I go into the kitchen and pour myself a glass of merlot. I’m not dumb enough to get drunk at Jonas’s house; no, the place to get plastered is in the privacy of my own home, where no one’s around to see it. It’s only nine-thirty, too early to go to bed, but I’m ready for this day to be over.
I finish my glass of wine and pour another.
What else is going on in my neighborhood that I don’t know about? The Greens are still a mystery to me, their blinds perpetually closed, their secrets forbidden to me by my daughter and Revere PD. Then there’s Tricia Talley, who still hasn’t returned home, and her parents, Jackie and Rick, who now avoid me. Only a few weeks ago, Jackie asked for my help finding her daughter. Now she wants nothing to do with me. Something’s going on in that house too, something that’s blown that family apart, and I have no idea what it is.
Maybe I should listen to Jane and mind my own business. Yes, tonight that seems like very good advice. Stop watching, stop wondering, stop asking questions. That, I think, is what I will do.
And then I hear the gunshot.
By 7:35 it was almost a full house. Jane watched in amazement as the last arrivals scavenged for open seats in the high school auditorium. Who knew that classical music played by an orchestra of amateurs would draw such a crowd? She certainly never expected to be sitting shoulder to shoulder with eight hundred people who all seemed to be studiously reading the program notes. Unfortunately, the last person Jane wanted to sit next to was right beside her.
“It’s always been one of my favorite concertos, ever since I heard the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform it when I was thirteen years old,” said Alice Frost. “Not everyone can be Yo-Yo Ma, but it’s nice that amateurs are making the effort, don’t you think?”
“Yeah. Sure,” said Jane.
“Good for them, making the attempt. So few people try to stretch themselves. That’s why Barry and I had to come tonight, to cheer them on. Amateurs or not.”
“Hey, Maura’s gonna be playing tonight,” said Frost, sitting on the other side of his wife. “I can’t imagine she’ll be anything less than amazing.”
“Have you ever heard her play the piano?” Alice asked.
“No.”
“Then how would you know?”
“Because she’s amazing at everything she does.”
“Oh.” Alice sniffed. “We’ll have to see, won’t we?”
It’s going to be a very long night. Jane grabbed Gabriel’s hand and whispered to him: “You wanna switch seats with me?”
“And deprive you of the commentary?”
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“Intermission,” he said. “I’ll switch with you then.”
I won’t last that long.
“Why do you suppose she didn’t tell you about this concert?” Alice asked.
Reluctantly Jane turned her attention back to Alice. “Are you talking about Maura?”
“Barry said you found out about it from someone else. Here she’s been rehearsing for weeks and she never even mentioned it.”
That comment grated on Jane, not only because it made her question how close her friendship was with Maura, but also because it came from Alice. She wondered what other secrets Maura kept from her.
“Maybe she’s afraid it won’t go well tonight,” said Alice, “and she doesn’t want you to witness it.” Alice turned her attention to the stage. “Here they come,” she said as the musicians walked out to take their seats. There was no sign of Maura yet, but Jane saw Dr. Antrim settling into his chair in the violin section.
“Did you know violins didn’t always tune to four-forty?” asked Alice.
Jane turned to her. “Four-forty what?”
“Hertz. That’s a fun little factoid I read a few years ago. In the eighteen hundreds, violins tuned their A strings to four thirty-five hertz. Isn’t it interesting that even classical music isn’t static? It adapts to the modern ear. Ah, here’s the conductor.”
A silver-haired man in a tuxedo walked onstage and the audience applauded.
“That’s Claude Ellison, and he’s actually a real conductor, not a doctor,” said Alice. “I looked up his name just now, on my phone. I guess it takes a real professional to whip amateurs into shape.”
There was a fresh burst of applause and Jane turned back to the stage to see Maura walk out. She looked especially elegant tonight in a black dress of gleaming silk, and as she stood beside the grand piano, she smiled down at the first row where Daniel Brophy was sitting. Gracefully she swept her skirt to the side and sat down at the keyboard.