I
don’t know. I was too scared to know anything.’
‘I
understand. This has been very helpful.’
He
left her and decided it was best to go back to the office and speak with
Yasmina.
‘Derek!’
She ran after him just as he was about to step out of the hospital. ‘Derek,
please wait!’
He
stopped and swirled around.
‘Derek,
please give me a chance to explain,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt or
disappoint you.’
‘What
possible reason could you have? You lied, that say’s it all. What else are you
lying about?’
‘Please…I’m
sorry.’
He
wanted to reach out and touch her, but his heart wouldn’t let him. It hurt. The
last time a woman had lied to him, he’d found himself alone.
‘I
can’t do this right now, I have to get back to work.’
‘Can
we meet? Set a date?’ She pleaded.
‘I
don’t know. I’ll let you know.’ He started to walk.
‘I
really do like you.’ She shouted after him, but he didn’t turn.
Harmony
felt defeated. There was nothing she could do. No amount of convincing would
make him change his mind.
‘Doctor
Moore,’ a nurse called. ‘You’re needed in the O.R!’
Harmony
understood her place. She understood that when it came to work, there were no
excuses. Heartbroken or not, her job demanded of her. Like a soldier she picked
herself up and went to fight the battle. There was no room for loathing or self
pity.
****
There
was too much going on in his mind. Harmony, the woman he’d fallen for so
quickly had lied. It was stupid to put his heart on the line like that. As he
drove his mind moved from Harmony to the case. He had to focus on the case,
find out what had happened to Marcus.
‘Any
luck?’ asked Yasmina the moment he walked in.
‘The
women are all right. Not so sure where he could’ve disappeared to. This whole
case is strange.’
‘Did
the woman give the reason for their capture?’
‘Yes.
A painting.’
‘A
what?’
‘He
was painting them. He had some crazy idea he’d capture their beauty and keep it
there forever.’
‘Wow,
he’s crazy.’
‘That’s
an understatement. Who does that?’
‘Were
there any signs of sexual force?’
‘No.
I think he got sexual pleasure from the art. The capture must’ve heightened
it.’
‘We
are looking for a sick man.’
‘Aren’t
we always?’
She
watched him a moment. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yeah,
I’m fine.’ He sat at his desk.
‘You
sure?’
‘Yeah,
why?’
‘You
seem, distant, almost disappointed.’
‘I’m
fine. Did you dig up anything on him?’
‘Erm…’
she hesitated a moment. She’d known him long enough to know that something was
wrong.
‘I’m
fine, can we focus on the case.’ He felt she would not let up, but he didn’t
want to discuss it with her.
‘Not
much information on him. It’s like he doesn’t exist.’
‘He
exists. I think the reason we can’t find much on him is because it’s been made
to seem that way.’
‘What
do you mean?’
‘This
guy is rich. He probably has parents who can buy the earth. He’s probably an
only child who lacked attention when growing up.’
‘You
think he’s been doing this awhile?’
‘Yes,
I think if we go to the source. That would be his parents, we’ll find the
answers.’
‘How
the hell are we going to do that?’
‘We’ll
find a way. There is always something somewhere. Some slip up. Perhaps we could
start at the house or the gallery. He has friends, colleagues. Someone knows
something.’
‘Yes
you’re right. Gosh. I wonder where he is.’
‘I
honestly don’t care. I mean…’ That didn’t come out right. ‘As long as he’s not
hurting anyone else, I’m fine with it.’
‘Yeah
well who knows? Why would he leave the women alone?’
‘Apparently
he had a date.’
‘A
date?’
‘That’s
how he captures the women. He takes them on dates.’
‘Yes,
of course.’
‘According
to the women, he had his eye on someone and had made it a point to bring her
back to complete the painting.’
‘If
we could find this woman. What about the woman you’re dating? Perhaps we could
ask her some questions.’
‘I
don’t know. The description she gave me and the one Rose gave me are
different.’ He thought about her lie. What else had she lied about?
‘I
see. Okay, but what if he’s still our guy. It’s the name that gets me. Prince
Charming. How many idiots use that online?’
‘Could’ve
been, but she decided not to continue to go on any future dates with prince
charming. Even the names are different.’ The more he said it, the more it felt like
Harmony had lied to him about other things too.
‘Hmmm.
There might be something she could help us with. They were on the same dating
website.’
He
hated how Yasmina kept pushing this. Had she not heard a word he’d said? His
personal feelings for Harmony had come in the way of his work.
‘Yeah,
I’ll set up to see her. Maybe it is the same guy.’
‘Good.
The chief would like us to question the assistant who called this in.’
He
nodded.
‘I’ve
asked her to come in, in a few days.’
‘That’s
great. I guess we can have a look around his house.’
‘Yes
that’s an idea. I know forensics are still there.’
‘Yes,
let’s go and have a feel of who this guy is and what he’s about. And I can’t
wait to see what’s on his computer.’
‘That’s
if he hasn’t erased everything. Guys like that are cautious.’
‘I
know, but they’re also human. If we look close enough I’m sure we’ll find
something.’
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