“Shots fired!” Durante shouted into his radio.
People dropped behind planters and benches, hands over heads. Someone screamed “Get down!” and the plaza buckled into a panicked wave.
“Where did that come from?” Hale snapped.
“We don’t know,” Sergeant Durante yelled.
“Find out!” Hale screamed.
“She’s fine. She’s fine. She’s fine,” Harmony kept saying over and over again, but her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
“She really is going to be fine, Harmony. It only grazed her arm. It’s not life-threatening,” Zach promised as he continued cradling Cass.
Sirens approached.
Torie kept screaming. Tosh was in shock. Cass was sobbing. Zach held onto her. The people scattered.
“Someone is orchestrating this,” Hale said. “They want fear. If any of you are helping them—even by keeping silent—then you’re a part of the violence.”
Her gaze swept them, then lingered on Harmony.
“Writers like structure. What do you see?” Hale asked.
“They’re telling a story.”
“What will the ending be?” Hale asked.
Harmony met her eyes. “They want applause.”
Vega stepped forward. “Then none of us clap.”
He signaled the deputies. “There’s a midnight curfew. No one is to be alone. Walk in pairs or stay inside. If you see anything that looks like . . .art, then call it in.”
The remaining people left the plaza. Harmony watched everyone, then glanced up at the hills where darkness was settling as if it were merely waiting to come out and play. Somewhere out there, more planning was going on. The storyrefused to end. Secrets had been bared that day, but the truth was still hiding behind closed lips.
***
Later that night, a flash of red silk was found at the Botanical Gardens, snagged on the massive cactus thick with thorns that didn’t look made for mercy. It was Janie’s dress, draped across it like a warning or a clue. Pinned to the bodice with a polished abalone brooch, a white card with three words:Where is she?
***
Cass was bandaged and released. Harmony drove her home in a golf cart. Once inside, they locked the door.
“I’m sleeping in the chair tonight.”
“You’ll regret it,” Harmony said. “Your back will retaliate.”
“My back can file a complaint, and join the lawsuit from my arm,” she said. “I’m not moving.”
Harmony smiled despite the ache in her chest. She crossed to the window, lifted the blind just enough to peek out. Something slid beneath their door. They both froze.
It was another note. She looked at Cass with more confusion than fear.
“What is it?” Cass asked.
“We should throw it away without reading. Someone wants us afraid. We fight back by not giving them our fear.”
“We need to know, Harm. I was shot today. We can no longer bury our heads in the sand and pretend this isn’t happening.”
